Post #292,840
9/13/07 10:59:53 AM
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I hate cars.
Just had the Audi towed in. It's missing on a few cylinders pretty badly all of a sudden.
Hopefully it's a spark plug and not an ignition coil. :-P
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #292,844
9/13/07 12:18:06 PM
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Correction.
They hate you.
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
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Post #292,847
9/13/07 12:32:21 PM
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Indeed.
I am not your car purchasing go-to guy.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #293,613
9/25/07 11:27:11 PM
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Coil Pack?
Could be a coil pack, which is the modern (expensive) equivalent to a spark plug wire.
Or your car could be having "serious" engine problems like my 2000 Ford Taurus in Nov. 2006. The darned thing would randomly miss so badly that it would stall out. Then it would be "good" for a while before it did it again.
Problem was, it would never "work" for auto inspection people, so I couldn't get it to pass. We tuned up, changed coil packs, and in the end the mechanic said something like, "how much do you like this car"?
I said, "Well, it's a car with 105,000 on it, dented fenders scratched windshield". He said, "unless you want to put a thousand or two back into the engine, it's time to find a better car".
I hope it's not the case for you, maybe it will be something simple, like a fuel filter, spark plug, or coil pack.
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Post #293,642
9/26/07 10:08:20 AM
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Injector port.
$300 part. Not bad for that car, actually.
The van, however, needed about $2000 of work. First the intake manifold gaskets, a few circuit boards, a vacuum hose and other things. Then as I was driving the van away from the dealership I heard nasssty clunkings and thumpings from underneath. Apparently the subframe assembly had rusted through on one corner (this is the part that holds the engine and trans onto the rest of the freaking car). Another $800.
Add in the rental car expenses and it's been, well, expensive.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #293,646
9/26/07 11:25:00 AM
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Holy Crap
and pass the enchilada sauce!
God love ya, boy! You might recoup a few of those clams by recounting your mishaps for a magazine or something. Making a beverage out of all those citrus-y things. ;-)
Smile,
Amy
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Post #293,648
9/26/07 11:41:48 AM
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Well, the decision was fix or replace.
Cheaper to fix at this point. A new van would be quite a bit more spendy.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #293,649
9/26/07 11:45:41 AM
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I understand completely
Just saying - you got some stories to tell that many can relate to.
Smile,
Amy
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Post #292,845
9/13/07 12:28:21 PM
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sounds like it slipped a timing belt :-(
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #292,846
9/13/07 12:31:49 PM
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Doesn't have one.
It has a timing chain, which was replaced 40K miles ago.
The car still runs, but it idles a little roughly and it shudders at 40mph.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #292,853
9/13/07 1:58:07 PM
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Tensioners for the chain?
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
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Post #292,855
9/13/07 2:39:52 PM
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If it were the chain
I wouldn't have an engine any longer.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #292,856
9/13/07 2:42:08 PM
9/13/07 2:42:53 PM
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No, not chain failure
Just a badly-tensioned one. It could have jumped a tooth, making the timing all crap.
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
[link|http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?pwhysall|A better terminal emulator]
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Edited by pwhysall
Sept. 13, 2007, 02:42:53 PM EDT
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Post #292,858
9/13/07 2:49:02 PM
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Well, we'll find out
AAA paid for the tow down to Birmingham.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #292,875
9/13/07 6:06:57 PM
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:-( I hope it's a simple fix.
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Post #293,631
9/26/07 7:41:00 AM
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I love'em
They hate me.
I've been driving with the "gimme money light on" for a while, as posted a while back.
Took it into the dealer a couple of days ago, since the local slime mechanics wanted aroun $1,200 to replace all the oxygen sensors. Needed the timing belt as well.
When we were 1/2 done (ie: I ran out of money), we were up to $2,200.
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Post #293,632
9/26/07 7:50:19 AM
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Ouch.
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Post #293,633
9/26/07 7:57:52 AM
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It was time
1st major money I've put into it other than accident related stuff.
It's got a 110,000 miles, and runs strong. The timing belt was 50,000 miles overdue.
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Post #293,658
9/26/07 12:26:11 PM
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Knock on wood...
I'm at 283,000 '99 Chrysler Cirrus.
