Sorry to hear about the scratch and busted mirror. Just curious, but how much is the body shop charging you for the body work?
I, too, have a scratch that I'm trying to ignore, but is annoying the hell out of me. It's hardly noticeable, but I know it's there. I'm planning on taking her to a body shop soon to get a price quote.
I have not had too great a problem with my side view mirror being missing, but it does remove a tad of my SA (situation awareness) by not being there.
The fellow that is doing the work is a jack-of-all trades that does mechanic work as well as body work. I have seen his results, and he is superb, so I have little fear of the outcome of the job.
I have no estimate, but I suspect that it will be less than $200. The labor is minimal for removal and replacment, and the paint will be a major expense, percentage-wise, as it is usually $50/pint or so.
I'll let you know when I get the bill....should be Thursday or Friday.
In Michigan, $2 auto carwashes are a blessing (especially with all the salt they use) Orginally I am from PA were they used a blend of cinder and some other stuff... I'd rather handwash but when it's 15* that's out of the question. The only concerns I have seen is once the breakaway passenger door mirror popped out and when the weather was really snowy/salty for days/weeks the brushes left dirt swipes on my white kitty. They came right off though with a hot wet towel in the garage. They really don't clean the lower grille/fog lights area that well and if the attendant doesn't brush the rear bumper that too may have to be touched up. But it sure beats the alternative in the heart of winter; Frozen fingers!
Those auto washes are known to scratch the surface of your vehicle. Dirt gets trapped in the brushes and when it is brushed up against the car it causes minor scratches.
As far as I'm concerned, the only type of wash to use is a touchless. I havn't run a car through any other type since the 80's. Saw what it was doing to the metalic silver clearcoat on my Challenger, and stopped immediately.
Too late though. Once the damage was done (real fine scratches) the paint started to deteriorate and dull out. No amount of waxing would fix it.
My local dealer can't help, so maybe someone out there can.....
Can anyone tell me how to turn off the overhead service warning indicator lights that are in the overhead console?
I have 50,000 miles on my Kitty, now, and no longer take it in to the dealer.....
To help with the above thread... I live in Ga, & ran my A/C today. There is SOME lag/up-rev as my a/c cycles,(I try to stay out of the 12.5 mph lane), but yes there is some change in RPM's as the a/c cycles.
Also, its better if when you 1st get in the car & its hot, put it on MAX A/C. This draws air up from the passenger floorboard, & cools the air INSIDE the car first. After it starts getting cool, then switch to the regular A/C setting. I keep my Black Kitty in a garage, & when its hot (90-100+ deg) I can have you chilly by the 3rd mile.
I haven't really had the opportunity to use the A/C that much, but while I was in Florida, I did use it at times and did not notice any "surge."
I was reluctant to do it at first, but the wind noise was just too much to bear, so I ended up turning on the A/C while cruising 75 mph. I thought that might be a bad thing to do, but the Cat didn't lose any power or protest in any way and kept on cruising smoothly. I also drove in city traffic with the A/C on and experienced no problems at all.
The only power loss I noticed during my trip to Florida (and I'm probably stating the obvious here) is that the Cat didn't accelarate as quickly (due to the fact that I had an extra person and baggage in the car). I was surprised that it was that noticeable of a difference. But still she drove very smoothly.
Anyone in here ever had experience with replacing your windsheild? I am experiencing bubbles in the top corner of my windsheild and want to know what to watch out for if I end up getting a new windsheild(i.e. leaks or wind noise)
Has anybody with the 16" wheels (non polished) started to see a little corrosion at the back edge of the spokes? They're pretty sharp and the coating may not have provided a good coat at that point.
This is after two Chicago winters w/the typical salt treatment. Tried to keep it as clean as possible without freezing averything solid.
You'd think that they could have used a non-corroding alloy!!!
My little old Sentra had alloy sport wheels, and after 9 years, there was only a little staining, but, no corrosion.
Brake discs didn't rust either. As a matter of fact, my old Kawasaki spent many years rotting outdoors through the winters, and that disc didn't rust either.
The materials are out there, Mercury just didn't use them.
Mine's a 99, but now I'm thinking I have larger problems. I'm out of town on business this week (as I mentioned in the main topic), and on the way down the temp gauge hit 93 degrees. I still had the windows open at this point, but it was starting to get quite hot. Well, I reached over to turn on the a/c and got the surge (yes, at 75+ mph) and to my surprise, no air. No COLD air, that is. It was blowing the same warm-type air through the compressor that was coming through the windows. Needless to say, that is now my priority when I get back home -- dealership, here I come!
