My MIL ordered a used ECU (same difference?) from NAPA and the Buick dealer said they could "learn it". She neglected to pick it up and they sent it back so she never got around to installing it.
Good question but this was small town Yooperville. Guess they really ordered it through the garage they ran in the same building. I thought the gizmo had to be matched to the VIN with a scan tool and that usually means a trip to the dealer.
After all, I just spent $450 on my truck, but damn does it behave nicely now!
So how do you think this looks and feels from the shop owners point of view right now? They know what problems it had when you dropped it off, and they know what it took to work through them. They also know that to the best of their ability, they gave you back your truck working the way that it is supposed to, only to have you pick it up and for their efforts the last thing they heard is you are never going back to them.
Put yourself in their shoes right now and think about how that lack of appreciation would make you feel. I've had people do things exactly like that to me in the past and the toughest lesson to learn was that once someone burned the bridge, it can never be truly mended.
True or False? If you buy a used ECM, you cannot change the embedded VIN # on every make of car.
It's not a true or false question, because the correct answer is "It depends".
GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, Honda, Toyota, and a few others have no problem reprogramming VINs in the PCM. Chrysler the VIN in the instrument cluster cannot be changed. With some GM's the body computer cannot be reprogrammed. With Ford it isn't an issue with any other modules. When servicing any of these the best policy is that each vehicle has to be researched because there are just too many variations to even consider trying to remember what will or will not work for sure with any one car. For instance I can't tell you for certain what can and cannot be done with most of the European manufacturers. I need to look them up. I would expect the answer to be "probably" in the majority of the cases, and it doesn't matter in some others. I'd be more surprised if there aren't any that cannot have the VIN re-written.
I've heard that if you pick up a used one with same year, same options as your car, it's pretty much plug and play--but I've never tried it.
There is some truth to that so long as the security system isn't a factor. Even then with GM for instance there are manual relearns that will allow it to work even if there is a VIN mismatch.
With Ford, if security is involved, the VIN will also have to be re-written. Chrysler can really get weird on some cars with VIN mismatch issues, but Chryslers are easy to re-write the VINs.
I'm curious if with some cars, it's virtually impossible to do.
For some manufacturers ,you must have the right equipment, software subscriptions, locksmiths ID, etc. It might not be impossible, but it can easily be cost prohibitive.
There was a poster in another topic who was told that he couldn't use a used ECM in his Kia Sedona and had to buy a new one. Perhaps he misheard, in that no matter new or used, the dealer is the only game in town for reprogramming that vehicle.
Expanding consumer choice shouldn't be a reason to subscription up a web site that formerly gave info away free. Follow the money.
It costs them more to administer the site and make sure to adhere to Massachusetts law than it used to. They have to constantly prove that everything that is available to the dealer is available to the aftermarket. Besides, the people who wanted to pass the law never actually cared about our ability to service the cars. That was all a smoke screen for what they were really after. It was all about replacement parts then, and its all about replacement parts now.
Oh, BTW. The rumor mills has it that a universal O.E. tool is supposed to be coming and it's targeted for the 2018 model years. Now what exactly that is going to look like and what subscription costs are going to be nobody is saying. Even if it is the tool to end all tool purchases for a while, there will still be the legacy expenses for those who are currently approaching the job the right way and spending more money on a monthly basis than everyone else can comprehend. My Ford IDS cost me almost $800 today to have it useable for yet another year. When the license expires we are locked out, period.
Expanding consumer choice shouldn't be a reason to subscription up a web site that formerly gave info away free. Follow the money.
It costs them more to administer the site and make sure to adhere to Massachusetts law than it used to.
My recollection is that the site went subscription years before Right to Repair was on anyone's radar so I think that's a red herring. But it does cost a good bit of money to run a website.
All those youtubes on how to fix your frig? They may be "protected" soon too.
Well when I was in the Army (no, not the Revolutionary War ), "warm bodies" were good enough until you gained experience on how to survive. A rookie is a rookie is a rookie, and I feel that the so-called "front lines" of the repair shop or dealership are a built-in vetting process, where some of the warm bodies turn into the highly qualified. It's about motivating the newbies, not trying to change the 50 year old hacks who still can't get it right.
and I feel that the so-called "front lines" of the repair shop or dealership are a built-in vetting process, where some of the warm bodies turn into the highly qualified.
