Learned'd VIII: Less Bewbs, Same Nonsense

[WDRacing]

So far it's been a great SUV and Kristen absolutely loves it.

Only part that really matters

[Kompresshun]

Yep, since the only time I ever get to drive the thing is when we go somewhere together

Truthfully though I prefer the Five Hundred most of the time. Mainly because I have it setup how I like it and it actually has more balls than the Kia.

Well that and it doesn't look like a class 5 tornado devoured numerous fast food restaurants, then took decided to take a dump in the interior like the Kia

[WDRacing]

Ha!

[nissangirl74]

Well that and it doesn't look like a class 5 tornado devoured numerous fast food restaurants, then took decided to take a dump in the interior like the Kia

I've been guilty of this before but since I got the Speed3, I've been trying to keep it as clean as possible. I made the mistake of leaving my back window down at school on a windy day and a bunch of trash from the bed of the truck beside me blew into the backseat. The only thing worse than having to pick up your own food wrappers / trash, is having to pick up someone else's. I got out the gloves for that one.

[Kompresshun]

Yeah no thanks on someone elses garbage.

Every time I ask why her car is always so messy and why I can fill up a garbage bag with everything inside, I usually get "Well when you start doing your own laundry and cleaning the bathrooms then you can complain about how messy my car is."

[nissangirl74]

Pick your battles carefully. Just go out there once a week and empty it for her. Your life will be much simpler and happier.

[Kompresshun]

Indeed. I usually try to empty it weekly, but it ends up being monthly. I've been meaning to shampoo the strawberry milkshake the kid spilled on the back seat for about 3 months now. It's hard to keep the car parked long enough to do anything to it sadly.

Tomorrow is timing belt day for the Miata. Hopefully that goes well without any major discoveries while doing it.

Yesterday I spent about 3 hours trying to change two tires on the riding mower. Two hours of that with me using a die grinder to cut the wheel off of it because it had rusted itself to the axle. I'm still not done either. These are the days I hate anything mechanical...

[ADDirishboy]

Those days are the worst! It's not usually due to mechanical issues for me though, more often something electrical. I kicked the front driver side fender in on my 87 toyota after attempting to fix something electrical.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Timing belts should be banned by Imperial Decree. Why the Hell wouldn't you do it right and use a chain? I find it hilariously moronic that Toyota's big V8s still use belts to this day. Yes, that's what I want from my half-ton workhorse truck: expensive downtime for basic maintenance. OH, s***, wait.

I knew a Toyota or Mazda would've lasted us for a lot longer most likely, but the way I looked at it with the Kia is it will have been paid off for 5 years or more before we run out of warranty. If it makes it 10 years without having to come out of pocket for a major repair then it's well worth what we paid for it and i'll be pleased. So far it's been a great SUV and Kristen absolutely loves it.

I'm still not a new-car buyer, but that's certainly the appeal of a new car to me. Having warranty coverage after payments are finished. You own it but you don't own the manufacturer's or dealer's mistakes.
The LS8 is very nearly paid off, and after that I can spend what would have been my car payment on correcting what minor maintenance needs it has and still be ahead of the game.

I'm definitely thrilled to get unexpected good news with the extended warranty deal.

[Marenta]

You guys are making me want to buy a new car. But, gotta replace 3 tires, brakes all around and possibly rotors on the WRX. So, no new toys for me anytime soon. But, in other news: I got rear-ended today in Bart's 240. Yay!

[nissangirl74]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! are you OK? do we need to go kill someone?

[Marenta]

Yeah, I am peachy. Basically, a car cut me off and I had to stop short. The woman behind me couldn't stop in enough time and hit the car going about 20 or so. There was a little damage done, one of the nuts on the bolt strip on the passenger side got sheared off and popped the bottom lip out like 1/4 inch. Paint scuffs and that's it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

That sucks.
I finally got my rear bumper cover replaced after a parking-lot hit-and-run a month ago. Car looks a million times better. The old bumper had some paint damage already so it's an upgrade--just wish I hadn't had to pay the $500 deductible for someone else's dishonesty.

What's everybody's favorite performance brake pad? I need to replace the rears on the LS8 in the next few weeks, and I'm sick of the underspec'ed stock brakes. I miss the QofDOOM's BITE, but I can't remember which pads I ran on it.

DAMN I'm glad summer's finally (kind of) here. It feels so good to be wrenching again.

Also, did the 2nd bank of plugs on the LS8 today. The LS8's engine bay might be cramped, but it's infinitely better laid-out than the Q45's was. Despite the tight quarters, the passenger side plugs were a breeze to do.




Driver side was even easier:


And yes, I know my engine bay is dirty as @#$%. Until I discovered the oil leak into cyl#3 plug I was operating under the impression that a leak at the coil covers was letting moisture in and killing my coils, so I avoided hosing down the engine bay at all costs. Now that I know the real cause, as soon as I've got the new coil covers back on I'm going to clean all that glorious black composite up and get her looking nice again.

