An absolute kitchen sink of issues: lord forgive me

[mnathan]

To start, I am the owner of a 2008 base model Infiniti m35. About one week ago, upon leaving the parking lot, the car would not accelerate past five mph and subsequently died. It would not start, only making a singular *click*. I pushed it back into my driveway. This is the first car I've owned, and I know little. I can not, however, afford a mechanic. I started to troubleshoot, and I learned how to locate and dismount the starter on my car.
It was a hassle, but I got it done, I dismounted the starter, and had it tested. Both the battery and the starter came clean on tests. This frustrated me, and i reinstalled both. The car started, and I assumed the starter got stuck, or something similar to that. I did know, however, that the alternator was broken. I still had a battery light with a recently trickle charged battery, so the alternator seemed like the next thing to fix. I ran the car for a short while and realized that a piece of rubber from those idiotic plastic covers on the engine entered the latch, and on a short drive the hood popped up and smashed my glass windshield. I now have a car with the hood bent, a broken windshield, a bad alternator, and bad terminal connectors. The car also leaks water into the passenger side through the pipes that come from the top of the car. Not quite sure what to fix first honestly. The bad terminal connectors prevent the car from starting sometimes, and the bad alternator will prevent the car from moving more than a few miles, so that is probably what I will fix first. The hood is contorted, and i can actually have the windshield replaced on insurance. Ive had a mechanic look at the water issue before, and he had no solution, so I may take a crack at it. This is a bit of a desperate rant but any advice would be appreciated.

[kmiles]

Here is a post on how to fix sunroof drain issues: post6776012.html?hilit=clogged%20sunroo ... n#p6776012

[AZhitman]

Welcome aboard!

WHEW, where to start?

It's a terrible time to lecture on having a finicky, used-up luxury car as one's first car... but yeah. You need a 2001 Corolla 5 speed with a few dents.

Anyhow, let's worry about basic transportation and functionality. The car is ugly now, so if the hood is smashed and won't latch, unbolt it and toss it. The battery terminals, you can replace yourself. We can walk you through it if it's not obvious.

Alternator should be next. Shop around, you may find a good deal through rockauto.com - usually cheaper than local stores. Schedule the windshield replacement in the meantime.

While you're at it, order an inexpensive code scanner / reader (I've bought a few off Amazon), let us know if you need help picking one. You're going to need this to make sure you don't have any underlying issues that will throw a check-engine light.

The leak will require more info. Let's get to that later (stay out of the rain. )

Again, welcome. Let's get you back on the road.

[mnathan]

Welcome aboard!

WHEW, where to start?

It's a terrible time to lecture on having a finicky, used-up luxury car as one's first car... but yeah. You need a 2001 Corolla 5 speed with a few dents.

Anyhow, let's worry about basic transportation and functionality. The car is ugly now, so if the hood is smashed and won't latch, unbolt it and toss it. The battery terminals, you can replace yourself. We can walk you through it if it's not obvious.

Alternator should be next. Shop around, you may find a good deal through <a class="vglnk" href="http://rockauto.com" rel="nofollow"><span>rockauto</span><span>.</span><span>com</span></a> - usually cheaper than local stores. Schedule the windshield replacement in the meantime.

While you're at it, order an inexpensive code scanner / reader (I've bought a few off Amazon), let us know if you need help picking one. You're going to need this to make sure you don't have any underlying issues that will throw a check-engine light.

The leak will require more info. Let's get to that later (stay out of the rain. )

Again, welcome. Let's get you back on the road.

A Toyota wouldn't bother me at all! I am a highschooler with very little money left unfortunately. I purchased that car with cash for 4000, which was a pretty good deal. I definitely should've gone cheaper though. However, I am very motivated to fix this myself, and learn a little in the process. Ive already bought new terminal clamps, which should be a breeze to fix. I also found a really interesting store in my city that rebuilds alternators if you bring them in for less than $100. Honestly the hardest part will be accessing the alternator. I do not know how to tell if it is the belts or the alternator itself. I should be able to bend the corners of the hood properly back into place. I intended to plastodip it this summer anyways, so any scratches wont bother me. The glass is on a warranty so I will fix that in a week or so. After all that I will bring it to a mechanic to change oil, service breaks etc. I've honestly got nothing better to do. I am accepted to college with plenty of scholarships so this may give me something productive and educational to occupy myself with.

[AZhitman]

Excellent. You're in the right place, and you've got the right attitude. We'll be here to back you up if you get stumped. Did you check out the FSM for your car yet?

[Ilya]

Welcome to the forum, sorry for your troubles though.

The FSM that AZ alluded too and a bunch of HowTo's can be found in my signature. Including how to change the oil, brakes, etc. You'll need some basic tools, but if you follow my steps you should be golden and can save some $$$ instead of taking it to a mechanic. And as AZ said, we're here to help. You have the right mentality for this and once you learn to fix your own car, you will be glad you did.

When I was slightly younger than you, I told my father (we're immigrants from Ukraine/Soviet Union) that working on cars was unnecessary and that one day I would make a good living in IT and just pay people to fix my stuff. Boy am I glad he forced me to learn how to do my own maintenance...I've saved thousands of dollars in the 15 years since I've graduated HS. And get personal satisfaction from doing it myself. I even rebuilt a 1989 motorcycle from the ground up using knowledge I picked up from working on my cars.

Let us know how it goes and we'll help you along the way.

[Larz]

Welcome to the forum! Well, you're in the Barney, mate. (slang: barney as in Barney Rubble - which rhymes with trouble, LOL.
I'm sure you weren't meant to have a 'project car' as your first vehicle, but here you are. Luckily, you found us! Well ... not ME, but us in general terms. You will find that no matter what the sitch, there is someone here who has dealt with it, or can tell you where to look for answers. Most important .... you have the right attitude. Just keep positive, hold a good thought, and these members will have you out the woods and into the light in good time!

