Automotive Assistance Questions

[Nobody]

Thanks for the info - I posted there, it seems like a safe bet they'll get me on the right track. I've read a lot about one going bad after replacing one. That sucks.

Lanky - let it go, you'll feel better

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Thanks for the info - I posted there, it seems like a safe bet they'll get me on the right track. I've read a lot about one going bad after replacing one. That sucks.

Lanky - let it go, you'll feel better

I feel great, it was a joke.

 

[Dead Money]

Come on Jaime... I'm encouraged by this thread because this the one of the few times I've seen Ex admit that he doesn't know everything about everything. He gets points for it. We're all here for some common ground we share, we should always look for more. You get - points.

 

[Dead Money]

Thanks for the info - I posted there, it seems like a safe bet they'll get me on the right track. I've read a lot about one going bad after replacing one. That sucks.

Lanky - let it go, you'll feel better

That site has a ton of info that has been discussed over and over again. Chances are someone will steer you (no pun) to the search function. Many people doing writeups with pics for their projects, a real goldmine.

 

[Nobody]

They've definitely already taught me a lot of tricks that google didn't to solve the problem. So far, it's looking like it's not the CV, but the hub tests are looking like it isn't that either, even though apparently every symptom it has is a hub problem. Leave it to my truck to have the symptoms but test negative

 

[riggins44]

I would be willing to bet it is wheel bearings. I've see this a lot. My son had a '03 Explorer 4WD with a bad roar. Needed front RH and rear LH bearings. We did all 4.

Replacing a bad cv joint will not cause other one to fail.

Earlier there was a discussion about check engine lights. With today's cars it can be a host of things. A improperly installed gas cap, vacuum leak, bad electrical connection, sensor or solenoid, to the PCM. Get it checked out by a trained tech.

I can tell you we love to see cars that people try to fix themselves. Often the original repair would be minor, but if don't know what doing can create more problems. It would be like trying to fix a plumbing problem at home. Often pays to have it done by a professional.

 

[Nobody]

I would be willing to bet it is wheel bearings. I've see this a lot. My son had a '03 Explorer 4WD with a bad roar. Needed front RH and rear LH bearings. We did all 4.

Replacing a bad cv joint will not cause other one to fail.

Earlier there was a discussion about check engine lights. With today's cars it can be a host of things. A improperly installed gas cap, vacuum leak, bad electrical connection, sensor or solenoid, to the PCM. Get it checked out by a trained tech.

I can tell you we love to see cars that people try to fix themselves. Often the original repair would be minor, but if don't know what doing can create more problems. It would be like trying to fix a plumbing problem at home. Often pays to have it done by a professional.

I went ahead and ordered a new hub yesterday, it should be here tomorrow. Since I basically have to pull everything off to replace it anyway, I'm gonna pull of the differential and check it out, and everything else in between. That way, no matter what it is I'll find it.

 

[riggins44]

All you need to do is once cover is off look for shavings in oil. You can see if abnormal wear on ring and pinion.

Have a feeling replacing hub & bearing will take care of problem.

 

[Nobody]

That's what I'm hoping for too. Even though I am extremely mechanically inclined - bluing the gears, setting the clearances, pinion depth, backlash, etc. in the differential is not something I'd ever care to attempt. And since I would never throw down over a grand on any car repair, I'd be selling my truck. And I love my truck. Not like My Strange Addiction kind of love, but I would hate to get rid of it.

 

[riggins44]

Ex, you know don't need to pull axles to replace hub and bearings?

