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Periodic Maintenance
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I did check there....can't seem to locate it.
Thanks
Thank you!
I could repaint these with touch-up paint, but can I go a step further and buff out or sand the plastic of the scratches first, then paint after?
I'm a novice at repairs, except for occasional paint touch-ups. But these scratches are rough and I'd like to do the best I can.
What tools and steps do I need? Any advice is appreciated!
1) Deep scratches need filler to build up the crevice to surface level
2) New paint needs to be exactly the same (faded) shade as the original paint for spot repaints. If not, whole part needs to be repainted unless "paint maps" are acceptable. Luckily for us, our Montero was plain black (different story if it was an exotic black shade) and so it was just spot painting.
3) Assuming you've successfully hurdled 1) & 2), buffing/polishing/waxing repeated 2x or so over a week is mandatory.
You'll see it's not easy but if you have time to spare, you can give it a try. Alternatively, I know off-duty shop painters will do this for about $150 all-in in their backyard.
I'm going to sand the rough edges and paint. Just don't know if I need to step up to something better than the little brush at the end of the cap in the Honda touch-up bottle.
Perhaps a bigger brush or an inexpensive airbrush?
My other question is, what's a good source for trouble-shooting problems and learning how a car works? Is there a good software program or are the various consumer books best?
My goal is to map sounds and conditions to the mechanicals so that I can write off stuff as normal...or give my service rep a better description. So how can I get educated about cars (or about my Accord)?
Check the dealers, they might have your color. Pep Boys et al just have the touch up bottle.
If you do decide to spray, try your hand with the filler (it's not hard) and spraying just the immediate surrounding area of the scratch/es. Before the filler and paint set, wipe off the excess so that mostly only the painted-over scratch is left.
"Hayes" auto repair manuals are very helpful for both beginners and experts alike, and they are model-specific. They're readily available from the parts retailers at a reasonable price.
there is a small trick in using a spraycan or spraygun and evenly overlapping a just-right smooth coat of paint.
find that by spraying a chunk of scrap metal, some pie tins, whatever, before you take the first shot at the car.
and don't forget to remove all the old wax, grease, etc. by washing with something like dish detergent and/or following up with 99% isopropyl alcohol. if you don't, you will have a peeling, bubbling mess you don't like.
it ain't hard if I can do it, but I decided to hit a garbage can first as well... and man, did I need to
I'm a newbie about how cars work. I purchased the Accord Haynes manual and read every chance I get. But is there anything more fundamental that has 3D illustrations of how car systems work?
Manual transmission and transaxle...I'd like to see how the clutch pedal and shifter work the transaxle and engine. But it's hard to make the connections with 2D schematics.
Anything on the web? (With 2 Accords in the family, I'd like to become extremely familiar with all systems, so I know when they need maintenance or repair.)
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/channel.htm?ch=auto&sub=sub-und- er-the-hood
Thank you, Alcan.
Nothign made 100,000 miles in 50 and 60s!
Quit being engineers for a moment and realize, through common sense, that if a guy doesn't know when he should change his plug wires, he probably doesn't have the equipment or ability to check ohms of resistance.
Hey, buddy, if your wires have more than 60-70K on them, change them out for a good set. Don't get the cheapest ones you can find - with wires, you get what you pay for.
It may be different for 4 cylinder engines where you can reach the plugs and wires easy.
analog-scale multimeters are still better for some things like adjusting a mechanical voltage regulator... oh, wait, they disappeared 30 years ago... or for dipping the radio IF coils... oh, wait, they're all broadband electronic-tuning now... yeah, get the DVM.
Plus, if you do some housework...many times you need a multimeter to do some electrical work.
Yes I'm an engineer (mechanical)...which is beside the point.
Pick up a Haynes or Chiltons manual...it tells you the same thing, use a multimeter to check the resistance of the wires, as well as from the spark plug end to the distributor point.
But,I don't miss lugging an oscilloscope around any longer. Good riddance to that.
Is it a full fledged 386 or the sx chip?
BTW, I have the 386sx box and yes mine still works, but Win95 is it's limit. It's a whopping 16mhz!!!!
I've still got my IM-18 VTVM tucked away in a bin upstairs... along with a deVry scope I came across for ten bucks. if the loony North Koreans drop one over here, I can still troubleshoot my stuff, assuming somebody gets 120 volts back up.
my latest toy is an Atwater Kent 20C that somebody horribly modified for depression tubes... just found some brass strip in a hobby shop today to restore the original twist-lock tube sockets, and I think I even found some Rust-Oleum spray paint that will match the color of what used to be the front panel before it turned to layers of rust. it sure looks just a whisper browner than the old RCA broadcast "dark umber" color. have already gotten the wasps nests out of the radio, and it's eminently restorable.
these things are cheaper to restore than cars... but when you consider the test equipment and old tubes on eBay you need, you sure find yourself wondering how much.
reviews are under the OBD or codes tab, I think, off the main page at www.batauto.com
swschrad, you suppose that'll elliminate any "buzzing" sounds you may have come across?...
in cars (! aha ! relevant to topic !) the equivalent would be mouse nests in the air cleaner and dead critters in the air intake for the cabin heating/cooling, as well as maybe a few rat gnaws through the fuel line hose and the 15-inch cast wheels replaced with 12-inch geo metro wheels that have been tack-welded to the brake drums. or a model A that is solid rust, but no perforations, and something resembling all the parts is bolted on or in a box on the back floor.
a true mess, but restorable with only a little work, compared to some specimens. the stuff I have to fabricate myself does not require milling machines. I am not qualified to be on the same floor as milling machines
For VW & Audi
Thanks
As far as 4WD lube, I always have had a policy of changing manual transmission and differential oils at 60K intervals, because it is pretty easy. I have heard some people say it is not necessary that frequently, but since it is pretty easy I figure I will "overdo" it.
As far as 4WD-specific components, like hubs, I just follow the manufacturer schedule - for my 4Runner that is 15K for most things.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I am perplexed as to why no fluid will drain!!!!
I guess something could be blocking the drain-gently stick a small screwdriver in and swirl it around. Oh you should drive the car a bit say 25 miles to heat up the fluid before draining it - gets the crud in suspension supposedly and only use honda atf unless you are a very adventuresome person.
I suppose you could use a pump to suck it out thru the hole, kind of like the reverse of filling a manual transmission.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I am still puzzled though why the drawing I got from the ALL DATA web site at my local library showed the plug and gasket on the side of the housing. Can't figure out what that plug was for. Maybe it was to plug a tooling hole or something.
Thanks