The Car Thread ... !

[bunnspecial]

I used to do my own pads and rotors as well. It's pretty quick to do yourself, especially if you are familiar with the vehicle you're working on. I used to have a Toyota Hilux, and on that truck the brake rotor actually forms part of the housing for the front wheel bearings, meaning when changing rotors you either had to repack or replace the wheel bearings. It wasn't too bad but an extra step few people have to deal with.

That actually not a super uncommon design for older disk brakes, and stuck around a long time on light/medium duty pickups also.

I'm guessing it probably had fixed(as opposed to floating) calipers. I like them a lot better, although they are of course more expensive. In theory I also like being able to change pads without removing the rotors(which most designs allow) but I've never seen a practical need to do it and deal with having to retract pistons.

I do have to admit also that even though pulling the hubs to change the rotors is a royal pain, I like the idea of the rotor being bolted to the hub rather than "sandwiched" between the wheel and hub and hanging off the studs.

And of all the things I find myself up for with this timely post-my brother in law has decided he wants to learn to work on cars and I told him I'd call him when I was working on something and he could come over if he wanted. I called him today to ask if he wanted to come over and change the oil in the MKZ with me(start simple) or if he really wanted to learn esoteric and mostly useless on modern car skills, if he wanted to do the spring tune-up and lube on the MG with me.

Turns out his brakes are metal on metal and his fiancé had said she could help him change them using his 5-socket tool set she gave him as a birthday present. He asked if they could come over and do it in my garage, which I said was fine as long as I was supervising(my tools, my house, my rules). We are going shopping for parts tomorrow afternoon and then going to do them. Just hoping that we don't end up with "too many cooks in the kitchen" so to speak with his fiancé there also. To her credit, her dad DID teach her a lot of car maintenance basics, but she also says it's been 5+ years since she's touched anything and, there again, my garage and all.

Fortunately I'm not too worried about anything crazy on a 2010 Camry...

 

[Zendokan]

I bought/ordered last month this beauty. Will be delivered around September and will be my last company car with a gasoline engine.
I'm independant, so in 5 years I'll buy an electric car, but keep this one for the weekends. 😍😄

The two liter engine (184 HP) with manual transmission, Skycruise Sport option pack, Recaro interior and all the additional packs (navigation, multimedia, security, protection....).

😍

 

[ericwn]

I bought/ordered last month this beauty. Will be delivered around September and will be my last company car with a gasoline engine.
I'm independant, so in 5 years I'll buy an electric car, but keep this one for the weekends.
View attachment 1980461

The two liter engine (184 HP) with manual transmission, Skycruise Sport option pack, Recaro interior and all the additional packs (navigation, multimedia, security, protection....).

View attachment 1980463
View attachment 1980464
View attachment 1980462

Beautiful! Awesome colour too!

 

[Apple fanboy]

I bought/ordered last month this beauty. Will be delivered around September and will be my last company car with a gasoline engine.
I'm independant, so in 5 years I'll buy an electric car, but keep this one for the weekends. 😍😄
View attachment 1980461

The two liter engine (184 HP) with manual transmission, Skycruise Sport option pack, Recaro interior and all the additional packs (navigation, multimedia, security, protection....).

View attachment 1980463
View attachment 1980464
View attachment 1980462 😍

That is a nice looking car. Enjoy.

 

[bunnspecial]

I used to do my own pads and rotors as well. It's pretty quick to do yourself, especially if you are familiar with the vehicle you're working on. I used to have a Toyota Hilux, and on that truck the brake rotor actually forms part of the housing for the front wheel bearings, meaning when changing rotors you either had to repack or replace the wheel bearings. It wasn't too bad but an extra step few people have to deal with.

Just as another thought on this too-

I know the repack interval is often specified as 50-75K, but realistically you're doing brakes what, 20-40K miles?

In my mind, a repack that often isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if nothing else it forces you do do it rather than neglect it.

