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Yours don’t look too bad, looks fixable to me. Mine from 11 months ago was much more obvious. I knew it was totaled before I got out of the driver’s seat. The last pic is trying to show how twisted the frame was. It was bent as far back as where I sat. No injuries. Thanks to Eric for showing the seatbelt trick to lifting motors. The seatbelt held the 4.6 V8 with the transmission still attached. I’m still amazed it held.
From my experience, chasing bad coils is a huge pain. I did it for a couple years and it will cause so many headaches. For my year, I have one coil per plug. Coils are expensive at part stores, $50-60each. Go to Rock Auto, they run $10-30each, buy 8 and be done with it. However, I think your year has two 4 pack coils. Still, just replace them both and be done with the chase game. Plugs and the plug wires while you’re at it. At Rock Auto, I think you’re looking at over $100 to do the whole job, and it’s better than a whole bottle of aspirin for the headache. Get a Haynes if you don’t have one, very helpful to know firing sequence and ignition coil positions. Also careful to match up plug wires by length to the ones they’re replacing. That last bit was a hard lesson from an attempt when I was 20. It sucks when you mess plug wires up.
I did this with both trucks, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.
Boy am I glad I have a cousin who does all the brands of cars chip keys and fobs. He’s a locksmith that goes around to used car dealerships and takes care of their key needs so they don’t have to go to the big dealerships. Just paying his normal rate is better than your friend’s deal.
I get the charging for diagnostic work, as long as it’s discounted or refunded if they did the work. All the shops I’ve been to, even the one I feel was trying to rip me off has that policy. Which I have paid the diagnostic fee just because I wanted another opinion about what another shop had told me, just like paying for a DR visit because you think the first doctor wants to falsely treat you. If your friend said something from the beginning, before the key work, I fully agree they could’ve done it then and not even discuss charging. If he waited to say something as they’re handing him the keys, he may have set himself into that situation. It’s always better to say everything up front, because they could charge again if you don’t tell them everything you want them to look into before the start.
I once took in a car for warranty work. It was extended warranty with a $90 copay. It need two repairs done, so if I had only told them of one repair, then told them of the second repair after they already had the car moved to the parking lot, I would’ve been stuck with a $180 bill. But lumping both repairs in one work order, I only paid the $90. I get that. I actually waited till a second problem presented itself, before I took it in for the first problem. I’m glad I did, the first problem was minor, would’ve cost more than $300 in parts, but by waiting, I still saved an additional $90. I still won’t go back to that dealership though. When they got done with the car, I found their tech broke my door panel. The owner of the dealership personally called me a liar, and that I broke my own door panel. Well before cellphones with cameras, or I’d proven him wrong. I wasn’t the only one, the dealership later changed names, but I noticed the old owner is still the manager of the place, so no dice.
[quote=”BigsashaT” post=175829]
So my ford ranger was flex fuel total different firing order at coil pack, thanks for your time.[/quote]Yeah, catching which 3.0 it is matters a lot. When my dad gave me his, it was running really rough. Through TLC it ran smoother, but still would get a misfire code. My dad had told me he had all the ignition parts replaced and the mechanic was stumped as to why it was running right. So he gave me the truck since he couldn’t get it to pass inspection. Last year I decided to replace all the ignition parts myself. I ordered the proper parts, knowing it was a flex fuel, and turns out that was the mistake his mechanic made.Not nearly as complex, but I used to be a bicycle tech. One day I was at a walmart putting bikes together as a vendor. Their bike tech brings me a bike and says a customer wants to be able to select directly to a mid-gear and not get any clicking. I give the bike a run through, and there is nothing I can do, it’s a cheap quality shifter. I can’t fix cheap junk. Tech gets mad because I told him his customer is better off going somewhere else for a bike. He always seemed to hate me, but it was his slow incompetence that I was there picking up his slack.
Recently, we had to get a new windshield. We made an appointment with Safelite, and when we got there, they were a bit backed up. Seems odd to me they only had one tech on hand. Anyway, lady gives us an estimated time, so since we had no other transportation, we walked to other businesses, had lunch, then returned about the ETC. When got back, they had a couple different people being very demanding on the only tech. We sat down and just chilled. It took 2 hours longer than first told to us when we made the appointment, but we get the stress of dealing with the general public. For our patience, the lady surprised us with an extra $20 discount. Cool, I’ll take it, and I’ll share them trying their best. My other truck will need a windshield, so back I will be going.
I ordered all new ignition parts for my Ranger when I realized it was running rough because it had engine code U parts on a code V engine. Anyway, I ordered the ignition coil pack on one order, then later ordered the plug wires and plugs. The plug options were only in 4 packs or singles, with 4 packs being cheaper per plug, but too much when you only need half a pack. So I ordered 1-4 pack, and 2 singles. I get the plug wires and 4 pack of plugs in one box, then two days later got the 2 single plugs. A bit annoying waiting two days for just two plugs, but only quirk after all the stuff I ordered from RA.
