AmScray 355 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 ...and am taking it to an alignment speciality shop on Monday for a 'free estimate'. Any advice ..... Link to post Share on other sites
AmScray 355 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 If anyone is in the market for beater pliers...http://aldi.us/us/html/offers/2867_5453_ENU_HTML.htmI don't know if my set was intentionally well done to salt an importers T&E batch or if they're all done this way, but jesus christ, talk about the best $2.50 (per) I've ever spent on pliers. They're beautifully machined from heat treated castings, the jaws are all perfectly alligned, the heads are properly fitted on a grinder... They're constructed much, much better than the (American made) Irwin vise grip set I bought a couple months back. The best part is that they're all oversized (8"), affording killer bite and leverage when in use. Unlike cast-n-plate POS chinese import garbage that is simply pot metal shaped like a tool to confuse the unwary, these things are solid as hell. Much like Japanese stuff was junk until the 80's when people finally had to acknowledge its quality in relation to price, China is invoking W. Edwards Deming on a shorter learning curve. Link to post Share on other sites
El Guapo 8 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I use these all the time, they are great. I have a Kobalt set too from Lowes that have been great too. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 brvheart, you heard of the infamous 'death wobble' on the jeep wrangler?theres probably 20 websites/forums ive read, articles, you name it.best one i found was here ... http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124861this video is a perfect example ... have a 2004 jeep wrangler with 31's and a 3" lift, only had it a few months actually.apparently VERY common and can be anything from ....Front tires out of balanceFront alignment out of specLoose track barWorn track bar bushingsWorn track bar endNeed adjustable track barBad bushings/joints in control armsWorn/damaged steering stabilizerWorn/damaged shocksWorn/damaged tie rod endBad U JointBad ball jointLoose frame mountSteering box loosenessNeed drop pitman armDrive shaft(s) not balancedBad front hub assemblyWrong size wheel studs in hubI definitely don't know my way around a car and am taking it to an alignment speciality shop on Monday for a 'free estimate'. Any advice .....My advice is to sell your vehicle. Stay away from Chrysler products. (sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I'll look some stuff up and get back to you before Monday)Also, you ARE going to get raped. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 I'm guessing those are expensive Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 brvheart, you heard of the infamous 'death wobble' on the jeep wrangler?theres probably 20 websites/forums ive read, articles, you name it.best one i found was here ... http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124861this video is a perfect example ... have a 2004 jeep wrangler with 31's and a 3" lift, only had it a few months actually.apparently VERY common and can be anything from ....Front tires out of balanceFront alignment out of specLoose track barWorn track bar bushingsWorn track bar endNeed adjustable track barBad bushings/joints in control armsWorn/damaged steering stabilizerWorn/damaged shocksWorn/damaged tie rod endBad U JointBad ball jointLoose frame mountSteering box loosenessNeed drop pitman armDrive shaft(s) not balancedBad front hub assemblyWrong size wheel studs in hubI definitely don't know my way around a car and am taking it to an alignment speciality shop on Monday for a 'free estimate'. Any advice .....My first instinct is that it's a tire issue. I would just make sure that you rotate and balance your tires every 7,500 miles. It appears to be the most common cause.Also, sell it. Link to post Share on other sites
El Guapo 8 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Whoa! Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 Whoa!I'm guessing that that is an all rubber tire and only the inner circle is metal. You can see a metal ring around the hub. Link to post Share on other sites
dna4ever 2 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 jeeps at the shop now, going to pick up after work.New OE replacement trailblazer steering stabilizer shock for oversized tires and offroading.readjustment, tightening of steering boxrotate tiresbalance tiresfront end alignment$178 including tax, $100 labor, $63 parthopefully that is all it was, we'll see. good chance i didnt get a quick, fast and hard rape, but may be engaging into a bit of a slow and steady raping relationship. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 jeeps at the shop now, going to pick up after work.New OE replacement trailblazer steering stabilizer shock for oversized tires and offroading.readjustment, tightening of steering boxrotate tiresbalance tiresfront end alignment$178 including tax, $100 labor, $63 parthopefully that is all it was, we'll see. good chance i didnt get a quick, fast and hard rape, but may be engaging into a bit of a slow and steady raping relationship.You use a very reasonable mechanic. Nice work. Link to post Share on other sites
