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Thanks for the great article and balanced review.
My response: Well heck and darn, I’ve wasted a nice chunk of change on oil additives over the years. They did result in a few miles per gallon extra mileage, but that’s not what I was buying them for. If I spent the money from the additives on gas, it would probably would have come out about the same $/mile, and it would be better for the cars’ in the long run. LOL
The good news is, I never bought them unless they were on a BIG sale, and thanks to ETCG, I can quit buying the additives totally now and save some money and help my car engine perform as engineered.
Thanking you! And hey, take the rest of the day off!
Pulled the front brakes pads out, found one of the four was worn down substantially. Apparently, one of the guides was stuck or there was an air bubble in the line and caused that brake cylinder to not retract, or something to no function correctly.
Pulled the guides out, cleaned an lubricated. Put in new set of pads. Working fine right now, but still need to bleed the lines out thoroughly.
Thanks
A note for the weekenders. RTV? … LOL… Given the context I was relatively certain what that was, but wanted to look it up to be sure — room temperature vulcanization silicone. e.g. permatex or loctite. There are about 100 varieties.
FYI… I looked online to compare prices — Online about $8 for a good quality oil pan gasket. However, shipping was another $9.
At local parts store, only $12. Sometimes local is better, and always good to keep the cash in town, if possible.
The truck owner is totally nonmechanical and he’s located in a different town.
My advice to them was, take the battery it into O’Reilly’s. They will fully charge and test it for free. Then they can go from there. That eliminates the voltage issue entirely.
Of course, that comes after questions regarding are the cables clean, was a light or something left on, was is showing signs of starting hard/slowly before, etc.
Agree, owning a battery charger is pretty much a must…. I think.
Since initial post, I’ve poked a bit online and found that some gasoline truck engines run 12 and 16, sometimes 24 volt system. And diesels (not in this case) often run 24 volt systems.
That’s good to know for the future, just in case.
Thanks for the insights and thinks.
Even though the car seems to be running fine again, I’d like to ask a related question.
If the auto parts store manager was correct, and the zzzzzing spinning sound was indeed the starter — more exactly the selinoid failed to kick the starter into gear with the engine so the starter just spun those first two time, hence the zzzzing and no engine turning over….
is it then possible that those two failures caused the engine to flood, with the fuel pump doing it’s job on both occasions, causing the fuel to build up???
Just curious about the possible cause. Thanks again for the expertise of the mechanics out there.
Even though the car seems to be running fine again, I’d like to ask a related question.
If the auto parts store manager was correct, and the zzzzzing spinning sound was indeed the starter — more exactly the selinoid failed to kick the starter into gear with the engine so the starter just spun those first two time, hence the zzzzing and no engine turning over….
is it then possible that those two failures caused the engine to flood, with the fuel pump doing it’s job on both occasions, causing the fuel to build up???
Just curious about the possible cause. Thanks again for the expertise of the mechanics out there.
Given the zzzzzzing sound at the first, the parts store manager suggested the starter might be going out and turning over too slowly… So I bought one and took it home, so I’d have it on hand if needed. (I can always take it back, if unused.)
Before replacing the starter, though, I thought I’d check the fuel component one more time, just to make sure.
Disconnected the end of the air intake, so I could get a clear shot at it. Sprayed in starter fluid and tried. There was a very subtle hint of a sound that it might be trying to start, then it continued just cranking.
I recalled an Eric video that recommended allowing it to crank for a considerable period of time.
So, I shot starter fluid in the air system again, cranked it for a good full minute and it slowly started sputtering its way to life. When I eventually let off the ignition, it continued sputtering and shortly after came back to normal life.
Thank you Lord! and Eric. Much cheaper than a starter, or crank position sensor, etc. And, easier than a timing belt.
So the original cause, I’m guessing was the cold weather and/or bad gas/condensation might have caused the problem originally. The parts store suggested that the ZZZZZZing sound probably was the starter not throwing out and engaging with the engine. And that the brushes on the starter might be going out, which would be exaggerated by the cold weather.
Sounds somewhat logical.
So, I’ve put some ISO gas drier in the fuel tank. And, I’m leaving the car out in the cold tonight to see if it will provide a repeat performance. I’d rather have it happen in the driveway, then out in the buckwheat.
If the problem repeats, I’ll probably begin by replacing the starter.
If everything continues running well, however, this seems like it might be a great time heed this warning and do some preventative maintenance… e.g. Change the timing belt (now that I know it’s an interference timing belt — WHY in the heck are they still putting these silly things in cars!!! I thought they stopped that in the 90s. Entirely too risky to leave to until something does officially go wrong and and engine is permanently damaged. YIKES, NOT a good plan.); ALSO replace the ignition coils, plugs, etc.
