Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Spent 4 hours trying to replace the rear end links on the Mustang, in the end gave up because I simply could not get the end links onto the ARB, the opening looks like it's just not big enough... What's odd is that part numbers match up with my VIN and both the old and new show the same 24mm markings so ????
 
Spent 4 hours trying to replace the rear end links on the Mustang, in the end gave up because I simply could not get the end links onto the ARB, the opening looks like it's just not big enough... What's odd is that part numbers match up with my VIN and both the old and new show the same 24mm markings so ????

Needs more synthetic grease?
 
Spent 4 hours trying to replace the rear end links on the Mustang, in the end gave up because I simply could not get the end links onto the ARB, the opening looks like it's just not big enough... What's odd is that part numbers match up with my VIN and both the old and new show the same 24mm markings so ????
Did you measure? "This is the wrong effing part with the right part number" is so common it hurts these days.
 
Sometimes i think about how we are moving to actual AI cars and how I feel like if you did that to a bug (or fiat tbh) you would get Literally Herbie right down to the personality of a fucking cat or something. Like I would not know how to function a car that DOESN'T seem alive and full of attitude problems honestly at this point but it sure is a thing.
Also applies to self driving cars. And basically everything else.
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The XJR sold today. Going to an enthusiast who is conflicted about driving it or swapping it into his XJS. Coincidentally, one of his other cars is a blue Boxster.
Would the pedal box even line up with the XJS? Everything else might, but the XJS has a much narrower footwell than the X300.
 
Airplane safety? That didn't age well. Then again, this is a software issue so.... :D
 
Also applies to self driving cars. And basically everything else.
(XKCD here)
....except for many things like elevators and airplanes, which are referenced in that exact comic you quoted. So not "basically everything else".

Airplane safety? That didn't age well. Then again, this is a software issue so.... :D
Yeah even with the 737 MAX accidents the safety odds for air travel aren't turned catastrophic. Sure, the temporary psychological impact is there, but the original point still applies.
 
Someone say elevators?


I love this show so much.
 
Would the pedal box even line up with the XJS? Everything else might, but the XJS has a much narrower footwell than the X300.

Depends on which version of the XJS it is, but there are actually existing XJS manual pedalboxes that can be used, and the original XJS pedalbox isn't too hard to mill out for the pivot and master cylinder.

Spent 4 hours trying to replace the rear end links on the Mustang, in the end gave up because I simply could not get the end links onto the ARB, the opening looks like it's just not big enough... What's odd is that part numbers match up with my VIN and both the old and new show the same 24mm markings so ????

Did you measure? "This is the wrong effing part with the right part number" is so common it hurts these days.

Also, it's a Mustang so it's even more likely than usual to have had someone swap out the antiroll bars for something else. Get a set of calipers and measure the bar diameter first.

In other news in direct response to my complaints the fiat has developed a coolant leak (probably a loose hose, won't know until i put it on the lift tomorrow). Because it still does not have a CEL for that (because why would SOMETHING THAT IS ACTUALLY RELATED TO THE ENGINE get one?)

Because vehicles with coolant hose leak detection are usually aerospace vehicles and cost millions if not billions of dollars? The best cars do is have a coolant level low warning, which is separate from the CEL, and that will only go off once you've lost significant coolant. Think about it, leak detectors at hose couplings would be hideously complex and expensive to put in cars.

Sometimes i think about how we are moving to actual AI cars and how I feel like if you did that to a bug (or fiat tbh) you would get Literally Herbie right down to the personality of a fucking cat or something.

Er, no, this is what you'd get - because you'd have something electrical go wrong and then the thing would go psycho.

 
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By and large pedalboxes seem more complicated than they really are. If you're willing to sacrifice "technically optimal" pedal positioning you've almost always got options for jamming a third one in.
 
By and large pedalboxes seem more complicated than they really are. If you're willing to sacrifice "technically optimal" pedal positioning you've almost always got options for jamming a third one in.

The late classic Jag pedalboxes' castings (pre-XJ40, '74-'87/'92) are the same between the automatic and manual cars. Or put another way, the automatics are the same as the manual box except they have bosses instead of holes where the master cylinders and pedal pivot pins go. You don't even have to kludge up something, just drill and machine where the factory did. The factory was run by men who were smart enough to realize that one design in quantity that could be machined to serve both transmission types was cheaper than ordering two different designs.

