Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I would replace everything possible while in there. Then sell it if it actually works after reassembly.

stickguy

Quickest auto repair ever today. Pumped up my flat tire this morning (and only list 2 PSI on the mile drive to Goodyear). Once I got all the check in stuff done, had the car back in about 10 minutes. Must have had a tech waiting for it. Screw in the tread block so simple repair. At least it’s resolved. No time for car crises right now.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

Oh, and if you'll notice in that last photo that shows the block side of the oil cooler adapter plate's mating surface, The larger "square" section in the middle has a lot of gasket transfer from the plate side. Based on the condition of that gasket, I'm about 98% certain that this was the source of my coolant leak. I'm going to need to clean that surface up really well so that I get a good seal.

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Yeah, I noticed that right off.

I got an idea to help you recoup some of your costs. Take those pics to the Audi dealer and show them how to do the job right. Try to get your price before caving. Although something tells me they don’t do extensive jobs like this but rather just bolt in a new crate engine or one from a junk yard with just 50K miles on it. I’m sure engines from the yard have a lot more miles than that but that seems to be the standard line customers are given about junk yard engines.

At first I thought your bill for rags would be off the chart but then you told us you ring them out and reuse them. So I guess this is where you cheaped-out on this job, huh?

jmonroe

xwesx

qbrozen said:

@xwesx , dang, that is lovely. Gotta love Audi.

Question: what the heck is that hose at the top pf the pic that looks like it is made of duct tape? It appears to be well clogged.

I would probably replace all those rubber hoses and clamps while under there, BTW.

Believe it or not, that is a heat shielding sleeve over a small vacuum line. It is just a short section, intended to be placed where the line crosses under the an exhaust tube for the EGR system. That partial view of the round pipe at the very top of the image behind what you circled is the section that connects to the piece I removed.

Agreed about the hoses. The tricky part is trying to figure out which is which from a part numbers perspective since I cannot find referenceable numbers on them, and I have yet to find a site where I can just scan diagrams and click parts from there. Subaru has sites like that, and it makes part hunting so much easier.

henryn

stickguy said:

Quickest auto repair ever today. Pumped up my flat tire this morning (and only list 2 PSI on the mile drive to Goodyear). Once I got all the check in stuff done, had the car back in about 10 minutes. Must have had a tech waiting for it. Screw in the tread block so simple repair. At least it’s resolved. No time for car crises right now.

Sounds like they did a plug instead of a patch. I always go to the nearby Firestone store, where they know me and always specify "patch please, no plug". They always say, "We only patch, we never plug", but it never hurts to be specific about what you want and expect.

stickguy

I think for where it was the plug was fine. Holding air so far! If that ever changes I can have it done. Given how buried we are in move stuff, plus leave on vacation Saturday morning, I’m just happy they got me in quick and fixed it.

henryn

xwesx said:

Agreed about the hoses. The tricky part is trying to figure out which is which from a part numbers perspective since I cannot find referenceable numbers on them, and I have yet to find a site where I can just scan diagrams and click parts from there. Subaru has sites like that, and it makes part hunting so much easier.

They often make it difficult to order the right parts. If you can find a really good youtube repair video, they will often list the right part numbers (with links) in the description. There are such things as good youtube repair videos, but they are in the minority.

Last year, when I was trying to stop a coolant leak in my new to me F150, I looked at a number of articles and videos. The best one was posted by a Ford technician, who gave all of the relevant part numbers which could then be looked up and ordered from Amazon. He also said, "By the way, also replace this hose going to the overflow reservoir with this aftermarket part before it gives you trouble." I followed his advice, and haven't lost a drop of coolant since then.

The parts cost a little over $200 all in, not counting new anti-freeze, but it was well worth it for the peace of mind.

I will admit that I don't plan to undertake any jobs as big as the one @xwesx is presently performing. When I was younger, absolutely. But these days I have accepted some limitations that come with age.

xwesx

While I agree that the patch is superior, I will also admit that I have done several plugs on my tires over the years... sometimes out in the middle of nowhere... and it is sometimes years, if ever, that I take the time to have the tire patched unless I have another problem with it.

