I hate cars

[marki]

This morning I was driving to work and about 100m from the school gate the car started making loud banging noises. I have been around enough race cars to know what a broken conrod sounds like and that was very similar to what I was hearing. I got a workmate to tow me into the school carpark and spent the day organising a new motor and tow truck to get the car home in between classes. My old bloke came around tonight to see what I had done. I started the car .... bang, bang, bang turned it off quickly. We opened the bonnet and started it again and the noise was gone but the motor was rough. The old man said one of the spark plugs was jumping up and down with it's lead and must have been smacking into the bonnet :(. A quick check showed it had worked loose and bashed the crap out of the top of the thread going into the cylinder head. I managed to carefully insert a tap and clean it up replacing the plug with a new one and hey presto all was well :). I just hope I have not removed too much metal but will be carrying a plug socket around and checking frequently. I really hate cars.

Mark

[matt]

Nice work, though. At least you were able to fix it to an extent.:thumbsup:

[FredSnerd]

Well at least you seem to know your way around them Mark. I know very little about them and like you i hate them

[leon]

That's incredible Mark, but at least cheaper than a new engine.

leon

[Benno18]

Sister-in-Law bought a used car yesterday arvo, 1998 suv thing, drove it home and then drove it to her sisters house 30kms away. So all up she has driven around 50kms.
Went to drive home and get ready for work and bang...... rumble, rumble..... stall.

Works out the local mechanic had done the motor up enough to get the car running. Luckily we have a mechanic in the family and he was able to diagnose it and state the case.

Full refund was given luckily. SO im guessing by that response that they knew about the cars problems and sold it anyway.

[marki]

This is one event in a string of weird happenings in the past year. Today was the first day of term 4 and my car crapped its dacks. On the first day of term 3 I could not go to work as I had the swine flu. On the first day of term 2 on the way to work some little swine had removed a grate over drain and guess whose car fell in . New rims and tyres all round, cost 2.5K to go to work:mad2:. On the first day of term 1 I could not go to work because I had unknowingly eaten a piece of 6 month old ham and had food poisioning :P. Roll on 2010 ;):D.

Mark

[DavidU]

Marki, what sort of car was it???

Leon, was it a ford Exploder (Exporer).???? The cam shaft drive and tensioner are a real problem.

[TrevorW]

When you think about it mechanically with so many moving parts cars are frought with problems

do you really think the motor industry wants alternatives too pretroleum fuelled modes of transport

Ben, private sale I assume ???

[FredSnerd]

Just when I thought it couldnt get any worse you tell us you ate a piece of 6 month old ham. Now thats the pitts.

[DavidU]

That is really dangerous Marki. I have done this once and have never been so sick in my life. It can kill you.

[TrevorW]

Mark didn't you notice the green fungus and maggots or did they just add to the flavour????

[matt]

:lol:

[marki]

David, it is a Honda CRX. The dam thing has been so reliable for the past ten years I just did not suspect anything. I run iridium plugs in it so they rarely get touched (maybe every 80000km) so it was a complete suprise.

Mark

[marki]

Don't I know it. Bloody sick as hell and it can cause septicemia. There was no fungus or any other indication that the meat was old. I had bought a new packet and assumed it was that. It wasn't until I looked at the useby date that I realised I had stuffed up.

Mark

[DavidU]

Yeh, a great car, I suspect it had an Ultratune or such?? I have seen a few cars serviced without the plugs tightened correctly.
The 4cly Honda cars are excellent.

[MrB]

Nice save, but how did you keep the swarf from the tap from dropping into the cylinder?:eyepop:

[Benno18]

Believe it or not trevor it was from a second hand car sales yard. The guy buys the cars, does them up a bit and then resells them. But we have bought cars from there before and have had no trouble:shrug:

[erick]

My gearbox has started to make a noise - gear teeth whirr. I'm ignoring it until the next service in several more weeks time. I just keep fanging down the freeway and around the ring road to work. Fingers crossed. I just don't want to know. :sadeyes:

As long as it breaks down AFTER I get everything to the Snake Valley Camp, I'll be OK.


