Cars, Part III

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:10 am

Accelerated a bit hard an popped the catalytic converter free of the front pipe, dropping the exhaust midway along. It's still attached at the muffler, but the front of the cat drags against the road. Ironically, this isn't the part of the exhaust that actually needed fixing. So it's spending the night in a parking lot, and tomorrow I'll go pop it all back into place.

Sounds unholy. Four liters of supernova. Wish I could keep it like this.

Liniah · Post by **Liniah** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:14 am

I took my car for inspection and emissions on Friday. I was worried that I would need a new windshield because I had a decent sized ding in it that happened since my last inspection. I had filled it with one of those crack repair kits that you can buy, but that only fixes the center part. This crack has lines going out from the center ding. Aside from that my brakes have felt funny lately, so I had a feeling there would be something to fix with those as well. Also, I decided it was time for a new fuel filter, in fact probably well past time, so I had them do that as well. My car had occasionally felt like it was bucking, so I mentioned that to them too. It was also time for an oil change & filter- this car, unlike my old car, requires the car to be jacked up to change the oil because of where the filter is and how damn low to the ground my car is so I don't change the oil myself.

Luckily, my windshield passed inspection! W00t! However, my fuel filter is apparently a more expensive one compared to a lot of other cars. And I was right about the brakes- I needed new front brakes and rotors. They didn't feel the car buck, so that turned into a non-issue. So, my grand total at the mechanic on Friday was $589.91 (after a $20 off coupon...heh).

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:29 am

Someone hit my driver's side mirror yesterday, probably while parking, and knocked it almost clean off. That's going to be another few hundred euro down the drain. I really wonder why people don't leave a note or something. I ain't mad at ya as long as you reimburse the damages!

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:02 pm

Wait, you have a car now? Or are you turning your bicycle into a spaccerchariot?

Kai · Post by **Kai** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:31 pm

My poor little Saturn is sitting at the mechanics while I attempt to price out the difference between rebuilding the engine or buying a used one because at it stands, bad rod.

Big Jim · Post by **Big Jim** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:03 pm

Kai wrote:My poor little Saturn is sitting at the mechanics while I attempt to price out the difference between rebuilding the engine or buying a used one because at it stands, bad rod.

Same thing happened to my Saturn last year. I ended up opting for a used engine, and it's served me well so far.

Liniah · Post by **Liniah** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:25 pm

Hey, my car is a Saturn too!

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:14 pm

Mental note: Avoid a Saturn.

Salvation122 · Post by **Salvation122** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:31 am

DV8 wrote:Mental note: Avoid a Saturn.

It won't be hard; Saturn was shuttered as part of the most recent GM not-bailout.

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:03 am

Salvation122 wrote:
DV8 wrote:Mental note: Avoid a Saturn.
It won't be hard; Saturn was shuttered as part of the most recent GM not-bailout.

That and the fact that they don't sell them here.

Big Jim · Post by **Big Jim** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:40 pm

But that just makes them exotic!

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:16 pm

Big Jim wrote:But that just makes them exotic!

Oh sure, because that's the first thing you think of when you spot this driving down the road;

Big Jim · Post by **Big Jim** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:37 pm

Wow, look at that! Exotic!

Kai · Post by **Kai** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:08 pm

Actually, Penske group bought Saturn, still alive and kicking, and its a 2002 SC2 with 160k on it that I got brand new for 17k with 0% interest. I'd get another at that deal

Liniah · Post by **Liniah** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 2:50 am

My Saturn is doing pretty well, I'd say. It's a '99 and has 130,000 miles on it. There's bound to be some work needed every now and then!

Mine looks very similar to this:

Lord Death Hand · Post by **Lord Death Hand** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:08 am

Very exotic.

Eva · Post by **Eva** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:58 am

Downright tropical.

Liniah · Post by **Liniah** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:57 am

Sheesh

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:16 am

Lord Death Hand wrote:Very exotic.

Eva wrote:Downright tropical.

Eva · Post by **Eva** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 4:32 pm

There are few things as nice as making people laugh. I love surrounding myself with people who laugh easily, or who I find are easy to make laugh. My mother. Sam. DFW. Erik. My boss. Good stuff.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 4:40 pm

Truth. Making my Mom, Eva and Dennis laugh is the best. Although my shining triumph so far has been making my dad laugh so much he went all wheezy and started crying - that was a good day.

