..... my car............ -.-*
- Thread starter rukia8492
- Start date
Honestly, I'd just assumed that there was one in the trunk already with the spare. Major oversight on my part, we're like the 4th owners of the car, so I didn't think there wouldn't be a mini-jack tucked under the trunk lining. I'm keeping the jack and cross-lug in the car now, since I don't have much faith in those dinky little jacks anyway.
But yeah, I'm just gonna go for a set of four tires (might as well, if one bought it, the others could be shitty too), get 'em balanced and get the steering re-aligned.
ugh, I'm ashamed at my fail. :blue:
But yeah, I'm just gonna go for a set of four tires (might as well, if one bought it, the others could be shitty too), get 'em balanced and get the steering re-aligned.
ugh, I'm ashamed at my fail. :blue:
Well... 4th owners or not... if you got the car at a dealership, I think it is against the law for them to sell it without that stuff, even if they have to buy replacements.
If you got it from a private owner... all bets are off.
As for getting all 4... you can save money. Take it in, get 2 tires, but tell them to look at the 3 remaining, pick the best two, and put them on the rear, and place the new ones on the front. Also, for the 3rd worst one, ask them to give that back to you, if one goes flat in the future, you can have a service station swap it out cheap for you.
EDIT: Edited for detail.
If you got it from a private owner... all bets are off.
As for getting all 4... you can save money. Take it in, get 2 tires, but tell them to look at the 3 remaining, pick the best two, and put them on the rear, and place the new ones on the front. Also, for the 3rd worst one, ask them to give that back to you, if one goes flat in the future, you can have a service station swap it out cheap for you.
EDIT: Edited for detail.
Agreed... About the only thing can do is slam on the brakes and hope for the best, since at thqat point,t he car is 100% out of your control.
AkinaAE86, since you state no damage to car, assumed you did not hit anything and you yourself are also ok...
Oddly, I myself just got back fromt he corner service station. Got an oil change and I did some basic maintenance to my car yesterday. I also have an appointment with a Subaru Dealership as I have a coupon for a free vehicle inspection (hey, it is free, and vehicle is under warantee, so best to get it checked).
While winter in Ohio is not over, I always try to do maintenance in October and March of each year, as I would rather not have issues during winter.
After my own car is taken care of, I'll look to do some of the same stuff to my mothers Suzuki. Clean up, tire check, cleaning, fluid check, and oil change (not that order). I'll have to see how much her dealership is charging for inspections, and she has one whistling sound at freeway speeds I might have them check out, but believe it is the roof crossbars.
AkinaAE86, since you state no damage to car, assumed you did not hit anything and you yourself are also ok...
Oddly, I myself just got back fromt he corner service station. Got an oil change and I did some basic maintenance to my car yesterday. I also have an appointment with a Subaru Dealership as I have a coupon for a free vehicle inspection (hey, it is free, and vehicle is under warantee, so best to get it checked).
While winter in Ohio is not over, I always try to do maintenance in October and March of each year, as I would rather not have issues during winter.
After my own car is taken care of, I'll look to do some of the same stuff to my mothers Suzuki. Clean up, tire check, cleaning, fluid check, and oil change (not that order). I'll have to see how much her dealership is charging for inspections, and she has one whistling sound at freeway speeds I might have them check out, but believe it is the roof crossbars.
I never noticed this thread before :sweat:
This was a while ago, but early Janaurary I took my bucket of bolts (1996 Isuzu Rodeo, my baby) to get its oil changed. While there, I also opted for them to do "winterizing" for my car, whitch entails them checking everything, filling up everything, checking my 4-wheel drive (I can shift my car from 2-wheel to 4-wheel drive), and making sure everything is good to go for the winter.
Two hours later I recieved a phone call that my 4-wheel drive transmission (or something like that) had to be replaced, two of my shocks were had to be replaced, and some various other little problems were found.
My $30 oil changed and winterization ended up costing me $700ish.........
On the brightside, my car still runs fine
They also told me that my head gasket (I think, I know nothing about cars) was leaking and wasting oil, which is why I have to put a pint of oil in my car once a month, because its always empty.
That repair, however, would have cost me $2000ish, which is more then my cars worth. And as they told me all it really is doing is wasting oil, I will instead pay $3 a month for a pint of oil.
