overheating in city driving does indicate an air circulation problem rather than a clogging problem--also your observation of a slight drop in temp at highway speeds suggest an air ciculation problem. So fan clutch is not a bad guess. Does the car also have auxiliary electric fan cooling?
A rough test would be to observe how fast the fan is spinning when the fan clutch is hot. If it's just loafing along with a hot engine observed at high idle, that could be your problem.
Electric fans are helpful as an aftermarket item, but they won't move nearly as much air as a belt driven fan (that's working properly).
I have a 1998 saturn. Tonight while driving the car, the engine totally stopped. Lights went out, a/c off...nothing worked. The hazard lights did not even work, although I did hear some type of noise when I turned on the hazard lights. The car makes no noise at all. I had to leave it where it stopped. Luckily, someone helped me push it off the road. I got a new battery anout 6 months ago. No warning lights came on. But earlier last week while driving, the engine quit. By that I mean, all the gauges went to the "off" or "0" position . Low fuel light came on, and a very loud bell went off in the car(worse than the seat belt chime). I started it back up while the car was still driving down the road. Actually I forgot about that incident until tonight. What could this be???
I'm with burdawg. If it was your alternator, then your battery would have been drained as a result, and you would not have been able to restart.
So it sounds like possibly a bad connection/bad ground somewhere. Could be tough to track down. Start simple and check the connections to the battery and alternator. Also check your main chassis grounds. Shake some wires a bit and see if it will start. If you can get it to start, carefully shake some wires again and see if you can get it to stop.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I had a similar problem about 7-8 years ago on a 91 Accord. In my case, it turned out to be some computer (I think located under a seat) that was replaced, at about $400-$500. Hope this is helpful.
I am thinking about having door poppers installed on my car, but I really do not know that much about them. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me the details about them and if you like the look? Are there certain cars that shaved door handles are better for? Also who could I get the kits from, are there ones that are better than others, and how much is it going to cost me? I recently heard of a new technology that is currently being developed that is not yet on the market that allows you to activate the poppers by just touching the metal on the door in a certain spot outside the door. Would this be a good way to activate the poppers?
Hey, MY wife's 2002 Escape has exactly the same problem. She took it into Pep Boys, and they told her she needed a new battery. $100 later, she left the shop, only to have the battery light come back on within 5 minutes.
They re-diagnosed the problem, and then told her it was the alternator; they said that, with the battery failing, they couldn't detect the alternator's defect.
I spent a wonderful evening replacing the alternator (the folks at AutoZone said the one I pulled out was indeed bad. After all that effort--and another $155--I have identical intermittent battery light problems, in spite of getting the correct voltages with the car off and running.
It seems to occur most often when I'm driving down the highway at a steady 65 MPH (~2200 RPM)--if I slow down enough to bring the RPMs down to below 2000, the light goes out within a minute.
Did anyone ever obtain a definitive answer to this vexing problem?
Check to see if the serpentine belt tensioner is weak. Not real likely on an 02', but if the mileage is up then it could be. If it is the belt could be slipping under certain conditions. Sometimes if it's weak, when you retract it to get the belt off, it aggravates the problem and makes it worse.
My very reliable 93 Chevy Lumina started leaking water all over the passenger side of the floor when I run the AC. Pretty sure it is condensation. Can someone tell me what is going on, if it is an easy fix, and how to fix it?
most cars have an outside air intake near the bottom of the windshield in the area of the wipers which you can see a bit more clearly with the engine hood up.
when you have debris that gets in there, it typically falls inside the vehicles cabin air intake and hits the cabin air filter. from there it ends up in the evaporator pan, which is a little tray sitting below the evaporator coil which is the cooling part of the A/C system. when the system is on, just like your home AC system in your attic or basement, condensation forms on the coils and drips into a pan. it's got to drain somewhere. if the pan and or drain get clogged with outside debris, the condensate accumulates and the water has to go somewhere.