dna4ever 2 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 You use a very reasonable mechanic. Nice work.im pretty sure he doesnt report half of what he does since he is a cash only shop.his quoting system works like this and I quote ..."well ya see this here steering stabilizer shock, blah blah, i could sell ya the part but it would be about $50 more than if you went 2 miles down the road and picked it up yourself, here is the part number, ask for Alex, he knows me. So I'll take this old one off, throw the new one on, tighten up your steering box, get those tires balanced and the front end aligned for ya ...... (looks at the ceiling, scratches head, does imaginary math) ...... for ........ ohhhhhh, how does 100 bucks sound? Thats $109.25 after we include Uncle Sam's cut *wink wink*" Sounds good to me. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 im pretty sure he doesnt report half of what he does since he is a cash only shop.his quoting system works like this and I quote ..."well ya see this here steering stabilizer shock, blah blah, i could sell ya the part but it would be about $50 more than if you went 2 miles down the road and picked it up yourself, here is the part number, ask for Alex, he knows me. So I'll take this old one off, throw the new one on, tighten up your steering box, get those tires balanced and the front end aligned for ya ...... (looks at the ceiling, scratches head, does imaginary math) ...... for ........ ohhhhhh, how does 100 bucks sound? Thats $109.25 after we include Uncle Sam's cut *wink wink*" Sounds good to me.haha, that dude is going to go broke soon. Link to post Share on other sites
AmScray 355 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Autozone sells a tire pressure gauge by "Slime" - it has a big brass relief valve- that's really good.Bought it last week, tested it about 100 times since, good quality, accurate, fairly solidly build for it's price point. Locks in the readings. Link to post Share on other sites
AAsnake88 0 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I just changed the oil & filter in my 03 Trailblazer, and I used a bunch of mismatched brands of oil I'd collected the past few years that were 'oddballs' from each case. Also used 6 5w30 and 1 10w40 (recommended is 5w30 only). Oil is oil, right? Link to post Share on other sites
AmScray 355 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Re: oilGoogle "mixing viscosities" . Happy reading.Anyway, doing a serp belt this weekend. I've been putting it off now for, oh, I don't know... forever, but I was under the skirt today doing the weekly fluids check and it's just way past the point of warranting faith. Very worn, starting to crack on the center bearing line. Being winter and with the woman driving the car, I really don't want her to be on the way to grandmas house in Skokie and the goddamn belt snapping when she's in the middle of the ghetto, or out on the expressway. Link to post Share on other sites
beans-n-icewater 18 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I just changed the oil & filter in my 03 Trailblazer, and I used a bunch of mismatched brands of oil I'd collected the past few years that were 'oddballs' from each case. Also used 6 5w30 and 1 10w40 (recommended is 5w30 only). Oil is oil, right?That should work just fine...Another good way to save money is changing the oil from one car to anotherJust dont mix makes and models.... bad things can happen by putting the used oil from a Chevy into a Toyota Link to post Share on other sites
AAsnake88 0 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Re: oilGoogle "mixing viscosities" . Happy reading.Anyway, doing a serp belt this weekend. I've been putting it off now for, oh, I don't know... forever, but I was under the skirt today doing the weekly fluids check and it's just way past the point of warranting faith. Very worn, starting to crack on the center bearing line. Being winter and with the woman driving the car, I really don't want her to be on the way to grandmas house in Skokie and the goddamn belt snapping when she's in the middle of the ghetto, or out on the expressway.Just read thru a few items on mixing viscosities and I don't think it's something I need to worry too much about with the temps in FL.Using all the oddballs I felt like I bought 10 oil changes and finally got one free.I'm over 75k on both my cars now. Does anyone use/advocate using the higher mileage oils? Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 Just read thru a few items on mixing viscosities and I don't think it's something I need to worry too much about with the temps in FL.Using all the oddballs I felt like I bought 10 oil changes and finally got one free.I'm over 75k on both my cars now. Does anyone use/advocate using the higher mileage oils? I don't. I put in whatever is the cheapest. Link to post Share on other sites
