Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you have..

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toolman
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Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you have..

Post by toolman »

I asked spec to make this forum so that if there are any specific questions related to automotive repair I (and others) can offer some possible solutions, or at the very least steer ya in the right direction.

Personally I have been working on vehicles since the 80's. From a mechanical standpoint there is not much I don't know...but rest assured I have long out grown feeding people BS just to try to look smart....If I don't know I will say so. I am kind of anal about some things so please forgive me if I start saying things that you don't understand or if I go into extreme detail about things. When I work do work on other peoples cars I have the mindset that my own child will be driving it....while everyone around her is going 100 mph and texting.

Anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time.

Now for the things you can do to help me...help you.

Year, make, model of car. How many miles. When describing your problem try to be as detailed as possible and expect me to ask "type of conditions" that the problem is noticeable.

for example if you say your car goes clunk I'm going to ask does it clunk when you are stopping?? when you are taking off?? only in reverse?? clunk at 60 mph?? These are the things that narrow down the specific issue for me so I can send you in the right direction.

Pictures are worth a thousand words especially since chances are I will be calling a part of the car something that you have little to no idea about.

What is the cars primary use?? is this moms taxi?? is this a go to work hundred dollar beater??? A truck that you tow alot with??? this gives me an idea of how important it is to you and therefore your planned budget.

and finally a disclaimer...No I am not ASE certified. I could easily be if I wanted to take the test so I don't put much faith into those that are. I have made good part of my living building the machines that build those cars at the factory...a car is a VERY simple machine in my world.

Don't be afraid to ask any question no matter how stupid it may seem...and don't be afraid to do some work on it yourself. I can walk most people though the simple things.

If you are the type that knows zero about cars and own zero tools feel free to ask questions before/during and after taking your vehicle somewhere to get repairs. I can typically give you the kind of questions you can ask your mechanic and things to look for to make sure work is being done right.

Fire away 8-)
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by Beaver »

I got one for ya Timmy,

My car recently went through its M.O.T here in the uk and passed, but had a few advisory's. One of them is "Play in steering rack inner joint (s)"

How hard is that to fix? :P

The car is a Renault Clio 1999/2000
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by BoOn »

Beaver wrote:Renault Clio 1999/2000
AHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA...... just kidding , i have no idea what kind of car that is lol
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by toolman »

Beaver wrote:I got one for ya Timmy,

My car recently went through its M.O.T here in the uk and passed, but had a few advisory's. One of them is "Play in steering rack inner joint (s)"
How hard is that to fix? :P

The car is a Renault Clio 1999/2000
While I don't know that car specifically...it's a typical FWD (front wheel drive) car which uses rack and pinon steering. On the inside of your front tires you have what is called tie rods. They look like this
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the red part is your outer tie rod, there is a sleeve that it threads into, and the other end of the sleeve is your inner tie rod.

"play" is a relative term. your entire rack and pinon unit (that is what the inner tie rods thread/press/fit into) is held on by just a couple rubber bushings..those could be worn causing the entire piece shown here

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to move from side to side when you turn.....but that is not likely.

Inspect your tie rod end boots to see if they are dry. The rubber boot covers a joint that needs to be greased. typically excessive play comes from these rods being worn and therefore may need to be replaced, the inner tie rods on most vehicles is little more than a threaded rod that does not wear.
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by Nightstalker »

LMAO ... Tooly how many times have your got under your car/truck with a grease gun and someone ask the question. "Hey what are your doing?" And you give them the answer 1 "Tightening up the steering" or "givin g it an alignment" :lol: Beav could probably grease or "pack" as some say the bearings before the inspection and receive no comments. Given they have zerk fitting and not sealed bearings of course.

Good on ya Tool for the advise. ;)
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Post by C'mon Son »

I think most foreign cars have sealed bushings/joints. I had some steering wheel play on my Nissan Pathfinder and it ended up being a lower ball joint but it also made it wobble while I drove.
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Post by Beaver »

Ill probably take it to the garage when i got the mullah. Also got to replace front brake pads, an exhaust mount, and the rubber on my brake pedal. Edit, and a tire.
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Post by toolman »

I did laugh when you said a clio...I remember starting with one on Gran Turismo 3 on PS2 back in the day.


