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Sticking precisely to the subject at hand, in this case, the appropriate oil for one's vehicle, it seems to me the onus really should be on the manufacturer to clearly identify the correct (acceptable) lubricant for the respective engine
GM has done exactly that with the dexos1 licensing, nothing more.
A lot of companies had no problem complying with and making sure that GM's customers can easily find the correct product for their car.
http://www.gmdexos.com/licensedbrands/dexos1licensedbrands.html
Yet some try to distort the issue for reasons that IMO they need to explain to you.
Six extra strength tylenol, and eight Advil a day keep me on my feet, for now....It's not fun being a tech in your fifties....
I guess next we'll have to read through another book of fine print just to buy a jug of oil or trust that our shop isn't simply grabbing the hose connected to the oil drum hanging from the ceiling.
Energy saving oil is great, don't get me wrong. But if you want people to do their maintenance and still enjoy the (fleet) fuel savings, you can't make it complicated. And you can't price it out of the average Joe's ability to pay.
Not that I expect a reply as it seems you don't have time to offer me an opinion on a possible bad WB, but just so you know...
That combo of meds on a daily bases on a fifty+ year old liver that maybe also filters beer and shots on the w/e (optional..not needed to still have real taxation) is a real tax on your liver. Not good.
The combo is a more effective pain/inflammation med than either on their own though... but to cut back, (if you were so inclined) I'd hold back on the number of Advil. The Advil helps the Tylenol work, but usually extra quantity type doses are not required to do that. You could probably cut out at least half or more of those Advil's and not notice any difference.
Tylenol was the one on the news re taxing livers..Advil went under the radar, but I have since learned (anecdotally if you like in this case) that Advil too in large quantities also stresses the liver and pancreas.
One thing to consider the sound made by a hub bearing is very similar to the sound made by tire tread that has cupped or lifted. Tire noise once you notice it will normally be audible no matter how fast or slow you are going provided other sounds don't drown it out.
About the health risks, it's a bit late to worry much about that. Carb cleaner, brake cleaner, used engine oil, brake dust (asbestos), you name it, after more than thirty five years in the shop the effects of all of that exposure are quite evident. Between arthrtis in most of my joints, disc problems in my back, a bad knee it takes a strong push to get going everyday. But there isn't much choice, we have nothing to fall back on. When I tell people that I'll never retire, its not a joke.
Just a side-note:
I was in my local Walmart during lunchtime and I took a stroll down lubrication lane.
It seems that Valvoline does indeed now offer SYNpower full synthetic European formula in the US in 5W-40 weight. It carries the BMW "LL" standards on the back label. As in the case of the Mobil 1 European formula 0W-40, its not blatantly obvious. You have to read the really "fine print" on the back side label.
As for turning it freehand to feel pitting, no way as the pads are still dragging a fair bit. I think is costing me a good 2 mpg or more. (the left side also drags) Gotta deal with it when it warms up..
I sure can relate on all the ailments you mentioned and the financial state - I can relate in every single way - right down to the pinched nerve due to stenosis in my back and asbestos intake. Nipping any of those bad things ASAP still is a help. The body does try to cleanse and repair itself given a chance..so try to resist the 'too late to change' rationalization.
I still do my own firewood (from bush to house) and splitting by hand but not sure how much longer - just doing brakes on the car just KILLS my arthritic knees (no lift of course)
Anyway, life sucks (generally, thankfully not 24/7) then you die.
I have a quote. "When consumers/shops/technicians know how to choose the correct products, the oil companies will make sure that they have those products on the shelf." jg.
"Some drag" is normal. I'd simply either pull the caliper and check or at least compress the piston and make sure the caliper moves freely and that the pads aren't stuck in the support. Then I would be able to feel the bearing better. Some of the all wheel drive vehicles make that tough even then. There are some things about this work that are just difficult and you have to overcome them.
