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What did you do to your car today?

2M views 19K replies 451 participants last post by  StarFighter1 
#1 ·
Lets keep this a continuing, never gonna die thread.

For the Toyota truck, I changed the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, and changed the oil in it this morning. Also ran a can of seafoam through it before I changed the plugs, gotta love that huge cloud of smoke. Love how stupid easy the 22R-E is to work on. Runs a lot smoother now, and fixed my rough idle problem.

Tomorrow I'm going to wax and detail the Cadillac. Gonna be a long ass day.
 
#17,766 ·
ok, ima post here because im not registering with yet another site, screw that


2010 Buick Enclave

Issue: When the tank is filled up from near empty ( women lol) the vehicle doesn't start, engine will stutter but not turn over until after awhile of holding the key in start.

Doesn't do so if i top it off from a half a tank.


I'm thinking EVAP, but not sure.
 
#17,769 ·
I agree Vincent, sounds like an EVAP problem.

Glad your 02 Kia was good. Hers is a 10 Sportage, was not well cared for by the first owner, and my sister does better but she's the jump in and go type.

Speaking of which, that was quick. Dad found one at the dealer he got his Suburban from many moons ago. Sounds like they'll buzz over to Rapid City to get it in a week and a half.

Nothing new with my fleet. Between the nice weather and my newfound distaste for dragging any yuck from the hospital into Clyde, he's tucked away at home in the garage. The Specialized has commuter duty!
 
#17,770 ·
Not my car, but on the 4th we replaced the driveshaft u-joints on my friend Tim's '96 Fleetwood. The front one had so much play in it that it created a HORRIBLE violent vibration at highway speeds. Now it's gone.

On the Vette front... added the bluetooth microphone in. Finally.

And on the wagon, I looked at the alternator connector. It was broken, but the car isn't charging so I need to figure out how to wire it up. Little tinkering to do with that thing still.
 
#17,771 ·
Fixed the subs issue, tore the HU out checked all wiring, turns out it was a loose speaker cable at the amp, so since its a 1000w rms amp, and my subs do 950w rms @2ohm. i removed them from.the box afterwsrds, and moved the impedance switch to 2ohms. And boy i have some respect for Kappa subs now. and Given that my rear shelf is dynomatted the sound stays in the car no matter how loud i turn it up, i enjoy my music and dont disturb neighbors etc.

Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk
 
#17,772 ·
Chrysler running again with just a few hiccups getting timing set. Went to move it and back brakes totally froze up... So brakes in the morning and exhaust maybe.
Spent half a day Sunday getting distributor out of the housing it was so corroded in, worse part of the whole job.
 
#17,773 ·
Had an AMAZING time at my first ever autocross event. I arrived late, because about halfway there I got a notification from the car that said to check the gauges, and I found some nice low voltage... my alternator died.



So I pulled into the first parking lot I could actually reach, The car's voltage got so low all the essential functions were shut down. No cluster, no AC, no lights. Quick and dirty parking lot swap.



Lucky it's right up top and easy to swap. Two bolts, rear stud, connector, and the tensioner to get the belt off and we were on our way.



Fairly sure this is/was the original alternator. It lasted just over 265,900 miles. I'll take that. So I called around and ordered an alternator from the closest parts store, which was still over 30 minutes away...



My friend Tim was the rescue squad and brought me the part and gave me a jump after the battery was plain flat. It started right up on the cables though, and we proceeded to the track!



The later runs I did without the roof (was much better - the helmet hit the roof a couple of times because the stock seat is VERY high off the floor).



Oh, and this happened on the way home, too:



All in all, a very successful and fun day/night. Can't wait to go again!
 
#17,774 ·
Rear brake rotors turned, pads installed, and .........Replaced Spark plugs at 90K miles. I'll add my .03 (inflation) for a How To on the back plugs - 2001 STS and thanks to this site for good info:

For the BACK spark plugs, Watch this video- Robert's-
Tune up, spark plug replacement and coil pack replacement, Cadillac Seville, Deville, etc. - VOTD at the 4:24 point.

1: Remove the White connector w/the blue loop from its mount - no need to unplug it- O2 sensor?
2: Unplug the Brown connector - Press. sensor (?)
3. Remove 4 10mm bolts - 2 on top (easy) and the 1 on the back (harder), loosen the 10mm bolt that is near the rubber elbow coming off the air pump, and the 10mm nut near that press. sensor (brown plug).
4. Remove the small vacuum line on the top of the air pump and the larger hose - both just pull off. Push the Air Pump back towards the firewall.
5. Optional - but makes it much easier to get @ all the bolts. Push the Air Pump back and Remove the 2 10mm nuts that attach the air pump's flexible metal 'ribbed' hose at its bottom. Use an extension. I JUST loosened them enough that I could use a magnetic pickup tool to retrieve the nuts.
6. Remove the 8 10mm bolts that hold down the coil 'cassette'/ coil pack (just like the front), unplug it and I was able to slide/maneuver it out to the Passenger side.
7. Remove the plug boots CAREFULLY by pulling up around the edges a little @ a time. I reused the front and back w/out issue. If these are wet/oily/trashed they'll need replaced. Ensure their 'guts' stay intact, too.
8. Replace the plugs - torque to 13 lb-ft. My year uses the 41-987
9. Reverse to reinstall. I used my magnetic pickup tool to start those 10mm nuts and then was able to tighten up w/the extension. You could put some tape on the nuts, insert into the socket - double-check they'll stay put ! and then using the extension, get them screwed on.
10. And it's not as hard as some online make it to be...fewer expletives required than I was expecting.
11. Did everything from the top of the engine. ...I also removed the hood struts...2 mins and outtatheway.
12.P.s. Check/replace the PCV as it's right there.

