Car lovers?

I have three kids. The size is a plus. It's a minivan, but not.

I like this one better.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...

Hobear wrote:

I literally laughed out loud in a dealership when I saw that. Currently deciding between two Acuras. 2011 TSX and 2010 TL. One gets a little better mpg and the other is a little more expensive. Hard choice as they are virtually identical.

If I were to trade in my CTS for a sedan the TL from that range of years would be a strong contender. I like the styling that a lot of other people find off putting and it really handles and accelerates nicely.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

FWIW you can turn the screen off in my Jeep.

I was just talking about this with my brother-in-law last weekend. They have a GMC Yukon (I think?) which also has a “screen off” function. But all it really does is just turn the screen to an all black mode. So there’s a rather bright backlight bleed even with the screen off. And it’s rather distracting at night he said. I was joking that he needed to get a tiny set of blackout curtains to pull over the screen at night. I think it would look rather hilarious.
Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe I need to make him some as a gag gift for the holidays.

I already posted this in the "Random things you loathe" thread, but it's probably a better fit here and I can use all the gearhead sympathy I can get right now...

My low oil pressure notification popped up on my way to work yesterday morning and the engine started pinging. Fortunately, I was only a couple miles from the stealership and took it straight in. Diagnostic results came in last night and sure enough - almost no oil pressure. They said they could try replacing the oil pump for $1200 (car is an out of warranty 2006 C6 Corvette I bought two years ago with 64k miles for $18.5k), but that might not be the actual problem and there could be engine damage that it wouldn't fix. So, they're recommending a complete engine replacement... for $8k.

For sure can't afford the engine and can't "really" afford for them to do the repair on the oil pump. Especially knowing there's a possibility I might end up basically throwing that money away if there's engine damage. I could do the work myself, but it involves removing the harmonic balancer and steering rack - which I've already had to do twice and involves about 6-8 hours worth of work (total) IF you have help and you know what you're doing.

The first time I had to do it, it took me over a month of casually picking at it, cursing, and surfing the internet. At this point, I don't really have the desire to do all that work plus even more. Not to mention, I sold my house in June, so my 2-minute drive/2-mile walk to work is now a 30-minute drive/impossible walk and I don't have another car available.

I have a few options, but none of them are pleasant and wife is likely to murder me in my sleep no matter what I do (she hates my poor "Lulu"). I still owe slightly less than $16k and if she needs a new motor, that would put me an additional $8k upside-down. Basically, unloading it is an impossibility and regardless of what I find out with the motor, I don't really want to get rid of it.

That sucks. Go somewhere other than a dealership and it will surely be cheaper. I bet one of the Corvette forums can recommend a place.

LeapingGnome wrote:

That sucks. Go somewhere other than a dealership and it will surely be cheaper. I bet one of the Corvette forums can recommend a place.

As a GM dealership mechanic of a buncha years, going somewhere else is an option but may not be always the cheaper option or the best option, you really need to do some research and find a reputable place to do the work, be it a dealer or a independant shop. Both places can have good mechanics and bad, I've seen some horror cars come from ether end.
1200 bucks actually sounds like a good deal if thats including parts, its a 12 hour job to replace it. Was the engine actually making low oil pressure noises or just the gauge went out and the car started beeping warning messages at you? Oil pressure switches are pretty common on that motor, but I've personally never done an oil pump on a v8 in last 10 years of working on GMs.

Fastmav347 wrote:
LeapingGnome wrote:

That sucks. Go somewhere other than a dealership and it will surely be cheaper. I bet one of the Corvette forums can recommend a place.

As a GM dealership mechanic of a buncha years, going somewhere else is an option but may not be always the cheaper option or the best option, you really need to do some research and find a reputable place to do the work, be it a dealer or a independant shop. Both places can have good mechanics and bad, I've seen some horror cars come from ether end.
1200 bucks actually sounds like a good deal if thats including parts, its a 12 hour job to replace it. Was the engine actually making low oil pressure noises or just the gauge went out and the car started beeping warning messages at you? Oil pressure switches are pretty common on that motor, but I've personally never done an oil pump on a v8 in last 10 years of working on GMs.

Definitely low/no pressure. The night that I finished my second balancer job a few months ago, the gauge started going similarly nuts, but without the engine pinging. I pulled over, checked fluid caps, looked for signs of leaking, and seeing none - restarted the car to find the gauge fluctuations and message had disappeared. Regardless, I did some research and discovered the common problem of the oil sending unit going south. That was my hope when the low pressure message popped up again yesterday morning. Truth be told, that was still my hope after the engine started pinging. Regardless, the GM tech tested it with a gauge yesterday and there's definitely a pressure issue. It's minimal at idle and only rises to about 6-8lbs when you rev the engine. It's been started a couple of times since I dropped it off as well and the more times it gets shutdown and restarted, the more it's resisting to start.

