Bandit, you should look into running a remote ford starter solenoid. Common fix for SBC or BBC starters.
Thanks for the input, Yukon Cornelius, but the design of my starter (Hitachi mini-starter) won't allow it. The solenoid engages the starter motor. In other news, I mentioned in the current Drunk Thread that I've started down the road of changing the hinge-pins and bushings on my Trans Am's driver's side door. 9/19/15 WDT NSFW While I was in there with the interior door-panel off, I decided to take care of some other issues, specifically: -sound-insulating the door - replacing the interior door handle - replacing the power-window motor Everything inside of 3rd generation F-body doors is riveted. I wasn't expecting this, and it resulted in much grinding. There is a minor structural crack in the door where the window motor mounts,and it will get fixed tomorrow. Anyway, here is a picture of the worn out, 26 year-old door hinge pin and roller. That roller made a LOT of noise when I opened and closed the door. Spoiler Here's the door removed from the car, with the interior panel off, just to give you some perspective. Spoiler This is a close-up of the door roller that I installed. There isn't a replacement made for 3rd Generation F-bodies that fits worth a damn, so I had to scour the junk-yards and found some rollers out of the rear doors of an early '90s Cadillac that would fit. If you want to do what I did, you will need to grind the old rollers out, and weld them in. The Cadillac rollers were a close fit, but not exact. I had to give them a tack-weld at the top of the hinge. Spoiler Here's a comparison of the old F-body hinge pin and roller, and the new replacement pin/bushing and the used Cadillac roller. (The Cadillac roller is the blue one). Spoiler My car with the door off. Spoiler I'll be back with more tomorrow.
I got the door back on the car today. Here's the report: This is the upper hinge, installed. Note the greasable bushings. These bushings can be installed on many GM vehicles, from the '70s until the late '90s. I got this bushing set from Topdownsolutions.com, and I think the quality is unmatched. I am not being paid to say this, it's really that good. Spoiler Here's the lower hinge/ bushing assembly, with the spring installed. Believe me people, that spring was the hardest part of the whole job. It didn't have to be, and I'll tell you why: I heard that you could just compress the door-spring in a vise, and wrap the spring-coils in bailing wire, and you can pop the spring in, no problem! It didn't work. I tried it several times. So I looked online, and I found a video from 1A-Auto parts (a company I've bought parts from before). They said "use zip-ties!" It looked really simple in the video. But that didn't work, either. I finally bought the proper tool, as I should have to begin with, for less than $10. I can say with the utmost certainty that I would still be dickin' around with that spring if I hadn't bought the proper tool. There's no way in hell I would have gotten it into that position. I can't tell you how many close-calls I had where it shot out before I broke down and bought the right tool I thought I could do it with a crow- bar. I was wrong. Spoiler Before I put everything back together, I pasted the inside of the door with "Peel 'n Seal," a roofing sealant. Why? Have you ever heard of "Dynamat?" This is the poor-man's /smart-man's version of that product. It's the same thing, only without the brand-name. It is asphalt-based, aluminum backed sealing material marketed for roofing purposes. It's available at Lowe's for $17+. I used a whole 6"X 25' roll on the inside of my door, because old Trans Ams have a well earned reputation for having noisy doors. Applying at bottom and working my way up, here's an admittedly bad picture. The shiny part is the insulation. Spoiler Clean off the inside of the door thoroughly with a strong solvent to make sure it sticks. After that, when you have the Peel 'n Seal pressed down, go over the whole area again with a heat-gun, and then rub it down with a clean cloth. That's going to help it bond to the sheet-metal. After you do this, when you shut the door on your car, you will just hear a solid "thump," instead of rattles and reverberation. For the record, I insulated my Trans Am's passenger-side door years ago, and it was a night/day difference with the driver's side. I just waited this long to work on the driver's-side door because, well... Who the fuck are you? Kiss my ass!
