Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

ab348 said:

explorerx4 said:

I found 1 video on how to replace the MKC battery.
Unfortunately, it started with battery already removed, plus the guy was missing his right index finger.

I wonder if those two things are related?

It seems that serviceability is not a high priority for many auto manufacturers these days, and not just Ford. For years on many GM cars, replacing a heater core required removing the inner fender, which first meant removing everything that was attached to it and then removing the RF wheel. In some instances it also involved removing the passenger front seat and the glovebox. Now a heater core typically goes a great many years before needing replacing so perhaps that is excusable. But on my ATS, when a headlamp bulb blows and needs replacement a similar wheel/fender liner removal is necessary. I mean, come on. Couldn't they just engineer a little hatch or cover of some sort and let you avoid that?

That’s easy compared to some heater cores. And that Sarah girl on YouTube pointed out on the GTI that there was a little manhole in fender liner to access the fog light bulb. Such a simple thing that so companies skimp on. Looking at you, Mini!

imidazol97

jmonroe1 said:

imidazol97 said:

Here's the garage and workshop I've always envied. Built by a friend in the 80s or 90s. Did I mention he has a large bank barn also...

Prove it.

jmonroe

stickguy said:

jmonroe1 said:

explorerx4 said:

Not sure how I can replace this battery myself.
Took the picture from the left side, so only the front half of the battery is visible.
The right side of the picture is the firewall area.

Not as easy as a ‘67 Chevy but still doable if you want to spend a little time. When you see what the dealer wants to do it, you might rethink having them do it.

jmonroe

hard to tell what the actual clearance on top is, but might have to pull the airbox (or whatever that is right in front of it) out to get at it. Sounds like fun.

Are there youtube videos showing how to do the battery exchange for your model?

driver100

suydam said:

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

Looked at this tonight.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Williamstown_NJ/Butler-Dr

Nice home, but virtually no back yard. Wife loved the interior except for the bathroom floors. Mechanicals all at 15 years old and no finished basement pretty much made us move on.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/94-Quail-Ridge-Way_Mickleton_NJ_08056_M51246-04385?view=qv

We are going to try and look at this one in the next few days. Bit of a budget stretcher but doesn’t need much of anything. I don’t like the kitchen but wife said it’s workable.

I like the 2nd one. Kingsway is a pretty good school too. But if you would go to that price, could possibly go new but would be waiting into next year.

also, if the yard is too small, you will never be able to cure that problem. and a basement that size can cost an awful lot to finish.

Looking at the second one today. Yes good schools and other then the kitchen not being white it has everything we want.

Mortgage pre-approval is pending. Dumpster being delivered Saturday to clean out the basement. Lots of crap that needs to go from both my Grandparents and Mom’s home. Contractor coming for a quote to replace front roof, since it’s old and we were stupid and didn’t do it when we did all the other work.

So it’s getting “real”.

I dream of the day I can get a dumpster and start having garage sales, and lusting furniture on the market place. Half the stuff in this house shouldn’t make the move to a new one.

So even if your move falls through, at least your roof is fine and the place cleaned out!

I didn’t dream of it, because it was SO much work, but we did it. And I’m very glad we did.
All house offers are now over the asking price it seems. Great time to be a seller.

....except, then you have to find a new house :@

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

Here's the garage and workshop I've always envied. Built by a friend in the 80s or 90s. Did I mention he has a large bank barn also...

He has that much money?

No, the money belongs to his wife. That’s the place she built for him just to get him out of her house. Notice that @imidazol97 didn’t show us the palace she lives in or what’s in her garages.

jmonroe

driver100

Sloppy engineering to make it hard to get at parts that need replacing. Manufacturers don't want to spend the money trying to figure out how to make things easier to replace. $60 windshield wiper fluid container costs $300 to repair, because you have to take off the front part of the car.......ridiculous!

ab348

snakeweasel said:

ab348 said:

snakeweasel said:

ab348 said:

I get the Hemmings Daily email blast and on Saturdays they always include a real estate listing. I never knew Hemmings took real estate ads but they do, usually car-guy estates. Some of them are eye-popping, like last weeks in the Arizona desert:

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/real-estate/unspecified/unspecified/2423980.html

Lots of them are funny, with lavish garages, shops and man caves, but with the house decorated in the Carter administration. Many of them have things pictured that have the “What were they thinking?” line pop into your head.

