Please post some of those pics here!!!
What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
Please post some of those pics here!!!
'09 Ford Focus: replaced right rear pdl solenoid (which of course is integral with the latch because, Ford) for the SECOND time.
About 1.5 years ago I replaced left front and BOTH rears. They had all failed within days of each other and the only reason right front didn't fail was that I replaced that entire door after a buck put a hole in the outer skin with his antler (and then ran off!)
For the rears I could only get Dorman/import and not surprisingly one failed within months. I replaced with an import again because this car is "leaving the family." I want it to work for the new owner upon delivery but if it doesn't work 30 seconds after delivery, too bad.
Same vehicle, replacement used driver seat belt latch. At 225k miles the old one was not latching reliably.
About 1.5 years ago I replaced left front and BOTH rears. They had all failed within days of each other and the only reason right front didn't fail was that I replaced that entire door after a buck put a hole in the outer skin with his antler (and then ran off!)
For the rears I could only get Dorman/import and not surprisingly one failed within months. I replaced with an import again because this car is "leaving the family." I want it to work for the new owner upon delivery but if it doesn't work 30 seconds after delivery, too bad.
Same vehicle, replacement used driver seat belt latch. At 225k miles the old one was not latching reliably.
More diagnosis in required. Drove around town yesterday, lots of start cycles and all appeared good. This morning, it's back to the same old.
Before investing in all the time/labor in removing the intake manifold to get to the starter, all other possibilities need to be eliminated.
In my experience, this is typical of Asian imports when they get old....chronic electrical issues.
Start cleaning grounds?
Checking for voltage drop from the block to the body/neg terminal?
I posted a while back, about a basket case 2011 Avalon
Well, it's due another oil change, and another handful of issues
She's almost tragically vague about noises
I need more detail, but let's test drive
It's actually pretty quiet, until I drive it under a certain set of conditions
All 3 heat shields are trying to abandon ship, I'll have to find some large fender washers to try and resecure them to the body
As for the other clunk, the drivers rear sway bar link has a bit of free play by hand, so it probably needs both rears
... probably gonna need the fronts next week
NYC roads give you a free squeak and rattle test lane, it's called driving anywhere
So far, I'm up to
-Oil change
-Cabin filter
-Rear sway bar links
-Hardware from Home Depot to reattach the exhaust head shields
The gas cap rattles for some reason, might need replaced
Let's try and keep the job under $300, because I've decided I'm no longer working for free, if I'm selling you my Saturday, there's gotta be a modest profit in it for me
I've given far too much away over the years, I either barely broke even or somehow lost
That's ending now
Well, it's due another oil change, and another handful of issues
She's almost tragically vague about noises
I need more detail, but let's test drive
It's actually pretty quiet, until I drive it under a certain set of conditions
All 3 heat shields are trying to abandon ship, I'll have to find some large fender washers to try and resecure them to the body
As for the other clunk, the drivers rear sway bar link has a bit of free play by hand, so it probably needs both rears
... probably gonna need the fronts next week
NYC roads give you a free squeak and rattle test lane, it's called driving anywhere
So far, I'm up to
-Oil change
-Cabin filter
-Rear sway bar links
-Hardware from Home Depot to reattach the exhaust head shields
The gas cap rattles for some reason, might need replaced
Let's try and keep the job under $300, because I've decided I'm no longer working for free, if I'm selling you my Saturday, there's gotta be a modest profit in it for me
I've given far too much away over the years, I either barely broke even or somehow lost
That's ending now
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CleanSump
Site Donor 2022
Adjusted the parking brakes on the 2010 BMW X3.
Swapped in new head light bulbs, still dim. Called around and found new headlamps, swapped in new housings. Waiting for it to get dark so I go find someplace to align the bulbs now (too much incline in my driveway).
Reading up on how to replace the ignition switch.
It works but if I twist just right, it will stop cranking. It's starting to do that more frequently, so I think that's known as "a sign" that it's on its way out. Am wondering if I can just pull the wiring off somehow and jerry rig it instead--I mean, I have to pull the airbag, then the steering wheel, then I can disassemble the dash to get to where the switch is. It wouldn't be me if I didn't at least contemplate the wrong path first. [Don't forget, hard work pays off in the future--procrastination pays off right now.]
Reading up on how to replace the ignition switch.
It works but if I twist just right, it will stop cranking. It's starting to do that more frequently, so I think that's known as "a sign" that it's on its way out. Am wondering if I can just pull the wiring off somehow and jerry rig it instead--I mean, I have to pull the airbag, then the steering wheel, then I can disassemble the dash to get to where the switch is. It wouldn't be me if I didn't at least contemplate the wrong path first. [Don't forget, hard work pays off in the future--procrastination pays off right now.]
Back home. Spreading wood cutting chips on the garden paths. Gonna need 5x more but looks nice
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Brother in law came over. He needed brakes and oil changed. We tagged team and he done the oil change and one side of brakes while I done the other side. I done both passenger side he done both driver side as we done front and rears. And this time I made sure he didn’t put the grease on the wrong side of the pads. I checked over them lol. He didn’t really need brakes. He wanted to change them because they were pulsating and I told him well you need new rotors too he said nah guy on YouTube said just change the pads I was like yeah that’s a guy on YouTube not a professional. I just gave up trying to tell him that lol. He was convinced just to do the pads. For the oil change he made a mess with the filter all over the driveway but oh well lol. I saved him some money and got him the Toyota oil and Wix filter. With my discount it was like $33.