I've never actually replaced an original Timken bearing on an MG(and even though I only have one, I often connect with and help other people in the area on routine maintenance tasks). Especially given that they have big front brakes for such a light car, front brakes last a REALLY long time and even without power brakes(as I prefer, and as pre-75 cars had) it's not difficult to lock the wheels. I've done it before when people pulled in front of me...

If someone comes to my house and they don't know when a full chassis lube was last done, we always repack the bearings. The outer ones often run dry in 10-20K miles, although the inner ones rarely do. Still, though, even on a bone dry one I've never seen one go bad. Part of that is that they're massively oversized-they're the same as 70s GM full size car bearings(which makes them an in stock over-the-counter part at about any parts store in the country) and I keep a set on the shelf in my garage, but I bought them years ago and have never touched them.

John Twist, who's one of the US gurus in British car repair and ran a shop for 40 years specializing in MGs but handling all other British makes told me he didn't think he'd replaced more than a dozen outer bearings in his career and had never replaced an inner bearing. And yes, in the 70s when he could still order parts from the BL dealer down the street from him, he stocked up on parts when they closed and he bought 20 or 30 sets of bearings. He was still fitting OEM when he closed.

To that point also, I repack mine during spring maintenance. Is that overkill? You bet, but I'm doing it while the front one still has plenty of grease and what comes out is still fairly dirty.

I did buy one of those cheap two-cone bearing packers, which makes packing a 5 minute job. I know folks who will swear that you can't do it right unless you're packing by hand, but axle grease also is also one of the worst to clean up things I deal with so I don't mind.

 

[JT2002TJ]

I did buy one of those cheap two-cone bearing packers, which makes packing a 5 minute job. I know folks who will swear that you can't do it right unless you're packing by hand, but axle grease also is also one of the worst to clean up things I deal with so I don't mind.

Axle grease, gear oil and my number one favorite Anti seize (gets on EVERYTHING, but doesn't have the odor of grease and gear oil)

I had gear oil spill in the back of my wrangler while wheeling. Took YEARS to get that smell out, YEARS.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Axle grease, gear oil and my number one favorite Anti seize (gets on EVERYTHING, but doesn't have the odor of grease and gear oil)

I had gear oil spill in the back of my wrangler while wheeling. Took YEARS to get that smell out, YEARS.

Still better than cutting fluid. Now that’s a smell!

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Just as another thought on this too-

I know the repack interval is often specified as 50-75K, but realistically you're doing brakes what, 20-40K miles?

In my mind, a repack that often isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if nothing else it forces you do do it rather than neglect it.

Obviously you've spent a lot of time around old British sports cars, so you know how short maintenance and lubrication intervals USED to be. If you look even further back at 1910s and 1920s cars, some had those automatic chassis lube systems and the manuals recommended lubricating and greasing all sorts of things at what we could consider are crazy short intervals. 'Tuning' was a constant fact of life as mechanical systems wore. Cars did not last anywhere near as long back then!

These days, with careful driving, you could buy, say, a brand new Hyundai Elantra and go 100k miles (or even 150k+) with zero maintenance apart from regular oil/filter changes, one brake job, and one new set of tires. I wouldn't recommend it, but auto engineering has come a long way in a century.

My dad had a 1969 TVR Vixen. I'm still mad he sold it many years before I had a chance to get my hands on it. I'd love to have a prewar MG, or maybe a Triumph TR6. But An NA Miata would also be great.

 

[44267547]

I bought/ordered last month this beauty. Will be delivered around September and will be my last company car with a gasoline engine.
I'm independant, so in 5 years I'll buy an electric car, but keep this one for the weekends. 😍😄
View attachment 1980461

The two liter engine (184 HP) with manual transmission, Skycruise Sport option pack, Recaro interior and all the additional packs (navigation, multimedia, security, protection....).

View attachment 1980463
View attachment 1980464
View attachment 1980462 😍

@Huntn

I believe you have this exact model/color, (Maybe with a few options that may vary in degree.)

