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Author Topic:   Car Talk
clpMINI
Member (Idle past 5164 days)
Posts: 116
From: Richmond, VA, USA
Joined: 03-22-2005


Message 31 of 41 (422867)
09-18-2007 3:05 PM
Reply to: Message 29 by macaroniandcheese
09-18-2007 2:09 PM


Re: Kidney Cars?
then i suggest you keep your expenditure suggestions to yourself...
It wasn't a serious suggestion.
However, if you sell your car, you'd have plenty of money to buy that transmission you need. (kind of a self inflicted The Gift of the Magi thing there)
I got my MINI in 2003 when my '85 Corolla died, and the cost to fix it would have been more than the car was worth.
You could actually call into the Car Talk radio show on NPR, and ask them what to do. They seem to know whats going on and are downright hilarious at times. Could be fun and informative.
~clpMINI

This message is a reply to:
 Message 29 by macaroniandcheese, posted 09-18-2007 2:09 PM macaroniandcheese has replied

Replies to this message:
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macaroniandcheese 
Suspended Member (Idle past 3927 days)
Posts: 4258
Joined: 05-24-2004


Message 32 of 41 (422873)
09-18-2007 4:14 PM
Reply to: Message 31 by clpMINI
09-18-2007 3:05 PM


Re: Kidney Cars?
i've been calling them for years about various vehicles and i never get on

This message is a reply to:
 Message 31 by clpMINI, posted 09-18-2007 3:05 PM clpMINI has not replied

  
macaroniandcheese 
Suspended Member (Idle past 3927 days)
Posts: 4258
Joined: 05-24-2004


Message 33 of 41 (426885)
10-09-2007 1:01 AM


btw. a couple weeks ago, i got a transmission flush. omg $150.
now the car is behaving better, but my mileage is still shit. i suppose it must be unrelated. anyone have any ideas? i keep my tires right. i just used a fuel cleaner. i have taken to driving much more slowly, trying not to suck so much.
*sigh*

Replies to this message:
 Message 34 by crashfrog, posted 10-09-2007 1:07 AM macaroniandcheese has replied
 Message 38 by jar, posted 10-09-2007 9:59 AM macaroniandcheese has replied

  
crashfrog
Member (Idle past 1466 days)
Posts: 19762
From: Silver Spring, MD
Joined: 03-20-2003


Message 34 of 41 (426888)
10-09-2007 1:07 AM
Reply to: Message 33 by macaroniandcheese
10-09-2007 1:01 AM


btw. a couple weeks ago, i got a transmission flush. omg $150.
I had to have the alternator, powertrain control module, and the right front wheel bearing all replaced in the same week. It was nearly $1300.
More than $600 to flash and socket an EEPROM chip. Bullshit.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 33 by macaroniandcheese, posted 10-09-2007 1:01 AM macaroniandcheese has replied

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johnfolton 
Suspended Member (Idle past 5591 days)
Posts: 2024
Joined: 12-04-2005


Message 35 of 41 (426900)
10-09-2007 2:00 AM


Try resetting the cars computer by disconnecting the battery post for several minutes to reset the computer if you have not already done so, etc....
Fuel filter, air filter, pcv valve, spark plug wires ?

Replies to this message:
 Message 37 by macaroniandcheese, posted 10-09-2007 9:14 AM johnfolton has not replied

  
macaroniandcheese 
Suspended Member (Idle past 3927 days)
Posts: 4258
Joined: 05-24-2004


Message 36 of 41 (426946)
10-09-2007 9:10 AM
Reply to: Message 34 by crashfrog
10-09-2007 1:07 AM


heh. ew.
however, $150 the week i transition from temp to perm at my job and skip a week of pay isn't any less fun.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 34 by crashfrog, posted 10-09-2007 1:07 AM crashfrog has not replied

  
macaroniandcheese 
Suspended Member (Idle past 3927 days)
Posts: 4258
Joined: 05-24-2004


Message 37 of 41 (426947)
10-09-2007 9:14 AM
Reply to: Message 35 by johnfolton
10-09-2007 2:00 AM


well. it *just* had a tune up. okay about a year ago. and just after that i replaced the fuel filter (which hadn't been touched) and we just changed the spark plugs (like, a month ago). i think we did the air filter. that one's really easy.
oh! pcv. is that the one on that back (passenger) side of the engine? i was having problems with that before. the hose kept popping off. it was fixed. maybe that's it. my mileage suffered greatly when it was off. (i'm sure there's an important reason for this, but cars are like computers. they run on voodoo and dust.)
Edited by brennakimi, : No reason given.