Was that before it started to take fifteen to twenty years to master the required knowledge and skills?
It's about motivating the newbies, not trying to change the 50 year old hacks who still can't get it right.
And that's one of the perceptions that is the problem. First consider that your fifty year old hack could claim to be, and would be considered to be highly gifted and knowledgeable with servicing an automobile, if he only did it on the side and earned his living doing something else.
My recollection is that the site went subscription years before Right to Repair was on anyone's radar so I think that's a red herring. But it does cost a good bit of money to run a website.
Hyundai/Kia went to a pay to play plan about nine months after the law was passed by the voters. In fact it was shortly after the compromised bill that was written by the legislature that passed and was signed into law which amended the original plan that was voted in by the state.
Most shops don't want to work on older cars like your truck. They are afraid something will break that they won't be able to find and that valuable space will be taken up.
And, now if you get a flat the tire shops check the date codes on the tires and will refuse to patch a tire that's past the expiration dates. Does your truck have split rims? Most tire shops won't touch these anymore and for good reason if the lack the experience and proper equipment.
10.00 each for standard AC 45 spark plugs?? 150.00 labor to install them? That's nuts!
Let's see if I can catch up a bit. The last few days are a blur.
Tires. Yeah, I'm running into an issue with that, as I would like to sipe the tires I have so they get a little better grip, but I nobody (not even the little garage I used recently) will touch them because they are so old. I get it - liability. No biggie. I'm more concerned with not being able to get replacement tires than whether I can eek another few years out of the ones I have.
The rims are not split, they're just old 16.5s and are suffering from size unpopularity!
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
So how do you think this looks and feels from the shop owners point of view right now? They know what problems it had when you dropped it off, and they know what it took to work through them. They also know that to the best of their ability, they gave you back your truck working the way that it is supposed to, only to have you pick it up and for their efforts the last thing they heard is you are never going back to them.
Put yourself in their shoes right now and think about how that lack of appreciation would make you feel. I've had people do things exactly like that to me in the past and the toughest lesson to learn was that once someone burned the bridge, it can never be truly mended.
Good point, though I hope that our discussion was clear enough that they understand where I was and was not annoyed. But, bridges. Today is a good reminder that even if you think you'll never need to pass over a particular one again, it is probably best to *not* burn it behind you in the event things don't go as planned!
After a couple days of wonderful behavior by my truck, on Friday it was rather grumpy about idling/warming up after startup. Then, today (didn't use it Sat/Sun), it was equally grumpy, but with a twist: It didn't want to idle at all. I started it, it ran for about two minutes, then it started choking out and started billowing black smoke as it continually decreased idle to about nothing, and finally stalled. I restarted it, but I couldn't get it to set idle at all and it would stall as soon as I let off the accelerator. I tried for a couple minutes before I just gave up, left it off, and finished up my chores. I then started it and immediately drove off to avoid any idle situation. I made it to my son's school (about five miles) to drop him off, where it then stalled when I stopped to let him out. It stalled again a couple moments later when I stopped at the crosswalk for a man to pass across the lane.
Finally, when I started it this time, it seemed to settle in and I had no more problems to work. I went into the shop and let them know about this series of events. The service manager I spoke with about the spark plugs said, simply, "Let me grab someone to help you" as I walked in, before he then went back to his computer in a very intentional way.
The tech who did the adjustments (not the plug replacement, it seems) came out and took a look at it. He couldn't see anything obviously out of whack, but said he'd probably have to let it cool down completely before he could get anywhere with it. So, I gave him the key and we'll see how it goes.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
Back in the "old days", it was generally considered that quality aftermarket parts were better than the OEM stuff.
I was told that Airtex water pumps were much better than the factory ones and that Gates belts and hoses were far superior than OEM. I don't know if that was even true back then. These days it seems that a lot of the shops try to stick with OEM replacement parts citing that they are somehow "better".
It's no contest between O.E. quality and a lot of the aftermarket stuff. The only aftermarket parts we used were chosen very carefully, and GATES, (for one) was not on my approved list. I can show you a big difference between the O.E. belts and hoses and GATES. The only aftermarket source we used for belts was BANDO. http://www.bandousa.com/ At least they really were equivalent to the O.E.