I have to say, if you have that much garage space and have to stack cars on top of each other maybe you have to many cars.

Probably so. However looking at that Arizona listing and the pictures of it, it seems the only neighbors popping by for visits would be coyotes and snakes, so the owner probably has lots of free time to attend to the vehicles. It looks rather, uh, remote.

The interiors of that Arizona house appear straight out of Architectural Digest but are so minimal in the photos that it had to be staged within an inch of its life. I have to think there were a few tractor-trailers worth of life stuff that was removed prior to the photo session that were parked just out of sight.

Its really not that remote, only about a mile or so drive from a rather populated area that is pretty much a suburb of Phoenix, AZ (just under 30 miles as the crow flies). As for the interior, you might be right but it could also be a second home for some rich dude that's basically used to house his car collection and the rest of the house is just basic minimalist décor as it is not the main purpose of the house. There are houses nearby, but this house is where it's really thinning out but there are multiple homes within walking distance.

Since you're in that area I'll take your word on it. I was going by the pics which only show desert and mountain vistas, and not much else. I wondered when I first read the listing if the $4 million price included the car collection since there were almost as many pictures of them as there was of the house. I like a lot of what he has garaged there - oddly enough, the early '70s Chevy pickup really appealed to me.

jmonroe1

snakeweasel said:

explorerx4 said:

Not sure how I can replace this battery myself.
Took the picture from the left side, so only the front half of the battery is visible.
The right side of the picture is the firewall area.

You should try replacing the battery in my Sebring, you have to remove the front drivers side tire and go in through the wheel well.

The first car I had that had A/C was my ‘75 Grand Prix. To get at the number 2 and 4
plugs was almost impossible to do from leaning over the passenger side fender because they were under the A/C compressor and refrigerant lines. After going by feel and dropping the ratchet wrench a half dozen times, at least, I decided to remove the right front tire and going in that way. Once I pushed aside the rubber splash flap that somewhat protected the upper control arm, the plugs were staring me right in the face and were very simple to get at. No more dropped wrenches and scraped nuckles after doing it that way.

jmonroe

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

Sloppy engineering to make it hard to get at parts that need replacing. Manufacturers don't want to spend the money trying to figure out how to make things easier to replace. $60 windshield wiper fluid container costs $300 to repair, because you have to take off the front part of the car.......ridiculous!

In the case of the Sebring it's supposed to protect the battery from engine heat. It does make sense due to heat will reduce the life of a battery. Take it for what it's worth.

snakeweasel

ab348 said:

snakeweasel said:

ab348 said:

snakeweasel said:

ab348 said:

I get the Hemmings Daily email blast and on Saturdays they always include a real estate listing. I never knew Hemmings took real estate ads but they do, usually car-guy estates. Some of them are eye-popping, like last weeks in the Arizona desert:

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/real-estate/unspecified/unspecified/2423980.html

Lots of them are funny, with lavish garages, shops and man caves, but with the house decorated in the Carter administration. Many of them have things pictured that have the “What were they thinking?” line pop into your head.

I have to say, if you have that much garage space and have to stack cars on top of each other maybe you have to many cars.

Probably so. However looking at that Arizona listing and the pictures of it, it seems the only neighbors popping by for visits would be coyotes and snakes, so the owner probably has lots of free time to attend to the vehicles. It looks rather, uh, remote.

The interiors of that Arizona house appear straight out of Architectural Digest but are so minimal in the photos that it had to be staged within an inch of its life. I have to think there were a few tractor-trailers worth of life stuff that was removed prior to the photo session that were parked just out of sight.

Its really not that remote, only about a mile or so drive from a rather populated area that is pretty much a suburb of Phoenix, AZ (just under 30 miles as the crow flies). As for the interior, you might be right but it could also be a second home for some rich dude that's basically used to house his car collection and the rest of the house is just basic minimalist décor as it is not the main purpose of the house. There are houses nearby, but this house is where it's really thinning out but there are multiple homes within walking distance.

Since you're in that area I'll take your word on it. I was going by the pics which only show desert and mountain vistas, and not much else. I wondered when I first read the listing if the $4 million price included the car collection since there were almost as many pictures of them as there was of the house. I like a lot of what he has garaged there - oddly enough, the early '70s Chevy pickup really appealed to me.

