Correct. Based on his photos I was assuming he was somewhere warm where you would be running the AC and not the heater. Park the car in the drive and let it idle with the heat on so your balls aren't plastered to your leg all day. The engines seem to last forever, provide ridiculous fuel economy, and the TDIs hold their resale value better than any other VW. The downside is that they're pricey to fix if you do have issues. All VWs are.
Yea I've heard that, and I figure the offset is worth it if it's going to last me a decade and cost so little in gas. I know it varies but most times in the last two years or so diesel has been cheaper than petrol in my area.
VWvortex.com is also full of fanboys but a great resource. VW has a well deserved reputation for poor reliability, but I had a MKV Jetta 2.0T for 3 years and it never had a single problem. The TDI is awesome, the engine itself (long a weakpoint for VW, see: 1.8T coilpack scandal) will outlive you, and in the real world the power difference between a GTI and a TDI is not that noticeable. There are also lots of ECU upgrades that can help the TDI engine make stupid power levels. You should be ok with a MK6, considering its been in production for a year or more in Europe, so the bugs have been worked out. VWs service techs are usually good too.
I drive a 99 Regal with the 3800 engine. A couple hours ago my heater quit blowing air. Its -10 so I need to get this fixed as soon as possible. I called my mechanic brother and he said its probably the blower motor (I think thats what he said). I know pretty much nothing about working on cars. I guess my main questions are how much am I going to spend on the motor, and how easy would it be to install it myself? I will not have a shop do it because of cost reasons. I can either do it myself or wait till christmas when I see my brother and have him do it. I would rather do it myself instead of drive in below zero weather for 2 weeks with no heat but I dont want to bite off more than I can chew either. I'll talk to my brother later tonight when he isnt so busy but I figured I would see what advice this board could give.
You should be able to do this yourself pretty easily. The blower motor isn't hard to get to in that car. Here's a guide: http://redhouseon7th.com/redhouse/howto/1999BuickBlowerReplacment/index.html
In the past, Autozone has been helpful in providing instructions on simple stuff like that as well. You can try looking under "repair info" on their website, or just go into the local store. Just about any decent parts place should have someone that can at least walk out to your car and point out the things you need to do. It's a pretty easy fix, but I STRONGLY recommend checking your fuses and relays first. No sense in wasting time and money replacing the blower motor if it's something simple.
Not sure if anyone here is interested, but, just in case you don't make it over to the Sports threads often, I'm posting some stuff on the 24hrs of Daytona. (I manage a team). viewtopic.php?f=5&t=451
Saab will cease to exist They're a quirky car but I love them. It's a rarity that non-diesel turbocharged cars hold up as well as Saabs do. GM bastardized the vehicles after 2002 but the Saab technology has a lot to do with the pocket rocket vehicles GM is producing today. I had hopes that Koenigsegg, Spyker or a combination of the two would make a deal for the brand.
1996 GMC Sierra 1500 with 195k km's Driving last night to my buddy's engine is making a sound that is just not right, its just like a low rumble that is barely audible but driving it so long you know something isn't right. Then I notice the temperature gauge slowing rising, and it sat at about the half way point on the gauge when it usually is around the 1/4 mark (if that makes sense. The gauge looks like a gas gauge, with 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and then too hot watch the fuck out) Anyways, I just pumped the hot air on and it stayed somewhat normal but everytime I turned the hot air off the temperature would climb again. I got out, checked the antifreeze and everything is fine there, but I just don't want this to be a radiator/head gasket issue. Any ideas gents?
Well 96 was the first year of the Vortec engine, they have major issues with intake gaskets. But usually when they intake gasket goes it will start leaking into the cylinders, sometimes it will start leaking outside and start leaking on the outside of the engine. Check your coolant overflow tank(not your rad cap), it should normally be about half full, if it is empty, it could indicate a coolant leak. As for the sound i am not sure at the moment, i am still waking up but i should get back to work here.
Water pump. Last year on a trip to Pennsylvania my Toyota started making a weird assed noise...it wasn't a rumble, but a knocking at idle. I thought I'd lost the bottom end of my engine but then I noticed that the damn thing overheated on a 1/2 mile drive. Normally a water pump squeals like a banshee when they start to go bad, but mine didn't. I didn't lose a bearing, the damn thing started leaking and destroyed the idler pulleys for my timing belt (That was the knocking sound.) $500 (And a lot of work) later I had it purring like a kitten again.