Eva - DFW or DV8? ?!

Eva · Post by **Eva** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 5:32 pm

Nope, that wasn't a typo. His laugh isn't as good as [someone else's, who's not Dennis], but it's so much easier. I guess that's a perfect summary of the whole thing, actually!

EDIT: added a thing that totally screwed up the flow of the sentence, but substance > style, right? RIGHT?

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:16 am

I guess that's a perfect summary of the whole thing, actually!

Truth.

Salvation122 · Post by **Salvation122** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 6:15 am

So, question.

Recently, my car has occaisionally decided to just die in the middle of the road. This is, you know, disconcerting, although luckily it's summer and there's next to no traffic. It seems to happen only when I clutch - the tach just immediately bottoms out, the engine dies, and the "Check Engine" light comes on. I can start it right back up and it runs fine, but that's not, you know, good, and I'd hate for it to happen when I really need to accelerate.

In addition to it flat dying, there are also occasions where the tach is just erratic as shit when I clutch - drops below normal idle, then powers to above normal idle, then stabilizes or continues to ping-pong within a 1k RPM range. It may or may not be worth noting that over the past couple months there's been rather a lot more bass in the engine sound, but I'm pretty sure that something in my muffler got knocked loose by constantly bottoming out my car on the turn into my street (it's like a 40% grade on a two-foot ramp, there's no way an Eclipse can make it without bottoming out. Believe me, I've tried.)

The only thing I could think of that might do this would be some kind of weirdness with either the fuel sensor or the fuel pump itself, but I'm not terribly knowledgeable about cars. I also have negative dollars right now, so I'm really really hoping it's something I can fix myself, cheaply, without a hoist or weird specialty tools.

Salvation122 · Post by **Salvation122** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 6:38 am

[Double post.]

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:37 pm

Could be the fuel pump, fuel filter (very good possibility), the fuel injectors, bad spark plugs, etc.

I suspect it's more along the lines of the fuel pump/filter, since your problem is mostly noticeable at idle. When you push the accelerator, the greater fuel flow can compensate slightly for a blockage or uneven pressure in the lines. I'd start with a fuel filter, and run a couple cans of carb/injector cleaner through the tank.

My old Toyota did exactly this at idle (it was an automatic transmission)...I ended up trading it in before I could find out why it did this.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:56 pm

I currently have an aggravating issue with my Audi. When I accelerate, whether gently or aggressively, my car loses all power to the drive train very briefly, but violently. So violently, that I lurch forward in my seat when it happens. And then, just as quickly, power returns, and I'm accelerating away.

I think one or more of the coil packs are bad, but it could be that the transmission is having problems. More to come on this issue.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 1:16 pm

Sal, based solely on those symptoms, I'd say the most likely thing is the fuel filter; it's also the least expensive and easiest to replace, so it's a good place to start. If it's your fuel pump, you really need to be able to check the pressure at the fuel rail, and that's something a shop will need to do. So start with the fuel filter, and see what happens.

My suggestion: when you get the old filter off, open it up. Many of them are built in the same method as a metal can, and can actually be opened with a can opener; if yours isn't, just find a safe [read: spark-free!] way of getting it open to see what's in there. That'll help you know if it was really clogged, and will help tell you what had clogged it. If it's sand, watch where you're getting gas: I had sand-clogged filters over and over for months before I tracked down a local gas station whose tanks were leaking.

Of course, your problem could be something else, from head gasket to ECU, but those are less likely and would give you more symptoms. Is there anything else weird your car's been doing?

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 10:59 pm

It's worth pointing out that I've had a huge number of cars stall at idle like yours, Sal, and my solution for many years was just to brake with the left side of my foot and rev the gas a bit with the right side. Turns out this is actually a valuable performance driving skill, but I just learned it by driving shitty cars. The Jeep, damn it, has pedals too widely spaced to allow for this, so I have to left foot brake if I want to do this [which I've never needed to, thankfully], which is actually another useful performance driving skill.

Next week, Friday and Saturday, I have to finally replace the front pipe and catalytic converter, as well as the front shocks, so my daughter and I can go to the UP next Monday without dying. Seeing as how Uncle Joseph's now - whip-ass! - a detective, his schedule is unlikely to line up, and I won't work alone under a jacked-up car. I'm going to try to get Kurumatora [did I get that right?] to help out, or at least Paul to stand around being strong and ready to call the ambulance when the Jeep falls on me. Making this more exciting is the fact that no jack I own can lift the Jeep's wheels off the ground, making the job sort of impossible. Should be an exciting couple of days.

