I miss the old days of working on your car

i'm told you have to drop the drivetrain out to change the clutch...

a feat i am about to have to undertake...

 

As a guy who's newest car is a 1955 Chevy Belair, I have to say I miss the ability to climb into the car and drive. No constant monitoring of the gauges for oil pressure or overheating, no getting cut off because I have to leave a huge gap between me and the car in front because drum brakes blow, no worrying it's hot enough that the starter solenoid won't let the motor turn over, no chasing mice out of the car if I leave it sit for more than 3 days, you get the picture. But I have to say, if I had the $17000 a new car costs lying around, I'd still throw it into the old stuff

 

They didn't design it that way. They designed the S-truck for a 60deg V6 or a 4cyl. When the trucks got loaded down with junk and accessories neither of these engines were powerful enough, so they stuck the 90deg (4.3) in them. They just didn't bother thinking too far ahead.

Anyway, they can just come out with a new "J-tool" for dealer techs to get around it. Who cares about aftermarket or home mechanics? GM figures they should pay to bring them to the dealer for service anyway!

 

I love threads like this.

2000 Dodge Dakota, just 185K. Just did first plug change and new water pump (it squeaked). Took just as much time as any other car. Replaced timing set on baby girl's 1998 Ford escort (150K miles). Took as long as changing a timing set on a sbc. Pulled codes on a 1992 Ford F150 with a paper clip and the check engine light. Thought about the codes and replaced a broken vacuum line (195K miles).

I drive old cars because they are fun. New cars are infinitely more reliable and easy to drive (no choke or carb to fiddle with in a FI vehicle). If you don't have basic troubleshooting skills, you won't be able to fix your car no matter how old it is. You might just get lucky because there are fewer parts involved in older cars. Throwing parts at a problem is not fixing it, even if it makes the problem eventually go away.

FWIW, I can't remember the last time I was left on the side of the road or had to do a repair on the side of the freeway. I do regular maintenance on all my toys. The newer toys just require a LOT less maintenance to stay reliable. Another good example is 50K miles on a motorcycle with nothing more than oil changes and tires and one little battery.

 

What about the real knowledgeable ones who say stuff like "WHAT! $79.95 just to plug in your computer and get a code? You guys are crooks."

 

No shit. Went to auto zone to get some wipers for my daughters 07 Audi A4. Special order only and $88 for a pair. Proof that the Germans hate us!

 

Im sitting here in pain ,Doin it in the driveway ,All I have left is serpentine and exhaust ,Im gonna fire it tomorrow and pray the oil seal dont leak ,Before I started I thought it would be easy ,Thinking the harmonic balancer seal was part of the timing cover ,Way off ,And to do the job right you should pull the oil pump.I couldnt get the damn pan off ,So I t got just that seal.Replaced pan gasket ,Didnt have to If the book was right,Hope the cam timings are right ,

 

i dropped my 56 old 3" today if that was a new car that would of takin all day

 

So what did the A4 cost?
I worked for a Mercedes/BMW dealership about 20 years ago and wouldn't think of buying a part for one of them anywhere but the dealership. The only parts that fit and function like originals are the originals on a German car.

 

Im pretty sure a friend of mine did the clutch in his first gen mr2 without dropping the motor out of it. It might be easier to do if you were too though. Get everything loose and lift the car off the motor/tranny with an engine hoist. Its a damn good time to do the TB and reseal the motor if its leaking.

 

There are good online sources. ECStuning comes highly recommended by the passat forum i frequent when i need to fix the GF's car. A passat is really an audi in disguise lol. i get all of my porsche parts online with an occasional stop at a rather good local import parts house when i need something yesterday (bap geon ftw). It saves me a lot of money.

$38 for a pair of factory wipers.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B7_A4-FWD-2.0T/Exterior/Wiper/

 

Bingo.

 

Bud, I don't know of anyone that charges to just pull/clear a code, especially when you can go to any aftermarket parts house and get it done for free.

Now, if you want me to spend MY time looking at it, and figuring out whats really wrong, you better expect to pay me for it. Like most mechanics, I don't get any form of salary or hourly pay, just a percentage of the labor bill (BTW, I get 15%, the salesman behind the counter gets 35% and the rest goes to the shop), and thats something we the techs have no control over. Oh, and that "$79.95", or $12 in my case, is all I get paid to figure out whats wrong, doesn't matter if it takes 1 hour or 10...

 

Ha! Well for $75 they could go get their own code reader and have fun guessing what's wrong with their car till the cows come home. LOL

 

This is not the case in California. Checking or clearing a code is considered repair. You need a license from the Bureau of Automotive Repair (B.A.R.) to do any sort of repair, legally, including that.

This might be the case in other states too. I do not know.

 

Makes me feel happy about living in the midwest. No emmissions checks. Just pay your taxes and license fees and you're all good with the govmnt.

 

"Ha! Well for $75 they could go get their own code reader and have fun guessing what's wrong with their car till the cows come home. LOL"


Or just look it up on line. Then fix the problem like I do.

 

But like I said. The code doesn't always tell you what the real problem is.