So my Fiero, which I just pulled out of the garage after 5 years of sitting, runs surprisingly well, considering how long it sat there; as I mentioned in my rave a couple weeks ago all I had to do was put a new battery in and it started right up. The problem - and this is a problem it had before I put it into storage - is that after it warms up it will die at idle. When the engine's cold it will idle all right, but after driving it it'll die when I come to a stop unless I keep my foot on the accelerator to keep the engine revving. I've looked online and suggestions for possible issues have been vapor lock, bad PCM, bad coil, among other things. It's fuel-injected but has an 80's engine (rebuilt); is it possible to adjust the air-fuel mixture if necessary?
That was my thought too. Our previous car was doing something similar and the fix was to clean the idle air control valve and throttle body. Didn't have to replace anything.
Thanks for the suggestions. I want to sell the car so I'll do some research on those potential problems to determine whether or not it's worth the time and money to fix them.
I am not saying this won't find a market, but it's not a truck. Fiat is going to have to come up with a new category. Maybe Sporty Leisure Utility Truck or SLUT. Spoiler: Too cute On another note. I had to replace the air blend door actuator, driver's side, in my truck about two years ago. It's gone bad again. This is what I put in last time: http://www.amazon.com/Dorman-604-10...443705857&sr=8-1&keywords=blend+door+actuator The whole thing is 4 gears, a small motor, and circuit board. The one in the link above, that I've been using for two years, has a completely different (bigger, more complicated) board than the one I took out. Last time, I think the motor was bad, and at $45, I just decided to replace the whole unit instead of wiring in a new motor. I may do the same thing again, as I don't have any good way to tell if it's the motor or board that's bad. (But, shouldn't these things last longer than 2 years? The AC/Delco part by itself is $135, and the Dorman is $45, but still.) Anyway, this also shows up as a fit: http://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-15-73...43705857&sr=8-15&keywords=blend+door+actuator I don't know what the other piece pictured with the actuator is, or how it would fit. If it's the same actuator, it's only $30. I can just leave off whatever that other thing is. Anybody have any experience with this? My truck is a 2004 Chevy Silverado, Ext cab, 4.8L V8, with dual manual climate control. This actuator closes off the heat flow to allow the A/C to blow cool air in the cabin. The default is all heat, so when the actuator fails, so does cool air to my face. ETA: Ah. I think I answered my own question. The second one is designed for the mode door actuator, not the blend door actuator. Based on a YouTube video I found, combined with an Amazon review (thanks, random internet people!), it is the same actuator - I just don't need that guide panel in the picture. (I may have to remove a gear, but that's no big deal. I have the old part to match it to.)
Have any of y'all had experience with a Dodge Magnum? (The car, not the engine) My Durango just hit 160K and is starting to act wonky. Right now, living in the city, I really don't need a 4WD with a 5.9 that gets 10 mpg. Magnums have always amused me with their looks, so I was kind of thinking of picking one up.
I liked the Dodge Magnums when they came out (for what, like one or two years?). A (potentially) V8 powered, rear wheel drive wagon? Sign me up! Problem: It's a Mopar. Mopar's engine/powertrain management systems have always been really difficult to work with (assuming you want to modify anything). Also, there were very few of them made, so parts availability might be an issue. However, I'd pick a Mopar over something like a Hyundai or a Daewoo.
THis is admittedly partially second hand knowledge but all impressions I get are the V8 is reliable, other options are not, the interior is cheap/shit, but it's fun and useful if you get the V8
From what i remember it has horrible vision from any another direction then looking forward. Low profile windows and wide pillars.
What are everyone's thoughts on smaller wheels for winter tires? I'm shopping for an extra set of rims & winter tires for the car I'm going to be buying, and tirerack.com recommends 17" rims, where the car's regular rims are 19". The stuff I've looked up on the internet seems split on this, with a common refrain being, "how many inches of snow does your area get per year?" (If it does matter, my area gets about 55 inches of snow per year.)
To be honest, I have no idea why the rim size would matter for winter tires. It really doesn't make any sense, unless you can buy a smaller rim cheaper and then go with a tire with a taller sidewall. The biggest issue for winter is the tire's footprint, the wider the tire the worse your traction is going to be.