You can only open the sunroof to the "vent" position with the cover still closed. I know, because I have a 2001 ES model with the sunroof. You could try to slide something into the opening to clean it, but I don't know any other way to do it.
i pretty much thought that might be my ONLY option...darn...not sure how clean i'll be able to get, as the stain is more chemical than powder, so i'll need to do some rubbing..i'll give it a try and see how it goes...thanx
that may be difficult...because WHATEVER that white stuff is may have particles in it...therefore, they'd still scratch the plastic top side of the interior cover regardless of if i use a cotten towel or not...maybe i'll shove a vacuum into that tiny crack first, to suck up as many particles as possible first, before i do any kind of wiping. the actual wiping may prove to be most difficult too...i may have to jury rig a towel to a stick or something...engineering's finest hour!
Lately it hasn't rained everyday since we are currently in a several yr drought. Although TS Gabrielle is alleviating that...
but anyways.. the good thing about FL is you don't have to ever worry about tires that do well in the snow.. You could get an all season tire, but I'd rather go with a summer tire or performance tire.
and from personal experience (non-protege) the Dunlop D60A2 JLB is good http://www.tirerack.com/tires/dunlop/du_d60a2.jsp, but seeing folks I know with the above 2 tires, I like their tread patterns better...
also, I'd suggest getting the 205/50 size.. why? well in our strong gusts during thunderstorms, the 205 has a wider footprint (slightly) and I hope you won't get pushed around as much. I had a cavalier with 205/60/15s and the car would rarely move during wind... that's what I want for my pro...
The Toyo® Proxes T1-S is the new generation ultra-high performance tire for the world's most demanding cars and discriminating drivers. The smooth-riding V, W, Y and Z speed-rated T1-S offers excellent wet and dry grip, exceptional handling, and resistance to aquaplaning.
How necessary is it to take my Pro in for the 8000km/5000 mi check-up? It doesn't look like they do too much (lube locks, top up fluids, etc.). A service person at the dealership said it would only cost about $10 to do. Is it necessary in terms of maintaining my warranty? Thanks in advance.
Already did an early oil change at 5000km/3000 mi. Next "scheduled" is at 10 000 km, but may extend that one.
Also, I took back that hood deflector. The parts manager didn't want to take it back but he eventually conceded. However, now they have told me that they want 20 bucks to take the abrasions out of my hood. First they said free, now they want cash. I'm gonna call up my sales man and talk to him about it. I have a sinking feeling he won't be any help though. Thanks.
The hell with the sales person. Talk to the service manager, give him the person's name who said they would take out the scratches for you for free. If that doesn't work, talk to the dealership manager. Someone will give you satisfaction if you raise enough hell.
So after a little bit of complaining, they have agreed to take out the scratches on my hood for free. Glad you said something Vocus...I was close to just giving up. Thanks!
Oh, I never give up. That's how I just got a free brake job on my 2001 Protege (resurfaced rotors) at 16K miles for free. I wasn't having it. I told them about a problem, they said it wasn't there. I told them 3 more times, and kept my records. I told them a fourth time, and they said they found it but it was too late. I pulled the records, showed the service manager, and told him I would be back to get my car from service when the brakes were done that evening.
I own a 00 Silver Pro ES and have a bunch of questions concerning maintenance.
The car has 50 K miles on it and the only thing I have had done are oil changes every 3K, tire rotations and changed the air filter. Now I need new tires since the originals are starting to go. I think I might order the Nitto NT450's that someone mentioned earlier but I have to get them from tirerack.com since I can't find a local dealer that carries them. This is the best quality tire I could find for the price (after I get a local dealer to mount, balance, align, etc... them it's ~$450 vs getting a set of Dunlop 5000's from a dealer like Tire Discounters which would cost $570). The only thing I would lose by getting them from tirerack is that I would miss out on the lifetime rotation and balance from Tire Discounters. Can I rotate them myself? How important is it to get them balanced when they are rotated? Are there any other suggestions for tires? I need an all-season tire since I live in Ohio.
I'm also thinking about getting a tune up and a new fuel filter ( I've had the belts, hoses and brakes checked and they are ok). Is there any other service I should look into? How hard is it to change the fuel filter yourself? Do I need the service manual? If so, how can I get the manual?
Tire rotation is easy. While a lift would make it REAL easy, most folks don't have access to one. You can use the temporary spare to support the car as you move tires around. You'll want to get a torque wrench and set it to the specification in the owner's manual (under emergency procedures, of all places).
Tire Rack should ship them to you already balanced. Rotating them shouldn't affect the balance, unless you knock off a counterweight or damage the tire or wheel.
You might have the spark plugs and wires checked. It should be part of a tune-up. Also replace your air filter, if you haven't already done so. This is very easy.