So far only A/C compressor and a fuel pump (other than tires, brakes)
And it's pulling ~27mpg.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. (Herm Albright)
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Post #293,706
9/26/07 9:44:36 PM
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Re: I love'em
This makes no sense to me. And if, perchance you actually Needed "All" the O2 sensors: what is that, 2? I'm sure they can be bought on web for <$100 each (one for my '94 was 50ish; no need to install it yet - it's for a test.)
O2 sensors send a varying DC voltage signal to the ECU (engine control unit) when they return out-of-range values -- I guess you saw the CEL light come on = check engine light(?) The ECU itself can fail, but very rarely does so, from all hearsay accounts.. but when 2 or More? "O2 sensors" are said to have "failed" -??- well, you know the odds on coincidences. Such a diagnosis would be a Red flag for me.
Similarly: it's an unscrew, clean threads - screw-in "install". There is NO 'adjustment' - except that the ECU has to 'like' it (and if it didn't like a new one: you'd be looking, I hope: at a recycler yard price for an ECU. at least to plug-in and verify that yours is broken. Or is Not broken (Mfgs. Never give out diagrams for their black boxes, of course.) 'Course, maybe you don't have the time to cover your ass.
Could you be due for a Second Opinion kinda non-ripoff mechanic?
Timing belt R&Rs ARE 1000ish at dealer shop rates, on many cars. And about half that at decent independent mechanics. (And there are those, out there.) Dunno your brand.
C'mon Crazy - this is logic stuff; you don't have to roll over, play dead and eat foggy triple-digit estimates. An O2 sensor is a no-moving-parts piezo/ceramic thingy which generates voltages as the fuel/air mixture deviates from an ideal ratio. Most last 100Ks of miles..
Luck,
I.
Using a friend's new ATT hi-speed connection on Win 98SE -- which ATT won't ""support"" -- which *I*, who did not install it, just unflummoxed via simple logic and "let's try This, then". This post is the test that it is now connecting UP/DOWN OK, with no more Router-generated "PPPoE LCP negotiation fail" pop-up, on 'Connect'.
(And ... I've made it a jelloware-saving principle (thus far..) to Do No Networking == I grok this system about as well as you, apparently - grok cars. Right?) Hate to see folks get ripped off.
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Post #293,710
9/26/07 10:21:29 PM
9/26/07 10:47:24 PM
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Oh, I know it was BS
The car is a Mazda Millenia.
Yes, I know I only needed one. The computer only tells you which pair, and then you are supposed to test to figure out which one. The garage was trying to rip me off, it was obvious.
The O2 sensors run between $130 and $180 (memory, too lazy to Google). Dealer charged me about $210 for the part, plug diagnostics to read the computer and then figure out which one. That portion of the work for around $400.
But no, no way am I taking a wrench to my car. I don't know what I don't know, and the cost of the mistake usually far outweighs the occasional rip-off. You have a vast amount of knowledge, and once you get to that level, I think you trivialize it.
When I had my 1977 Impala, I could change my plugs, check for vacuum failure, and open up the butterfly on the carburator on cold start days. I'd do my own oil changes, air filter, etc.
Those days are over.
Last time I did spark plugs was on my Honda Accord. Screwed it up so bad when it got fouled it needed to be drilled out. Never again.
Edited by crazy
Sept. 26, 2007, 10:47:24 PM EDT
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Post #293,712
9/26/07 10:30:35 PM
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Tsk Tsk
Wise woman say: always buy repair manual to car.
That way, at least you can read what is going on and not get completely and utterly screwed. It is the best $30 - $50 you will ever spend.
Oh, and second corollary: make friends with people who know how to fix cars.
Once in a great while, you will make a mistake, but you learn from them. Most of the time you will save yourself a buttload of money.
Try, try again sez I. (You can send me what you save :-D)
Smile,
Amy
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Post #293,805
9/28/07 12:26:04 AM
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But will you pay the amount he loses?
Remember whom you are talking about!
--
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Post #293,808
9/28/07 3:52:01 AM
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Good point :-)
Smile,
Amy
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Post #293,813
9/28/07 9:06:19 AM
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time to buy a 77 impala
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #293,817
9/28/07 9:14:09 AM
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*chortle*
Or a Grand Marquis Brougham (being sure to pronounce each syllable - old joke from when my brother was a car salesman) now there was a fine land yacht!
Smile,
Amy
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Post #293,818
9/28/07 9:17:10 AM
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if I could find a 78 I would be driving it
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #293,837
9/28/07 1:53:15 PM
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GMB was my brother's 1st car
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