What did you do to your car today?

[ORCoaster]

I never had a problem until now either.  So I am scratching my head and wondering why?  Especially after I did the same process again and got successful results.  Luck of the draw I guess. 

[srgtlord]

Today I replaced the 40 year old injection lines that were leaking at the pump connection in 2 spots and at 1 injector. Took a few minutes to get all of the air out of the lines but it ran beautifully until the radiator with 300k miles started to leak. Good thing I have a new radiator ready to go

[ORCoaster]

Today I looked across at my VW pickup on jack stands while I was washing my wife's Toyota. 

Will Parts Place ever send me my replacement head?  The rotors are starting to rust on it.  It has been that long now.

And I had a chance to purchase an entire engine for the price of the head I bought and passed it up as they said they would take care of the bad head under warranty.  I expect an exchange over the course of a couple of weeks.  It has been a couple of months now and nothing but crickets and excuses from them.

[Dennis Froelich]

Call and raise hell with them!! Pretty sad Dale!! Ain't worth the powder to blow them up...

Now I know I will never get anything from them.

[ORCoaster]

I can call, the salesman I need or want to talk to is busy, he will call me back.  Then no call, because he is busy...

The thing is they have the old head I sent them, they have my full purchase price, I spent nearly 100 bucks on sending the old head to them.  Roughly they have 900 of my dollars and are only willing to refund the purchase price.  Not such a good deal.  They may string me along by saying two to three more weeks. 

I don't think I can get my value back without just waiting it out.  Crappy deal I know but it is as it is now.

[jimfoo]

I looked out the window at mine and thought, damn, I need to finally clean the garage so I can get it in and work on it. 2 problems, I had a wiring fire behind the dash which melted a whole bunch of wires together, and something squeals and somewhat grabs randomly when I push my clutch in. Less pressing issues are figuring out why I am starting to get so much blow by, and getting something like a provent or knock off.

[ORCoaster]

Today I started to sand on some of the surface rust spots to prep them for paint to stop the rust this winter.

I was working on the driver's side windshield wiper and noticed it was pitted and the metal washer would never seal that.  So I rounded up two garden hose washers and put them on between the car body and the washer and they fit perfectly.  The inside diameter was just tight enough to snug up to the shaft of the wiper.  The outside diameter was right on the edge of the metal washer.  Almost like it was designed that way.

I hope that cuts off any water thinking about coming into the interior this winter.  I was seeing some at the end of the season last year but I really never could find where it was coming in without pulling the dash.  Who wants to do that?

[srgtlord]

Replaced the starter in the 85 golf in the streets of Boston using the spare tire jack and 2 wrenches. Nothing lasts like it should anymore. I replaced the original worn out IDI manual transmission starter with a 2000 TDI automatic starter that was supposedly genuine bosch rebuilt just about 10 years ago. That one lasted 1 year and I sent it back under warranty. The one that failed lasted just about 5 years before failing catastrophically internally. Could hear the parts rattling around when I took it off. Slapped another bosch rebuilt unit back on and away I went. I guess because the automatic starters spin faster and with more torque it fails quicker? At least I will never have to replace the starter bushing that sit in the transmission ever again

[pzookey]

I drove it home with a bad battery and finished the drive in the pitch black of night after the alternator belt broke on Sunday. Just bought this 91 Jetta for the son to drive to and from work. Only thing I could find that was running. I have to go through the brakes as they got flaky on the drive home, replace the battery, the alternator belt and test the alternator.  I have to look into why the power steering belt is off and would rather do that prior to trying a new one. Hopefully it will be safe to drive by the weekend.

[pzookey]

Well after a good charge the battery load test turned out fine. Not exactly the right battery but even after 2 load tests it cranked the diesel over. Of course this means the alternator is shot. The dim headlights just kept getting dimmer. Trying to locate the right alternator and get it ordered. This weekend is time to go through the brakes. Parking brake does not hold at all and after 30 minutes driving home the first night the pedal got real soft and spongy. I am assuming a sticky caliper causing the fluid to get too hot[/img][/img]

[ORCoaster]

So you are attempting to drive a car with a poorly performing electrical system and poorly working brakes.

I would say you are living on the wrong side of the edge.  Especially now when heat and defrosters are key to getting windows you can see out of.  At least around here. 

I hope you get it sorted out soon. 

[pzookey]

The car is parked until the electrical and brakes are corrected. During the initial test drive the brakes showed no issues and although the battery was weak everything seemed to function. The drive from where I bought it to home is when it got dark and everything reared its ugly head. I am guessing at a bad brake hose or caliper causing the brake fluid to heat up but will inspect everything closely this weekend. It was 40 minutes into the drive when the brakes acted up. The brakes in the drive way work fine again.  It got dark 15 minutes into the drive and that is when the headlights appeared dim and getting dimmer. On a warm fall night in the south, defrosters and heat are not a necessity. Come a cold winter morning they will be. So as far as attempting to drive an unsafe car, no that was not the intention. Getting to within a mile of the house on dark country roads with no traffic, yes I kept going to get it home. It will sit until the issues are sorted. Parts are on the way for the charging system and the brakes will get a close inspection tomorrow.

[ORCoaster]

Sounds like you have it figured out. 

If I had brakes that acted up like that I would be pulling them off and inspecting them carefully.  Sometimes it is just lack of use that causes something to work and then not work. Like calipers that pinch tight to stop but then bind that way and don't release.  I have had that happen. 

I would surely be replacing all the fluid and sucking it through the system. 

We will be getting cold here in the next several days so defrosters on.  It is so damp along the coast it only needs to get to the 40s and windows are foggy.

Today I took delivery on a new KO3 turbo cartridge so I might be in the shed putting that back together and up on the shelf a my spare again.  Only cost me 88 bucks for the whole piece.  Not that I needed that much but the shaft was toast and that was the best way to get a new one.  So I have spare, spare parts.  Don't we all?

[pzookey]

New rear brake shoes, wheel cylinders, parking brake cables all installed and adjusted. The second new alternator worked and everything looks good. Car charges as it should, stops as it should and runs down the road decently. Some new front rotors, Calipers and brake hoses will be going on this weekend, not because they have failed but as a preventative measure. A good flushing through with new brake fluid will help too. My step son is learning how to do these things so he can continue to take care of the repairs on what is to be his new car. I need to do some research on shifter parts as the shifter is kind of sloppy. The car shows 395000 miles on the odometer but it was a toad for an RV most of its life. Flat towing will run the miles up quickly even though nothing is running. Still has the tow bar attachment on the front.

[ORCoaster]

Did you service the proportional valve in any way?  Cleaned or rebuilt?