Recent content by 50yr Street Mech

Own a bunch of old beaters, with switches for just about everything. Been shutting down all the accessories since the 70's, and never broke that habit. So, yeah. I shut most everything off before I shut down the engine. Also flip up the wipers before a snowstorm to make it easier to clear...

I'm also in NY. Never had much luck with batteries nearing the 5yr mark, even with maintainers & topping off. I'm blaming it on the insane temp swings here. You can have 0 degrees weeks with wind chills in the negatives, then go to 100 degree days for weeks. Too much stress on a battery IMO.

Owned an 84' Buick Century with the 3.0 V-6 back in the day. It thru a rod and it punched a hole through the bottom of the block. Drove it about 25 minutes to get home, with the oil light on. Parked it, and that was it. Never cranked over again. Seized up. Damage was done.

I agree. Before I put in the next pair of spindles, I'll take them apart and remove the inner seals. Thanks for the heads up -)

The original spindles on my " Toy Built" - 4yr old - 42" deck rider mower lasted 1 season, ( about 4-5 months), on 3/4 acre. I priced out new original ones, and the cost was ridiculous. Took them apart just to see where they were manufactured. Of course it was China. Too far gone to rebuild, so...

Being it was a pad slap, the existing rotors might be glazed from the old pads, causing some noise. I would either have the rotors re-surfaced, or buy new ones.

Nice ! Even better with gear to gear timing ! The " Iron Dukes" had same set up, but the only replacement gear was another composite. Did plenty of those back in the day. I'd say you're good to go !!

Have an 03' Solara with the 4 cyl. Fantastic reliable car. Built like a tank. My floor jack strains lifting up that thing being it's so heavy. Gets better gas mileage than my 13' CRV, and rides 10X better. I read Toyota did away with them because nobody wanted a 2 door anymore, so they weren't...

WOW ! Can't believe Ford was STILL using those composite cam gears in 1988. Had one on a 1973- 351 Windsor engine that sheared off the teeth, and left me " Ford", ( found on road dead), at a toll booth on the Delaware Memorial Bridge. 2-days in a local shop, and 2 days in a motel for me...

Yeah, great engine for sure -). They just don't make them like that anymore. With all the new high HP- 4cylinders, and their GDI with turbos with thin oil, don't think you'd see that mileage nowadays.

At 258K on that 1988- I6, just keep doing what you're doing. It's gotten you this far. If it's not broke, don't fix it. If, by chance, it starts burning oil, 4 rounds of Valvoline Restore and Protect should clean it up, and buy you more time if you plan on keeping it.

Looks good for 2yrs / 80 hrs. Personally, being that you're in GA, and have a longer cutting season than I do in NY, I would perform a seasonal OCI to protect that engine a bit more. I would imagine they run on the hot side. Seasonal changes on the oil and filter is a lot cheaper than a new...

I use OEM filters in my fleet of 3 beaters, with an occasional " off" brand if I catch them on sale cheaper than the OEM. The OEM's are cheap enough, and I never go past 5K OCI's anyway. I realize OEM, and the "off" brands are not the best on the market. Pair the filters with Super Tech oil...

Still have a few bottles of NuFinish on the garage shelf. Haven't used them in years. Been using Adams Ceramic and Collinite 345. Might use the NuFinish for a quick wax job one day. After 2 lumbar fusions, detailing cars are not easy anymore -(....

Very true. Unfortunately, knockoffs are everywhere nowadays.