Any updates on your experiences since ownership down in Texas.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Off to Audi in Cardiff today to get a ‘Dataplug’ fitted to my A4 so I can view the service history etc of my car via my phone. It’s a 2015 model so needs this upgrade as smartphones have become more modern. It plugs into the diagnostic port and apparently Audi have to make sure you have the car rather than send anything out. I think they’ll be shocked how clean the car is and how few miles it’s done once they see it.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Off to Audi in Cardiff today to get a ‘Dataplug’ fitted to my A4 so I can view the service history etc of my car via my phone. It’s a 2015 model so needs this upgrade as smartphones have become more modern. It plugs into the diagnostic port and apparently Audi have to make sure you have the car rather than send anything out. I think they’ll be shocked how clean the car is and how few miles it’s done once they see it.

Hope you don’t reveal any shocks! I’m sure it will be fine.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Hope you don’t reveal any shocks! I’m sure it will be fine.

It was serviced by Audi in January so I hope not. I don’t think they will be checking anything g to be honest, they are only plugging the device in and connecting it up to my phone.

 

[Huntn]

I bought/ordered last month this beauty. Will be delivered around September and will be my last company car with a gasoline engine.
I'm independant, so in 5 years I'll buy an electric car, but keep this one for the weekends. 😍😄
View attachment 1980461

The two liter engine (184 HP) with manual transmission, Skycruise Sport option pack, Recaro interior and all the additional packs (navigation, multimedia, security, protection....).

View attachment 1980463
View attachment 1980464
View attachment 1980462 😍

@Huntn

I believe you have this exact model/color, (Maybe with a few options that may vary in degree.)

Any updates on your experiences since ownership down in Texas.

The car is a dream, drives like a dream, not a muscle car, but a high energy, touring sports car. Everyone in their Charger, Challenger, Mustang, Camaro, Hyunda, etc lol, want to race me and I humiliate them.

​

I have the 2016 soft top convertible red soul metallic, which besides beautiful is my preferred convertible configuration, simple, easy, manually open and close, unlikely to break. The hardtop convertible sides down into the trunk area and may reduce trunk space which is already restrictive for bringing luggage, but I maybe wrong about that. it’s been several years since I looked at a hardtop at the dealers. I don’t care for the mechanism that retracts the roof into the back of the car

Ok, honestly as for being challenged to a race, I ignore them when it comes to drag racing from a stop light which is the usual encounter, and I don’t race anyone, but the way this car is built and handles, acceleration seems natural. The Corvettes have too much ego to challenge me, they know they are superior, but they are relatively heavy, just like Zs which as a rule I don’t care for. I drove a Z in 2018 when as if providence beckoned, this used Miata was sitting in the lot with 10k miles on it. The Z and new Corvettes to me feel like high powered lead sleds. I want light and nimble and if I recall correctly, it was the 2016 Miata model that shaved 200 lbs off the frame making this a very lively and enjoyable sports car.

Also of note since I’m talking about it, some of you know I was a Fiat Spider fanatic until my 82 got to a point where it required more work than I wanted to give it, I did not trust it, and I sold it. To be fair the car overall treated me well, and from a reliability standpoint is no different than any 40 year old car. They will require work to keep them going. It drove really nice in 1992, but the Miata drives better. Yes it’s a classic car that I sold to someone with the energy to baby it like it deserved and the body and top was in great shape. It turned people’s heads, and so does the Miata.

​

Somewhere in this time frame I test drove the Fiat version of the Miata and I was not happy with it. But to be fair I’d have to drive it again, if it has not been discontinued like my Fiat 500 for import. As I recall it felt heavy to me also, and not only that but it was completely obvious this was a Miata that Fiat altered to call it a Fiat, and it was built on the Miata production line so hell, might as well stick to the true version of perfection and purity.

2017 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth vs. 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club

To pick our favorite fraternal twin, we vectored toward the canyons north of Ojai, California, and one of our favorite roads, State Route 33.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[Zendokan]

The car is a dream, drives like a dream, not a muscle car, but a high energy, touring sports car. Everyone in their Charger, Challenger, Mustang, Camaro, Hyunda, etc lol, want to race me and I humiliate them.

