Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Clegko said:
I'm speaking of consumer only. The only differences between a consumer grade GMC and a Chevy truck is chrome and a different badge. Professional trucks are a completely different matter. I nearly never see a large company using GMC branded half/three-quarter ton trucks in place of Chevys. AT&T, Cox, OG&E (local electric/gas company), Circle K (place I work)... all use either Ford trucks or Chevy.
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Certain oil field companies, for example, will do sole-source transport sourcing. They buy all their rigs from GMC or Ford, etc.
 
For the last hour I have been perusing the field of american automotive failures from the last 20 years on Youtube and it's quite interesting to watch all those Sevilles and Town Cars and New Yorkers. The biggest cars you can imagine with the smalles key man has seen, the ability to come up with new and even more annoying buzzers and dings and dongs, the trip computer readings (8 MPG!!), and the disintegration of the leather trim. And that thing they put on the roof instead of painting it, fussy stuff.

I giggled my way through the interior of a Hummer H2, and the single thing I could think of was Clarkson going on in the back of my head; "how can it be this bad?"

Youtube should get the Nobel prize in... uhm... time wasting! Yeah.
 
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AiR said:
For the last hour I have been perusing the field of american automotive failures from the last 20 years on Youtube and it's quite interesting to watch all those Sevilles and Town Cars and New Yorkers. The biggest cars you can imagine with the smalles key man has seen, the ability to come up with new and even more annoying buzzers and dings and dongs, the trip computer readings (8 MPG!!), and the disintegration of the leather trim. And that thing they put on the roof instead of painting it, fussy stuff.

I giggled my way through the interior of a Hummer H2, and the single thing I could think of was Clarkson going on in the back of my head; "how can it be this bad?"

Youtube should get the Nobel prize in... uhm... time wasting! Yeah.
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Clarkson liked the H2. But I agree with you it is a bad bad car.
 
Posmo said:
"This is a huge lawsuit"


For fucks sake..
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I watched that video, and honestly I was thinking:

"What a couple of idiots." I mean, I've never had brakes that ended up like this, but..

Wouldn't the car have given you some warning that there were bad things going on? As is no braking at all? The brake light coming on? Bad sounds?

Or would brakes like this just let you go on about your business and give no warning that they were about to catch fire?
 
That American Girl said:
I watched that video, and honestly I was thinking:

"What a couple of idiots." I mean, I've never had brakes that ended up like this, but..

Wouldn't the car have given you some warning that there were bad things going on? As is no braking at all? The brake light coming on? Bad sounds?

Or would brakes like this just let you go on about your business and give no warning that they were about to catch fire?
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Nope. This was probably a badly adjusted parking brake mechanism or they screwed up the self-adjusters. There will be no sensors or anything else on that type, so no warning light. Braking might be slightly off and they might notice the vehicle pulling to one side or being slower than usual, but it doesn't take long to get drum brakes that hot. Many times there won't be any noise, either.

The really fun part is that depending on what the brake shoes were made of, the drum may now be all but impossible to remove if the shoes melted and slagged.
 
Spectre said:
Nope. This was probably a badly adjusted parking brake mechanism or they screwed up the self-adjusters. There will be no sensors or anything else on that type, so no warning light. Braking might be slightly off and they might notice the vehicle pulling to one side or being slower than usual, but it doesn't take long to get drum brakes that hot. Many times there won't be any noise, either.
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Ahh, didn't know that. I would have figured if an important part of my car is actually melting, at some point, it would let me know. :p
 
The Volvo is having suspension issues yet again...Nothing feels loose or clumsy. Ride is the same. But there is a really alarming clunking noise (like something loose is banging against something) from the passenger side wheel and it has become louder in the past month.

It sounds like a balljoint gone bad...but which one?

I suspected the control arm, but I lifted the car and the wheel is really tight - no wobble whatsoever.
Struts and spring seats are six months old, so I doubt it's their fault...

Could it be the swaybar endlink again? I changed the sodding things 2 months ago. Yes, it is true - I did go for the cheap ScanTech brand...but seriously - less than 500 miles and they're broken? Plus...the sound is different from before.

I'm at a complete loss...I may have to take it to my mechanic and see what he'll be able to determine.
 
Fuel pump in the Mustang replaced, finally. That was 5 hours of work more than it should have been thanks to a previous mechanic who though it'd be a good idea to use some ridiculous oil pressure sensor adapter and some other previous mechanic who "custom bent" a stainless fuel line to go from the pump to the carb, both of which worked together to assure that no wrench or socket set in existence would fit in the gap left to remove the bolt holding the fuel pump in.