This was a while ago, but early Janaurary I took my bucket of bolts (1996 Isuzu Rodeo, my baby) to get its oil changed. While there, I also opted for them to do "winterizing" for my car, whitch entails them checking everything, filling up everything, checking my 4-wheel drive (I can shift my car from 2-wheel to 4-wheel drive), and making sure everything is good to go for the winter.
Two hours later I recieved a phone call that my 4-wheel drive transmission (or something like that) had to be replaced, two of my shocks were had to be replaced, and some various other little problems were found.
My $30 oil changed and winterization ended up costing me $700ish.........
On the brightside, my car still runs fine
They also told me that my head gasket (I think, I know nothing about cars) was leaking and wasting oil, which is why I have to put a pint of oil in my car once a month, because its always empty.
That repair, however, would have cost me $2000ish, which is more then my cars worth. And as they told me all it really is doing is wasting oil, I will instead pay $3 a month for a pint of oil.
Hmmm... I'm not a mechanic, but know from helping my father when he was alive what is involved (I regrettibly do not have the knowledge to do a lot of what he could do, but have enough to know if I'm getting taken by a dealership or mechanic).
That... I would have taken elsewhere for a 2nd opinion before getting that work done. at least hunted for pricing.
I do not know if you have the V6 or the 4 cylinder. The head gasket they are referring to is a gasket that goes around your cylinder head (2 heads on a V6). On a four cylinder it is fairly small, on a V6 it is a pain to get at. In both cases... they have to disconnect all wire and equipment from the top of the engine surrounding them, fuel injectors, and bonnet, sometimes alternator/carberator, etc, pull off the head (2 heads if 6 cylinder), clean them up, put a new gasket down, and replace the oil they had to drain out. They (should but not all places do) also adjust valves if the engine has OHV, which can be delicate. Oh... and technically, depending on design you only need to do one side on a V6 (the one leaking), my father was insitant that anything like that done to an engine should be done to both sides (and in fact on some it is one large expensive gasket for both sides requiring both be done).
$2000 ssems a lot if it was a 4 cylinder, though I do not know pricing for your area. If a V6, I could see it, but uncertain I would pay it.
Basically, they need to dismantle a good part of the engine to fix everything up in cases involving that gasket. The up side is a lot of side maintenance can be done at the same time, the down is it is expensive.
That... I would have taken elsewhere for a 2nd opinion before getting that work done. at least hunted for pricing.
I do not know if you have the V6 or the 4 cylinder. The head gasket they are referring to is a gasket that goes around your cylinder head (2 heads on a V6). On a four cylinder it is fairly small, on a V6 it is a pain to get at. In both cases... they have to disconnect all wire and equipment from the top of the engine surrounding them, fuel injectors, and bonnet, sometimes alternator/carberator, etc, pull off the head (2 heads if 6 cylinder), clean them up, put a new gasket down, and replace the oil they had to drain out. They (should but not all places do) also adjust valves if the engine has OHV, which can be delicate. Oh... and technically, depending on design you only need to do one side on a V6 (the one leaking), my father was insitant that anything like that done to an engine should be done to both sides (and in fact on some it is one large expensive gasket for both sides requiring both be done).
$2000 ssems a lot if it was a 4 cylinder, though I do not know pricing for your area. If a V6, I could see it, but uncertain I would pay it.
Basically, they need to dismantle a good part of the engine to fix everything up in cases involving that gasket. The up side is a lot of side maintenance can be done at the same time, the down is it is expensive.
Ummm.....if I remember correctly, my car (SUV) is a V6.
I don't plan on ever getting the leaking gasket fixed, as all it does is cause my oil to go away quicker. I can afford a pint of oil a month.
As for them ripping me off......I know NOTHING about cars, but I called my dad before I gave my permission to do the repairs, and he told me the cost sounded about right. He is a big cheap-skate, and knows a decent amount about cars, and while he didn't say it was a deal, it sounded like the price they gave for what they did was alright.
I think they may have done something with the brakes as well.
Regardless, whats done is done :huh.:
EDIT: Oh, and he had been told about the shocks before when he took my car in for me last year. I think he had gotten a second opinion then, who told him that we could wait a while. Suppose I should have mentioned that. ^_^
I don't plan on ever getting the leaking gasket fixed, as all it does is cause my oil to go away quicker. I can afford a pint of oil a month.
