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Ask a mechanic.

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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
It seems every so often there is a "car help" related question posted on NS and I thought I could maybe help out people who dont want to make a thread but want to ask a quick question about an issue they are having with their car. I am a mechanic at a higher end german car company so I thought i could maybe give my 2 cents or point you in the right direction to resolving your issue on your own or give you an idea what to tell your mechanic the issue is.

No question is stupid and I will try to help out.
Jan 24 2011 9:57PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
Its hard to say, the shifter assembly varies car to car and has different bushing sets and ways for adjustment. What i would do in your situation is go down to a junk yard, find a part truck that is similar to yours and go inspect how its set up and pull out the parts that you need at the same time. It wouldnt cost more than 40 bucks in most cases and it will give you an idea on how to set that bitch back up. Snap pictures with your phone so you have refrences. I dont really ever touch fords so i cant really offer anymore info on a specific ford style of shifter assembly. Good luck dude, it should be easy to find a truck like yours at a junk yard so your odds are good man.
Jan 25 2011 10:54PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
Not sure if this is a serious question, but cruising speeds on cars are mostly controlled by gearing of the transmission only. Is that an automatic or 5 speed?
Jan 25 2011 10:56PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
That is a classic description of a wheel out of balance. Typically at highway speed if you get a wobble in your steering wheel its from wheels/tires that are out of balance. My suggestion to you is to get the wheel that you curbed inspected and balanced, if its just a balance issue it shouldnt cost any more than 20 bucks to fix. This issue can also be caused by bent wheels, so hopefully its not that but a decent shop should be able to tell when its on the balance machine. Good luck dude, hope its not a bent wheel. If its a bent wheel, see if you can snag one from a junk yard or get it repaired at a local wheel repair shop for cheap.
Jan 25 2011 10:58PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
I have no idea, but there is a flap to protect shit from getting down a gas filler neck on any car equipped with an EVAP system, so basically any car from 1996 on.
Jan 25 2011 11:00PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
Sounds like you have a car that needs a tune up. Follow the directions I set out earlier in this thread for the fellow with the 2.5 liter subaru and your car will run a million times better. Trust me. Plugs, air filter, and check resistence of your spark plug wires (7k ohms per foot max per wire), clean your intake sensors (map sensor/ intake air sensor/ throttle body). To me it sounds like your car just needs a little bit of TLC, take one day on a weekend and just do some cleaning in and around your engine bay. If you need some additional help, hit me up VIA pm. I have access to all VW/audi/porsche information from the factory. Good luck my friend.
Jan 25 2011 11:04PM
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5teve.
Posts: 610 - Karma: 12
That's what we thought, but when my dad took it to our friends shop, he wasn't sure if they balanced it or not.
Jan 25 2011 11:06PM
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Hubsta
Posts: 1279 - Karma: 156
Does my car actually have horses under the bonnet?
Jan 25 2011 11:07PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
I can pretty much bet you 100 percent its out of balance or bent wheel. Maybe a damaged drivershaft on that side of the truck, but you would feel that at a lower speed aswell. Trust me dude, take it to a real tire shop and them the deal and they will check it out with a machine that measures wheels down to ten thousandths of an inch.
Jan 25 2011 11:09PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
for both you VW guys, including the dude above you... VW coilpacks are the worst things in the world. I suggest you with the 1.8t make a stop at the dealership because they have a coilpack recall out for your car, which means free coil packs. Its called the p1 recall and its free. Did you replace plugs with your coils? Most of the time when a plug has been misfiring for extended periods of time, its fouled and needs to be replaced. Make sure you only use OEM spark plugs and gap them to spec even if they come "pre-gapped" as they are wrong 80 percent of the time. The ignition system on 1.8t motors are just awful, so this is a good starting point for you. The fellow with the "emission service" message on his HUD after spark plugs..... did you get oem plugs and gap them? VW has super touchy ignition systems, so that could be an issue if not.
Jan 25 2011 11:10PM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
4 speed automatic. i can only count the transmission going through 3 gears though. its a honda tho, i hear they are meant to keep high rpms because the torque band is higher up.
Jan 26 2011 8:21AM
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aquinn
Posts: 824 - Karma: 217
they are usually fairly reliable, The carbs have larger jets that don't clog as easily as the new 4 strokes. I would go for suzuki personally, and probably 3-600 bucks depending on the condition/hp
Jan 26 2011 11:49AM
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Liam.Butler
Posts: 709 - Karma: 17
I drive an 01 1.8 sentra and when it is super cold(-25 and below my car will stall in neutral unless I push the clutch pedal in. Whats up with that? I was under the impression that in neutral that the engine should spin freely.
Jan 26 2011 12:54PM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
UPDATE: 2.5 RS is almost not drivable. The check engine light is flashing which I have read indicated an ignition or timing failure. Bringing it to the shop today I don't have enough time or resources to fix it myself.