I sure can relate on all the ailments you mentioned and the financial state
I've heard it said that getting old isn't for wimps. The financial part for us is the most troubling. We always believed in the "build it and they will come idea", and to that end we have worked harder than everyone around us, and can do things that very few others can. But it didn't create the success that we thought it should have. We get the problem childs and nightmares, while everyone else gets to enjoy the gravy. Heck I had a girl tell me today that she had a quote for a fuel pump in a Taurus, for less than the list price of the part. To make matters worse she originally called looking price first and claimed she was already told that the car needed a fuel pump but the way she worded it was: It's already got a new battery and they have to jump it to get it started, it needs a fuel pump. That's terribly misleading information, after testing during a no-start event it does indeed need the pump, it locks up after running and then sitting. The jump start claim is a red herring, it really comes down to a coincidence that the car has just happened to start while they were trying to jump it. But that had to be proven and with a little patience thats exactly what we did.
Your comment brings to mind the history of J.P.Morgan, who made millions and millions off of other people's ideas and hard work.
The " build it and they will come" idea is mere illusion. If nothing else, the recent meltdown on Wall Street demonstrates that...
That's enough negativism from me for now...
We barely survived that, although we still haven't gotten all the way back from that. Expenses climbed drastically and we couldn't increase pricing to accomodate the increases. I had to keep finding more ways to build cash flow and that meant more and more hours "at work". That's where the teaching gig has come from and no joke that has my typical work week approaching 100hrs between the shop, the travel, the teaching, and of course study/ class prep time. These little blogs here are merely a change of pace where I can catch a breath.
That's enough negativism from me for now...
The negativism unfortunately is part of the picture that consumers don't know about. It's always "They just want it right, fast, and cheap (if not for free)" This forum is "A Mechanics Life" it wouldn't be accurate if we didn't show the whole picture. JMHO
A dragging brake will reach temperatures of 300-400f easily in only a couple miles. As a rule of thumb, the rear brakes will be about 1/2 to 2/3rds the temperature of the front brakes with normal use.
All things considered, your information is leading me to expect that you have a tire tread issue.
Some of our program managers try to pull that stuff too. We tell 'em "you get to pick two out of those three"
Couldn't it still be a bearing issue, even if the brakes are running at a normal temperature?
Since I cannot hear the sound and inspect the car it "could be" that or the tires. Or it may not be any of the above, at this point the only thing we can be sure of is that we don't know and are only guessing based on someone else's information. That is the inherrant failure with trying to diagnose any vehicle problem via the internet. Guesses can be good ones, but lots of them are bad ones.
Every diagnosis starts with a description of a symptom. Then it needs confirmation of the symptom by a trained observer to help narrow down the field of view. Eventually we reach a point where the pinpoint diagnostic steps get to be applied and we then come up with an answer. Sometimes the phases blur into what appears to be a single step, other times they can be a very long and complicated process. Experience and training work to make the path as direct of one as possible.
The assumption here is that its desirable for individuals to do their own maintenance.... Or at a minimum, allow it.
I suspect there are many factions that dislike that idea enormously, and are more than happy to over-complicate even the most basic functions (ie., oil/filter changes, etc.) in order to eliminate the DIY'er or local shop from the scene.
Some of that comes from the increased technical nature of the modern vehicle's construction, which requires highly specialized tooling for some problem diagnosis... But not all vehicle service and maintenance falls under that umbrella.
And it's not just vehicle manufacturers. Apple has been taken to task on some of the user sites because they too seem to change fastener styles for no good reason other than to make it harder for the owner to open up the case.
I have four sets of completely different style "Torx" tools.
Correct and that is why we have the stratification that is taking place in the trade. Some are taking the easy way and not making the investment to do everything a customer may require. That means they aren't buying the tools, and the techs working for them are not going to the schools that they need. That's a dead end street with the progression of technology.
Then we have the top shops who are going to every school that they can, and are buying the scan tools and software to do the whole job, that lets them operate at eye level with the dealerships. Their reward for doing that is as I described, a steady diet of the random failure, difficult work that no one else can, nor wants to do. The nightmare of that is while we handle the really hard stuff, the easy work goes to the dead end shop. That ultimately means that both will fail and neither will exist someday.
You'd know much more about this than me, but haven't the manufacturers attempted to withhold vehicle specifics in the past from non-manufacturer shops, claiming "proprietary" information would be made public?
