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Is that what people are after, though? Or are they after help fixing a more immediate problem?
That’s my concern. I love this site, I really do. I worry what might happen if the focus changes, and those that need the more immediate help go elsewhere for assistance.
Would they gain knowledge by going through the forums, and watching the new content about builds? Sure. But think of the last time you Googled for a solution to a computer problem. If the header didn’t look like it was applicable, then it wouldn’t matter if it were or not; you’d have moved on for something that looked a bit more like what you needed.
I guess the only way I can try and summarize it is to use myself as an example. I had a failure in a vehicle, and I needed help fixing it. I Googled, and found my way here to ETCG. Been here ever since, too. But if I had seen the Google results for ETCG and saw that the site was more geared to builds and mods, then I can honestly say I probably wouldn’t have come in and would’ve wandered the net until I found something that seemed more applicable.
I hope that helps relay the concern I was trying to.. I can’t think of another way to put it.
Now, me personally, I look forward to seeing the Fairmont build through to the end. But I don’t have money to throw at a build, nor do I have the facilities to BUILD or modify a car to begin with. I came for help, but I stayed for the friends. The new Net Wanderers might not make it that far. And those that do come in would be more affilated with the mod/build mindset. They and I wouldn’t have too much in common.
Anyway, I ramble.
That, I believe, is the last .02 I have for this topic. I look foward to whatever comes next.
I had a long and somewhat rambling message put up here that I deleted in favor of something more concise.
ETCG was originally founded around the premise “ETCG is where you go when you’re broke and your ride is also broke.”
What you’re talking about now would change the very character of the board. The people who came to your website for repair advice might lessen over time, as your focus would no longer be on repair videos of the sort that brought them here in the first place. The board moderators (ToyotaKarl and CollegeMan) would likely keep the repair forums humming along, but if the Site Operator (you) had changed their focus, then that will have an affect on traffic.
You would start attracting people with more discretionary funds.. those that CAN afford to toss a few kilobucks towards a car build. They also might be more technically adept than the average DIY-er, as you generally have to be to pull off a build that involves retrofitting or fabrication. These are skills the average maintenance-minded DIY-er doesn’t have.
Ultimately, the decision is yours, and I’m sure that the majority of your fanbase will support whatever decision you make.
However, I would be remiss if I did not mention that you undoubtedly will lose viewers and subscribers of one faction (The repair-based DIY) just as you might pick up others to replace them from the other faction (The DIY-er that can afford builds).
For what very little my opinion might matter.
-Hinoki
I can see precisely where you’re coming from with that, and in many respects, I think you’re on to something.
There are a few things that’d have to be sorted out first, though.
For instance, Liability. If you combine Google and Uber like that, and add in a dollop of a person not owning the car… who is at fault when the cars crash? Google had their first autonomous car crash and blame was set firmly on the Google car. The car’s algorithms predicted that the person would do ‘X’, and instead, the person did ‘Y’… and fenders were bent.
Electronics, like mechanics, can and will fail. Many of these could cause crashes. in that case, would Google be liable for a failure? Would Uber? If the passenger did not own the vehicle, they’d not be liable; they’d be much the same as a passenger in a taxicab.
Another hurdle would be getting Americans to give up their keys. I don’t mean that as in getting people to accept being a passenger only and not driving (although as you pointed out, that’s definitely an issue too!) but rather not OWNING the car. What’s to stop a passenger from going through a Taco Bell and leaving the ride somewhat… fragrant… afterwards? Or a child spilling their drink, and making hash out of the interior? Unless the vehicle were inspected after each and every passenger, it’d be difficult to pin liability on it.
One way I can see this working (to an extent) is if vehicular access were treated as a utility, right up there with Gas, Electricity, Water, etc. This could be handled at either the Federal Level (probably for the best, IMO), or at the local level (Not so good, as there’d be issues with inter-state liability and maintenance. How to handle a Nebraska car that craps out somewhere in Florida?).
COULD an Uber/Google (UberGoogle?) fusion work? Yes, I think so. It’d be a -lot- of work and would have a metric arse-ton of regulations on it.. but it could work, in theory.
I do think that it will happen, but I don’t see the control laying in the private sector. I think for the rank and file, there’ll be a Utility run by the Feds… and perhaps some side markets for the muckety-mucks that want a more luxury self-driving car to come ferry them around.
-Hinoki
Why would you want to?
You’re in there already anyway, so you might as well replace the bearings and such. They’ve been in there since ’96, yes? They’ve seen a lot of miles and wear.
If you can’t replace them due to cost, then there you go… that’s your answer. If cost isn’t that big a concern, then do it right the first time, yes?
-Hinoki
You’d be proud of me, Eric.
I have joined an exclusive club.
What club, you ask?
The club of people that have violated the laws of physics and somehow managed to install this LED bulb upside-down.
The funny part is that it had enough of a beam pattern to highlight the road ahead well enough, but there was this blob of light somewhere in the trees that’d keep following me… Saw -every- street sign for a mile down the road, too.
Figured that wasn’t right and so I took another look at it. Un-installed the driver’s side bulb and figure out how to do it properly. If interested, I’ll go into greater detail (despite it making me feel even -more- foolish…) but I’ll try to spare myself the humiliation. 😉
Cheers!