[Kompresshun]

Well the timing belt replacement went fine today with no issues to report, which makes this guy very happy. Found lots of stuff, but everything was easily fixed during the repair.

New timing belt, new water pump, new cam seals, new crank seal, new gaskets, and a couple of new hoses. Which solved every leak it had so it should be solid for a road trip now without any worries. The cam and crank seals were SHOT and pouring oil. Then the water pump was leaking too, so i'm glad I decided to do the job when I did before something went majorly wrong.

The best news of all, which Ray will appreciate: ZERO damage to the crank nose or the keyway. It looked brand new. For those of you wondering what i'm talking about - 90 and 91 Miata's with the 1.6L in them had issues on certain models at random with the crank nose keyway wearing to the point that it would cause major issues with the crank and engine.

Another thing i'm glad we ran across too is that the timing belt was actually off by a tooth, which was causing the car to be out of time. I always thought it had the slight miss because of an ignition or vacuum problem, but as soon as I test drove it you could tell a noticeable difference. It drives, idles, and revs MUCH smoother now.

So good day so far. The Miata is good for another 60k miles.

[Kompresshun]

That plug replacement looks much easier than I expected Chris.

Oh and BTW, my favorite performance pads are Hawk and EBC pads. Both are better than pretty much everything else out there.

If you just want an upgrade though, i'd just pick up some Wagner Thermoquiets. Especially for the rear. You're probably not going to see much advantage or difference with it being on the rear. I would put a premium standard pad on the rear and put performance pads on the front when it's time to replace them again.

[nissangirl74]

Ferodo ds2500 are the best. We had those on the Vette. Hawks on the Frontier.

[float_6969]

Wagner Thermoquiets on the MSP. I haven't cooked them yet, plenty of AutoX's and a few 80-0 mph emergency stops. They're no race pad, but dust is non-existent, predictable braking, and no noise.

[Bubba1]

Ferodo ds2500 are the best. We had those on the Vette.

Yep ^ I've used DS2500's for several years on my Z. Drama free braking without fading.

[frapjap]

AWesome job, Chris! How long did the maintenance take you? I haven't done mine and might not bother for a while longer.

The best pads I have for regular street use are the Hawks HPS pads. Excellent cold bite, excellent when hot. Not to dirty either.

[Kompresshun]

Well I didn't do most of the job, because I wasn't willing to take the risk of missing anything. If I would've done it myself, I possibly would've overlooked half of the stuff he found. I paid a friend of mine that's a Master Lexus Technician $100 to do the job and let me help him where needed. We started about 10am, took a break for lunch at noon and finished the job about 3:30pm. That was taking our time though too and making sure everything was perfect. I think the job could be done in about 3 hours if you work quickly.

I would've never probably have noticed the belt being off a tooth, the A/C compressor being loose, or the other loose stuff he found while he was checking over everything. He did a bang up job for $100 and hooked me up big time. The motor is so clean you can eat off of it now and the internals of the motor look brand new. It's amazing that it has nearly 170k on it and very little wear is present.

I think 60k is a safe interval to stick to on them. It's not like it'll hurt anything if the belt does break, but I really like having the peace of mind so I can take it anywhere I want without having to worry about it.

[numbnuts240]

so the cd part of my factory radio in the exploder has given up on me (while holding 6 cds hostage). i want to replace it with an aftermarket double din unit that i can use my phone through (calls and music). i don't need an fancy touch screen interface nonsense, just a clean and simple to use button/knob arrangement. any suggestions?

[Kompresshun]

I HIGHLY recommend this one Tito. Easily the best radio i've ever had in a car. I currently have it in my Ford Five hundred and it's awesome. Works with any phone, does bluetooth streaming, hands free calling, and has more features than you'll ever need. No touchscreen nonsense either and the price is awesome IMHO for what you get.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PIONEER-FH-X700 ... 35d647d129

They sell them at Best Buy too if you don't want to mess with eBay.

[numbnuts240]

any installation issues? crutchfield claims i'll have to modify the sub-dash. i don't plan on buying from them, but i was jsut referencing the site for fitment and more details on features.

[Kompresshun]

Zero issues with installation. Just attached the dash kit to it and wiring harness. Wired it all up and everything worked perfect.

[nissangirl74]

Morning guys! Who wants to come help me throw a graduation party for 25 people? The kids decided instead of sandwiches and finger foods, they want Thanksgiving dinner. Damn, I'm gonna be busy

[frapjap]

Easy fix- Thanksgiving day sandwiches!!!

[numbnuts240]

[Kompresshun]

[sx moneypit]

Mornin' folks!

[nissangirl74]

I am not looking forward to this trip to the grocery store. It's a helluva lot cheaper than paying for everyone to go out to eat though.