Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Jesus fucking Christ, Pennsylvania. It's been a FUCKING WEEK since it snowed, can you PLEASE clear the fucking streets already? The snow in many areas has been rutted down to pavement - and the crustry crap in between the ruts is now a 4" thick sheet of ice - which is exactly the right height to smack my oil pan.

I know why they made the damned car so low and all, but was it really fucking necessary to use a wet sump system?

So I take it this would be a bad time to ask a dealership near Philly if I can test drive one of their MR2s?
 
Re: Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Jesus fucking Christ, Pennsylvania. It's been a FUCKING WEEK since it snowed, can you PLEASE clear the fucking streets already? The snow in many areas has been rutted down to pavement - and the crustry crap in between the ruts is now a 4" thick sheet of ice - which is exactly the right height to smack my oil pan.

The shitty state I live in, that this forum collectively hates, has been having some shit weather as well.

It's so bad I've had to put on sunblock while driving the miata thanks to the burns I'm developing.

76 and clear skies in February really sucks.
 
I dropped my cellphone on the driver's floor earlier today and when I parked I reached down to grab it. Instead of pulling up my phone I picked up the panel for a fuse box in the car...A fuse box I have never touched. Yet there it was right under my legs...bizarre...:?
 
Car situation's worse. Sigh. I knew I should have gotten rid of this thing 2 years ago. I'll be digging MORE money out of savings that I cant afford. :cry:
 
Well the big cost is going to be the timing belt and other assorted "things that get changed," which should have been done ages ago but I had no idea and no good mechanic at the time. I was going to put it off until I get paid, but I knew once I was warned about it there would probably be a catastrophic failure on the way home. Was originally in because the coil packs went, which is also my fault for similar above not knowing to do shit reasons. I'm trying to learn more now, but I really should have gotten rid of the car 2-3 years ago. I still want to :cry:.
 
Did the timing belt snap? Or just overdue for replacement? Timing belts on FWD are an absolute pain to replace and if you want to pay someone to do it, it's not going to be cheap unfortunately. If there was no damage done to the valvetrain your best bet if you want to save money is to have a friend who is good at automotive work help you out over a weekend. Luckily parts shouldn't be too expensive, probably under $200 USD.
 
It's just very overdue for replacement at 8 years 74,000 miles. You know how it goes about warnings though; once you're warned about something it WILL fail on the way home and you cant blame anyone but yourself. I know nothing about automotive work what so ever (blah blah something about being a stupid girl yeah whatever whatever), and don't have any friends with the knowledge either. I can check the oil and change tires in an emergency and that's about it. I know I'm dead lucky it hasn't snapped already, which is why I called the guy back this morning and said just do it all while you have it.
 
It is the 1.8T, and that page makes me feel better about going ahead and doing it now since I'm pretty sure I'm not covered under any kind of warranty anymore. This mechanic is somewhat new to me (been going there about a year), but they've earned my trust several different times and only work on VW/Audis. They're doing all the accessory belts and the water pump and things mentioned there. At least I knew when he brought it up that it really did need to be done so y'all are good for something I guess. :p I've had that sense of impending doom ever since I read about timing belt stuff on this forum, and it'll be good to have it gone. All I can really say is I'm working on knowing more so I can take better care of my cars. I guess I'm keeping the car even longer after all this though. And yes, there's no way I can do that myself. I like taking things apart, but that's intense!
 
Changed the timing belt the other day on a honda accord, It can be a pain in the ass but mechanics will charge the load of money to do the job usually. weekend project is probably the best way to go unless you really don't wanna get your hands dirty.
 
What part of I've never worked on a vehicle did you miss? Taking apart the entire front end by myself with no one to teach me what the hell to do seems a bit foolish. You want to come down and do it for me?
 
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I think every bit of maintenance done on a Passat begins "Take apart entire front end."
 
LOL And they all end with "and that will be very expensive."
 
That is why I avoid VW products. And why I prefer RWD (or longitudinal mounted FWD cars).
 
Changed the timing belt the other day on a honda accord, It can be a pain in the ass but mechanics will charge the load of money to do the job usually. weekend project is probably the best way to go unless you really don't wanna get your hands dirty.

A timing belt replacement is not something I recommend for anyone's imitation into car repair. Better to start off with something easy like... oh wait it is an Audi nothing is easy. Well oil changes kind of are but that is it.

What part of I've never worked on a vehicle did you miss? Taking apart the entire front end by myself with no one to teach me what the hell to do seems a bit foolish. You want to come down and do it for me?

I will fix cars for boobs. :lol:

I did do side work in college for dinner, deserts and other forms of barter.


LOL And they all end with "and that will be very expensive."

That is an Audi for you. Any out of production Audi model is incredibly expensive to fix because Audi provides very little parts support for out of production models.

That is why I avoid VW products. And why I prefer RWD (or longitudinal mounted FWD cars).

The A4 and many Passats are longitudinal FWD applications.

I can tell you I would rather work on a five cylinder Volvo or a 3800 powered GM car, both transverse FWD setups, over any Audi or Passat with the 1.8T mounted longitudinal. I used to work on Chrysler LH platform cars all the time and they are not easy to work on either. Very little clearance at the front of the motor so lots of instructions do begin with, "remove font of car or at the very least remove radiator".
 
I've made the best deal ever today: bought 2 alloy wheels with tires almost as new on them for my car, one to replace the wheel I broke last week, the one to replace the spare tire that its just a regular steel wheel. It all cost me just 40 euros.

Tomorrow I'm going to put the new wheels on the car and buy two more new tires to replace the other two.
 
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