Cars, Part III

sinsual · Post by **sinsual** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:01 am

UncleJoseph wrote: Is it a common modification to run dual ignition in a Ducati? I'm assuming you'd only ever run premium pump gas from the get-go, so you'd already be at the highest octane rating before the compression mod...interesting solution to run dual ignition...love to see some pics or data on the process as you go.

I have a lower compression 2 valve carburated engine that only calls for 89 octane from the factory. I don't have to run premium. and until the rings let go, never had a detonation issue. On a small displacement motor with a solid high output ignition, you can run higher compression with only a slight raise in octane. Since I plan on making this a track only bike, it will run WFO or off, so that lets me get away with a lower octane also since the engine will not get over heated.

Dual Plugging the older Air Cooled motors is a common aftermarket deal until the new DS engines came out, such as on the Hypermotard, Monster 1000, Sport Classic came out. Then Ducati built them with Dual Plug heads. A stock 900SS/CR like mine, stock, with stock compression and no ignition modifications other than swapping the stock coils for dual tower coils average a 10HP increase. With the higher compression, high output MSD drag race coils, the timing computer I have, I should be able to get that up to a 15-20HP increase. Then later down the road, with a set of custom ground cams for Drag Racing, it should be good for a 30hp total increase. A 50 shot of Nitrous should get me down into the 10 second range, IF I can find the gearing. Before the rings let go, I ran a 12.5second quarter with 2500rpm to go before I hit redline and the motor was still pulling like a freight train. Go up in the back, and I run 12.8 and hit redline about 100 feet before the lights.

Polishing the heads is about not removing any metal, just smoothing things out. The Eastwood items are not available at Harbor Freight, or I would buy them there. For your Audi, a simple polish will not yield much performance, especially since it is forced induction. Where a Polish would help you would be in association with a full valve job. Port, Polish, 5 angle plus cut, match porting the intake and exhaust, unshrouding the valves, etc.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 1:51 pm

Well we got it all put back together. Now to figure out what's wrong with the suspension system and how to fix it. Also now it's time to replace the brakes on my Malibu.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:58 pm

Serious Paul wrote:Well we got it all put back together. Now to figure out what's wrong with the suspension system and how to fix it.

Well, it was bad when the car was purchased. Seems not at all unlikely that it might still be bad.

The solution now, as then, is probably replacement. $750 or so, right, Joseph?

Serious Paul wrote:Also now it's time to replace the brakes on my Malibu.

At least that's easy.

That just takes some money, and not a lot of that.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:11 pm

3278 wrote:Well, it was bad when the car was purchased. Seems not at all unlikely that it might still be bad. The solution now, as then, is probably replacement. $750 or so, right, Joseph?

Dunno. I looked the suspension over last year, and didn't see any cracked or rotted bushings. But that doesn't meant the joints aren't bad. If one or more is bad, the rest are not far behind. It's very possible they need to be replaced...all of the control arm bushings and tie rod ends are only supposed to go 50,000 miles. I changed mine at 67,000 (they, and the struts were shot). I suppose a good test drive is in order. What, exactly, is the suspension doing?

A full front control arm set and new struts is a huge job, as I'm sure you recall. A front control arm kit for their car is about $400. New struts all the way around will run around $500-600 for a good, but basic, Bilstein kit like mine. A cheaper set can be had for about $400 and change.

Also, a full 4-wheel alignment will be needed after a suspension fix...add $100 or so to whatever you spend on parts for the alignment.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 11:49 am

Well, after careful consideration, I decided to change vehicles again. I started having additional problems with the Audi, none of which seemed to be something that could easily be diagnosed. I was getting random misfires. I changed the plugs and discovered that the ceramic insulator on plug #1 was cracked nearly from top to bottom. After the plug change, the misfire codes went away, but I was still getting occasional misfires. My ABS/TCS system also started randomly disengaging. Between those 2 problems and the constant vibration in the front end, I got tired of spending wads of cash & time trying to make the car 100% right.