It seems clear to me that we're probably headed towards a 2-tiered service system, where basic things can be handled by independent/chain shops, and more technical issues are going to be corrected by certified dealers?
I dunno... Maybe that's the cost of technology, as it relates to automobiles.
Why do that if they can simply trade you into a newer model......
That brings us back around to Right To Repair - A Hot Issue or Big Problem? and whether that scheme infringes on the intellectual property of the manufacturers.
Meanwhile, I hit the oil aisle at Walmart today. There was a small section devoted to Mobile 1 and about ~8 jugs in of their synthetic with the dexos label on it that section. $24. The "straight" synthetic (Castrol, Vavoline, Texaco) was about $20.
As as per your other post about AWD influences..it sure does, this AWD drags thru the rear dif the HEAVIEST of any non-locking hub type 4x4 AWD'r I have ever had and have had a lot over the years...most with viscous coupling. But as you know Honda uses a hyd pump in the assend, and like I say, free turning a rear wheel turns super heavy and slow. Making a WB diagnosis at rest extra tough. Actually, now I am wondering if they ALL drag this heavy? But fuel mileage isn't too outta whack, and when coming to a rolling no brake stop on level pavement it drags down fast,,about as fast as my X Trail with no dragging brakes..unlike say the Matrix I had which free wheeled to a stop quite free, like the Camry and Mitsu Vista, all sharing viscous coupling tech. Love that VC too..simple, cheap, reliable, light, responsive...why they ever got away from it is beyond me. Probably a little too dependable I guess..electronics is not the beall endall the world thinks, IMO. I will say tho that Honda's 04 and newer RealTime is way more responsive to fr wheel slip than the first ones. But in my mind is simply not as fuel efficient (read power robbing too then) or cost affective as the old VC systems. I think Sube still uses them tho on their stick tran cars.
I really don't think this is a bad tire(s), but as you know, these (all) Honda's communicate as much possible road noise as is they can without using microphones and amplifiers. And the sound is basically the same when I put the winters on, so..
Just to rule out potential speculative odds, are these CRV's (04 to 06) known to have sketchy rear WB's? This one has only 55000 miles and rarely more than a driver and always light loads if any in the back.
Surely you guys can tell me why?? I wanted to resist the conspiracy theory..Arctic Cat offering them only to their shops..
And Arctic Cat isn't the only time I have needed one..
This reminds me of trucking. I used to have my own. Brokers (the ones who can sustain themselves through the dry patches)who are successful long-termers know what $ they need to turn a wheel and show profit. But every economic down-turn cycle, along come the dreamers who think they can under-cut those rates...and DO, but then FAIL! They can't sustain the too low a rate. And the whole time they did it, the frig contract shippers etc. had to endure mistakes, late deliveries..you name it. Then eventually the original guys who charged what they needed to make a proper sustainable profit..well eventually we end up back on the scene again till the next down-turn..sorta like every 9 years or so give or take. Of course since the 08 crash, ya can't put anything in stone anymore..
I'm outta the business now. Too old, too tired, too frustrated having to drive every single car within a football field's distance for them AND drive my own truck at the same time. Did manage to stay outta trouble tho..many many miles..
Then I took up bike racing, hahahaha :shades:
Anyway, I do believe having your own 3 bay like you describe, can be real thankless sometimes. Hell...if you weren't so far away..PA is it? I'd take the CRV to ya...cuz it's getting harder and harder to be on top of the tech..guys like me...we're done for in that respect.
Last time I paid for a repair locally though they did something wrong that caused the timing belt to fail after only 20000 miles. 3 litre Mitsu motor in a Tragic Wagon. Who knows what they did..maybe too tight? $432.00 wasted. Actually, I only took it in for an estimate, but they went ahead and did the repair anyway without letting me confirm it. Here in Cda, we have a law that protects the consumer in these instances..if no signed work order, then they don't have to pay regardless of whether mis-communication or what..Anyway, I didn't go that route..I paid him and then bought the shop manual for that thing too. I gotta a stack of them now..