Ill let you know the cause and damage. Fuck.
Jan 26 2011 1:05PM
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Hansel.
Posts: 4583 - Karma: 112
Ok, here is one the other day I thought of, right as my engine almost seised thanks to a leaky oil pan, and no indicator light coming on.

WHY THE FUCK IS THERE NOT AN OIL GAGUE ON THE DASH?!? So you pretty much cant run your engine with out it, so why is there just a shitty light that comes on. Yes I do check my oil, but this would save the hassle most of the time.
Jan 26 2011 11:49PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 65
i dont suggest even driving it if the light is blinking...

Jan 26 2011 11:51PM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
I checked and the 2.5 does not have super close tolerances so I am not going to fuck up my valves or anything. At worse I mess up the cat, not too worried about it. Could be eating my words though...
Jan 27 2011 10:17AM
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Legion
Posts: 1374 - Karma: 29
any idea of how much i could get for my 2001 nissan pathfinder SE? its a 3.5L 5 spd manual with 4wd, 220,000 miles. needs one wheel bearing replaced, but i'm just looking to get rid of it. its in great condition, but lugs a bit in 1st gear.

blue book says 4300, but does that sound too steep?
Jan 27 2011 8:23PM
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Dan.
Posts: 7201 - Karma: 1,126
83 MB 300SD. if the car is at running temp, is turned off, then turned on 5-20 minutes later, it idles the same, but refuses to accelerate. I can stomp on the gas, and it just won't go. it doesn't happen on cold starts. what is wrong with it?
Jan 27 2011 8:50PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
I dont know what car you drive, but every car ive ever seen or been in has had an oil gauge in it.
Jan 27 2011 8:57PM
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DJ_Pauly_D
Posts: 1043 - Karma: 42
jizz in gaz tank?? will i go faster??
Jan 27 2011 9:00PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
does it stall all the time, or just when its still warming up? Does the clutch feel really spongy or stiff? There can be alot of reason for a stall in the conditions you said, would be tough to say whats wrong without scoping it out. It could be something to do with your throttle body being gunked up and not allowing a minimum air rate through to sustain idle, but honestly i would have to look at the car and feel how its stalls.
Jan 27 2011 9:41PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
correct, and 3 speed auto with an overdrive perhaps? That sounds about normal for an older honda to have a cruising speed at that high an rpm. My honda normally hovers in high rpm ranges.
Jan 27 2011 9:42PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061

my car goes: KCHcK KCHCK CHHHK RRRRRR WAWAHWHAWHHWAHWHAWHAH PSHEWWW

and then it transforms into a giant alien robot and flies off

what should i do?

Jan 27 2011 9:43PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
flashing check engine light is serious business, avoid driving it if at all possible. Flashing CEL means damage to cat or engine is highly possible. Let me know the scoop when you find out.
Jan 27 2011 9:44PM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
its a 96 ex accord. 2.2L. i thought cars have an over drive button rather than it engaging automatically? my car only has 1/2/d3/d4.
Jan 27 2011 9:45PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
back in the day, there sometimes was oil temp gauges that would basically function in the same fashion but it seems american cars didnt really have oil pressure gauges till recently . Older german cars in the early 80's had oil pressure gauges fairly often. My honda (2008) has an oil level bar graph in the cluster and porsche has no dipsticks so you need a gauge in the cluster aswell. The more LCD and HUD's that are starting to pop up in cars are making it more common to see oil level gauges.
Jan 27 2011 9:46PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
its still an interference engine, if your belt skipped a couple teeth while driving, youre buying a new engine. Be veryyyy careful man. Timing issues on cars now a days are a hugeeee deal. Being out as little as 2-3 teeth on a belt can destroy an engine.
Jan 27 2011 9:48PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
sounds like throttle cable/ body issues. Perhaps your throttle cable is stretched badly, you can check this fairly easy by just lightly pulling on your throttle cables if its a cable system and if there is play in the cable that is aparently out to wack, there is an issue. Sometimes throttle plates themself expand and contract in cold/hot situations. Next time you have it happen, get a buddy to sit in the drivers seat and try to operated the TB and watch to see if the plates are indeed moving. Check to see if there is build ups of carbon around the sweep of the plates aswell, that can cause trouble. Thats a good place to atleast start, good luck dude.
Jan 27 2011 9:51PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
not exactly sure for the most part in this situation, but i know alot of imports dont have an overdrive button, just the gear itself. If im not mistaken, dont quote me on that though. I know at work, the germans never put a O/D button in them. Im not too familiar with auto transmissions, at work we deal mostly with 5/6 speeds and i have no formal training in auto transmissions.
Jan 27 2011 9:54PM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
Changed plugs and wires and it is running like a champ.