Do I remember someone having to get the entire compressor and a/c system replaced and recharged in the past? Can't remember who.
It's nice of them to invent clearcoat finishes these days, eh Skip? :^)
I've been trying to keep a coat of wax on all the new scratches/rock dings that I've gotten. I'm getting to the point where I think I'm going to have the shop repaint parts where it's really bad (i.e., the edge of the hood - I should have used the front-end cover more often). I think there are some serious over-achieving rocks out there though, my newest rock ding is at the top of the passenger side door!
Oh well, that'll probably cost me, but I guess that's part of nice car ownership.
Unless you've developed a leak somewhere, a lot of the 99's needed to be fully charged. Tech note is out for this problem. Mine was cool, not cold, so I had them do it. Seems to be OK now, but some really hot weather will tell the story.
I have the 2000 model and haven't experienced any problems with the A/C. So what's up with the recharge? How often does it have to be recharged (I suppose that depends on how much you use it)?? But recharging a '99 model seems to soon to me.
AC system should not need recharging for many years. I think the Cats that need recharging probably came from the factory with the freon(R134) low. If the AC needs charging often, you probably have a leak somewhere.
Now something a little out of topic. I have a small A/C I use for the bedroom at home. I have it for about 8 years. It's still throwing out cool air but not as cool as before--how can I recharge the freon (if it's possible at all)??
I don't, but I also don't think the road cleanup crews frequent anywhere near a big city like D.C. and it's surrounding areas. Maybe evolution has given these rocks heat seeking ability? I dunno, maybe the one on the door came from a stupid human ...
Thanks guys, I thought I remembered you talking about some 99's that needed a recharge. I'll have them look up the TSB on it.
I'm taking it in Monday to have them leak-test the system and refill it. I didn't use the a/c that much last year because of the power-robbing qualities, but that 93 degrees for a long period of time certainly was a wake up call! :^)
The Kawasaki's disc didn't rust because it was made from stainless steel. Now, that's great cosmetically but it's terrible for stopping because SS has lousy thermal conductivity and its surface glazes too. Cast iron is much better for braking performance but, of course, it rusts ugly. What you want are plasma-sprayed aluminum rotors. What you don't want is to pay for plasma-sprayed aluminum rotors.
I have an old A/C too. I moved to a new place without an A/C, and I was wondering what would happen if i just left the a/c in the middle of the room and turned it on all night instead of installing it in the window? I can't install it in the window because it would be too expensive.
Hey all, I put the Cat in the shop yesterday to get the A/C fixed, and guess what? It seemed to be the worse of the two TSB's I read on the problem. Although they didn't have to replace the compressor completely, they did have to replace all the seals and O-rings in the cooling system because it was leaking like a siv. Well, I got in and cranked the air, really trying to get it to work, and it did -- WELL! I'm so happy, it doesn't do the "bucking" thing I described before, it doesn't rob that much power anymore. Whodda thunk that a couple of O-rings could cause such a hassle?
Now, if I could just get someone to tell me why my battery light comes on above 5500 RPM's ...
That is exactly what caused my first problem with my AC. The O-Rings were leaking. Did you experience a bad sound coming from the AC and not much air coming from the vents?
Bad sound, tons of HOT air coming from the vents. It also seemed like the compressor was kicking on and off, over and over, but wasn't doing anything but diminishing the driveability.
vraj2525: You don't wanna leave a window A/C in your room for reasons that Fredly stated as well as having water dripping all over your room.
To all: Since we're talking about A/C, I noticed that my Cat's A/C didn't feel cool even though I had the fan on 4 (but not on Max A/C) on a 94 degree day. I guess I need to put tints on the glass to help out the A/C.
Does anyone here have a really cold A/C without having to use the Max A/C setting.
I know what you mean about not having really cold air from the AC. Last week on those really hot days I turned it on full blast and had lots of vaguely cool air blowing. I wondered if it was just the difference leather seats make because I've always had cloth before.
Still, I expected to have icy-cold air blowing on me instead of sorta cool air. Guess I'll have it checked out. Maybe I'm low on freon as well.
My AC seems to be pumping out COLD air right now. It has been my experience with my Cougar that if the car sits out in the sun for any length of time the AC does not seem to get that cold. When I park my car in the parking deck at work and turn the AC on for the drive home the air tends to be colder. This is just my experience. When my Cat was in the shop a couple of weeks ago for the AC, they said that the air was 38 degrees Farenheit. Now thats cold.
