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I´m 52 and I just signed up for a 2 year education that builds on my ed as a mechanic. Back when I worked with cars on a daily basis, they had carbs and contact sets in the distributor. I know I´m a tad behind on the auxillury systems for engine managements etc, but the mechanics hasn´t changed much, if at all.
I´ve spent the last 20 years or so in IT, so the computer part of it doesn´t scare me. It mostly comes down to understanding the various systems and how to troubleshoot them.Am I too old to get a new ed? Hell no. As long as you WANT to learn and is willing to put in the effort, you can. Go for it ! Your benefit is, that compared to the kids you have some experience in other fields and more experience with people. You also know who is boss and how to take orders. They may not…
Even if the clutch is failing, you should be able to put in first gear and start the car while it is in gear. It should be able to run without holding the gear stick. If not, it´s the locking mechanism for that particular gear. It´s basically a steel ball that is spring loaded and the stell ball will match a notch on an axle. On some transmissions, you can get to the lock without taking the gearbox apart…… on others, you can´t.
If you do try to start the car in gear without using the cluch, please be careful and don´t do it on a crowded street.
Well, actually, if the clutch is cable operated and the cable has snapped, you can still drive your car home. Just release gas pedal a tad, put in neutral, press the gas a tad and release again before changing into the desired gear. That was the way it was done before gearboxes was sync´ed.
When the car is just idling…. is it jumping in RPM´s then too ? Idle in neutral should display similar behavior if it´s a vacuum leak. I had VW do that because I forgot to put back a small hose on the PCV. DOH…. well…. lesson learned.
As you say, the bearings are pressed in. They also need to be pressed out, unless you have the time, energy and sawblades to cut the rings from inside. I´ld go to someone with a bench press.
I would replace the entire brake line. It looks like it could snap at even a moderate pedal pressure. Cut the crusty brakeline and use a socket to remove the tube nut.
Loosen the brakelines from the caliper. If the brakes still hangs, it´s the calipers. If they stick before you loosen them but not after, it ´s the master cylinder.
[quote=”Evil-i” post=172055]To my way of thinking, if the car idles fine with AC off, but stumbles and stalls at idle when the AC is on, the “idle up” feature isn’t working and the idle speed is being dragged down by compressor load. I’d first investigate why the engine isn’t idling up.
The issue with the AC not performing well is a separate issue and I’d put that aside for now. If the engine isn’t idling up to begin with, it’ll idle poorly with the new compressor too.
What is your basic idle speed (without AC) when the engine is warmed up? If it’s too low right off the bat, it may have to tweaked up a bit, and that may cure your idling issue under load.[/quote]
^^What he said ! No need to spend a crap ton of money on a new compressor…. yet. Fix the idle first.
I think Eric is recommending Michelins for Hondas. As I recall it, he claims every other make he has tried on a Honda gives an inferior driving experience.
I´ve never owned a Honda, so I wouldn´t know, but I´ll take his word for it.[quote=”DragnSlayr” post=171981]Thanks for all the help!!! I have a feeling the belt is slowing because of the vibration I can feel. Everything keeps leading me back to the A/C compressor. The A/C is no long blowing very cold but still has a high pressure. I’m gonna bite the bullet and buy a new one and change it out. Will let you know the results as soon as its done. B)[/quote]
Ah, the old technique of throwing parts at it till it´s fixed 😉
Are there any other circumstances you could think of, that could put a load on your engine to test is something besides the A/C could be at fault and make it stall ?
How do you know the pressure is high in your A/C system ? You wrote, the air is no longer cold, but the pressure is high ? I´m not sure I follow.
Tires can make the same kind of noise a wheel bearing does. Did you check them ? Check for uneven wear and run your hand over the surface. The tire should feel smooth with no bumps or sharp edges on the threads.
Did you try jacking up the car and run it while off the ground ? That will sometimes help pinpoint the location. Have someone else at the steering wheel while you listen. Be careful though. A spinning wheel isn´t something you want to get caught in.
Notice the speed at which the noise is most audible. Jack up one wheel at a time and try to hit that speed. Do remember though, that if you jack up one wheel and the other is on the ground, due to the inner workings of your differential, the spinning wheel will be spinning with double the speed as your speedometer is showing.
[quote=”Jasonw1178″ post=171953][quote=”Iznogood” post=171844]I beg to differ. Basically everything that has moving parts is a wear item. The pistons move against a rubber seal and it is bound to wear. Also, rust gets in there adding to the wear. It is only a question of driving conditions that determines how fast it wears.