where is that? on the passenger footwell area generally. when you make turns you are likely to see a good drip or even a stream sent to the floor.
a clogged evaporator pan drain line is easily diagnosed as follows: you turn the AC on with the car running, put it in park and apply the hand-brake. exit the car and look under the car in the vacinity between the front passenger wheel and the fire wall (the vertical plane that exists between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment...you will see this with the hood up if you look behind the engine from the side of the car.
anyway, you're looking at the ground underneath somewhere between the front passenger wheel and say the beginning of the front passenger door (maybe that's simpler for you to find).
in a vehicle where the pan is draining properly, you'll see a steady stream of water hitting the pavement with the AC running. if your pan or drain is clogged, water may not be dripping at all, or at a very slow rate.
when you drive with this condition, some people hear the sound of water striking a hot skillet. i think it's because the evaporator coils are comming into contact with the water in the pan and being flashed to ice.
sorry for the novel.
go to a garage (local will do) and ask them if they'd kindly take their air compressor and blast the A/C drain hose with a couple of shots of compressed air with it (effectively blowing out the clogg). ask if you can watch.
be amazed at the amount of water that pours to the ground when the obstruction is removed.
if they tell you no-charge, give them a tip anyway.
regular maitenance? constantly check the air intake area (remember in the beginning of the novel, the area near the wipers at the bottom of the windshield)? remove debris that collects there to lesson the chance the clogging happens again.
What exactly is the name of the part directly in front of the radiator? It is a thinner black grate in FRONT of the radiator. Need a new one but don't know the exact name of it. Thanks.
Assume there are two engines of the same size, say 4.0 liter. One is V6 and the other is V8. Which engine is better overall, in terms of torque, HP, fuel efficiency, smoothness (balance), etc.?
But I can't find a topic for this... I'm looking for the end or edge caps for bumpers on a 1980 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham. Each bumper has two, and I think they're made out of plastic. I have put out a parts request on one of the internet parts sites. Is there a cross-reference so that I can find out which vehicles use the same bumper?
Car overheats, coolant exits thru the fill tank. With car parked, I let it heat up until the temperature needle was in the red. Fan did not cycle on at all. Upper and lower radiator hoses were very hot. The car has sufficient coolant in it. Mileage is 145K. 1. I want to check the fan to see if it works. It has a four wire pack and a two wire pack with each individual wire all going into the back of the fan. One of the wires in the two wire pack first goes to a gold colored piece of metal, then on to the fan. How can I test this fan? 2. How do you test the sensor that is in the upper radiator hose that has wires that go to the fan? I can get a multimeter but don't know how to conduct the test. 3. The thermostat is not where the upper radiator hose connects to the engine. Does that mean I should follow the lower radiator hose from the radiator and find the thermostat? 4. Is it possible to check a thermostat while it is on the car using an infrared light that measures temperature? A mechanic at a Saab dealership told me that the dealership has one. The owner of this car can't really afford to take the car to a garage. Any help I get would be appreciated.
If it's a Saab you gotta consider a bad head gasket and test for it.
As for testing the fans, if they aren't blowing like crazy with a hot engine, you know something's wrong there. You could by-pass the sensors and hook up 12V directly to the fans for a few seconds and see if they work. If they do, sensors could be the problem.
If the car has overheated badly, you really need to check for a bad head gasket regardless of what you find with the fans. Saabs of that era had a pretty high head gasket failure rate as I recall (something like 8%).
This can be done by pressurizing the cooling system and checking for coolant leaks on the spark plugs (or remove the plugs and shine a light into the cylinder if you can).
You can also test for combustion gases in the coolant itself.
Thanks for the tip--I'm not aware of a good local junkyard. I sent an e-mail request to a place in California that I've used for VWs before; they also have a GM yard, but I haven't heard back yet. I'll keep looking.
