# Grr... It's the little things that are frustrating with vehicles!



## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

So, I've got an appointment to get my oil changed tomorrow. Also, I am getting new racing tires and brakes put on the car on Saturday, along with some new bushings for suspension.

I get in my car tonight after leaving my friends house and....

The gauge cluster has a lightbulb burnt out right behind my tachometer. 

What a pain in the *** job that is to fix!

Anyone in the GTA wanna do it for me? I'll buy ya a case of beer.


----------



## DanFo (Apr 9, 2011)

yikes a.... 2 dollar part but the labour's prob $70


----------



## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Yeah. 

a 194 bulb is like $1.50

.......and to take apart the whole dash and rip out the cluster is probably an hour in labour... i'd say its a $105 job 

I'm the type of person that would pay the $105 even though I could fix it myself.
I love my car, I really do. But I HATE working on cars lol


----------



## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

I've taken the dash board out of my old honda a few times and it's a big job. So many wires and hook ups, vents, tight space. 

It probably went out beacuse your car is modified and is shaking the filiment in the light. 

On a side note, I built a bicycle last week for a case of beer. I will work for beer and food, lol


----------



## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Jungle said:


> It probably went out beacuse your car is modified and is shaking the filiment in the light.
> 
> On a side note, I built a bicycle last week for a case of beer. I will work for beer and food, lol


I wouldn't doubt that it came loose due to my car shaking rapidly because of my motor mounts. Maybe it will "magically" fall back into place over night. I already tried hitting the dash a few times.

Okay, so Jungle. You must have talent.

... case of beer and pizza?


----------



## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I hear you on the little things,my truck is still fairly new but the kinks are showing,my air conditioner is acting up,cd player ect,i swear its just after the warrenty lol.

I got to take my truck into a car wash once a week atleast,its like my office with wheels,couple coffee stains and whats with mcdonalds fries,they always ended up tucked in the unreachable places,or my favorite finding one of my workers dirty socks somewhere or a wrapper ahh.

I find its hard to stay on top of vehicles(in my case anyways)and the loose change i always have like 10 bucks of loose change,tim hortons.


----------



## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Yeah I've had two cars now where the D light on the panel burned out. Toyota said it would be $50 for labour and bulbs as they change all the bulbs while they have the thing apart. I decided not to bother and save myself the $50. The cars are long gone now. Nothing is forever, gotta draw the line on some of this stuff.


----------



## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

One of the reasons I am replacing my van is because there is some kind of short that constantly blows up the turn signals. 

Yeah Blows UP! 

The location of the hatch to change the bulbs is in the wheel well it's an ordeal that scratches your hands and has you working blind. 

And the passenger window won't roll up consistently any more. 

Irritating....


----------



## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

^ drive it to the scrapyard. The value of scrap is pretty high right now.


----------



## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

replaced an axle seal on my Ford yesterday. I noticed the leak and called the dealer....4 days out of warranty (July 9th was the in-service date)... 
me: "obviously been leaking for months..the whole underside of the car is oily"
Ford dealer: "if a work order isn't opened before the 9th, there's nothing we can do"
me: "then, how bout I bring the axle over there and you sh......"

oh well... the odds of them screwing the job up were pretty good anyways
I bought the seal for $17 and new brake pads for $55 @ NAPA and I had the oil here.
I was lucky everything in the diff looks great - there was maybe a liter of oil in there (takes about 3L)


----------



## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Berubeland said:


> One of the reasons I am replacing my van is because there is some kind of short that constantly blows up the turn signals.
> 
> Yeah Blows UP!


Permit me to ask a few questions "B", I am a electrical engineer and I have worked on automotive electrical issues in the past on mine and other peoples
cars.

Now..by "blows up", you mean the bulb burns out prematurely?..or the bulb itself shatters? 

If so, that isn't necessarily a short, as a short will cause the fuse to blow (melt) and that can be easily indentified.

If the bulb burns out and you see a darkened bulb, it could mean an overvoltage condition on the turn signals that could come from the turn signal relay. 
Has that been replaced? 
Are the lightbulbs you are using in the turn signals the correct number of bulb for your vehicle?
Is water or moisture getting inside the turnsignal housing? 
Is your charging system voltage regulator been checked?


> The location of the hatch to change the bulbs is in the wheel well it's an ordeal that scratches your hands and has you working blind.


As in the case of most automotive issues. 



> And the passenger window won't roll up consistently any more.
> Irritating....


Yes, is that an electric window or one with a crank operator? (not you..)


----------



## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Sometimes , it's the clunks, knocks, buzzes and whirrs that are irritating and in some cases expensive!

I have a 13 year truck that Dodge "preprogrammed failure" into some of it's parts to get more money for the "stealerships". 

I have only taken it to a stealship twice in it's 13 year "relationship" with me, once for some recall
issue and once because the PCM "check engine" light came on and at that time I did not have the OBDII code reader to determine what the problem was, (I have one now). back then it cost me a couple hundred to find out.

Overall, I have to say it's been a reliable gas guzzler, but lately the clunking sound has caused me to zero in on the ball joints (front suspension parts) that some claim are too light for this type of truck, and are "lifetime lubricated"..a misnomer if there ever was one! Now I have to replace both wheels at
(105,000km) to the tune of over $1100 for parts 
and labour.