I've yet to have a plug fail. @stickguy , here's to hoping the rest of your move goes smoothly.... at least from an automotive perspective!

xwesx

henryn said:

I will admit that I don't plan to undertake any jobs as big as the one @xwesx is presently performing. When I was younger, absolutely. But these days I have accepted some limitations that come with age.

That thought has crossed my mind (more than once) on this job, for sure! Stick's suggestion has also crossed my mind....

xwesx

jmonroe1 said:

At first I thought your bill for rags would be off the chart but then you told us you ring them out and reuse them. So I guess this is where you cheaped-out on this job, huh?

jmonroe

For THAT part of the job? Heck yeah I reused it! I started out using an old T-Shirt, but it lost its absorbency quickly once there was coolant *and* oil involved. I switched to a microfiber towel, which was able to keep doing the job despite the conflicting fluids.

I don't think there were enough rags in Fairbanks to have soaked up all that fluid just tossing each one as I went. I must have pulled a gallon of stuff out of there. Mostly coolant, but some oil as well. Not all of it was leakage, for sure, since each of the parts dumped their own portion when I removed them. It was: Clean up the mess. Remove part A. Clean up the mess. Remove part B. Clean up the mess....

stickguy

You need a vacuum for that. Something between a shop vac and the little hose your dentist uses when they are working in your mouth.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

While I agree that the patch is superior, I will also admit that I have done several plugs on my tires over the years... sometimes out in the middle of nowhere... and it is sometimes years, if ever, that I take the time to have the tire patched unless I have another problem with it.

I've yet to have a plug fail. @stickguy , here's to hoping the rest of your move goes smoothly.... at least from an automotive perspective!

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On the few occasions that I’ve had to have a tire repaired I have never had a problem with a plug. Fortunately, all of those repairs were done almost dead center in the middle of the tread area. I guess you can say I aim pretty good when I hit something on the road.

If I had a flat due to a puncture even close to the sidewall, I wouldn’t take any chances and I’d just bite the bullet and replace the tire.

jmonroe

stickguy

This hit was in a center tread band. Right in the middle of a lug. So perfect place to plug it. If it was in between rings of tread might be different story. Sidewall cuts, those are fatal. Any kind of slice really.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

jmonroe1 said:

At first I thought your bill for rags would be off the chart but then you told us you ring them out and reuse them. So I guess this is where you cheaped-out on this job, huh?

jmonroe

For THAT part of the job? Heck yeah I reused it! I started out using an old T-Shirt, but it lost its absorbency quickly once there was coolant *and* oil involved. I switched to a microfiber towel, which was able to keep doing the job despite the conflicting fluids.

I don't think there were enough rags in Fairbanks to have soaked up all that fluid just tossing each one as I went. I must have pulled a gallon of stuff out of there. Mostly coolant, but some oil as well. Not all of it was leakage, for sure, since each of the parts dumped their own portion when I removed them. It was: Clean up the mess. Remove part A. Clean up the mess. Remove part B. Clean up the mess....

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There was a time when I would have tackled a job like that but no more. I guess that’s the advantage of being a rich old man.

You sure ain’t got an aversion to work, I know that.

jmonroe

stickguy

Wouldn’t be an issue for me, since I have no intention of owning an older, high miles Audi!

qbrozen

@xwesx said:
While I agree that the patch is superior, I will also admit that I have done several plugs on my tires over the years... sometimes out in the middle of nowhere... and it is sometimes years, if ever, that I take the time to have the tire patched unless I have another problem with it.

I've yet to have a plug fail. @stickguy , here's to hoping the rest of your move goes smoothly.... at least from an automotive perspective!

Same. I’ve used plugs in tires since before I was driving and never once have I needed to go back and patch later.