Did you use your A/C on a hot day (over 90 degrees), fish8?
On days that are really hot, I notice that the A/C seems overburdened to cool the interior. It's only cool on the areas that the A/C is directly blowing to. I haven't used the Max A/C setting 'cause it might use up too much power, but I guess that's what it's for--to cool the car on really hot days.
Is there anyway of getting a bi-level effect on the A/C and fan? Or redirecting the flow of the A/C down by the feet or up by the windshield??
I don't have the leather seats, so I can't answer that. That's one of the reasons (actually the main reason) I didn't get the leather seats. I didn't wanna stick to it on hot days before you get a chance to turn on the A/C.
You can have the A/C blowing air over the windsheild. Just put your airflow to defrost, and make sure that the air temp is on the cold setting.. You will get cold air coming out of the vents that blow over the glass..
Well completely Non-related but related at the same time. For those with AC woes, I would suggest even a minimal tint on your windows, I tinted my cougar and it helps to reduce the amount of heat build up in the car, and helps to keep it cool
Yes, I have noticed on days when the temp is 90+ the AC has a little trouble keeping the car interior cool. Though recently, my AC is working flawless.
As for the Max AC drawing more power than regular AC, I think both settings draw the same amount of power. I may be wrong but I don't think so. I believe Max AC recirculates the air and the AC setting draws in fresh outside air. Someone please tell me if I'm wrong.
fish, true max ac recirculates, and A/C brings in fresh air, if you have the car off or idling, or just after you shut off the car, while its quiet in the car switch the dial from Max Ac to norm AC and you'll hear a sound of the vent flap closing or opening.
Perhaps I should have indicated that my comment was a Zen joke but that would have invalidated it. One hand flapping-one hand clapping. Get it? Get it? There. Now it's invalidated. Are you all happy?
In the face of this failure, here's another Zen joke:
Question: How does a Zen master order a hamburger?
Ok, if your car has been sitting in the blazing sun all day, the parts inside it have all gotten up to a gazillion degrees, which means that before you can feel cold air out the vents, the A/C has to cool off all those parts that the air flows through.
Plus, my engineer buddy here says that A/C has a theoretical limit of about 20 degrees. Meaning, if it's 90 out, you'll only be able to get the inside of the car down to 70 (still relatively cold). I don't know if that's true or not. He's been wrong before.
Comments
I, too, have a scratch that I'm trying to ignore, but is annoying the hell out of me. It's hardly noticeable, but I know it's there. I'm planning on taking her to a body shop soon to get a price quote.
The fellow that is doing the work is a jack-of-all trades that does mechanic work as well as body work. I have seen his results, and he is superb, so I have little fear of the outcome of the job.
I have no estimate, but I suspect that it will be less than $200. The labor is minimal for removal and replacment, and the paint will be a major expense, percentage-wise, as it is usually $50/pint or so.
I'll let you know when I get the bill....should be Thursday or Friday.
Cheers!
Rick
Bad news as far as i'm concerned.
Too late though. Once the damage was done (real fine scratches) the paint started to deteriorate and dull out. No amount of waxing would fix it.
Made it much more susecptable to weathering too.
Skip G.
Can anyone tell me how to turn off the overhead service warning indicator lights that are in the overhead console?
I have 50,000 miles on my Kitty, now, and no longer take it in to the dealer.....
To help with the above thread... I live in Ga, & ran my A/C today. There is SOME lag/up-rev as my a/c cycles,(I try to stay out of the 12.5 mph lane), but yes there is some change in RPM's as the a/c cycles.
hold down select and units for 5 seconds, the wrech will turn off.
I was reluctant to do it at first, but the wind noise was just too much to bear, so I ended up turning on the A/C while cruising 75 mph. I thought that might be a bad thing to do, but the Cat didn't lose any power or protest in any way and kept on cruising smoothly. I also drove in city traffic with the A/C on and experienced no problems at all.
The only power loss I noticed during my trip to Florida (and I'm probably stating the obvious here) is that the Cat didn't accelarate as quickly (due to the fact that I had an extra person and baggage in the car). I was surprised that it was that noticeable of a difference. But still she drove very smoothly.
This is after two Chicago winters w/the typical salt treatment. Tried to keep it as clean as possible without freezing averything solid.
Skip G.
