Got a Quick, Technical Question?

burdawg

I always thought of those as cam followers. I guess they serve the same purpose as solid lifters though. Anyway, reading the later posts it sounds like there's other problems besides the ticking noise.

qbrozen

or a cracked head! ouch!
or bad head gasket.

Sounds just like my Mazda truck. Bad lifters AND a cracked head.

hmmm... would a stuck valve give smoke? i guess that wouldn't necessarily burn oil, though.

Could always run a compression test and at least eliminate SOME possibilities.

qbrozen

well, they serve as lifters, yeah. But being hydraulic (which is kind of a misnomer, really, since they don't use "hydraulic fluid" but rather oil), the idea is that they will be quieter than solid lifters. They are really just little enclosed springs, but rather than coiled metal inside, they are pumped up with oil through hollow channels in the rocker arms. It is a pretty silly system, IMHO.

fordlover100

i have a 1991 mazda and the left turn signel dosnt work i think it makes the sound but none of the left bliners blink

and i checked the blinker lights and the front right was out

could this be why its not blinking at all not even on the dash.

bob160

engine runs perfect when timing is set at 4'B.T.C. however if you shut it off it will not start unless you rotate the distributor to 25'B.T.C. installed the following new parts cap,rotor,plugs,two distributors,timing chain and gears,coil,wires still no change.Anyone who has any ideas I would certainly appreciate a reply Thank You!

Mr_Shiftright

Sounds like you didn't line up the marks correctly on the timing chain sprockets. An engine wouldn't normally start at 25' BTDC static timing, or if it did, it would "bind" as it turned over. You may need to buy a tool that measures piston travel through the spark plug hole to see if indeed both valves are closing as the piston reaches TDC in #1.

bob160

I had the problem with the old timing chain,when I pulled it apart the marks were lined up however there was play in the chain so I replaced it making sure the marks were aligned. Even the harmonic balancer pointed to zero.

Mr_Shiftright

Can you check to see if the valves are both closed at TDC on #1?

Or you could do this. Put your thumb over #1 spark plug hole. Disconnect the coil so the engine can't start. Then rotate the engine by hand or by remote starter until you just feel compression under your thumb (maybe you can do this with a breaker bar on the crank pulley nut)...when you feel compression, you should also have a) rotor in distibutor pointing to number one wire b)both valves on #1 loose and closed.

I don't mean to scare you but sometimes the timing gear marks are punched wrong at the factory.....unlikely but you never know....

johnnytino

I HAVE A 2000 LIN TOWNCAR, 31,000MI.SIG. WHEN BRAKING, CAR PULLS TO THE LEFT

Mr_Shiftright

low tire on that side

worn suspension part causing car to drop slightly on the left

malfunctioning caliper or caliper slide

grease/debris on rotor or brake pad

johnnytino

THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY, CHECKED SUSPENSION, OK, CLEANED PADS AND INSPECTED THEM AND ROTOR, OK, I THINK YOUR RIGHT WITH WORN OR STUCK CALIPER

dave8697

still working the no backlighting for dash. About to swap out 3rd brake light assembly because the bulbs melted the old cover and water then got in and melted the whole thing. I got a J/Y one for $6. I already changed the headlight switch with a new one and it fixed 2 things but not the backlighting. All fuses are OK.

Does anybody know where the associated relays are located? There could be one for the day/night sensor. Is there another?

sundaydriver1

Car: ford explorer 2005
Problem: turning lights do not flash anymore (front left or right, rear left or right) but they are on (not flashing) when signal is on. The turning signal inside the car turns on but does not flash also. However, when turning on the emergency light, all 4 lights flash properly. I have replaced the 4 lights to no avail. What next?

thanks

dhutcheon

Hello, i am from Atlanta Georgia. Does any one have any information on how one can get a vehicle steering converted from left hand drive to right hand drive. I am returning to my contry of birth for at least 6 months and would like to take a vehicle with me. Help please. dhutcheon. peace

kiawah

Replace the flasher.

This relay flashes both the left and right turn signals.