Sandman6472

We're just at 71K on the 2015 Audi A3 and besides it eating some extra oil, nothing major to report. No turbo lag like my 1.8t engine, hers must be tuned differently, and a real pleasure to drive when I'm behind the wheel. Really just needs a good bath right now so maybe we'll go to the car wash this weekend and get it done.
After much confusion at work, got the o k to work both Saturday and Sunday. Did that last weekend as the lead is on vacation but was told no work this weekend as I went over 32 hours. No problem for me as I'm only working extra hours because I was asked to. But of course, got a call early this morning about working the weekend. Decided to let it go to voicemail as I was still in bed. Turns out, the big boss didn't realize the lead was still on vacation so approved another weekend of work for yours truly. No problem really as I am only working extra hours because I'm asked to usually around quittin' time on Friday. The lack of communication is amazing to be honest but figure most companies suffer the same issue, a simple lack of good communication! Luckily I'm free this weekend and love my job. The extra $ is the icing on the cake!

xwesx

Sandman6472 said:

Luckily I'm free this weekend and love my job. The extra $ is the icing on the cake!

Have a good time, Sandy.... and don't overdo it!

xwesx

stickguy said:

You need a vacuum for that. Something between a shop vac and the little hose your dentist uses when they are working in your mouth.

Funny that you say that.....

My son said, "You should rig a vacuum up for that. Just take a milk jug, cut a hole for a 1/2" line in the upper side of it, then run a length of 1/2" tubing in there and seal it off around the entrance point. Take the shop vac hose and seal it to the jug's opening. Now, when you turn on your vacuum, it will suck through the 1/2" hose. Use that to suck up the fluids, and when they reach the jug, they'll fall to the bottom of it and prevent anything from getting back to the shop vac."

I thought about it for a moment, decided it was brilliant, and went back to mopping up the mess with my rag.

stickguy

Whatever works for you!

roadburner

@kyfdx said:
E46 BMWs are pretty famous for the Oil Filter Housing Gasket going bad. It really makes a mess. Dealer: 2 hours cleaning before we can make a diagnosis.

Which is why I use an independent. Still, it's a lot of work.

Or they don’t diagnose it properly and blame it on the oil pan gasket.

henryn

I have always used a turkey baster to pull fluids. You do have to finish up with a rag or rags, but it works quite well actually.

Looking at your description of using a makeshift rig based on a vacuum cleaner, the concept is very similar to this device:



This is a brake bleeder sold by HarborFreight, and I actually own one. It works quite well, using air pressure to pull a vacuum, and would probably work quite well in this application.

qbrozen

xwesx said:

My son said, "You should rig a vacuum up for that. Just take a milk jug, cut a hole for a 1/2" line in the upper side of it, then run a length of 1/2" tubing in there and seal it off around the entrance point. Take the shop vac hose and seal it to the jug's opening. Now, when you turn on your vacuum, it will suck through the 1/2" hose. Use that to suck up the fluids, and when they reach the jug, they'll fall to the bottom of it and prevent anything from getting back to the shop vac."

I thought about it for a moment, decided it was brilliant, and went back to mopping up the mess with my rag.

Translation: your son knows how to make a bong

jmonroe1

henryn said:

I have always used a turkey baster to pull fluids. You do have to finish up with a rag or rags, but it works quite well actually.

Looking at your description of using a makeshift rig based on a vacuum cleaner, the concept is very similar to this device:



This is a brake bleeder sold by HarborFreight, and I actually own one. It works quite well, using air pressure to pull a vacuum, and would probably work quite well in this application.

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IIRC from a fluids lab class, that gizmo operates on the eductor effect. You know, Bernoulli’s principle and stuff like that.

jmonroe

xwesx

henryn said:

I have always used a turkey baster to pull fluids. You do have to finish up with a rag or rags, but it works quite well actually.

I am pretty sure I have a turkey baster somewhere around here just for that purpose. However, after spending a few minutes searching without success, I just moved on.

roadburner

A 2021 CPO 330e popped up a couple of hours away. Sunset Orange M Sport RWD with literally every package/option- including laser headlamps, M Sport brakes and M adaptive suspension. I talked with my bride and we both agreed that as nice as the car was, it wouldn’t hold my interest very long.
I also found a couple of interesting V8 manual coupes but nothing to report yet; unfortunately one or both may be fitted with those infinitely moronic blinking center stop lamps- which is an automatic disqualification. I’m hoping that I can find out without actually having to drive to the dealers.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

A 2021 CPO 330e popped up a couple of hours away. Sunset Orange M Sport RWD with literally every package/option- including laser headlamps, M Sport brakes and M adaptive suspension. I talked with my bride and we both agreed that as nice as the car was, it wouldn’t hold my interest very long.

