Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

I can't stop thinking about how much I want to buy one of these things if the turn out to be decent to drive:

toyobaru.jpg
 
tempesjo @ Jalopnik said:
A Yugo must have the ability to channel the enthusiasm/insanity of its driver. I'll never forget the time around 1992 when I was sitting at a stop light with a couple of my friends. We heard the sound of an approaching car with a compromised exhaust system, and soon saw a flat black Yugo with red stripes barrel through the intersection at full bore, with a raccoon tail waving from the antenna. It was driven by a fat, hairy, bearded guy with what looked like his twin brother in the passenger seat, both screaming at the tops of their lungs and erratically passing people as they crossed a two-lane bridge. I was surprised they were able to achieve that speed in a Yugo, although they probably built up some good momentum on the mile long gradual descent that led to the intersection.

I've always wondered what happened to those two guys. My first guess is that they died 2-5 minutes after we saw them. My second guess is that they were already dead, and my friends and I got a peek into the afterlife, seeing two souls being transported to hell.
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Awesome post.
 
LOL
 
NooDle said:
Mercedes R class is another good one, it's hideous, hilariously expensive and breaks down all the time

also : does anyone else sometimes,for no particular reason get the idea that something is about to go horribly/expensively wrong with your car, even when there are no signs to warn you (like warning lights, strange sounds/smells)?

Because I think my car may spontaneously explode, yet have no reason to think that...
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Yes. I got my timing belt and associated hardware changed and that feeling tapered off dramatically though.
 
NooDle said:
Mercedes R class is another good one, it's hideous, hilariously expensive and breaks down all the time

also : does anyone else sometimes,for no particular reason get the idea that something is about to go horribly/expensively wrong with your car, even when there are no signs to warn you (like warning lights, strange sounds/smells)?

Because I think my car may spontaneously explode, yet have no reason to think that...
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Does your car use a timing belt? When were the spark plugs last replaced? A new CAS could help too.

Interrobang said:
With my limited knowlege of british cars, I can make little sense of this ... what way round is it supposed to be?
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Spectre said:
Higher is better; it was correct in 1980. The MGs are at the top because they literally have nothing to break with an engine from the Stone Age, and Jaguar in January 1980 was pretty bad.

Which should then make you wonder about everything that was worse.
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The Spitfire is probably there out of spite. :p The MGs were pretty basic (and old by 1980), but the Marina and Mini weren't exactly cutting edge either. By that time MG was using a Triumph 1500 in the Midget.
 
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NooDle said:
also : does anyone else sometimes,for no particular reason get the idea that something is about to go horribly/expensively wrong with your car, even when there are no signs to warn you (like warning lights, strange sounds/smells)?

Because I think my car may spontaneously explode, yet have no reason to think that...
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Yep sure do! :)

About the R-Class, everyone says it's not selling well, but I always see more of them than I expect in my area.

Guess people around here have no taste, because it's one fugly car. :p
 
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You know that feature that when you are coasting in gear or drive and the engine uses no fuel at all, what's that called? Also, which cars have it; is this feature only in Audis?
 
argatoga said:
Does your car use a timing belt? When were the spark plugs last replaced? A new CAS could help too.
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nope. doesn't have spark plugs since it's a diseasel. Dunno what CAS means.
I think I jinxed myself btw. The "service needed" light went on. Just new oil and filters and she'll be good to go I think

Ilpav said:
You know that feature that when you are coasting in gear or drive and the engine uses no fuel at all, what's that called? Also, which cars have it; is this feature only in Audis?
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AFAIK every modern car has it, dunno the actual name though
 
Ilpav said:
You know that feature that when you are coasting in gear or drive and the engine uses no fuel at all, what's that called? Also, which cars have it; is this feature only in Audis?
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Cut-off?
 
Being unemployed for a week (starting my new job next week), I've been having a lot of free time. Today, I decided to drive to the local Volvo dealership to see how much it would cost to replace the timing belt.

I spent there a whole hour and achieved nothing. The first thing I did was to tell them that my car was a 1994, which is the year they changed the type of belt and I wasn't sure which one it is. They were surprised to hear that there were different types of belts...That was the first warning sign.

I then explained that the car has the 2.4 five-cylinder non-turbo engine. I also gave them my engine number and VIN. After 10 minutes playing on the computer, the "Volvo specialist" asked: "Are you sure this is the original engine?" Of course I am sure! He says: The system shows that your car originally had a 3.2 straight-six 10-valve engine...
WTF??? Volvo never made such an engine! It is actually impossible - six cylinders and only 10 valves???

Thankfully, a mechanic came by and showed the "expert" where his mistake was. With that settled, we started discussing the price. After 10 more minutes, they printed me a quote which looked surprisingly low. $750 for a timing belt and water pump change. I know for a fact that the parts alone are around $350. So I asked - does this include changing the pulleys and tensioners? "Hmm, let me check."

Of course it didn't. That price was only for the rubber belt and water pump! So they added the tensioners - another $90. Which is again impossible! There are two tensioners and one pulley, and they alone cost at least $160.
At this point I was tired of their incompetence, so I left.
 
NooDle said:
nope. doesn't have spark plugs since it's a diseasel. Dunno what CAS means.
I think I jinxed myself btw. The "service needed" light went on. Just new oil and filters and she'll be good to go I think.
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Ah it is a diesel, there's your problem. :p I'd look at your sensors. Buy some MAF (Mass air flow) sensor cleaner and give it a spray. The CAS (crank angle sensor) can make things rough as I have discovered. If the engine cuts out and dies for no reason this could be it. Rebuilding your fuel injectors (not expensive) could help too. If none of that works replace the coils.

