The Driveway: COBbies talk cars

I've also been having a problem with the engine faltering right after starting, but either I'm accidentally getting good at managing it or whatever it was cleared out, because yesterday and today it started first time every time.

I had that issue with an Olds way back when. Never did get it fixed.

With my Saturn, I had that issue for awhile, and it turned out to be that the coolant sensor broke. The computer was reading the engine as colder than it actually was, so it was feeding the engine too much gasoline/not enough air. Which made it stall. Turns out it's extremely common for Saturns to develop this problem: the factory sensor always breaks. The aftermarket ones last longer.

So if you haven't tried googling your make/model/year with something like "stalls at start", I'd recommend it.

Yesterday my front left turn signal burned out. When I pulled the socket out to replace it, a pint of water gushed out of the lamp. I actually stuck the socket back in quickly and switched from reaching under the fender for it blind to going ahead and pulling out the headlight assembly to get at the signal lamp from the top because I was sure I'd broken some necessary reservoir of something crucial.

Clearly it wasn't working because your blinker fluid was leaking into the housing.

Most likely just condensation/rain building up from some crack in the light's housing. I mean, it's good to check, but water can pool up in those things. But maybe you've already figured that out.

Hey peeps, I've got an issue with my 2004 Pontiac Vibe. I was in an accident (totally me at fault) a couple of weeks ago and completely snapped my driver's side tie rod in two. I've managed to take off the outer, it's the inner that's a stone bitch. The remnant of the rod that's still there is so bent that a standard cheater bar won't fit around it, so I got one of those clamp-looking things to go around it. Thing is, I can't seem to tighten it enough to keep grip no matter how hard I try. Whenever I take a ratchet to the tool it ends up slipping around the tie rod and I obviously can't replace the tie rod if I can't get the broken piece off.

The only other options I see are getting a ball-joint separator so I can use the cheater pipe or somehow just cutting through the tie rod at the rack with a pair of bolt cutters or something.

If you can manage to cram a Sawzall under there, you may be able to cut it off that way, or at least, that's what I'd do.

I was also thinking of just getting a bigass 1 3/16" wrench and fitting it around the wrench flats. I'm going to hope it's not reverse-threaded, because a) I'd feel like a dumbass and b) my replacement tie rods wouldn't fit.

Well, I've been putting up with it for too long, but I finally replaced my mass airflow sensor. Less than a week after I noticed the stalling on start (or sometimes five feet later) and wobbling RPM at idle, the service engine light came on and stayed on, and I've been told that I'll have to have no problem codes to pass inspection, which needs to happen this month. The code said MAF error, but everyone I asked about the symptoms said things like "spark plugs", "suction", and "excess fuel drain valve".

But getting rid of the code was the priority, and getting the sensor cleaned didn't fix it, so I had to replace it. Finally bought a new one yesterday, and planned to swap it out at home today, since it's a pretty basic install.

Well, I looked up how to videos and found, not only does a bad sensor cause all the problems I was having, but also I was going to need a tamper-resistant torx driver to turn the screws. So I had to go to the store on my day off and get some help finding what I needed. But the upside is, I was able to return the core (old one for remanufacture and 40 bucks off the price) immediately instead of waiting until tomorrow.

I could tell on the way home the problems were fixed, and the light turned off after a 20-mile drive I was planning to make today anyway. So now, after spending 80 bucks to fix my car, I'm ready to spend 80 bucks to keep it legal for another year.

So last night I got a speeding ticket. Legitimate bust, I was doing like 20 over, but was only cited for "inattentive driving", which results in no points on my record.

Why it's noteworthy is because Finagle is an asshole. The flashers came on just after Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" finished. "Perversity of the universe," indeed...

OK so I get the feeling that learning clutch control is going to be the bane of my existence.

I just loooove hearing a car-like crunching sound, especially when it's my car.

^Details Full-sized wheel fell out of the back of some guy's pickup when I was heading to a delivery, and I couldn't stop or dodge. Smashed the shit out of the front driver corner of the car, possibly with undercarriage damage as well. In the morning I'll have to poke the body shop about whether they've looked at it closely yet, I was on the day shift at work today so I couldn't follow up on it right away.

