Car work

RetiredUSNChief

RetiredUSNChief

Get over it, snowflake.
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Well... got my 2006 MDX back from the shop earlier. Had the timing belt job done at 200,000 miles. Good to go for another 100,000 miles.

And the engine looks SHARP now, too! They really cleaned under the hood!

I had the shop do their free inspection. Turned everything they found down. Sorry... I'm all about taking care of my cars, but I'm not about to exceed the value of my vehicle in the process, when it's going on 20 years.

The rack and pinion, for example, has a torn rubber boot. Not worth dumping 4 figures into replacing, especially when it works fine.

And $321 to change spark plugs? Nope. Pulling the ignition coils and changing them at about $15 per iridium plug is a short job for me. Same with the $100 PCV valve replacement.


MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH...

I've gotta get my youngest daughter's '07 Edge in to find/fix an A/C leak.

My oldest daughter's 2000 RX300 needs and HVAC Air Blend Door actuator replaced, which I'll pick up tomorrow.

I need to replace the actuator on my MDX, as well, but I can get mine to work until later

My wife's Expedition needs some Firestone road hazard work tomorrow due a nail in a tire.

And my son needs to replace his battery.


OH, AND A RECOMMENDATION:

I decided to try silicone wiper blades on my car a few months ago. They're more expensive than regular blades, so my next purchase of them will be Amazon.

I really like these! They're holding up much better than regular wiper blades. Regular wiper blades not only age rapidly, contributing to streaks, but it seems they're more susceptible to damage when used over bug splats and whatnot...often leaving streaks even after cleaning the windshield.

These silicone blades work great! If bug guts and whatnot start causing streaks, just clean the windshield and wipe down the blades and they're working like new again, even after several months.
 
Just imagine the number of people who put thousands into unneeded repairs because "the shop said so"

Sounds like you got a good handle on the Ranch and I know that multiple old car battle well. Blend door actuators arent fun. Sure wish everything was still like the old cars where sliding the HVAC lever moved the ACTUAL blend door.
 
Yeah, replacing wiper blades just has to be done fairly frequently. I mean, look at what they do... literally wipe your windshield tens of thousands of times per replacement, across dirt, bug guts, and (for older glass) imperfections caused by sand/grit while driving.

The key to maximizing their life is how diligent people are about cleaning their windshields.

The silicone blades DO last longer... the question is how much longer and does this make up for their cost?

I used to keep a spare set in the trunk of my last car so replacing them was more convenient. In my MDX, I could drop a pair behind the second row of seats, I suppose.
 
I've been using Trico beam blades, they last a lot longer. I used to buy the basic Anco at Walmart. I keep the old set in case I need one or both. Common to have them stolen back up in NYC. ☹️

I also clean the windows and edges of the blades when I gas up.
 
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I noticed that one of the chain stores stopped selling blades in lieu of selling the whole arm+blade assy. (Kind of like convenience stores stopping sale of a normal 12 oz drink).

Started ordering from Amazon instead.
 
The heat here destroys rubber wiper blades in no time. The silicone blades last much longer and are worth the extra money.
 
Need to do an oil change on the Expedition and take it for a test drive to see if the instant shudder fix goop I poured in fixes the torque converter shudder. If it did, then I can get by with just a fluid drain/fill. If not, I'll need a new converter, which will run me more than the cost of a good AR build.
 
And replacing the boots on the rack and pinion is a great idea! I didn't think of that...probably because the only time I ever had any rack and pinion issues was decades ago, and that required replacing it entirely (it got almost impossible to turn in one direction).
 
The downside with replacing boots is that it can be a royal PITA on certain cars, and you'll usually get the alignment close but not perfect if you mark threads on the tie rods.
 
I put masking tape on the inner tie rod after backing the nut off and count the numbers of turns to remove the outer end.
 
I just watched a video of a guy who did this without unscrewing the tie rod.

But honestly, am alignment isn't all that much.

 
What is it about wiper blades that makes them start streaking right in your field of view?

Everytime i get em, that's the first problem they show. Whole dang windshield is clean except for the part where I'm looking through....how dey do dat?
 
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I've been using silicone wipers for a while now and I really like them. I find they are best used in tandem with some kind of windshield treatment to help with the bug guts (summer) and ice droplets (winter).
 
I replaced rack and pinion gear in both my '99 Taurus and Sable about ten years ago, had alignment done and the idiot kid
did this to both boots. I did not have the other car aligned at that shop and never went back. I was able to untangle them.
I replaced them last year when they broke in half with Moog boots.

Tie_Rod_a.jpgTie_Rod_b.jpg
 
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My girlfriend's little Nissan versa is having some odd acceleration and shifting issues. It's been one of those rare intermittent issues that makes it really hard to diagnose. Speed sensors for her car are pretty cheap so I just went ahead and replaced them. It's annoying though because afterwards we have to just wonder if it fixed it or not.

Well, it didn't ☹️

Looking like the car probably needs a transmission control module.
 
Ferrisfan said:
I've been using silicone wipers for a while now and I really like them. I find they are best used in tandem with some kind of windshield treatment to help with the bug guts (summer) and ice droplets (winter).
Click to expand...

What do you use?
 
Youngest daughter just moved into her dorm room at Winthrop yesterday for her senior year. (Roddy Hall this year.)

She drove her Grandpapa's 2007 Silverado Z71 so I could get the A/C worked on for her Edge in the meantime.

Took the truck up to the gas station to tank it up...aaaaaand the pump cuts off all the time trying to fill up. Evap system problems.

So I stood there and trickle filled 24 gallons into it, then when I got home I crawled under it and loosened the big hose from the tank at the evap canister.

Got her moved in and then topped off the tank before I drove home. Three gallons zipped into the tank, lickety-split, no problems.

When she comes home again, I'll vacuum the evap hoses with the shop vacuum to be sure there's no charcoal in them, air check the evap canister and the solenoid valve. I suspect the canister needs replacing.

But for now, it'll do just fine.

Sorry I'm polluting the atmosphere with trace amounts of gasoline fumes in the meantime. I know how important that is to you guys.
 
Bit of an update. It's been 7,000 miles since the work I described in my OP.

Before the work I had a tiny oil leak, which was just enough to get the hot oil smell from the outside of the engine at some stop lights, but not quite enough for me to do more than MAYBE add one quart of oil before my 10,000 mile oil change. Not enough to leave any oil drips where I parked, but whenever I'd change my oil there would be an oil sheen on the bottom/sides of the oil pan. And that need to add a quart would come so close to time for my 10,000 mile oil change that I'd just do the oil change and forget about it.

Well, not only have I not had any hot oil smell at all, the oil level on my dipstick is just barely below the top fill mark on my dipstick at 7,000 miles! I'm quite pleased!

Next thing up on my list of things to do will be reupholstering the front seats. Probably be a couple months or so before I do that.
 
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