Beaver I suggest you take it to your mechanic and get a free written estimate. Once you get that list I would be happy to give ya a 2nd opinion about it. :D




Here is why...95% of repair shops are a rip off. Since a small percent of people actually know cars from a mechanical standpoint it is almost 2nd nature for places to "add in" additional repairs...or to charge very marked up prices. Car dealerships are usually a 50/50 of if they are good or not...but they will be more money almost always.

A great example:

Your driving down the road and suddenly you start getting white smoke from under the hood and your temp light comes on. You turn it off and call a tow truck to get car. Mechanic tells you later that day that you blew up the water pump and it will be $600.00 to repair it.

Sound like a fair deal???


Unless you drive a Fiero or some other vehicle that is somewhat odd that is probably way too high of a price. A water pump is "typically" less than 50 bucks and can usually be replaced in a few hours. It's a item that will normally last 100,000 -150,000 miles depending on design but will fail eventually. They even have a "built in" hole in the bottom so that when the bearing start to fail (and it will) anti-freeze will seep out the bottom and drip a little.

I cannot stress enough how having a good, honest mechanic is like having a good doctor. You can save yourself bunch of cash and a bunch of headaches.
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by Sarge 1/68th Armor »

And lets just see who knows the name of that little ol' hole in the pump....
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Post by Nightstalker »

What is a weep hole Alex ... I'll take more stupid questions from Sarge for 800 please.
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by Sarge 1/68th Armor »

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: LMFAO :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Not even a Daily Double :cry:
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Post by Pinhead »

ok fellas i have one for u i have been working on a 1985 volkswagon quantum heres the problem. Start it up run it for 3 minutes shut it off and it wont start again for about 25 minutes ok with that said start it up u can drive it for an hour straight with out shutting it off but when u do it wont start again for about 25 minutes but u can push start it and it will start. I had to hot wire the fuel pump just to get it to run and i did try a new fuel pump and same thing i have changed the ignition module, ignition control module, computer, pickup in the distributer, fuel pump, coil, spark plugs, dist. cap, dist. rotor, plug wires, fuel pump relay. When i started on the car i had to change the crank pulley because the built in keyway broke and it jumped time so new timing belt and crank pulley and reset the timing and i cant think of anything alse i have tried but now im at a guess u would say a stand still with this thing and suggestions would be greatly appreciated



thx
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Post by Sarge 1/68th Armor »

Being a Chevy man There was a problem when the starter was getting old and heat effected it. You had to let it cool down. I am not to familiar with your system. If you can push start it then I would look to the starter solenoid, wiring to it or starter itself. Are you getting a click when you turn the ing. on? The old trick for an old starter. Take a hammer to it, may free it up.
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Post by Pinhead »

the starter turns just fine on the thing it just wont start but like i said if u push start it will start
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Post by toolman »

Pinhead33 wrote:the starter turns just fine on the thing it just wont start but like i said if u push start it will start
based on what you said sarge gives the common accurate advice I would have given.....so then I assume that once you start the vehicle then it takes 25 minutes to re-start...unless you pop the clutch correct?? The engine turns over but does not continue running...and you have at least tried the other obvious items with fuel and spark.

I will submit that the problem lies in your clutch or ignition (key from starter switch ignition) and is not allowing the engine to say "go" because somewhere in those lines is the error/fault/short type thing.
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Post by ryeontherocks »

Hey Tool
I have a question for ya i have an 1984 300D Mercedes that is in almost perfect condition but is in need of a tune up when i have time. Do you know anything about diesels? for example its a little slow off the start and to compensate should i try one of these??

http://www.gfchips.com/mercedes300d.aspx

I am a little nervous to try anything more than bringing it back to original, do you think its a good idea or should i leave good enough a loan?

Ps i am ok in doing major tune ups my bro has rebuilt several chev and ford motors, so i have access to a pretty good skill level.
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Post by toolman »

I don't know alot about diesels as I have never worked on one....but understand how they work and differences.

My opinion is that you just try to get it back to original condition first with a tune-up. Funny thing is that outside of a air filter I'm not sure how you would "tune up" a diesel. It uses glow plugs to start then uses the compression in the engine chamber to ignite the fuel once it's running.

