Recent content by troymcclure

Haha fair criticism. No I just get verbose from time to time. TL;DR: Pulled MR20 intake for plugs/PCV. Sand fell in ports. shop vac saved it. Stripped a blind intake bracket bolt. thread chaser saved it. Bought tools, wife didn't leave me.

Let's start with a piece of advice: if you ever want to truly question your life choices, attempt a deep top-end engine teardown with a hard deadline. We have a major move coming up at the end of the month, and my new place is nowhere near as conducive to working on cars as my current setup. I...

Holy cow! Great find. What are the odds.

Following up on this. At 15 years and 100k, the original Hitachi boots were perfectly soft and pliable. The Denso boots I bought to keep on hand were identically molded and seemed really well made. Even came with new spring, resistors and a pack of dielectric grease. They were stamped with the...

I have a Nissan that rolled off the line in Aguascalientes, MX. Never heard any issues about their made in Mexico components. From the parts that are marked on the car, seems like a mix of mostly made in Mexico and Japan with the rest from elsewhere. Not sure who made the hoses on mine but the...

I do after learning the hard way. I have the EWK extractor with a 2 piece hose (flexible metal at the end and clear vinyl at the base) and the oil dissolved the seal between the 2 parts. Luckily they sell the hose separately. I bet if you had something without any seals in the hose, you could...

I did a deep dive into boots. It appears almost all aftermarket boots are made by PJC. This includes NGK, Denso and many other branded boots. They all have PJC molded into the silicone. https://www.ppenpjc.com/coil-on-plug-boots Are they good? I will find out this weekend. I bought a Denso...

Used a cheap no name Amazon power side view mirror for a Nissan. The motor is quieter than the OEM and it’s functioning perfectly fine after 5 years now.

I asked Valvoline support about some Zerex coolant I had opened a few years back. Here’s what they said. We suggest a total 5-year shelf life for coolant products in sealed containers. Open containers have a risk of being contaminated by outside factors, depending on storage conditions. We...

I don’t have anything to contribute other than the name PIAA, despite being capitalized like an acronym, is not. It was named after the “pyahhh” sound when one switches a fog light on.

Anyone have any long term experience with this coating? The rotors look good but I can’t find any long term experiences on the longevity of the coating. How have they held up against corrosion for those who have used them?

Believe me I’ve toyed around with the idea of doing it myself but I also do want to use the opportunity to finally find a good shop for any future complex work that I can’t do. I’ve watched a lot of the YouTube videos and it does seem basic but I think I’d want to do it alongside an expert to...

I’m due for a valve lash adjustment on the Honda Fit and I’ve never done one before. I don’t think I would trust myself to get the right tightness without any experience. Does anyone have a recommendation for a Honda specialist in the Bay Area, preferably in SF? I’ve been to two highly rated...

I’d think so when you compare to a drum in rotor rear setup which basically has both a full disc and drum setup minus the cylinder. VW feel they are a better option for EVs so maybe we will see a resurgence.

With these tools, I can do the drums faster than pads/rotors just because of all the caliper prep involved in a car that sees salt. I’ve come to appreciate how maintenance free drums can be in salt.