I own an 01 4x4 double cab with 90k miles that just had the O2 sensor and the TPS replaced. There is still a hesitation when I try to rev the engine during idle and even when I'm driving. It is impossible to start quick from a stop. I also changed the plugs last year. My gas mileage has dropped to about 15mpg, too. Anyone have an idea?
Mr. Shiftright are you telling me to check the head gasket because the car overheated, or are you telling me that a bad head gasket caused the overheating? I would love to bypass the sensor and test the fan. The question is how? I need someone to give me specific directions. I cannot figure out where to connect jumper wires direct from the battery to the fan.
I'm driving to Subway to get lunch and in my residential neighbourhood for whatever reason, the city has some big hoses running from a fire hydrant to a project a few blocks away (they are digging something up, not sure what). Anyways these hoses have been there for 3 weeks and are well marked and in addition they put ashpalt over the hoses so that they stay together. In essence it's a big speed bump for which you have to slow down to a crawl to go over.
Well being so nice today, I had the windows open and the stereo cranking....next thing you know....BANG!!!!! Needless to say I had gone over these stupid hoses with my car. I was going about 60 Km/h (35mph). Shortly after there is a 4 way stop and I went through that no problem...phew. I keep driving a couple of seconds and slow down for a turn and when I apply any moderate pressure to my brakes there is this "clunk" sound from what I think is the rear of the car (not really sure though).
The car turns fine and there are no noises as far as I can tell when I turn the wheel either way. Also there is nothing leaking under the car, and looking at the undercarriage nothing seems to be hanging/out of place nor is there any sign I bottomed out. So my only problem is this clunking sound whenever I apply moderate pressure to the brakes (no sound when light pressure applied).
Update:
I took it into the shop today and told them my problems. They ended up doing a brake service which consists of inspecting and lubing the brakes. The noise is still there and they told me that they would need 1-2 hours to run diagnostics on the car to get a better idea of what the problem was. They also retorqued the subframe (whatever that means) as this is often a cause of noises after accidents. In addition, they checked underneath the car and according to them absolutely everything looks as it should. I asked if the car was safe to drive as is and he said "I can't guarantee that it is".
I decided to take the car as is and I will try another shop tomorrow to get a second opinion before forking out $160 just to have the car looked at again. Any opinions?
well, i'm not an expert on Celicas, but as far as general suspension, it could be a number of things. I'm mainly thinking busted shock/strut mount. As you brake hard, the rearend of the car lifts and is obviously pulling something that is making the clunk. I wouldn't look to the brakes themselves for the problem.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Well it's a chicken or the egg question. The overheating could have been caused by a bad fan switch or sensor, and that could have damaged the head gasket, or the bad head gasket could have caused the overheating which no fan could stop anyway.
I can't give you electrical advice, it's too risky for you over the internet unless I took pictures or something and I don't have your type of car at my disposal. I am sorry.
I think you should spend the $100 diagnostic fee on this since you might waste that much barking up the wrong tree and replacing parts that don't need replacing. It's tough to guess without a wiring diagram and the right testing tools. I'd make mistakes myself if I had to do it that way.
But back to basics---yes, by all means the first part of the diagnostic "tree" (i.e. the logic of eliminating causes one at a time) is to determine if the fans work. If they work, then move to the sensors; if they work, then to the relays; if they work, then I think it's time to pressurize the cooling system and/or test for combustion gases in the coolant.
I mention this because Saab 4 cylinders of this era are so prone to head gasket failure. But inoperative fans certainly could be the cause.
I may be in the wrong forum but I couldn't find one for audio problems. I have an aftermarket Kenwood KDC-7009 receiver in my 1995 Thunderbird. It's one of those that shows a blank face when the car or radio is off and then the faceplate rotates and switches on when you start the car. The problem is it rotates and comes on, but then it is frozen; can't adjust volume, tune it, presets, anything. I tried the reset button, pulling the fuse, and disconnecting the battery. I don't mind spending the money to replace it, but I'm not sure how to remove this one from the dash. Anyone know how to get these out?