Have your transmission fluid changed. Change your coolant too and have your AC system checked.
Check tightness of nuts, bolts etc. and have all hinges lubricated (usu. with a silicone grease).
I do my own oil and air filter changes, since they're fairly easy. I also do my own tire rotations. I have work done on my cooling, transmission and fuel systems done at my dealer. They're OK, and I don't want to mess with those fluids.
I'm not sure about spark plugs and brake pads yet. Those were easy on my '89 323, but look a bit more complicated and difficult to get to on my '99 Pro.
Is your car a 5sp or manual? If it is a 5sp, I don't think there is an interval in the owners manual for it. I would change it anyways. If it is an automatic, there is a drain plug on the transmission pan. You won't get all of the fluid out if you just pull the drain plug. If you have someone who wants to help you, pull the drain plug out, start the car up, run it through the gears WHILE adding transmission fluid at the same time through the fill tube. This will get all of the fluid out, including whats in the torque converter. If its a manual, simply pull the fill plug and the drain plug in that order. Put the drain plug back in and fill through the fill plug until it comes out, then let it level off. Synthetic GL5 75W90 wouldn't be a bad idea. Radiatior: You can get most of the fluid out by simply loosening the drain at the bottom of the radiator. When the drain plug is loose (manual) or taken out (automatic) use a garden hose and flush it out from the fill. Pull out the overflow bottle and empty it. Then simply fill it up with the proper mixture of your favorite coolant. Start the car with the cap off, and top off as necessary. Tune up--do it yourself, its easy. You don't have a cap and rotor to worry about. Just get new plugs, you might not even need new wires. Remove the coil packs with a screwdriver, pull the plug wires off the plugs and put new plugs in. Fuel Filter? I don't know where it is, never looked for it. I am sure its easy though. I don't take my car to the dealer for any of that stuff.
if you get tires mounted at a local shop, they should give you the lifetime regardless. If not, shop around. cuz I'd wager if they give you the basic 1 shot, the next time you do it, they'd offer the plan... its easier to get it on new tires, than old ones.
I was thinking about using the spare, but didn't know about the torque wrench, thanx for the tip. I guess I don't really understand what "balancing" does to a tire. I thought it would be something specifically measured for my car.
newcar31,
My Pro is an auto. Thanks for the in-depth knowledge on the fluid changes. I might try it. I'll definitely do the spark plugs myself. Isn't there a specific plug I should get or stay away from?--I think I remember reading that.
nikecar,
I'll try and haggle on the lifetime balance/rotation thing, but if I don't need them balanced every time, I'll just do the rotation myself. How do I know if they aren't balanced?
It just means the mass (weight) of the tire/wheel assembly is balanced about its axis of rotation. Usually, the tire shop targets around 50mph, which is lame.
You'll know when a tire is unbalanced when you get vibration from a wheel while traveling on the highway, especially if it occurs in a particular speed range.
When they balance a tire, they try to rotate the tire on the wheel to get their centers-of-gravity oppositely aligned. They add the counterweights (either the clamp-on or stick-on type) if the sum of the centers of gravity aren't aligned with the center of the wheel. This procedure is automated at better shops. They put the tire/wheel assembly onto a machine that spins it and tells the technician how to line up the tire to the wheel and then how much weight to add and where, if necessary. Pretty cool. The same machine can also check for the condition below:
A tire that is out-of-round, meaning the tire itself isn't round, you'll notice vibration at all speeds above about 35mph. Tires can be shaved down to make them round. I'd just get them to replace a defective tire.
This has been driving me nuts. How do I avoid streaks and lint on the inside windshield? I don't find accessability very easy either, so rubbing vigourously isn't my favourite. Some cleaners seem to cloud up or attract dirt more than others, too.
you should get the package to start.. around here its Cheapie 1-shot balance of $8-10 per tire. Compare to $15-20 for Lifetime Balance/rotate/road hazard per tire. With that, you get FREE rotation and balance for the life of the tire. It doesn't matter if you go in every month, its no charge to you. Also, with the road hazard included, if you get a flat, they fix it free. if it can't be fixed, they give you a new tire free (or prorated based on tread). You just pay for the re-balance.
consiering also flat repairs here are over $10 each time... pays off really quick.
I have a '99 Protege ES, 5spd. I took it to the dealer for power door lock failure, the car is still under warranty. So, at the time of the repair, I've asked the service guy about how much it would cost to change the fuel filter? He said that for the '99 model, the fuel filter is in the gas tank and it will cost $300.00+ to have it change because they have to drop the gas tank to get to the fuel filter. STUPID DESIGN, in my opinion. For those of you that have later models, check with your service advisor, but I don't Mazda change have the design.
Many vehicles are now designed not to use a fuel filter.