Oh suckage. What happened there?

My battery and my starter apparently had a suicide pact took each other out. I wound getting both replaced this last week.

I described what happened under the "details" note, to not spam the thread.

Anyway, they still haven't gotten it up on a rack to look at the underside closely, which isn't surprising since their storage parking lot and all the bays were full.

Ahh missed it. Looked like the edit foot note. That sucks man. Hopefully your covered by insurance for a fix and the under carriage is ok.

Now that my Taurus is back up and running it is running better both at start and idle. Not bad for a 185,000 mile car.

Yeah, already filed the claim with the insurance company and they said it's covered..

edited 3rd Mar '18 6:13:53 AM by Nohbody

When I asked my insurance company about getting my rates lowered a few months ago, they said that they'd go down two years after my collision and then back to perfect record rates after four years. Two years have gone by and my policy renews this month, so hopefully my bill will be lower.

Heard back about the damage.

Total of $4K (before my $500 deductible) all told. I don't recall all of the details offhand (verbal report over the phone, later I'll see about getting a copy of the list), but I know the radiator and its mounting bracket need replacement, along with the impact bar and the bumper cover.

Ouch. That really smacked your car pretty badly to mangle those parts enough to be replaced.

Well, I may or may not have been exceeding the posted 35 mph speed limit... *innocent whistling*

More seriously, it was a big tire, and it's not like the Elantra is riding on Bigfoot's suspension.

Sometimes when I'm feeling stressed, I put this on and just close my eyes.

https://youtu.be/vPFUAplDePA

3:03 in is the important part.

Finally got my car back, after about two weeks of a Nissan Rogue and another four days of a crew cab Ford F-150 (read: big ).

The Rogue was tolerable, for an SUV, but if it hadn't been for the shortage of smaller vehicles on the rental lot I would've rather beat my head against a wall than drive that Ford.

And now I'm finding that I need to readjust to what I was used to, which is kind of annoying in some places.

In particular, the Ford had a steering column shift lever, whereas pretty much everything I've driven since my first car (a '92 Taurus wagon) had one somewhere along the centerline console, so I was worried about accidentally grabbing for the shifter thinking it was the wiper control. Fortunately, I never made that mistake, but now I find I'm grabbing for a column shift lever that's not there any more.

Fun fun fun.

State Farm is dropping my car insurance due to too many accidents (my fault or not) and the speeding ticket I got last year. They said they sent a notice in June of last year that I was close to being dropped, but I don't recall ever seeing that. In any case, it was supposed to end tonight, but the cancellation notice never went out, so they've set up for one last period on them given the short notice, and then after October they will no longer do business with me.

Kind of annoying, but given that the payouts for repairs have been more than the car was worth when I bought it it's not surprising.

I did, though, have to keep myself from laughing at the agent when she tried to sell me other State Farm services (loan refinance in particular), since she was just doing her job. But after this, if they think I'll have anything further to do with State Farm they're smoking crack.

For the first time in my life, I'm car shopping because I planned for it and not because my last car died or was wrecked. Woohoo! The Saturn is still kickin', despite being old enough to vote.

The surprise contender in my search for a late-model hatchback is a Kia Soul. I like it better than a Toyota Prius, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, or Chevy Cruze. A 2014 Mazda 3 was more fun, but that would mean stretching my budget. Gonna try a Honda Fit this evening, and an older Mazda 3.

The enlarged blind spots in newer cars are gonna take some getting used to. I know it's a safety thing (to pass roll tests), but it makes me jumpy.

My sister's car is a Honda Fit. It's pretty great drive-wise and fits a whole lot of stuff in it, which is always cool.

I'm thinking of getting an electric car when I have enough money.

But also, because I am a giant nerd who rewatched FLCL about eight times in the past week due to the new seasons, I'm getting a motorcycle license so I can ride a Vespa around town. It's also cheaper than getting a car. And more stylish.