2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
Got the stereo out, popped the trim piece off and used two hacksaw blades to release the sides. Here all these years I had this stereo that disappeared and was supposedly hard to steal, and it took me 30 seconds to remove it!
2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
since i don't own a Ford Escort, one suggestion would be to visit the local bookstore or perhaps auto parts supply store and look in a Haynes or Chilton.
on vehicles I have owned, it has been either mounted to the top of the engine near the injectors, or connected to a pipe / tubing that was connected to the top of the engine near the injectors. could be on the side, or on the exhaust-side.
is there some sort of heat shield or dust shield covering the top of the engine? perhaps (if your car has one) it is located under the shield for the exhaust manifold.
if you don't know what it looks like / having trouble recognizing it, you can google it or visit a parts supply web-site.
Looking for fiberglass fenders (you know the ones you knok off ) is just about to get me. E-Bay has been no help at all,and JC Wittley wants to sell them in pairs.These fender explode when a tire goes bad.
I just bought a 95 Lumina. The a/c compressor will come on. The blower works. But there are two problems. 1) Going up hills or merging into traffic the air will stop blowing out the vents or defrost vent (blower still running). Have checked vacuum lines and did not find any leaks. 2) While parked or driving cool (not cold) air comes from the two a/c vents on the drivers side while hot air comes from the two on the passenger side.The car DOES NOT have the controls to adjust the temp on drivers/passenger side.
Pulled the glove box while checking the vac lines. There is a box about 8" long with an electrical connector and an assembly of vac lines on the bottom. Disconnected the connector and no air would blow from any vent (blower still running). Disconnected the vac line assembly with same results. Can not remove each line because they are all made into an assembly. My thinking is that this box is bad but what is it?
The car probably has lower vacuum under load while going up hills or merging because you have opened the accelerator to speed up. There is a plastic tank somewhere on the car where the vacuum line from the motor goes and there should be a one way valve to retain vacuum while accelerating--but that only works for a while. The tank could have a crack.
Another option is that the vacuum motors that get the vacuum to control them inside the car are leaking with age and when the motor drops in vacuum they drop the vacuum quicker than when they were new and fresh rubber.
If you have the settings on dash vents and you turn off the motor but keep the blower running does the air keep coming out the dash vents for perhaps 30 seconds before the vacuum leaks away and the air starts coming out the defrosters? The air should come out defrosters when you accelerate also.
You didn't say how many miles are on the car. A high mileage motor also is weaker and has lower vacuum. That compounds the problem with age on the rubber parts inside.
The warmer air to passenger might just be because of low charge in AC. It's normal for AC to run warmer at idle because the condenser in front of radiator doesn't get as much air cooling it off.
I have a 2001 Ford Windstar, 30,000 miles.. recently started hesitating, going from like 25-40 n then would smooth out. I have to really push the pedal to make it keep going. It "feels" like it would stall but it never has.. any ideas
The "steering module" broke in a friends 2004 Frontier. Friends son said steering had been "locked" and that he "broke it free" by turning wheel sharply. Then started truck and drove with no steering(unbeknownst to him). Is this a common problem?(module breaking so easily...not the son) Dealership wants $2,500 to repair(legitimate?)but it's only 60 miles over warranty. Any recourse?
Steering was lost backing down driveway(truck rolled into fence), what agency can this be reported to?
Agency to report to? What about the police? For a 'kid' that pulled on a steering wheel so hard that he broke it.
Ford vehicles for many years have been known to easily 'jam'. When you stop a Ford with your foot on the brake, put it in park, take the key out, then let the brake off - the car will roll slightly and will also move the steering enough that the linkage in the steering column jams up so tight that the key cannot be turned the next time you try to start it.
What to do? Pull firmly on the steering wheel one way while trying to turn the key. If it does not turn, try pulling the wheel the opposite direction. This should 'unjam' the linkage and the key will turn. If forced like the 'kid' did, bad things will happen.
