Recent content by GregPR

Now that I think about it, I have a set of ramps that I haven't used in years. I used to use them all the time but I can't anymore because their up-angle is too steep to fit under the bumper of any cars I own (2009 Civic, 2005 A4, 2004 Jetta). I much prefer ramps to jacks & jackstands.

Originally Posted By: exranger06 Am I the only one who just uses jack stands with no "back-ups" and doesn't worry or think twice about it? Nope. I figure good jack stands carefully placed and loaded on a stable, solid floor are fine for a day of wrenching. I have a set of Craftsman jack...

I've owned many makes of car over the years: Dodge Minivans, Jeep Grand Cheokee, Olds Bravada, and a long line of Hondas. I did a number of timing belt replacements on my Hondas, and the consensus recommendation is always to replace the water pump along with the timing belt. Now, 'consensus' is...

I just took the original TB off mine, barely past 75K. The belt itself looked ok, but if you examined it closely you could see very small surface cracks on the back of the belt, opposite the gaps where the gear teeth engaged. Otherwise the belt looked to be in pretty good shape. I'm sorry to...

Originally Posted By: Lubener I use only when steel meets aluminum. ^ +1

I hear you! I'm very curious to hear what the quote comes back at, and what they recommend including in the work (i.e. it's basically a timing belt job, so why not do that + water pump as well?). Good luck.

Back in 2011 I bought an '04 Honda Civic for $4200 with over 140K miles. It had clearly been neglected. I put new tires on it, changed the timing belt (still on the original) and swapped out all the fluids. It was a 5-speed manual and had a funny shifting thing going from 2nd to 3rd. I switched...

Dlundblad, I know it's only been a couple of days since your first post. What's the status? Are you going to replace that cam? I'm new to VW/Audi ownership. We tend to keep cars a long time, but over the years I've owned Hondas more than anything else. We had a Grand Cherokee and a Grand...

A can of marbles. LOL. Thats a perfect description!

Ooooohhhhh.... I see now. I came across dlundblad's post regarding that bad cam when I ran some searches before posting my question. When he responded to my thread it didn't click that they were the same person. I noted those photos. Gave me the shivers. Yeesh. My heart goes out to him & his...

Thanks for all the input, folks. I was really happy with the way the T6 quieted down the top end noise of the old Volvo we own. So choosing it for the Audi seemed logical. I don't have a huge stash of it, but I do like to pick it up when one of our local big-box home centers (Menards) runs 11%...

I'm wondering if I've chosen wisely for my last couple of oil changes... Please advise me. The car in question is a 2005 Audi A4 Cabriolet with a 3.0 V-6 (no turbo). The owners manual calls for a synthetic 5W40, 5W30 or 0W40 (specified in that order in the manual) that meets Audi oil standard...

Geez... good idea on swapping the injectors. I already replaced all the O-rings, pintle caps and filters when I took it all apart to do the pcv. I'm really good at taking these things apart now... I have not done a drain & fill on trans, but am planning to do so soon. Honestly, it was a rough...

Thanks for your replies thus far. The tick tempo does increase with engine revs, but it does not seem to get louder. I'm currently running Mobil 1 5w-30 High Mileage with a Fram Ultra cartridge filter -- have gone about 1200 miles so far on this batch. I'd decided to try 0W-40 next time...

Many of you provided advice on a prior thread of mine regarding the '99 Volvo S70 AWD driven by my son. Thank you! After much wailing and gnashing of teeth (mostly due to my own failing attention to detail), I'm glad to report the PCV is replaced and the car is again on the road. The car...