There are kits to convert your existing pedal box or you can buy one someone has already machined for you and stuck the kit in.

This is a converted automatic pedalbox: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jaguar-XJ6-LHD-Clutch-Brake-Pedal-Box-1974-87-WITH-Cylinder-With-Pads/311585511477?fits=Model:XJ6&hash=item488bf19835:g:KZgAAOSwkl5XgH9c
s-l1600.jpg



This is the kit, sold by the same guy: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jaguar-XJ6-12-1974-1987-Right-Hand-Drive-Clutch-Pedal-Kit-Use-your-Pedalbox/152801571652?fits=Model:XJ6&hash=item2393aef344:g:reIAAOSwtDdaWCNI

Compare the converted auto box to this pic of a stock auto box. You can see where the clutch master cylinder goes.
48943d1374511068-removing-sii-brake-booster-cotter-pin-clevis-behind-rubber-plug.jpg
 
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Did you measure? "This is the wrong effing part with the right part number" is so common it hurts these days.
Yeah i put a skid plate on the beetle and I had to cut new screw holes because they didn't line up. My favorite though was when i went through the trouble of buying the FCA official car cover, giving the VIN to be 100% sure it fit AND

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I drive back to the dealership with these pictures to return it, "sorry it didn't fit, the ass is too fat".
THANKFULLY i found a fitting third party one but god FCA, get it together. The material was cheap as hell too and cost like 50$ more then the far better one i have now.
 
Did you measure? "This is the wrong effing part with the right part number" is so common it hurts these days.
Didn't measure but even visually they look different, here is the weirdest part though, on the actual bushing itself it is stamped "24mm" so I'm really wondering if the issue is the actual bushing being wrong, OTOH looking up that part number has a picture of exactly what I received.

New on the left, old on the right.
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New one:
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And this is what I get from Ford parts
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Also, it's a Mustang so it's even more likely than usual to have had someone swap out the antiroll bars for something else. Get a set of calipers and measure the bar diameter first.
I'm about 99.9% certain this is a stock part, it still has the original barcode on the left side denoting that it is in fact the left side. I haven't seen any evidence of any modifications to this thing that I haven't done myself. It was a Florida car originally so I'm fairly certain it was bought by an old guy who just wanted a cool car.
 
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Didn't measure but even visually they look different, here is the weirdest part though, on the actual bushing itself it is stamped "24mm" so I'm really wondering if the issue is the actual bushing being wrong, OTOH looking up that part number has a picture of exactly what I received.

New on the left, old on the right.
View attachment 3556559

New one:
View attachment 3556560

And this is what I get from Ford parts
View attachment 3556561



I'm about 99.9% certain this is a stock part, it still has the original barcode on the left side denoting that it is in fact the left side. I haven't seen any evidence of any modifications to this thing that I haven't done myself. It was a Florida car originally so I'm fairly certain it was bought by an old guy who just wanted a cool car.

Check the diameter of the bar with a caliper - there can always be assembly errors or someone could have done an upgrade by fitting a larger Ford bar off another car. I've had something like that happen so many times that I break out the calipers whenever I have to replace antiroll bar bushings.
 
Yeah there's no way in hell those are the same part.

It's possible the old part is a stock housing where the bushing was pressed out and replaced to match an upsized sway bar.

But at the same time, the new one with its 24mm stamping doesn't look like 24mm in the slightest. Tough to tell without a good scale, though, but that concrete grain is tingling my senses.

Incidentally, note a quarter coin is a hair over 24mm in diameter.
 
Check the diameter of the bar with a caliper - there can always be assembly errors or someone could have done an upgrade by fitting a larger Ford bar off another car. I've had something like that happen so many times that I break out the calipers whenever I have to replace antiroll bar bushings.
Guess time to get me some calipers...
Yeah there's no way in hell those are the same part.
That's what CrzRsn said too
It's possible the old part is a stock housing where the bushing was pressed out and replaced to match an upsized sway bar.
That's a possibility, interestingly looking up my VIN shows the car as "no track, no special config" or something like that, but it came with optional brembos and 19" wheels (aka track pack wheels for the next year model) so I'm wondering if that's part of the issue.
Incidentally, note a quarter coin is a hair over 24mm in diameter.
Good to know!
 
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