As for them ripping me off......I know NOTHING about cars, but I called my dad before I gave my permission to do the repairs, and he told me the cost sounded about right. He is a big cheap-skate, and knows a decent amount about cars, and while he didn't say it was a deal, it sounded like the price they gave for what they did was alright.
I think they may have done something with the brakes as well.
Regardless, whats done is done :huh.:
EDIT: Oh, and he had been told about the shocks before when he took my car in for me last year. I think he had gotten a second opinion then, who told him that we could wait a while. Suppose I should have mentioned that. ^_^
Okay, first of all, I'd have to say holy crap that would probably make me say "shit!" then proceed to do just that.
Glad to hear you're okay.
On the other hand, I keep having this flashback of a comedy routine where the passenger keeps saying, "let me drive!"
The driver eventually gets tired of hearing it and says, "Fine!" then proceeds to rip the steering wheel off the column and hands it to the passenger.
Glad to hear you're okay.
On the other hand, I keep having this flashback of a comedy routine where the passenger keeps saying, "let me drive!"
The driver eventually gets tired of hearing it and says, "Fine!" then proceeds to rip the steering wheel off the column and hands it to the passenger.
The wheel that dared try to kill me. Crappy phone pic. Camera stopped working..
Not the original one that came with the car, replaced it about a year ago with a later model of the same car.
It looks fine, but I don't know whether I should pay it safe and just get a replacement. There's also supposed to be a plastic bracket that connects to it, which seems to have mysteriously disappeared.
Not the original one that came with the car, replaced it about a year ago with a later model of the same car.
It looks fine, but I don't know whether I should pay it safe and just get a replacement. There's also supposed to be a plastic bracket that connects to it, which seems to have mysteriously disappeared.
That reminds me of this Bored while driving
This isn't my story per se, but my father imparted it to me.
Back when he was at college in Chicago (where I went for my first year, actually,) some random jackass caused a multiple-car accident when he plowed into a street-long line of parallel-parked cars. My dad's car was pretty much totaled. He and his friends managed to get it moved to one of the school's lots near one of the dorms and left it there for the time being. He had to go to work, so he took the El (short for "Elevated Train" though that particular line is only elevated from about Belmont south... /ramble.) While he was at work, an odd little thing happened. The gas tank was leaking. Onto an exposed, live wire. The car went up in what people at the dorm said was a two-story-high fireball. He was coming back from work and he looked out at the street from the train... and he saw this lump of blue being towed by a tow truck. Guess whose car that was.
Also, he warned me, in a sidelong fashion, not to let a pig ride in the backseat. You'll never get the smell out of the upholstery.
Back when he was at college in Chicago (where I went for my first year, actually,) some random jackass caused a multiple-car accident when he plowed into a street-long line of parallel-parked cars. My dad's car was pretty much totaled. He and his friends managed to get it moved to one of the school's lots near one of the dorms and left it there for the time being. He had to go to work, so he took the El (short for "Elevated Train" though that particular line is only elevated from about Belmont south... /ramble.) While he was at work, an odd little thing happened. The gas tank was leaking. Onto an exposed, live wire. The car went up in what people at the dorm said was a two-story-high fireball. He was coming back from work and he looked out at the street from the train... and he saw this lump of blue being towed by a tow truck. Guess whose car that was.
Also, he warned me, in a sidelong fashion, not to let a pig ride in the backseat. You'll never get the smell out of the upholstery.
There are 2 ways a cylinder head gasket can fail.
The first is a break in the metal ring that surrounds the cylinder bore, which seals the cylinder bore to the cylinder head that contains the valves which let the fuel in and exhaust out.
The second is a deterioration of the gasket between the oil galleries and the cooling galleries. This type of failure is very easy to diagnose, Typically there will be oil in your cooling system.
A few checks that can be easily done by a non mechanic :-
Check your oil dipstick, if the oil is a white or grey colour this is a sign of water.
Open your radiator cap, please wait until the car is completely cold, they run under pressure when hot. Check the inside of the radiator cap you are looking for the same oil discolouration mentioned above or oil deposits. Also check around the visible areas inside the top tank of the radiator for oil.
If there is oil contaminating the cooling system you need to be aware that oil can clog the radiator and thermostat and decrease the cooling efficiency of the car, thereby negating the winterizing of the cooling system by making the antifreeze not as efficient as it could be.
