..... my car............ -.-*

[PCHeintz72]

When my truck was finally inspected, it was found that the fan belt pulley thing was loose and it was easy to fix.

This is not that uncommon a issue, but its ease of fix depends on the type of belts you have.

A serpentine belt is a bigger, more expensive belt, but normally needs minimal upkeep. And there is only the one belt.

The older multiple belts setup... each individually is cheaper, and there are less points to adjust, but there are more of them, and my father once told me ther get out of adjustment easier.

 

[AkinaAE86]

Either way, I bet you would love reading 'After Evangelion The Shinji Chronicles' by Nighthawk Imac

This. Combining two of my favorite things EVER and making it believable. Thank you.

This is what Toyota needs to do. (They already killed off everything else that was good.) Stop giving celebrities special treatment and make the damn thing already...

 

[ThreadWeaver]

The older multiple belts setup... each individually is cheaper, and there are less points to adjust, but there are more of them, and my father once told me ther get out of adjustment easier.

Assuming they designed the belt routing properly, serpentine belts no longer require ANY adjustment from any points. Every Gm vehicle I've owned that had a serpentine belt had a single spring loaded tension arm that removed the need for adjusting. Just bolt the alternator, compressor, power steering/ whatever in place and use a socket wrench to load the belt under the tension arm. This may not be the case for foreign cars, but that is my experience with GM vehicles.

Serpentine belts both rule and suck. Suck because if the one belt goes, you're stranded on the side of the freeway/road. The old ones would only kill one of the accessories, instead of all of them. They rule because they're so much easier to work with.

AS to the older multiple belt setups coming loose easier: Oh yes. My first vehicle was a 78 Merc Zephyr. A real pain in the butt to get those belts tight. A crowbar, a prop block and a helper to quickly tighten bolts just to keep 'em from squealing.

 

[PCHeintz72]

The older multiple belts setup...? each individually is cheaper, and there are less points to adjust, but there are more of them, and my father once told me ther get out of adjustment easier.

Assuming they designed the belt routing properly, serpentine belts no longer require ANY adjustment from any points. Every Gm vehicle I've owned that had a serpentine belt had a single spring loaded tension arm that removed the need for adjusting. Just bolt the alternator, compressor, power steering/ whatever in place and use a socket wrench to load the belt under the tension arm. This may not be the case for foreign cars, but that is my experience with GM vehicles.

Serpentine belts both rule and suck. Suck because if the one belt goes, you're stranded on the side of the freeway/road. The old ones would only kill one of the accessories, instead of all of them. They rule because they're so much easier to work with.

AS to the older multiple belt setups coming loose easier: Oh yes. My first vehicle was a 78 Merc Zephyr. A real pain in the butt to get those belts tight. A crowbar, a prop block and a helper to quickly tighten bolts just to keep 'em from squealing.

I remember my father when alive a time or two having to adjust the serpentine belts on a couple of our past cars... it was rare though.

Also, if you should have uneven wear, or even just extensive wear, that can still expand slightly over the years... causing improper functioning and requiring a new belt.

Personally, having seen my father wrestle one in place once... I'd rather let a shop do that one. In the past I have helped get older belts in, though it has been some time since we've had cars that old or of that type.

My issue is I've the knowledge he taught me of him being a mechanic, and I've helped him on most things from breaks to master cylinders to engine / transmission replacements and rebuilds... However, while I helped him, and that gives the raw general knowledge of what is involved, it does not make me qualified to do the work alone years later... But I know enough to explain things, or to know if getting taken or lied to. He was ASE certified, not me.

I can do more than most, oil changes, tune ups, PCV valves, tire rotations, brakes and brake bleeding, minor items with exhaust, general maintneance, etc... I *might* be up for removing the automatic transmission pan and doing a transmission pan gasket and filter replacement... depends on setup. Fuse replacements... yep.

Most other stuff... gas station and dealership bound. I normally try to insure it is warantee items, or wierd items, or have coupons for, before doing so though.

 

[Harm]

I got my first car from my Grandmother. It was my Granddad's before (he bought it new) but then he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Seeing as the car had no real owner, and I was the only member of the family without a car, it was given to me.

As of two weeks ago, he officially has no idea who I am anymore.

Doesn't feel good, man.

 

[ThreadWeaver]

I got my first car from my Grandmother. It was my Granddad's before (he bought it new) but then he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Seeing as the car had no real owner, and I was the only member of the family without a car, it was given to me.

As of two weeks ago, he officially has no idea who I am anymore.

Doesn't feel good, man.