Check your owners manual for the location, look in the index under fuses. I believe ?? it's on the topside of the fuse panel.

henry0811

I have an 02 dakaota. For some reason, it keeps overcharging. It doesn't always do it. I can go days with no problems and other days it does it every 10 minutes. Had the alt. checked and it was fine. Any idea?

user777

probably had the alt checked when everything was fine.

voltage regulators on the alternator may be bad. possibly a bad / loose connection or broken module.

see if you can't get a replacement from a pull-it place or parts store. how much does an alternator cost? can you return it if it's used? I know, stupid question. maybe a whole alternator assembly from a pull-it place.

ther other possibility i suppose is perhaps some intermittent short in the battery. i'm just WAGing though. hopefully someone else can add more.

Mr_Shiftright

You do that kind of conversion at your destination, not here.

91firebirdmyle

its a 3.1 carb (orginally it was fuel injected but the prevous owner put a new engine in a carburated one) i started my car and it ran for 5 secs then died out. wasnt started after that! checked for spark it was there. so then i put thought its the fuel so i put some gas on my carb and it started for like a couple secs. so i figuered fuel pump but i checked that took off the fuel line and gas it spitting out when starting. what can my problem be. Please HELP I DONT KNOW WHAT IT CAN BE?

Mr_Shiftright

If it starts each and every time you pour fuel into the top of the carburetor (careful, this can be dangerous) then you have a fuel delivery problem for openers. Do you have a real carb or a throttle body electronic type of carb? (which is fuel injection inside a carburator body, sort of).

Obviously you have fuel in the line but it's not getting into the intake manifold. Perhaps there's a clogged filter inside the carb/throttle body? Of if it's a real carb, a stuck float bowl?

91firebirdmyle

yeah thats what mi saying i really dont know much about carbs but all the gas is getting there up till the carb after that i dont know whats going on with it. what other kind of things can be with it like is there any other fuel delivery sytems in it.(dont know if its real carb or what im guessing its not)

Mr_Shiftright

That's something you're going to have to find out because otherwise I can't guess what might be interrupting fuel delivery between the gas line that you say is full and the "carb" that you've proven is empty!

rhinodecals77

My daughters beetle has a manual Trans and it will not shift in to any gears. Does anybody have any ideas as to were I can start looking to fix this problem. I need to get it fix don't really went to go to the dealer. already had to pull it to my house.

qbrozen

what is it doing when you try to get into gear? grinding?

could be the clutch is shot. Or it could just be stuck. Or it could be the slave cylinder or clutch master cylinder. Pretty much any clutch component.

rhinodecals77

At first it did grind in a couple of gears but not now no grinding.
It will go in the space for all the gears but will never lock into gear. When I first got to it, it would go into rev. and 4th gear. Now it will not lock inot gear. I can see the shifter moving the controls on top of the trans but that is it. I got I home late so I will look at it tonight.

qbrozen

what are the details on the vehicle? Age? Miles?

so you are saying it goes into the slot for the gear, but then nothing happens? It doesn't pop back out of the slot or anything? Have you tried holding it there and see if you can accelerate? If you are getting nothing while the gear selector is in the slot, I would have to guess that the gears have been stripped clean. That would be pretty odd, though, unless something else caused it to happen. I might say synchros, but usually that involves grinding and popping out of gear. Maybe that happened first and it was abused to the point all the gears stripped.

I'd also like to know things like how long your daughter has been driving a stick and what her habits are.

Mr_Shiftright

Does the gear shift "feel" normal, or is it all loose and floppy (no wisecracks about the host please :P ).

I'm wondering if some linkage pin has fallen out. This, however, would make the gear shift lever feel like it wasn't attached to anything at all. (no resistance)

In theory, with the engine running, this car couldn't actually be going into gear. The clutch must be working to allow you to enter a gear..so it must have busted some linkage or some internal part in the transmission has cut loose entirely. At least from what you say. If I were in the car, I'd know more.

user777

stupid question. Is it possible one of the half-shafts to a CV joint slipped out of the transmission?

once upon a time, wife got a new half-shaft and CV joint because our '94 Accord Manual was exhibiting the brrt brrt brrt and the CV boot was gone and the packing lost.

following replacement, wife driving, gets to intersection, puts it into first and hears grinding. Vehicle/Trans is in first, but no forward motion....