-Hinoki
PS: I bet the beam pattern’ll be a LOT better now…
I’ve ordered a set for my Civic, so I’m looking forward to it.
One thing I didn’t see covered in the video was the LED Decoder option. MotorFiend’s description of what the decoder was and did made sense, but I wonder about your take on it.
This is cut from MotorFiend’s website:
** LED Decoders ** – recommended for all post 2007 vehicles with electronic headlight systems. CANBUS vehicle systems were mandatory on all US vehicles from 2008. Changing the headlight bulbs in a vehicle using CANBUS may cause faults or error codes. Our LED decoders eliminate these issues in 99% of vehicles. –Did your kit have them? if not, did you have any issues?
-Hinoki
If it were the timing, wouldn’t it be buggered even when it was cold? Not arguing, just genuinely curious.
Another thought would be the coolant temp sensor. I’ve not heard of a failure mode in which it’d reflect an accurate temperature on the dashboard, but report improperly to the ECU, but I suppose that thing being knackered would cause this sort of thing too. As in it’s trying to run a hot car on a cold car fuel / air mix…
When the engine is stone cold, does it run well? This problem ONLY manifests when the engine is warm?
Are there any engine codes at all?
You’ve covered the vacuum leaks.. and while the fuel pressure might be stable, I can’t help but wonder if it might not be that.
If the CPS was out of whack, that’d definitely throw a code. If you don’t have a code, I’d almost say it was a fuelling issue still. But I have trouble with that, because the pressure is solid. Even so, you’re running out of options there. When warmed up and it’s chugging and trying to stall… why not try this? Shut the car off and turn the key to the ‘on’ position several times before trying to start it. if it starts and runs ok for a few seconds, perhaps it’s a fueling issue after all.
-Hinoki
I’m chiming in on this, as I am Bryan of the Bryan and Jerry duo. The car belongs to my Dad, and I cannot thank Eric enough for taking time and effort into helping my father.
As Eric said earlier, he stands by his repair. So do I.
My father is saying that the car drives better than it did five years ago when I got it for him. There are NO suspension issues whatsoever, the ride is better than it ever has been before.When my father and I came to pick the car up, I asked Eric about that ball joint being welded in. Eric took the time to explain it and even SHOW me why the tack-weld repair was sufficient. the ball joint can’t go ANYWHERE. Even in the excessively unlikely event that the welds fail, the ball joint CANNOT fall out and there will NOT be a catastrophic failure. Eric respected the fact that I just wanted to know because it was my Dad driving the car, and I respect Eric far more than enough to take him at his word. If Eric says the repair is solid, I believe him.
Eric would never put my father or anyone else in an unsafe car, and anyone who says otherwise can suck a bag of .
Thanks again, Eric. You, Sir, are one of the good ones.
-Hinoki
Yes, you should see the piston extend when someone steps on the pedal, but be very, very careful. It is -very- easy to get over-enthusiastic, stomp on the pedal, and pop the piston right out of the caliper. If that happens, well, first it’s a right mess! Second, you’re looking at rebuilding or replacing it.
If you press on the brake pedal and the piston does -not- extend, then you’ve got either a clog in the line or possible failure in the master cylinder. As I’d mentioned before, if one of the o-rings on the brake master’s piston degrades and breaks apart, it can plug up one of the pathways and thus effectively nuke your brakes to that one wheel.
You can also try this: Crack open the brake caliper’s bleed screw and have someone step on the brakes. If fluid spurts/oozes out when they’re pressing down, then you know the brake piston has likely frozen in place. If it doesn’t, then you can fairly safely assume the problem is in the line or MC.
Good luck!
-Hinoki
I’m wondering if there’s either a kink / dent in the hard line leading to that caliper or perhaps a partial obstruction up near the Master Cylinder myself.
I’ve heard of some really strange cases where the MC would fail, and it’d only affect pressure to one of the wheels and not necessarily all four… depending what rubber o-ring seal failed where on the MC’s shaft. if it plugged up one hole…. etc, etc.
Try this. Get the car up on stands and pull the front wheels off. Pump the brakes five or six times, then let up on the pedal. Crack open the bleeder valve on the right caliper and then the left and see how much fluid splurts out, if any. With the pedal NOT pressed down you shouldn’t get much more than some mild oozing if that. If there’s actual pressure there holding the piston against the rotor, then it’ll fountain out like a cut artery for a second.
Try that and see, but don’t get it on your paint or on yourself. 🙂
-Hinoki
Sounds to me like the remote start module isn’t calibrated for the car. Seems you mash a button on it, and the car sorta responds, but not the way it ought.
When the security light flashes, that to me indicates that VATS (or whatever Dodge has that is comparable) is engaged, and you won’t be able to start/run it at all, honestly.
This one might be a dealership trip, if it isn’t an after-market module…
-Hinoki
That drum-like thing is your brake booster. The thick tube coming off of it provides vacuum assist for the braking and provides the majority of the power, I’d say.
If that tube has a leak in it, it absolutely and positively will mess with your brakes and make them sub-standard.
Replace that, and let us know how it goes.
Good luck!
-Hinoki