I got lucky & found a dealer willing to give me enough money for it to pay it off, and worked a hell of a deal on a replacement vehicle. I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Toyota Tundra pick-up. While I'm not a truck guy, it seems I can't go more than a couple of weeks without having to borrow one. The Tundra seemed to be the best choice. It has all the best features of a truck, but gets better gas mileage than the Big 3 counterparts. Still, it's no driver's vehicle...what truck really is? But I'll be able to get a lot done on my house without having to hassle folks to borrow their trucks all the time. Plus, I'm hoping Toyota's legendary reliability applies to my vehicle.

I'm also hoping this will be the last vehicle I'll buy for quite some time.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:08 pm

UncleJoseph wrote:I'm also hoping this will be the last vehicle I'll buy for quite some time.

Dude you know I love you in a Platonic Fashion-sort of like how Rick James loved Charlie Murphy.

Cocaine is a hell of a drug...

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 12:12 am

UncleJoseph wrote:I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Toyota Tundra pick-up.

That's pretty sweet! I don't think I've ever been in one: they're supposed to be pretty awesome, in features and design. Lots of stability control and crash safety stuff, too.

Just remember: if it starts accelerating uncontrollably, just take it out of gear.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:07 pm

3278 wrote:Just remember: if it starts accelerating uncontrollably, just take it out of gear.

Supposedly, this truck has had all its recalls taken care of (the accelerator pedal included). However, our Toyota dealership is not the best dealership to work with. Their sales department is full of high-pressure sheisters, and their service department is happy to hose you on anything they can. I don't any of them. I'm considering driving up to G.R. and having them take a look at my truck to make sure everything is up to date.

My truck only came with one key and fob. My Toyota dealership wants $50 for a new key, and $50 to program the ignition to accept the key. If I want a new fob to go with the new key, it is an additional $150 for the fob, and another $50 to program the ignition to accept the fob. Highway robbery! I can buy the key and fob online for $70, but I'd still have to pay $100 at the dealership to have the ignition reprogrammed to accept them...and that's if my dealership is willing to use parts that I supply...

3278 · Post by **3278** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 3:27 pm

UncleJoseph wrote:Supposedly, this truck has had all its recalls taken care of (the accelerator pedal included). However, our Toyota dealership is not the best dealership to work with. Their sales department is full of high-pressure sheisters, and their service department is happy to hose you on anything they can. I don't any of them. I'm considering driving up to G.R. and having them take a look at my truck to make sure everything is up to date.

What I did with the Cherokee [and should do with the Wrangler, come to think of it] was email the VIN to Chrysler customer service, and they sent me back a full report on the car, including all the original options as well as which recall services had been done.

UncleJoseph wrote:My truck only came with one key and fob. My Toyota dealership wants $50 for a new key, and $50 to program the ignition to accept the key. If I want a new fob to go with the new key, it is an additional $150 for the fob, and another $50 to program the ignition to accept the fob. Highway robbery! I can buy the key and fob online for $70, but I'd still have to pay $100 at the dealership to have the ignition reprogrammed to accept them...and that's if my dealership is willing to use parts that I supply...

Those are figures I'm just not prepared to comprehend. You know, a new key for me is, whatever, 85 cents at Meijer. The downside is, anyone who wants to steal my car needs such advanced tools as a screwdriver to do so.

So there's a trade-off.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 3:33 pm

Yeah for my Malibu it's something similar to Uncle Joseph's costs. Our battery on the fob died, and they want something like 75 just to replace it. It's absurd.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:04 pm

UncleJoseph wrote:I can buy the key and fob online for $70, but I'd still have to pay $100 at the dealership to have the ignition reprogrammed to accept them...and that's if my dealership is willing to use parts that I supply...

Wait, can't you just buy the parts online, and program the ignition [and keyless entry] yourself?

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:02 pm

3278 wrote:Wait, can't you just buy the parts online, and program the ignition [and keyless entry] yourself?