Loi, the dealer is referring to the filter screen on the fuel pump. If that screen clogs, you better drop the tank because there is a more serious problem. Most every car has a plastic fuel tank, so rust particles are not a concern as they used to be.
I tried Klasse for the 1st time, in early August. So far, I love this stuff. The first time I tried Klasse, I just applied the All-in-One and the Sealant to my spouses Protege, knocked the job out in less than 2 1/2 hours. My wifes 2000 PRO-ES looked sharp when I finished. The Klasse has held up very nicely at the 3 month mark!
I tried Klasse for the 2nd time last week. I was preparing "MY" 2000 Mazda Protege ES, for our 2nd Annual Edmunds Mazda Mid-Atlantic Protege Picnic. I really wanted my Protege to pop, so I went for my own version of a 4 step concours "Wet Look Shine", lol! The whole deal took me about 7 hours. However, this included a hand wash in my driveway, an interior detail (just a quick touch up) and a couple of breaks for lunch & dinner.
Step 1- I glazed my dark Emerald Mica PRO-ES, with a hand application of 3m Imperial Hand Glaze.
Step 2- A hand application of Klasse All-in-One. Very very easy. Apply a nickel size dab of All-in-One to a folded micro fiber towel dampened with a quick detailer. Wipe right off, no drying needed.
Step 3- A hand application of Klasse High Gloss Sealant. Klasse is acrylic that bonds to the paint. Very, very easy to apply. Apply a nickel size dap of Klasse Sealant to a folded micro fiber towel dampened with a quick detailer. You need to let the sealant dry before removing. I let it dry before dinner and a hour, 45 min. later it was plenty dry. Wipe off with dry cloth, no heavy buffing needed.
Step 4- My final concours move! A coat of Blitz One Grand Wax. This aplication of Blitz was for added depth and wet shine. Blitz One Grand is a tad easer to apply than Meguiar's Hi-Tech #26 Yellow Wax. Nonetheless, it seems that most hi-end carnauba paste waxes can be, somewhat of a pain in the butt to remove, hehe!
I just waxed my Pro with Nu-finish. It looks great, except for the white residue that gets caught in some areas, particularly along rubber areas. Does anybody have an easy method of getting this residue out? Thanks in advance.
I was just reading some FAQ's on waxing and on one page it said that acrilyic/polymer "waxes" can cause "spider-webbing" of the paint because the acrilyics/polymers do not allow the paint to expand/contract naturally. Is this true?
I only use NuFinish on my alloy wheels, because of the very reason you posted today. NuFinish stains black trim more than most waxes/polishes and it really knows how to find cracks and crevices. If you what to continue with store bought, one step car protectants try Preston Bullet Wax. I have used it and liked the results. It is very long lasting and highly rated by Consumer Reports. I have purchased it at Pep Boys and K-Mart.
BTW, I have heard peanut butter smeared on the stained black hard rubber exterior trim will remove NuFinish. Apply the peanut butter, let it set-up for an hour or so and gently scrub with a tooth brush. Wipe it away,... presto no stains! However, DO NOT be tempted to wax with grape jelly, lol.
Get a small med. stiff paint brush to remove the wax build up in the cracks and crevices.
My only issue with the above 2 is that I don't like buying over the internet. They don't sell either of those in local stores here. I'd like to try Klasse out as I've read many good things about it.
Meade makes NuFinish milk shakes and drinks them with Turtle wax burgers. Hehe!
Really, NuFinish is the very first wax I ever used. I liked it very much, until I tried other products. However, one negative aspect of NuFinish is the unwanted staining of this all-in-one polish. If your super careful and your detail time is limited NuFinish is a great choice. However, after you use up your NuFinish, go a head and try Prestone Bullit Wax.
Sorry, I only check this topic every few days. I usually hang out on the Mazda Protege topic; if you ever need me and I don't answer here, give me a yell over there.
Nu Finish, in my opinion after trying several over-the-counter polishes, is the longest-lasting, easiest-to-apply-and-remove polish. Yes, it does stain plastic and rubber, but hey, let's be careful and we won't have that problem! I never found the staining a big problem -- usually just a damp cloth and a little elbow grease will get those stains off.
Prior to MAPP II I polished my car with Meguiar's Gold Class liquid -- I don't use pastes (or Turtle Wax, Larry -- even as a snack, lol!). My conviction stands -- although the Meguiar's gives a slightly deeper shine than the Nu Finish, it is MUCH more difficult to remove, plus it stinks! It's got a nauseatingly sweet odor that turns my stomach. It was not easy to remove because it never really "dried" to the point that it was easy to buff off -- it took a lot of hard buffing to remove the haze it left -- something I've never experienced with Nu Finish. For me, polishing the car is a chore I don't really enjoy, so the fact that Nu Finish is easy to apply and remove, and lasts half a year instead of less than two months, is important to me. Yes, my last application of Meguiar's was gone after about six weeks.