All lights are off right now but I will probably do the wheel baring some time soon.

Apparently the knock sensor and the cat/O2 sensor go out on Subaru's of this year, so I might end up doing those down the road. I suspect that the cat and O2 problems were symptomatic of the 2-4 cylinder not firing at low RPM, so I hope they are ok.

I wouldn't have driven the car if I thought there was a serious timing problem, I pretty much had it figured out to the ignition system, but thanks for the tip. I have seen a couple of Hondas go down with timing belt failures and junked engines so that was in my mind, but everything worked out this time.

Here's to another 120k!
Jan 28 2011 12:34AM
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wazzucrewskier
Posts: 2269 - Karma: 151
04 Audi A4 1.8t with Xenon

A few weeks ago I had a problem come out of nowhere.  I bought the car about 3 months ago and it has been perfect until now.  One night the rear license plate light and rear fog went out at the same time.  I got to where I was going and then once I left and started the car back up and they were back on and have been fine ever since.  The next day driving to work the left headlight was aiming higher than the right and the left fog light went out at the same time.  I am sure you are aware but the audi xenons will auto-level and the left obviously has always been lower than the right, but after that happened it was higher than the left. 

Not sure why it happened seems like some weird wiring bug.  Fast forward a week later.  I bought a vag com cable on ebay and attempted to adjust the headlights with that to make it better that way, but I guess you can't do each headlight individually so I ended up just adjusting the housing to make it better that way, but now the high beam is aiming low on that side, so I know it is just an issue with the left headlight adjust on the xenon portion. 

Anyway, I am not sure if you are familiar with the ross tech or any of the vag com stuff to know if there is a way to adjust a single light individually or if I am just going to have to take it to the dealer to get the headlights re-aimed. 

Thanks for being a legit member of the site man, it is appreciated.  Major props for using your skills to help out other people.
Jan 28 2011 12:57AM
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bootleg_BEN
Posts: 2499 - Karma: 44
1992 Mazda B2600i

When the engine is cold it ticks loud and i dont have alot of power, after it warms up completely it goes the sound goes away, my truck also always smells hot, and there tends to always be stuff on the outside of the engine(which i have cleaned off before) Im thinking its a leaky head gasket or my lifters, but im not sure. Any idea? thanks
Jan 28 2011 3:00AM
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carbon.pulse
Posts: 3348 - Karma: 22
How much and how hard would it be to cert a 100ml body lift on a 1990 hilux surf?
Jan 28 2011 4:28AM
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josh.
Posts: 3469 - Karma: 42
Excellent thread idea and such, I am also a german mechanic, mostly old VW's, diesel's and air cooled specifically.

So if you have any questions about those i would love to field them. On this merc, it's a diesel so no throttle body, usually it's a bosch injection system. Although it does indeed sound like a throttle cable problem.
Jan 28 2011 7:57AM
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josh.
Posts: 3469 - Karma: 42
I have the same car, albeit with a diesel. this sounds like the flap on the CIS fuel distributor is sticking. remove the intake boot and see if the "flap" moves freely.
Jan 28 2011 8:29AM
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statuswhitegirl
Posts: 4058 - Karma: 883
my parents got me a 06 sti for my 18th birthday its really cool but when i start it and hit the gas it just rev's and i dont go anywhere, it has 3 pedals too idk if that helps
Jan 28 2011 9:06AM
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Dan.
Posts: 7201 - Karma: 1,126
spot on with the bosch. so you guys think that as the car heats up, the throttle cable stretches or something of the sort?
Jan 28 2011 1:23PM
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JibbinTheEAST
Posts: 122 - Karma: 14
FAIRLY RELIABLE?? the oldschool engines are where its at. I got a 1964 9.9 horse on my fishing boat and its broken down less then my 2010 150 horse OptiMax.  carbs are the way to go, none of this EFI crap
Jan 28 2011 6:52PM
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Liam.Butler
Posts: 709 - Karma: 17
It has been fully warm and has stalled when I have put it in neutral on really cold days. Also on very cold days the clutch is also really stiff, and when I move my stick it feels like I'm pushing it through butter.
Jan 29 2011 8:39PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
Definately, easier to fix than EFI too.

