Recent content by JoeDirt41

Got a few updates on the car. The serpentine belt had gotten really soft and gummy from the power steering pump leaking on it. The previous owner replaced the pump but reused the old belt. If you touched the belt, you’d have a black, gooey mess all over your hands. I was able to pull the ribs...

I’ve got a Deere X310. To work on it, I had one of those lawn mower/ATV jacks that harbor freight sells. I didn’t buy it, it was a gift. To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of it. It was a PITA to set up and use and especially to store. I prefer a plain floor jack and a block of wood, usually a 12”...

There is a Costa Oil quick lube not far from me. I wasn’t aware they had their own filters… or that they even had more than a couple locations.

I replaced the VTEC solenoid gasket today. Sorry I really didn’t get a lot of pictures, but it was leaking and making a mess all over the back of the engine. Honda dealer had it in stock and actually cheaper than the Felpro/Dorman/Mahle options at the local parts store. I also bought the o-ring...

Thanks! Yes the Dr. Colorchip kits work great. The squeegee and SealAct blending compound work really well for small chips and the small micro brushes they give you work great for larger chips without leaving blobs. A little pricey but they give you a lot of paint and the results are hard to...

Got a few updates. After letting the car idle, I took it for a drive and once it got up to temp, it was right back to doing what it was doing before- idle bouncing rhythmically from 800 rpm down to 500 and then back up. I sat on it for a day before I went back and spent a lot more time looking...

I pulled the throttle body off today and cleaned it very thoroughly and carefully on the bench. The factory molybdenum coating around the throttle shaft is still there and mostly intact and I was very careful cleaning around it. It really wasn’t that dirty and I don’t think anything was stuck or...

Went ahead and adjusted the valves on the car yesterday after letting it sit overnight so it would be completely cold. Intake side was fine, exhaust side was a bit tight, varying between .008 and .010. I set them all to .012”. I was thrilled to see that the engine was sparkling clean inside...

I got mine in 2022 and drove for about a year, OTR then locally for a very short bit. I don’t hold the medical card anymore but I still keep the license, just certified as EI (excepted interstate) last time I renewed it. But if you let the medical card expire without certifying as excepted, they...

It’s a lot smoother when it’s cold (under 195*, before the fans kick on) and it smooths out a bit when I have an electrical load on it (A/C on, blower motor on high, lights on, etc). Battery voltage is normal at 14.1 volts running. I’m not sure what the issue is. I’m leaning towards a throttle...

The idle is back to doing goofy things today. Keeps fluctuating between 500-800 RPMs. I looked at my scan tool and it says “N/A” next to the Idle Learn live data, which I believe means it has not learned the idle. I plugged off the PCV port and disconnected the purge valve solenoid which made no...

Completed a few more jobs on the car this week. The interior door panels on the drivers side are a bit sun damaged and have some cracking at the top. I went to the junkyard and found a good replacement rear panel for $20, cleaned it up and got it swapped in. I would’ve grabbed the front door...

Yeah it was a very fast job and the TYC blower motor looked to be as nice as the OEM comparing them side by side. Seems to be a common issue with Hondas. My sisters 2011 CR-V has the same clicking noise from the blower motor but she just turns the radio up 🤣

Mazda only offers the Miata and the Mazda3 hatchback on the higher trims ($30k+) as a manual. Until just a few years ago (2018?) they were offering the Mazda3 and the now discontinued Mazda6 in base trim with a 6 speed but that is no longer. And if you go back to 2014, Mazda offered the Mazda2...

That’s how the CDL test works in the US. If you test in an automatic truck, you have a restriction on your license and are not permitted to drive a tractor trailer with a manual. Of course, big rig manual transmissions are quite a bit different than the synchronized manuals in cars and light...