Now, there are those people, like Larry, who are more anal than others about their cars. Larry has this cleaning and polishing stuff down to a science -- a science that keeps him in the driveway more than in the car! You should've seen his mobile chemical warehouse at MAPP II -- you'd have pegged him for the owner of an antique Packard or a Ferrari! Now, no offense -- but I have other hobbies and I don't have that much time for my car. At either end of the car-cleaning spectrum there are the Larrys of the world -- the car-care equivalents of "audiophiles," and then there are those like my wife who never even wash and vacuum their car, much less polish it! (Hey, I love you, Tam -- but geesh! Look at your CAR!!!)
I'm at the high-middle end of that spectrum -- I keep my car clean and use a highly rated polish that protects my car and makes it look good for a long time, and I still have time to enjoy my other hobbies -- which include *driving* my car!
By the way, about those swirl marks -- as long as you let the polish dry well, and then use a clean cotton buffing cloth and keep turning it, swirl marks aren't a big problem for me with Nu Finish. Just take your time and don't be in a hurry, and you won't have to deal with stains and swirls!
Meade
P.S. Larry, could you e-mail me your home address? I owe you a little cash for Hotel Hell ...
hey all, just a quick question, but i've been washing my car by hand and have recently noticed the development of swirl marks! anybody know how i can "erase" them? also, winter is almost here...and i was wondering if any of you know of a good wax that can stand up to a salt-heavy winter... thanx all! 'duh'
I use Turtle Wax Finish 2001, and however careful I am, always get a bit in the door-handle area or the rubber trim. It comes off quite easily with a wet sponge, or a damp rag. Just don't wait until you finish waxing the section, get the smears off right away!
On a side note, has anyone used color-coded scratch removers as advertised on TV (or elsewhere)? My car came with a bunch of fine scratches on some sections, inclduing under the keyholes and on some parts of the bumper etc.
It's got a good section on removing swirls. Take a read there.
This winter I'm trying Nu-finish as it is supposed to last a long time. However, I've read that since it's a polymer, it cannot expand/contract well in fluctuating temperatures and may cause paint failure (spider webbing effect). I've already put it on, so we'll see what happens!
I've been using Nu Finish since 1985 here in Richmond, where the temperature has fluctuated from as high as 102 in the summer of 1988 to 2 above zero in January 2000. And we get some crazy days, like yesterday, when the high temperature hit 82 and last night it got down to 36. I have never, ever experienced "paint failure" using the product. BTW, my vehicles' paint colors using Nu Finish have included black, charcoal gray, white, beige, green (er, "Emerald Mica") bright blue and canary yellow.
Thanks for the info. I just read on some sites about polymers/acrilycs having this problem. I'm glad to hear that you've never experienced anything like this! It was probably +6 degrees Celsius last night and it snowed last night and was around 0°C this morning. First snow to hit my Pro!
I just did the conversion for +2°F. That is only -16°C!! Here it typically gets down to -30°C...that's -22°F! Then, because of a Chinook, the temperature can fly back up to right near 20°C (68°F) in just a matter of hours! Now that's temperature fluctuation!
Maybe a tad...but it can fluctuate something like 25°C in a few hours. Serisously...if you've never experienced a Chinook, then you'll think I'm crazy. But it's the truth!
We actually get something all the way down here in Virginia called an "Alberta Clipper." Usually in the wintertime, it's a fast-moving blast of arctic air that comes down from central Canada and heads southeastward, and can sometimes take us from a 60-degree day down into the 20s at night. Well, we aren't having one of them right now, but we did have a nice cold front come through this morning. It was 80 this time yesterday, it's only 55 right now (12:15 p.m. Eastern), and it's supposed to be in the 20s tonight. We have a saying in Virginia: If you don't like the weather, wait an hour.
It's true -- it's impossible to predict the weather here. People here want to know what the winter's going to be like. How can you predict it, when on January 25, 2000, the high temperature that day was 18, and in January 1998 it was 75? Richmond will go two or three years without a snowflake, and then have 20 inches in two days. It makes driving fun because (a) most people around here can't drive worth a darn in the snow, (b) since it doesn't snow more often than it does, the state and localities don't stock up on snow-removal equipment and chemicals, so a major storm cripples us for days, and (c) because of the last point, a major storm (for us that means six inches or more) makes everybody run to the store and clear the shelves so they can be snowed in for days. As a Canadian, you'd laugh -- the forecast calls for two inches and everyone strips the shelves clean of bread, milk and other "essentials." Then either nothing comes, or we really do get snow and the city -- the capital of the state, I remind you -- literally shuts down for as much as a week. Kind of fun, actually!