Maybe, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Might be a Toyota-only interface. I can certainly get the parts.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:59 pm

I'm not sure about the Tundra specifically, but it usually works like retrieving the codes from my Cherokee without a code reader: a specific sequence of button presses inside the car puts the car into a mode where it'll take a new code [key or fob]. I think the key directions would be these, and the fob directions would be these, but obviously you'd want to double-check.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:05 am

3278 wrote:I'm not sure about the Tundra specifically, but it usually works like retrieving the codes from my Cherokee without a code reader: a specific sequence of button presses inside the car puts the car into a mode where it'll take a new code [key or fob]. I think the key directions would be these, and the fob directions would be these, but obviously you'd want to double-check.

Interesting...might be worth a shot. The only part I'm really concerned about, is that the tundra key is not like a normal car key. It is channel cut along both sides of the center of the key shaft, similar to an Audi/VW switchblade key. Not sure who has the equipment to grind that kind of key. But I could call the lock shops around here and find out, I suppose. At the very least, perhaps I can program a new fob.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 2:32 am

Yeah, not every place will have the machine to do an internal cut [or "laser cut"] key like that, but I suspect if you call around, there'll be locksmiths outside the dealership with the machine for it.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:17 pm

3278 wrote:Yeah, not every place will have the machine to do an internal cut [or "laser cut"] key like that, but I suspect if you call around, there'll be locksmiths outside the dealership with the machine for it.

Well I don't know what the hell I was thinking...the key is just a double-sided key like almost every other key out there...not sure why I was thinking it was the laser cut style. So any key shop can cut the key.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:54 am

Well I ordered 2 transponder keys and a used fob for $46, shipping included, from ebay. Now I'll just need to get the keys cut locally...I think one of my hardware stores can do it. And then I'll have to program the ignition to accept them. Hopefully all goes smoothly. Can't believe the dealership wants $350 to do that.

Now on to shopping for the new stereo system components...

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:15 pm

The Jeep dealership would likely charge me a half-hour's labor - $50 or more - for checking the codes on my YJ, despite the fact that all you do is turn the key on and off three times without starting it. They make some money off consumer ignorance; not all of it, but definitely some. The internet has taken the edge off that racket, though.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sun Dec 25, 2011 11:53 pm

Here's a question: driving fast on the interstate...

See, in town, I drive at the speed limit, but once I get on the interstate, I tend to go a bit fast. Any strategies from you long time drivers for not going to jail?

Jeff Hauze · Post by **Jeff Hauze** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 5:13 am

Leave early. No, that's not a joke. One of the biggest things that cut down on my constant highway speeding was realizing that I just assumed I could make it anywhere on time, regardless of how late I left. Now I've gone a bit overboard, and tend to show up everywhere way too early, but it still helped to adjust my schedule.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:09 pm

• Getting away with speeding means looking far ahead, knowing the likely places police will hide - "speed traps" - recognizing police in traffic, and so on. Learn the colors and patterns of the police in your area, and use factors unique to police cars to identify them at distance, so you have time to slow. Also learn what characteristics they likely won't have: police cars are typically well-maintained, and it's rare to see one with only one headlight, for instance.
• If you're driving fast, you need a broad situational awareness, anyway, to look far in every direction for possible hazards; while predicting what you'll need to do if one of these hazards arises [if this semi cuts me off, I'll need to get into the right-hand lane; if that light is a deer, I'll need to brake hard and get onto the shoulder], so while you're thinking about that, also be thinking about where police might be, and what to do if one appears at any given location.
• Radar detectors help, but you have to know how to use them: police don't just sit there with the gun on, so you need to be running behind someone you think the police will target.
• Running in a pack [or phalanx] or even just with one or two other people can allow you to distribute risks, taking turns leading and trailing; this is best done with strangers, so your buddies aren't effectively taking a hit for you.