At this point, I'm hoping it's only the oil pump, but I fear even if that's the case, it's becoming more and more likely there's some sort of damage to the internals. If so, the only thing I can do is park it until it's almost paid for a few years from now and try to find an extremely cheap beater.

This was the dream car I used to replace my totaled motorcycle after a young girl tried to (unintentionally) kill me early last years. I never thought I would be able to afford a Vette until I started looking for something to replace my motorcycle and accidentally discovered used Vettes really aren't that expensive and their high cost when new lends them to typically being the barely-used eye candy, garage queens of retired, old upper-middle-class men. It wasn't supposed to be like... this.

Edit vs quote...

I got my own car maintenance question. The check engine light won't go out on my 01 Firebird. It's a 420 code, which is for the cat and/or O2 sensor. I replaced both and I'm still getting the same code. Any ideas?

EverythingsTentative wrote:

I got my own car maintenance question. The check engine light won't go out on my 01 Firebird. It's a 420 code, which is for the cat and/or O2 sensor. I replaced both and I'm still getting the same code. Any ideas?

If you think the cat is fine try checking your MAF sensor. If it gets fouled up or is failing it can cause the engine to run lean or rich and end up being the source of your O2 sensor codes.

I had I feel like the exact same thing happen and it ended up being a bunch of gunk built up on the MAF sensor. It was reddish and smelled oily, and the car was bought used. I think the previous owner had cleaned/refreshed the air filter on the cold air intake and they over-oiled it.

P0420 is for Bank 1 cat, which cat did you replace?

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/v6aOjy0Qo1fIA/giphy.gif)

My car only has one cat. It's a V6. I replaced it and the O2 sensor beside it.

The MAF sensor is pretty new, but it's easy enough to check. I'll do it.

Malfunction confirmed. Needs more cats.

You right, you should have total of 4 oxygen sensors, one in each manifold, one in front of the cat and one behind. Which one did you replace?

EverythingsTentative wrote:

My car only has one cat. It's a V6. I replaced it and the O2 sensor beside it.

The MAF sensor is pretty new, but it's easy enough to check. I'll do it.

You should also be able to buy some cleaning spray. I fixed an idle problem in my 350z by giving mine a good clean after 130K miles Wish I'd have done it way sooner. Thought I had a more serious problem.

Cross post from Deals thread, if you use Mobil1 and don't mind going to Walmart you can get up to $50 credit at Vudu if you buy 5 x 5 gallon oil containers. Only need to buy 1 to get $10 with up to 5 per account.

Fastmav347 wrote:

You right, you should have total of 4 oxygen sensors, one in each manifold, one in front of the cat and one behind. Which one did you replace?

I replaced the one before the cat.

I've also got an oil leak that I can't locate. There is a mist of oil under the air box. My dad thinks oil is getting on the belt and throwing it up. I think it's the sending unit.

Hobear wrote:

Cross post from Deals thread, if you use Mobil1 and don't mind going to Walmart you can get up to $50 credit at Vudu if you buy 5 x 5 gallon oil containers. Only need to buy 1 to get $10 with up to 5 per account.

Gah. I had a bunch of horded oil for my Z from these deals that now that I'm getting rid of that I won't need.

Might have to check that out at least for my wife's. Still haven't decided what oil I want to use for my new car. German snobs turn their noses up about Mobil1, and I haven't figured out if there's a logical reason for that or not.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

Why do I want this so bad?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...

Six-speed manual transmission!

MannishBoy wrote:
Hobear wrote:

Cross post from Deals thread, if you use Mobil1 and don't mind going to Walmart you can get up to $50 credit at Vudu if you buy 5 x 5 gallon oil containers. Only need to buy 1 to get $10 with up to 5 per account.

Gah. I had a bunch of horded oil for my Z from these deals that now that I'm getting rid of that I won't need.

Might have to check that out at least for my wife's. Still haven't decided what oil I want to use for my new car. German snobs turn their noses up about Mobil1, and I haven't figured out if there's a logical reason for that or not.

If you encounter one just have them watch you mix full synthetic with off brand Dino goo oil. They'll just break in front of you.

I bought a set of winter tires! They had a buy 3 get 1 for $1 deal, so I got some Yokohamas for around $570 installed. Can't wait to drive around in some snow (2017 Tacoma)!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/zv8Z7nd.jpg)

In my latest obsession of watching Youtube car build/rebuild series, I stumbled across the several year, (uncompleted) saga of a couple of guys shoving the guts of a Celica GT4 into a 1980 Mini 1000. They call it "Project Binky".

It has British dry/understated humor, lots of cool fabrication and engineering, and creative use of power tools. It's "making" as much as it's wrenching.

My friend pointed me at them a over a year and a half ago, stating they would be done by summers end at their pace back then... They've been exceedingly slow ever since. They make tons of custom parts and jigs, which is cool to think about, but it means months for each episode now. They went October 2017 to March May 2018 between episodes 16 & 17. They through a couple things out there in between, but it's sad to see it go so slow.

