In reply to Hoondavan :
Minivans are glorious. Honda Elements are close to the same level of ease and comfort without the stigma. Mazda5s have the stigma, but drive better than most sedans. They're really enjoyable to live with day in and day out and aren't maintenance heavy.
I actually found myself owning a minivan (long story) about 5 years ago, so I painted rustoleum hot rod flames on it, added a 1500 watt stereo, got some Plymouth Voyager wheels and spray painted them black, and pulled out the middle and rear seats. It was great for carrying around stuff when I was in a band. I also threw a mattress in the back and went on a cross-country road trip in it when I got out of the army. Here's a picture of it in I believe Colorado:
I would totally take another minivan. Perhaps switching over to a Prius V would be an attractive option, as those have a lot of room and are still a Prius.
We're firmly in the dodge caravan/chrysler T&C club. Amazing vehicles available in the south for $4k fully loaded without rust! I actually have Tuna's old van.
But yeah, that's a few years out.
WonkoTheSane (FS) said:We're firmly in the dodge caravan/chrysler T&C club. Amazing vehicles available in the south for $4k fully loaded without rust! I actually have Tuna's old van.
But yeah, that's a few years out.
How is that thing anyway? Did you ever figure out the intermittent no-start thing? It was more reliable than the Pacifica we replaced it with!
In reply to infinitenexus :
I'd honestly get a minivan to have in addition to the Prius that you currently have as a mustang replacement. Get one with a tow rating capable of hauling the Honda on a tow dolly. Minivan tow pigs are the best.
Oh yeah, does your new place have a washer/dryer or are you rocking a laundromat? I don't know how someone with kids would function without in home laundry, we do more than a load a day it seems...
I meation because it's something you might need to save for.
In reply to Apexcarver :
It has a dryer but no washer. There are hookups for it though. My wife said there is a nearby laundromat that's surprisingly cheap
In reply to infinitenexus :
Look on the offerup app. People give washer machines away these days. I sold a 5 year old set of washer/dryer for $100 last year and they were in great shape.
Minivans can haul washing machines
Man sitting here listening to these elites talking about cheap baby cloths. Hell you're in the south now. Naked baby except diaper is totally ok and very easy on the wallet.
infinitenexus said:I actually found myself owning a minivan (long story) about 5 years ago, so I painted rustoleum hot rod flames on it, added a 1500 watt stereo, got some Plymouth Voyager wheels and spray painted them black, and pulled out the middle and rear seats. It was great for carrying around stuff when I was in a band. I also threw a mattress in the back and went on a cross-country road trip in it when I got out of the army. Here's a picture of it in I believe Colorado:
I would totally take another minivan. Perhaps switching over to a Prius V would be an attractive option, as those have a lot of room and are still a Prius.
Wait a minute...did you own a 2nd gen RX-7 at the same time? If not, someone had a VERY similar idea for an FC I bought as a Challenge car many years ago!
Discount appliance places can be a good source for cheap appliances.
Explain your situation, maybe there's a reconditioned unit for cheap.
These places sell to landlords and no landlord is spending thousands on a washer for a rental unit.
Home improvement joints and appliance stores are sniffing glue when they price appliances.
tuna55 said:WonkoTheSane (FS) said:We're firmly in the dodge caravan/chrysler T&C club. Amazing vehicles available in the south for $4k fully loaded without rust! I actually have Tuna's old van.
But yeah, that's a few years out.
How is that thing anyway? Did you ever figure out the intermittent no-start thing? It was more reliable than the Pacifica we replaced it with!
I haven't had a problem with it starting since I replaced the alternator on the drive home. I never got around to fixing cruise, I'm like 99% certain it's gotta be the clock spring connector, as sometimes the other steering wheel controls take multiple hits to cycle through. But I haven't really taken it further than an hour away in a year or so.
Other than that, I did the brakes a few months ago and the thermostat last week. That took about 30 minutes, really easy.