Actually, snow isn't what cripples us here in the winter. It's ice. We have "freezing rain" more often than snow, and let me tell you from experience -- you ought to see what two inches of ice can do not only to roads and cars, but to power lines! We lost our power several times last winter, and our lines are underground, LOL! It can be really fun when you lose your power when it's below freezing outside. Then you get the know-it-alls who proudly claim, "That's why I've got GAS heat!!!" Great. How you gonna blow it through your ducts without electricity? No, I invested in a large kerosene heater -- the cylindrical kind that puts out 22,000 BTUs. It saved our butts two years ago when the power went out for a few days. Yes, days. Ice-covered trees fell on power lines all over the state and crippled its electrical system. We were lucky actually -- some folks didn't have power for weeks.
And let me add one more point about the ice we get down here -- I love watching all the drivers from "up north," who just love to criticize our slow winter driving, skidding and sliding off our highways in the winter. They don't understand that while "up there" they get nice, fluffy, powdery snow, here we get the wet stuff that usually has an added demon: a layer of ice under it. During the "Blizzard of '96" I was doing about 35 mph on the interstate when I was passed by a Ford Excursion -- the big one -- that must've been going 60 or higher. About a mile later I rounded a curve at my leisurely pace to find that behemoth of a vehicle buried backward in a ditch, its headlights shining up into the falling snow like a crippled bug that had just been swatted. I laughed as I grabbed the cell phone to dial 911 yet another time. License plate? New York, of course.
That's some good reading Meade. Thanks for the chuckle. Actually though, we get a lot of ice as well. Two years ago, The Easterners had huge snow storms that froze and consequently took out many power lines and caused massive problems. Meanwhile, out in the West here, we were experiencing extremely low amounts of snow for the time of year. Driving is still never fun in the winter. Black ice is the worst. You can't see the stuff. There are many, many people up here in Canada that need to go take a winter driving course because there are still way too many accidents. People think that they can still drive as fast as they want, no matter the weather conditions. Or just because they're driving around in their huge SUV monster they think everybody should move for them. Do you guys have many snow ploughs, gravel trucks, etc. in your city? Up here it's a high priority. BTW, sorry about the Alberta clippers...I'll try to let them know to not send 'em down this year.
(I just did that to get you excited, Larry ... and BTW, I still haven't gotten your address.)
I have decided to come clean on my wax/polish opinion. In recent posts I have been comparing Meguiar's Gold Class and Nu Finish and leaning toward Nu Finish for its ease of use and long-lasting properties. Well, time to be honest.
While I still think Nu Finish beats the heck out of anything else in terms of how long it lasts, I have spent several hours in the past few weeks reading about polymer polishes and waxes, and studying how well my Protege's shine is holding up after using the Gold Class two weeks ago and having had two storms since then.
I don't think I'll be buying another bottle of Nu Finish.
I like the Meguiar's better. Yes, I'll have to apply it more often -- and I'm not looking forward to that end of the deal. But the shine is definitely deeper -- there's no comparison, actually -- and, I just noticed the other day, the Meguiar's (this is my second application of it this year) has removed some tiny scratches -- maybe Nu Finish swirl marks, maybe not -- in my paint. I have a shine now that I swear looks better than when the car was brand new.
So, my hat's off to Meguiar's and I've crossed the fence. I feel rather proud of myself actually -- in only one month I've gone from Windex to Eagle One Auto Glass Cleaner, and from Nu Finish to Meguiar's Gold Class. I guess now I'll focus on changing my Valvoline 5W-30 to synthetic! Anybody find a good way to get our low-slung Proteges up on ramps yet?
Comments
but anyways.. the good thing about FL is you don't have to ever worry about tires that do well in the snow.. You could get an all season tire, but I'd rather go with a summer tire or performance tire.
Some good tires are the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/kumho/ku_712.jsp
also the Bridgestone Potenza RE730 (in 205/50/15 which won't knock the speedo off too much) http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bs_re730.jsp
and from personal experience (non-protege) the Dunlop D60A2 JLB is good http://www.tirerack.com/tires/dunlop/du_d60a2.jsp, but seeing folks I know with the above 2 tires, I like their tread patterns better...
also, I'd suggest getting the 205/50 size.. why? well in our strong gusts during thunderstorms, the 205 has a wider footprint (slightly) and I hope you won't get pushed around as much. I had a cavalier with 205/60/15s and the car would rarely move during wind... that's what I want for my pro...
http://www.ec-securehost.com/OnlineTires.com/Toyo_T1-S.html
The Toyo® Proxes T1-S is the new generation ultra-high performance tire for the world's most demanding cars and discriminating drivers. The smooth-riding V, W, Y and Z speed-rated T1-S offers excellent wet and dry grip, exceptional handling, and resistance to aquaplaning.
