Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Most cars have like 12 to 18 different individual rubber bushings in the front end. One of them is probably frittering away and may be shifting in its mounting ring. As Eric has noted, you can often spot these as the frittering results in some black or brown dust around the bushing. Look around carefully with a flashlight. Compare the outward appearance of the bushings. If one or more of them are a bit more brown on the outside, just a teense, that may be due to it being bad and twisting around in its mount. Note that like the drunk that looks around the light-pole for his keys, we tend to only look at the most visible bushings. You have to go out of your way to carefully look at each and every one. Sometimes this means taking out a bolt so you can get a close look at the bushing that is otherwise mostly obscured.
Most cars have like 12 to 18 different individual rubber bushings in the front end. One of them is probably frittering away and may be shifting in its mounting ring. As Eric has noted, you can often spot these as the frittering results in some black or brown dust around the bushing. Look around carefully with a flashlight. Compare the outward appearance of the bushings. If one or more of them are a bit more brown on the outside, just a teense, that may be due to it being bad and twisting around in its mount. Note that like the drunk that looks around the light-pole for his keys, we tend to only look at the most visible bushings. You have to go out of your way to carefully look at each and every one. Sometimes this means taking out a bolt so you can get a close look at the bushing that is otherwise mostly obscured.
I have similar noises in mine and it’s hard to pin down. Sometimes it’s in the top strut mount or the bottom fork to arm bushing. After 18 years every rubber bushing is suspect. You may end up replacing each and every one of them. They’re not expensive but it’s a bit of a pain as they’re often not available locally so you have to wait three days for each one to show up in the mail. Such is life with an older car.
I have similar noises in mine and it’s hard to pin down. Sometimes it’s in the top strut mount or the bottom fork to arm bushing. After 18 years every rubber bushing is suspect. You may end up replacing each and every one of them. They’re not expensive but it’s a bit of a pain as they’re often not available locally so you have to wait three days for each one to show up in the mail. Such is life with an older car.
Whining is often due to a bad wheel bearing, although they tend to whine all the time the car is moving. CV joints are more of a clunk-clunk. Whining can also come from the differential, especially if it’s only while under load and not when in neutral and moving.
Bad wheel bearings usually you can spot just by listening carefully while spinning the wheel. Although sometimes they only whine or growl while under load and at speed. It should turn perfectly smoothly with no rumble or ticking or hesitation. If you don’t have the time to change it right now, often putting a hypodermic needle onto your grease gun and pumping in four strokes of the grease gun in through the bearing seal may quiet it down for a few months. This also works for alternator bearings.
Whining is often due to a bad wheel bearing, although they tend to whine all the time the car is moving. CV joints are more of a clunk-clunk. Whining can also come from the differential, especially if it’s only while under load and not when in neutral and moving.
Bad wheel bearings usually you can spot just by listening carefully while spinning the wheel. Although sometimes they only whine or growl while under load and at speed. It should turn perfectly smoothly with no rumble or ticking or hesitation. If you don’t have the time to change it right now, often putting a hypodermic needle onto your grease gun and pumping in four strokes of the grease gun in through the bearing seal may quiet it down for a few months. This also works for alternator bearings.
Well I rushed my answer a little bit. It could be one of two things–
It could be a different pinout, meaning that the lamp pins are not arranged as lo gnd hi, but instead gnd lo hi as an example. If the pins are swapped this way then when you plug in the lamp one of the filaments is bridging from lo to hi beam and you get exactly the symptoms you mention.
There is another possibility– if the gnd connection isn’t making contact, then you get the same effect– the current flows from the low beam filament through and back up the high beam filament to the other bulb. And you get the blue high-beam indicator partially glowing.
Well I rushed my answer a little bit. It could be one of two things–
It could be a different pinout, meaning that the lamp pins are not arranged as lo gnd hi, but instead gnd lo hi as an example. If the pins are swapped this way then when you plug in the lamp one of the filaments is bridging from lo to hi beam and you get exactly the symptoms you mention.
There is another possibility– if the gnd connection isn’t making contact, then you get the same effect– the current flows from the low beam filament through and back up the high beam filament to the other bulb. And you get the blue high-beam indicator partially glowing.
The bulbs have a different pinout than your original bulbs, so the bulbs are cross-feeding from the low to the highbeam wires.
Go back to your original bulbs. Don’t try putting in larger ones, your wires, connectors, fusebox, switches, reflectors, lamp sockets, lenses, and relays are not designed for the higher current. Higher power bulbs may work for a while, but after an hour you might have melted wires or blown fuses.
You CAN put in more efficient bulbs that have the same pinout. Look for bulbs with more lumens but the same or lower current or wattage.
The bulbs have a different pinout than your original bulbs, so the bulbs are cross-feeding from the low to the highbeam wires.
Go back to your original bulbs. Don’t try putting in larger ones, your wires, connectors, fusebox, switches, reflectors, lamp sockets, lenses, and relays are not designed for the higher current. Higher power bulbs may work for a while, but after an hour you might have melted wires or blown fuses.
You CAN put in more efficient bulbs that have the same pinout. Look for bulbs with more lumens but the same or lower current or wattage.
If you have bad compression you can tell– just pull off the PCV valve off the valve cover. If air or smoke comes out the valve cover, more than a hamster’s breath after a run on the hamster wheel, then you have bad compression. If you can floor the gas pedal and the kids on skateboards are passing you, you may have bad compression. If you’re getting 8 MPG, you may have bad compression.
This is written a little bit sarcastically, because often there’s not much you can do about it, short of a complete engine overhaul. If you’re fortunate it’s “just” due to leaking valves and all you need is a $600 head job. But more often it’s due to leaky rings, and that’s like $2,000 and usually not worth doing on an older car.
If you have bad compression you can tell– just pull off the PCV valve off the valve cover. If air or smoke comes out the valve cover, more than a hamster’s breath after a run on the hamster wheel, then you have bad compression. If you can floor the gas pedal and the kids on skateboards are passing you, you may have bad compression. If you’re getting 8 MPG, you may have bad compression.
This is written a little bit sarcastically, because often there’s not much you can do about it, short of a complete engine overhaul. If you’re fortunate it’s “just” due to leaking valves and all you need is a $600 head job. But more often it’s due to leaky rings, and that’s like $2,000 and usually not worth doing on an older car.
Ten degrees should not make much difference in engine performance, it would get to 180 degrees and higher anyway under normal operation, the 180 degree thermostat just gets it there faster and keeps it there under very cold conditions.
Ten degrees should not make much difference in engine performance, it would get to 180 degrees and higher anyway under normal operation, the 180 degree thermostat just gets it there faster and keeps it there under very cold conditions.
One of the valve lifters may be a little slow to pump up. They are very precise devices and it doesn’t take much dirt or misassembly to get one to hang up. I would not worry about it. Our 1997 Odyssey wagon has had a mild tick for the first three minutes for 140,000 miles and it hasn’t caused any problem.