Posted this in the random links post, but figured the gear-heads around here would appreciate this. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-details-before-after/118137-20-screaming-polishers-50-pounds-polish-600-man-hours.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-detail ... hours.html</a>
Re: The Motorcycle Thread Nah dude, those shits are fast. In a straight line or a road course. One of the most underrated cars of the decade.
Re: The Motorcycle Thread Depends on which SS you are talking about. The newer ones with the turbo, are the most underrated cars out there. They are by far the best bang for you dollar, to bad they are not making them anymore. The older ones depends on if you and the 2.4NA or the 2.0supercharged.
Re: The Motorcycle Thread Wait until you come up next to a piece of crap honda civic with 40k under the hood and something ridiculous like NOS, (a-la fast and the furious) then you may not be so cocky...... I have a GS 400 Lexus, not the fastest but I can do damage. I got blasted like I was in park buy the above mentioned ride...........
Re: The Motorcycle Thread I believe the car in question was the supercharged version. Also I'm not saying these things aren't fun bang-for-your buck pocket rockets (I've driven the supercharged version as a rental car thru Hertz) they just don't hang with the Swedish Red Baron. As for Civics covered in NOS stickers... I don't even waste my time. I had the motor in my old GN give out shortly after stoplight launching against an older CRX Si and that horrible taste is still with me. I'm old enough to no longer swing my auto-peen at every single taker and have become far more selective in the cars that I'll give a go against.
Ahhh, street racing. That brings back some memories. I know it's stupid, dangerous and everything else, but we've all done it. My last "Street race" was probably 10 years ago, although I kind of legally did it. It was a freeway on ramp with two lanes and some dumb ass in a Honda covered with stickers and a tach as big as his head mounted on the dash started revving his engine at me while we waited for the light to turn green. I was in one of my old 300ZX's at the time. The light changed and I quickly set him straight as I reached the designated speed limit way before we hit the bottle nose that forced us into one lane and I lifted my foot.. The next thing I know this dipshit goes flying by me and cuts into my lane on the interstate flashing his emergency blinkers in a sign of victory. Yeah dumbass, you won. I quit accelerating quite some time ago, back when you were watching my taillights. Another race that sticks out in my mind was when I had a VW bug with a 2180. The engine dynoed at 130HP with 36 Webers on it, but I'd changed it over to 44 IDF Webers, so I have no idea what the thing was actually putting out. All I know is that thing was scary fast. It was one of the few cars I've owned that actually made me a bit nervous about planting my right foot. I was sitting at a stoplight and a nondescript Mazda RX3 pulled up next to me and started revving his engine. I laughed, looked over at him and nodded. It was on. That RX3 handed me my ass on a silver platter. Not surprisingly, that's about the time I became really interested in rotary engines.
Those RX3s are, stoplight to stoplight, insanely fast. Something to do with the gearing but 0-30 they're one of the fastest cars ever. A friend's Dad used to win a lot of races that way. I don't want any of my street racing stories to come to light, but let's just say that in high school, my Dad got rid of his BMW 530i for an 06 Jetta 2.0T. It took a while for Canada to get the GLI, but our 2.0T was externally the same as a bone-stock Jetta, with all the GTI/GLI suspension bits as well as the 2.0 Turbo engine and DSG gearbox. It could run between 14.5 and 14.7 in the quarter mile from the factory, the DSG meant you got a perfect launch every time (and were always in the right gear) and the turbo engine meant that there was always torque in every single gear. You never saw it coming, and from a roll, you were dead in the water. I'm behind it all. This is how I spent my Monday morning. After we finished filming, I got out of the JCW Camera car and into the GTR. Wow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2cqe3GiZDM
and... I bought another 323 GTX. The first step is admitting I have a problem, so yes, I admit I have a problem. Bone stock, 80k miles, NO rust!?, runs, drives, all the electrical works... whoa. Bought it sight unseen so there's a little risk but the dollar amount is lower than I've paid for one yet.
There's no problem. That is a steal. Just found out my friends GTR, the full fluid changes every 15k cost an awesome $1000. Could have had a 911. WAMP WAMP.
Friend down here put on an Alcon big brake package, $13,000. Then found his wheels would no longer fit, another $10,000 for wheels and tires. Woof. But he loves it still.
I have run across a few GTR's in Dallas, I never got a chance to run one before I was hit by a work truck. Currently working on a 408 to drop into the project mustang.
Re: The Motorcycle Thread What I love is being first in the left lane and dropping some guy trying to cut-in-line so to speak by popping over into the right merging lane that ends shortly after the light. I have an 05 STi and the holeshot on that car is quite good if I launch it properly. I've dropped cars that probably would hand me my ass in the 1/4 mile, but from 0-to-speedlimit my little Subie rules. If its raining, I don't even bother doing a hard launch. On-ramps/off-ramps are also fun when some jerk is riding your ass. The stock tires are on the stickier side (treadwear rating something like 140) so most cars just can't hang. Guys in trucks (usually with the word HEMI on the side) are the best. One second you've got this huge grill in your review, the next its dust and gravel as the guy slides onto the shoulder as the laws of physics come into play. I must say though, last summer on my favorite on-ramp I was behind a newer Miata and it was all I could do to keep up with the guy. Those cars can corner!
Re: The Motorcycle Thread Ahh yes. It's fun when Bluetooth-boy in his E46 M3 droptop gets to check your tailights out mere seconds after making a blowjob hand gesture at you.