I cannot wait for the day that the engine is pulled to be completely rebuilt, properly, and all the stupid little "fixes" done over the years are actually fixed.
 
laxmax613 said:
dude, GM hasn't made Semis in 20 years.
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Actually, it's been less than 20 years since they sold White-GMC tractors. Doesn't matter since GMC is selling Volvo tractors these days, so they can keep the contracts.

AiR said:
For the last hour I have been perusing the field of american automotive failures from the last 20 years on Youtube and it's quite interesting to watch all those Sevilles and Town Cars and New Yorkers. The biggest cars you can imagine with the smalles key man has seen, the ability to come up with new and even more annoying buzzers and dings and dongs, the trip computer readings (8 MPG!!), and the disintegration of the leather trim. And that thing they put on the roof instead of painting it, fussy stuff.
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Do you really want me to trot out the list of European manufacturers that did the exact same things? I'll give you a hint, not even Porsche was immune to putting crap on the roof instead of paint.

800px-Red_Porsche_911_SC_Targa.jpg


That American Girl said:
Ahh, didn't know that. I would have figured if an important part of my car is actually melting, at some point, it would let me know. :p
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Nope, and this is a common failing of drum brakes. One of the nice things that happens with disc brakes is the smoke escapes...

_HighVoltage_ said:
The Volvo is having suspension issues yet again...Nothing feels loose or clumsy. Ride is the same. But there is a really alarming clunking noise (like something loose is banging against something) from the passenger side wheel and it has become louder in the past month.

It sounds like a balljoint gone bad...but which one?

I suspected the control arm, but I lifted the car and the wheel is really tight - no wobble whatsoever.
Struts and spring seats are six months old, so I doubt it's their fault...

Could it be the swaybar endlink again? I changed the sodding things 2 months ago. Yes, it is true - I did go for the cheap ScanTech brand...but seriously - less than 500 miles and they're broken? Plus...the sound is different from before.

I'm at a complete loss...I may have to take it to my mechanic and see what he'll be able to determine.
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Does it do it at certain times? On compression or rebound? Checked the spring rubbers or strut mounts?
 
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Labcoatguy said:
*snip*

Living on borrowed time, or proof of reliability? Time will tell.
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It's 100000 miles.. I shouldn't be living on borrowed time nor is it a proof of reliability... Unless it's owners has been a complete douchebag to it! :p
 
The check engine light in the Matrix came on a few weeks ago and stayed for a couple of days, but then went away until a week ago when it came on again and came off again a few days ago.

I know of check engine lights coming on and staying on until it's diagnosed, but I never saw something like this before.
 
The single most common cause of the check engine light is a gas cap that isn't screwed on properly.
 
Nabster said:
The single most common cause of the check engine light is a gas cap that isn't screwed on properly.
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I don't think that's the problem, the cap seems to be on fine.
 
Ilpav said:
The check engine light in the Matrix came on a few weeks ago and stayed for a couple of days, but then went away until a week ago when it came on again and came off again a few days ago.

I know of check engine lights coming on and staying on until it's diagnosed, but I never saw something like this before.
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Pull the codes. Chances are pretty good that it's your gas cap has failed.
 
Spectre said:
Do you really want me to trot out the list of European manufacturers that did the exact same things? I'll give you a hint, not even Porsche was immune to putting crap on the roof instead of paint.

800px-Red_Porsche_911_SC_Targa.jpg
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It's a damned targa top - ruggedized for your dainty golf-playing Porsche-driving ass to drop it a few times without ruining it. If you're driving it around in the dry with the top on you deserve to look ugly anyway.
 
Spectre said:
Does it do it at certain times? On compression or rebound? Checked the spring rubbers or strut mounts?
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If I go over a speed bump or hit a large hole with both wheels - it does nothing, everything is solid.

Every time there is even the slightest bump or incline on the passenger side, the noise is there. It doesn't matter how big the bump is - it's just as loud.

I'm changing my tires on Tuesday, and I'll ask them to take a quick look. If they don't find anything, I'll lift the car and look at the damn sway bar links again.

Do you think I can take off one of the sway links and drive for a couple of hundred feet to see if it does it? Is it safe (or even possible) to drive with the sway bar endlink missing?
 
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