Speeding is, as a rule, pretty foolish, though:
• It's rough on the car, not just because higher speeds mean much more wear, but because the constant brake-and-accelerate of dealing with moving through traffic is absolute hell on vehicles.
• The risk of accident increases dramatically [it should be noted it does this if you drive way too slow, too], and that means radically increasing the risk of fucking up someone else's entire life to get somewhere five minutes earlier or have slightly more fun. [Not that I'm judging; these are just the decisions we have to make when we choose to be irresponsible.]
• Driving becomes far more stressful [in traffic, most particularly] if you're trying to go faster than the general flow, as you're constantly frustrated and anticipating and trying to react as quickly as possible; my father actually had a measurable improvement in his blood pressure when he started driving the [empty] back roads rather than driving the [busy] expressways.
• It's far more expensive, as well, because of all that acceleration, and then wasted acceleration as you brake, and the extra fuel used to move more air out of the way to go faster.
• Accidents you do have are likely to be more severe, because as you raise Velocity, you raise Force.
• It buys you almost no time at all. I drive 55 in a 70 pretty often, and arrive places just a couple minutes after someone who passed me an hour ago. When you drive faster than the flow of traffic, you end up spending so much of your time waiting for piece of shit jackasses to fucking get the fuck out of the left lane so you can pass, that you just don't make that much time.

Your best bet is smooth and easy, the same speed the entire time you're on the expressway, going at or slightly below the general "flow" of traffic. The car you're driving isn't really equipped for high-speed driving, anyway: it's a danger to you and others.

BUT. There's are a lot of things you can do to mitigate your irresponsibility:
• You can drive on back roads, where there's much less traffic [and, chosen properly, virtually no police at all!].
• You can only choose to drive fast when there's not a lot of traffic, or when roads are empty.
• You can know your car and the road well enough to know when it's safe [a warm road is a good idea; good tires are a must].
• You can progressively drive faster and faster, practicing as you go, you can take classes, you can do drills, you can generally work to constantly improve your ability to drive quickly, safely.
• You can mitigate your speeding: 5 over isn't hardly considered speeding, and 10 over is generally both safe and tolerated. Once you start edging over those speeds, you're either in a place of irresponsibility, or one where you need to start using lots of judgment.

Driving fast selectively isn't a bad idea. It can even be a good idea, letting you learn the car better, learn how to drive better: for those pursuits, I have many good suggestions for eluding police. But daily just speeding to get places faster will just get you tickets and crashes.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 3:11 pm

Bonefish wrote:See, in town, I drive at the speed limit, but once I get on the interstate, I tend to go a bit fast. Any strategies from you long time drivers for not going to jail?

Use cruise control, if you have it. Otherwise, exercise good throttle discipline. Don't drive with a suspended license. If your license is suspended, get it reinstated as quickly as possible. Fines and costs associated with driving on a suspended license can quickly become a hole from which you can never escape.

While driving fast is fun and thrilling at times, both 32 and I can attest to circumstances in which we wished we hadn't been speeding. There are several instances I can recall that were very close to putting me 6-feet under. While I have lots of professional training and experience at driving fast, which gives me an edge over most drivers, that same training and experience has taught me that speed kills, or at the very least, injures. As 32 stated above, speeding generally doesn't save you much time and wastes fuel. If you do the math, speeding on short commutes to work and such will only save you a few seconds or /maybe/ a minute or two off your trip. This is even if you're speeding at 15-20 over the speed limit. Now, if you're on an 8-hour trip and you average 10 miles per hour faster than the speed limit, the same trip might take you an hour less. You're still breaking the law, of course, but at least the math makes more sense.

I don't recommend speeding for one simple reason: You cannot accurately predict what other, slower-moving traffic is going to do. Even with excellent situational awareness, other drivers cannot read your mind, and you cannot read their minds. People make tons of mistakes behind the wheel each and every time they drive. This is why we have so many accidents.

If you want to speed for the thrill of it, join a legitimate racing club. IIRC, your car is older, and is not built for any sort of performance, and had crappy tires when you got it. Brakes and tires are the 2 most important features of a car when driving in a performance manner. But that's for another discussion.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 1:13 am

Well, after a long, multi-day email discussion with 32, I finally decided to purchase a set of Polk Audio Mobile Monitor replacement speakers for my truck. Going to start with just a speaker swap for now, but an amplifier will follow this spring. Eventually, I plan on putting a new stereo unit in there too.