I'm not in the area but the house is on sale on line with the address and plugging that address into a map website shows where it is. Looking at the area on Goggle Earth shows homes in the area.

stickguy

So did one of the pictures, looking out over the town down the hill

fintail

LOL yeah if I want to escape lawlessness, I move to FL. Florida man

Those NE property taxes are crazy even to my eyes, accustomed to the cost of living here. Looks like maybe twice local rates.

abacomike said:

Three years ago my condo was worth about $120,000. Today, it's worth $156,000 based on the sales of identical units in my condo community. The reason has to do with the onslaught of Chicagoans, New Yorkers, Jerseyites and other northern areas migrating to Florida to get away from the high taxes and lawlessness. There are over 1000 people a day who move to Florida every day.

We have low sales taxes (6-7%) and no income taxes. The cost of food is lower and the cost of clothing is as well (no need for warm clothing).

Moving companies are overwhelmed by the numbers of requests to move belongings to Florida, Texas and Arizona.

fintail

They only moved the headstones

kyfdx said:

3% money will definitely skew the market. Shopped for a house with my son and his girl, this summer. Entry level price points, and it was brutal. What person takes an offer in the first two hours, when they have 12 more appointments to see the house, the first day?

tjc78

fintail said:

They only moved the headstones

kyfdx said:

3% money will definitely skew the market. Shopped for a house with my son and his girl, this summer. Entry level price points, and it was brutal. What person takes an offer in the first two hours, when they have 12 more appointments to see the house, the first day?

They're here.....

tjc78

The housing craze is real! We picked 7 to look at this week and 6 of the 7 have been placed under contract.

imidazol97

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

Here's the garage and workshop I've always envied. Built by a friend in the 80s or 90s. Did I mention he has a large bank barn also...

He has that much money?

No, the money belongs to his wife. That’s the place she built for him just to get him out of her house. Notice that @imidazol97 didn’t show us the palace she lives in or what’s in her garages.

jmonroe

IIRC, this garage he built back in 90s. It has heat and a workshop area along the back. It is "banked" into the hillside behind it. I believe the house has a one-car garage on the end. The bank barn has various older pickups he has collected and who knows how many classic cars. He did have an anniversary Firebird Trans Am. I don't know if he sold it or not.

The Silverado in pic is one he bought in 90s with all options leather etc like a car. Floor shift diesel.

graphicguy

Just finished a transport....Civic Si 6-speed for a Civic Sport CVT. Only question I had was...WHY?

That 6-speed Si was a nice drive. Have to say I probably wound it out more than the break-in procedure called for.

stickguy

I’ll check the driveway for it.

Thanks!

Michaell

graphicguy said:

Just finished a transport....Civic Si 6-speed for a Civic Sport CVT. Only question I had was...WHY?

That 6-speed Si was a nice drive. Have to say I probably wound it out more than the break-in procedure called for.

And here I thought you were representing yourself as the responsible, older, transport driver. :laughing:

28firefighter

Would love your thoughts on the Civic Si, @graphicguy.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

The housing craze is real! We picked 7 to look at this week and 6 of the 7 have been placed under contract.

Well the flip will be ready within 2 months for sure. I hope the crazyness continues. Just like with the last one there seems to be interest and it’s not even ready for sale yet. Hell, the kitchen hasn’t even been installed yet but the folks that have looked, have seen the layout and are smiling. This would be a sale without an agent. I’m all for going with an agent for a short time just to see if the market will bid it up. I’m in no hurry to sell and would like to see what happens. Son #1 says if he gets his number he’ll sell quick. But I’m not sure he knows what his number should be in this crazy market. This may lead to fist-to-cuffs. :@


jmonroe

imidazol97

Houses. Moving. Remember the trucks that say "Adventure in Moving" as their logo.

Here's a guy with a bad adventure in moving. How he flipped a rental truck on a 65 mph ramp from I70 to I75 I'll not be sure. Unless he drifted and hit the guard rail which made the heavy tall truck flip.

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

Houses. Moving. Remember the trucks that say "Adventure in Moving" as their logo.

Here's a guy with a bad adventure in moving. How he flipped a rental truck on a 65 mph ramp from I70 to I75 I'll not be sure. Unless he drifted and hit the guard rail which made the heavy tall truck flip.