Spent a few hours running around Indy in my friend's Carrera GT today. The tires are bald, its wet, snowing and 30 degrees out. To say we had any amount of traction would be a massive lie. And I thought that car was an attention grabber already, but take one out in that kind of weather and you get some ridiculous looks. But power sliding in empty parking lots with that V10 singing away at 8,000RPM is a truly fun experience. It was all fun and games till some old cunt called the cops on us. The officer came out, laughed, checked out the car and said thanks for keeping the idiocy away from the roads but told us we needed to be moving on. Oh well, no tickets written.
So I'm going to the Detroit Auto Show to cover it for Carchat http://carchat.posterous.com and as a treat for you TIB members, I'm going to be taking picture requests or info on cars you'd like. If you hit me up on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/dkreindler I'll be able to get your replies, and try and get some shots/info of whatever you want.
If they have anything Infiniti, I'd love that. The new Essence Model might be there, or the newest model of my G37. Thanks man.
Seconding the Lotus, though I'm also fond of anything excessively expensive and Italian (especially if it starts with a P and ends in agani)
From one of the first couple pages of the thread: This is something that I first heard about a few years ago and always thought I'd like to do one day, and since I'm done with grad school after this semester, I thought maybe I'd look into a project car. Does anyone have any experience with something like this? I absolutely love the look of the 240z but know practically nothing about them otherwise. I'm pretty decent in a garage and I learn quickly. What level of know-how would be required to, say, drop a chevy 350 or a ford 302 in one of these? What kind of costs would I be looking at to start out with? Is there a better resource than ebay or craigslist to start looking? Thanks.
First off, http://hybridz.org Second, yes an SBC or 302 will give you a lot of power, but the Datsun I6s are really incredible motors, you can do a lot with them, and they have a certain charm. 240Zs are also fast becoming collector cars, and a nice, fairly original one might be worth pursuing. You can also drop in newer Nissan RB 6-cylinders, yes, the same ones that came in the Japan market Skyline/GTR. There are a lot of project car possibilities out there, the 240Z just happens to be a good choice for a vintage car; it looks vaguely European, but without any of the maddening little ticks that they possess. Most important, whats your budget (you need one, or things spiral out of control fast), your goals and your level of mechanical inclination.
A set budget isn't something I've put a whole lot of thought into. I always figured I'd free up a grand here and there, and stop when I was eventually happy with the car. At least that's how it went with the car I currently drive (though the modifications weren't nearly as extensive as what I'm talking about with a z). To start with, I'll probably have around $5k to work with, which I know isn't much but after looking through the classifieds on hybridz.org it seems to be more than enough to get a rolling chassis to start with. As a goal, I'd want a street legal car with some kick and a throaty exhaust note. I've spent very, very little time at the track and I'd mostly be looking to build something that was fun to drive on the street. I'm also a huge fan of American V8's for many reasons. I think z's are gorgeous cars and have exactly the look I'm going for. So that's kind of how a project like this appeals to me. I consider myself to be very mechanically inclined, but I'd certainly be learning a lot as I went. I had two years of auto tech back in highschool and since then I've spent some time helping a friend of mine with his own project car. I have a limited set of tools of my own but I have access to a lot through him. I appreciate your help.
Scour the web for sites like Hybriz and then start your project by finding a good deal on someone else's. With the economy in the rough shape that it's in there are literally TONS of very complete, well done/started "projects" hanging out in people's garages that they're selling for cheap money. What you'll typically get in included original parts and after market components will be worth 5x what you pay for it. The first step is figuring out your maximum budget. Stick to this number or else you'll find yourself selling the thing to someone like yourself in a few years because the costs have gotten completely out of control. For reference I typically spend a maximum of 1/3 - 1/2 of my total budget for the project on the vehicle itself. If I'm spending 1/2, it damn well better start, drive, and come with the majority of components to finish it off. If it's a rolling chassis or shell I spend significantly less. Make sure whatever you buy has a near complete interior since the parts are super valuable and hard to find. I know of two restored Z's that were stolen locally and had only their interiors stripped. Original Japanese components are very hard to find.