I traded the van to a friend right after. Have since reimbursed him also tho when we found out the belt broke just taking away from a light a couple years later..so between what I gave the shop and what I gave my friend later sure left a poor expen$ive impre$$ion. I gave the shop owner (a Jehovah's Witness...aren't they suppose to be honest types?) a chance to reimburse me, reminding him that I could have not paid the bill at all since they never gave me the chance to authorize the estimate in the first place..but he just said..them's the breaks..and ya know.. I think he did intend that pun..
So have been doing all my own repairs since..swapped a trans in Samurai, an engine in a bike and a few other things on that level.
But I'd sure give ya crack at this CRV, doc..if you were closer..
Believe it or not, there's a TV repair shop in Greenville, SC by the name of Fraser's TV, located next to the Bob Jones University campus. I've lived in the Greenville area since 1976, and its been there that long.
The guy will still repair old CRT type TVs as well as flat screens, but he makes it pretty clear he's no fan of the modern disposable appliance. About 2 years ago, he repaired my neighbor's 35" CRT style TV. I helped him take it to the shop, and I swear that thing weighed over 200 lbs!
When you walk in to his shop, its like taking a step back in time to the 1960's.
Definitely the last of a dying breed.
Stores stock what sells and if there is some oddball socket size or wrench size that they might sell one of every three years, they won't stock it.
Sears used to be famous for selling big sets of wrenches and sockets that had "[non-permissible content removed]" sizes included like 19/32nds or 25/64ths.
I recently heard that a lot of techs are shying away from buying "sets" of tools knowing that they eill come with sizes they will never use. Quality tools have become so expensive I have no idea how the average guy in the business can afford to buy them.
Kind of pricey though at $8. :shades:
May as well stick an engine stand in your cart while you are there for another $60.
Snap-On http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=641379&group_ID=68- 1399&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog $322.00
May as well stick an engine stand in your cart while you are there for another $60.
I wouldn't want my feet underneath that.
The average TV is cheap. Cars are only going to get more and more expensive.
I just gave away a 36" tube to a friend of mine... I had e-mailed him that it weighed 240 lbs, and to bring help, as I was only willing to hold the door open.. :P He calls up one evening to tell me he was coming to get it.. "Who are you bringing to help?" Naturally, no one.. Grabbed two teenagers from down the street and wrestled it into his Highlander.
No idea how he was getting that out, at his house.. :surprise:
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I have seen sets of various quantities of bits, all just Torx and that always elusive T-35 is missing. Doc mentioned 'Plus' sizes which was news to me. I'm gonna take a caliper measurement of the bolt head that is between the T30 and T40 and get back to you guys. Doc did say that he doesn't have a T35 in all his tools so I'm curious to see if my caliper measurement jives with one of his Plus bits.
If you have to adjust your Cat more than three or four times a winter, you may want to grab a couple of extra sets, LOL.
But I never got under the "good" ones I had from Sears back in Boise either.
However, it doesn't go up as high as it used to.
'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
Scary! :surprise:
I still have a few 'mechanic's scars"---one time an engine slipped its chain on a hoist and just nicked my middle finger (scar #1); another time I got nipped by a spinning fan blade (totally my fault) (scar #2).
Other close calls---a BMW upper radiator neck broke off spewing hot coolant all over me (never tug on those plastic necks to see if the hose it tight).
then of course the usual burns, gouges, stab wounds, scraped knuckles.
Oh, I got brake-kleen in my eyes once!
Many years ago, I learned a scary lesson (but also got cut on a fan blade so can relate there
I was working on exhaust on something..I forget, but was a car not an SUV or truck with the extra clearance. It was in March, and I'm not sure where all you guys are from, but any that get super cold below zero winters, know about 'frost' conditions on a gravel front yard when the frost is starting to thaw out in the spring. Well, sure enough the jack (with nothing but hard oak or maple as blocking) had started to sink into the ground slowly enough that when it came time for me to move more, I realized that I had hardly any room at all! I do suffer from claustrophobia so it was a crappy realization when it dawned on me what had happened. I literally had to try to calm myself, and knew I sorta had one chance..so I took a deep breath in and held it and managed to squirm my way out. At one point I got caught on a muffler bracket U bolt sticking out and pure adrenaline ripped myself free as I was also starting to need air. Got out, lesson learned. No one would have found me for days..would have been a crappy way to go..