Speaking of which, I owe Joseph a few e-mails going back a month or so, so I should get on that, not to mention answering my favorite question in my question-answering thread. All this trip-planning and daughter-raising doesn't leave me much spare time!

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:21 pm

Back from the stealership:

70,000 mile service : $203.00

EDIT: This was basically a $203 oil change./EDIT

Re-time windshield wipers (they were hitting each other): $25.00

"Shop Fee:" 25.00

Grand total with tax: $268.22

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:02 pm

I forgot I was doing total repair costs in this thread. Here's today's:

Code: Select all

$ 5.99&#58; 100pc solderless electrical connector kit.
$ 5.49&#58; 20ft black primary wire.
$ 2.99&#58; 5ct 15 amp fuses.

While installing [improperly] my direct-connect MP3 interface in the Jeep, I blew a fuse, and bought the stuff to do it right. I also installed my old Infinity Kappa 5" speakers in the doors, a huge improvement from the old paper cones, which weren't even connected to the surrounds anymore. I considered installing my Kappa 6x9s in the doors, but I'd need to cut sheet metal, and until I can do it properly - install the Alpine amp from the BMW, Dynomat the door interiors - it's not worth it anyway. I also tried to install the CD player from the BMW, but I need parts I don't have to do it properly, so I'll leave it out until I get an iPhone and the Sony deck that it'll play through. So, a couple years, when my Verizon contract expires.

That's actually not the big bill for the day, though.

Code: Select all

$49.99&#58; Rancho RS5000 steering stablizer.
$95.98&#58; &#91;2&#93; Rancho RS5000 front shocks.
$83.99&#58; Oxygen sensor.
$ 6.99&#58; Exhaust gasket, header to front pipe.
$56.99&#58; Front pipe.
$ 1.99&#58; Exhaust gasket, front pipe to catalytic convertor.
$87.99&#58; Magnaflow catalytic converter...if Quadratec can pull their heads out of their asses and ship it.
$57.98&#58; &#91;2&#93; Liftgate support struts.
$91.68&#58; Shipping and handling, 2 day air.

This will fix the exhaust and hopefully resolve a persistent juddering when I hit just the right sort of bump at just the right speed. I also need to do the coil springs, but they require disassembling a fair portion of the suspension, or else a strut compressor like Joseph's, and I only have between now and Sunday to get this done. If the judder persists, we'll just drive slow and hope for the best.

This also gets us liftgate struts, so my daughter isn't condemned to a vacation of holding the gate up while I load and unload things. And so I don't have the gate hit me in the spine again.

The next step will be putting the Jeep on stands and removing the entire suspension and steering setup. Then I can do a [moderate] lift, clean and rust mitigate all the suspension parts that don't get replaced with the lift, install four new shocks [unfortunately, the Ranchos won't work with the lift, but that's why I bought cheap shocks like Ranchos anyway], and replace all the bushings with polyurethane ones, since the existing bushings are all original, and thus destroyed. I'll probably also lower the transfer case or get a slip yoke eliminator/shortened CV driveshaft, so my Jeep doesn't vibrate like Paul's brother's poorly-lifted Explorer.

This all requires a job, and one I can walk to, at that, since it'll take a couple of weeks. Hopefully, I can do it all before the snow comes.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 3:57 pm

Did my oil change today, at 206,990 miles. Bought some other supplies for the exhaust/suspension work I need to do before the trip, as well: they may not be the last, as I've realized I don't own any jacks high enough to lift the Jeep, or any stands high enough to support it once it's up. The exhaust I can do without raising it - plenty of room to work under there even without raising it - but the shocks will require jacks and stands; fortunately, Paul's brother has a Hi-Lift for his 6-in lifted Explorer, and the Paul's neighbor has another he lets me borrow when I'm off-roading.

Code: Select all

$37.98&#58; &#91;2&#93; gallons Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic Blend.
$ 6.29&#58; Fram Tough Guard oil filter.
$11.19&#58; Bar's Leak Rear Main Seal stop-leak.
$ 4.99&#58; 11oz PB Blaster penetrating oil.
$ 2.69&#58; 2 1/4 in exhaust clamp.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 10:44 pm

So I spent the week removing the old exhaust system. Updated prices to come, but in the end, I had to purchase a new muffler and rear pipe, and the hangars that go with them, because the work done previously was what I'd call amateurish; it was clearly done the way almost all exhaust is done, but "muffler monkeys" at a cheap muffler shop, who cut and weld everything, rather than using direct-fit parts.