That doesn’t surprise me. On the few occasions when I rented a truck they never once asked if I knew how to drive it. Just asked to see a valid drivers license along with a good credit card and then a signature. Easy peezy to rent cars and trucks. That’s why I stay as far away from rental trucks as I can get.

jmonroe

imidazol97

Article said he was moving from Chicago to North Carolina. Looks like truck was full. The hillside in the second picture has lots of stuff scattered down the slope where the guard rail is bent and to the right of the camera location in 2nd picture. We passed this today. Lots of stuff: I thought at first it was a truck carrying packages and envelopes for UPS or some similar carrier.

Gotta feel sorry for the guy.

ab348

Ouch. Those styrofoam peanuts were probably overmatched. At first glance at pic #2 I was impressed that a table lamp apparently not only had survived with its shade intact but had landed upright, until I realized I was looking at the end of the guardrail. :laughing:

The guardrail definitely looks like it took a big hit.

driver100

Hate those styrofoam peanuts...wouldn't want to be the one picking those up especially with static cling. Ever try to throw them in the garbage when they are stuck to your hand?

graphicguy

Michaell said:

graphicguy said:

Just finished a transport....Civic Si 6-speed for a Civic Sport CVT. Only question I had was...WHY?

That 6-speed Si was a nice drive. Have to say I probably wound it out more than the break-in procedure called for.

And here I thought you were representing yourself as the responsible, older, transport driver. :laughing:

Shhhhh!!!! Responsible, mature, older gentleman is my tag line. Don't spoil that.....LOL!!!!

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

Would love your thoughts on the Civic Si, @graphicguy.

Sure...happy to.

Overall, a fun car, light on its feet, Easy to toss around. Great shifter. Smooth engine that makes typical Honda noises (that's a good thing). Pulls the car well, but upper rev ranges gives more sound than power.

Strong brakes. Steering is precise. Thought it was a little heavy for such a small car, though.

Clutch was light and easy to modulate. Handled quite well, especially given it is FWD.

Nice steering wheel. Feels good and was nice to flip from lock to lock.

Depending on how you feel about the modern safety stuff, it had all of that on it.

Downsides....more hard surfaces than I was expecting. Bolsters on the seats were a little overdone. While it wouldn't bother me, mashing it...I did get a little bit of torque steer.

I little "ricer" looking for my taste, both in and out. I know the automotive world is going all digital for Speedo and Tach, but I still prefer a good set of analog gages. Lots of information you can look at, though. I can do the same in my Stinger. But, I rarely use all the other secondary gages. I mean what am I going to do with a turbo boost gage? It's either on, which you'll know. And if it's not offering boost, you'll know that, too. A gage isn't going to help with any of that. Just the slightest turbo lag, but not enough to be worried about as the boost comes on quick.

Still, it's a Honda. And it's a fun one, too. I think the one I drove had around $26K MSRP. For that kind of money, I can't think of a car that offers as much fun. Plus, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a long, fruitful, frugal relationship with it.

graphicguy

BTW...the Civic Sport CVT will never grace the GG estate. I know it's meant for economy, but really? You couldn't make one thing interesting about it aside from MPG?

28firefighter

Great review - thanks! It is a compelling option for the price point and the reliability. At 26k you start pushing into GTI/GLI territory, but I'd think it is probably a safer bet quality wise.

When Civic Si was leasing in the mid-high 200s, IMO, that was a screaming bargain for a sporty sedan. I'd probably consider jumping on one if those prices ever came back around.

stickguy

Once I’m darkness, if someone local offered me one with a payment in the 200s, I would jump on it too.

stickguy

Sounds like what I remember from the test drives. The seats I was not a big fan of, and my wife really doesn’t like tight bolsters. But fun to drive! I’d need to try it again to decide.

One thing I considered, was a 6 speed sport. Going to drive pretty close to an Si. But you have a choice of sport, so relatively stripped, or sport touring, which is loaded but almost $30,000. The Si is actually a better deal.

If they just offered an EX manual, that would be an interesting option. But they don’t.

stickguy

28firefighter said:

Great review - thanks! It is a compelling option for the price point and the reliability. At 26k you start pushing into GTI/GLI territory, but I'd think it is probably a safer bet quality wise.

When Civic Si was leasing in the mid-high 200s, IMO, that was a screaming bargain for a sporty sedan. I'd probably consider jumping on one if those prices ever came back around.

Purely from having and driving for a few years (IOW a lease) I would actually prefer the VW. Nicer car, and more up to date. But pricier relatively equipped (moonroof being biggest variable among trim levels).