Glad it ended better than you had thought, Mark.

[FredSnerd]

My daughter has had 2 cars (Daihatsu Charade 94 and Hyundai Sonata 97) die on her in the last 6 months. I actually sent them both to the wreckers a few days ago. Got $100 each for them. So is there any model you guys would recommend for around $3000

[marki]

How did you guess? I always service and repair my own cars but in January this year I just felt lazy and thought I would get someone else to do it for once. A few things needed doing including the timing belt so I booked it in at the local ultratune. 5 days later I get a call asking if my gearbox had problems previous to them touching the car. No I replied, the gearbox is and has always been slick and a joy to use. 2 weeks later they were still stuffing around with it and had removed the gearbox 6 times and completely stripped it finding nothing wrong. I was getting pretty angry by then and suggested we just put a new one in so I could get my car back. Next day I get a call saying my car is ready to go and I can pick it up. Turns out they had put the wrong reverse light sensor in the box which was locking it between reverse/ 5th gate and 1, 2 ,3 ,4 gate. But thats not all. They serviced my aircon compressor which has now seized :(. And now this, even tightning plugs seems to be a challenge. Guess I won't be lazy from now on. Repeat business? :rofl::rofl::rofl:.



Mark

[TrevorW]

Toyota

a good Corolla (most made in Japan)

[marki]

Thread cutting grease is fabulous stuff. 99% of the swarf ends up stuck to the tap. The thread itself is only about 8mm deep and I only needed to clean up the top 3 mm so min swarf generated in any case. I also started the motor with the plug out for a few seconds and hopefully the rest blew out. The alternative is removing the head, repairing the thread off the car, getting the head planned (and probably valves whilst it's off) then buying a new head gasket etc etc. Cost if I did the labour myself excluding my time would be about $900.00. I can get a low km jap import (<60K) fitted for $1650 so I will just wait and see if it worked.

Mark

[DavidU]

I've had a lot of euro cars and 2 Jap cars and I must say the Toyota's are THE most reliable cars.A camry we had (albeit) boring, was a stand out reliable bit of engineering.The second best was Hondas.(Jaguar was last)
Top end Holden was about middle.

[matt]

Been with Honda the last 10 years. Terrific cars, although a little costly for service and parts.

[marki]

Matt the parts are expensive but they do last a long time. About 20 years ago I had a 72 honda civic which I bought for $400.00. I changed the clutch and radiator which were stuffed then drove it for 150 000km without fault. Best car ever :D. Had Honda cars ever since and they have always been good.

Mark

[matt]

True, mate.

I don't mind the expense for something that lasts:thumbsup:

[MrB]

I was going to suggest a Corolla too, but got beat.
I have an '86 AE82 Corolla with a 4A series engine.
Have had it for around 6 years now, wanted an old car that I didn't care about ;)
I have lost count how many times I have cooked it. Seriously cooked it. Temp gauge doesn't work so I rely on my nose.
Have replaced the water pump once and replaced one welsh plug(both are reasons for it getting cooked so often), other than that I have done absolutely nothing to it, not even changed the oil or replaced the filter!:eyepop:
And it's still kicking! You just can't kill these things.
I'm waiting for the timing belt to let go, I think it was last replaced in the early 90's.

[FredSnerd]

I always used to tell myself that TV Ads dont work on me. And then I saw that Honda Ad where theres that chain reaction like the falling dominos. I've wanted a honda ever since and I think its because of that Ad.

[FredSnerd]

Thats impressive. I'll certainly look out for one.

[marki]

Claude I think most Japanese cars are well made, particularly Honda, Subaru, Toyota and Mazda. I like the Honda because they are more Euro in style whilst being able keep working year after year. The bodies are well preped and never rust unless they have been in an accident. The electronics are super reliable as well. I like subaru's coz they make cars that are unique and have great big turbo's. Toyota's are as tough as nails and even if the body has completely disintergrated, the motor will still run. Mazda's come with all the fruit and I have a soft spot for turbo rotors :P:D. I don't like Mitsibishi cars, perhaps it's memories of the sigma....:shrug:.

