Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

[British_Rover]

I'm driving a '95 XJ6 with 147,000 miles on it. After a tune up it works fine.

I've got a '90 Pathfinder with 265,000 miles; it's still happily trundling along and I don't treat it very well at all. Neither did the prior owner (according to his records, he was always late on maintenance.)

And yes, you'll need a prop to hold up the hood while someone switches out the hood shock. A single well-wedged 2x4 will suffice, your hood isn't like the hundred pound plus monsters on the Jags.

My 1998 Grand Cherokee is an ex-rental car with 155,000 miles and I am the third owner. I do all the maintenance and service on it but there just isn't much to do and it hasn't needed much in repairs. In the nearly six years I have owned it my wife and I put on 70,000 some miles. I had to do brakes all the way around once, tires all the way around once( got them for free of a trade along with a new set of wheels), one water pump and plugs/cap/rotor/wire once.

No other repairs just fluid services which reminds me I need to do the trans service soon and show change out the other gear boxes too. Plenty of cars can go 100,000 plus miles with minimum maintenance but most VWs are not those cars.

I am quickly coming to appreciate the old fashioned stick method. When I was car poking at the auto show I actually thought "meh, doesn't have hood strut, that's mildly inconvenient." (Ok actually I thought "meh, doesn't have hood hydraulicy holdy up thingie" but close enough.) My thought process is suddenly slightly modified.

That is rather nifty. When you come to power you can make them mandatory.

Some Volvos have the same set up that the older Mercs do and so do some Range Rovers. It was a very, very good idea.

Those struts are painfully easy to replace. That is actually the one other thing I need to do on the Jeep as the back struts fail now in cold weather. They do fine when it is above 40 degrees but anything colder and they fall down.

Vice Grips are a good stop gap measure though. I used them all the time at my shop till the Mac Tools guy was in one day and saw me stick them on a car. He had a tool from Mac that was a little twist clamp that did the same job but didn't risk crushing the metal portion of the strut if you put the Vice grip on too tight. I asked him how much he said ten bucks for two and I bought four on the spot.

We used them all the time and they worked better them the vice grips plus customers didn't give you a funny look when you put them on their car.

 

[public]

Hmm, a wench from the neighbouring building has parked her beater in such a fashion that the Golf won't fit in its spot. Yay.

Also, some time ago I found a nice, low-km Citroen ZX Volcane that I took a liking to. The guy who bought it from that seller seems to have been involved in a fender bender today, so the ZX is for sale for pennies. I hate it when idiots ruin cars I like.

 

[Nabster]

I don't understand the struts. I've got them on the Grand Prix and they work fine, but the Mustang has springs, they're original and they still hold the steel hood exactly at the level you place the hood no problem. If for some reason one of the springs should fail, I can buy a new one for $5.95.

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

EDIT
Ok it's definitely a standard nut up where the strut connects to the hood.

I just couldn't get in at the right angle while holding the hood to get a good look at where it attaches to the vehicle.

Those connections look pretty much identical to the lowside mount of my lift gate struts, which means you won't even need a wrench to replace them. You can see a metal band-clip on each strut mount, all you need to do is pull it out (a thin screwdriver and needle-nosed pliers worked great for me) and the strut will just pull straight off the ball mount. Keep the clip for re-installation.

 

[Canuck]

For the Europeans:

Explain to me the differences one would find between a new Fiesta or a Mazda 2.

 

[Spectre]

I don't understand the struts. I've got them on the Grand Prix and they work fine, but the Mustang has springs, they're original and they still hold the steel hood exactly at the level you place the hood no problem. If for some reason one of the springs should fail, I can buy a new one for $5.95.

The spring mechanisms weigh more and take up a lot more space. Consumers objected to the noise the spring mechanisms can make, too.

 

[British_Rover]

The spring mechanisms weigh more and take up a lot more space. Consumers objected to the noise the spring mechanisms can make, too.

That and on regular cars, IE non-VAG stuff, those struts usually make it close to ten years before they start wearing out and even then they usually only start fading on cold days.

The struts on my jeeps lift gate work fine as long as it is warm out and those struts are 12 years old. Interestingly my last jeep also had the struts on the lift gate start to fail at around the 10 year mark when the air was cold. You open the lift gate a lot more often then you open the hood too.

Oh just to add fuel to the Toyota fire I have heard several reports of those struts failing very early, within the first two years, on a bunch of Sequoias and Highlanders lately too. Still under warranty of course but still annoying.

 

[Spectre]

Yeah, the hatch and rear glass support struts on my Pathfinder made it about 18 years before they needed replacement, and my rear hatch is both vastly heavier and more frequently used than any normal hood.

 

[gt1750]

My photos from Geneva Motor Show: clicky

I only photographed cars I liked or found interesting and ignored all stupid SUVs as well as all the pseudo-ecological concepts that are based around PR bullshit.

Best of Show: Bertone Pandion

Worst of Show: Nissan Juke - WTF were you thinking, Nissan?

[no photo taken, the sheer ugliness would make the lens melt]

 

[Nabster]

The spring mechanisms weigh more and take up a lot more space. Consumers objected to the noise the spring mechanisms can make, too.