Pro_fan
Also, I took back that hood deflector. The parts manager didn't want to take it back but he eventually conceded. However, now they have told me that they want 20 bucks to take the abrasions out of my hood. First they said free, now they want cash. I'm gonna call up my sales man and talk to him about it. I have a sinking feeling he won't be any help though.
Thanks.
Pro_fan
PF
I own a 00 Silver Pro ES and have a bunch of questions concerning maintenance.
The car has 50 K miles on it and the only thing I have had done are oil changes every 3K, tire
rotations and changed the air filter.
Now I need new tires since the originals are starting to go. I think I might order the Nitto NT450's that someone mentioned earlier but I have to get them from tirerack.com since I can't find a local dealer that carries them.
This is the best quality tire I could find for the price (after I get a local dealer to mount, balance, align, etc... them it's ~$450 vs getting a set of Dunlop 5000's from a dealer like Tire Discounters which would cost $570). The only thing I would lose by getting them from tirerack is that I would miss out on the lifetime rotation and balance from Tire Discounters.
Can I rotate them myself? How important is it to get them balanced when they are rotated?
Are there any other suggestions for tires?
I need an all-season tire since I live in Ohio.
I'm also thinking about getting a tune up and a new fuel filter ( I've had the belts, hoses and brakes checked and they are ok). Is there any other service I should look into? How hard is it to change the fuel filter yourself? Do I need the service manual? If so, how can I get the manual?
thanks in advance for any info/advice!
Tire Rack should ship them to you already balanced. Rotating them shouldn't affect the balance, unless you knock off a counterweight or damage the tire or wheel.
You might have the spark plugs and wires checked. It should be part of a tune-up. Also replace your air filter, if you haven't already done so. This is very easy.
Have your transmission fluid changed. Change your coolant too and have your AC system checked.
Check tightness of nuts, bolts etc. and have all hinges lubricated (usu. with a silicone grease).
I do my own oil and air filter changes, since they're fairly easy. I also do my own tire rotations. I have work done on my cooling, transmission and fuel systems done at my dealer. They're OK, and I don't want to mess with those fluids.
I'm not sure about spark plugs and brake pads yet. Those were easy on my '89 323, but look a bit more complicated and difficult to get to on my '99 Pro.
mazdafun,
I was thinking about using the spare, but didn't know about the torque wrench, thanx for the tip.
I guess I don't really understand what "balancing" does to a tire. I thought it would be something specifically measured for my car.
newcar31,
My Pro is an auto. Thanks for the in-depth knowledge on the fluid changes. I might try it.
I'll definitely do the spark plugs myself. Isn't there a specific plug I should get or stay away from?--I think I remember reading that.
nikecar,
I'll try and haggle on the lifetime balance/rotation thing, but if I don't need them balanced every time, I'll just do the rotation myself.
How do I know if they aren't balanced?
What tires have people had success/problems with?
thanks again,
You'll know when a tire is unbalanced when you get vibration from a wheel while traveling on the highway, especially if it occurs in a particular speed range.
When they balance a tire, they try to rotate the tire on the wheel to get their centers-of-gravity oppositely aligned. They add the counterweights (either the clamp-on or stick-on type) if the sum of the centers of gravity aren't aligned with the center of the wheel. This procedure is automated at better shops. They put the tire/wheel assembly onto a machine that spins it and tells the technician how to line up the tire to the wheel and then how much weight to add and where, if necessary. Pretty cool. The same machine can also check for the condition below:
A tire that is out-of-round, meaning the tire itself isn't round, you'll notice vibration at all speeds above about 35mph. Tires can be shaved down to make them round. I'd just get them to replace a defective tire.
consiering also flat repairs here are over $10 each time... pays off really quick.
Meade
Loi, the dealer is referring to the filter screen on the fuel pump. If that screen clogs, you better drop the tank because there is a more serious problem. Most every car has a plastic fuel tank, so rust particles are not a concern as they used to be.
or do I need to set the gap?
I tried Klasse for the 1st time, in early August. So far, I love this stuff. The first time I tried Klasse, I just applied the All-in-One and the Sealant to my spouses Protege, knocked the job out in less than 2 1/2 hours. My wifes 2000 PRO-ES looked sharp when I finished. The Klasse has held up very nicely at the 3 month mark!
I tried Klasse for the 2nd time last week. I was preparing "MY" 2000 Mazda Protege ES, for our 2nd Annual Edmunds Mazda Mid-Atlantic Protege Picnic. I really wanted my Protege to pop, so I went for my own version of a 4 step concours "Wet Look Shine", lol! The whole deal took me about 7 hours. However, this included a hand wash in my driveway, an interior detail (just a quick touch up) and a couple of breaks for lunch & dinner.