Really? How do you figure that it was the manufacturer, as opposed to only the people who actually accessed and used the site?
I stalled out on a Kia purchase and a Toyota purchase a few years back when both those companies started playing hide the ball. Toyota is mostly back in my good braces since they put their owner's manuals back online, even though it's irritating having to download them chapter by chapter.
Yeah, I'm one of those guys who like to skim owner's manuals before buying a car. Not sharing maintenance and repair info is another con that goes on my spreadsheet.
Stuff like that does get around and harms the brand.
It's no contest between O.E. quality and a lot of the aftermarket stuff. The only aftermarket parts we used were chosen very carefully, and GATES, (for one) was not on my approved list. I can show you a big difference between the O.E. belts and hoses and GATES. The only aftermarket source we used for belts was BANDO. http://www.bandousa.com/ At least they really were equivalent to the O.E.
The tech couldn't find anything wrong this morning. He thought maybe I wasn't getting the choke to set properly, so I modified my behavior this morning and it warmed up fine. But, I still had issues with it stalling out when I didn't have it in gear, so there is maybe something going on with low idle, etc.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
Sounds like a bad brake interlock switch to me. So you look that part up at Rock Auto and add some labor in.
I could tell you to go to Rock Auto and try to look that part up but I'll save you the time, there is no such thing. Then to make it worse, you go here....
Then when you talk to the service writer and the recommendation is to pull the transmission, you say, er, let me think about it.
If someone makes a recommendation to do fraudulent work, there is no one who wants them out of this trade faster than me. That applies to fraudulent/bad advice too. In this case if the part actually existed the spoofed repair suggestion you gave could cause even more unnecessary conflict between a customer and a good shop/technician. The whole idea of giving advice because someone thinks a failure sounds like XXXXX is fundamentally flawed and that is one of the biggest issues between shops and the consumers. The few times that someone without testing and proving what is wrong manages to guess a correct answer "this time" doesn't equal technical competence. It actually demonstrates incompetence because it isn't repeatable.
Here are a few points that you/everyone needs to learn. TSB's only apply if testing confirms it is relevant to a given vehicle. The same goes for silver bullets. Analysis and a diagnosis ARE NOT the same. It doesn't matter how many times XXX is the answer to a given symptom, until the next car is tested and its problem analyzed a diagnosis cannot be made. Then and only then can the possible pattern failure be associated if applicable.
You don't like and even mock shops that just jump at known issues without testing, and yet you do exactly that with answers to questions online. Why is it OK for you to do that and wrong for someone else? Shouldn't it be wrong both ways?
You also rarely if ever explain to consumers who question diagnostic charges why that time has to be spent to approach the problem at hand correctly. Now I'm sure your reason for that is you just expect the shop to just jump on some alleged pattern failure and charge the diagnostic time anyway. So how do you expect that to ever change if the consumers aren't getting the education that they need in order to see the difference between a technician that genuinely does test correctly as compared to those that do not?
For those not following that thread, someone asked about a light problem and a poster suggested taking it to a mechanic.
I replied "Lots of times it's helpful for consumers to get an idea of what the potential problems may be and what the cost to diagnose and fix a problem is before they go to the shop."
When you replied with one of your stock "how is that going to help the consumer?" responses, I threw something out there.
And sure enough, now we have a good answer that actually helps the consumer, which is what the poster came here for. It's just too bad it took an extra day for that answer to get posted.
Let me know when every master tech agrees with each other on how to tackle a problem.
I agree. If someone posts that their battery goes dead and when the car is jumped started, it starts right up, and then says the "mechanic" says it's a "security issue", we can tell the poster that it probably isn't a security issue.
The tech couldn't find anything wrong this morning. He thought maybe I wasn't getting the choke to set properly, so I modified my behavior this morning and it warmed up fine. But, I still had issues with it stalling out when I didn't have it in gear, so there is maybe something going on with low idle, etc.
What you described here suggests that the choke might have failed to open properly. "Then, today (didn't use it Sat/Sun), it was equally grumpy, but with a twist: It didn't want to idle at all. I started it, it ran for about two minutes, then it started choking out and started billowing black smoke as it continually decreased idle to about nothing, and finally stalled."
That BTW doesn't mean that's what happened. The choke "sticking" was a common issue, there are several others that could result in similar behavior.