A lot of non-Fords also will do this, but FoMoCo vehicles seem to have more problems with this. Which has been happening ever since the interlock between the steering and the key was introduced, what, 40 years ago?
I really do think that the kid broke it - he should pay to have it fixed.
Hi I got a 2000 A4 Audi (manual). It has a severe problem. When I turn it on it works fine, but after I ride it for the first time and then stop, the car starts shaking, like if there was one spark plug missing, but not that much. Same happens if I ride at low rpm, for example 4th at 40mph or 5th at 50mph, the car runs, but not the same as before, and it also shakes! I've just changed the complete set of spark plugs and nothing happened. I also changed my temperature sensor and nothing happened. I friend of mine disconnected the MAF because he said it could be bad and it worked fine for half hour but now it as bad as before.
I am now running without MAF, and the car is still very bad. It isn't as powerful as before. Could it be a ignition coil? I disconnected them, one by one, but the car just gets worse. Or could it be the engine support? I need ideas. Has somebody had the same problem? Thanks a lot!
With 120,000 miles, this car lost its coolant in a rush of steam (running on the interstate). It was shut down immediately. There is no water in oil (dipstick). Engine runs and sounds very normal (e.g. < 1 min., so no overheat). I've heard suggestions of cracked head, etc. It appears that there is not enough coolant to circulate, and pouring water into the overflow reservoir doesn't fill it.
Question: How can I check whether this engine is toasted or ok, without spending big bucks (if running fine, the car blue books at $1400 for individual sale).
You could buy a tool at Autozone, etc. that pressurizes the cooling system. This would show obvious leakage externally (hoses, radiator, etc) and can also test for a bad head gasket, as you would see coolant on the spark plugs if you removed them, or coolant in the combustion chamber if you could remove the plugs and shine a light in there. Sometimes you even see coolant streaming out the tail pipe! (that's really bad).
There's also another test kit you can buy that tests for combustion gases in the radiator coolant. This test is good in case you have a cracked head, where water and oil don't necessarily mix.
Best thing with overheats is start from simple to complex, such as:
1. Leaks in hoses or radiator (pressure test) 2. stuck thermostat (remove and bench test) 3. defective electric cooling fan (observe) 4. Clogged radiator (remove and flow test at radiator shop) 5. Broken impeller in water pump (test on car by removing hose and running engine) 6. Bad head gasket (pressure test or compression test or cylinder leakdown test---the last one not easy to do at home) 7. Cracked cylinder head (as above)
My local repair shop (whom I trust - no issues there) told me that my front breaks were worn and I'd need new ones soon. My Acura TL comes with Brembos, which are really expensive, so I was thinking of changing to ceramic brakes.
They advised that since I am not a heavy accelerator/braking type of driver, I probably won't notice a difference if I switch from Brembos. Do you agree?
The TL generates a lot of brakedust on the fronts, which is why I'm considering ceramics. Are there any drawbacks to ceramics? Is there a difference between different brands?
This morning my wifes 91 Ford Escort wouldn't start, as if the battery died. There was just enough to dimly light the dome light, but it wouldn't turn over. So I had a neighbor help me jump start it. Fine, no problem until I turned on the headlights - it died instantly and wouldn't start up again. We had a new alternator put in back at the end of April. Could it just be a dead battery that won't take a charge anymore. I remember putting in a new battery, but I just don't remember when - didn't save the receipt for it. I don't think it was more than two years ago. Any advice?
i have a 98 honda accord and the break fuse keeps blowing so i cant get it out of park and the break lights wont work this is the only fuse blowing and i cant figure it out ne help would b appreciated
Comments
Any good shop can test your fan clutch.
Electric fans are helpful as an aftermarket item, but they won't move nearly as much air as a belt driven fan (that's working properly).
I had to leave it where it stopped. Luckily, someone helped me push it off the road. I got a new battery anout 6 months ago. No warning lights came on.
But earlier last week while driving, the engine quit.
By that I mean, all the gauges went to the "off" or "0" position . Low fuel light came on, and a very loud bell went off in the car(worse than the seat belt chime).
I started it back up while the car was still driving down the road. Actually I forgot about that incident until tonight.
What could this be???
So it sounds like possibly a bad connection/bad ground somewhere. Could be tough to track down. Start simple and check the connections to the battery and alternator. Also check your main chassis grounds. Shake some wires a bit and see if it will start. If you can get it to start, carefully shake some wires again and see if you can get it to stop.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I recently heard of a new technology that is currently being developed that is not yet on the market that allows you to activate the poppers by just touching the metal on the door in a certain spot outside the door. Would this be a good way to activate the poppers?
They re-diagnosed the problem, and then told her it was the alternator; they said that, with the battery failing, they couldn't detect the alternator's defect.
I spent a wonderful evening replacing the alternator (the folks at AutoZone said the one I pulled out was indeed bad. After all that effort--and another $155--I have identical intermittent battery light problems, in spite of getting the correct voltages with the car off and running.
It seems to occur most often when I'm driving down the highway at a steady 65 MPH (~2200 RPM)--if I slow down enough to bring the RPMs down to below 2000, the light goes out within a minute.
Did anyone ever obtain a definitive answer to this vexing problem?
Sometimes if it's weak, when you retract it to get the belt off, it aggravates the problem and makes it worse.
when you have debris that gets in there, it typically falls inside the vehicles cabin air intake and hits the cabin air filter. from there it ends up in the evaporator pan, which is a little tray sitting below the evaporator coil which is the cooling part of the A/C system. when the system is on, just like your home AC system in your attic or basement, condensation forms on the coils and drips into a pan. it's got to drain somewhere. if the pan and or drain get clogged with outside debris, the condensate accumulates and the water has to go somewhere.
where is that? on the passenger footwell area generally. when you make turns you are likely to see a good drip or even a stream sent to the floor.
a clogged evaporator pan drain line is easily diagnosed as follows: you turn the AC on with the car running, put it in park and apply the hand-brake. exit the car and look under the car in the vacinity between the front passenger wheel and the fire wall (the vertical plane that exists between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment...you will see this with the hood up if you look behind the engine from the side of the car.
anyway, you're looking at the ground underneath somewhere between the front passenger wheel and say the beginning of the front passenger door (maybe that's simpler for you to find).
in a vehicle where the pan is draining properly, you'll see a steady stream of water hitting the pavement with the AC running. if your pan or drain is clogged, water may not be dripping at all, or at a very slow rate.
when you drive with this condition, some people hear the sound of water striking a hot skillet. i think it's because the evaporator coils are comming into contact with the water in the pan and being flashed to ice.
sorry for the novel.
go to a garage (local will do) and ask them if they'd kindly take their air compressor and blast the A/C drain hose with a couple of shots of compressed air with it (effectively blowing out the clogg). ask if you can watch.
be amazed at the amount of water that pours to the ground when the obstruction is removed.
if they tell you no-charge, give them a tip anyway.
regular maitenance? constantly check the air intake area (remember in the beginning of the novel, the area near the wipers at the bottom of the windshield)? remove debris that collects there to lesson the chance the clogging happens again.
hope it helps.
Just want to lean some basics.
Thanks
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
1. I want to check the fan to see if it works. It has a four wire pack and a two wire pack with each individual wire all going into the back of the fan. One of the wires in the two wire pack first goes to a gold colored piece of metal, then on to the fan. How can I test this fan?
2. How do you test the sensor that is in the upper radiator hose that has wires that go to the fan? I can get a multimeter but don't know how to conduct the test.
3. The thermostat is not where the upper radiator hose connects to the engine. Does that mean I should follow the lower radiator hose from the radiator and find the thermostat?