It's still hauling around our 5 :)
Dropped the Mustang off at the dealer this morning to get fixed. Of course the guy that came out to take it back to the service area could barely drive a stick, so while the engine sounds like it's going to explode he's there revving it and stalling out, revving it and stalling out. I told him to take it easy on the engine, just listen to the noises it's making. He ignored me and kept revving it and stalling out. After the 8-9th try he finally got it moving forward. Annoying. I told them the tsb that needs to be performed and told them to go ahead and do a diagnostic to make sure. The guy behind the counter said they'd call me with another estimate.
Some positive news! I got about 5 emails saying funds had been added to my Maryland unemployment insurance debit card yesterday. So this morning I called Bank of America and asked them about the card (since I still haven't received it after nearly 4 months) and they said it was mailed out on the 21st. So I just need to wait a week or so and I'll get it. And the best part, it has $6570 in back pay on it. Zing! And I'm racing through the google IT certification course - I've been doing it for I believe 4 days now and I'm on week 9 in the course.
Great news! Keep at it and keep your chin up!
infinitenexus said:Dropped the Mustang off at the dealer this morning to get fixed. Of course the guy that came out to take it back to the service area could barely drive a stick, so while the engine sounds like it's going to explode he's there revving it and stalling out, revving it and stalling out. I told him to take it easy on the engine, just listen to the noises it's making. He ignored me and kept revving it and stalling out. After the 8-9th try he finally got it moving forward. Annoying. I told them the tsb that needs to be performed and told them to go ahead and do a diagnostic to make sure. The guy behind the counter said they'd call me with another estimate.
Some positive news! I got about 5 emails saying funds had been added to my Maryland unemployment insurance debit card yesterday. So this morning I called Bank of America and asked them about the card (since I still haven't received it after nearly 4 months) and they said it was mailed out on the 21st. So I just need to wait a week or so and I'll get it. And the best part, it has $6570 in back pay on it. Zing! And I'm racing through the google IT certification course - I've been doing it for I believe 4 days now and I'm on week 9 in the course.
I've learned the hard way it is easy to sit back and say "What's the big deal, just get unemployment". My wife was furloughed this summer, and I was sitting there with an advanced engineering degree trying to figure out what in the world had to be done to file for her. Even after that, we got a barrage of letters saying we qualified for nothing and next-to-nothing, and then random checks would show up. To this day I don't know if we got overpaid or not since it isn't even clear on the site how much was paid or how much was supposed to be paid. I have newfound sympathy for anyone who has to rely on that berkleyed system, and we didn't even have it that bad (got paid after 6 weeks). Glad it is finally starting to come through for you!
So the dealership just called me and said his mechanic thinks it's a rod knocking, not the timing chain tensioner. He said he can go ahead and fix the tensioner but it'll be $1200 and a waste of money
edit: I went in and played the mechanic the video of the motor squeaking and he said it's not a timing chain squeak, he's heard that a bunch of times and that's not it. That squeaking was the water pump impeller. He said he's completely certain it's rod knock. I was quoted around $8 grand for a new motor installed. I obviously can't afford that so they're looking to see what kind of prices they can get on a used coyote. Sadly I might have to go that route. I asked him about dropping the pan and replacing those bearings and he said there is no guarantee that'll work, especially if the crank is scored then the bearing can just spin. Ugh. At least that unemployment money is coming in.
In reply to infinitenexus :
I'd inquire as to if they even did a compression check, pulled the timing cover or did an oil change and checked the filter for metal. That sounds like a lazy tech and service advisor who don't feel like doing their job. I'd call back and talk to the service manager.
This sounds like either the writer or the tech is off starting tomorrow for the holiday and parts doesn't have in stock the pieces to do the timing chain tensioner, so they punt it because they don't want to deal with it. You have to bark upstream regarding this.
infinitenexus said:So the dealership just called me and said his mechanic thinks it's a rod knocking, not the timing chain tensioner. He said he can go ahead and fix the tensioner but it'll be $1200 and a waste of money. I still think it's the tensioner - it was literally squeaking the other day when I posted that video. Now it's just making the tapping noise, so I understand why he thinks it's the rod. I'm going to go pick the car up after 1 today and try to fix it myself, I guess. What they recommended (of course) was an engine replacement, which runs about $10k. I asked if there was any way he could check further to see exactly what the problem was and he said they'd have to start disassembling the engine, which would be of course very expensive. Two steps forward, one step back.
