Ask GTP About Your Car Problems/General Questions

[niky]

I don't see any issue with running a spacer. I've always had quite the opposite problem. The hub bore on my mags have always been too small.

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Squeaky... depends on whether it's a squeeeek, which is just dirty pads or a skreeeeee, which means your pads need replacement.

5 minutes to 5 decades probably.

Coat hangers... should last forever compared to rubber exhaust hangers.

I once repaired a car heater plug with the rubber foot pad (from the hardware store) for a steel chair and an o-ring. Never leaked. As far as I know, it's still there.

 

[sems4arsenal]

ok GTPers question or multiple ones about tyre wear on your average sedan,Having changed all four on my mom's Datsun Sunny yesterday i did a bit of research on the subject,i've got the basic reasons for tyre wear (regular air pressure checks ,tyre rotation,not driving fast and hard,etc) but I have a few other questions .

I do sadly do the occasional Hand brake turn and I was just wondering how bad does slamming your brake hard,pulling the e brake affect tyre life ,is it that significant baring in my mind we have really rough roads around here.

I know I'm not making alot of sense but in simple words ,is my hoonigan idiotic moves affect tyre wear that much?

 

[nk4e]

ok GTPers question or multiple ones about tyre wear on your average sedan,Having changed all four on my mom's Datsun Sunny yesterday i did a bit of research on the subject,i've got the basic reasons for tyre wear (regular air pressure checks ,tyre rotation,not driving fast and hard,etc) but I have a few other questions .

I do sadly do the occasional Hand brake turn and I was just wondering how bad does slamming your brake hard,pulling the e brake affect tyre life ,is it that significant baring in my mind we have really rough roads around here.

I know I'm not making alot of sense but in simple words ,is my hoonigan idiotic moves affect tyre wear that much?

Yep, its why drifting and such motorsports cost so much ( If your a weekend warrior).

 

[sems4arsenal]

Yep, its why drifting and such motorsports cost so much ( If your a weekend warrior).

Thanks for your answer mate,feel a bit guilty now seeing as Tyres here are a bit expensive ,will drive more slowly in the future that's for sure .

 

[nk4e]

Thanks for your answer mate,feel a bit guilty now seeing as Tyres here are a bit expensive ,will drive more slowly in the future that's for sure .

If you are going to try it. Try to find used tires, they are less expensive for like 90% of thread life.

 

[Mr Bean]

Is it legal to have different tyres on same car. My company car is a used Ford Mondeo and had 3 stock tyres on and one different tyre. Went to tyre shop and they say "You need the same tyres, we cannot fit one new one so will need 4 new ones" £400, as I am living in the uk for a few months while my job needs me to I am only being paid for £120 on food. House is being paid for, so I think they want more money.

So can I legally have different tread tyres or 3 worn ones and 1 new one?

 

[Joey D]

It depends on your country, in the US is doesn't matter, or if it does no one ever says anything about it. It's not really smart to have different tires of various life spans on a car though since it can change the handling characteristics. It's almost always recommended around here that you replace tires in sets per axle.

 

[Mr Bean]

It depends on your country, in the US is doesn't matter, or if it does no one ever says anything about it. It's not really smart to have different kinds of tires on a car though since it can change the handling characteristics. At the very least have the same tires on an axle.

Thank you. In the uk, I think it's legal but not recommended. Will save for better tyres by getting second job.

 

[Blaze_409]

A couple weeks ago I managed to break 3 exhaust hangers. However the other 3 were able to hold it up.

So I was driving home from work tonight, stopped at a red light.

I hear a loud clank and my car got extremely loud. I pull off at the nearest parking lot and look under the car to find one side is dragging on the ground.

Luckily the lot I pulled into was a grocery store, so I went in to look for something for a quick fix. I found a wire coat hanger but had to buy a $6 t-shirt to get it, but it got me home.

Once home I tried installing new hangers but couldn't get them on. I was too tired, cold, and hungry to mess with it any longer so I put the coat hanger back on, and a 2nd coat hanger just in case.

How long can I drive with a couple coat hangers holding up the exhaust?

At first I thought how could the muffler fall off without hitting someting an being stopped at a light. Then i realize its probably vibrating because it was
missing 3 already.

You could keep the hangers but if you still have any of the OEM brackets on at the same time they could all break off due to the increased vibrations.