One thing was holding me back: when removing the front pipe from the header, I didn't think to PB Blaster everything - not sure it'd have helped - and broke one of the studs off midway. The other stud was so rusted that I wasn't sure I'd be able to re-use it. So fuck, I was stuck. After driving to my parents' house to borrow a Dremel [to cut the stud off] and a punch and drill [to drill out the remainder], I stopped by Advance Auto to buy the remaining hangars. By chance, the guy at the counter recognized me and asked how the exhaust work was going; I told him, and he mentioned that Muffler Man had popped his studs out quick as you please for him. Nice. But I couldn't very well bring the Jeep to Greenville with no exhaust, so I decided to just go to a Muffler Man in GR.

This morning, I walked a mile down to the closest Muffler Man and asked them if they could extract the studs from my -- at which point the cashier interrupted me and told me I needed to talk to the technician. I went to talk to the technician, who wasn't doing anything because it was 0800 and they'd just opened, and over the blaring stereo, he told me he couldn't do that for me. I said, "REALLY?" He said, "why do you mrmfl brmble..." It's really helpful to mumble quietly when you're in a loud place. Dick. I explained the situation, and his story went from, "Can't do it," to, "$100."

Well, that's fucking ridiculous. It's 5 minutes of hoisting and getting tools around, and 10 seconds of work with a welder. Clearly, he just didn't want to do the job. Later I realized that like a lot of muffler monkeys, he works on commission, and he knew he'd make more money waiting for high-ticket problems to come, rather than waste his time helping me. Fuck him.

I walked back, looked up other local Muffler Man locations, and called the next closest one. They told me they could do it for $20, and for $10 they'd put new ones in. So I mounted the front pipe - the bare manifold empties close to the fuel lines - and drove it down there. [Having called a wrecker, who quoted me $100 for an 8-mile tow.] It took me a while to get serviced, but they did it, and all was well.

In the meantime, the owner had come in, and was chatting with me. He happened to ask what I was doing with the old exhaust, much of which [save for having been mounted by monkeys] was new and in good condition, and the rest of which was valuable catalytic convertor. [Platinum!] I told him I was scrapping it, along with my old BMW exhaust. He and the counter guy exchanged glances, did some mental math, and concluded, "We'll mount the rest of the exhaust for you for $40, plus the scrap." Fucking. Sold.

So now I have a new exhaust, Magnaflow stainless steel cat and Dynomax cat-back. It's mostly quiet; when I open the taps, it's not as loud as I'd like, but it's audible. And it's legal, and will probably outlast the rest of the Jeep.

Now, Uncle Joseph and I can spend tomorrow mounting new shocks, and a new steering stabilizer. And the rear hatch supports, thank heavens.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:01 am

Spent a few hours tracking down the leak in my windshield/headlight washer system today. I traced the leak to my driver's side headlight washer jet that pops up out of the top of the bumper. The module costs $115 to replace, and i have to remove the entire front bumper to do the repair (a 2-3 hour job, minimum).

Because I live in Michigan, and we suffer through plenty of snow and ice build up on our cars in winter, I'm kind of worried that the snow/ice will prevent the pop-up washer jets from working properly if I or someone else forgets to clear the snow from them. So, I'm considering putting line locks on the washer fluid hoses, and disconnecting the electrical leads from the pumps that actuate them.

Now, disconnecting things and such really isn't my style...I much prefer to simply fix the broken thing, and have the car working 100%. But, that part is expensive, and the repair is time-consuming. Although, disconnecting the system would also be time-consuming, but essentially free.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:34 pm

Several weeks ago (October 1, maybe?), 3278 and I tackled repairing my headlight washer nozzle after I had ordered the part. After tearing the entire system apart, we discovered that ECS Tuning sent the wrong part for my car. They were great to work with, and thanked me for discovering that the part they had specified for my car only worked with an Audi A6 with a V8 engine. Mine has a twin-turbo V6, and for some reason, requires a different washer nozzle.

