DIY Car Maintenance

I am helping my coworker revive his absolute turd of a 05 accord. Luckily my job is nice enough to spare a rack. First I had to chase one fan electrically to splice it to make it run again(damage from relay to switch). Then we started to do his rack, and oil pan which was his main concern since the drain bolt is spinning in the pan. Unfortunately once I got the pan off his timing chain glide by oil pump chain had a bolt just sitting inside and did not back out completely since chain cover did not allow the clearance. The worse part of all is the faster that was backed out Smoked the female end so bad I am going to have to tap into the block.

As the photos show, I have confidence I can tap it but I have a guy who is a machinist who will come to my aid if needed. Wish me luck yall if we cannot get it done it might be game over for this block.
 

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Yes its one of the few things worth buying high dollar set. I have a matco tap and dye set plus my work have a time set box set. I have done a few valve cover gasket holes and have time certed a few oil pans but this is another level of tomfoolery. Hopefully I'll get it done tomorrow.
 
Gazeebo said:
I am helping my coworker revive his absolute turd of a 05 accord. Luckily my job is nice enough to spare a rack. First I had to chase one fan electrically to splice it to make it run again(damage from relay to switch). Then we started to do his rack, and oil pan which was his main concern since the drain bolt is spinning in the pan. Unfortunately once I got the pan off his timing chain glide by oil pump chain had a bolt just sitting inside and did not back out completely since chain cover did not allow the clearance. The worse part of all is the faster that was backed out Smoked the female end so bad I am going to have to tap into the block.

As the photos show, I have confidence I can tap it but I have a guy who is a machinist who will come to my aid if needed. Wish me luck yall if we cannot get it done it might be game over for this block.
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Can't you use a helicoil to repair the stripped hole? If I understood correctly, this is a bolt holding the oil pump. I would think a helicoil would be acceptable for this.
 
@Gazeebo You ever install a fixed window before? A relative had their rear quarter window busted out by thieves and their insurance has a $1,000 deductible so that wont be of any help. Found replacement glass on eBay for a reasonable amount, and was thinking installation couldn't be that difficult or complicated...
 
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@mountainaire I have done a few mid 2000s Acura MDX 3rd row glasses before.

Seeing what you have shown on here I believe you can do it.

Depending on the car you may be able to run a really flat trim tool under the grommet panel around the glass. There are usually clips or is adhesive/glue or both.

I attached this photo to show you what I mean. I replaced the red arrow glass I just want to make sure you are not talking about the teal arrow glass.

What type of vehicle are you working on?
 

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mountainaire said:
@Gazeebo Yeah it's a panel like the one with the red arrow, drivers side rear quarter glass on a 2 door Mini Cooper. Was thinking the fixed panes are installed like windshields are with a bead of hot sealant?
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Cannot speak for German cars but honda uses urethane sealer. Had a heat gun on stand by but did not use. There are also small clips in the ones i have done. Looks like a tube of sealer from zogazon is about 15 USD.
 
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Any reasonable person would have sent this thing to the scrapper. Fluids leaking out, water leaking in, rusted out floors, mold growing inside...

heep.jpg

An abbreviated list of the things done:

all fluids
engine gaskets
timing chain
cooling system
A/C delete
steering components and DIY alignment
tires w/new spare
spark plugs and wires
distributor cap and rotor
vacuum lines
rear wheel bearings
catalytic converter
muffler
windshield
wiper blades
wiper fluid nozzles
carpet
headliner
floor pans
patch panels/"body work"/rust repair
driver's side fender
front bumper
headlight bezel
rear bump stops
shock absorbers
window cranks
door speakers
door seals

...and all the tools I had to buy and curse words yelled and knuckles scraped. With that said, I still think it was worth it and would do it again.
 
mountainaire said:
Any reasonable person would have sent this thing to the scrapper. Fluids leaking out, water leaking in, rusted out floors, mold growing inside...

View attachment 3349

An abbreviated list of the things done:

all fluids
engine gaskets
timing chain
cooling system
A/C delete
steering components and DIY alignment
tires w/new spare
spark plugs and wires
distributor cap and rotor
vacuum lines
rear wheel bearings
catalytic converter
muffler
windshield
wiper blades
wiper fluid nozzles
carpet
headliner
floor pans
patch panels/"body work"/rust repair
driver's side fender
front bumper
headlight bezel
rear bump stops
shock absorbers
window cranks
door speakers
door seals

...and all the tools I had to buy and curse words yelled and knuckles scraped. With that said, I still think it was worth it and would do it again.
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Amazing! Good job!
 