 

[ShortAzianKid]

Hey guys I was wondering if you could help me with my car lag, its a '94 BMW 325ic with a little over 120k miles and it just lags like crazy during the first 1k-2k revs and it drives me absolutely insane, tragically it is also an automatic so I have no idea what to do about it and I'm learning about cars right now.

 

[motortrend]

Hey guys I was wondering if you could help me with my car lag, its a '94 BMW 325ic with a little over 120k miles and it just lags like crazy during the first 1k-2k revs and it drives me absolutely insane, tragically it is also an automatic so I have no idea what to do about it and I'm learning about cars right now.

Cars don't make much power nor torque until 2k plus, unless it's just being unresponsive completely, which might just be how the transmission is normally. Has the car started the lag now or has it been this way since you started driving it?

 

[ShortAzianKid]

Cars don't make much power nor torque until 2k plus, unless it's just being unresponsive completely, which might just be how the transmission is normally. Has the car started the lag now or has it been this way since you started driving it?

I'm not sure I received the car at 118k miles and since then it's been lagging but if that's it then I guess I'll just have to get over it thanks

 

[nk4e]

Does anyone trust Ebay products for their car?

 

[Eric.]

Does anyone trust Ebay products for their car?

Depends???

Ebay isn't a manufacturer.

 

[nk4e]

Depends???

Ebay isn't a manufacturer.

I just always wondered if people actually trust their third party products like Rotors, lowering springs and such.

 

[Eric.]

Springs - no
Rotors - buy from a parts store and get a lifetime warranty for if you crack one.

 

[Doog]

The Lexus appears to be having some sort of issue with the sealant in the door, I think. At speed, I start to hear this creaking/crackling/settling noise from the passenger door. Sometimes, it'll stop if I roll down the window and roll it up, other times, the problem persists. It's not very loud, but it's noticeable enough to be an annoyance. What could I do to get rid of the noise?

 

[mustangGT90210]

Sounds like you need a weatherstrip in the window frame to me. And if the sound is coming from inside the door, then it's either what I just said, or the weather strip between the door and the body of the car.

Luckily that shouldn't be too hard to track down and replace

 

[Doog]

Sounds like you need a weatherstrip in the window frame to me. And if the sound is coming from inside the door, then it's either what I just said, or the weather strip between the door and the body of the car.

Luckily that shouldn't be too hard to track down and replace

If the problem persists, I'll tell my dad about it. Thanks for the help. 👍

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I'm looking at maybe selling my car at some point in the future and buying a new one, but I'm a little unsure about it. I found myself wondering around a car yard the other day to kill a bit of time, and found a Volkswagen Polo GTi that I really liked. It's right in my price range, but my enthusiasm waned when my sister told me that her friend had a Golf that gave her a lot of trouble and that parts were so difficult to source that the car was undriveable for weeks. What is the build quality of a Volkswagen like? Are they reliable until their warranty expires at which point they become a headache on four wheels as my sister suggested they are, or is this just an isolated case? And is it really so difficult to get replacement parts in?

 

[YouButNotYou]

I'm looking at maybe selling my car at some point in the future and buying a new one, but I'm a little unsure about it. I found myself wondering around a car yard the other day to kill a bit of time, and found a Volkswagen Polo GTi that I really liked. It's right in my price range, but my enthusiasm waned when my sister told me that her friend had a Golf that gave her a lot of trouble and that parts were so difficult to source that the car was undriveable for weeks. What is the build quality of a Volkswagen like? Are they reliable until their warranty expires at which point they become a headache on four wheels as my sister suggested they are, or is this just an isolated case? And is it really so difficult to get replacement parts in?

It depends really what model you want, where you get it from and whether it's user or new... Give me a couple more pieces of information...

 

[kikie]

Car: Ford Mondeo Mk3, 4-door sedan ('02)

Every year during the summer the central locking starts to act up. This car has a double central locking system. If I push once on the remote, only the drivers door gets unlocked. Push twice and all the locks are unlocked.
I always push once leaving all the doors, except for the drivers door, locked.