I also found a couple of interesting V8 manual coupes but nothing to report yet; unfortunately one or both may be fitted with those infinitely moronic blinking center stop lamps- which is an automatic disqualification. I’m hoping that I can find out without actually having to drive to the dealers.

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You’re off topic; we’re mopping up oil and anti-freeze today.

Good luck just the same.

jmonroe

xwesx

roadburner said:

A 2021 CPO 330e popped up a couple of hours away. Sunset Orange M Sport RWD with literally every package/option- including laser headlamps, M Sport brakes and M adaptive suspension. I talked with my bride and we both agreed that as nice as the car was, it wouldn’t hold my interest very long.

I also found a couple of interesting V8 manual coupes but nothing to report yet; unfortunately one or both may be fitted with those infinitely moronic blinking center stop lamps- which is an automatic disqualification. I’m hoping that I can find out without actually having to drive to the dealers.

I think your list of possibles is going to get squeezed more and more as those ridiculous safety nannies continue to proliferate.

ab348

I think roadburner is straying close to @iluvmysephia1 territory with all of these cars he’s never going to buy.

28firefighter

Nobody here will ever come that close.

sda

@xwesx I salute you. I had my own minor, I emphasize minor issue that bugged the devil out of me. About two weeks ago the message center on the Passat said check right back up light and the little light bulb indicator remained illuminated just incase I forgot. I did some research online on how to fix it as my car has the LED tailights. Easy enough, it had a standard bulb which I ordered online thru RA. It was received quickly and I replaced the rear bulb. No dice. I tried another bulb as I ordered 4 as they are not expensive and shipping was more than the cost of the bulbs. Nope. Frustrated I did more research and found the bulb holder (socket) tends to fail. I went to the VW dealer and ordered one, $17 for a $1.50 item. One last try before opening the package of the new holder. I assumed that when I removed the socket to replace the bulb it had to be turned clockwise until I found resistance. Nope, turn clockwise almost to that point but where the contacts align. Doh. Success!

Sandman6472

Since I was off today, stopped by the Chevy dealer across the street and 1/2 hour later, walked out with an order put in for a new 2023 Chevy Bolt EV in the light silver color. Not sure if I'll stay with this color as think I prefer the real light blue color now but was told that we can change that a bit down the road once the order is "officially" accepted and a vin # is assigned to my order. It's the 2LT model with the nicer alloys and the only option added was the Bose audio system. Price was $36K but there's an immediate $6K rebate so the price came down to $30K. Seems since Chevy has sold over 200K Bolt units, the federal rebate can no longer be used so Chevy did the $6K rebate to compensate I guess. And with all the bad press lately, think it was a good move on Chevy's part to get more interest going.
On my way across the state yesterday, saw a tractor trailer with a bunch of Chevy vehicles on it with the last one being a new Chevy Bolt EV in that light silver blue color and it looked amazing! So, figured I'd give it a shot. From what the sales guy told me, the time frame is for some time in later 2023 which is fine with me. I'd actually prefer a 2024 model to be honest but we'll just have to see. No money has changed hands so just waiting for a confirmation email from Chevrolet for it to be real. And best of all, the down payment will be fully refundable if I change my mind for some reason. Lastly, Chevy will retro-fit the garage with a quicker charging station which I like. The range is supposed to be at 250 miles/charge which ain't that bad...only drive maybe 40 to 50 miles each week if I'm lucky!
Truly feel that EV's are the future of America's future vehicles and just decided that I'd rather keep the VW a bit longer instead of buying another gasser and eventually getting into an EV vehicle. Feel that as long as we have one gasser in the garage for our longer trips and an EV for our around town destinations, we'll be set. Even if I don't charge it daily, think it'll work out just fine for us. Have been going back & forth with this issue in my mind for a long time and think it's the correct decision. Also like the idea that there's a good chance it'll take about a year from ordering it today till I get to drive it off the lot & take her home. Gives me a good amount of time to get used to the idea which is what I want right now. And after driving a bunch of Corolla's lately and then that Mini Cooper last week, decided that I really like my Golf better than I expected and just not ready to let it go. Having this time to wait is the best thing really as I'm in no hurry.
But, at least I finally did something and now, we'll wait & see how things progress! I know my oldest & her husband will be happy as they both own Chevrolet's.