AAsnake88 0 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 That should work just fine...Another good way to save money is changing the oil from one car to anotherJust dont mix makes and models.... bad things can happen by putting the used oil from a Chevy into a ToyotaWhen I raced circle track cars I had friends who would drop their racing oil every other week then save it to put it in their pickup/tow vehicle for 3 months. Link to post Share on other sites
chgocubs99 0 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 My advice is to sell your vehicle. Stay away from Chrysler products.FYI this is excellent advice for about 90% of Chrysler cars/vans/trucks Link to post Share on other sites
AmScray 355 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Here's one...1992-1997 Buick Park Avenue, GM 3800 I, right at 100K miles (99,XXX). Cold weather climate, during winter. Vehicle drives to Point A fine. Driver is in point A for 1 hour.Driver goes back out into the parking lot and goes to start car.Key goes into ignition, all ignition activated lights turn on to typical brightness, turns key- absolutely nothing happens under the hood. Tries again, nothing. No starter, no clicking, just absolutely nothing whatsoever. Driver cries, then walks home, gets another vehicle, drives back to location of dead Buick to unload contents and prepare for tow. For shits and grins, driver gets back into Buick, turns key, fires right up.Drives it home, drives it around- about 10 trips with 20 on/off cycles in 24 hours, no problems. Any ideas what this might be? Earlier in the day, driver had muscled it through some plowed snow. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Needless to say, given the costs of Chicago metered parking (and the fact that you can only plug in 2 hours at a time) this absolutely can't happen again so any ideas on this? Link to post Share on other sites
DinkDonk 1 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 The exact same thing happened to me twice when I owned a 2000 Buick Regal. I no longer own that vehicle but would still be curious to know what the cause was. Link to post Share on other sites
AmScray 355 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Just in case anyone wants an example of how badly you get raped when you have to use dealerships and service shops...Replaced a fried climate control head in afforementioned Buick. Chicago in winter without heat or defrost sucks horrible ass (not to mention it's dangerous as hell since the interior of the windshield freezes over and you can't see shit) so having heat isn't really a negotiable thing. Dealership quote for a new CCU: $530Actual shop quotes for the job: Beaner Auto Repair: $750Another Beaner Auto Repair: $1100White Guys On Work Release Auto Repair: $900Climate Control Unit @ Pick N Pull during the Wild Wednesdays 50% Off sale- $5.49Five minutes to pull, one hours time to disassemble column and install. Sweet, sweet heat for $5.49... Link to post Share on other sites
fryer98 30 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Here's one...1992-1997 Buick Park Avenue, GM 3800 I, right at 100K miles (99,XXX). Cold weather climate, during winter. Vehicle drives to Point A fine. Driver is in point A for 1 hour.Driver goes back out into the parking lot and goes to start car.Key goes into ignition, all ignition activated lights turn on to typical brightness, turns key- absolutely nothing happens under the hood. Tries again, nothing. No starter, no clicking, just absolutely nothing whatsoever. Driver cries, then walks home, gets another vehicle, drives back to location of dead Buick to unload contents and prepare for tow. For shits and grins, driver gets back into Buick, turns key, fires right up.Drives it home, drives it around- about 10 trips with 20 on/off cycles in 24 hours, no problems. Any ideas what this might be? Earlier in the day, driver had muscled it through some plowed snow. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Needless to say, given the costs of Chicago metered parking (and the fact that you can only plug in 2 hours at a time) this absolutely can't happen again so any ideas on this?This happens to my 96 Monte Carlo (with 179,XXX miles on it, btw). I wait 5-8 minutes, starts up just fine. It'll do it 3-4 times in a week span, then not for a few months. Completely random. I was told it was a problem with GM cars with that particular factory security system. It's not worth it for me to fix it because I'm getting a new car 3-4 years ago. Link to post Share on other sites
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