@supton , are you sure the wheel and all has to come off? Oftentimes, the covers over and under the column can be removed, and the switch body can be pulled from below, as it is separate from the lock tumbler. It’s not hard in the vehicles like this. ??Swapped in new head light bulbs, still dim. Called around and found new headlamps, swapped in new housings. Waiting for it to get dark so I go find someplace to align the bulbs now (too much incline in my driveway).
Reading up on how to replace the ignition switch.
Great question--no idea. I have a Chilton's, which isn't to say, the official Toyota documentation is the best way either.
Looking at the pics in the Chiltons it looked like some of the cover screws are blocked by the steering wheel. Could things be pushed/shoved enough to get the job done? Very likely. Would it bother me that much if anything broke? Not really, it is a beater car, whose sole purpose to me is to take me from A to B, and hopefully cost as little as possible in the process--a broken panel or two along the way would only match the rest of the car.
Maybe tomorrow I'll tackle the job, at least see what is in my way. Open it up and gauge how big of a job it is.
2010 Nissan Frontier 4L V6
I'm replacing all the exhaust behind the cats on this - luckily no rush because I expected things might go wrong. I got out the 1/2" socket set and used the breaker bar....miraculously, both driver's side nuts easily came off the exhaust studs behind the cat. 5 minutes - this is easy, right?
I quickly ended up rounding off both nuts on the other side. Tool selection was limited but I eventually managed to grind them off with a combination of an under-powered Dremel tool, hand chisels, and an air chisel with a vastly under-powered, tiny air compressor. It took several hours.
I managed to break off a bolt holding one of the hangers in place so will have to drill that out. The studs on the passenger side are also in questionable shape but I'm a bit scared to try to remove them in case I break those too. I do have new ones so I'll think about it. I probably won't get back to this again until next weekend.
I'm replacing all the exhaust behind the cats on this - luckily no rush because I expected things might go wrong. I got out the 1/2" socket set and used the breaker bar....miraculously, both driver's side nuts easily came off the exhaust studs behind the cat. 5 minutes - this is easy, right?
I quickly ended up rounding off both nuts on the other side. Tool selection was limited but I eventually managed to grind them off with a combination of an under-powered Dremel tool, hand chisels, and an air chisel with a vastly under-powered, tiny air compressor. It took several hours.
I managed to break off a bolt holding one of the hangers in place so will have to drill that out. The studs on the passenger side are also in questionable shape but I'm a bit scared to try to remove them in case I break those too. I do have new ones so I'll think about it. I probably won't get back to this again until next weekend.
Giving this 2011 Avalon the classic Italian tune up
Went up and down the highway for 20 minutes, until I got bored
For cars that see frequent low speed short trips in commuting time traffic, I find it can help some things
- Getting the converters fully hot, can help with exhaust odor
- Gets the alternator really spinning, helps charge the Battery closer to full
- One or two part throttle rolling to WOT/speed limit pulls seems to help with idle quality (carbon deposits maybe
)
But I've gotten commentary along the lines of "what did you do to it" and "it feels better, but I can't pinpoint why"
If course, old/clapped out/high mileage stuff doesn't get this treatment
But I think at 68k, it doesn't hurt to let the 2GR sing a little
I ordered some knockoff VW exhaust heat shield retainers, maybe they'll work in holding the corroded shields up
Or will it catch secondhand electrical problems
It’s “battery therapy” weekend. While doing other things, I’m rotating the charger from one vehicle to the next. I recently bought the CTEK, which per our battery thread, measures well for a constant voltage finishing charge, something none of my vehicles do. The CRV ran overnight with it, and right now it’s the riding mower’s turn. The rest of the time was spent with one final examination of the pressure washer - which I gave to a friend. The ailing gas unit is still more powerful than his electric one. Maybe he can get a couple of years out of it…. And an attempted (and likely failed) attempt to recoat the railing to our front door. It needs more prep work.
Received a "Genuine" Toyota starter Relay from an Amazon seller. Yes, there's a risk of counterfeit parts when buying on Amazon. However, it appears legit. Amazon seller is JP-Carparts.
As much as I hate throwing parts at a problem, I need to have the car driveable and this is the least costly path for now.
Packaging, as-received.
Left - New Replacement; Right - Old Relay
I have several bags of Toyota parts that I purchased directly from a dealership parts counter; there are label variations in font type, location, etc. I believe the new relay is legit Toyota.
The car started this morning with the old relay. Replaced it with the new relay, ran errands (Target, Post Office, Bank) without incident.
I opened the old relay and the contacts look fine. There's barely distinguishable discolored spots where they make contact. No pitting, etc., nothing like a high mileage contact set.
There's more diag to be done. In the mean time, I'll just have to drive it around for verification.
Planted all my taters.
Tested a patch of my custom pasture grass seeds in the corner of my property, supposed to rain tomorrow
Tested a patch of my custom pasture grass seeds in the corner of my property, supposed to rain tomorrow
Spread 35 acres worth of fertilizer, drug our west pasture as it will be converted to hay production this year. Running the drag harrow over it breaks up and spreads out the manure and residual hay from feeding all winter. Clipped a hay field that didn’t get a second cut last year. Set a pipe post where we needed to hang a gate. Starting tomorrow morning on the fertilizer for the last 80 acres of hay ground.
Attachments
I was coming back from a day of running in the rain as well as drinking after the race and running on 4 hours of sleep. I did replace the DPFE and TPS connector shells on the Ranger. Got a Aptiv/Delphi shank(what I call the official tool to de-pin Metri-Pack and similar connectors) and new WPT kits from Rock. I’m shocked Ford charges a bit for these and they are not available separately - nor do they list a part number from Yazaki on the connector bodies for me to try getting them cheaper off Digi-Key.
The relay contacts look worse than I originally thought. I don't know how much wear is tolerable before starting becomes iffy.