 

[Nobody]

I know. I've actually changed many hubs, this is just the first time a bad hub didn't result in the wheel flying off, so I'm gonna check everything out in the vicinity to make sure nothing else is screwed up while i'm at it. It's an old truck, from a girl who didn't do a lick of maintenance on it in 14 years. And my ball joints are pancaked and split as well, gonna change those too.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Question for the Auto Gurus.
I've heard you can save gas by turning your engine off at very long red lights. The argument against that says that since it takes additional gas to start up the car, it's not worth it. However, the counter against that says that if it's extremely long like 90 seconds ore more, then it favors saving gas since you're saving more than you're using to start it back up, in those long instances.
However there is the other factor, of additional wear and tear on the starter, battery, and/or alternator. So once again, the question is posed - if the light is extremely long, like 90 seconds or more, does the gas you save by turning your engine off and then on, offset the cost of wear and tear of those parts, by starting it up again ? Or does the wear and tear offset the gas ? What if it's an extremely long backup, due to traffic where you sitting for several minutes or more ?
So I guess the question is, what's the threshold ? How many minutes of sitting idly in one place, would it constitute turning your engine off ? 2 minutes, 3 minutes ? Minimum of 5 or 10 minutes in a major backup ?

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Leave your car running at red lights. The money you save is not worth being the asshole who isn't moving at the red light because his engine is off.

Seriously, it depends on if you've got an old or new car. Electronic fuel injection has pretty much eliminated fuel waste at startup, but if you've still got a carburetor, then you burn a lot of fuel at start-up. This article from Slate suggests the 10-second rule, but doing so would only save you about $20 a year.

http://www.slate.com/articles/healt...08/05/is_an_idle_car_the_devils_workshop.html

 

[Fear The Spear]

Leave your car running at red lights. The money you save is not worth being the asshole who isn't moving at the red light because his engine is off.

Actually I am very shrewd to avoid that. I carefully watch the other lights, and as soon as the last light in the cycle turns yellow or red, I turn my engine back on, so it's running and ready to go, when mine is green. So that isn't a problem

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Actually I am very shrewd to avoid that. I carefully watch the other lights, and as soon as the last light in the cycle turns yellow or red, I turn my engine back on, so it's running and ready to go, when mine is green. So that isn't a problem

Haha, it was a joke. Just giving you a bit of a hard time.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Fear, I'd be curious to find out what your results are if you try this.

I prefer to find out what the results would be, without getting the results myself, so I can possibly save me from buying and installing a new starter, battery, or more.

 

[Elephant]

So, I have been looking for Broncos over the last few months trying to find one that I can use to part out for my Bronco (need a transmission). Today I saw one that I would use my truck for parts. Clean as a friggin whistle! Within 2 minutes I knew the transmission was going in it. UGH! It was beautiful!

Then I went and looked at another one that looked like a big turd! It ran like a champ! I think I will be buying the turd and putting it's drive train in my Bronco. I will just have to continue to look for a tailgate for the damn thing! UGH!!!

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I prefer to find out what the results would be, without getting the results myself, so I can possibly save me from buying and installing a new starter, battery, or more.

Read the article I posted.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Read the article I posted.

Thanks a lot. Good article that addresses it quite well. Hard to believe the $10 annual figure they came up with for wear and tear on parts from excessive starting, is so low. Definitely seems like it should be higher.

"According to a study by Natural Resources Canada, obeying the 10-second rule will add roughly $10 to a driver's annual maintenance bill"

 

[Nobody]

It depends entirely on what you're driving though. Age, condition, etc. all factor in.

I don't know if anyone here has heard of hypermiling, but when I was driving 45 miles to work every day taking only back roads, I saved a killing on gas. The logic is, you get up to speed at a gradual rate instead of gunning it, then when you get 5-10 over the limit, shift into neutral and turn off the key. When you get down to about 15-20mph, you cut it back on, shift into drive and keep repeating.

Since I did this daily for a job that was in the boondocks, and I went to work at 5am, I knew there would never be anyone else on the road, so doing this was a breeze. With my best effort, I was able to get over 80mpg on my Sable. Not bad for a car that advertised 20mpg.

I've read stories about hardcore hypermilers who routinely squeeze 100+mpg out of their vehicles. But if you do this on main roads, you're likely to deal with quite a headache and possible bodily injury from being that asshole.