Also, I don´t get the mentality of changing just one caliper. Both will have seen the same use and even if only one has failed so far, the other one is soon to follow IMHO. Now, I´ve seen a lot of moaning here about mechanics being scoundrels who tries to rob you blindly because they want to change some parts. I find it hard to believe they all are. And which would you rather do ? Pay for an extra caliper now and have some peace knowing, that your brakes works at full capacity and brakes evenly, or go to the shop again after a short period of time and use a lot of your time doing so ?
Either way, from what I see on these forums, you don´t want to pay for parts (you in general terms, not the OP specifically) but you also don´t want to spend time nor money to get your car fixed properly. If the mechanic wants to put some parts in your car, he is a rip off trying to steal from you, but if he doesn´t and you have to go again, he is a shoddy mechanic since he couldn´t foresee, that the other caliper would fail soon.These are probably gross exaggerations but I think you know what I´m getting at….. maybe this should be a topic on its own.
From a mechanics standpoint, it´s damned if you do, and damned if you don´t .[/quote]
I would not argue against replacing both front calipers. It’s like replacing both rotors even though only one is under spec, it’s about keeping things even. BUT to just change calipers because of mileage is wrong and is part of what’s wrong with our industry and who mechanics have a bad reputation. Even non moving parts take a certain amount of wear. Say a frame on a pickup truck after 200K miles probably isn’t as rigid as it was when it was new.[/quote]
I never said anything about replacing anything solely because of mileage. I said “If one caliper fails, the other is soon to follow”.
Now, if it is steering knuckles, do you also only replace one ? Like with calipers, I do everything in pairs when it comes to steering and suspension. It will all have seen the same mileage and the customer needs an alignment anyway. If you only replace one … what are they called ? Tie rods ?Steering knuckles ?.. and the other falters shortly after, how do you explain to the customer, that he needs alignment again ? He gets to spend a little more money NOW if you replace both sides but he only needs one alignment. It´s more expensive for him and more time consuming if you don´t do both sides at once. The same with the struts. Both dampers will have seen the same use and wear, but do you really only change the one that has started leaking / lost damping effect? In that case, you are giving your customer a deathtrap back since the suspension is working unevenly, unless you do both sides.I know I´m a stickler with my work, but I´ve never had complaints because I was thorough. If they want a half-assed job done, go elsewhere. I take a pride in my work and I have a peace of mind when I give back a car I know won´t let them down on account of what I´ve done.
[quote=”CrazedAssassin” post=171871]Id be checking your actual steering column to be honest.[/quote]
^^ What he said. Sounds like the entire rack is loose or a clamp for it is broken.
[quote=”Jasonw1178″ post=171284][quote=”DaFirnz” post=171206]As for selling calipers when there is no failure, it’s not completely uncommon. Of course several factors com into play, but a few years ago I went through a 4 hour Raybestos seminar and think about this for a second. For every kilometer you drive, you average about 5 brake applications (their numbers). So there’s 1.6kms in a mile so we’ll say 8 applications per mile, because 8 is easy. This is assuming regular city type commuting, obviously reality varies the figures. So at 100,000 miles your brake caliper has gone through 800,000 application cycles. Depending on the application, it’s not unreasonable for that to become something that’s “best practice” when the number of applications hits 1,000,000.[/quote]
BUT….. calipers are not a wear item. [/quote]
I beg to differ. Basically everything that has moving parts is a wear item. The pistons move against a rubber seal and it is bound to wear. Also, rust gets in there adding to the wear. It is only a question of driving conditions that determines how fast it wears.
Also, I don´t get the mentality of changing just one caliper. Both will have seen the same use and even if only one has failed so far, the other one is soon to follow IMHO. Now, I´ve seen a lot of moaning here about mechanics being scoundrels who tries to rob you blindly because they want to change some parts. I find it hard to believe they all are. And which would you rather do ? Pay for an extra caliper now and have some peace knowing, that your brakes works at full capacity and brakes evenly, or go to the shop again after a short period of time and use a lot of your time doing so ?
Either way, from what I see on these forums, you don´t want to pay for parts (you in general terms, not the OP specifically) but you also don´t want to spend time nor money to get your car fixed properly. If the mechanic wants to put some parts in your car, he is a rip off trying to steal from you, but if he doesn´t and you have to go again, he is a shoddy mechanic since he couldn´t foresee, that the other caliper would fail soon.These are probably gross exaggerations but I think you know what I´m getting at….. maybe this should be a topic on its own.
From a mechanics standpoint, it´s damned if you do, and damned if you don´t .