32 and I will need to fabricate custom speaker adapter brackets to fit the new speakers, but I have all the tools necessary to do that. An afternoon of dismantling, tracing, measuring, cutting and wiring should solve the speaker problem.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 2:36 am

UncleJoseph wrote:While driving fast is fun and thrilling at times, both 32 and I can attest to circumstances in which we wished we hadn't been speeding.

For example, I've spent several thousand dollars on speeding tickets. Lost my license two or three times. Can't work as a professional driver, ever, no matter how much I want to or how good I've been since. At one point, you could hit and kill a small child with your car, go home and take a nap and go out and hit another small child with your car, and still have fewer points on your license than I did.

There's a way to speed responsibly. If you're going to speed, do it that way. Don't be like me.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 2:46 pm

So basically, I just need to keep doing what I've been doing. During the regular work commute, it's speed limit, because I have a 15 minute drive, and I know traffic will be heavier. Driving around town, it's mostly the speed limit(and when i mean mostly, sometimes I'm under, and I accelerate slowly and over a longer period than most folks), because there is no point in speeding to get to another stoplight. But on longer road trips, like going to Greensboro, Statesville, Durham or Nashville, in between the cities, you get nice stretches of open highway with no one around you.

You know, riding in the car with my little "brother", I realized that letting me age a while before I got my license has made me, in my opinion, a better driver. I'm patient enough that I don't want to speed and weave through traffic, I'm not pushing my car as hard, etc. Ugh, i have to follow him on the interstate in about 30 minutes, this should be fun.

*Technically I'm not one with this lesson, but its coming.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:48 pm

Bonefish wrote:So basically, I just need to keep doing what I've been doing.

Sounds that way. Hell, a 15 minute drive, in traffic, it's definitely not worth doing anything other than just driving with the flow. But when you've got long distances, open roads, and clear sight lines? There's a way to do these things safely.

What kind of tires do you have, anyway? I mean, like, brand and model? I think you mentioned before they've still got good tread.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:05 pm

Very occasionally, I am the recipient of good luck, but it usually comes at the expense of some bad luck.

Today, I went to pick up some additional sheet aluminum for my airplane project. I got to the materials dealer and could not open my tailgate. This is the first time I've ever tried to open the tailgate. No matter what I tried, it would not open.

When I looked to purchase this truck, I immediately asked about the floor mats. The salesperson said, "Yes, it has all of them, they're stacked up on the back floorboard from when we cleaned the truck." I took him at his word and didn't look thoroughly. As the truck was coming up on an oil change, I inquired about that. "We do an oil change on every car we take on trade." Really? Never heard of such a thing, and there was no service sticker or paperwork indicating the oil had been changed. I also inquired about the tire pressure monitoring system, as the light was on. "That will be fixed before you take delivery of the vehicle.

So. I buy the truck and take delivery of it. Right when he's handing me the keys..."Oh by the way, I forgot to mention there is only one key and remote for this truck...it was traded in like that." Okay, I said, no big deal...I can get a new key and remote. However, there was no floor mat for the driver's side...not too big of a deal, since I planned on getting all weather floor mats at some point. And the tire pressure monitor was still on. I mentioned all these things and the sales person, after I already had keys in hand, simply said "Oh."

To make a long story short, they stuck me with a bunch of minor faults that were supposed to be taken care of. When I inquired about having them fixed, they did not even respond to the request. As in, they never even said they wouldn't take care of it. The salesperson started acting like I wasn't even there. A little miffed, I took my truck home. Fast forward to today when I couldn't open the tailgate.

I called the salesperson who sold me the truck and bitched him out. He said, "I wish you'd told me about all of these problems sooner." Really? I told him about them as soon as I took delivery of the truck. I told them I'd be going to the Toyota dealership & would send them the bill. He said, "I can't do anything today...the service manager is out until next week." He then said that he didn't know the tire pressure monitor hadn't been reset by the time I took delivery (liar...I brought it up to him as soon as I got the keys and got in the truck). So now he's going to call me Monday and let me know what he can do for me (my guess is they'll give me the middle finger)....funny since they were giving me shit about buying a Toyota from them and not a GMC (they're a GMC dealer). I said, "You're giving me crap about buying a truck from you only because it's a Toyota? If you have a problem with me buying a used Toyota, which has more USA parts in it than your GMCs, then why are you taking them on trade?"

