Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[ktm525]

Ridgeline got a quick oil/filter change before the temps plunge again tomorrow. I have owned it so long a change takes no more than 15 minutes. No ramps, no spills and only two sheets of paper towel. 

Wi temps like that lots of gravel is going to get dumped again. My new October windshield is already fubared (got 1 1/2 months out of it) so I guess it is just going to be one of those years..

[Fobroader]

Is there any good A/T tires for winter driving? Always fought with my fleet bosses to get true winter tires put on the pickups, every time even the cheapest winter tire was a huge improvement

I'm sure there is, but maybe then that creates a compromise for off roading?

I read a review for the new Vredestein Pinta AT. Some guy in Colorado (IIRC) put these on a Chevy Tahoe or Suburban. Truck was a commuter and a "work" truck. Was used off road in a manner akin to what a farm or ranch vehicle might be used as.

Anyways, guy loved them in the Colorado snow and off road. Said the vehicle was more limiting than tires due to low ground clearance.

 I presume this tire would work for most year round.

But maybe not for super-hard core off road bro.

FWIW, I'm a bit of a Vredestein slappy. Loved them on my Supra and both our Audis. So I might be slightly biased.

EDIT: Here's the review https://www.utvdriver.com/story/reviews/vredestein-pinza-all-terrain-tire-review/

I would second the Vredestein Pinta AT for a winter AT tire. I've run Continental TerrainContact AT on the Escalade for the last 5 years, all year around, zero complaints....Now, I am in the GTA where conditions are not as bad as other places, but in 5 winters and just about every type of road condition possible, it's never gotten out hand or made me question the decision. They're down to maybe 40-50% now, with about 60K on them, so I'll probably replace them in another year or so, and will probably buy another set of the same. I really like them because they're dry-road manners are really good, quiet, comfortable, and they don't look super aggressive - which would be a weird look on the Escalade with chrome 20's.

If I wasn't concerned about them looking too aggressive I'd be tempted to try the Cooper ATW or AT3s....Both are rated very well for winter performance, and appear to have lots of sipping.

Had the Cooper AT/Ws on the Montero. Decent on ice, great in snow, good on gravel, meh in mud

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[Firm]

Ridgeline got a quick oil/filter change before the temps plunge again tomorrow. I have owned it so long a change takes no more than 15 minutes. No ramps, no spills and only two sheets of paper towel. 

Wi temps like that lots of gravel is going to get dumped again. My new October windshield is already fubared (got 1 1/2 months out of it) so I guess it is just going to be one of those years..

 

It was decent out here too, +3C but damp. Took a break from work to bang out a dent in the rear panel (above the bumper) of the green MGB - easy access from the trunk. 20 minutes with a couple body dollies, block of wood, and a 4lb sledge did the trick.
Also pulled the rear plate holder assembly off it....all the hardware was broken/missing/loose and the lights are non-op. Will fix it all up inside, mount my fresh plates, and then reinstall the whole thing.

[Blueprint]

Odyssey got an oil change and a CV boot replacement this week.

First significant snow dump today, Crosstrek was parked in the street and the plow went by. It got out of there saying "That's all you got?" Looking forward to a serious storm with it!!

[PJungnitsch]

Odyssey got an oil change and a CV boot replacement this week.

First significant snow dump today, Crosstrek was parked in the street and the plow went by. It got out of there saying "That's all you got?" Looking forward to a serious storm with it!!

Scotty Kilmer on Rav4 vs Crosstrek, seems to be a convert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIytobB7TlI

[HeliDriver]

So I spent six hours today just taking everything apart and removing the water pump. 

And of course now that I’ve got everything apart, it would be dumb not to do a carbon cleaning too. It’s only been around 40,000 km since I did it last time, but everything is looking awfully black in there. It’s a smooth black, not the lumpy crud like last time, so hopefully it goes quicker. Not going to get too carried away, but when it goes up for sale it will be nice to be able to say that it’s done.

Oh, and I was happy to find no oil leaks or other issues besides the pump. Could just see a tiny trickle from the pump where it was leaking.

[PJungnitsch]

Remember looking at Golfs before I got the Vibe, and thinking the engine is really buried in there. Didn't look very mechanic friendly if things went wrong

[EV Dan]

So I spent six hours today just taking everything apart and removing the water pump. 

And of course now that I’ve got everything apart, it would be dumb not to do a carbon cleaning too. It’s only been around 40,000 km since I did it last time, but everything is looking awfully black in there. It’s a smooth black, not the lumpy crud like last time, so hopefully it goes quicker. Not going to get too carried away, but when it goes up for sale it will be nice to be able to say that it’s done.

Oh, and I was happy to find no oil leaks or other issues besides the pump. Could just see a tiny trickle from the pump where it was leaking.

Cool! Walnut shells or elbow grease?