Step 1-
I glazed my dark Emerald Mica PRO-ES, with a hand application of 3m Imperial Hand Glaze.
Step 2-
A hand application of Klasse All-in-One. Very very easy. Apply a nickel size dab of All-in-One to a folded micro fiber towel dampened with a quick detailer. Wipe right off, no drying needed.
Step 3-
A hand application of Klasse High Gloss Sealant. Klasse is acrylic that bonds to the paint. Very, very easy to apply. Apply a nickel size dap of Klasse Sealant to a folded micro fiber towel dampened with a quick detailer. You need to let the sealant dry before removing. I let it dry before dinner and a hour, 45 min. later it was plenty dry. Wipe off with dry cloth, no heavy buffing needed.
Step 4-
My final concours move! A coat of Blitz One Grand Wax. This aplication of Blitz was for added depth and wet shine. Blitz One Grand is a tad easer to apply than Meguiar's Hi-Tech #26 Yellow Wax. Nonetheless, it seems that most hi-end carnauba paste waxes can be, somewhat of a pain in the butt to remove, hehe!
http://www.properautocare.com/klasconkit.html
Results:
Awesome, well worth the effort.
http://autopia-carport.com/forum/index.php3
Respectfully,
Larry
That shop is in town and I've been wanting to buy stuff from there.. actually called 2x for info...
Thanks in advance.
PF
BTW, I have heard peanut butter smeared on the stained black hard rubber exterior trim will remove NuFinish. Apply the peanut butter, let it set-up for an hour or so and gently scrub with a tooth brush. Wipe it away,... presto no stains! However, DO NOT be tempted to wax with grape jelly, lol.
Get a small med. stiff paint brush to remove the wax build up in the cracks and crevices.
Good Luck! :-)
Larry
Respectfully,
Larry
Hey Meade, don't you use Nu-finish? What's your findings/opinions on all this?
Respectfully,
Larry
Really, NuFinish is the very first wax I ever used. I liked it very much, until I tried other products. However, one negative aspect of NuFinish is the unwanted staining of this all-in-one polish. If your super careful and your detail time is limited NuFinish is a great choice. However, after you use up your NuFinish, go a head and try Prestone Bullit Wax.
-Larry
-Larry
Nu Finish, in my opinion after trying several over-the-counter polishes, is the longest-lasting, easiest-to-apply-and-remove polish. Yes, it does stain plastic and rubber, but hey, let's be careful and we won't have that problem! I never found the staining a big problem -- usually just a damp cloth and a little elbow grease will get those stains off.
Prior to MAPP II I polished my car with Meguiar's Gold Class liquid -- I don't use pastes (or Turtle Wax, Larry -- even as a snack, lol!). My conviction stands -- although the Meguiar's gives a slightly deeper shine than the Nu Finish, it is MUCH more difficult to remove, plus it stinks! It's got a nauseatingly sweet odor that turns my stomach. It was not easy to remove because it never really "dried" to the point that it was easy to buff off -- it took a lot of hard buffing to remove the haze it left -- something I've never experienced with Nu Finish. For me, polishing the car is a chore I don't really enjoy, so the fact that Nu Finish is easy to apply and remove, and lasts half a year instead of less than two months, is important to me. Yes, my last application of Meguiar's was gone after about six weeks.
Now, there are those people, like Larry, who are more anal than others about their cars. Larry has this cleaning and polishing stuff down to a science -- a science that keeps him in the driveway more than in the car! You should've seen his mobile chemical warehouse at MAPP II -- you'd have pegged him for the owner of an antique Packard or a Ferrari! Now, no offense -- but I have other hobbies and I don't have that much time for my car. At either end of the car-cleaning spectrum there are the Larrys of the world -- the car-care equivalents of "audiophiles," and then there are those like my wife who never even wash and vacuum their car, much less polish it! (Hey, I love you, Tam -- but geesh! Look at your CAR!!!)
I'm at the high-middle end of that spectrum -- I keep my car clean and use a highly rated polish that protects my car and makes it look good for a long time, and I still have time to enjoy my other hobbies -- which include *driving* my car!
By the way, about those swirl marks -- as long as you let the polish dry well, and then use a clean cotton buffing cloth and keep turning it, swirl marks aren't a big problem for me with Nu Finish. Just take your time and don't be in a hurry, and you won't have to deal with stains and swirls!
Meade
P.S. Larry, could you e-mail me your home address? I owe you a little cash for Hotel Hell ...
just a quick question, but i've been washing my car by hand and have recently noticed the development of swirl marks! anybody know how i can "erase" them? also, winter is almost here...and i was wondering if any of you know of a good wax that can stand up to a salt-heavy winter...
thanx all!
