Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[NTP66]

Man, my Brembo's are stupid easy. I compress the piston with the old pad slightly on each side and I can easily get the new pads in.

[tifosi77]

If you will get enjoyment out of learning and satisfaction of doing the job then its worth it.

I get neither and hate it with a passion, so I like when someone else does it.

My uncle and grandpa tried getting me into car mechanical stuff when I was young. It was awful.

I don't even like changing my own washer fluid. lol

[dodint]

As I progress to stuff like engine building I have less interest in routine stuff. Even changing the thermostat and coolant temp sensor on the Saab has been pushed back for a long while since it feels like a chore.

I'm going to learn to paint in the spring.

[NTP66]

Source of the post Even changing the thermostat and coolant temp sensor on the Saab has been pushed back for a long while since it feels like a chore.

Now do it in a modern BMW...

[dodint]

Not sure about modern BMWs but the ones I've owned have been easy to change. They're right on the front of the motor. Since they made most of the cooling system out of plastic they expected you to change components often.

The Saab job looks easy too, except the thermostat is in the back and will require draining the coolant. The temp sensor is right under the engine cover. I just donnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnt carrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre.

[NTP66]

I think I mentioned this a while back whem my dad's 335xi or whatever the **** it is broke down en route to HHI. The thermostat location is just in a horrendous place and requires removing so much **** just to get to it. And then the actual stat itself just looks like an overcomplicated mess.

[Kane]

Did you try to do it yourself, or just watch a YT video? Gotta be careful sometimes with YT guys. I had to replace the starter on my Elantra couple of months ago and the top result video involved taking half of the engine apart. I jacked up the car and changed it from below. It was awkward to get a socket on, but still easy enough.

[dodint]

There is a guy that did a video like that for the headlight housings on an X5. Took the whole front end apart so he could work on the housings off the car instead of just polishing them and masking off the fender/grill.

[NTP66]

That person is a dingleberry.

[Kane]

I think they do it to scare people into letting a mechanic do it instead.

[tifosi77]

I would just like to say that 'dingleberry' is a very underutilized word, and I do my part out in the real world to address and correct that.

[mac5155]

Mazda quoted us $8,900 - cracked cylinder head. Car is 6 months out of warranty, and now we're gonna call and fight with Mazda.

I wish you best of luck in your fight but if they won't budge I see used motors in car-part for 1900-2500 ish assuming I've put the right in go in, and if it was my mechanic he'd probably say $800-1k to install the motor.

What mechanic is this that's doing it for that cost? At some point, it's not worth the time of effort around here to replace it. We're holding out hope Mazda does something. This apparently is an issue for this year vehicle, across multiples online - and it's not a driving defect, it's a failure of the casting itself.

I can safely say, I will NEVER own a Mazda again. Hated it's transmission from the start, so naturally it's the first vehicle I've ever owned where I'm potentially losing money because of something out of my control.

Bauer Automotive is my mechanic. He's usually $60-70 an hour and I'm guesstimating he can have a motor swapped in about 12-15. I dont take anything to the dealer. For comparison, ford quoted me $1800 on a full timing job that I think he did for about $850.

[NTP66]

I put my spare TL-S seat on eBay asking $280, which is more than fair given that this is a rare color combo and they only made the model for 2 years. Anyway, I get a message with just "200 $?!" in it. If they can't even put any effort into the message... delete.

[NTP66]

Saw a yellow Fiero on the road today, and it appeared to be in good shape.

[dodint]

Come on @@CBear3 you know you wanna:

1999 International Party Bus - $16,000 (Kansas City)

[CBear3]

Wow those were big around here 10 years ago. Every limo company had a Prison Bus.

[NTP66]

I put my spare TL-S seat on eBay asking $280, which is more than fair given that this is a rare color combo and they only made the model for 2 years. Anyway, I get a message with just "200 $?!" in it. If they can't even put any effort into the message... delete.

Got a follow-up message from this user: "?!!". Related: TIL that you can block users on eBay.

[Morkle]

Mazda quoted us $8,900 - cracked cylinder head. Car is 6 months out of warranty, and now we're gonna call and fight with Mazda.

Still waiting for any kind of response from Mazda. It's just sitting at the dealership in pieces still lol.

[iamjs]

Oh man, that sucks. Long distance deals are tough like that sometimes but I hate to see it happen to you.

So I made one last effort to reach out to the seller. So far, no response, and to be honest I'm not really expecting one. If he doesn't make an attempt to respond, I'm going to mention negative feedback on his eBay account. Will that move the needle? Eh, probably not, but it's worth a shot I guess.

But since I'm now in possession of a 2002 that needs more work than expected, guess it's time to start buying parts for it. I was able to snag a set of original visors for $20 shipped, which is about $40 cheaper than what they are showing in the completed listings and about $80 cheaper than most parts places are listing. Center console? I haven't decided on how detailed I'm going. I might do a double DIN radio since a seller sent me a semi-reasonable "we noticed that you're watching this item" price. Door panels won't be cheap, nor will the body molding, but that is minimal stuff that can be ordered over the next few months.

I have a shop willing to do the carburetor and shifter bushing work. Towing it later this week and should hopefully have it back after Christmas.

[dodint]

Yikes. "While you're in there..."

[iamjs]

Yikes. "While you're in there..."

Yeah, that seems to be the theme here.

Looks like the transporter is going to cover my windshield, so that will save me about $400.

[Morkle]

Eff Mazda - Only offering $2K in assistance. So total of $6800 still owed. Never again will I buy this piece of **** brand.

[dodint]

Driving old BMWs is fun.



Mostly.

Best I can figure the oil cooler hose left the chat.

[NTP66]

Oof. Is that condensation in the headlights, or are they that frosted?

[dodint]

It's just UV damage, I need to polish them back but don't really care.

This thing has almost 160k and is my **** wagon. It's held together with JB Weld and hope.