[pedsemdoc]

I echo what every else has said - Welcome and congrats on wanting to tackle some of this stuff if not mostly all on your own.
You'll have the satisfaction of knowing how the stuff works and that the job was done correctly, (even the dealer mechanics can be sloppy and do a poor job!)

You should invest in a decent set of basic tools - you don't have to go Matco, super-expensive (Home Depot/Lowes brands are decent enough, I've even had pretty good luck with Harbor Freight if you have one close to you.) A decent set of sockets, short and long extension, socket wrench, a breaker bar, Phillips and regular screwdrivers, and allen wrenches and you can pretty much tackle most jobs.

Start looking at the Factory Service Manual (FSM) and the How-To's/FAQs section and you'll be way ahead of the game.
That's how I started and learned a whole bunch from some really smart folks here...with YouTube videos and forums like this one, you can almost always find that someone has had your particular problem and if you're lucky documented how they solved it.

Craig

[mnathan]

Excellent. You're in the right place, and you've got the right attitude. We'll be here to back you up if you get stumped. Did you check out the FSM for your car yet?

I will now, current objective is to remove the alternator. Mostly going off youtube videos but now that I've learned what an FSM is I'll give it a look. Thanks for the suggestion!

[mnathan]

I echo what every else has said - Welcome and congrats on wanting to tackle some of this stuff if not mostly all on your own.
You'll have the satisfaction of knowing how the stuff works and that the job was done correctly, (even the dealer mechanics can be sloppy and do a poor job!)

You should invest in a decent set of basic tools - you don't have to go Matco, super-expensive (Home Depot/Lowes brands are decent enough, I've even had pretty good luck with Harbor Freight if you have one close to you.) A decent set of sockets, short and long extension, socket wrench, a breaker bar, Phillips and regular screwdrivers, and allen wrenches and you can pretty much tackle most jobs.

Start looking at the Factory Service Manual (FSM) and the How-To's/FAQs section and you'll be way ahead of the game.
That's how I started and learned a whole bunch from some really smart folks here...with YouTube videos and forums like this one, you can almost always find that someone has had your particular problem and if you're lucky documented how they solved it.

Craig

I'm actually in luck. I've got a friend who is very into cars. Got a 240 and slammed a mk.6 Jetta. He lent me a jack to use, and has been helping me when I got stumped. I also already have many of the tools lying around the house which helps. Definitely need some metric tools as many of sockets are American sized.

[mnathan]

Welcome to the forum, sorry for your troubles though.

The FSM that AZ alluded too and a bunch of HowTo's can be found in my signature. Including how to change the oil, brakes, etc. You'll need some basic tools, but if you follow my steps you should be golden and can save some $$$ instead of taking it to a mechanic. And as AZ said, we're here to help. You have the right mentality for this and once you learn to fix your own car, you will be glad you did.

When I was slightly younger than you, I told my father (we're immigrants from Ukraine/Soviet Union) that working on cars was unnecessary and that one day I would make a good living in IT and just pay people to fix my stuff. Boy am I glad he forced me to learn how to do my own maintenance...I've saved thousands of dollars in the 15 years since I've graduated HS. And get personal satisfaction from doing it myself. I even rebuilt a 1989 motorcycle from the ground up using knowledge I picked up from working on my cars.

Let us know how it goes and we'll help you along the way.

Very interesting story you mentioned. I have been building robots and more recently I have been designing a Coilgun that is very powerful. I realized that it was a little odd that I can do all of this but not fix my own car. I can't afford the repairs to be done, but honestly I don't mind. I've just got to be careful so that I don't cause any new issues.

[mnathan]

I tested my car and replaced the positive battery terminal and it starts consistently, so that's nice. The glass is still broken but I''d like to fix the hood and fender first. I believe that the hinge that holds the hood on is broken, and I can not figure out what part to buy to replace it. I couldn't find it in the FSM but I'm a bit of an ape. I plan to replace the hinges, the hydraulic solenoid looking boys, and then get the glass replaced. Then ill learn to service my breaks. Thanks for all the advice so far!

[Ilya]

I tested my car and replaced the positive battery terminal and it starts consistently, so that's nice. The glass is still broken but I''d like to fix the hood and fender first. I believe that the hinge that holds the hood on is broken, and I can not figure out what part to buy to replace it. I couldn't find it in the FSM but I'm a bit of an ape. I plan to replace the hinges, the hydraulic solenoid looking boys, and then get the glass replaced. Then ill learn to service my breaks. Thanks for all the advice so far!

Hi there. I usually use an online parts site like InfinitiPartsUSA to get part numbers and then scour the internet for the cheapest location. Just punch in your model and then look through the pertinent diagrams for your part. The hinge is likely in the "Body" section.

[Rogue One]

I tested my car and replaced the positive battery terminal and it starts consistently, so that's nice. The glass is still broken but I''d like to fix the hood and fender first. I believe that the hinge that holds the hood on is broken, and I can not figure out what part to buy to replace it. I couldn't find it in the FSM but I'm a bit of an ape. I plan to replace the hinges, the hydraulic solenoid looking boys, and then get the glass replaced. Then ill learn to service my breaks. Thanks for all the advice so far!

I've merged your new topic with the original for simplicity. I know you're new to this, so this is just a friendly FYI. Cross-posting (i.e. posting the same message in more than one forum board) is frowned upon. It's confusing and often counterproductive. The same goes for creating new threads for ongoing topics as people no longer know which one is up-to-date and/or which to respond to.

If you have a new issue that crops up that's unrelated to your current discussion and not found elsewhere in the forums, then by all means go ahead and start a new thread. Here endeth the lesson.