At the risk of derailing the thread, don't let your granddad's loss of recognition get to you personally. Alzheimer's is a cruel disease for both the patient and their family, but there's little one can do once it's in the latter stages to prevent the loss of their memory/personality. However, don't think that you're doing something wrong just because he forgot you. The memory loss seems to be random as the connections to one's memories gets destroyed. Sorry to hear that you've got to go through that though as it's often worse for those in the family of the affected because they remember what the person was like or should know, whereas the sufferer falls into the "ignorance can be bliss" category.

PCH: I have to admit to feeling silly on the first serpentine I worked on because I had used a crowbar on the tension arm, not knowing that the arm has a hole for a socket wrench/breaker bar to lever it of the way because it was filled in with dirt. Ahhh.. learning the hard way. Gotta love it. I parallel you in your experience with cars. when I was growing up I helped my neighbor build his '34 ford roadster from the ground up, but couldn't do the work myself without some serious tutoring. Mostly if it isn't basic, off to the shop it goes. Although I will admit to being a master of front hub assemblies on blazer/s-10 chassis because of their weak design. Now I automatically replace them every 60K on any I own.

 

[AkinaAE86]

Before:

After:

GODDAMNIT!

 

[Deleted member 5249]

Don't worry Yoko can fix it for you.... along with other things.

 

[AkinaAE86]

... :blue:

 

[WarmasterCain55]

What happened?

 

[AkinaAE86]

A fucking MOPED slammed into it....

 

[Vexarian]

Don't worry Yoko can fix it for you.... along with other things.

Remember to bring some Lube.

 

[Slave to my muse]

Soooooo.....for those who know something about cars.......my radio appears to be broken :blue: It keeps turning itself on and off, and none of the buttons really work. I honestly don't even know if its on right now, but it sure isn't playing music anymore......Basically, I would push the power button, nothing would happen, then music would randomly start playing for a few seconds, then it would turn off again, and then turn on again for a few seconds later.......pretty much the only thing I can control is the volume (when the music is actually playing)............

I assume my beloved radio is dying on me And as someone who can't drive without music because I fall asleep, this is a bad thing :sweat: And it was working perfectly only a few hours ago......................

 

[AkinaAE86]

I say buy a new one. Better than getting it fixed, to which it might just break again later.

 

[ThreadWeaver]

It appears to be one of two things:

1) you have an intermittent power problem with the unit. Either the supply or the ground might have become unstable. (read: loose or corroded connector)

2) the radio, as you said, is dying. Say a small prayer and resign it to your local electronics recycling center.

If any of your other accessories (other ones like windshield wipers and such that work with the key in the accessory position) are acting strange as well, then you probably have a larger electrical problem.

 

[PCHeintz72]

Soooooo.....for those who know something about cars.......my radio appears to be broken :blue: It keeps turning itself on and off, and none of the buttons really work. I honestly don't even know if its on right now, but it sure isn't playing music anymore......Basically, I would push the power button, nothing would happen, then music would randomly start playing for a few seconds, then it would turn off again, and then turn on again for a few seconds later.......pretty much the only thing I can control is the volume (when the music is actually playing)............

I assume my beloved radio is dying on me And as someone who can't drive without music because I fall asleep, this is a bad thing :sweat: And it was working perfectly only a few hours ago......................

Well... it depends on the design... there is one thing.

If the unit has either a detachable or a retracting faceplate... it may in fact not be the unit itself, but the connectors on the faceplate, or the wires in the hinge. As such, it might be quite easy to get fixed.

Otherwise... I'd say that is done for.

 

[T.L]

If the radio is a genuine unit supplied with the car then RIP

If the unit is aftermarket you can check for loose connections especially the earth wire.
Some aftermarket fitments connect the wires with poor connectors, These can work their way loose or cut the wires and cause the intermittent problems that you are experiencing.

 

[MARQUIS DE SADE]

Here is a horror story about cars that I dealt with.

I used to work at a auto repair shop as the clerk. We had a older lady bring her car in to get tie rod's installed. Afterwards we took the car to a tire shop to get the front end aligned. When the mechanic was bringing the car back to the shop the front driver side dropped all of a sudden. What ended up happening is the lower ball joint went out. I ended up having to call a tow truck to get the car back and paying for the tow out of my pocket since the owner was on vacation and didn't leave any money for those kinds of situations. We got the car repaired and when we called the tire shop to tell them about the ball joint and told them they owed us for the tow and for the ball joints they laughed at us and refused to reimburse us. Needless to say we stopped taking cars to that tire shop. I told the owner he should have told the tire shop that if they didn't reimburse us we were going to call the Secretary Of State and report them for not telling us about the ball joints and for putting customers in danger.