My little old Sentra had alloy sport wheels, and after 9 years, there was only a little staining, but, no corrosion.
Brake discs didn't rust either. As a matter of fact, my old Kawasaki spent many years rotting outdoors through the winters, and that disc didn't rust either.
The materials are out there, Mercury just didn't use them.
Skip G.
Mine's a 99, but now I'm thinking I have larger problems. I'm out of town on business this week (as I mentioned in the main topic), and on the way down the temp gauge hit 93 degrees. I still had the windows open at this point, but it was starting to get quite hot. Well, I reached over to turn on the a/c and got the surge (yes, at 75+ mph) and to my surprise, no air. No COLD air, that is. It was blowing the same warm-type air through the compressor that was coming through the windows. Needless to say, that is now my priority when I get back home -- dealership, here I come!
Do I remember someone having to get the entire compressor and a/c system replaced and recharged in the past? Can't remember who.
Thanks in advance, talk to you all later!
Happy (hot) Cougaring!
I've been trying to keep a coat of wax on all the new scratches/rock dings that I've gotten. I'm getting to the point where I think I'm going to have the shop repaint parts where it's really bad (i.e., the edge of the hood - I should have used the front-end cover more often). I think there are some serious over-achieving rocks out there though, my newest rock ding is at the top of the passenger side door!
Oh well, that'll probably cost me, but I guess that's part of nice car ownership.
Skip G.
Unless you've developed a leak somewhere, a lot of the 99's needed to be fully charged. Tech note is out for this problem. Mine was cool, not cold, so I had them do it. Seems to be OK now, but some really hot weather will tell the story.
Skip G.
Now something a little out of topic. I have a small A/C I use for the bedroom at home. I have it for about 8 years. It's still throwing out cool air but not as cool as before--how can I recharge the freon (if it's possible at all)??
2. Window A/C. Unless you can find somebody who'll bootleg a freon charge for you, it'll probably cost more than the A/C is worth.
Skip G.
I'm taking it in Monday to have them leak-test the system and refill it. I didn't use the a/c that much last year because of the power-robbing qualities, but that 93 degrees for a long period of time certainly was a wake up call! :^)
COUGARS RULE!!!!
A/C works by transferring heat/cold, but it generates heat while creating cold.
Now, if I could just get someone to tell me why my battery light comes on above 5500 RPM's ...
You don't wanna leave a window A/C in your room for reasons that Fredly stated as well as having water dripping all over your room.
To all:
Since we're talking about A/C, I noticed that my Cat's A/C didn't feel cool even though I had the fan on 4 (but not on Max A/C) on a 94 degree day. I guess I need to put tints on the glass to help out the A/C.
Does anyone here have a really cold A/C without having to use the Max A/C setting.
I know what you mean about not having really cold air from the AC. Last week on those really hot days I turned it on full blast and had lots of vaguely cool air blowing. I wondered if it was just the difference leather seats make because I've always had cloth before.
Still, I expected to have icy-cold air blowing on me instead of sorta cool air. Guess I'll have it checked out. Maybe I'm low on freon as well.
On days that are really hot, I notice that the A/C seems overburdened to cool the interior. It's only cool on the areas that the A/C is directly blowing to. I haven't used the Max A/C setting 'cause it might use up too much power, but I guess that's what it's for--to cool the car on really hot days.
Is there anyway of getting a bi-level effect on the A/C and fan? Or redirecting the flow of the A/C down by the feet or up by the windshield??
...Pritesh
For those with AC woes, I would suggest even a minimal tint
on your windows, I tinted my cougar and it helps to reduce
the amount of heat build up in the car, and helps to keep it cool
As for the Max AC drawing more power than regular AC, I think both settings draw the same amount of power. I may be wrong but I don't think so. I believe Max AC recirculates the air and the AC setting draws in fresh outside air. Someone please tell me if I'm wrong.
max ac recirculates, and A/C brings in fresh air, if you have the car off or idling, or just after you shut off the car, while its quiet in the car switch the dial from Max Ac to norm AC and you'll hear a sound of the vent flap closing or opening.
lmigliore: Turn up your hearing aid ;-)
In the face of this failure, here's another Zen joke:
Question: How does a Zen master order a hamburger?
Answer: Make me one with everything.
Funny though!
Plus, my engineer buddy here says that A/C has a theoretical limit of about 20 degrees. Meaning, if it's 90 out, you'll only be able to get the inside of the car down to 70 (still relatively cold). I don't know if that's true or not. He's been wrong before.