[HeliDriver]

Remember looking at Golfs before I got the Vibe, and thinking the engine is really buried in there. Didn't look very mechanic friendly if things went wrong

Yeah, there’s just no room. It’s so frustrating.     I spent twenty minutes just trying to get a torx bit into a screw head - it’s buried under a bunch of junk, wedged in tight to other junk, upside down and completely hidden. I’m trying to do it by feel, but my hand is too big to get in there, and when I do squeeze it in I can barely move my fingers…

I’m sure there are tricks if you do it every day, though. And possibly lots of specific tools.

Cool! Walnut shells or elbow grease?

Elbow grease, but hopefully not too much.  Lots of chemicals, plus scotch brite pads and maybe some dental picks. I also saw a neat video where a guy put a bunch of zip ties into the chuck of a cordless drill and spun them around. They fan out as they spin and act as a mild abrasive/brush. Will give it a try.

[KD]

^ Nice work.

I had a brief battle with a couple of torx screws last week when trying to remove some equipment at work.  Ended up clamping a small vise grip wrench to the bit and eventually got them out, but not without lots of knuckle wracking and liberal use of swear words.   

[blur911]

^ Nice work.

I had a brief battle with a couple of torx screws last week when trying to remove some equipment at work.  Ended up clamping a small vise grip wrench to the bit and eventually got them out, but not without lots of knuckle wracking and liberal use of swear words.   

Canadian Tire sells a hex bit ratchet set, it's tiny and the best thing for getting into tight spots.  Get it on sale of course.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/mastercraft-bit-wrench-set-29-pc-0588626p.html

[HeliDriver]

Day 2: Got the water pump on and the intake cleaned, but haven’t got everything put back together. Forgot to order a new gasket for the intake manifold, so will drive to the city tomorrow to pick one up. Also going to grab a new o-ring for one of the pipes into the water pump - not 100% sure the old one is still good. Fit seems a bit loose.

Intake cleaning went pretty well, but wow it was dirtier than I first thought. Can’t believe how much crap had built up in only 45,000 km.

Untouched:



Crud and goo piled up after scraping:



Final result after scraping, zip-tie scrubbing, solvent and scotch brite. Not perfect, but good enough.

[rrocket]

Wow! So dirty!

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Is that generation of GTI direct injected?

[HeliDriver]

^^ Yup.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

So it went down to -19C last night - I had the car plugged in, and while it was a hard start, it started on the first button push this morning.  I drove to work, about a 5 min drive, then the car sat parked for two hours.  At 8:30, when I went to do the school run, it took three tries to even get it to crank. 

Getting back to work, I threw my NOCO Genius charger on it, and it went up to 100% almost instantly.  I think this battery is just done.  I've ordered a replacement - should be in this afternoon.  It's just going to get colder, so I don't want to mess around with this anymore. 

[bridgecity]

^Likely a good move.

When I started my truck yesterday at -25 with no option to plug in, it turned over very slowly, but fired up fine. I’m not sure on the age of the battery, but likely around 7 years plus. I should likely replace.

[PJungnitsch]

So it went down to -19C last night - I had the car plugged in, and while it was a hard start, it started on the first button push this morning.  I drove to work, about a 5 min drive, then the car sat parked for two hours.  At 8:30, when I went to do the school run, it took three tries to even get it to crank. 

Getting back to work, I threw my NOCO Genius charger on it, and it went up to 100% almost instantly.  I think this battery is just done.  I've ordered a replacement - should be in this afternoon.  It's just going to get colder, so I don't want to mess around with this anymore.

Yeah, internal short I'd guess. Had a couple fail the last few months like that. Both from sitting around and deep discharging over Covid, broke them inside

[Firm]

Nice work HeliDriver! That's a big job....Hopefully you're working somewhere warm.

GBA, that does sound like a bad battery....dead/shorted cell(s). Voltage comes up, but it's not putting out the amperage. That said, the really cold start, followed by a 5 minute drive, and then another restart (and presumably another short run) is absolute torture on a battery. If that's your daily routine I'd be plugging that new battery into the maintainer at least once a week to keep it topped up.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Nice work HeliDriver! That's a big job....Hopefully you're working somewhere warm.

GBA, that does sound like a bad battery....dead/shorted cell(s). Voltage comes up, but it's not putting out the amperage. That said, the really cold start, followed by a 5 minute drive, and then another restart (and presumably another short run) is absolute torture on a battery. If that's your daily routine I'd be plugging that new battery into the maintainer at least once a week to keep it topped up.

Yeah, I was expecting to see 25 - 50% after letting the Noco detect voltage levels, and was surprised when it went all the way up to 100%.  That to me indicates a damaged battery.  I'm guessing this thing did a lot of sitting, and was possibly run down a couple times before I took ownership of it. 

Ah, well, a battery is essentially a basic maintenance item, and it's only going to cost me about $125 for a new one, so not too bad when all said and done.