We've got a Johnson 200 2 cycle on our boat and it ran like a champ when we got it fixed.

It doesnt like cold starts but no carbs do, and it sucks gas like a mofo, but man its got balls.
Jan 29 2011 8:54PM
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aquinn
Posts: 824 - Karma: 217
i agree, but the older the motor you get the higher the chance that someone burnt out a water pump impeller and cooked the damn thing.
Jan 29 2011 8:57PM
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5teve.
Posts: 610 - Karma: 12
How unreliable would you consider 2002-2004 a4's with about 80k miles?
Jan 29 2011 9:01PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
typically, audi is not a reliable car. Its pretty horrible as a matter of fact as far as operating costs go. I owned an a4 as my last car and it was a money pit. They have so many little issues that you will constantly have it in the shop.
Feb 3 2011 11:44PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
ah, i have never touched a MERC in my life so didnt realize it was a diesel. I work at a Porsche/VW dealership. Thanks for clearing that up and helping him aswell.
Feb 3 2011 11:46PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 65
i had a 2004 a4 running strong at 106k. yeah it needed work, but everything else was flawless. it got me from point a to point be in A LOT of style...
then i totaled it on a very icy day because of some stupid bitch

and so i just bought another 2004 a4 but with 54k miles. i love this car so much
Feb 3 2011 11:48PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
I work at a VW dealership and as you prob know... VW owns Audi and all our parts/ scan tools are the same. You cannot aim the lights via scan tool seperate i believe, I had a car with a similar issue about a year ago but i cannot remember what the hell i did. It could be the leveling motor itself if it cannot find a park position or basic settings cannot be performed on that one side. It may throw a DTC if there is something wrong with the headlight motor, so maybe use your vag to scan the car for comfort module faults and see if you can spot any for lights.
Feb 3 2011 11:50PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
Thats good stuff. The easiest way to check wheel bearings is drive you car and see if you can hear a faint humming noise at all times in the car. This can be cause by a worn bearing, or a set of cupped tires which is fairly common on AWD cars. You can test drive the car and the easiest way to determine if its a wheel bearing is to get the noise to happen on a long open road and turn your steering wheel side to side almost like swerving within your lane of traffic... if the noise goes away or changes while you go side to side, its most likely a wheel bearing. A set of cupped tires is very easy to tell, just run your bare hand across the inside edge of your tires and if there feels like there is a difference between heights/space of tread that would be a tell tale sign of feather/cupped tires. Do those simple tests before pulling a trigger on a bearing.

If you figure it out to be a bearing, the easiest way to determine which side the bearing is worn is jack up your car so you can spin the wheels freely in the air and spin each tire are a decent rate by hand and keep your other hand on the spring of the suspension. A worn wheel bearing will vibrate the spring in the suspension much more than a good bearing. Really easy to Diag exactly which bearing is worn, you will be able to tell which is a worn bearing.
Feb 3 2011 11:55PM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
the main thing you have to do with the 1.8t motor is stay on top of things. Do the proper service on it, and replace broken parts as they come along... dont allow the broken parts of the car to pile up because its very easy at my work to create a 3000 dollar bill for customers who neglect these cars.
Feb 3 2011 11:57PM
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Eastcoastr
Posts: 296 - Karma: 51
i drive a 1999 grand cherokee limited and have now had to get my starter replaced for the third time any idea why this could be happening?
Feb 4 2011 12:02AM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
strain on your starter due to resistance in the starter circuit. If you starter has to crank longer every single time you start your car you end up melting the insides of it. It has alot of fine wire wound very tightly that is easy to melt with excessive heat/current.
Feb 4 2011 12:05AM
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