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jar
Member (Idle past 393 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 38 of 41 (426961)
10-09-2007 9:59 AM
Reply to: Message 33 by macaroniandcheese
10-09-2007 1:01 AM


now the car is behaving better, but my mileage is still shit. i suppose it must be unrelated. anyone have any ideas? i keep my tires right. i just used a fuel cleaner. i have taken to driving much more slowly, trying not to suck so much.
Define the change in mileage? How much of a change?
Find someone with an exhaust gas analyzer and get them to check for unburned hydrocarbons.
How long has it been since the plugs and plug wires were replaced?
Have someone hook up the cars computer and check things like timing.
Decide if the cost to improve mileage is less than the cost of the extra fuel used.

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

This message is a reply to:
 Message 33 by macaroniandcheese, posted 10-09-2007 1:01 AM macaroniandcheese has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 39 by macaroniandcheese, posted 10-09-2007 10:13 AM jar has replied

  
macaroniandcheese 
Suspended Member (Idle past 3927 days)
Posts: 4258
Joined: 05-24-2004


Message 39 of 41 (426966)
10-09-2007 10:13 AM
Reply to: Message 38 by jar
10-09-2007 9:59 AM


we just changed the plugs. they weren't gapped correctly before.
i know not of these wires.
well. i'm really not sure what the mileage was before because when i switched from my 94 villager last august, i forgot to keep track of my mileage to get an average. btw, i got about 18mpg in that. so. previously i was getting about 340 miles on my i think 15 gallon tank. that's about 22mpg. that may be a bit high, but i think that's right. it's easy for me to remember what that tripometer says. it was about the same that my van got but with a smaller tank. i had some issues with it when this air valve on the passenger side of the engine kept popping off and i went down to 16 or so. now that someone brought it up, it may be that again, but the valve was on the last time i looked at it. i got that fixed last october i think. so in june i tried the ethanol and my mileage went down to 10mpg. it only got vaguely better and slowly after that. i used a fuel system cleaner and that helped a *little*. it sounded better after we changed the plugs, and the transmission is much better since the flush/filter. but. my mileage is still balls, like i said. it's about 16 now.
sure it's a 7 year old car, but it shouldn't be that bad. it's probably cheaper to buy the gas in the short run, but if it's something simple and cheap (especially something pep boys should have done, but didn't) then i'd like to pursue it.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 38 by jar, posted 10-09-2007 9:59 AM jar has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 40 by jar, posted 10-09-2007 11:05 AM macaroniandcheese has replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 393 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 40 of 41 (426979)
10-09-2007 11:05 AM
Reply to: Message 39 by macaroniandcheese
10-09-2007 10:13 AM


Plug wires are the wires that connect the spark plugs to the ignition.
Getting a diagnostic test should cost about 60-80 dollars and should tell you what is out of spec.

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

This message is a reply to:
 Message 39 by macaroniandcheese, posted 10-09-2007 10:13 AM macaroniandcheese has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 41 by macaroniandcheese, posted 10-09-2007 11:12 AM jar has not replied

  
macaroniandcheese 
Suspended Member (Idle past 3927 days)
Posts: 4258
Joined: 05-24-2004


Message 41 of 41 (426982)
10-09-2007 11:12 AM
Reply to: Message 40 by jar
10-09-2007 11:05 AM


Plug wires are the wires that connect the spark plugs to the ignition.
i figured.
Getting a diagnostic test should cost about 60-80 dollars and should tell you what is out of spec.
i need to make friends with a mechanic so i don't have to pay 60 bucks for someone to put a wire on my car and wait for a computer to run numbers.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 40 by jar, posted 10-09-2007 11:05 AM jar has not replied

  
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