I lost my Dad in a bush accident right in front of me when I was barely a teen..I was with him but nothing I could do..:( A widow maker...a 6" hard maple branch up about 25 feet that frost had separated it from its main trunk and fresh snow was camouflaging the injury. It was evenly balanced and resting on the tree he was cutting. As that tree started to fall, the hard maple branch (probably about 250 lb or more) fell and nailed him on the head. It was pretty bad
We were super close and I spent many times with him in the bush and at his shop (he was a terrific welder/mechanic) But again..the lesson...something good HAS to come out of such tragedy...there isn't a tree I don't walk up to and when evaluating how it's going to go and what it might grab, I don't relive that scene. Every single tree. Even walks in the bush with the GF is done on non windy days. It has helped keep me safer by not assuming a damn thing.. in the bush or working around machinery. At some point though I do believe that a certain amount of pure luck is a factor.
Sometimes it is not your time..sometimes it is..
Cuts are a problem. I only know I got cut by something when I see the blood dripping and then I have to start looking for the leak.
Some of the worst things that ever could have happened to me in the shop but luckily didn't, were actually caused by "customers". One day as I was pulling the sending unit out of a fuel tank and I heard some guy say, "Hey Buddy, can I borrow a wrench to........" The next thing he knew he and his lit cigarette were in the air and about twenty feet back from the gas tank. No it didn't blow, I had to go around the tank, grabbed him by the shoulders lifted and moved him back. He could have killed both of us.
Years ago I had to get behind the front seat of a Ford pick-up for something, I can't recall what it was. When I tilted the seat forward I heard something fall. It was a shot-gun, and it was pointed right at me when it hit the floor of the truck. It was loaded and had it of gone off I would have gotten it right in the stomach.
Everytime I road test a car there is risk involved. It's not something to ever be taken lightly and there are some scenarios that few people ever consider. Imagine getting stopped by the police and if they decide to search the car being responsible for anything that the owner of the car has in it. There have been a number of times that I have found things that I had to make the owner had to come and clean out of the car before I could drive it. It makes me wonder how many times I didn't find something that I really didn't want to be driving around with. :sick:
http://johng673.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zEBI1QndPo
A quote from Kevin M. The class will go through stages of denial, (That can't be true), Negotiation, (Can't we just get list that will tell us what oil goes in what car), To resigned acceptance that we just can't do things the way we always used to.
Steve pressed many times that he doesn't want the inconvenience of having to search for the correct oil, well nobody does when it comes right down to it. But Steve has a limited number of cars to worry about and choose for, shops have hundreds of cars to care for so its really tough for us, but we don't have a choice. It is what it is.....
Will that be accurate without a strong, properly educated and equipped technician work-force?
"Disposable" doesn't mean it's junk or that it'll break very often---only that it will be a mostly "closed system" that does not encourage any human intervention
Today a lot of parts are obsolete and no longer available from the O.E. in as little as five-six years. Get out to ten years and it's really becoming a problem if the aftermarket can't find a solution. (There has to be a significant demand for a company to make a part and expect to get a return on the investment)
I diagnosed a recurring problem for another shop yesterday. The ABS module that they had sent out for repair back in September is bad again This 95 Jaguar has no new modules available.
I see more and more posts around here about that issue. Apparently spares only have to be available during the warranty period.
Then again, RockAuto has lots of new parts for Daewoos, so if there's enough demand, someone will find a way.
Rebuilding stuff like that ABS module might be a good sideline for you Doc. Working at a bench might be easier on your body.
I don't have the experience for working with modules at that level, and anymore the fine motor skills required are well in my past. That being said, there are "some" things that I can do, such as resolder connector pins, or relay connections that are big enough for me. The rest of the stuff is way too small.
Yeah, those and instrument clusters from E30 series BMWs!