Mark

[Outbackmanyep]

Yes, i will agree to TOYOTA being reliable, but like any car, if you look after it then it will look after you!

Our 91 model Troopy (first of the 1HZ engines) has done 435,000 kms and still going strong! We have had it since new.......we also have a 97 Camry Vienta which kicks ass (love the cruise control) and a Toyota Hilux which we bought second hand with 15,000 kms on it for less than those new Great Joke from china things advertised......i had to laugh!

[FredSnerd]

Thanks Mark, sounds good stuff.

[Outbackmanyep]

Have you had the gauge tested?? Don't use a test light!
If the gauge is burnt out and you can't afford to get another one then install a capillary type gauge! Better than nothing!

[DavidU]

Mmmm, Mazda rotarys, a nice exersise in reciprocating mass vs rotor seal technology.My V6 Mazda 929 was great (except the 2 pc tail shaft arrangement.)

[marki]

David, I remember the rotary boys who used to race against us could never get more than 14psi boost lest the rotor seals blow. They used to get around this by using high flow turbo's (off a mack truck I think :P:D) to make them go like stink at low boost pressures. Bloody fabulous in straight line and very quick indeed. I used to have a turbo (13B) RX3 coup, fast as hell but it didn't like the corners much as the wheel base was too narrow :).

Mark

[fringe_dweller]

heheh depends on the manager and culture of individual ultratunes methinks, i use one thats been great for years, but manager moved now, think it might be going downhill :(

got some great service ect stories, one time many many years ago had a recon V8 engine replaced in a old HZ at fancy reputable inner city holden centre, spent thousands of course, realised some time later, the apprentice (i saw him working on it) had put the crappy old plugs and points back into completly new engine! yikes :help: always scared now of getting the apprentice or work experience kid :sadeyes:

another time had just bought two year old ford, had massive thorough extensive and expensive service just to be safe, had engine bay steamcleaned ect, from major ford dealer/centre - driving it home and great amounts smoke starts dramatically pouring out from under bonnet, fearing the worst - it was close - got it home just, got RAA guy to check it out, i had just begun to say ' I just had it serviced ..' he said stop right there, no need to say anymore.. they were ominous words to him, he heard those opening words many times a day lol! anyway some slack .... had knocked a full bottle of power steering fluid over in engine bay, it went all over exhaust pipe, and just left it there :screwy: mufti it was very close thing, had to be towed back at their expense ... no wonder i now mortally dread services and such :scared:

[fringe_dweller]

ohh i forgot one of my faves!, also many moons ago, we had a 80's ford wagon, which was a peice of junk compared to modern fords, but it was in good nick, and had spent a small fortune on it, anyway we were getting the finishing touches done, new steel radial tyres, front end completely rebuilt, when the mechanice was taking it for a short test drive, some mufti rear-ended him, writing off our car, and insurance only paid market value, which was about 2k, it had cost us 10k :sadeyes: and we werent rich at the time, that was very sad :lol:

[mithrandir]

I've only ever had one bad Toyota experience in four vehicles and that was a Toyota dealer service stuffup.

Corona (a RWD model) was put in under warranty for a leaky diff oil seal. Got it back and a week or so later headed off from Sydney to Melbourne. Arranged for 20K service to be done in Tumut as it wasn't due before then, and would give us time to wander around.

Went back to pick it up & was asked if we'd had any work done recently. "Yes, diff oil seal" I said. "Ahh" service manager says. Sydney dealer hadn't refilled the diff. They filled it and said we *might* be lucky, but they notified the dealer, and Toyota HQ in Melbourne.

By the time we got to Lakes Entrance it was singing. It survived to Melbourne and spent several days at Toyota, who replaced the entire back end, at no cost to us.

[erick]

Over the years, I have won a few tools - left in the engine bay by the servicers!

[fringe_dweller]

David I thought you were a staunch support of aussie manufacturing? :question: only goes so far eh :lol:

[telecasterguru]

I have to admit that I also hate cars but my dog Roxanne loves them.