 

[ArashiKaji]

My sister's a spoiled bitch. she gets everything she wants. and acts all high and mighty..

SO I'm not the only one with a bitch of a sister.

 

[Dark Knight Gafgar]

*Dark Knight Gafgar?has no siblings or automobiles

I got a thousand problems, but a bitch/car/bitchcar ain't one.

 

[WarmasterCain55]

My car has a hole in the gas tank right now, tiny hole but a hole nonetheless.. I plugged it up as best as I could, but if I don't get that temp job I'm aiming for, it's going to keep dripping.

I really hate the smell of gas now.

 

[ThreadWeaver]

My car has a hole in the gas tank right now, tiny hole but a hole nonetheless.. I plugged it up as best as I could, but if I don't get that temp job I'm aiming for, it's going to keep dripping.

I really hate the smell of gas now.

Go to the auto parts store and ask for something called "JB Weld" It's a paste that you mix and apply like putty but bonds like a weld. Make sure the fuel is well below the level of the hole and mix some up and spread over the hole. Do not use the car until the package says it has cured (I don't remember how long anymore).

I had to do just this on my first car: a 1978 Mercury Zephyr. It was already 12 years old by the time I started driving and had suffered greatly in the Minnesota WintersÖ.

Make sure they haven't changed the recipe and added any "This will detonate when around gas fumes" warnings...

 

[MARQUIS DE SADE]

I am getting a car next spring. I am getting it from a retired lady that I do yardwork for. The car is a 1994 Oldsmobile 88 Royale. It has a 3.8 Series II with a 4T60E transmission. What I would like to know is there any particular issues I have to look out for with the 3.8 or the transmission? I called the dealer and they said that I have to keep the oil changed at the proper intervals otherwise the engine will get gunked up. Also I would like some assistance making a list of items I need to get for the car. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[foesjoe]

Regularly changing the oil of your car is generally a good idea. I know that I change it every 25 - 30.000 kilometres or once a year.

And when you're asking for a list of items you might need, do you mean just generally useful stuff - like a warning triangle, road maps, a spare tire, a first aid kit - or are you asking what parts you'll probably have to replace?

As for your engine, wikipedia says this:

GM recalled 1.5 million vehicles with this engine on April 14, 2009 due to risk of fire from engine oil leaking under the valve cover gaskets onto hot exhaust manifolds. The fire could spread to the nearby plastic spark plug wire retainers on the valve cover and then to the rest of the engine compartment. GM fitted the affected vehicles with redesigned spark plug wire retainers. These engines are also noted for having problems with the plastic upper intake manifold cracking, in turn causing coolant leakage into the intake passages. This can cause engine lock up failure, as well as overheating once coolant levels are too low. Aftermarket intake manifolds are available with brass inserts, that prevent them from cracking

That doesn't sound too good.

 

[ThreadWeaver]

Regularly changing the oil of your car is generally a good idea. I know that I change it every 25 - 30.000 kilometres or once a year.

And when you're asking for a list of items you might need, do you mean just generally useful stuff - like a warning triangle, road maps, a spare tire, a first aid kit - or are you asking what parts you'll probably have to replace?

Considering he had his picture in front of a high performance vehicle (pyop thread), I think he knows about car maintenance in general.

33000 Km? Holy crap man what manual are you reading from?

In the US, any car older than 2000 should change the oil every 3000 Miles (5000 Km) or every 6 months at the longest, whichever comes first. This is using standard, non-synthetic motor oil. Newer engines the owner should check the manual, but can go up to 7000 miles (12000 Km) on an oil change.

Synthetics will last twice that long, but still...

But yes, there is an oil leak problem with that engine apparently but otherwise it gets good marks:

I would pick the 3.8 litre engine. You won't be
disappointed. About the only problem the 3.8 has is an oil
leak that originates from the rear main seal housing gasket.
When the General reworked the engine into the Generation
II configuration, they designed a large aluminum rear
cover/housing that seals the rear of the engine. The gasket
for that housing tends to get brittle and split, leaking
engine oil. It looks like an oil pan leak, but it rarely is.

EDIT: However, looking deeper, that appears to be an issue with the FWD versions. And the engine fire seems to be an issue on the newer motors.

To meet emissions standards of the Æ90s, an EGR tube was placed in the intake manifold to reduce combustion temperatures. This increased fuel mileage by a substantial margin and provided GM some engineering success. In fact, the 3800 Series II was on the WardÆs 10 Best Engines list 1995 through Æ97.

EDIT2: I must be confusing the engine you're listing with another because the series II wasn't released until 1995, so I'm not sure how that car got one. :huh.: I think the author was referring to the series I in the EGR comment... :wacko: