On 8/29/2015 7:28 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 01:01 PM, Don Y wrote:
While looking at cars, recently, I'd routinely pop the hood to check to
see what sort of maintenance hassles I would likely encounter. If I
couldn't *find* something (e.g., the first vehicle I looked at had
electric power steering -- "Where's the power steering reservoir?"), I'd
ask the salesman.

Man after my own heart...

shrug Growing up, it was just something you *did* to keep *your*
car on the road. What teenager can afford "service visits"??

Talk about dumb-as-a-post... none of them knew the least bit about what's
under the hood. They were more interested in how many *seats* it had or
how fancy the sound system, etc.

I had a 2007 Yaris that suffered death by snowplow in 2011.

Ha! Sounds like Boston in the late 70's (78?). Parking on the street
is a hazzard!

I liked it so I didn't bother shopping around and just went back for another
one. The salesman was trying to show me the features of the car and not
doing a good job. Finally I just said 'I've been driving an essentially
identical car for the last three years. Let's just go back to your office
and get this done.' That was fun too. I told him I was paying cash but he
just couldn't help going off on his pre-programmed financing spiel.

When we bought our recent vehicle, it was almost insulting to
hear how caught up they'd get on "what can you afford", "how will
you be paying", "will you have a trade-in", etc.

"We can buy any car on the lot, CASH. Now, do you want to *sell*
us a car? Or, do you want to keep to your script??"

I think what was under the hood was safe from that guy. I had to show him
how to open the hatchback and that's strictly turn the key and push.

Prior to visiting each dealership, I'd research the vehicle(s) we wanted
to consider, download their owner's manuals, etc. I don't want to
rely on "them" to misinform me!

On 8/28/2015 8:25 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 08/28/2015 03:41 PM, Roy wrote:
I have heard of this rip-off before but they don't allow you
in their shops anymore so we don't know what they do in there.

I know exactly what happens for my oil changes. I pull into the
driveway, put a pan under the engine, and remove the drain plug. While
it's draining, I get out 4 quarts of oil and a filter. When the oil is
drained, I remove the filter, being careful not to drop it into the pan
of old oil. Screw a new filter on, replace the plug, and refill the
engine. Start it up to check for leaks, then turn it off and recheck the
oil level adding a little more if needed. Reset the check engine light,
record the mileage in the maintenance book, and I'm good to go. It takes
almost a half hour if I get distracted.

Oh yeah, and while I'm on the ground removing the plug, I check to make
sure there are no dead skunks caught in the suspension and so forth.

Also, it's usually faster than taking it to a place where they will do a
proper oil change with a proper filter.

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 19:57:42 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

Yeah, I've got a dwell tach, timing light, and vacuum/pressure gauge
that are getting really lonely.

light bulb I keep forgetting to put those relics in our garage
sales

On 8/30/2015 1:50 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 19:57:42 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

Yeah, I've got a dwell tach, timing light, and vacuum/pressure gauge
that are getting really lonely.

light bulb I keep forgetting to put those relics in our garage
sales


You'd probably get many times more bucks at an auto swap meet. Most
people under 50 have no idea what they are.

On Sun, 30 Aug 2015 15:37:41 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 8/30/2015 1:50 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 19:57:42 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

Yeah, I've got a dwell tach, timing light, and vacuum/pressure gauge
that are getting really lonely.

light bulb I keep forgetting to put those relics in our garage
sales


You'd probably get many times more bucks at an auto swap meet. Most
people under 50 have no idea what they are.

Perhaps so, but many of the older guys may have a drawer full. I do
plan to keep my compression test gauge set (for small engines).

On Fri, 28 Aug 2015 20:42:01 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 8/28/2015 8:25 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 08/28/2015 03:41 PM, Roy wrote:
I have heard of this rip-off before but they don't allow you
in their shops anymore so we don't know what they do in there.

I know exactly what happens for my oil changes. I pull into the driveway, put a
pan under the engine, and remove the drain plug. While it's draining, I get out
4 quarts of oil and a filter. When the oil is drained, I remove the filter,
being careful not to drop it into the pan of old oil. Screw a new filter on,
replace the plug, and refill the engine. Start it up to check for leaks, then
turn it off and recheck the oil level adding a little more if needed. Reset the

If you fill the filter with oil before screwing it on, you won't have to add,
later. I've found that you can get a *lot* of oil into a DRY filter -- even
if the filter is mounted "opening down" (e.g., like on Subaru's). The
filter pleats capture and hold the oil (even if you can't *completely* fill
the filter due to risk of it running out while you are screwing it on.
"Wetting" the O-ring on the filter with a bit of fresh oil also helps
improve the seal to the block.

I've a box of surgical gloves that I *never* remember to wear (just one
hand) until after I've finished. On those times when I do, it makes it
a lot easier to clean up (put the used filter *in* the glove after
taking the glove off so it doesn't leak oil unexpectedly).

check engine light, record the mileage in the maintenance book, and I'm good to
go. It takes almost a half hour if I get distracted.

I add all the other ancillary "checks" at the same time:
- power steering fluid (on cars that have PS pumps)
- brake fluid
- windshield washer fluid
- coolant level
- specific gravity of each battery cell
- check CV boots
- run my finger along the rotors to check if they're getting "grooved"
- lubricate door/hood/trunk locks
- cursory examination of the vehicle's undercarriage

Afterwards, I give a cursory examination of the waste oil -- looking for
other fluids (none!), metal chips, etc.

It's still a 30 minute job. And, you KNOW the oil got changed, the drain
plug *did* get reinstalled, etc.

Oh yeah, and while I'm on the ground removing the plug, I check to make sure
there are no dead skunks caught in the suspension and so forth.
If you know how much oil the vehicle takes with a filter change you
never need to add oil either. My truck holds 5 US quarts (4.73
Liters, or 1 imperial gallon)) with the standard filter, and 4.5
liters with the shorty filter.

I just pour in the proper amount of oil, and start the engine.

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 08:53:40 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 8/29/2015 4:49 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:

I think it's a good idea to get under, and write the
oil change date on the oil filter, permanant marker.
That way you can tell if they did the work, by the
color of the oil and the date on the filter.

One friend of mine in South Carolina had one of those
oil non-changes. He wasn't pleased.

My uncle had a "forgot to tighten the drain plug" experience.
Engine seized up on the way home. He was anything *but*
pleased!
Not to mention situations like when the Toyota Tercel first came out
and lube shop drained the transmission instead of the engine, then
added 4 quarts of oil to the already full engine. Car was low on
power and smoked badly - transmission was shot by the time the
customer got to our dealership to complain. We had several variations
of that situation in the first year- - - - .

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

On 8/28/2015 10:25 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 08/28/2015 03:41 PM, Roy wrote:
I have heard of this rip-off before but they don't allow you
in their shops anymore so we don't know what they do in there.

I know exactly what happens for my oil changes. I pull into the
driveway, put a pan under the engine, and remove the drain plug. While
it's draining, I get out 4 quarts of oil and a filter. When the oil is
drained, I remove the filter, being careful not to drop it into the pan
of old oil. Screw a new filter on, replace the plug, and refill the
engine. Start it up to check for leaks, then turn it off and recheck the
oil level adding a little more if needed. Reset the check engine light,
record the mileage in the maintenance book, and I'm good to go. It takes
almost a half hour if I get distracted.

Oh yeah, and while I'm on the ground removing the plug, I check to make
sure there are no dead skunks caught in the suspension and so forth.

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

I've heard that older vehicles are held together by the old oil and if
you change it the motor thinks the world is coming to an end and won't
start any more.
That only happens on "terminally neglected" engines.

On 8/30/2015 1:22 PM, wrote:

If you know how much oil the vehicle takes with a filter change you
never need to add oil either. My truck holds 5 US quarts (4.73
Liters, or 1 imperial gallon)) with the standard filter, and 4.5
liters with the shorty filter.

I just pour in the proper amount of oil, and start the engine.

Yes. We buy the oil in 5q containers with the "gauge" on the side
and just pour out what the car will take. But, putting it all in
the engine results in at least a pint "high" -- the oil that would
have to get *pushed* into the filter.

It's relatively easy (and better for the engine) to just fill
the filter from that same premeasured batch.

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:18:30 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

What do you mean by "oil filter adapter"? Is this some after market
oil cooler, similar or looks like a radiator coil?

There are after market add-on coolers for oil and transmission fluids.
Likely used in vehicles doing some heavier hauling, pulling boats or
trailers in mountainous regions.
Standard equipment oil to coolant oil coolers on MANY vehicles today
use an "oil filter adapter"

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:22:59 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:54:35 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 08/29/2015 09:17 AM, Oren wrote:
Been doing this since I was a teen. Filling the filter gets oil to
the crank bearings much faster. Good idea on older high mileage
engines. Rubbing oil on the filter O-ring also prevents the
possibility of the rubber binding and perhaps not sealing.

And if you follow the tightening instructions, unlike the teenage
Godzilla at QuickyLube, you might even be able to get the damn thing off
without a lot of drama at the next oil chance.

Yep. Some clowns think a filter has to be torqued down. Snug and a
nudge tight works for me
Usual instruction is 1/4 turn past first contact.
Usual lubeshop practice is 1/4 turn past "tight".

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 12:16:41 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 12:03:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 08/29/2015 10:47 AM, Muggles wrote:
I've heard that older vehicles are held together by the old oil and if
you change it the motor thinks the world is coming to an end and won't
start any more.

how old is old? Back before detergent oil you definitely didn't want to
stir the **** up. Back when you adjusted valve clearance, I've pulled
valve covers to find what looked like a thick coating of grease.
suddenly introducing them to detergent oil wasn't a good idea. I think
that's where the paranoia about going from dino to synthetic came from.


Remember "bulk oil" in the glass jars, filled with recycled oil? 15
cents a quart


Not recycled oil back then. Sometimes it was inferior oil - but when I
worked at the service station we still had the bulk tank and the glass
jars - and the bulk tank was filled with the top quality havoline
engine oil, just like the bulk grease dispenser had the top-line
Marfak grease. Exactly the same stuff that came prepackaged, but at
about half the cost.
eBay:

https://tinyurl.com/n9kct9b

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 13:08:27 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 1:57:04 PM UTC-5, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 00:14:01 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Fri, 28 Aug 2015 10:07:49 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 28 Aug 2015 12:57:14 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

-old (140K miles) Chrysler and doing oil changes at about
4000 miles. The owner's manual doesn't mention synthetic lubricants but
specifies a time period after which oil should be changed -- "x miles
or x months, whichever comes first."

I've never understood the "x months" thing. If the car is not being
driven, except on Sunday, why change the oil until the "x mileage" is
reached?

If you take a lot of short trips the oil can get contaminated with
moisture as it is not heated up enough to get rid of it. Over time
things can start to gum up, I'm told, thus the 6 month recommendation.
My wife's car used to be changed once a year. She never hit the miles
mark.

Makes sense. In the Mojave desert summers, it doesn't take much to
bring the engine temperature up, but I see the point of longer runs.

I'd take my vehicles out on the interstate for exercise on a regular basis and blow them out. I'd make several full throttle runs to burn the carbon off the plugs until the engine ran more smoothly. Even a horse needs exercise. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Car Monster
Referred to around here as a "polish tune-up"

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 14:49:16 -0600, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 8/29/2015 4:08 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:


I'd take my vehicles out on the interstate for exercise on a regular
basis and blow them out. I'd make several full throttle runs to burn
the carbon off the plugs until the engine ran more smoothly. Even a
horse needs exercise. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Car Monster


Yeah, wasn't 1960 a great year? Clean the p lugs at 5000 miles and
replace them at 10 thousand. Now you can easily go 100,000 on a plug.

Moving back little more, carb. and point and rotor cap time.
Adjusting dwell and timing with strobe light. Back little further
wrestling with generators, electro-mechanical regulators....
playing with carb. floats, tweaking mixture adj. screw, etc.
Today's cars are running much hotter than olden days. (more efficient)
Actually, they are running at the same temperature as in the
seventies - possibly cooler. In the seventies we ran 195 stats most of
the time. Today's engines rin 190-195.

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 13:58:07 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 2:47:43 PM UTC-5, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 12:31:13 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

Years ago, I had a K car with the 2.2Ltr 4cyl which had some miles on it and some gunk had built up in the engine. I drained the oil and with the valve cover off, I used a parts cleaning brush and diesel fuel to clean the valve train. I then poured a gallon of diesel into the crankcase by pouring it over the valve train washing the rest of the gunk down through the drain holes in the head. After getting the diesel in the crankcase, I took a 1/4" plastic air line and threaded it through the drain holes in the head until it got into the oil pan. The air line was then connected to an air compressor and the air turned on to cause the diesel to splash around in the crankcase to dissolve the gunk. I drained the crankcase and repeated the cleaning. After cleaning and reinstalling the valve cover, I installed a new oil filter then substituted a quart of Rislone for one quart of the new high detergent oil in the crankcase. I ran the car for several hundred miles and the oil was fairly
clear
when I checked it. The little engine stayed clean and the oil wasn't that dirty when changed at 5,000 miles. I never had a problem with the engine which was still running quietly when I sold the car. ^_^

http://rislone.com/product/engine-treatment/

[8~{} Uncle Oil Monster

Way back in the Swamp Billy days, when the engine was a quart low on
oil -- we'd add a quart of kerosene to the oil. Run the car on the
road until the hydraulic lifters and push rods stopped making a
racket, cleared them of debris. Drain the oil and put in new oil.

A quart of ATF in the gas tank cleaned moisture from the fuel, lines,
fuel filter and carburetor.

Of course, then we played with dynamite as children

Yea, I used to make my own bombs when I lived out on the farm. The ATF worked better in the crankcase than kerosene and alcohol got the water out of the gas tank. I suppose the ATF worked as a top cylinder lube to help clean deposits out of the fuel system, off the valves and out of the cylinders but I didn't often add it to the gas tank. I'd use the stuff made for the purpose. I do remember using a product I bought from the auto supply house that was like syrup and it was made to be slowly poured into the carb while the engine was revved and you poured it until the engine stalled out. You let it soak for a while then cranked the engine and revved it until it ran smoothly while sending huge clouds of smoke out the tailpipe. This was in the years before cars had catalytic converters and oxygen sensors. Dammit, cars used to be a lot easier to work on. o_O

[8~{} Uncle Carbon Monster
They had to be - because you were ALWAYS working on them.

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 14:15:24 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 3:20:25 PM UTC-5, danny burstein wrote:
In Uncle Monster writes:

I'd take my vehicles out on the interstate for exercise on a regular basis and blow them out. I'd make several full throttle runs to burn the carbon off the plugs until the engine ran more smoothly. Even a horse needs exercise. ^_^

Don't forget filling them up with leaded gas to help replate
the pistons...
--
__________________________________________________ ___

The lead not only raised the octane but it lubricated the valve sealing surfaces. When all gasoline became lead free, the exhaust valve seats deteriorated on the older engines not designed for lead free gasoline. If you rebuild an older engine, you must get the heads modified with Stellite valve seats to cope with unleaded gasoline or always use a gasoline additive made to lubricate the valve seats. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Valve Monster
$tellite or induction hardened seats were used with leadfree
gasoline. A secret for keeping old original engines running with
leadfree gas is to put as little as 1 guart of AvGas in the tank every
5 or 10 tanks of fuel. That's all it takes.

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 15:10:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 8/29/2015 2:37 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:56:57 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 8/29/2015 10:54 AM, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 09:17 AM, Oren wrote:
Been doing this since I was a teen. Filling the filter gets oil to
the crank bearings much faster. Good idea on older high mileage
engines. Rubbing oil on the filter O-ring also prevents the
possibility of the rubber binding and perhaps not sealing.

And if you follow the tightening instructions, unlike the teenage Godzilla at
QuickyLube, you might even be able to get the damn thing off without a lot of
drama at the next oil chance.

Note that the criteria for tightening an oil filter are *objective*;
wait for contact/resistance then go 1/4 turn. None of this
"hand tighten" nonsense!

OTOH, a film of oil on the filter makes even *that* difficult!

Bah. I have never used a filter wrench to tighten a filter. Done it

Filter wrench is a Bad Idea. Way too easy for you to overtighten
the filter and end up with big-time problems when it comes time
to remove/replace it!

by hand. Snug it up to the block, a little effort to nudge it tight.
1/4 turn is that's what it took. Red shop rags gave me the grip
needed.

These little (small diameter) filters are a lot harder to wrap
an aging hand around *and* hold tight.
Pay a bit more and buy "hastings" filters - they have a nut on the
end so you use a regular wrench to remove them. You can pay a LOT more
and get the same filter with the K&N name on it.

On 8/30/2015 1:52 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 15:10:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 8/29/2015 2:37 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:56:57 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 8/29/2015 10:54 AM, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 09:17 AM, Oren wrote:
Been doing this since I was a teen. Filling the filter gets oil to
the crank bearings much faster. Good idea on older high mileage
engines. Rubbing oil on the filter O-ring also prevents the
possibility of the rubber binding and perhaps not sealing.

And if you follow the tightening instructions, unlike the teenage Godzilla at
QuickyLube, you might even be able to get the damn thing off without a lot of
drama at the next oil chance.

Note that the criteria for tightening an oil filter are *objective*;
wait for contact/resistance then go 1/4 turn. None of this
"hand tighten" nonsense!

OTOH, a film of oil on the filter makes even *that* difficult!

Bah. I have never used a filter wrench to tighten a filter. Done it

Filter wrench is a Bad Idea. Way too easy for you to overtighten
the filter and end up with big-time problems when it comes time
to remove/replace it!

by hand. Snug it up to the block, a little effort to nudge it tight.
1/4 turn is that's what it took. Red shop rags gave me the grip
needed.

These little (small diameter) filters are a lot harder to wrap
an aging hand around *and* hold tight.
Pay a bit more and buy "hastings" filters - they have a nut on the
end so you use a regular wrench to remove them. You can pay a LOT more
and get the same filter with the K&N name on it.

We buy from dealer (just omit the labor charges). Figure it gives
us a way to (sort of) document that we have been keeping up with
the required maintenance (think: warranty) -- without incurring
their costs or *delays*.

I've only once had a problem getting off a filter that I'd
installed. Normally, just grab it firmly and twist slow
and steady.

[I can change the oil while doing something productive in less
time than I can drive *to* the dealership -- let alone the
wait while there *and8 the drive *back*!]

On Thu, 27 Aug 2015 15:56:12 +0000 (UTC), "badgolferman"
wrote:

Sorry for the off topic post, but the Toyota and Lexus newsgroups are
dead. Since there are plenty of knowledgeable and opinionated people
here I am throwing this out for your comments.

Five months ago I bought a certified 2013 Lexus RX350 with 16K miles
from the dealer. The first service call is complimentary and that
includes an oil change. My dashboard service light came on around 5K
miles so I called the dealer to schedule the oil change. They told me
this vehicle uses synthetic motor oil and recommended oil change
intervals are 10K miles. I looked in the service manual and sure
enough that's true.

http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/RX_WSG.pdf

In my Toyotas I would change the oil at 5K miles using conventional
oil. It makes me somewhat nervous to go 10K miles between changes but
I guess synthetic is that much better and doesn't get dirty or break
down. I've reached the 10K mile point and am going in today for the
service.

The next oil change will be done by myself. Does anyone else use
synthetic motor oil and how long do you go between changing it? What
brand do you use?
I'm using synthetic on both my 2003 3 liter Taurus and my 1996 4
liter Ranger. I change the oil twice a year. Thr Taurus has 96000km,
the Ranger has 337,000km.

Do the math.
I'm using the premium synthetic from Canadian Tire (formula 1)- 5w20
for the winter and 5w30 for the summer. It is produced by Shell and is
virtually identical to the Shell "formula" 100% synthetic oil.

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 8:01:03 PM UTC-5, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Uncle Monster" wrote in message
...
revved it until it ran smoothly while sending huge clouds of smoke out the
tailpipe. This was in the years before cars had catalytic converters and
oxygen sensors. Dammit, cars used to be a lot easier to work on. o_O

Back then yhou had to work on cars more often. Now outside of oil, brakes,
tires, filters and lights there is nothing to do for around the first
100,000 miles.
The old cars required work every 10,000 or less.

For old British sports cars it was whenever those things left the driveway. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Old Monster

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 8:42:14 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 01:31 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
I never had a problem with the engine which was still running quietly when I sold the car. ^_^

All that work for a K car? Red Green would have just converted it into a
log splitter or something.

My brother had a little wagon and did the same thing to his. As long as you kept them serviced, the little cars ran well. We both had fun tinkering with them and would make little modifications to them every now and then. We both went to a wrecking yard and obtained a roller cam and rocker arms from a later model engine to install in our older engines. It was a direct bolt in and increased the performance of the little cars. When I was young and dumber, I'd work on my car all night and go to work when the sun came up. Of course I've always owned at least two running vehicles. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Mechanical Monster

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 8:56:45 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 07:00 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
Back then yhou had to work on cars more often. Now outside of oil, brakes,
tires, filters and lights there is nothing to do for around the first
100,000 miles.
The old cars required work every 10,000 or less.

Yeah, I've got a dwell tach, timing light, and vacuum/pressure gauge
that are getting really lonely. I checked the valve gap on one of the
bikes a few weeks ago just for old times' sake but they were good.

The last time I installed spark plugs, the darn things had two side electrodes with platinum in groves in them and a platinum tipped center electrode. I think it was back in 2009 and the engine, a 318, always cranks and runs smoothly. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Plug Monster

On Sun, 30 Aug 2015 14:50:09 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 8:01:03 PM UTC-5, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Uncle Monster" wrote in message
...
revved it until it ran smoothly while sending huge clouds of smoke out the
tailpipe. This was in the years before cars had catalytic converters and
oxygen sensors. Dammit, cars used to be a lot easier to work on. o_O

Back then yhou had to work on cars more often. Now outside of oil, brakes,
tires, filters and lights there is nothing to do for around the first
100,000 miles.
The old cars required work every 10,000 or less.

For old British sports cars it was whenever those things left the driveway. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Old Monster
Sometimes twice BEFORE it got out of the driveway - - -

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 9:19:36 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 03:22 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
Heck some of the new engines have a separate coil plugged directly on to each spark plug. No more spark plug wires or distributor. ^_^

Yep. I'm one of those people that open the hood when I'm looking at a
new car to make sure I can work on the thing. The Yaris has a polymer
cover over the top of the engine and I assumed the plug wires were
hiding under it, not wanting to start taking the car apart with the
salesman standing there. closer inspection after the purchase showed
there was nothing under there but 4 little plugs with their individual,
computer controlled, coils. At least I could see all 4 lined up in a
row. I have bad memories of cars where only 6 or 7 of the 8 were accessible.

My newest vehicle is a 20 year old Jeep and It's easy to service. The parts are available everywhere and I like it because even though it's two wheel drive, I can go places and climb over things a little Honda fears. Besides, I can get in and out of the SUV without cracking my skull open. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Jeep Monster

On Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:49:25 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 9:19:36 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 03:22 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
Heck some of the new engines have a separate coil plugged directly on to each spark plug. No more spark plug wires or distributor. ^_^

Yep. I'm one of those people that open the hood when I'm looking at a
new car to make sure I can work on the thing. The Yaris has a polymer
cover over the top of the engine and I assumed the plug wires were
hiding under it, not wanting to start taking the car apart with the
salesman standing there. closer inspection after the purchase showed
there was nothing under there but 4 little plugs with their individual,
computer controlled, coils. At least I could see all 4 lined up in a
row. I have bad memories of cars where only 6 or 7 of the 8 were accessible.

My newest vehicle is a 20 year old Jeep and It's easy to service. The parts are available everywhere and I like it because even though it's two wheel drive, I can go places and climb over things a little Honda fears. Besides, I can get in and out of the SUV without cracking my skull open. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Jeep Monster
Sounds a bit like my little old Ranger --

On 8/29/2015 1:03 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 10:47 AM, Muggles wrote:
I've heard that older vehicles are held together by the old oil and if
you change it the motor thinks the world is coming to an end and won't
start any more.

how old is old?

17 year mini van

Back before detergent oil you definitely didn't want to
stir the **** up. Back when you adjusted valve clearance, I've pulled
valve covers to find what looked like a thick coating of grease.
suddenly introducing them to detergent oil wasn't a good idea. I think
that's where the paranoia about going from dino to synthetic came from.

I'm just happy the old girl starts every day.

--
Maggie

On 8/29/2015 1:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

What do you mean by "oil filter adapter"? Is this some after market
oil cooler, similar or looks like a radiator coil?

Here's a photo of the engine part that's highlighted in yellow. The
Ford dealership gave that to me.

There are after market add-on coolers for oil and transmission fluids.
Likely used in vehicles doing some heavier hauling, pulling boats or
trailers in mountainous regions.



--
Maggie

On 8/29/2015 2:31 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 1:02:19 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 10:47 AM, Muggles wrote:
I've heard that older vehicles are held together by the old oil and if
you change it the motor thinks the world is coming to an end and won't
start any more.

how old is old? Back before detergent oil you definitely didn't want to
stir the **** up. Back when you adjusted valve clearance, I've pulled
valve covers to find what looked like a thick coating of grease.
suddenly introducing them to detergent oil wasn't a good idea. I think
that's where the paranoia about going from dino to synthetic came from.

Years ago, I had a K car with the 2.2Ltr 4cyl which had some miles on it and some gunk had built up in the engine. I drained the oil and with the valve cover off, I used a parts cleaning brush and diesel fuel to clean the valve train. I then poured a gallon of diesel into the crankcase by pouring it over the valve train washing the rest of the gunk down through the drain holes in the head. After getting the diesel in the crankcase, I took a 1/4" plastic air line and threaded it through the drain holes in the head until it got into the oil pan. The air line was then connected to an air compressor and the air turned on to cause the diesel to splash around in the crankcase to dissolve the gunk. I drained the crankcase and repeated the cleaning. After cleaning and reinstalling the valve cover, I installed a new oil filter then substituted a quart of Rislone for one quart of the new high detergent oil in the crankcase. I ran the car for several hundred miles and the oil was fairly clea
r when I checked it. The little engine stayed clean and the oil wasn't that dirty when changed at 5,000 miles. I never had a problem with the engine which was still running quietly when I sold the car. ^_^

http://rislone.com/product/engine-treatment/

[8~{} Uncle Oil Monster


I think if my old van had clean oil in it it wouldn't want to start!

--
Maggie

On Sunday, August 30, 2015 at 9:51:57 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:49:25 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 9:19:36 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 03:22 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
Heck some of the new engines have a separate coil plugged directly on to each spark plug. No more spark plug wires or distributor. ^_^

Yep. I'm one of those people that open the hood when I'm looking at a
new car to make sure I can work on the thing. The Yaris has a polymer
cover over the top of the engine and I assumed the plug wires were
hiding under it, not wanting to start taking the car apart with the
salesman standing there. closer inspection after the purchase showed
there was nothing under there but 4 little plugs with their individual,
computer controlled, coils. At least I could see all 4 lined up in a
row. I have bad memories of cars where only 6 or 7 of the 8 were accessible.

My newest vehicle is a 20 year old Jeep and It's easy to service. The parts are available everywhere and I like it because even though it's two wheel drive, I can go places and climb over things a little Honda fears. Besides, I can get in and out of the SUV without cracking my skull open. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Jeep Monster


Sounds a bit like my little old Ranger --


That ranger pickup of yours is the right height and not too tall that you must climb up into it like a lot of full sized trucks and vans. I have a full sized van that I had a hard time getting in and out of when I could walk. When my pal Stinky, who I let use my Jeep, comes by to pick me up for a field trip, it's not that hard for me to get from a wheelchair into the passenger seat.

For a while, I drove one of those little Ford vans based on the Ranger chassis. It was perfect for running service calls at malls because even with the ladder rack, I could get into parking decks. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Van Monster

On 8/31/2015 12:16 PM, Muggles wrote:
On 8/29/2015 1:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

What do you mean by "oil filter adapter"? Is this some after market
oil cooler, similar or looks like a radiator coil?

Here's a photo of the engine part that's highlighted in yellow. The
Ford dealership gave that to me.

Whoops! Forgot to paste the link:

http://picpaste.com/oLddMY9i.jpg


--
Maggie

On Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:51:41 -0400, wrote:

Sounds a bit like my little old Ranger --

"Ford is making plans for a return to the small pickup truck market in
the U.S. with a new version of the Ranger."

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/08/27/ford-planning-for-new-small-pickup-in-us/?intcmp=hphz11

On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:27:12 -0500, Muggles wrote:

On 8/31/2015 12:16 PM, Muggles wrote:
On 8/29/2015 1:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

What do you mean by "oil filter adapter"? Is this some after market
oil cooler, similar or looks like a radiator coil?

Here's a photo of the engine part that's highlighted in yellow. The
Ford dealership gave that to me.

Whoops! Forgot to paste the link:

http://picpaste.com/oLddMY9i.jpg

Have you checked the parts price at NAPA auto parts store? (not sure
what that piece is called but sure you can find it cheaper) And have
a local mechanic install it. A dealership wants you to leave your
purse

On 8/31/2015 1:17 PM, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:27:12 -0500, Muggles wrote:

On 8/31/2015 12:16 PM, Muggles wrote:
On 8/29/2015 1:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

What do you mean by "oil filter adapter"? Is this some after market
oil cooler, similar or looks like a radiator coil?

Here's a photo of the engine part that's highlighted in yellow. The
Ford dealership gave that to me.

Whoops! Forgot to paste the link:

http://picpaste.com/oLddMY9i.jpg

Have you checked the parts price at NAPA auto parts store? (not sure
what that piece is called but sure you can find it cheaper) And have
a local mechanic install it. A dealership wants you to leave your
purse


Haven't checked that particular store, yet, but I will, thanks.

My regular mechanic wouldn't do the job. Not sure why. Maybe it needs
some specific tool he doesn't have, or something along those lines.

--
Maggie

On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:30:22 -0500, Muggles wrote:

http://picpaste.com/oLddMY9i.jpg

Have you checked the parts price at NAPA auto parts store? (not sure
what that piece is called but sure you can find it cheaper) And have
a local mechanic install it. A dealership wants you to leave your
purse


Haven't checked that particular store, yet, but I will, thanks.


The online sto http://www.napaonline.com/

My regular mechanic wouldn't do the job. Not sure why. Maybe it needs
some specific tool he doesn't have, or something along those lines.

....or he isn't hungry enough

posted for all of us...


Marfak grease


That is a name I haven't heard in a long time...

--
Tekkie

On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:16:07 -0500, Muggles wrote:

On 8/29/2015 1:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

What do you mean by "oil filter adapter"? Is this some after market
oil cooler, similar or looks like a radiator coil?

Here's a photo of the engine part that's highlighted in yellow. The
Ford dealership gave that to me.

There are after market add-on coolers for oil and transmission fluids.
Likely used in vehicles doing some heavier hauling, pulling boats or
trailers in mountainous regions.

The Ford winstars and many other ford vehicles of that age have the
"sandwich" oil to water coolers. In light duty use the cooler adapter
can be removed, the coolant hose bypassed, and the oil leak
eliminated.

On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:18:36 -0500, Muggles wrote:

On 8/29/2015 2:31 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 1:02:19 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 10:47 AM, Muggles wrote:
I've heard that older vehicles are held together by the old oil and if
you change it the motor thinks the world is coming to an end and won't
start any more.

how old is old? Back before detergent oil you definitely didn't want to
stir the **** up. Back when you adjusted valve clearance, I've pulled
valve covers to find what looked like a thick coating of grease.
suddenly introducing them to detergent oil wasn't a good idea. I think
that's where the paranoia about going from dino to synthetic came from.

Years ago, I had a K car with the 2.2Ltr 4cyl which had some miles on it and some gunk had built up in the engine. I drained the oil and with the valve cover off, I used a parts cleaning brush and diesel fuel to clean the valve train. I then poured a gallon of diesel into the crankcase by pouring it over the valve train washing the rest of the gunk down through the drain holes in the head. After getting the diesel in the crankcase, I took a 1/4" plastic air line and threaded it through the drain holes in the head until it got into the oil pan. The air line was then connected to an air compressor and the air turned on to cause the diesel to splash around in the crankcase to dissolve the gunk. I drained the crankcase and repeated the cleaning. After cleaning and reinstalling the valve cover, I installed a new oil filter then substituted a quart of Rislone for one quart of the new high detergent oil in the crankcase. I ran the car for several hundred miles and the oil was fairly clea
r when I checked it. The little engine stayed clean and the oil wasn't that dirty when changed at 5,000 miles. I never had a problem with the engine which was still running quietly when I sold the car. ^_^

http://rislone.com/product/engine-treatment/

[8~{} Uncle Oil Monster


I think if my old van had clean oil in it it wouldn't want to start!
If the oil was kept clean it would run a lot longer. (and may not
have corroded the oil cooler)

On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 10:25:14 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Sunday, August 30, 2015 at 9:51:57 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:49:25 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 9:19:36 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 08/29/2015 03:22 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
Heck some of the new engines have a separate coil plugged directly on to each spark plug. No more spark plug wires or distributor. ^_^

Yep. I'm one of those people that open the hood when I'm looking at a
new car to make sure I can work on the thing. The Yaris has a polymer
cover over the top of the engine and I assumed the plug wires were
hiding under it, not wanting to start taking the car apart with the
salesman standing there. closer inspection after the purchase showed
there was nothing under there but 4 little plugs with their individual,
computer controlled, coils. At least I could see all 4 lined up in a
row. I have bad memories of cars where only 6 or 7 of the 8 were accessible.

My newest vehicle is a 20 year old Jeep and It's easy to service. The parts are available everywhere and I like it because even though it's two wheel drive, I can go places and climb over things a little Honda fears. Besides, I can get in and out of the SUV without cracking my skull open. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Jeep Monster


Sounds a bit like my little old Ranger --


That ranger pickup of yours is the right height and not too tall that you must climb up into it like a lot of full sized trucks and vans. I have a full sized van that I had a hard time getting in and out of when I could walk. When my pal Stinky, who I let use my Jeep, comes by to pick me up for a field trip, it's not that hard for me to get from a wheelchair into the passenger seat.

For a while, I drove one of those little Ford vans based on the Ranger chassis. It was perfect for running service calls at malls because even with the ladder rack, I could get into parking decks. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Van Monster
I had two of those "AeroScares" and loved them too. I sold the first
one at somewhere around 160,000kms - to a friend who took it well over
240,000km. I replaced that 1989 with a 1990 that I took to over
240,000 km before selling it. If the bodies stood up better they would
both have gone a lot farther.

On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:30:22 -0500, Muggles wrote:

On 8/31/2015 1:17 PM, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:27:12 -0500, Muggles wrote:

On 8/31/2015 12:16 PM, Muggles wrote:
On 8/29/2015 1:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 11:47:37 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My van has an oil leak, and I'm currently in the process of looking for
an affordable part. The dealership was going to charge $590 for the
parts to fix the oil filter adapter, and about $100 in labor. Right now
I just add more oil to it occasionally.

What do you mean by "oil filter adapter"? Is this some after market
oil cooler, similar or looks like a radiator coil?

Here's a photo of the engine part that's highlighted in yellow. The
Ford dealership gave that to me.

Whoops! Forgot to paste the link:

http://picpaste.com/oLddMY9i.jpg

Have you checked the parts price at NAPA auto parts store? (not sure
what that piece is called but sure you can find it cheaper) And have
a local mechanic install it. A dealership wants you to leave your
purse


Haven't checked that particular store, yet, but I will, thanks.

My regular mechanic wouldn't do the job. Not sure why. Maybe it needs
some specific tool he doesn't have, or something along those lines.
No special tools required, and about a 40 minute job to replace after
it is on the hoist.

On Mon, 31 Aug 2015 15:32:48 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

posted for all of us...


Marfak grease


That is a name I haven't heard in a long time...
It's been a LONG time since I was an apprentice mechanic - - - -