Mr_Shiftright

Yes possible but there would be a hell of a racket wouldn't there?

user777

you'd think so, but first-hand experience says, nope, just a little wine. (i mean whine).

you may need lots of wine if you fubar some gears though.

rhinodecals77

When she left the house to go to the bank and to work it was driving fine to the bank. she left the bank and was heading to work she stop at a stop light and when she put in gear it went into first and then would know go into any other gear. She heard no noise the engine runs fine. When I go there it would go into rev. and 4th gear now it will not lock into any gear. It does feel a little loose the car is a 2002 not sure on the miles. Thanks for all your help were would any of you start looking.

user777

well, if it will go into some gears and move, it's not the issue I was explaining with a half-shaft. sounds like the clutch or linkages to the clutch or transmission/shifter, but i'm outta my league. shifty will probably be able to assess based on the better description.

good luck.

Mr_Shiftright

So...are you saying

A. that with the engine running, you can put the car into 1st gear, let out the clutch, and the car won't move?

OR

B. with the engine running, the gear won't go and just grinds or jams?

If A, you've busted linkage or internal transmission parts or severed a half-shaft completely

If B, you have a bad clutch slave cylinder or bad clutch.

rhinodecals77

I would have to say (A) I don't think it is a bad Clutch. Just a gut thing We have not had any problems until now. It just stop shifting It only made noise once.
Like I said in my last post i can see the shift linkage moving I have not looked at the Clutch linkage

Were Do i start looking on the car to find out what is wrong with it.

Mr_Shiftright

Let's back up a bit.

Read over (A) option again. It either is or isn't doing this. There should be no uncertainty here at all. Once you're SURE what's happening, get back to us and we can tell you where to look for trouble.

If you can start the engine, put it the clutch, put it in gear, and the car doesn't move, that's A.

If you start the engine and CAN'T get it into gear without it jamming or grinding, that's B.

It's either A or B.

Here's another test but you MUST be careful.

Make sure there is nothing in front of the car. Put the emergency brake on REAL tight.

Do NOT start the engine.

Put the car in 1st gear using the clutch pedal, then release the clutch pedal completely. Make sure the car is in first gear and the clutch is released.

Now put your foot firmly, really hard on the brake

Now turn the key.

Did the car lunge forward, (B) or did the car start up like it was in neutral? (A)

If A, you've busted some linkage or internal transmission part or severed a half-shaft

If B, you have a bad clutch or clutch slave or clutch master cylinder.

If it's A, there's nothing you can do without a lift.

If it's B, check the hydraulic fluid level in both the clutch master and clutch slave cylinders.

rhinodecals77

OK I put the car in 1st gear and the car would not start. So I started the car and it would not go into gear.
Standing of the engine I can grab the balance weight and I can move it around and it sound like it is going into gear.

I don't know if i a\said it was a 2002 beetle

kiawah

If you can put it in gear, and then the engine won't start....the problem is the clutch.

You put it in gear, have the brakes on, and tried starting. The starter would try to turn the engine, but the engine is in gear, and the tires won't turn because you have the brakes on. If the clutch would have disengaged correctly, then the engine would be free to start.

Mr_Shiftright

Okay so you're saying that when you put it in gear, you cannot push the car forward or back...it's locked, even without the emergency brake on?

If that's the case, then yes, you have a bad clutch or master or slave cylinder.

I don't know what you mean by "did not start". That's something new again....

rhinodecals77

No I can put into what would be 1st gear and push it all over the yard. When I put it in 1st gear and try to start it. The car will not start because they put a safty on the car so it will not start with the clutch not pushed in. I have three cars that are manual shift and none of them will start with the clutch not pushed in. :confuse:

Mr_Shiftright

Okay! Then something busted in the linkage or in the transmission/drivetrain.