Here's a pic of me holding the new part (on the right), and 3278 holding the part we had just spent hours removing from my car:

So we ended up plugging the hose at a quick-disconnect point, and disabling the headlight washer system. I was able to get the correct part from ECS Tuning, plus a $40 refund since the part I needed was cheaper. However once I got the correct part, I realized it was only the lower half of the nozzle. So the $80 I spent is only part of the equation. I think I'll wait 'til after winter to order the remaining piece, since I don't feel like tearing the whole front of the car apart again any time soon. It involved taking off both front wheels, unbolting the belly pan, peeling back the fender well liners, taking 6 hard-to-reach bumper bolts off, 2 additional bumper mounting bolts, and then being extra careful when you rip the whole front bumper off. You then have to disconnect the washer jet hoses, fog light connections and a few other things. Once that's done, the fun task of removing the washer jet assembly from the bumper cover begins.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:36 pm

Today, I finally repaired the cup holder trim piece in the Audi. Zero cost to repair it, since I had the Permatex 5-minute epoxy (awesome stuff, I highly recommend it if you need to glue anything plastic to anything else - I also used it to repair a crock pot). Took me about five minutes to complete the repair...a minute to mix the epoxy, and a few more minutes to clamp it into place until the epoxy set up.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:41 pm

I also tackled doing some body work on my 1997 VW Jetta, which 3278 and I will eventually convert into an electric car. My father generously purchased a replacement trunk and bumper cover for me from his local used VW parts dealer. Body parts are very expensive. It cost $200 for the complete trunk lid assembly (spoiler, lock mechanicals, lights, etc.) and bumper cover. But, the trunk lid was even the same color.

Took me 6 hours to transfer everything over from the old trunk lid to the new trunk lid and get it all functioning correctly. But the great thing is, now the Jetta doesn't look like it's been rear-ended, and there's no rust all over. I will say this, however: I much prefer engine and mechanical work to body work. I must have cussed the car out about 1,000 times trying to get everything done properly. this was mainly due to a lot of corrosion on the damaged trunk lid, which made everything much more difficult to unbolt.

Now all I have left to do are engine and transmission oil changes (so I can drive it as an internal combustion car until we're ready to convert it), and replace the parking brake cables so that it actually has a parking brake.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:29 am

did I ever tell you guys about Frankenstien, the wRx conversion me and a mate did? We took his old subaru outback sport, a wrecked wrx and alot of hard work, and made a GODDAMN MONSTER of a car? Great highlights include when the subaru's clutch was burnt in the first place, and the great act of trying to benmd a chrome-moly exhaust pipe into shape.

Lesson? You don't fuck with chrime moly.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 3:41 am

Bein' men and talkin' engines.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:34 pm

I've been dealing with a troublesome waggle in the rear end of the Jeep for a couple of months now, and I finally broke down and went to the tire shop. They popped the wheels off to balance them, and noticed what I'd have noticed if I'd spent 10 seconds looking: the belt had blown apart on one tire, and there was a huge hitch in the pattern, worn almost through. I have no idea how I drove with it for this long. It looks like I also bent the rim, either by driving with a blown belt, or in the original impact [which was some offroading my daughter and I were doing].

So I bought a used tire to tide me over - it's one size larger than the other three, which is a little weird, but doesn't seem to have caused a problem yet - until I can afford new tires, which will hopefully be here in the next month, before it snows too much. Total cost: $28. The new tires will only be about $340, and fortunately, this means I don't have to buy new rims. [Only $200 for Cragar Soft-8s, but I like the rims I have, thanksmuch.]

Salvation122 · Post by **Salvation122** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:36 am

UncleJoseph wrote:Several weeks ago (October 1, maybe?), 3278 and I tackled repairing my headlight washer nozzle after I had ordered the part. After tearing the entire system apart, we discovered that ECS Tuning sent the wrong part for my car. They were great to work with, and thanked me for discovering that the part they had specified for my car only worked with an Audi A6 with a V8 engine. Mine has a twin-turbo V6, and for some reason, requires a different washer nozzle.

Here's a pic of me holding the new part (on the right), and 3278 holding the part we had just spent hours removing from my car:

So we ended up plugging the hose at a quick-disconnect point, and disabling the headlight washer system. I was able to get the correct part from ECS Tuning, plus a $40 refund since the part I needed was cheaper. However once I got the correct part, I realized it was only the lower half of the nozzle. So the $80 I spent is only part of the equation. I think I'll wait 'til after winter to order the remaining piece, since I don't feel like tearing the whole front of the car apart again any time soon. It involved taking off both front wheels, unbolting the belly pan, peeling back the fender well liners, taking 6 hard-to-reach bumper bolts off, 2 additional bumper mounting bolts, and then being extra careful when you rip the whole front bumper off. You then have to disconnect the washer jet hoses, fog light connections and a few other things. Once that's done, the fun task of removing the washer jet assembly from the bumper cover begins.