Can you visually inspect the rod bearings by just dropping the oil pan? I don't know that platform, so I don't know how feasible it is.
infinitenexus said:So the dealership just called me and said his mechanic thinks it's a rod knocking, not the timing chain tensioner. He said he can go ahead and fix the tensioner but it'll be $1200 and a waste of money. I still think it's the tensioner - it was literally squeaking the other day when I posted that video. Now it's just making the tapping noise, so I understand why he thinks it's the rod. I'm going to go pick the car up after 1 today and try to fix it myself, I guess. What they recommended (of course) was an engine replacement, which runs about $10k. I asked if there was any way he could check further to see exactly what the problem was and he said they'd have to start disassembling the engine, which would be of course very expensive. Two steps forward, one step back.
They do a compression check or did they just listen and call it?
In reply to cyow5 :
You absolutely can. Someone, whether it be the tech or the advisor, doesn't want to sell the two to three hours of diag, and feels that fits worst case scenario that the job won't get sold. So they'd rather plant the seed of lack of confidence and hope that the vehicle gets traded in. Their job is to diagnose the berkeleying car, and they aren't and they need to be called out on it. I would have a scathing review drafted and ready to submit on Google, and I would have it ready for the service manager to review regarding the issue before the review was submitted. It's on the service manager to make it right at this point. if it ruins the holiday for an advisor or tech, it was their decision to have a lack of action to cause it and maybe they need a career change, as apparently diagnosing and fixing cars isn't how they prefer to spend their time at work. It's crap like this that gives the auto service and repair industry a black eye, they are embodying everything that's wrong.
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to cyow5 :
It's crap like this that gives the auto service and repair industry a black eye, they are embodying everything that's wrong.
Agreed. Didn't know if it was an exception like my 328 where dropping the pan requires an engine hoist and dropping the whole front subframe.
@infinitenexus check this out too for some interesting diagnostics you can try before anything dragstic:
https://itstillruns.com/check-bad-main-bearings-8198999.html
I edited my comment with what the mechanic said. I still don't personally feel it's a rod knocking though. The mechanic even said, as he was explaining how it's a rod knock and not the timing chain, because a bad timing chain tensioner would go in and out and a rod knock is constant. While the car is idling the tapping/knocking is generally constant, but I very carefully drove it home (about 2 miles) and when I let off the gas the sound goes away for a second or two.
The mechanic did mention that the squeaking in the video I posted earlier was the water pump. I think I'm going to try to fix this myself instead of throwing money at them. Honestly I don't like that dealership anyways, they're just the closest mechanic.
Before you go spending thousands of dollars that you really shouldn't, do some cheap/free diagnostics on your own.
Do a compression test with a rental tester from the local auto parts store. If it passes the compression check, then the valves/pistons/rings are fine. This will cost money up front, but should be returned when the tool is returned, which makes it free.
If it's holding compression, drain the oil and remove the oil filter and look for glittery stuff, maybe even drag a magnet through it and see if anything sticks to it. If there's no glitter in the oil, the bottom end is probably healthy. This will cost you oil and a filter.
If it's got compression and the oil looks clean, then it seems reasonable to assume that it's something in the front end like timing chains or an accessory.
If you do see glittery stuff, or it doesn't pass the compression check then you can either tear into it further and drop the pan and inspect, or assume that the motor is junk. No compression or flakes in the oil are the "straight to new engine" options in this situation.
You should be able to do all of this stuff pretty cheaply, with very basic tools and it might give you some idea if the dealer is just bullE36 M3ting you or not.
In reply to STM317 :
I agree with this, but the dealer should have proposed these items as diagnostic cost to go forward. The fact that the tech decided to diagnose the vehicle by sound and a video is laughable and embarrassing to the profession. If I were the service manager I'd be calling for a flatbed truck and asking him where he wants his box dropped off at as it was no longer welcome in my shop as he refuses to open the drawers on it.
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