Fast forward to my impromptu visit to the Toyota dealership. They got me in right away. They reset the TPS monitor, fixed the tailgate, cut and reprogrammed the new key blanks and remote I bought on ebay, all for $112. That's it...$112. They elected to charge me only $50 to reprogram all the keys & remote, instead of the $50 per item they usually charge. And then it was $62 to fix the tailgate and reset the TPS switch. WTF! Dealerships usually hose you. These guys were cheaper than going to my indy shop. So monday I'll fax the bill to the other dealer plus the receipt for the keys/remote, and hopefully get some reimbursement. I have a feeling I know how that's going to go. But it could have been a lot worse at the Toyota dealership. They've really changed my mind about dealership service...at least for this visit.

sinsual · Post by **sinsual** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:43 pm

• The risk of accident increases dramatically [it should be noted it does this if you drive way too slow, too], and that means radically increasing the risk of fucking up someone else's entire life to get somewhere five minutes earlier or have slightly more fun. [Not that I'm judging; these are just the decisions we have to make when we choose to be irresponsible.]

Ride a motorcycle.
I get to use the carpool lane, which generally is traveling as fast as advisably safe. For my commute, that works out to a 20-30 minute difference. Which means I have time to get and eat breakfast before my shift starts. I can also slice through traffic rather easily with out actually lane splitting/slipping between cars. I don't live in Californication so lane splitting is a big no-no as it carries extra fines. I have gone from my door to work only having to touch the brakes when I got to the surface streets and had to deal with stop lights.

As long as I keep the speed under 80, I average 50mpg. I can chose to either get dressed at home and wear my over gear, or I can pack my clothes in a garment bag and just use my locker at work to change. During the summer, I will also shower at work in the morning regardless of whether I go in the box or ride.

My insurance is 1/4 for an entire year than it is for the car, for the same amount of coverage. Maintenance runs about the same as long as I get sport touring tires for the bike and not straight sport or DOT Legal track day tires.

I can swap out the brake pads on the bike in half the time as the car. I can swap the clutch out in about an hour.

The downside is the valve adjustment. It is the one cost that can make the yearly maintenance equal. Fortunately, I can do my own valve adjustment, and its not an Audi

Edit, got the new renewal for the Bike Insurance, 1/4 of the car per year

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:10 am

Hey, so, Bone's having a problem with his Lumina that I can't figure. The other day he had to briefly push his car - not for mechanical reasons; it's fine - and ever since, his parking brake light is on. My first guess was that the pedal was just resting on the switch, but even if he pulls the release and lifts up on the pedal, it stays on.

Now, on some cars, a "Brake" light will indicate worn pads, but I don't believe the Lumina uses the Parking Brake light to signify anything other than the parking brake being on. Any ideas?

One other thing, Bone: if you look [by sticking your head down there] at the metal arm of the pedal, somewhere along its length, it should come close to a little switch that's actually what turns on that light. Can you confirm the pedal is not resting on that switch? It's possible something got a bit bent. Alternately, maybe the switch itself is stuck, which some finger-wiggling and knife-poking might fix.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:17 am

Bad switch or stuck brakes maybe? Not sure if he has rear disks or drums. One of my patrol cars had stuck rear brakes at one point. They stuck so badly after coming to a stop that I couldn't move. But I don't recall if the brake lights stayed on. Even if there's a mechanical malfunction at the brakes, however slight, I can't imagine this would have anything to do with the brake light switch...unless Luminas are strangely designed.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:28 am

Yeah, that's the weird thing: if the brake light were on, I'd totally assume it was an actual notification, but the parking brake light should only come on when the parking brake is on. Maybe the rear brakes stuck, pulling the cable taut, and thus pulling the pedal down to the switch?