EDIT Episode 21 is out? *watches*

mrtomaytohead wrote:

My friend pointed me at them a over a year and a half ago, stating they would be done by summers end at their pace back then... They've been exceedingly slow ever since. They make tons of custom parts and jigs, which is cool to think about, but it means months for each episode now. They went October 2017 to March May 2018 between episodes 16 & 17. They through a couple things out there in between, but it's sad to see it go so slow.

EDIT Episode 21 is out? *watches*

Yeah, it's project creep at it's finest, but still fun to watch.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

EDIT Episode 21 is out? *watches*

Ha, 22 just got released today.

MannishBoy wrote:
mrtomaytohead wrote:

EDIT Episode 21 is out? *watches*

Ha, 22 just got released today.

Here's hoping they keep up the pace!

Guess it's been a while since I posted about my 2006 C6 Corvette woes. As my previous post said, I lost oil pressure on my way to work a couple months ago and the motor almost immediately started pinging. Fortunately, I was only about a mile from the dealership and pulled it right in. They confirmed the lack of pressure and said they could try replacing the oil pump ($1200), but really just recommended a new engine (~$8500 parts/labor). I don't have the money to pay the dealer to do either one, but I have gained the experience necessary to fix the pump after replacing a harmonic balancer that went out about a year ago. So, I had a friend meet me with his truck and flatbed and we towed it back to the house.

I've been living in fear ever since and had found just about every excuse imaginable to NOT try and determine whether it was fixable or not. About 2 weeks ago, I finally got around to draining the oil and opening the oil filter for inspection... fine metal shavings galore. So, now I'm procrastinating pulling the intake off and inspecting the valves, lifters, etc. Since I only found really fine metal shavings and no chunks, I'm now left hoping that maybe the metal is from the lifters that are fairly easily replaceable, but I'm preparing for the worst. If it turns out there's damage to the block, crank, bearings, etc., I'll be looking at a totally new motor and it will probably end up sitting in my garage for the next year+ until I can get some other stuff paid off and afford to fix it.

I still have several years of payments left and it was my daily driver. For now, I have use of my 18-year old's 2003 Accord until she gets around to acquiring her driver's license. After that happens (could be a week, could be a year), I have no clue what I'm going to do.

Good times.

Oh my, vypre. That's grim.

As a fellow sports car owner (poverty spec Porsche Cayman 987.2), I feel you pain. I bought my car in September 2017 for £23k. By September 2018, I'd spent £5k on servicing and repairs. Thankfully, I wasn't facing anything as serious as you.

As you say, it sounds like you're in line for a hefty engine rebuild or replacement. Have you been able to find any useful, cost-saving advice on C6 owners forums? For example, having a Corvette specialist replace your old engine with a second hand one. (I now only use my main dealer for servicing, and instead outsource any repairs to a Porsche specialist.)

You mention having years of payments left. Is it financially viable to sell the car for parts and use the proceeds to pay off the finance?

Best of luck with the car in the meantime.

vypre wrote:

...Good times.

That sucks. If there is a positive side, it's that LS2's should be plentiful if you just want to swap it. Won't be free for sure, but there are options.

Vypre, I've always been impressed at people who can daily drive a sports car. I tried it out, and lasted for thirteen months. (Porsche 718 Cayman S.) Eventually I broke down and bought a Kia Soul, so i can help transport children....and it keeps the miles low on my Porsche, plus makes it so much more of a treat to drive.

vypre wrote:

Guess it's been a while since I posted about my 2006 C6 Corvette woes. As my previous post said, I lost oil pressure on my way to work a couple months ago and the motor almost immediately started pinging. Fortunately, I was only about a mile from the dealership and pulled it right in. They confirmed the lack of pressure and said they could try replacing the oil pump ($1200), but really just recommended a new engine (~$8500 parts/labor). I don't have the money to pay the dealer to do either one, but I have gained the experience necessary to fix the pump after replacing a harmonic balancer that went out about a year ago. So, I had a friend meet me with his truck and flatbed and we towed it back to the house.

I've been living in fear ever since and had found just about every excuse imaginable to NOT try and determine whether it was fixable or not. About 2 weeks ago, I finally got around to draining the oil and opening the oil filter for inspection... fine metal shavings galore. So, now I'm procrastinating pulling the intake off and inspecting the valves, lifters, etc. Since I only found really fine metal shavings and no chunks, I'm now left hoping that maybe the metal is from the lifters that are fairly easily replaceable, but I'm preparing for the worst. If it turns out there's damage to the block, crank, bearings, etc., I'll be looking at a totally new motor and it will probably end up sitting in my garage for the next year+ until I can get some other stuff paid off and afford to fix it.

I still have several years of payments left and it was my daily driver. For now, I have use of my 18-year old's 2003 Accord until she gets around to acquiring her driver's license. After that happens (could be a week, could be a year), I have no clue what I'm going to do.

Good times.