28firefighter

The GLI rattles like crazy from all of the hard plastic. Made me insane the couple times I drove it.

kyfdx

The GLI is definitely not a Jetta version of the GTI. It is a little down market.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

The GLI is definitely not a Jetta version of the GTI. It is a little down market.

+1.

I test drove a GLI, and really really wanted to like it. But, I noticed the difference in the interior trimming and quality pretty quickly.

Haven't driven an Si - local dealer thinks they are special and won't allow a drive without a buyers order. Nope, sorry, I don't play that. Lots of Honda dealers around where I'm sure I could get a test drive if I wanted one.

stickguy

I’d rather have a GTI anyway.

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

Looked at this tonight.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Williamstown_NJ/Butler-Dr

Nice home, but virtually no back yard. Wife loved the interior except for the bathroom floors. Mechanicals all at 15 years old and no finished basement pretty much made us move on.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/94-Quail-Ridge-Way_Mickleton_NJ_08056_M51246-04385?view=qv

We are going to try and look at this one in the next few days. Bit of a budget stretcher but doesn’t need much of anything. I don’t like the kitchen but wife said it’s workable.

Good luck with those beautiful homes Tom.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

Hate those styrofoam peanuts...wouldn't want to be the one picking those up especially with static cling. Ever try to throw them in the garbage when they are stuck to your hand?

Hint...wet your hands before playing with those peanuts.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:

ab348 said:

suydam said:

Good luck house hunting! My daughter and son-in-law just bought a house in Connecticut. The market there is crazy. Every desirable house sells within 24 Hours with multiple bids, all over the asking price. Accepted bids depend on how fast you can close. It’s similar out here on the West Coast too. Low inventory and lots of buyers looking for those low interest rates. May the Force be with you.

Same thing is happening here, even on my street. Earlier this summer a nice but fairly typical 3 bed/1 bath/no garage/5000 sq ft lot/2-storey 1950s house up the street from me got into a bidding war before selling for well over asking at $386K. Not to be outdone, a similar house 4 doors up from that one but with a small attached garage just changed hands and the new owners are doing a full gut reno. I am guessing even the interior is being reconfigured as the chimney has been removed, along with the electrical and water service locations, the attached garage is gone, and this week a new roof is being installed. Still to come is some sort of new exterior siding. Where the garage used to be was excavated for a full foundation and then a 2-story addition with new garage built there. Presumably the upper level of the new construction is a master suite. I hate to think how much they will have in it by the time it's over. I have to think they paid at least $300K for the old untouched house. They must be playing the long game on this one.

Here's what it looked like before all the work:

Three years ago my condo was worth about $120,000. Today, it's worth $156,000 based on the sales of identical units in my condo community. The reason has to do with the onslaught of Chicagoans, New Yorkers, Jerseyites and other northern areas migrating to Florida to get away from the high taxes and lawlessness. There are over 1000 people a day who move to Florida every day.

We have low sales taxes (6-7%) and no income taxes. The cost of food is lower and the cost of clothing is as well (no need for warm clothing).

Moving companies are overwhelmed by the numbers of requests to move belongings to Florida, Texas and Arizona.

I heard Judge Napalitano talking this morning that New Jersey has an exit tax of $10,000 apparently on sale of real estate?

Then later today I saw a Florida plated car loafing around locally--probably an Ohio resident who moved to Florida as main residence to pay no income tax but still lives here much of the year. It used to be people kept their Ohio driver license because it was easy to get renewed despite vision problems. That ended a couple decades ago after an Ohio licensed-driver living in Florida ran through a crosswalk with people in it. They found she wouldn't have passed a real eye test at the DMV. Shortly after Ohio changed their renewal requirements. Sad.

If true that’s very sad. What do they consider an exit?

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

explorerx4 said:

Not sure how I can replace this battery myself.
Took the picture from the left side, so only the front half of the battery is visible.
The right side of the picture is the firewall area.

You should try replacing the battery in my Sebring, you have to remove the front drivers side tire and go in through the wheel well.

Mine too but the batteries seem to last longer so there’s an up side.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

stickguy said:

I would definitely let the guy do the Sebring!

I am trying to decide when it comes to needing a new battery should I replace it myself, let "Guy" replace it or just get rid of the car. It is 13 model years old with almost 150K miles on it, but it is a good winter car.

From a fun perspective, with a broken convertible top I say get rid of it since you have another convertible. From a practical perspective, if it runs it’s worth a battery. Especially if it saves your better cars from winter weather.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

explorerx4 said:

I found 1 video on how to replace the MKC battery.
Unfortunately, it started with battery already removed, plus the guy was missing his right index finger.

I wonder if those two things are related?

It seems that serviceability is not a high priority for many auto manufacturers these days, and not just Ford. For years on many GM cars, replacing a heater core required removing the inner fender, which first meant removing everything that was attached to it and then removing the RF wheel. In some instances it also involved removing the passenger front seat and the glovebox. Now a heater core typically goes a great many years before needing replacing so perhaps that is excusable. But on my ATS, when a headlamp bulb blows and needs replacement a similar wheel/fender liner removal is necessary. I mean, come on. Couldn't they just engineer a little hatch or cover of some sort and let you avoid that?

I realized that the end of DIY repairs was near when I had to remove the horn to replace the alternator on my 1980 Dodge Omni.

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

Houses. Moving. Remember the trucks that say "Adventure in Moving" as their logo.

Here's a guy with a bad adventure in moving. How he flipped a rental truck on a 65 mph ramp from I70 to I75 I'll not be sure. Unless he drifted and hit the guard rail which made the heavy tall truck flip.

The load probably shifted on the turn.

jwm40517

I have had the upper tier AAA coverage for many years and it provides a battery replacement at no cost if it needs one. They come to your house or wherever you are, test the battery, and replace if needed. Not sure about disassembling the car, mine are up front and on top.

explorerx4

MKC has a new battery. It was $130, but installation was $129. When I questioned it, SA said 1/2 hour labor for testing and resetting 'a module'(registering battery? ). The thing was a goner. Could have argued but isn't worth it. Got the oil changed and tires rotated, so all set for next 5 to 6k.
Wife said the driver's window has been acting funny, but all good now, so there's that on the upside.

28firefighter

They charged you a full hour of labor? Sheesh.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

explorerx4 said:

I found 1 video on how to replace the MKC battery.
Unfortunately, it started with battery already removed, plus the guy was missing his right index finger.

I wonder if those two things are related?

It seems that serviceability is not a high priority for many auto manufacturers these days, and not just Ford. For years on many GM cars, replacing a heater core required removing the inner fender, which first meant removing everything that was attached to it and then removing the RF wheel. In some instances it also involved removing the passenger front seat and the glovebox. Now a heater core typically goes a great many years before needing replacing so perhaps that is excusable. But on my ATS, when a headlamp bulb blows and needs replacement a similar wheel/fender liner removal is necessary. I mean, come on. Couldn't they just engineer a little hatch or cover of some sort and let you avoid that?

First a little background:

In 1986 Mrs. j’s aunt wanted to give her oldest great nephew her 1974 Old Omega 2 door sedan, burgundy with the black vinyl top even had A/C that would chill your bones. I didn’t want Son #1 to have a car when he was in high school but the car had just under 24K miles and was in very good condition. I knew that car never saw 3000 RPM so I couldn’t let that car out of the family so he got it (I think @oldfarmer50 would have drooled over that car). Man, that car with it’s GM 350 V8 could really move that small Omega. Another reason why I didn’t want him to have it but I caved in the name a guy who appreciated a nice car. OK, so that’s the background.

When we moved to SC in ‘92 my son had his ‘91 Grand Prix that he bought when he got out of the State Penn (Penn State) in ‘91 but he wanted me to take it to SC because he wanted to give it a real overhaul some day so off to SC it went with me. Fast forward to about ‘94 when the heater core sprung a leak. That was a PITA job even back then. I wanted to sell it but he wanted me to fix it so that his plan would still be alive. OK, being the nice father that I am I bought a heater core and dreaded the hours of work to put it in. That job traditionally required the removal of a lot of the under dash stuff like wiring harnesses, heater and A/C linkages and who knows what else. So, I start with taking out the glove box. When I did that I could see the plastic air duct that housed the heater core but to get the duct work out meant dismantling all of what I just mentioned. Then I got an idea. I help up the heater core against the plastic duct and it fit within the duct. So, I cut out a rectangular hole in the plastic and low and behold I could see old heater core. Only took the removal of a few mounting screws and the new one just about fell into place. Replaced the plastic duct after fabricating some pieces of sheet metal to hold it in place with pop rivets, applied some metal duck work tape (the aluminum sticky stuff), sprayed it with rattle can black and you had to look twice to see the duct had been modified. I had to save myself at least 5 hours of work and the best part was that I didn’t have to disturb anything under the dash. Therefore, I didn’t have to hold my breath when I would have had to see if a lot of the accessories would still work,

I’ve told you guys before, I’m ahead of the curve when it comes to stuff like this.