 

True that, and you don't even necessarily have to have a code to have a problem. A sensor that is still within the normal operating range will not necessarily show up as bad. If it is in-range, even at the totally wrong time, no code will necessarily show.

I have had to hook up the laptop and do a few hours of data acquisition in order to look for anomalies in the data. That is why the $79 code reader is not always a big help, or any help at-all.

 

kinda nice to be able to plug in the computer and get you close to the problem. if all ya worked on was model A's or cars just as simple that would be boring. also another reason i kept working on cars a hobby and not a career/living. production machinery is way more fun to work on.

 

haha... $85.00 here, and I get it all the time... go in back grab the ol' Genisis, or the Motis, or the ol' snap on brick out of the drawer... and hand it to 'em... "go hook it up"... "tell me what you find"..... I either get a "oh... I'm sorry", or "where do you hook it up?"......... that's why you pay me.

I charge $35 to clear a code, if you want to go further and actually find what's wrong... $85. I've fixed quite a few data ports that have gotten screwed up by kids at parts stores with those code readers...

exactly.

 

Huh, I did not know that. Not the case out here....yet.

 

Re: I miss the old days of working on your car

I think I really miss is being young ... ( which I was in the old days )

When I was younger I moved around better, was more agile and definately more energetic. I looked forward to working on the car. I, like many here I suspect, took a decent running car apart ... just looking to make it better. I looked for something to do to the car.

Now, I just about have to MAKE MYSELF get off the sofa or the HAMB and go mess with the Deuces. Even my new project ( 1949 M-47 Mercury pickup ) has not gotten me really motivated like I thought it would.

Back in the day, you worked on your car so you could go cruisin and street racing. Now ... that is almost nonexistent. So ... you go to a cruise night. Which a lot of the time is just a bunch of old folks sitting around in their lawn chairs.

Getting older is a BITCH ...
But it does beat the alternative

 

^Yeah, I'm still young and have the desire.

But my dad is nearing 70. He used to work a 10 hour day and then come home and work on cars with me until bedtime. Now he says he can only stand to work on them for a few hours out of the week.

 

i used to feel that way, had a bunch of old cars for daily drivers,sold them and got an 01 mustang gt,never needs anything. just get in and turn it on. cant beat that. as long as its american and a v8, i dont want to drive a hot rod 24/7

 

Yeah that's what I think as well. The new stuff definitely will go for a lot more miles however if one sits for a while there will be all sorts of weird problems. I've found by experience that one is extremely lucky to get a FI car to start after sitting a couple of years without running. I highly doubt anyone will be able to change a set of spark plugs on a 2011 car when it is 40-50 years old and has been sitting for 30+ and have it start.

I've driven a lot of old vehicles. Part of your problem is that you're driving a Chevy My current DD is a 65 F100. I've replaced a brake line, and I replaced the ignition system with on off my 77 F100 because I had it laying around. I drive it to work 5 days a week, it always has started even when it was -25 below or more. The heat does suck and after I forgot to remove the cardboard away from the radiator when the weather was warm it did overheat big time. It boiled out nearly all the coolant! After putting in some coolant I'm afraid I may have blown a head gasket, it leaks a small amount on the outside of the block. For the past month and a half I've ignored it.

Now if that had been a new car/truck chances are the motor would have been so trashed that I would have been hoofing it the last month and a half. For most newer vehicles overheating one time is enough to ensure that you're going to be replacing a head gasket. Now drive it 10 miles with the needle pegged, that motor would be junk.

 

John
I don't know how you can miss the good ol days of working on "my" car. I don't think you ever worked on my car. You are more than welcome to drop by and snag a wrench anytime you want to though.

I understand where you are comming from. The wife has a late model truck and she takes it to the garage when it needs anything. There are some bastard things when working on older cars also though. I am having a bear of a time getting the rear hubs off my old Willys, I guess I'm going to have to break out the proper puller.

tell you what I won't work on anything late model unless I absolutely have to. I don't have to make my living that way so it makes it easier for me than it is for you.

 

Put another way, today's cars are not designed to survive their manufacturers. In a sense a modern car is just a piece of equipment the manufacturer uses to deliver a mobility service. It needs for the manufacturer to stay intimately involved with it over its service life: if that is so the car can achieve really impressive mileages.

It's a different relationship, a much less equal one than had once been the case.

On a related note, I haven't done most of the work on my cars in quite a while, I haven't had the time. But it's important to me that whoever does work on my car is my equal. I like cars that reward technological engagement not because I want to do the work myself but because to do the work I want to deal with someone who is, on a philosophical, political, spiritual level, essentially like me. That the manufacturers of modern cars emphatically ain't.

 

I have the correct tool,a massive 3 leg puller ,If you lived nearby I would let you use it Yeah,rear drums with the tapered axles,Willys, Jeeps,Mopars etc, pain in the ass.

 

I put the pos back together an d still leaking ,Im doing it one more time,This time I dropped the right side of frame To take the oil pump out ,Theres a block seal there also............,Fuc ing book dont tell you that ,These last 4 days Ill never get back ,Its suppose to rain here for 2 days ,Ill sneak in some model A time...............