Bone, does it drive the same as before, otherwise?

Bishop · Post by **Bishop** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:58 am

I thought the light came on for loss of pressure too, aka not enough fluid. ?

3278 · Post by **3278** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 3:01 pm

It is worth checking your brake fluid level, Bone; I think that's another one that usually goes on the Brake light and not the Parking Brake light, but it's worth covering your bases.

UncleJoseph · Post by **UncleJoseph** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:06 am

It's an early 90's W-body, right? My 1992 Regal GS showed a simple brake light when I had a hole in one of my front brake lines and lost hydraulic fluid. It didn't show the ABS light...just the regular brake indicator light, and not the parking brake light, IIRC.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:08 am

Wait, have I seriously not posted pictures of my new car? What the fuck?

My 1994 Jeep Wrangler YJ. We do have a hard top and doors, but I don't use them unless I'm forced to.

This has had an unfortunate effect on my speakers.

In warmer times.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 12:19 am

Traded my Wrangler for a Cherokee, which the owner is currently building for me. So we went from this

to this

in the span of a week. We've asked him to leave a fair amount of stuff off or uninstalled, since we're just going to be working on it ourselves. For example, we're not having him put the interior in, as we'll be installing Second Skin [sound damping] as soon as we can, anyway. We'll also be refinishing the exterior, to maintain that largely rust-free Frankenstein body, built from the best parts of at least four Cherokees. Eventually we'll put in a different lift kit, and new differentials, but for now it's more than capable enough for our needs, so we're going to focus on interior and exterior first. And you won't believe how we deal with the exterior.

Automatic, 4 liter in-line six, three inch lift, 30 inch tires. A really nice foundation on which to build. And all of it is rust-free, 100 percent functional, and has recently been re-assembled with anti-seize, so when time comes to do repair, it's about part replacement and not rust breaking.

sinsual · Post by **sinsual** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:28 am

Nice progress.

After waiting nearly 3 months for the top end gasket set to arrive...The new rings have been installed, Total Seal rocks by the way. Custom cut $120 and done in 3 days. Cleaned up the ports, got a decent polish out of it too. Filled the oil cooler with foaming Bore Cleaner...I mean seriously, carbon is carbon is carbon. Let it sit in the sun for an entire day to bake

Didn't take long for it to flush clean with water. New timing belts installed. All that is left is to fix an old oil seep at the bottom of the motor (which is why it is on its ass end in the photo), then put it back in the frame...

3278 · Post by **3278** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:00 pm

I don't know bikes well, so forgive me, but what am I looking at on the bottom, with the five what-look-like-valve-springs and the giant gear?

Salvation122 · Post by **Salvation122** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:56 am

I cannot believe 3278 is driving an automatic. Are you a 3278-shaped lizard man? I'm pretty sure you're a lizard man.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:40 pm

My last Cherokee was an auto, too. I actually prefer it, for offroading, because I do a lot of left-foot-braking when climbing obstacles, and that's not really practical with a manual. My Wrangler is a manual, and it's been pretty frustrating sometimes because of it; we specified an auto in our wishlist for the Cherokee.

Come to think of it, we almost completely filled our wishlist: auto, 4.0, manual locks and manual windows [so when we dunk the car, we can get out]. Now, if it were only all one color...

sinsual · Post by **sinsual** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:51 am

3278 wrote:I don't know bikes well, so forgive me, but what am I looking at on the bottom, with the five what-look-like-valve-springs and the giant gear?

That is a Dry-Clutch. It is what you hear when a Ducati rolls up next to you at a stoplight. Some people hate it, to them it sounds like marbles being shaken up in an empty paint can. Others love it. The big advantage is that your engine oil is not being used to keep the clutch cool. So no clutch contaminants in the oil, and no oil contaminants in the clutch. It also means if I want to run a solvent through the motor, I can without fear of ruining the clutch.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:14 am

Does that have a sequential gearbox? Do you have to clutch it, or can you just grab the next gear?