As for the Ilpav's question. As far as I know it is called fuel cut off. Pretty much every EFI car made in the last 30 years has it. The ECU sees the rear wheels are pushing the crank when the throttle plate is closed and it cuts fuel until the RPM drops too low or the plate is opened.

_HighVoltage_ said:
hankfully, a mechanic came by and showed the "expert" where his mistake was. With that settled, we started discussing the price. After 10 more minutes, they printed me a quote which looked surprisingly low. $750 for a timing belt and water pump change. I know for a fact that the parts alone are around $350. So I asked - does this include changing the pulleys and tensioners? "Hmm, let me check."
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Gotta love transverse engines and the ten billions hours of additional labor costs associated with that layout:p
 
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_HighVoltage_ said:
Being unemployed for a week (starting my new job next week), I've been having a lot of free time. Today, I decided to drive to the local Volvo dealership to see how much it would cost to replace the timing belt.

I spent there a whole hour and achieved nothing. The first thing I did was to tell them that my car was a 1994, which is the year they changed the type of belt and I wasn't sure which one it is. They were surprised to hear that there were different types of belts...That was the first warning sign.

I then explained that the car has the 2.4 five-cylinder non-turbo engine. I also gave them my engine number and VIN. After 10 minutes playing on the computer, the "Volvo specialist" asked: "Are you sure this is the original engine?" Of course I am sure! He says: The system shows that your car originally had a 3.2 straight-six 10-valve engine...
WTF??? Volvo never made such an engine! It is actually impossible - six cylinders and only 10 valves???

Thankfully, a mechanic came by and showed the "expert" where his mistake was. With that settled, we started discussing the price. After 10 more minutes, they printed me a quote which looked surprisingly low. $750 for a timing belt and water pump change. I know for a fact that the parts alone are around $350. So I asked - does this include changing the pulleys and tensioners? "Hmm, let me check."

Of course it didn't. That price was only for the rubber belt and water pump! So they added the tensioners - another $90. Which is again impossible! There are two tensioners and one pulley, and they alone cost at least $160.
At this point I was tired of their incompetence, so I left.
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Find yourself an indie Volvo specialist. You know you won't regret it. I have a friend with one in Ohio if you're willing to drive that far. Unfortunately I don't know where in Ohio but that's a simple matter of asking her.

Edit: asked her and it's way up on northern Ohio. Too far. Sorry.
 
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I have a trusted mechanic 100 miles away, which is not so bad, and I can take the car there if it's not something urgent.

I'm just baffled - how can you work in an official Volvo service department, and not have even the slightest clue about the engines in one of their most popular models...
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
I have a trusted mechanic 100 miles away, which is not so bad, and I can take the car there if it's not something urgent.

I'm just baffled - how can you work in an official Volvo service department, and not have even the slightest clue about the engines in one of their most popular models...
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Same way you can work in an official VW service department and not know how to get the drain plug back in the oil pan of a Passat right. Dealers often hire young guys fresh out of school. They're "certified" but they aren't experienced.
 
These guys were in their 40's at least. I am definitely not going back there.
 
rickhamilton620 said:
Yep sure do! :)

About the R-Class, everyone says it's not selling well, but I always see more of them than I expect in my area.

Guess people around here have no taste, because it's one fugly car. :p
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That must be the only place the R-class is selling in any numbers, because my idiot cousin in LA got his family an R-class at a stupidly deep discount. He said the dealership was practically giving them away just to be rid of them; and remember, Los Angeles is a place where even the worst heaps will sell if it has a three-pointed star on the hood.

Ilpav said:
You know that feature that when you are coasting in gear or drive and the engine uses no fuel at all, what's that called? Also, which cars have it; is this feature only in Audis?
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As others have said, it's called idle fuel cut and it's been around since Bosch L-Jetronic first appeared in 1974 on the Porsche 914. Pretty much all cars with EFI that's not CIS or KE-Jetronic have this feature; among other things, it avoids loading up the O2 sensor with carbon on throttle close.


Der Stig said:
Well, I broke my cherry today.

I've been dinged by the rozzers. 78 in a 70 and no front plate. Right as I was cresting a hill and decelerating :shakefist: On the bright side, I ordered some new plates that don't look crap though:

native_texan.jpg


Yes, needs more Texas.
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:lmao:

Thankfully, I do not qualify for that plate... not that I'd ever want it anyway. :D

flydiscovery said:
Same way you can work in an official VW service department and not know how to get the drain plug back in the oil pan of a Passat right. Dealers often hire young guys fresh out of school. They're "certified" but they aren't experienced.
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Just because they're a dealer doesn't mean they know how to work on your car (as you've seen). This is especially true if you have an older model of a type that hasn't been produced in several years.

For example, I once watched some new dealer techs crawl all over my Series III looking for the OBD-II port while the service writer, an older senior tech and I sat in the office and laughed at them. In addition, the look of panic on the newbies' faces when they got the hood open and saw the engine sitting there was priceless. (A couple of new techs had made the mistake of bragging to the senior tech that they could work on any mass-produced Jaguar model. He gave me a call. :D)

_HighVoltage_ said:
These guys were in their 40's at least. I am definitely not going back there.
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Yeah, I would avoid them....
 
Yeah, one time I went for a free transmission diagnostics...I told them - it's a 94 Volvo. The guy came out with his obd ii scanner...and was surprised to not find a port. Hello? The car is a 1994, it's impossible to have an obd ii.

After which, he took the car for a test drive and came back 5 minutes later saying that the transmission needs to be completely rebuilt. Well guess what, dumbass, 10,000 miles later and everything is perfect!
 
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