Problem:

The central locking unlocks itself almost every time when I'm driving. Sometimes I'm almost having a heart attack (while driving) because the doors unlocking themselves making a lot of noice.
The button on the center console to open up the boot lid (trunck lid) doesn't always work either. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.
This always happens during the summer when the outside t° is more than 15° Centigrade (59° Fahrenheit).
In the beginning I thought it had something to do with moisture but that is not the case. I used contact grease on all the contacts to prevent moisture coming into the contacts causing a short circuit ( or something like that ).
Sometimes the drivers door locks itself when I'm driving. I unlock it (also when I'm driving). It locks itself again. I unlock it again and no surprise there because the door locks itself again. When I hold the lock, preventing it to lock itself again, I feel that the lock wants to, mmmmm, lock again. It can't because I'm stronger and frustrated at the same time. What happens next? Well the central locking system decides to unlock all other three doors instead of locking the drivers door.
I have contacted many Ford specialists, Ford dealers and they all say different things. None of them knows what is wrong with the central locking.

Things they said:

* moisture related. Not true because I have no problem during the winter, rainy days or the autumn. Only during the summer, spring.
* one broken door lock (but they don't know which one). Too expensive to get all the locks replaced.
* broken boot lid (trunck lid) lock
* wiring
* electronics (although this has been tested through the OBD port).

Is there a Ford specialist on GTP who knows what is wrong because this is a very annoying problem, especially when I'm driving and all three doors unlock themselves without any warning.

Thanks

 

[Jay]

If I was to guess as I can't check it out for myself it is related to the drivers side mechanism, in many cars the drivers lock and mechanism is the master and the others are slaves, so if the master is playing up they all can be lead into doing odd things. If it was me I would look into the drivers side closer by pulling the trim off and checking the mechanism itself (the electromagnet/solenoid, linkages, wires, trip switch etc). Even try to replicate the problem with the car at a stop to see what is causing it because it is most likely related to all the problems (sans boot release) is likely connected to a single fault or worn/loose item.

I have seen similar issue before in a few cars and they all lead to a similar cause. Drivers side is the first place I would look.

 

[kikie]

Thanks Jay.

 

[Doog]

I was cleaning the Lexus yesterday, and I found that the leather on the driver's side door (armrest area) is becoming pretty worn out. The original color of the leather is Ecru (very light beige), but the leather looks yellow in this area, and it's not pretty. Is there any way this can be reversed, or at least stopped, or is the leather gone forever?

 

[ExigeEvan]

I was cleaning the Lexus yesterday, and I found that the leather on the driver's side door (armrest area) is becoming pretty worn out. The original color of the leather is Ecru (very light beige), but the leather looks yellow in this area, and it's not pretty. Is there any way this can be reversed, or at least stopped, or is the leather gone forever?

Check with an upholsterer or cobbler, they may know a few solutions to restoring the leather. Alternative, it could be replaced.

 

[Dennisch]

People with extended knowledge about 70's GM Trucks, the models from 1973 onwards. Lend me your ears!

Can anyone of you out there tell me if there is any difference in firewalls, between models with AC and without?

My truck had AC, but most of the parts are gone now. But the AC unit on the firewall is still there, and that bugs me a lot. So now I need to know that if I remove that unit, I can replace it with the piece that is used without AC.

Example:

The nr3 piece. This isn't the actual piece for my truck, but it shows what I need/want.

 

[playnthru]

Yes you can. Either get a plate to cover it(or make one). The US aftermarket offers thousands of parts for GM trucks(shipping might cost a bit though?)

Try a company called LMC truck, they offer most all GM truck parts.

Good luck

 

[Dennisch]

Great, thanks for your input.

I already have the LMC catalog at home, so ordering stuff will be easy. Especially since we now have 2 almost identical trucks, 1976 Sierra Classic. (mine) and a 1974 Sierra Grande. (dad).

I'll need to make a big fat list with parts for 2 cars, so that we can get everything in one shipment.

 

[Antonisbob]

Hey! I have a question. I believe one of the vacuum lines came loose when I was cleaning the air-cleaner housing on my car, because when I started it up & pressed the accelerator the throttle stuck! It's a '85 Pontiac Parisienne with the 305 SBC V8. Is there any diagrams for the lines? I made sure any lines I could reach that where attached to the air-cleaner housing or carburetor where nice & tight. But there's a few I couldn't get to or see.

I know it has to be something attached to the carb/air-cleaner as before I touched it revved/ran perfectly fine. Any advice, diagrams ect. would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I'm a little scarred to start it up again right now, it sputtered and shook when I shut it off, then smoked. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to do any more work, I was busy flushing the radiator today.