$100-$150 now vs. $3000 later.
Thank you all for your input and insights! Greatly appreciated.
God willing, the car will run smoothly for the next several days and nothing has been damaged.
Hey, take the rest of the weekend off!
Given the zzzzzzing sound at the first, the parts store manager suggested the starter might be going out and turning over too slowly… So I bought one and took it home, so I’d have it on hand if needed. (I can always take it back, if unused.)
Before replacing the starter, though, I thought I’d check the fuel component one more time, just to make sure.
Disconnected the end of the air intake, so I could get a clear shot at it. Sprayed in starter fluid and tried. There was a very subtle hint of a sound that it might be trying to start, then it continued just cranking.
I recalled an Eric video that recommended allowing it to crank for a considerable period of time.
So, I shot starter fluid in the air system again, cranked it for a good full minute and it slowly started sputtering its way to life. When I eventually let off the ignition, it continued sputtering and shortly after came back to normal life.
Thank you Lord! and Eric. Much cheaper than a starter, or crank position sensor, etc. And, easier than a timing belt.
So the original cause, I’m guessing was the cold weather and/or bad gas/condensation might have caused the problem originally. The parts store suggested that the ZZZZZZing sound probably was the starter not throwing out and engaging with the engine. And that the brushes on the starter might be going out, which would be exaggerated by the cold weather.
Sounds somewhat logical.
So, I’ve put some ISO gas drier in the fuel tank. And, I’m leaving the car out in the cold tonight to see if it will provide a repeat performance. I’d rather have it happen in the driveway, then out in the buckwheat.
If the problem repeats, I’ll probably begin by replacing the starter.
If everything continues running well, however, this seems like it might be a great time heed this warning and do some preventative maintenance… e.g. Change the timing belt (now that I know it’s an interference timing belt — WHY in the heck are they still putting these silly things in cars!!! I thought they stopped that in the 90s. Entirely too risky to leave to until something does officially go wrong and and engine is permanently damaged. YIKES, NOT a good plan.); ALSO replace the ignition coils, plugs, etc.
$100-$150 now vs. $3000 later.
Thank you all for your input and insights! Greatly appreciated.
God willing, the car will run smoothly for the next several days and nothing has been damaged.
Hey, take the rest of the weekend off!
LandRover – thanks for the response. Good common sense check list.
Q:if the timing belt was gone, it wouldn’t turn over, would it?
Hence my suspicion of the crank position sensor… purely an uneducated guess.
Gas is a possibility, as it has recently turned quite cold here… into the teens at night, although the car has been in the garage.
BTW: I added the following paragraph to the original post to offer some more details. It might be helpful in diagnosis: “The first two times I turned the key, it sounded like the starter was just spinning free, without turning over the engine. zzzzzzing. The third time, it began turning over as usual, just no start. And it has continued to turn over every time since then, no start.”
Thanks for the thinks.
LandRover – thanks for the response. Good common sense check list.
Q:if the timing belt was gone, it wouldn’t turn over, would it?
Hence my suspicion of the crank position sensor… purely an uneducated guess.
Gas is a possibility, as it has recently turned quite cold here… into the teens at night, although the car has been in the garage.
BTW: I added the following paragraph to the original post to offer some more details. It might be helpful in diagnosis: “The first two times I turned the key, it sounded like the starter was just spinning free, without turning over the engine. zzzzzzing. The third time, it began turning over as usual, just no start. And it has continued to turn over every time since then, no start.”
Thanks for the thinks.
Been doing some reading and this is beginning to look like a crank position sensor. http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/honda/1.7L/how-to-test-the-crank-sensor-1
Still testing and trying to see what piece of the puzzle is missing or misbehaving, so to speak.
Been doing some reading and this is beginning to look like a crank position sensor. http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/honda/1.7L/how-to-test-the-crank-sensor-1
Still testing and trying to see what piece of the puzzle is missing or misbehaving, so to speak.
I realize this is an older post, but it had no response. So for those who follow later….
Yes, it could definitely be as simple as a bad ground. I just encountered the same problem in a Camry. I painted the mounting bracket the ignitor ICM went on with Derusto to keep it in good shape. Did not realize the mounting bracket was the source of ground for the ignitor. So, i used a wire brush, cleaned off the paint where it connected, and voila, the car started right up.
I realize this is an older post, but it had no response. So for those who follow later….
Yes, it could definitely be as simple as a bad ground. I just encountered the same problem in a Camry. I painted the mounting bracket the ignitor ICM went on with Derusto to keep it in good shape. Did not realize the mounting bracket was the source of ground for the ignitor. So, i used a wire brush, cleaned off the paint where it connected, and voila, the car started right up.