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:58 am

Got the Cherokee here. Still need to bleed the brakes - exciting two hour drive back - and replace the track bar on the axle side before it's really "driveable." Holy shit is it hot without an interior: lots of open holes through which hot engine air pours, lots of heat from the exhaust coming through the metal. We asked him to leave the interior out so we can put Damplifier Pro in, which will fix the heat, and quiet the Jeep a lot. Too bad I'm so poor, and that shit's so expensive...

sinsual · Post by **sinsual** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 3:22 pm

3278 wrote:Does that have a sequential gearbox? Do you have to clutch it, or can you just grab the next gear?

I would have to think real hard to come up with a motorcycle that does not have a sequential gear box.

You "can" speed shift, but after a while, something is going to break, whether it is the chain, a synchro, shift fork, gear teeth, input/output shaft, wheel hub etc...In essence, your locking up the drive train for a split second under full power as it slips from one gear to the next. Better to either barely pull in the clutch, roll off the throttle a little as you shift, or get one of the after market shift kits. The best one for the street is a kit that attaches to the shift lever. As you shift up, it momentarily kills the ignition, unloading the motor. However, your still only shifting as fast as your foot can move the lever. Racers run either electric solenoid shifters or air shifters where allowed.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sun Sep 09, 2012 5:35 pm

I can't believe clutches are still the standard on bikes. It seems like the bike would be able to do this better than the rider by now! I know they have them on cars, but they're usually appalling; I would have thought they'd be standard on bikes by now, though.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sun Sep 09, 2012 5:43 pm

Let's see, where we we? Oh yeah:

Got the trackbar out, and with Bishop's indispensable aid, get the outer bushing ring out of the eyelet, and a new bushing in. Next time, I'll use a poly bushing, which will slide in either side, with a sleeve down the middle, rather than metal-on-metal and hammering.

Discovered that the reason the brakes weren't engaging until just above the floor was because the builder had put a Gen 1 booster in, which has a shorter rod than a Gen 2 booster. [Gen 1 = 1984-1995, Gen 2 = 1997-2001. My body is Gen 1, my running gear is Gen 2, which is, ah, exciting.] Bishop and I swapped boosters and master cylinders, but I put one new bleeder in too hard and twisted it off. [After 3 times of the parts store getting me the wrong speed bleeder.]

We called that a day, and the next day I took the rear brakes apart to get the bleeder out of the wheel cylinder:

No bueno. So I'm ordering entirely new rear brakes - pads, shoes, hardware, wheel cylinders, the lot - and my daughter and I will put those in this week. Hopefully that'll put it on the road, but we're taking this one really slowly, and treating it more like a restoration project than a "buy and go" new car. In the meantime, I'm driving my father's Grand Prix, which isn't a bad ride itself, but probably would be pretty disappointing off-road.

And, just so you can see what I'm getting into:

The old one on the right, the new one on the left.

sinsual · Post by **sinsual** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:21 pm

3278 wrote:I can't believe clutches are still the standard on bikes. It seems like the bike would be able to do this better than the rider by now! I know they have them on cars, but they're usually appalling; I would have thought they'd be standard on bikes by now, though.

There are some automagic transmissioned bikes out there, but if you change the gearing with your sprockets, you change the shift points on the automagic trans, and not always for the better. They use CVT transmissions on Snowmobiles that are pretty sweet, but your limited in top speed.

The automagics also don't cope well with downshifting.

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:20 am

I'm going to be looking for a car around Tax time. I'd like something fuel efficient in a manual. I've gotten a good bit of practice driving trucks at work, and I'd like to try it. What would you recommend? I'm thinking my working funds will be between $1-2000.

3278 · Post by **3278** » Sun Oct 07, 2012 8:26 pm

Let me make sure I get what you're looking for: you want fuel-efficiency, and you're looking for a pickup truck, right? Is diesel an option? How big a truck are you thinking? Two- or four-door? Offroad-capable, or strictly on-road?

Bonefish · Post by **Bonefish** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 6:08 pm

I actually lean more towards a stationwagon. Diesel is acceptable. Off-road capability would not be disliked.