You can check the axle shafts and I think you could have someone pump the clutch while you check to see that the slave cylinder (or cable, whichever is used to operate the clutch) is working the clutch fork. It should move about an inch or two when you pump the clutch. You might even have broken a main shaft in the tranny.

As for checking linkage, I don't know the car well enough to know if you can remove the shift boot and look down there. Maybe you'll get real lucky and just some pin fell out of the gearshift lever!

ray80

I don't know about the VW's, but I had a MT vehicle that used a couple cables as linkage between shifter and tranny. I think twice during ownership a cable broke or stretched and made it un-shiftable. You may be able to see that by looking under boot or where it attachs to solid linkage under hood. Just a thought

qbrozen

sooooo... man, i'm still confused.

you can't get it into gear while running. but you can get it into gear while the car is off. SO, how bout pushing the clutch in, putting it into 1st, THEN starting the car and then letting out the clutch.

It is still bothering me that you can't get it into gear while running, yet you can put it in gear while off and push the car around. These 2 things don't typically go together. If you can't get it into gear while running, that usually means the clutch isn't releasing. But if the clutch isn't releasing, you shouldn't be able to push it around the yard while in gear.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm confused,too, about this description. Wish I was there I could solve this in a few minutes I think.

bolivar

Ask him to carry his monitor and put it into the car. Then you could directly see the problem.

Couldn't hurt. I never did understand his explainations of what was and wasn't working and/or when??????

Mr_Shiftright

Well he's trying.

How about this:

Put car in neutral, take off emergency brake (LEVEL GROUND!) and push the car and see if it rolls.

Okay, it rolls.

Step 2

Put car in "gear" or what you think is in gear, and try to push the car and tell us what happens. Try different gears and trying pushing each time. Try reverse as well.

petecal

My friend has a 1999 Avalon. The door locks have started opening at random. I would like to do a little debugging. Does any body know where the control module for the door locks is located?

Also, is there a separate module for the alarm system or are the two integrated?

It seems the doors unlock at random. If the alarm is set, then the alarm sounds. To me that implies the car doesn't "think" it was the remote that unlocked the doors.

We were sitting in his driveway last night having a cold one and every few minutes we could hear the door locks "click". In one case, we locked all the doors (alarm not set). In a few minutes, we heard the click and is seems only the driver's door was unlocked. To me that means the lock controller thought that someone unlocked the driver's door using the inside door handle or key in the door.

The car has an aftermarket remote starter system. He has taken the car to both the dealer and the guys that installed the remote starter. Both say their parts check out and it must be a problem with the other's equipment.

Thanks in Advance

PeteCal

user777

any possibility there is a FOB located in a drawer or in a pocket and being activated? stories abound with kids messing with extra FOBs, or FOBs in someone's pants pocket, or someone's purse or drawer getting activated.

imidazol97

Along those lines is there a possiblity the aftermarket remote start uses a frequency that someone else's electronic whatever uses... I had fun installing my last new garage door opener. It ran the neighbor's door up and down when I used mine from outside or on the road. They had not changed their code after they installed their opener.

petecal

I'm more inclined to say it is within the car. Primarly because only the driver's door unlocks. And that is even when it starts doing it every 2 or 3 seconds. That should be close enough in time for the successive openings to trigger the other doors.

Also, last night we were driving down a country road and it clicked two times. There was no other cars or houses around and his remote was on the key chain.

It has happen at other times like when his remote was in the house, beyond range (we tested that) and while in the parking lot at work.

I just need to open up the door panel and also the control module and do some continuity checks. That is why I would like to know the location of the control module.

Thanks

Pete

20blazer00

I have a 2000 4wd LS. What is happening (and the service guys at dealer cant find) is that the selector will shift out of 2wd by itself.
They said it had a bad electrical problem. But Friday when I talked to them they said " We cant figure it out. Dont have any Idea. And we probally wont." Is there sonethig else that causes this? They said the replaced the dashboard selector. But, still couldnt control it.