When cold, engines (especially older carbureted ones) in order to get a combustible mixture require additional fuel. That's what the choke does, it causes additional fuel to flow from the primary feed circuits well in excess of the air flowing into the engine would need just to get enough fuel vapor that will ignite in the cylinder. A lot of this excess fuel is simply wasted and goes out the tailpipe. If the choke fails to, or is slow to open then the air/fuel ratio becomes too rich and you get the symptom described.
From there the stalling needs investigated on its own. At warm idle the fuel mixture has to be a lot more precise. It's almost funny writing that because by today's standards the whole system is anything but precise. The warm idle mixture is a balancing act between the idle speed setting, the mixture screw setting and the distributor timing. It takes some carburetor theory to understand these relationships. A carburetor has a number of different circuits from which to provide fuel. They are commonly known as: The idle circuit. The transfer port. The primary circuit. The secondary circuit. (if used) The pull over circuit. (if used) The accelerator pump circuit. The power valve circuit. (if used)
(Except for the accelerator pump, normal operation of any of those circuits is dependent on airflow.)
There are variations of these and different names, as well as special circuits that were added when computer controls came into play, but these first seven need to be understood long before we worry about any of the others. Even trying to explain how the choke and fast idle cam linkage work is an entire class all by itself because those are mechanical adjustments that manipulate airflow into the engine, and its the airflow that causes the different fuel circuits to supply fuel.
Just adjusting the idle speed and mixture correctly requires understanding the balancing act between the throttle plate position, the idle mixture, the transfer port location and the ignition timing. Right there you have more to know than most have ever even considered, and that explains one of the common issues with a lot of older carburetors, which is wear in the throttle shaft bushings.
For those not following that thread, someone asked about a light problem and a poster suggested taking it to a mechanic.
If the poster had to ask in the first place then that really is the correct answer. Even with the complete explanation of the issue, there is plenty of room for the O.P. to not be able to complete the task at hand.
It's just too bad it took an extra day for that answer to get posted.
It easily should have been a lot longer, hence the irony.
Did you see what it could cost to fix the sandstorm damage on the Miata? Don't want people who are capable of and can repair the assemblies, make it so the entire unit must be replaced. It's "cheaper" labor but a lot more expensive for the consumer in the long run, even if they can do it themselves.
Ah, but now the Trooper owner has a really good idea of a potential diagnosis and will be able to be alert for suggestions like "replace the $1,000 ECU".
On the Miata, a "front clip" and a windshield would fix "everything". Do a modular unit and the windshield replacement will be way most of the labor.
Mastering them was easy. Making a lot of money at it? That didn't happen. The scary part is thinking about them I still have the carburetor part numbers and the associated CV rod travel specs memorized, and I haven't done one of those in twenty+ years. I can do the same with the Vari-Jets, Dual-Jets, Q-Jets, and many more. In some cases I can go as far as to tell you what the carb fits based on the part number on top of the mechanical adjustments for it, from memory. I rebuilt a lot of carbs through the years, that's why I got a chuckle out of when they were wrestling with the Yugo. BTDT (Same carb as the Ford Escort for first few years)
I agree. If someone posts that their battery goes dead and when the car is jumped started, it starts right up, and then says the "mechanic" says it's a "security issue", we can tell the poster that it probably isn't a security issue.
Really? A mercedes that won't start because of a security issue but starts right up with a battery jump? *DO* tell us more!
@isellhondas -- ever tangle with an 80s era Japanese carburetors? Tiny TEENSY orifices throughout---a devil!
I had a Datsun pickup that had a fussy carb. After receiving a VERY expensive quote for an overhaul, I ran a can of carb cleaner through it. did the old mix up a couple of spark plug wires, and a mighty backfire through that carburetor made it as good as new! I had to wonder that had I approved the expensive overhaul, the same "fix" wouldn't have been applied/
Comments
I've heard that if you pick up a used one with same year, same options as your car, it's pretty much plug and play--but I've never tried it.
I'm curious if with some cars, it's virtually impossible to do.
Put yourself in their shoes right now and think about how that lack of appreciation would make you feel. I've had people do things exactly like that to me in the past and the toughest lesson to learn was that once someone burned the bridge, it can never be truly mended.
GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, Honda, Toyota, and a few others have no problem reprogramming VINs in the PCM. Chrysler the VIN in the instrument cluster cannot be changed. With some GM's the body computer cannot be reprogrammed. With Ford it isn't an issue with any other modules. When servicing any of these the best policy is that each vehicle has to be researched because there are just too many variations to even consider trying to remember what will or will not work for sure with any one car. For instance I can't tell you for certain what can and cannot be done with most of the European manufacturers. I need to look them up. I would expect the answer to be "probably" in the majority of the cases, and it doesn't matter in some others. I'd be more surprised if there aren't any that cannot have the VIN re-written.
With Ford, if security is involved, the VIN will also have to be re-written. Chrysler can really get weird on some cars with VIN mismatch issues, but Chryslers are easy to re-write the VINs. For some manufacturers ,you must have the right equipment, software subscriptions, locksmiths ID, etc. It might not be impossible, but it can easily be cost prohibitive.
http://www.nastf.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
http://www.nastf.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3655
https://kiatechinfo.snapon.com/default.aspx
I would have no trouble programming a replacement module for the poster's Sedona.
Oh, BTW. The rumor mills has it that a universal O.E. tool is supposed to be coming and it's targeted for the 2018 model years. Now what exactly that is going to look like and what subscription costs are going to be nobody is saying. Even if it is the tool to end all tool purchases for a while, there will still be the legacy expenses for those who are currently approaching the job the right way and spending more money on a monthly basis than everyone else can comprehend. My Ford IDS cost me almost $800 today to have it useable for yet another year. When the license expires we are locked out, period.
All those youtubes on how to fix your frig? They may be "protected" soon too.
A New Advocacy Group Is Lobbying for the Right to Repair Everything (motherboard.vice.com)
It's Repair.org.
The truckers are onboard too. (truckinginfo.com)
I think one result of Right to Repair will be more techs, not fewer. That's what you'd like to see, isn't it?
Tires. Yeah, I'm running into an issue with that, as I would like to sipe the tires I have so they get a little better grip, but I nobody (not even the little garage I used recently) will touch them because they are so old. I get it - liability. No biggie. I'm more concerned with not being able to get replacement tires than whether I can eek another few years out of the ones I have.
The rims are not split, they're just old 16.5s and are suffering from size unpopularity!
After a couple days of wonderful behavior by my truck, on Friday it was rather grumpy about idling/warming up after startup. Then, today (didn't use it Sat/Sun), it was equally grumpy, but with a twist: It didn't want to idle at all. I started it, it ran for about two minutes, then it started choking out and started billowing black smoke as it continually decreased idle to about nothing, and finally stalled. I restarted it, but I couldn't get it to set idle at all and it would stall as soon as I let off the accelerator. I tried for a couple minutes before I just gave up, left it off, and finished up my chores. I then started it and immediately drove off to avoid any idle situation. I made it to my son's school (about five miles) to drop him off, where it then stalled when I stopped to let him out. It stalled again a couple moments later when I stopped at the crosswalk for a man to pass across the lane.
Finally, when I started it this time, it seemed to settle in and I had no more problems to work. I went into the shop and let them know about this series of events. The service manager I spoke with about the spark plugs said, simply, "Let me grab someone to help you" as I walked in, before he then went back to his computer in a very intentional way.
The tech who did the adjustments (not the plug replacement, it seems) came out and took a look at it. He couldn't see anything obviously out of whack, but said he'd probably have to let it cool down completely before he could get anywhere with it. So, I gave him the key and we'll see how it goes.
Back in the "old days", it was generally considered that quality aftermarket parts were better than the OEM stuff.
I was told that Airtex water pumps were much better than the factory ones and that Gates belts and hoses were far superior than OEM. I don't know if that was even true back then. These days it seems that a lot of the shops try to stick with OEM replacement parts citing that they are somehow "better".
Any thoughts?
Yeah, I'm one of those guys who like to skim owner's manuals before buying a car. Not sharing maintenance and repair info is another con that goes on my spreadsheet.
Stuff like that does get around and harms the brand.
The trouble with OEM parts these days is insuring that they aren't counterfeit.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Here are a few points that you/everyone needs to learn.
TSB's only apply if testing confirms it is relevant to a given vehicle.