View attachment 1981161​

I have the 2016 soft top convertible red soul metallic, which besides beautiful is my preferred convertible configuration, simple, easy, manually open and close, unlikely to break. The hardtop convertible sides down into the trunk area and may reduce trunk space which is already restrictive for bringing luggage, but I maybe wrong about that. it’s been several years since I looked at a hardtop at the dealers. I don’t care for the mechanism that retracts the roof into the back of the car
.....

They shaved indeed 200kg from this model bringing the weight of the current softtop (ND) back to the weight of the first generation Miata (NA).
The handling is great because its a (front) mid engined car with a 50/50 weight balance.

In the beginning I was thinking about getting the softtop, but in Belgium, if you buy your car as a company car with a renting (lease + buy afterwards option) contract, you can't order a softtop, mostly because a softtop gets broken in quiet fast, just bij slicing up the roof when it stays unattended in parts of Brussels. The parts where there are a lot of parkinglots catering to company cars around the business districts.

Yet, I personally preferred the silouette of the RF version a little bit more. It has some 1968 Opel GT looks to it:

especially when you look at the Opel Aero GT prototype that unfortunate never was put in production:

 

[Huntn]

At 50k miles, the engine on my 2012 Fiat 500 imploded As reported in this thread.Thank goodness that I had a lifetime warranty so I got a new engine for $100. Now less than a year later I’m noticing a clunky sound that comes from the body of the car when driving. The steering feels good and the car feels stable so as this model car as had recalls regarding steering noises, and the warranty still stands on this car it will be back to the dealer for an inspection. Any 500 owners here?

If I can ignore that the engine imploded, this car as served me well for 10 years.

Clunk Flunk Rattling Noise

www.fiat500owners.com

Knocking sound from front suspension

www.fiat500owners.com

not my image​

 

[Lord Blackadder]

At 50k miles, the engine on my 2012 Fiat 500 imploded As reported in this thread.Thank goodness that I had a lifetime warranty so I got a new engine for $100. Now less than a year later I’m noticing a clunky sound that comes from the body of the car when driving. The steering feels good and the car feels stable so as this model car as had recalls regarding steering noises, and the warranty still stands on this car it will be back to the dealer for an inspection. Any 500 owners here?

It could be a blown strut or strut mount. Especially if the clunk corresponds with driving over bumps or road imperfections. Not a super cheap fix but a pretty straightforward one.

 

[Matz]

Back in November, I mentioned that I procured a daily driver car to reduce the need to drive my modified 2014 Dodge Charger R/T AWD, thereby saving some gas and not putting as many miles on my Charger, which gets 15mpg on premium, and still has under 60,000 miles.

Said daily driver is a 2008 Chevy HHR SS, with a 5sp manual transmission. It gets 25 to 27mpg. What I failed to realize before becoming enchanted with these little retro beasts is that finding parts is a challenge. The SS was only made from '08 to '10, and many of the suspension parts are different from the other HHR models. So now I find myself searching for various bits to have on hand. I've done fairly well, but the right lower control arm, for example, is no longer made, and I'm waiting for a dealer to track one down for me. I found one for the left side from another source, at about half the price of the one I just ordered. That makes little sense to me, as I would think they would be replaced in pairs.

Had I known then what I now know, I may well have chosen a different car for daily driver duties. And, to be honest, I probably wouldn't have modified my Charger, either. It has way more power than I care to use (550 hp at the wheels, which is close to 650 at the crankshaft).

So now I have two cars with completely different personalities, both of which are capable of getting me into serious trouble if I'm not paying attention. And I'm not quite sure what to do about that. Truly a first world problem.

 

[JT2002TJ]

At 50k miles, the engine on my 2012 Fiat 500 imploded As reported in this thread.Thank goodness that I had a lifetime warranty so I got a new engine for $100. Now less than a year later I’m noticing a clunky sound that comes from the body of the car when driving. The steering feels good and the car feels stable so as this model car as had recalls regarding steering noises, and the warranty still stands on this car it will be back to the dealer for an inspection. Any 500 owners here?