Expensive as it may be, ignoring this problem will cause the front wheel to fall off at highway speeds (at some point), and that could be very disastrous for me,
and anyone else on the highway that happens to be passing by at the time. These kind of parts never fail
with the vehicle sitting in your driveway..but generally
at speed causing loss of control. 

I am very annoyed with Chrysler for not putting on grease fittings on suspension parts, because in this climate and salt conditions, those underneath
parts get dried out and worn out very quickly.


----------



## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Alright, well you all lost out on your beer and pizza.

I fixed it myself this morning. Took 30 minutes. 

Total cost? $2.00


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I was gonna say... just fix it yourself. Good excuse to have a beer and spend some time in the garage, and buy yourself some beer/pizza with the money saved


----------



## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Thought I might spice up this section of the forum with a controversial topic.

I decided to replace all 4 ball joints on my 13 year old Dakota truck because these things came with no grease fittings. Over the years not having the provision to be greased, they dry out and then quicky wear out where
the ball part of the suspension joint can come right out of the socket attached to the upper/lower suspension
arm and the wheel will break away. 

( These ball joints are kind of similar to the arm and shoulder attachment where the upper arm can become dislocated because the arm is wrenched and pulled out by tremendous forces.)

I change my own oil and grease. at least what there is to grease but not these..thanks to Chrysler's trying to save a few cents per vehicle, by having these things made in China? (for a couple of dollars apiece maybe..
or trying to pad the stealerships bottom line).

Anyway..I was thinking at first of changing them myself, but after discovering that these things are installed with massive rivets at the factory.. I decided to just order first grade parts ($450) with grease fittings (Moog) and have a garage install all four at once to the tune of $748 including taxes and wheel alignment.
(The Moog parts are made in Mexico....another case of US farming out manufacturing due to cheap labour.)

So while watching a Youtube "howto" on how to replace them, I found another Youtube expose on the Dodge Durango (SUV) and some ladies that narrowly escaped serious injury, when one of their front wheels fell off while driving!

While being interviewed by the media..
they exclaimed "well.. it just happened like that... without any warning"

Sorry ladies, but there are *always* warnings
of suspension parts ready to fall off..clunking, knocking, grinding...so when you hear those kind of unusual noises.. just don't ignore them and keep driving your vehicle, as nothing is going to happen.

Ignore the little things and they become serious at some
point. 

<"Carve"..ducking into his cave in case of being attacked by sabre and cutlass from the other side of the gender set>


----------



## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

carverman said:


> Anyway..I was thinking at first of changing them myself, but after discovering that these things are installed with massive rivets at the factory.. I decided to just order first grade parts ($450) with grease fittings (Moog) and have a garage install all four at once to the tune of $748 including taxes and wheel alignment.
> (The Moog parts are made in Mexico....another case of US farming out manufacturing due to cheap labour.)
> 
> While being interviewed by the media..
> ...


Yes my ball bearing were evidently worn not only by the noise, but the handling. When I change my oil I take the time to check the play in the wheels. It's a huge safety concern but mechanics will no longer warn you for fear of being labelled a scam artist trying to soak you for the extra work. Besides preventative maint is always cheaper than fixing it in a rush... I also check my brakes as in Canadia the caliper slide pins tend to seize and you won't really know unless you look inside and out.

I also always use Moog parts though they are expensive. A lot of times expensive car parts pay for themselves as consumers have driven stock car parts down to outright useless standards imo. An Audi for example comes equipped with a plastic water pump... of all places to cut costs!


----------



## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

mode3sour said:


> Yes my ball bearing were evidently worn not only by the noise, but the handling. When I change my oil I take the time to check the play in the wheels. It's a huge safety concern but mechanics will no longer warn you for fear of being labelled a scam artist trying to soak you for the extra work. Besides preventative maint is always cheaper than fixing it in a rush... I also check my brakes as in Canadia the caliper slide pins tend to seize and you won't really know unless you look inside and out.


I've had calipers seize, rotors warp and bearings on both front wheels replaced now. I know about the caliper pins and keep those lubricated,but it's all the other stuff that you can't get at to lubricate that becomes expensive to replace. 



> I also always use Moog parts though they are expensive. A lot of times expensive car parts pay for themselves as consumers have driven stock car parts down to outright useless standards imo.


I prefer to spend a few dollars more for a better quality part at the beginning, because the cost of labour these days to replace a defective part under warranty costs more than the part itself.

Just spent about 3 hours chasing a defective (new) TPS sensor problem.
The parts place shipped me a throttle position sensor (shift rpms on auto transmission) and it drove me crazy after I installed it. Truck rpms were worse than the original and it would stall on idle and the check engine
light came on. Interpreting the code, it was the new TPS sensor voltage out of range and the computer didn't like it. 
Thankfully, I had my Haynes service manual for this truck and it explained how to check the sensors for voltage output. I put the original back on and read the range on the original one, then the new one which was definitely out of range and defective..going back to the parts depot.

Thankfully for me, I had the presence of mind not to go out on the highway, until I was sure everything was working ok..other wise it would have been a
call to CAA for a tow and on a very hot 29C high humidity day!


----------

