The Automotive Thread

Check the wheel wells. Most people won't take the time and effort to clean the insides of the wheel wells completely, and if they've been doing anything abusive to the car, you'll probably find bits of rubber all over the wheel wells on the drive wheels. Some of my little brother's idiot friends have managed to build up a layer of rubber in their wheel wells so thick that it looks like somebody sprayed Rhino Lining in there.

 

Make sure the head gasket isn't leaking and check the trans for play/leaks.

 

I have a 1995 Camry that's been nothing but trouble since I got it, but because I'm a broke ass I have to make it run as long as I can.

My question is the following. If one (and by one I mean a dumbass friend of mine who didn't realize it was running hot after a coolant leak) were to run the car hot with little to no coolant in it, is a possible consequence that it would fry the coolant temperature sensor? I'm experience a stalling problem that I think may be the result of a bad sensor, but I wanted to make sure the cause and effect chain I'm thinking of makes sense.

 

That's one of the small things running an engine without coolant in it could do. The head could also warp, the internals could have become fucked up because the metal components expanded... basically a bunch of shit could go bad.

Running a vehicle into the "red" is always bad.

 

My Camry of around the same age (albeit an Australian made model) started overheating last winter and I was too busy to get it seen to immediately.
I was able to avoid fucking the engine up completely due to the cold weather and by putting the heater on full blast , thus using the heater as a proxy radiator.
As I suspected, the thermostat was seized in the closed position , not allowing the heated water to circulate.

 

Yeah, I figured as much. I had my dad look at the car when he was out here for a brief spell and he made sure the head wasn't warped or similar things. The car still runs, and runs fine for short trips, it's just a stalling problem if I take it on the highway and open it up (or at least as much as one can open up a 4 cyl Camry). If the temperature sensor is the culprit, it's only a $20 fix so I figured it was worth checking out.

 

Added a new ride to the stable though the circumstances suck.

One of my first storage customers is in some rather dire financial straights and is selling off some of his cars. He owed me a bunch of money for storing them so we worked out a deal that left me with this ridiculously mint 1960 Cadillac Eldorado. 31k miles, no rust, scratches, even the leather on the seats is near perfect.

Not sure if I'll keep it long term but I'm going to enjoy cruising up Rt 1 (slow moving "highway" that follows the coast) to Maine a couple times with it this summer. It's so heavy I feel like I'm riding in an armored car.

 

That thing is awesome. If you keep getting cars we are going to put you in an episode of hoarders.

 

I'm not that bad yet. You might notice the large empty space behind the car... I've still got about 6k sqft of space on that floor that I can fill.

I can't imagine being limited to a couple garage bays anymore. I'll have to keep this place till I kick the bucket or if I sell it, workout a deal that lets me store things for free in perpetuity.

 

I purchased a 2010 Nissan Titan and I'm looking to "pimp my ride." One of the add-ons I was looking at was fog lights. However, last night was first time I drove the vehicle at night, and I noticed that the headlights cast a rather narrow beam of light and really don't do a very good job of illuminating the periphery. The majority of my commute to campus is on an unlit, single-lane country road, and my classes are at night. I've looked at a variety of light kits to add on to the truck but honestly, I'm confused and overwhelmed by all the offerings out there. I don't want something that is going to blind oncoming traffic, just some additional lighting to brighten up a wider area of the road, giving me a clearer view of the shoulder and what I'm turning into when I make a turn. Help/suggestions?

 

Get some sylvania silverstar bulbs to start with. Cheapest investment that will actually work and won't make you look like you're rolling out of the ghetto.

If these give you the improvement that you want in your peripheral illumination you're set.

If they don't do enough there are some other bulbs that are brighter but will make your truck look like you're fast & furious in a bad way. Or there are whole headlight kits that contain more bulbs and are for off-roading but can be dialed down for daily commuting use. They will be BRIGHT as fuck through when you turn em all the way up. I can give you some links/advice for option #2.

The second part of the question I think you're asking is about what fog lamps will do for you. Adding them will not increase the brightness of the periphery when turning but rather fill in the center section of where your headlights cross and brightly illuminate directly in front of your bumper. Fogs are mostly decorative now but they're really supposed to be helpful on seeing what's right-the-fuck in front of you when you're creeping along in the dark or fog-rain-snow so you can see what you're about to smack into.

 

The Silverstars are ok, and a decent quick-fix that you can buy damn near anywhere. In my experience though, they don't last long. You can probably count on them lasting about 8 months tops (I've put them in my Mazda 6 three times and no set made it to the 9 month mark).

The best bulbs I've found are made by PIAA and don't make your car look douchey. I use H1 bulbs and I got the Extreme White Plus. They worked great (bright as hell) and lasted twice as long as the Silverstars. They've also got them in a 9000 series bulb, which is what your Titan takes. They're harder to find, and will run you about $80 for a set of two, but I think they're brighter and they definitely last longer.

 

Forgive me if this has already been asked in this thread, but I did a search for "air conditioner" and "air conditioning" and came up with nothing, so:

My car (96 Mustang) has been blowing hot air out of the a/c for some time now and with summer rolling around, it's become nearly unbearable. The compressor still runs and my defogger works but no cold air. Am I low on refrigerant? Do those refrigerant recharge kits that they sell at the auto parts store actually work? I'm largely ignorant as to how a/c systems work, but I was under the impression that the system shouldn't leak refrigerant, no? And so if it turns out that I am in fact low, would filling it up even help, since it would all leak out again?

Any insight would be awesome. Thanks.

 

Take it to a show for an Evac & Recharge with Dye added to find the leak.

 

Being a 96 it might not have a leak, the refrigerant might just be "dead". If it's never been recharged it could be as simple as getting it refilled.

I'd go to a shop to have it done instead of using an off the shelf kit. Those things aren't worth the money imo.

 

When did Ford make the switch to R134?
Note - I've never owned and possibly, never driven a Ford product.

 

I don't know for sure, but it was definitely before 95. R134a is cheap, and its possible to recharge yourself, but to buy the equipment to do it properly (vacuum pump, manifold valve/gauges) would cost significantly more than having a shop do it. If parts need to be replaced once they find the leak, it's usually cheaper to replace the parts yourself, then take it back to be recharged.

Be thankful you don't have an R12 system, you can still find places to recharge with R12, but it's $50 a pound compared to $4 for R134a. Even replacing all the parts myself, it still cost $200 to get my system recharged on my 84 Camaro last year.