They weigh maybe 3 pounds, and the space thing is really grasping at straws- they aren't all that big, especially considering a bit of thought into design would easily make the little space they need available. And mine don't make noise (if they did, a bit of lubricant or even soap would hush them right up).

About the only real disadvantage I can come up with is the fact they're exposed and can potentially hook something or scrape someone if they aren't paying attention. It wouldn't take much to come up with some sort of cover to go over them if it needed it though.

Sure, the shocks are fine, they're cleaner looking and smaller, but if German engineered ones can't last 8 years... yeesh. :lol:

 

[Spectre]

They weigh maybe 3 pounds, and the space thing is really grasping at straws- they aren't all that big, especially considering a bit of thought into design would easily make the little space they need available. And mine don't make noise (if they did, a bit of lubricant or even soap would hush them right up).

About the only real disadvantage I can come up with is the fact they're exposed and can potentially hook something or scrape someone if they aren't paying attention. It wouldn't take much to come up with some sort of cover to go over them if it needed it though.

Sure, the shocks are fine, they're cleaner looking and smaller, but if German engineered ones can't last 8 years... yeesh. :lol:

They may be German engineered, but they're made in Mexico or some other third world country on VAG products.

The space thing isn't grasping at straws, you have to design the arms to allow the springs leverage, and that's not a trivial use of space.

Springs can and often do resonate with the engine (especially at the frequencies generated by some four bangers) and magnify undesirable noises. They also can make unsettling twanging noises when opening or closing the hood, or going over road irregularities, no matter how well lubricated. They're also 'interesting' when they finally fatigue and break, sending spring shrapnel flying.

Covered springs have been tried, but they don't really do much to solve any of the other problems.

 

[Nabster]

Either way, the springs on my mass produced cheap American car with very loose tolerances have 5 times the age of those shocks on her "premium" German car. You have to admit, from my point of view those shocks are not as good as my springs.

 

[Spectre]

Either way, the springs on my mass produced cheap American car with very loose tolerances have 5 times the age of those shocks on her "premium" German car. You have to admit, from my point of view those shocks are not as good as my springs.

Her 'German' car was made in Mexico with not-so-great quality control. I also wouldn't call a Passat a 'premium' car, VW claims notwithstanding.

Also, you've been lucky, I've seen quite a few Mustang springloaded hinges have problems. And when they do, the springs are a lot more difficult to replace than a slap-on-slap-off pressurized strut.

Edit: The other thing is that she can open her hood wider than the 45 or so degrees of a Mustang to work on things with only a screwdriver and some sort of support to hold the hood up. You have to take your hood OFF for that kind of access.

 

[Strelok16]

It might not open as much as a hood with struts, but still I've never had to take the hood off my Mustang to do anything... except take out the engine and transmission.

Noise adds character and you have to admit, pretty much any ~40 year old car is going to have noises like that, from hood springs or (probably a variety of) other things.

 

[Spectre]

Yes, but people who buy a new or newer car are going to want to see signs of progress, not the same 40 year old parts that could have and should have been improved on.

 

[Nabster]

Edit: The other thing is that she can open her hood wider than the 45 or so degrees of a Mustang to work on things with only a screwdriver and some sort of support to hold the hood up. You have to take your hood OFF for that kind of access.

Now that's stretching it. The hood opens closer to 60?, and like Strelok says, about the only thing you need to pull the hood for is engine and trans removal (with the right hoist you can do it with the hood on if you know what you're doing). The engine isn't set back into the firewall as on more modern cars, I can see the whole of the bellhousing on the transmission from above the engine bay. So no, we have very good access in the Mustangs.

 

[Labcoatguy]

Yes, but people who buy a new or newer car are going to want to see signs of progress, not the same 40 year old parts that could have and should have been improved on.

Like leaf springs, stick axles, and pushrods? Oops, I went there!

 

[Spectre]

Now that's stretching it. The hood opens closer to 60?, and like Strelok says, about the only thing you need to pull the hood for is engine and trans removal (with the right hoist you can do it with the hood on if you know what you're doing). The engine isn't set back into the firewall as on more modern cars, I can see the whole of the bellhousing on the transmission from above the engine bay. So no, we have very good access in the Mustangs.

Not if you have the I6 engine, you don't. Remember that? The engine most of the first two generation Mustangs came with?

Also, notice the huge amount of space taken up by the springs... on the driver's side, that could be used for something like, oh, a brake booster?

Like leaf springs, stick axles, and pushrods? Oops, I went there!

:lol:

 

[argatoga]

Like leaf springs, stick axles, and pushrods? Oops, I went there!

Yeah, well proper sports cars have rear leafs... so I hear...

 

[Nabster]

Not if you have the I6 engine, you don't. Remember that? The engine most of the first two generation Mustangs came with?

And most of those have been swapped to V8s. :lol:

That said, try again. The I6's mount on the same trannys, they extend farther forward. There may be a bit less space between them and the firewall, but it's still more than the average person needs- there isn't much to service on the end of the block.