4. Is it possible to check a thermostat while it is on the car using an infrared light that measures temperature? A mechanic at a Saab dealership told me that the dealership has one.
The owner of this car can't really afford to take the car to a garage. Any help I get would be appreciated.
As for testing the fans, if they aren't blowing like crazy with a hot engine, you know something's wrong there. You could by-pass the sensors and hook up 12V directly to the fans for a few seconds and see if they work. If they do, sensors could be the problem.
If the car has overheated badly, you really need to check for a bad head gasket regardless of what you find with the fans. Saabs of that era had a pretty high head gasket failure rate as I recall (something like 8%).
This can be done by pressurizing the cooling system and checking for coolant leaks on the spark plugs (or remove the plugs and shine a light into the cylinder if you can).
You can also test for combustion gases in the coolant itself.
I would love to bypass the sensor and test the fan. The question is how? I need someone to give me specific directions. I cannot figure out where to connect jumper wires direct from the battery to the fan.
Well being so nice today, I had the windows open and the stereo cranking....next thing you know....BANG!!!!! Needless to say I had gone over these stupid hoses with my car. I was going about 60 Km/h (35mph). Shortly after there is a 4 way stop and I went through that no problem...phew. I keep driving a couple of seconds and slow down for a turn and when I apply any moderate pressure to my brakes there is this "clunk" sound from what I think is the rear of the car (not really sure though).
The car turns fine and there are no noises as far as I can tell when I turn the wheel either way. Also there is nothing leaking under the car, and looking at the undercarriage nothing seems to be hanging/out of place nor is there any sign I bottomed out. So my only problem is this clunking sound whenever I apply moderate pressure to the brakes (no sound when light pressure applied).
Update:
I took it into the shop today and told them my problems. They ended up doing a brake service which consists of inspecting and lubing the brakes. The noise is still there and they told me that they would need 1-2 hours to run diagnostics on the car to get a better idea of what the problem was. They also retorqued the subframe (whatever that means) as this is often a cause of noises after accidents. In addition, they checked underneath the car and according to them absolutely everything looks as it should. I asked if the car was safe to drive as is and he said "I can't guarantee that it is".
I decided to take the car as is and I will try another shop tomorrow to get a second opinion before forking out $160 just to have the car looked at again. Any opinions?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I can't give you electrical advice, it's too risky for you over the internet unless I took pictures or something and I don't have your type of car at my disposal. I am sorry.
I think you should spend the $100 diagnostic fee on this since you might waste that much barking up the wrong tree and replacing parts that don't need replacing. It's tough to guess without a wiring diagram and the right testing tools. I'd make mistakes myself if I had to do it that way.
But back to basics---yes, by all means the first part of the diagnostic "tree" (i.e. the logic of eliminating causes one at a time) is to determine if the fans work. If they work, then move to the sensors; if they work, then to the relays; if they work, then I think it's time to pressurize the cooling system and/or test for combustion gases in the coolant.
I mention this because Saab 4 cylinders of this era are so prone to head gasket failure. But inoperative fans certainly could be the cause.
on vehicles I have owned, it has been either mounted to the top of the engine near the injectors, or connected to a pipe / tubing that was connected to the top of the engine near the injectors. could be on the side, or on the exhaust-side.
is there some sort of heat shield or dust shield covering the top of the engine? perhaps (if your car has one) it is located under the shield for the exhaust manifold.
if you don't know what it looks like / having trouble recognizing it, you can google it or visit a parts supply web-site.
1) Going up hills or merging into traffic the air will stop blowing out the vents or defrost vent (blower still running). Have checked vacuum lines and did not find any leaks.
2) While parked or driving cool (not cold) air comes from the two a/c vents on the drivers side while hot air comes from the two on the passenger side.The car DOES NOT have the controls to adjust the temp on drivers/passenger side.