henryn

Good luck with that order, @Sandman6472. While I'm not as impatient as I used to be, I still have a problem with waiting a year or more for something.

stickguy

good luck sandy. over a year wait? That is worse than a Maverick!

oldfarmer50

Why can the federal rebate no longer be used? Odd since the government is pushing people to go electric.

stickguy

Farmer, there is a limit to how many cars by a particular manufacturer can qualify. so GM must have passed that limit (Tesla did long ago).

xwesx

sda said:

Nope, turn clockwise almost to that point but where the contacts align. Doh. Success!

So, Volkswagen SOP? Sounds about right!

Sandman6472

Think the limit was 200K units sold which Chevy, like Tesla, has already passed. Am hoping the feds will step in and raise that 200K number if they really want more folks to switch over to EV vehicles. One would think they'd push for the highest number of folks to switch.
Highly doubt it'll take a year to get the vehicle but I do not mind waiting to be honest, just will give me time to put away the necessary funds. With the stock market doing so poorly right now, don't want to sell any of my holdings where they are now if possible. Makes more sense to use some of the dividend income to pay for the loan I'd need to take out. But this is all premature as haven't even gotten any notification from Chevy yet if in fact they have accepted the order.

qbrozen

I don’t see why they need to increase it if the manufacturers can apparently do it on their own. Both Tesla and Chevy have shown us that once the incentive wears out, they can lower their prices.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
I don’t see why they need to increase it if the manufacturers can apparently do it on their own. Both Tesla and Chevy have shown us that once the incentive wears out, they can lower their prices.

Exactly.

au1994

If they want to start handing out incentives, let’s get the charging network more robust. Then and only then will we get significant market share for EV’s, PHEV’s etc.

stickguy

agreed on both points. the incentives can get a company established in the market. after that many sales, should be sink or swim.

and I think the infrastructure bill that passed recently did include money for beefing up the networks.

jmonroe1

au1994 said:

If they want to start handing out incentives, let’s get the charging network more robust. Then and only then will we get significant market share for EV’s, PHEV’s etc.

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Right. Give entrepreneurs enough incentives and they’ll build more charging stations than we can count. Should have started out like this as soon as the first big car battery was built.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

Nobody here will ever come that close.

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Is that a challenge?

jmonroe

stickguy

@jmonroe1 said:
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Right. Give entrepreneurs enough incentives and they’ll build more charging stations than we can count. Should have started out like this as soon as the first big car battery was built.

jmonroe

Tesla did that already. At least in most of the country.

qbrozen

Finally squared away the invoice on the Pajero. $5600 total for purchase price plus getting it to Baltimore. I'm up to $608 in taxes and fees on the Nissan, so that should be similar on the Mitsu. Round it up to $6250 before registration. Not sure about state sales tax. Should be on the original purchase price, so pretty negligible. I think tax and reg will be in the $400 range.

tjc78

How long do you think you’ll keep these?

tifighter

“She blinds everybody with her super high beams.
She’s a squirrel crushing, deer smacking driving machine!”

MONTEROOOOOO!

laurasdada

tjc78 said:

How long do you think you’ll keep these?

Or are they the first two inventory items for the forthcoming Rozen's Rods Automobile Emporium!
"Where the only four square you'll find is on the pavement in our fantastic kiddie funland waiting area!"

roadburner

@cdnpinhead - you've got mail...