'duh'
On a side note, has anyone used color-coded scratch removers as advertised on TV (or elsewhere)? My car came with a bunch of fine scratches on some sections, inclduing under the keyholes and on some parts of the bumper etc.
Is there any other product that might help?
For swirls, I would recommend going to the website Larry posted a few posts back. Here it is again:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/
It's got a good section on removing swirls. Take a read there.
This winter I'm trying Nu-finish as it is supposed to last a long time. However, I've read that since it's a polymer, it cannot expand/contract well in fluctuating temperatures and may cause paint failure (spider webbing effect). I've already put it on, so we'll see what happens!
Pro_fan
Don't worry, be happy.
Meade
PF
Meade
It's true -- it's impossible to predict the weather here. People here want to know what the winter's going to be like. How can you predict it, when on January 25, 2000, the high temperature that day was 18, and in January 1998 it was 75? Richmond will go two or three years without a snowflake, and then have 20 inches in two days. It makes driving fun because (a) most people around here can't drive worth a darn in the snow, (b) since it doesn't snow more often than it does, the state and localities don't stock up on snow-removal equipment and chemicals, so a major storm cripples us for days, and (c) because of the last point, a major storm (for us that means six inches or more) makes everybody run to the store and clear the shelves so they can be snowed in for days. As a Canadian, you'd laugh -- the forecast calls for two inches and everyone strips the shelves clean of bread, milk and other "essentials." Then either nothing comes, or we really do get snow and the city -- the capital of the state, I remind you -- literally shuts down for as much as a week. Kind of fun, actually!
Actually, snow isn't what cripples us here in the winter. It's ice. We have "freezing rain" more often than snow, and let me tell you from experience -- you ought to see what two inches of ice can do not only to roads and cars, but to power lines! We lost our power several times last winter, and our lines are underground, LOL! It can be really fun when you lose your power when it's below freezing outside. Then you get the know-it-alls who proudly claim, "That's why I've got GAS heat!!!" Great. How you gonna blow it through your ducts without electricity? No, I invested in a large kerosene heater -- the cylindrical kind that puts out 22,000 BTUs. It saved our butts two years ago when the power went out for a few days. Yes, days. Ice-covered trees fell on power lines all over the state and crippled its electrical system. We were lucky actually -- some folks didn't have power for weeks.
And let me add one more point about the ice we get down here -- I love watching all the drivers from "up north," who just love to criticize our slow winter driving, skidding and sliding off our highways in the winter. They don't understand that while "up there" they get nice, fluffy, powdery snow, here we get the wet stuff that usually has an added demon: a layer of ice under it. During the "Blizzard of '96" I was doing about 35 mph on the interstate when I was passed by a Ford Excursion -- the big one -- that must've been going 60 or higher. About a mile later I rounded a curve at my leisurely pace to find that behemoth of a vehicle buried backward in a ditch, its headlights shining up into the falling snow like a crippled bug that had just been swatted. I laughed as I grabbed the cell phone to dial 911 yet another time. License plate? New York, of course.
Meade
Driving is still never fun in the winter. Black ice is the worst. You can't see the stuff. There are many, many people up here in Canada that need to go take a winter driving course because there are still way too many accidents. People think that they can still drive as fast as they want, no matter the weather conditions. Or just because they're driving around in their huge SUV monster they think everybody should move for them.
Do you guys have many snow ploughs, gravel trucks, etc. in your city? Up here it's a high priority.
BTW, sorry about the Alberta clippers...I'll try to let them know to not send 'em down this year.
PF
I have decided to come clean on my wax/polish opinion. In recent posts I have been comparing Meguiar's Gold Class and Nu Finish and leaning toward Nu Finish for its ease of use and long-lasting properties. Well, time to be honest.
While I still think Nu Finish beats the heck out of anything else in terms of how long it lasts, I have spent several hours in the past few weeks reading about polymer polishes and waxes, and studying how well my Protege's shine is holding up after using the Gold Class two weeks ago and having had two storms since then.
I don't think I'll be buying another bottle of Nu Finish.
I like the Meguiar's better. Yes, I'll have to apply it more often -- and I'm not looking forward to that end of the deal. But the shine is definitely deeper -- there's no comparison, actually -- and, I just noticed the other day, the Meguiar's (this is my second application of it this year) has removed some tiny scratches -- maybe Nu Finish swirl marks, maybe not -- in my paint. I have a shine now that I swear looks better than when the car was brand new.
So, my hat's off to Meguiar's and I've crossed the fence. I feel rather proud of myself actually -- in only one month I've gone from Windex to Eagle One Auto Glass Cleaner, and from Nu Finish to Meguiar's Gold Class. I guess now I'll focus on changing my Valvoline 5W-30 to synthetic! Anybody find a good way to get our low-slung Proteges up on ramps yet?
Meade