Pulled the glove box while checking the vac lines. There is a box about 8" long with an electrical connector and an assembly of vac lines on the bottom. Disconnected the connector and no air would blow from any vent (blower still running). Disconnected the vac line assembly with same results. Can not remove each line because they are all made into an assembly. My thinking is that this box is bad but what is it?
Can anyone help?
Thanks,Cindy
Another option is that the vacuum motors that get the vacuum to control them inside the car are leaking with age and when the motor drops in vacuum they drop the vacuum quicker than when they were new and fresh rubber.
If you have the settings on dash vents and you turn off the motor but keep the blower running does the air keep coming out the dash vents for perhaps 30 seconds before the vacuum leaks away and the air starts coming out the defrosters? The air should come out defrosters when you accelerate also.
You didn't say how many miles are on the car. A high mileage motor also is weaker and has lower vacuum. That compounds the problem with age on the rubber parts inside.
The warmer air to passenger might just be because of low charge in AC. It's normal for AC to run warmer at idle because the condenser in front of radiator doesn't get as much air cooling it off.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Steering was lost backing down driveway(truck rolled into fence), what agency can this be reported to?
Any and all info will be appreciated.
Ford vehicles for many years have been known to easily 'jam'. When you stop a Ford with your foot on the brake, put it in park, take the key out, then let the brake off - the car will roll slightly and will also move the steering enough that the linkage in the steering column jams up so tight that the key cannot be turned the next time you try to start it.
What to do? Pull firmly on the steering wheel one way while trying to turn the key. If it does not turn, try pulling the wheel the opposite direction. This should 'unjam' the linkage and the key will turn. If forced like the 'kid' did, bad things will happen.
A lot of non-Fords also will do this, but FoMoCo vehicles seem to have more problems with this. Which has been happening ever since the interlock between the steering and the key was introduced, what, 40 years ago?
I really do think that the kid broke it - he should pay to have it fixed.
I got a 2000 A4 Audi (manual). It has a severe problem. When I turn it on it works fine, but after I ride it for the first time and then stop, the car starts shaking, like if there was one spark plug missing, but not that much. Same happens if I ride at low rpm, for example 4th at 40mph or 5th at 50mph, the car runs, but not the same as before, and it also shakes! I've just changed the complete set of spark plugs and nothing happened. I also changed my temperature sensor and nothing happened. I friend of mine disconnected the MAF because he said it could be bad and it worked fine for half hour but now it as bad as before.
I am now running without MAF, and the car is still very bad. It isn't as powerful as before. Could it be a ignition coil? I disconnected them, one by one, but the car just gets worse. Or could it be the engine support? I need ideas. Has somebody had the same problem? Thanks a lot!
Question: How can I check whether this engine is toasted or ok, without spending big bucks (if running fine, the car blue books at $1400 for individual sale).
There's also another test kit you can buy that tests for combustion gases in the radiator coolant. This test is good in case you have a cracked head, where water and oil don't necessarily mix.
Best thing with overheats is start from simple to complex, such as:
1. Leaks in hoses or radiator (pressure test)
2. stuck thermostat (remove and bench test)
3. defective electric cooling fan (observe)
4. Clogged radiator (remove and flow test at radiator shop)
5. Broken impeller in water pump (test on car by removing hose and running engine)
6. Bad head gasket (pressure test or compression test or cylinder leakdown test---the last one not easy to do at home)
7. Cracked cylinder head (as above)
TNX!
They advised that since I am not a heavy accelerator/braking type of driver, I probably won't notice a difference if I switch from Brembos. Do you agree?
The TL generates a lot of brakedust on the fronts, which is why I'm considering ceramics. Are there any drawbacks to ceramics? Is there a difference between different brands?
Thanks.
Thanks much.
Mike
Have the alternator tested.
And, isn't 'Brembos' the manufactor of the calipers and rotor? Do they also manufactor the pads? I just thought they built the calipers.
I definitely can't comment on your other question, and looki forward to reading the answer...