Recent content by mk378

Maybe I'm missing something but why not measure when cold, warm up the engine, then measure again when hot? Zero clearance-- in either case-- is a problem. That will cause misfiring at idle and also likely a burned valve. This looks like the type of engine where you will have to take the cam...

That's kind of crazy low, since it requires taking head off and the oil pan off, basically taking the engine all apart. Most people take the engine out of the car and totally rebuild it rather than attempt a "ring slap." I'm not sure why you're considering buying another car knowing that it...

In the USA a gallon of diesel has been consistently (for the last 20 years or so) more expensive than a gallon of gas, so the idea of a diesel economy car is a non-starter. 1990 is an antique car. Difficult to find parts, difficult to find mechanics with knowledge of them who haven't retired.

That's half of a tapered roller bearing, which were commonly used on free-rolling wheels such as the non-drive wheels of a 2WD car, or the wheels of a trailer. Most newer car designs have converted to other types of bearings, but these are still on trailers. The rollers roll in the outer race...

You should feel a definite once every two turns compression when you pull the starter rope out slowly. If it just spins and spins there is probably a valve not all the way closed. If you found a valve "loose" (though actually, it was stuck) and adjusted it tighter, you may have made the...

Pull the wall switches make sure the connection screws and other connections in the switch box are tight. Does it do it in both positions of the switches that turn the light on?

The second picture shows a big crack going most of the way around, where the solid pipe joins the back of the bellows section. I would expect it to completely fall apart in a short time.

If you've had one of the factory brake lights or headlight burn out, don't replace just one and expect the other remaining factory bulb to last 5 more years. In later posts the OP became a lot more sensitive to cost than the originally stated primary concern of length of time between having to...

That needs to be reached from underneath. Bellyaching about not being able to get underneath doesn't change the fact that it can only be reached from underneath. Removing the motor mount would help, but that also can only be reached from underneath. What has you convinced the pump is bad...

Something about the automatic change from fast to slow idle is not working if it can't be adjusted. I see there is a vacuum diaphragm actuating the fast idle screw (which is 1 in your picture). These elaborate vacuum control systems found on cars of that late 80s era often fail, are difficult...

Isn't this the airport where AA stores most of their spare aircraft? It looks like a lot of AA tail markings in the background.

It's probably set up to flash all the time while the car is parked, since that alone might deter some of the dumber burglars. It's an LED it uses basically no power.

Appears to be not firing on all cylinders. Without the glow plugs energized it's purely compression ignition, and compression is lowest in a cold engine at idle. Turning on the A/C increases the idle speed which helps. That could also be achieved by pressing the fuel pedal or turning up the...

In the early 1990s, TDMA was brought out to carry three times as many calls per MHz of radio bandwidth as analog. Everyone in the industry realized that a mere 3x improvement was not going to be sufficient to solve any problems. Actual deployment of the standard was very tepid.

290 mA is almost exactly what a #194 bulb uses. Did you check the glove box, trunk, etc? After the battery has been hooked up for a while and you think the car is "dark", open the compartment in question and feel the lamp. If it is already warm or hot it's been on the whole time.