If the above checks are ok, with the radiator cap off, start your engine. If there is an eruption of coolant from the radiator then you are dealing with the first type of failure. This eruption will be like a geyser.
Hope this helps
Edit :
AkinaAE86 :
Has the nut been stripped away?
Does the inside of the steering wheel have splines that match the splines of the steering colom?, or has the top of the colom sheered away with the nut?
Is it a genuine wheel or aftermarket?
I have never seen a failure like that and I have been a mechanic for nearly 18 years. :blink:
The first is a break in the metal ring that surrounds the cylinder bore, which seals the cylinder bore to the cylinder head that contains the valves which let the fuel in and exhaust out.
The second is a deterioration of the gasket between the oil galleries and the cooling galleries. This type of failure is very easy to diagnose, Typically there will be oil in your cooling system.
A few checks that can be easily done by a non mechanic :-
Check your oil dipstick, if the oil is a white or grey colour this is a sign of water.
Open your radiator cap, please wait until the car is completely cold, they run under pressure when hot. Check the inside of the radiator cap you are looking for the same oil discolouration mentioned above or oil deposits. Also check around the visible areas inside the top tank of the radiator for oil.
If there is oil contaminating the cooling system you need to be aware that oil can clog the radiator and thermostat and decrease the cooling efficiency of the car, thereby negating the winterizing of the cooling system by making the antifreeze not as efficient as it could be.
If the above checks are ok, with the radiator cap off, start your engine. If there is an eruption of coolant from the radiator then you are dealing with the first type of failure. This eruption will be like a geyser.
Hope this helps
Edit :
AkinaAE86 :
Has the nut been stripped away?
Does the inside of the steering wheel have splines that match the splines of the steering colom?, or has the top of the colom sheered away with the nut?
Is it a genuine wheel or aftermarket?
I have never seen a failure like that and I have been a mechanic for nearly 18 years. :blink:
Nut sheard off. Splines were fucked. It's a genuine OEM Toyota Levin wheel. Albeit a very old one (16 years old I think...)
Inside of the wheel has no splines. It just goes on top of the column and the nut holds it down.
I'll admit its probably my fault for getting such an old wheel. (Been using it for over a year now) The only new parts I get for my car would be brake pads and tyres.
Inside of the wheel has no splines. It just goes on top of the column and the nut holds it down.
I'll admit its probably my fault for getting such an old wheel. (Been using it for over a year now) The only new parts I get for my car would be brake pads and tyres.
Without remorse:
Also a head gasket can fail between the the cooling galleries and the outer side of the block. One can add dye and run it, and take a black light to the block and it will glow where the gasket is leaking. The major indicator of this is a sweet smell in the engine compartment generally when the engine is first started and cold, before the block expands under the heat and seals itself. This will continue to worsen until the leak becomes obviously apparent. The motor will appear to "consume" antifreeze, but the exhaust won't smell sweet, which is an indicator of a cracked head. My old Blazer had a small external leak problem. The woman in my life then blew it by driving rather... aggressively... read: two positions on the accelerator: off and on.
Akina: If the splines on the wheel are shot, you need to check the column as well, because they may have also been compromised. If it is, and it's not replaced, this may cause a loss of control when the steering wheel starts spinning on the sheared column shaft. This would be worsened by the fact that the torque on your column is higher because you have no power assisted steering. Summary: new wheel and possibly new column shaft.
Also a head gasket can fail between the the cooling galleries and the outer side of the block. One can add dye and run it, and take a black light to the block and it will glow where the gasket is leaking. The major indicator of this is a sweet smell in the engine compartment generally when the engine is first started and cold, before the block expands under the heat and seals itself. This will continue to worsen until the leak becomes obviously apparent. The motor will appear to "consume" antifreeze, but the exhaust won't smell sweet, which is an indicator of a cracked head. My old Blazer had a small external leak problem. The woman in my life then blew it by driving rather... aggressively... read: two positions on the accelerator: off and on.
Akina: If the splines on the wheel are shot, you need to check the column as well, because they may have also been compromised. If it is, and it's not replaced, this may cause a loss of control when the steering wheel starts spinning on the sheared column shaft. This would be worsened by the fact that the torque on your column is higher because you have no power assisted steering. Summary: new wheel and possibly new column shaft.