Oh yeah, in case anyone is wondering what happened to that valuable Omega, when we moved back to the Burgh in early ‘97, my son abandoned his dream of redoing that car so I sold it to the guy that packed the 2 U-Hauls when we left. If I had done that core replacement the traditional way I’d only have one son today. :@

jmonroe

explorerx4

@28firefighter,
Your comment reminded me to look under the hood.
The beauty cover over the battery was put on correctly and the flex hose into the intake from the airbox isn't put on correctly.
Pushed on the cover to get it to sit correctly and I'll take off the flex hose and reattach tomorrow.
I hate the dealership, but at least I avoided the $289 trans flush the SA was really pushing.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

ab348 said:

explorerx4 said:

I found 1 video on how to replace the MKC battery.
Unfortunately, it started with battery already removed, plus the guy was missing his right index finger.

I wonder if those two things are related?

It seems that serviceability is not a high priority for many auto manufacturers these days, and not just Ford. For years on many GM cars, replacing a heater core required removing the inner fender, which first meant removing everything that was attached to it and then removing the RF wheel. In some instances it also involved removing the passenger front seat and the glovebox. Now a heater core typically goes a great many years before needing replacing so perhaps that is excusable. But on my ATS, when a headlamp bulb blows and needs replacement a similar wheel/fender liner removal is necessary. I mean, come on. Couldn't they just engineer a little hatch or cover of some sort and let you avoid that?

First a little background:

In 1986 Mrs. j’s aunt wanted to give her oldest great nephew her 1974 Old Omega 2 door sedan, burgundy with the black vinyl top even had A/C that would chill your bones. I didn’t want Son #1 to have a car when he was in high school but the car had just under 24K miles and was in very good condition. I knew that car never saw 3000 RPM so I couldn’t let that car out of the family so he got it (I think @oldfarmer50 would have drooled over that car). Man, that car with it’s GM 350 V8 could really move that small Omega. Another reason why I didn’t want him to have it but I caved in the name a guy who appreciated a nice car. OK, so that’s the background.

When we moved to SC in ‘92 my son had his ‘91 Grand Prix that he bought when he got out of the State Penn (Penn State) in ‘91 but he wanted me to take it to SC because he wanted to give it a real overhaul some day so off to SC it went with me. Fast forward to about ‘94 when the heater core sprung a leak. That was a PITA job even back then. I wanted to sell it but he wanted me to fix it so that his plan would still be alive. OK, being the nice father that I am I bought a heater core and dreaded the hours of work to put it in. That job traditionally required the removal of a lot of the under dash stuff like wiring harnesses, heater and A/C linkages and who knows what else. So, I start with taking out the glove box. When I did that I could see the plastic air duct that housed the heater core but to get the duct work out meant dismantling all of what I just mentioned. Then I got an idea. I help up the heater core against the plastic duct and it fit within the duct. So, I cut out a rectangular hole in the plastic and low and behold I could see old heater core. Only took the removal of a few mounting screws and the new one just about fell into place. Replaced the plastic duct after fabricating some pieces of sheet metal to hold it in place with pop rivets, applied some metal duck work tape (the aluminum sticky stuff), sprayed it with rattle can black and you had to look twice to see the duct had been modified. I had to save myself at least 5 hours of work and the best part was that I didn’t have to disturb anything under the dash. Therefore, I didn’t have to hold my breath when I would have had to see if a lot of the accessories would still work,

I’ve told you guys before, I’m ahead of the curve when it comes to stuff like this.

Oh yeah, in case anyone is wondering what happened to that valuable Omega, when we moved back to the Burgh in early ‘97, my son abandoned his dream of redoing that car so I sold it to the guy that packed the 2 U-Hauls when we left. If I had done that core replacement the traditional way I’d only have one son today. :@

jmonroe

You seem adept at hacking and jerry rigging stuff back together on the cheap. You’d make a good farmer.

Wasn’t the Omega a twin of the Nova? Those are worth some money now.

roadburner

28firefighter said:

They charged you a full hour of labor? Sheesh.

I'm glad I have the Carly app- registering the battery in the 2er, X1, or Clubman takes less than five minutes, if that long.