Personally I would do a little more research on that particular model diesel online. With it being a 80's vehicle it's possible that it's not a computer controlled engine although I could be wrong.

why do you think it needs a tune up?? no power?? sluggish??? how many miles are on it??
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Post by Nightstalker »

LOL .. Tool is right, there is not much to those at all. Has it been running on veggie oil??? Those were/are great cars to convert to veggie. In all honesty all we ever did to diesels was change the air and fuel filters outside of normal oil changes. If you have never changed the fuel filter do it. You may be surprised how restricted it is. Worst case scenerio aside from needing a complete overhaul is you have an injector or injector pump going out or the turbo fins on the exhaust side are worn out causing it not to spool up fast enough or at all.

You said it is slow off the start. Compared to what??? Other 300d's (thats some big titties :D )

Now go change your fuel filters. Hell add a can of Seafoam to the gas tank while your at it. ;)
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Post by ryeontherocks »

Thanks Tool and night, i really agree with both of you guys phylosophy i read some reviews on the chip on vw cars and its said dont waste your money, only really considering it because its not a turbo.

I don't use biodiesel or vegg oil buts its kinda cool to know that i can just go in my kitchen and add straight veggy oil and it would run....mythbusters even did an episode on it...2 mpg less is about all the diff along with it smelling like french fries.---this thing even uses home fuel if i wanted. uhmm at half price.

just so you know its not a turbo, just a plain motor with 260000 km (160000miles) the problem is i got it last year and i dont know what was done to it motor wise, and i really don't know what to compare it too. it seems pretty good for an old diesel but i am just looking to improve it a little, and a little preventative stuff while i am at it.

My understanding is That diesel motors are really all about compression and i am planning to do a valve adjustment when i have a little time and make sure that the motor is in good shape but i really don't think its that bad. I added alittle gas and cetane and it does make a difference but maybe i will try the seafoam as well when i am going out for a cruise.

If you have the patience with these cars they are alot more cool than i first thought really its a great car and i am having fun tinkering with it.

Again thanks guys if you dont mind i still might need some help later on when i have more time to mess around.

btw.. going down hill its got really good peep..lmao...maybe its the spark plugs... ;)
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Post by Sarge 1/68th Armor »

Ok there homo its my turn. ;)
My Suburban has the 350 mated to the 4L80E monster. I am rated stock to pull 10,000 lbs. I was going to rebuild the 350 keep it stock, change out to the Eddlebrock Preformer manifold and maybe the RV cam. My other option is to make the 350 into the 383 Stroker using the SB 400's crank and rods, or would you consider just putting the 400 in its place. The Stoker would produce more torque though and thats what I would be happy with. There is always upgrading to the 454, but with gas prices it would be just like Nightstalker......it would suck bad..... :lol:

Tdog don't even read my post. There is no pokeman listed here :o
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Post by Nightstalker »

Then go with the 454 if its more like me ... :D
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by Sarge 1/68th Armor »

Is it offered with a six pack or keg option. ;) I also just changed the oil to 20-50. I'm picking up 6000 lbs trailer tommorow down in Vegas 400 miles R/T of 108 degrees...frick...
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Post by ryeontherocks »

Sarge wrote:Ok there homo its my turn. ;)
My Suburban has the 350 mated to the 4L80E monster. I am rated stock to pull 10,000 lbs. I was going to rebuild the 350 keep it stock, change out to the Eddlebrock Preformer manifold and maybe the RV cam. My other option is to make the 350 into the 383 Stroker using the SB 400's crank and rods, or would you consider just putting the 400 in its place. The Stoker would produce more torque though and thats what I would be happy with. There is always upgrading to the 454, but with gas prices it would be just like Nightstalker......it would suck bad..... :lol:

Tdog don't even read my post. There is no pokeman listed here :o

Homo?? I assume your talking about knight :18:

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Post by Nightstalker »

Actually this is Tool's thread so there is no way he is talking to me. I am sure Tool will give you an answer here soon.

20w50 ... I never ran that in the old Burban. Yours must be leaking ;)
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Re: Allow me to offer my experience to any questions you hav

Post by Sarge 1/68th Armor »

You wish I was leaking, stop looking at your penis. I'm running 50 for the heat. My girl gets 20/40 all the time. 234,000 miles and no leaks, she just sweats.
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