If I can ignore that the engine imploded, this car as served me well for 10 years.

Clunk Flunk Rattling Noise

www.fiat500owners.com

Knocking sound from front suspension

www.fiat500owners.com

not my image​

I have the MaxCare unlimited mile warranty as well. Love it. I have it on my 2015 Ram 1500 Big Horn with Hemi engine. I plan to keep this truck forever (until it costs more than I'm willing to pay for a repair, see below)...

For others, this warranty was offered by FCA (they stopped the unlimited mile/time version) until 11/2020. It is bumper to bumper warranty (excluding wear items) with a copay per visit, that goes until a single visit's repair costs more than the value of the vehicle. At that point they pay you the value of the vehicle, you keep the vehicle, and the warranty is then over.

Essentially they were banking that people wouldn't keep their vehicles for enough time to use up the initial investment + interest they would get. Especially since it is non-transferable (except when sold in states that require), that ends when you get sell/total the vehicle.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Back in November, I mentioned that I procured a daily driver car to reduce the need to drive my modified 2014 Dodge Charger R/T AWD, thereby saving some gas and not putting as many miles on my Charger, which gets 15mpg on premium, and still has under 60,000 miles.

Said daily driver is a 2008 Chevy HHR SS, with a 5sp manual transmission. It gets 25 to 27mpg. What I failed to realize before becoming enchanted with these little retro beasts is that finding parts is a challenge. The SS was only made from '08 to '10, and many of the suspension parts are different from the other HHR models. So now I find myself searching for various bits to have on hand. I've done fairly well, but the right lower control arm, for example, is no longer made, and I'm waiting for a dealer to track one down for me. I found one for the left side from another source, at about half the price of the one I just ordered. That makes little sense to me, as I would think they would be replaced in pairs.

Had I known then what I now know, I may well have chosen a different car for daily driver duties. And, to be honest, I probably wouldn't have modified my Charger, either. It has way more power than I care to use (550 hp at the wheels, which is close to 650 at the crankshaft).

So now I have two cars with completely different personalities, both of which are capable of getting me into serious trouble if I'm not paying attention. And I'm not quite sure what to do about that. Truly a first world problem.

Sorry. Unfortunately, any specialty vehicle falls into this. They always add parts that are high performance and they do not manufacture the same volume of parts like they do with the regular version. Usually the best option is to get aftermarket (which typically are an improvement over stock). But, as with your setup, would require a major investment since you would want to match all 4 corners, upper and lowers. It is very hard to keep a specialty vehicle like you have stock, without only Sunday driving it...

 

[Apple fanboy]

My boss had his new Model Y in the office today. White leather interior. Might be okay for him, but I’d be paranoid in there with a coffee or new pair of jeans.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

My boss had his new Model Y in the office today. White leather interior. Might be okay for him, but I’d be paranoid in there with a coffee or new pair of jeans.

If it’s leather, it has to be black from my personal preference. I hate white or beige leather interiors as they quickly look filthy without constant care. One of the BMW’s where I work has a beige interior and the drivers seat is a grey colour now from all the jeans and dirty trousers that have sat in it. The cracks in the leather show up much more prominently too.

 

[Apple fanboy]

If it’s leather, it has to be black from my personal preference. I hate white or beige leather interiors as they quickly look filthy without constant care. One of the BMW’s where I work has a beige interior and the drivers seat is a grey colour now from all the jeans and dirty trousers that have sat in it. The cracks in the leather show up much more prominently too.

My order is a dark brown leather. It’s not black, but closer to black than tan.

 

[Nütztjanix]

I actually like beige or white leather (for the look), but I agree that it needs constant care and is impractical for my job and the way I dress.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I actually like beige or white leather (for the look), but I agree that it needs constant care and is impractical for my job and the way I dress.

I don't mind cream (we have a cream leather sofa at home). But the white was very bright looking for my taste.

 

[Nütztjanix]

I don't mind cream (we have a cream leather sofa at home). But the white was very bright looking for my taste.

It has to match the car's exterior colour and the car itself, of course.