[quote=”451Mopar” post=175444][quote=”Flintiron” post=175428]My worst mistake, buying a used Pontiac Grand Am without even starting the engine. It wasn’t even my first car, I knew better, but it was the cheapest car I could find, and was excited to get back on the road again. The problem, dead oil pump, motor was running, but already trash. It seized a couple months later.[/quote]
Just fill the power steering reservoir, it will leak the fluid into the engine keeping it oiled (I think this was a ’98 Quad4 engine GrandAm where the PS pump is run off the camshaft.) It was my Girlfriends car, and started smoking bad. Checked the oil and it was way overfilled. My girlfriend said it kept loosing PS fluid, so she just kept adding more and the pump seal was leaking all the fluid right into the engine.[/quote]It had oil, metal shaving filled oil. I was completely stupid for not checking anything. I should’ve been patient, but I had gone a year without a car, and trying to work two jobs and commuting by bus was getting to me.
On my Expedition, I changed the Cats last year. Four O2 sensors, and bank 1 sensor 1 (right side, front) sits right in front of the nut I needed to take off to drop the Cat. I went the hard way, crowfoot from the bottom. Just a nightmare. It was when I was putting everything back together I realize I get a wrench on it through the wheel well. This year, I got a code for that same sensor. When changing it, I then realize something else, I have several 7/8″ wrenches. I cut a gap into a box end and found it much easier using that. I think when I used the open in to put the old one in, it slipped, putting a dent in the side of the sensor. The cut box end kept me from slipping off. Now I have a dedicated O2 sensor wrench.
My worst mistake, buying a used Pontiac Grand Am without even starting the engine. It wasn’t even my first car, I knew better, but it was the cheapest car I could find, and was excited to get back on the road again. The problem, dead oil pump, motor was running, but already trash. It seized a couple months later.
I had this happen to my Ranger. It was a 60-75% blocked radiator. Pretty obvious when after all warmed up, the lower half of the radiator was still cool to the touch.
[quote=”Evil-i” post=169964]The question of insurance is interesting.
If a vehicle does something autonomously, which results in personal or property damage, who is at fault? Who pays restitution/compensation? You, the policy holder, were using the vehicle as the manufacturer intended, you weren’t negligent and the accident occurred without input from you.[/quote]Since the system is not truly autonomous, the person behind the wheel is still the driver who is responsible. It’s a misnomer to call it auto-pilot. Treat it as advanced cruise control, because it is not intended for the driver to stop watching the road and fully trust the car. If the system is having trouble, it will tell the driver to take over. Case in point, an Asian man was driving a Tesla along a winding, mountain road. He turned on the “auto-pilot” and sat back. The car tried getting him to take over, however he didn’t understand English enough to understand the warning, and the car crashed. Sure there was a language barrier, but the car was alerting to it’s inability to handle the road.
I use cruise control, I still check the speed occasionally. Besides, there are already laws about distracted driving. Just watching a movie behind the wheel means he was breaking the law.
I haven’t seen it, but I’m wondering if the ignition pack could send over charges that could cause damage like this. We’ve all seen weak spark causing issues, but I wonder if too strong of a spark is a thing.
Hopefully those 500 pages are packed with info. There is a lot of information on each car, down to little details, and I’m sure it won’t be fully read. However, there is wisdom in providing info for those seeking it, instead of the hard way of trying to find info. Hopefully to cure things like where is a sensor is located. That has been my biggest headache, because when I need to find a sensor to replace, some of them have been located in a different, much harder to reach places than where everything online is saying it is. My oil pressure switch on my Ranger wasn’t on the left side of the motor like everyone else, instead it was the one year the sensor was put on the back of the right side of the engine. It took me 2 hours to find it, but 5 minutes to replace. If it has all that stuff, give me 500 page manuals on every car and truck.
I go to church with one of the engineers who developed that LED lighting system, he was telling me of it a couple years ago when the truck was being designed. Now you got my curiosity up again, because I almost forgot about it. I do so want to see my friend’s work.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=169608][quote=”Flintiron” post=169539]For bleeding brakes, why are you still using a bottle? Hand pump, or pneumatic bleeders are easily accessible for most people, even if it’s a Harbor Freight tool. I bought a hand pump bleeder, and I’m so happy with it because sometimes I just have to do things by myself. With a shop full of tools that much is outside me reach, and yet one tool that is so easy is missing. If it’s just to mess with Brian, I get it.[/quote]
I don’t like the hand pumps and when something works, it works. Tools don’t have to be expensive or store bought to work.[/quote]Oh, the Harbor Freight brake bleeder is far from expensive. For what I did pay for it, it paid for itself by not having to find someone to help me, and not using gas from running the engine. May even be better on the master cylinder by not having to pump it so much when doing a full flush. Which I did both trucks the same day I did the rear brakes on the big truck. The nice part for me, it has the other function of vacuum tester. The pneumatic version is just a few dollars more, but then again, I’m not trying to spend a lot. If I was, I wouldn’t be shopping at Harbor Freight. Yeah I used a coupon.
For bleeding brakes, why are you still using a bottle? Hand pump, or pneumatic bleeders are easily accessible for most people, even if it’s a Harbor Freight tool. I bought a hand pump bleeder, and I’m so happy with it because sometimes I just have to do things by myself. With a shop full of tools that much is outside me reach, and yet one tool that is so easy is missing. If it’s just to mess with Brian, I get it.