Huh. I'd figured the Audi would be a unibody.

I also can't believe you're going through that much effort to repair a washer nozzle for your headlights. That's one of those things where I'd be like "Fuck it, they have squeegees at every gas station anyway." Hell, the windshield washing system for my car is basically completely non-functional and I've never even considered fixing it.

Then again my car is going to get scrapped the next time I have to pay more than $300 on it, so we've got different frames of reference.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:46 am

Salvation122 wrote:Huh. I'd figured the Audi would be a unibody.

It is.

Salvation122 wrote:I also can't believe you're going through that much effort to repair a washer nozzle for your headlights. That's one of those things where I'd be like "Fuck it, they have squeegees at every gas station anyway." Hell, the windshield washing system for my car is basically completely non-functional and I've never even considered fixing it.

I'm terribly picky about things not working on my car. However, now that the washer system is functioning properly without the headlight washers, I'm reluctant to fix them. The system uses a ton of fluid with the headlight washers connected. I would never order a car with them as an option, but they came standard on my A6, and I bought the car used anyway. Still, it's aggravating to have things not working properly, and I have 1/2 of the part to make it function...we'll see after it warms up.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:40 pm

Salvation122 wrote:Huh. I'd figured the Audi would be a unibody.

It is, but the front portion of the unibody mounts some removable bits that let you get into the front of the engine for maintenance without removing the engine, or even getting under the car. The repair instructions for half the Audi engine repairs start with, "Take off the bumper, take off the front frame rail." Clever, and saves effort in many cases, but raises it in others.

Salvation122 wrote:I also can't believe you're going through that much effort to repair a washer nozzle for your headlights.

Joseph made this same point, ironically, before we did the repair. He considers the washers to be an unnecessary luxury that he'd prefer not to have had, but I think there are some recommendations for them, if you live in an alpine environment. Well, I don't mean "alpine," as in, "of or pertaining to the Alps," I really mean, "where they use salt on the roads."

Salvation122 wrote:Hell, the windshield washing system for my car is basically completely non-functional and I've never even considered fixing it.

There's no floor on the driver's side of my Jeep, and I drove my BMW without a radiator fan for a couple of years, and I would never consider driving for more than a brief period without working windshield washers. Why the difference? Latitude, yo. We can't survive without working windshield washers here, between the salt spray and the ice buildup while you're driving. The same arguments apply to the headlight washers [which, indeed, automatically fire when you fire the windshield washer], which was my argument to Joseph at the time.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 4:04 pm

I think I either have a real problem with ly left front tire, or my brakes are grinding.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:11 pm

Serious Paul wrote:I think I either have a real problem with ly left front tire, or my brakes are grinding.

What are the symptoms?

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:00 pm

A loud grinding noise when I brake at low speeds, sometimes. Occasionally a loud grinding noise while braking when turning-all from the left side I think.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:05 pm

Serious Paul wrote:A loud grinding noise when I brake at low speeds, sometimes. Occasionally a loud grinding noise while braking when turning-all from the left side I think.

Low pitched or more like a squealing noise? Does the car pull to one side or the other if you press the brakes and take your hands of the steering wheel?

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 4:20 pm

Low pitched, like two stones grinding on each other. Uhm, I'll have to check on the second part of the question, I don't remember it pulling but I'll try to be sure.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:58 pm

Low-pitched grinding usually means you have a frozen calipers, usually. If one caliper is frozen, and the other is not, you will see uneven pad wear and possibly feel the car pulling to one side or the other during braking. This could be an expensive brake repair, but also just part of normal wear and tear if your mileage is getting up there. High-pitched grinding usually means your brake pads are worn too low...a cheaper fix, but probably not it. You may also have bad wheel bearings....sometimes cheap, sometimes expensive to fix.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:27 am

Yeah, I would guess you're probably down to the wear bars on one side, meaning almost out of pad material, but I'd have to drive it to be more sure. Probably just needs "a brake job." Comparatively cheap, an afternoon's work.