Other useful posts - search on here.
 
#17,775 ·
Our post-2000 engines use a fixed orifice PCV - not a rattle valve. No replacement involved.

The valve and wiring on top of the right (rear) cam cover is AIR check valve #1, not the AIR pump. It sends fresh air to the right (rear) bank during cold starts to quickly light off the cat. AIR pump in the LF inner fenderwell. Most times, trying to bend that steel line gives you a flex crack. Be very careful and remove the flange nuts next time.

This Cadillac vehicle/engine specific stuff really belongs in either Seville or Engines; Northstar.
 
#17,777 ·
Ray--

I am in awe of the incredible shine your 'vette has,
Especially with that many miles on it!! (y)
First thing I did to it was paid one of our detail guys to wash/buff/wax it and ceramic coat it. In that photo it's actually pretty dirty LOL

I used the DIY stuff from Adam's Polishes. It does a great job. I try and wash it once a week and use their "Ceramic Boost" product once a month. It's been about 5 months now and it still looks like the day it was applied. SUPER impressed with the stuff.

They just came out with a ceramic waterless wash, so I bought that, too. I'm usually not brand loyal, but this stuff works.
 
#17,778 ·
Screwed it today. Went on the beach. A remote place many miles away from help.
Took a wrong turn at a fork and when I found out about deep loose sand, it was too late. Car completely stuck and floating on the chassi.



Luckily I brought (simple) gear. Used shovel under the vehicle to remove sand and free the wheels. Used the timber under the wheels to get traction.



One hour later after digging 500 kgs of sand and 3 attempts I moved the vehicle 20 meters just enough to get onto hard sand.



Aside from that a great evening.






Caddy is too fine to drive on the beach and with low clearance it would have been a disaster. On the flat part of the beach Im really tempted to go drifting with the CTS and try out the lsd diff and the competition mode.

Perhaps next week...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#17,780 ·
Rear windows would make noise but no movement. The plastic wheels/rollers on one end had broken into pieces and the cable was 'free to roam'.
Replaced both window regulators that I pulled from the local PullnSave. $44 total.
The prices on these have gone up and harder to find online, based on all the posts I've read from 10 years ago on here.

The plastic piece that mounts under the outer panel is amazingly brittle on my '01, which is the tan color. But one of the regulators came out of '98 and it had black plastic and it was very sturdy.

Next up? That Intermediate Steering Shaft. Ordered a new one as having the local shop regrease mine did nothing.
Oh...and it started/stopped twice when I went to move it. Started and ran OK on 3rd attempt.
570919
 
#17,782 ·
Yesterday was a long day for sure. Started the morning off by replacing the water pump in the Corvette. When I took it off, I was shocked to see that it was a GM original. Based on the date codes on it, it looked original to the car. 266,000 miles and 17 years is a pretty respectable lifespan, I reckon.

Removal wasn't so bad, but putting it back on was kind of annoying with the tight engine bay and reverse hinged hood. Luckily, about this time my buddy Shawn had stopped by because we were going to be doing the brakes on his car, so we managed to wrangle it all back together and all was well.

Onto the brakes... so I try to help Shawn whenever I can, because he's very interested in cars but doesn't have much in the way of mechanical or diagnostic ability. He's got a little BMW 128i, which is actually a really nice car. So we start doing the brakes today. It needs pads and rear rotors, so we just decided to do all four anyway.

Where he messed up was not checking the part numbers on the box. Ended up putting a rear rotor on the front of the car, and by the time we got to the last wheel the last remaining rotor was a front, which didn't fit over the parking brake shoes. Needless to say, I chuckled a little bit as he went to remove the misplaced rotor and swap it over, but it made for a very long day.

Took him out and showed him how to bed the new brake pads and all was well in the end, but I figure by the end of the day between those two projects, we spent a good 10 hours working. So much for a day off. :lol:
 
#17,786 ·
Ugh. Yesterday was a long day.


Finished the teardown on the Escalade's engine. Found the blown head gasket on cylinder #8. Trying to do this as a budget repair for now, so we left as much on the engine as possible. Had to remove the driver's side exhaust manifold and alternator, but left the alt and PS bracket in place to minimize time. Next up, need to find a shop around me that can check the heads and make sure they are straight and true, or get them shaved if possible.

My back is KILLING me from bending and climbing over that huge truck. Everything should be lowered... lol
 
#17,788 ·
Ugh. Yesterday was a long day.