Frank

[FredSnerd]

Yeah! Why do dogs chase cars? They can't drive.

[AstralTraveller]

A local tyre store has lost a customer, not so much because they stuffed up but because they denied it. My wife took our old troopie in to get a puncture repaired. We also had them put the spare back under the car and the repaired tyre back on the R side rear. Fine.

A week or so later I noticed that the spare was a bit lose and so I tried to tighten it up. I discovered that the cross-member that wheel-lifter (that chain winch sorta thingy) mounts on was bent! What's more it obviously had been bent by the lifter. When I told my wife she said that she noticed that it took them about 20 minutes to get the wheel in place and that the young bloke who was doing the job had called the old bloke over to help.

It seems that, when he jacked the car up he somehow managed to hook the chain that hold the spare up on the floor-jack. So the car went up, the lifter stayed put and the cross member bent. If I had been there I would have seen them having problems and investigated but my wife doesn't like to enter workshops.

So we took the car back to them and they denied everything. They tried to claim we must have done it while 4 wheel driving. Rubbish. The damage wasn't consistant with that 'theory' and we hadn't been off the blacktop during the week. In the end the manager gave us the $50 it cost me for a crossmember from a wrecker. The last thing I said to him was along the lines "Mate, my old man was in the motor trade all his life and I know that sometimes stuff ups occur. Where he worked they were honest enough to admit it and make good the damage."

After that I refused to buy tyres from them, even though they are cheaper than their competators for the tyres I wanted. I just won't deal with someone who lied to my face.

[GrahamL]

Reliable cars :shrug: I think they all are when they gets us to where we want.. Camrys are pretty good , keep the timing belts changed
religously when there sposed to be .. My sons pulsar has been an
honest little car aside some dash cicruit board dramas
(australian made part).. I bought a tj magna recently at a good price
a few told me mitsubishi screwed up a few models in the 80's and 90's
and there credibility isn't that good with buyers still so you can get them quite cheap and the cars they make today arn't to bad .


A friends son had a wheel alignment done on his classic old hq a while back .. driving home and turning into his home street he noticed what he thought was a little movement in the steering wheel .. as he staightened up he gave it a little wiggle and the wheel came OFF in his hands .. when they had finished the alignment they had moved the wheel around one notch on the spline and left the nut in the centre console .. noice:thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

Mitsubishi engines seem to have a use by date. I had to replace the 2.6l 4cyl in one Pajero at about 130000Km and the 3l v6 in another at about 160000Km. Too much ring wear and valve lifters that wouldn't pump up.

[wasyoungonce]

My 2nd Daughters car started to make a rather noisy "tapping" noise, a Hyundai excel 1999, 2 weeks after purchase. Despite my protestations...I was un-happy with the pushy guy selling it (private sale).

She had just purchased this and she wouldn't listen to us about getting inspections (you know the scene), she had limited income as she's in year 12 (works part time at Coles). To make matters worse her cousin is a car mechanic and he said he would inspect it..but never showed up despite many promises (and offers or $100+)

Anyway this noise sounded, to me the pessimist, like a valve lifter or big end bearing. I didn't know, the working of a car engine are but a waste of physics/energy conversions to me!

We took it to a garage that flushed the engine & put in new oil...the car started smoking on start-up.

To cut to the chase it (the new oil fill) must have flooded the valve lifters seals, which are obviously on their way out but fixed the noise...must have been a valve lifter.

But it all settled down & it runs fine now ..no smoke and more importantly no more tears!:sadeyes:

A lucky escape at that! But at least she now listens to our advice..or "am I dreaming"?:sadeyes:

[DavidU]

I have 3 daughters, once they turn 20 they start listening to my advice and even ask for it:lol:

[wasyoungonce]

I wish that was true...the oldest is finishing 3rd yr Psychology (she's 21) now just entering Honours & Masters...She analyses everything at the dinner table!

She "knows it all"...and taught her other two Sisters!

Sigh ....I still have years of this to come!