When you guys hear in the news about a chick from Winnipeg who doused her own vehicle with gasoline and lit it on fire, you'll know it was me and that I had reached the end of my rope with diagnosing this fucking problem. Recap: 1996 F-150. Inline 4.9L six, manual transmission, two gas tanks. What it's doing: - Problem seems to hopscotch: it never does multiple things at the same time, the problem shifts from one thing to the next. - Initially, fuel mileage sucked and it would occasionally stall when I braked firmly to a stop. Restarted no problem. - When the weather got very cold last winter, everything worked fine. It spent the day at the mechanic and they could find no issues at all. - The weather has turned warm; it began stalling. It typically stalls after it's sat in the sun for several hours, about five minutes into the ride. No shit, it stalled at the exact same intersection three days straight; it was this predictable - Stopped stalling, started bucking during acceleration. It felt almost like I was popping the clutch. - Stopped bucking, started to hesitate when starting. Again, it's at its worst if it's been in the heat of the day, and if I'm trying to re-start it after a brief 10 or 15 minutes of having it shut off. It will sometimes: - start, but shudder and shake for five-ten seconds, then just snap out of it - start, shudder, shake and stall. If it stalls I need to leave it alone for 5 or 10 minutes. - sometimes just not start. It turns over fine, and the electrics all come on. It was in the shop for TWO DAYS last week; it refuses to misbehave in front of a qualified professional. Only thing the mechanic could find was that one of its fuel pumps is running at only about 60% of the psi it should be. It will behave this way on either tank, so I don't think it's a fuel pump issue. Most recent development is that the check engine light came on today. Last week, the computer had recorded a downstream O2 sensor (it has 2 O2 sensors) error, so I'm 99.9% certain this is going to be an O2 sensor code. Something's screwing up the mix, whether it's cutting off the fuel or the air or - my personal suspicion - something has me running too rich, as the fuel mileage still sucks. Anybody who can help so that I don't have to firebomb it in the mall parking lot, I would be sooooo thankful.
Well if the truck was throwing a 02 sensor code, i would start and change that and see what problems disappear or appear. A 02 sensor that is not working right can cause alot the symptoms you mentions above. The 02 sensors helps regulate the amount of fuel your engine gets, so one that doesn't work right, can either make the fuel mixture to lean or to rich. To rich, and your engine could flood, and you have to wait for a bit to try and start again, to lean and the engine could die. And if you said you are getting bad millage could be running to rich. If you are running rich, you could notice that it takes a while for the heater to start heating up the cab. Too rich of mixture the engine will run colder, too lean of a mixture and the engine will run warmer. The 02 sensor should be anywhere from 100-200 dollar, fortunately it is sunday and my day off so i cant give you a better estimate. Being a truck and the down stream sensor, it should be easily changed. My 2 sense is that i would change it and see where it takes you.
What Wexton said is true but I'm remembering you already replaced the 02 sensor previously. Plus your truck was running badly before the sensor threw the check engine light so there is another issue beyond the sensor. Your 02 sensors are downstream from where combustion takes place so there is also likely a problem with your air/fuel ratio. Running rich for too long will kill an O2 sensor so at the very least I think we're homing in on the problem. I still think it's the IAC if your plugs and wires have been done (or at least checked) recently. Too much fuel fouls spark plugs which will lead to idle stumble + shitty fuel economy. I've had an IAC be bad and never cause a code/check engine to be shown. I'd pull the first spark plug in the firing sequence and check it just to be sure. If it's covered in soot you've found another cause and clue as to why your mechanic hasn't diagnosed this.
Have you posted at all on the Ford-truck forums? http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php Not that I'm trying to advertise or spam this place... but this is The Idiot Board, not exactly a bunch of know-it-alls here. My guess, after reading all that, is the ECM or ECU or computer, whatever you want to call it. One going bad will cause some weird and sometimes unexplainable symptoms. IF this is a daily occurrence, you may not be able to recreate it, but if it happens EVERY day, you might sweet talk your ford dealer into hooking up a spare ECM and driving it for a day, if it doesn't occur throughout that day but has every previous day you have fixed the problem.
You're definitely at the point where checking out the Ford truck forums is a good idea. I don't have any experience playing with the tuning on Ford units, but I know from doing some on GM vehicles that the tuning is all handled by the computers, and you might be able to find someone on the Ford forums that has the equipment you need to hook in and monitor what the computer is commanding while you drive. If they know what they're doing, they can even fine-tune your mixture tables toward the style of driving you have, either increasing the power or boosting your fuel economy past the factory levels. If nothing else, it can provide you with a lot more info about what is being commanded vs. what the truck is actually giving you. This isn't something service techs and mechanics normally do, or even know how to do. It will at least show what the 02 sensors are feeding to the ecm, what the ecm is commanding, and help a knowledgeable mechanic narrow down the problems. This is definitely one of those situations that make me appreciate carburetors...
Tell me about it. A guy I work with keeps saying it's vapour lock, even though it's fuel injected. He's making a joke, but a carburetor would be much appreciated right now. I posted to the Ford forums, and my truck goes in again on Wednesday. I'll let you guys know if anybody is struck with inspiration as to what the problem is.
I think if I were in your shoes, it's almost to the point where I'd be trying to trade it for another used truck, or be checking the junkyards for a "new" engine. I'd be the guy that bought a replacement engine, and spent my spare time swapping parts one at a time until I solved the problem. Then I'd buy a new one of whatever fixed it, throw the used one back on the spare engine, and try to sell the spare engine on craigslist for whatever I could get, if you're lucky you'll even make a profit on the engine. Nothing is more frustrating for me than not being able to diagnose a problem, and it's even worse if the "expert mechanic" can't figure it out either. Good luck.