Finished the teardown on the Escalade's engine. Found the blown head gasket on cylinder #8. Trying to do this as a budget repair for now, so we left as much on the engine as possible. Had to remove the driver's side exhaust manifold and alternator, but left the alt and PS bracket in place to minimize time. Next up, need to find a shop around me that can check the heads and make sure they are straight and true, or get them shaved if possible.

My back is KILLING me from bending and climbing over that huge truck. Everything should be lowered... lol

Start taking your Flintstone vitamins.
 
#17,787 ·
Tuneup on the 2010 Buick Enclave, have to remove the upper intake manifold just to get to the boots (coil on plug), Ah GM i love your drunk engineers.

And in other news, the wifey got me a BOSCH 1350 ODBI and II scan tool, wooho!
 
#17,790 ·
My steering wheel is still stubbornly staying down occasionally and now the little jingle, when it goes up automatically now jingles a second or two after I raise it manually. :). And today I got in and found the back of my seat all the way back. When I got out it moved forward all the way. Time once again for my quarterly reset of the seat which worked well...again. Is it some sort of electric memory loss?
 
#17,791 ·
Could be, given the age of the electronics. Gremlins are evil little bastards in the electrical system.

Over the past 2 years I've discovered an odd/annoying side effect of Borla's placement of the DoD flapper valve on the Chevy exhaust. They put it there to eliminate V4 helicopter sounds. The side effect is a whistling sound above 4000-4500 RPM at highway speeds. Not an often visited range, but still annoying.

It seems common to the system, I've had 2 different designs and 5 different valves on, and they all make the sound to varying degrees. There was an older design I had way back when I first got the system, but I haven't found any like it since. Borla has changed the design, so perhaps they're aware of the issue as well (should be, I've told them...and gotten 2 front pipes for free...).

Using the ol' noodle (I know, shocking), I figured there's something in the airstream that is disrupting air flow and creating the sound. SO, before I removed my most recent pipe I dumped sand through my second newest pipe quite a few times to give it a try. Once that was complete, I power washed it and installed it.

Surprisingly, it had a noticeable improvement, so I took my third oldest pipe, and repeated the process with sand and mostly blasting powder. That seemed to do the trick, as the sound is all but gone. I am a very happy camper.

Alexandra starts and runs fine. Little progress on the power steering though ?
 
#17,793 ·
Replaced the front shift linkage bushing on my 2006 STS4. An easy task. I discovered the rear bushing is non existent as well.

It's either pull the shifter to use the other bushing that came with the set I bought or order the Bushingfix bushing that can be replaced without removing the shifter.
 
#17,794 ·
The Lounge lives!

Heads are back on the Escalade - but my torque wrench is too large to access some of the head bolts. Going to get a smaller 3/8 drive one since they don't require a great deal of torque to fasten, just a few passes.

On the Vette... new front door speaker setup. SIGNIFICANT increase in sound and quality. It's currently sitting in service at work to get looked at. Hearing some low speed clicking from the front end that's a little concerning. Need to get it addressed before track day on Tuesday and autocross on Friday. Going to be a great week next week!
 
#17,795 ·
Asked on the buick forums, but no reply in weeks, so i'll ask here, fck it

Anyone know the head unit interchangeability on Buick Enclaves, the 2010 we have has the GPS touch screen but it doesn't do bluetooth for audio, just phone calls. was thinking maybe a unit from a newer year has the capability.
 
#17,797 ·
The Garage Queen got a California Duster and interior vacuum job, tire pressures checked, underhood checks. We're gonna start it up Monday (first time in 5 weeks) and head for a sub reunion in Charleston, SC. 567 miles one-way. Nice trip during the weekdays. Gone 5 days, will have the laptop and connections. Rt. 95 at 85 down, will return to the eastern Shore via Rt.17 and the Coast Highway - the 50 mph boonies.

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Parking Bumper
 
#17,798 ·
With the arrival of the monsoon season the driver's side headlight filled with water again. After removing the engine air filter and enclosure I removed the headlight side cover and let the ballast hang from the wires. Using mechanical fingers I fished out the desiccant packages I'd inserted last fall. A couple had disintegrated so I vacuumed them out. I removed the two accessible screws in the back headlight and propped it open with a small scrap of wood. I stuck a hair dryer with some conservative settings in the hole in the side of the headlight and in less than an hour it was dry as a bone. I then installed some desiccant packets that I got off amazon back in the side hole and replaced both covers. After reinstalling the air filter I carefully resealed the edge of the headlight lens with aquarium cement. I had done this in the past bu I hadn't gone all the way around. This time I did.
Next I addressed the dead battery in my Ford Ranger that was an obvious charging system problem. A few minutes with a VOM showed the alternator had laid down on me. I whipped it off the truck, pulled off the brush holder and just as I suspected the brushes on the commutator were worn out. A quick trip to the auto parts store and $4.45 later I had a new set. A few minute to install the new brushes and reinstall the alternator and that was fixed. A few hours work and a few dollars for parts and hundreds of dollars of repair shop bills avoided.
 
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