The same goes for silver bullets.
Analysis and a diagnosis ARE NOT the same.
It doesn't matter how many times XXX is the answer to a given symptom, until the next car is tested and its problem analyzed a diagnosis cannot be made. Then and only then can the possible pattern failure be associated if applicable.
You don't like and even mock shops that just jump at known issues without testing, and yet you do exactly that with answers to questions online. Why is it OK for you to do that and wrong for someone else? Shouldn't it be wrong both ways?
You also rarely if ever explain to consumers who question diagnostic charges why that time has to be spent to approach the problem at hand correctly. Now I'm sure your reason for that is you just expect the shop to just jump on some alleged pattern failure and charge the diagnostic time anyway. So how do you expect that to ever change if the consumers aren't getting the education that they need in order to see the difference between a technician that genuinely does test correctly as compared to those that do not?
For those not following that thread, someone asked about a light problem and a poster suggested taking it to a mechanic.
I replied "Lots of times it's helpful for consumers to get an idea of what the potential problems may be and what the cost to diagnose and fix a problem is before they go to the shop."
When you replied with one of your stock "how is that going to help the consumer?" responses, I threw something out there.
And sure enough, now we have a good answer that actually helps the consumer, which is what the poster came here for.
Let me know when every master tech agrees with each other on how to tackle a problem.
That BTW doesn't mean that's what happened. The choke "sticking" was a common issue, there are several others that could result in similar behavior.
When cold, engines (especially older carbureted ones) in order to get a combustible mixture require additional fuel. That's what the choke does, it causes additional fuel to flow from the primary feed circuits well in excess of the air flowing into the engine would need just to get enough fuel vapor that will ignite in the cylinder. A lot of this excess fuel is simply wasted and goes out the tailpipe. If the choke fails to, or is slow to open then the air/fuel ratio becomes too rich and you get the symptom described.
From there the stalling needs investigated on its own. At warm idle the fuel mixture has to be a lot more precise. It's almost funny writing that because by today's standards the whole system is anything but precise. The warm idle mixture is a balancing act between the idle speed setting, the mixture screw setting and the distributor timing. It takes some carburetor theory to understand these relationships. A carburetor has a number of different circuits from which to provide fuel. They are commonly known as:
The idle circuit.
The transfer port.
The primary circuit.
The secondary circuit. (if used)
The pull over circuit. (if used)
The accelerator pump circuit.
The power valve circuit. (if used)
(Except for the accelerator pump, normal operation of any of those circuits is dependent on airflow.)
There are variations of these and different names, as well as special circuits that were added when computer controls came into play, but these first seven need to be understood long before we worry about any of the others. Even trying to explain how the choke and fast idle cam linkage work is an entire class all by itself because those are mechanical adjustments that manipulate airflow into the engine, and its the airflow that causes the different fuel circuits to supply fuel.
Just adjusting the idle speed and mixture correctly requires understanding the balancing act between the throttle plate position, the idle mixture, the transfer port location and the ignition timing. Right there you have more to know than most have ever even considered, and that explains one of the common issues with a lot of older carburetors, which is wear in the throttle shaft bushings.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Plus Q-Jets, dual jets, Vari-jets, 2150's, 1942's VV2700, VV7200, Thermo-quads, Holley's , etc.
When the throttle plate becomes misaligned because of wear in the shaft bushings you lose control of the idle and transfer port circuits.
Hmmmm. It easily should have been a lot longer, hence the irony.
Did you see what it could cost to fix the sandstorm damage on the Miata? Don't want people who are capable of and can repair the assemblies, make it so the entire unit must be replaced. It's "cheaper" labor but a lot more expensive for the consumer in the long run, even if they can do it themselves.
On the Miata, a "front clip" and a windshield would fix "everything". Do a modular unit and the windshield replacement will be way most of the labor.
@isellhondas -- ever tangle with an 80s era Japanese carburetors? Tiny TEENSY orifices throughout---a devil!
I had a Datsun pickup that had a fussy carb. After receiving a VERY expensive quote for an overhaul, I ran a can of carb cleaner through it. did the old mix up a couple of spark plug wires, and a mighty backfire through that carburetor made it as good as new! I had to wonder that had I approved the expensive overhaul, the same "fix" wouldn't have been applied/