I have a 2017 F150 ecoboost that has lost compression on cylinder 4 (verified by a good mechanic). The truck runs well, with some shuddering from 25-45 mph, but at speed it smooths out and runs super. It is relatively high miles, but I would rather keep it as it has been an excellent ride and is otherwise in great shape. Octane booster and premium fuel do help, but the engine light stays on anyway. The problem has been slowly getting worse for last 15k miles.

My mechanic says "its time to get rid of it." I can't argue with him but would rather spend the money on other things. Any ideas are welcome. It would sure help if I can postpone buying a new truck for another year or 2.
 
Pointy Elbows said:
I have a 2017 F150 ecoboost that has lost compression on cylinder 4 (verified by a good mechanic). The truck runs well, with some shuddering from 25-45 mph, but at speed it smooths out and runs super. It is relatively high miles, but I would rather keep it as it has been an excellent ride and is otherwise in great shape. Octane booster and premium fuel do help, but the engine light stays on anyway. The problem has been slowly getting worse for last 15k miles.

My mechanic says "its time to get rid of it." I can't argue with him but would rather spend the money on other things. Any ideas are welcome. It would sure help if I can postpone buying a new truck for another year or 2.
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Buy a used engine and swap it out yourself. It would be a good project, and should get a number of years out of the truck. Cheaper than buying a new one, although depending on the time value of your labor, that might not be true.
 
Pointy Elbows said:
I have a 2017 F150 ecoboost that has lost compression on cylinder 4 (verified by a good mechanic). The truck runs well, with some shuddering from 25-45 mph, but at speed it smooths out and runs super. It is relatively high miles, but I would rather keep it as it has been an excellent ride and is otherwise in great shape. Octane booster and premium fuel do help, but the engine light stays on anyway. The problem has been slowly getting worse for last 15k miles.

My mechanic says "its time to get rid of it." I can't argue with him but would rather spend the money on other things. Any ideas are welcome. It would sure help if I can postpone buying a new truck for another year or 2.
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Rings or valves? What was the PSI reading of the offending cylinder compared to the healthy cylinders?
 
Pointy Elbows said:
I have a 2017 F150 ecoboost that has lost compression on cylinder 4 (verified by a good mechanic). The truck runs well, with some shuddering from 25-45 mph, but at speed it smooths out and runs super. It is relatively high miles, but I would rather keep it as it has been an excellent ride and is otherwise in great shape. Octane booster and premium fuel do help, but the engine light stays on anyway. The problem has been slowly getting worse for last 15k miles.

My mechanic says "its time to get rid of it." I can't argue with him but would rather spend the money on other things. Any ideas are welcome. It would sure help if I can postpone buying a new truck for another year or 2.
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How is your gas milage since this has happened?
What is psi reading the mechanic you went to determined?

If you're confident in your self I could pull coil and plug from cylinder to verify the spark plug does not have oil soak and or burned. If so it's possible your piston rings have worn out and are allowing blowby. Which in turn could be causing your low compression.

Look forward to hearing more and good luck.
 
Update on the hole here. Holidays rush at work and family life have made this a delayed satisfaction. Time-cert is in after drilling the hole a bit over sized and inserting the coil. Also used loktite to hold it into place.

Last step is to replace timing chain and then it's going back together.
 

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Got another taste of what it's like doing even simple maintenance tasks on new vehicles. Helped a family member out with a dead battery (barely a few years old), tried the old tricks like jumpstarting it, charging off another vehicle, taking it for an extended drive to recharge etc. Didn't work, next morning it was stone dead...

So go to replace it, the car is dead and to open it without battery power, you have to solve this Rubik's cube style puzzle to gain access to the hidden lock cylinder...

Get the door open, pop the hood, battery is tucked underneath the cowl, against the firewall, have to spend an hour removing the airbox, plastic covers, and trim pieces just to gain access. The new battery was 260 dollars even after the core exchange, and the salesman informed me that I'll have to "register" the new battery with the cars system or it will not charge it properly. and that they'll gladly do it for an extra fee of $99. I though he was BS'ing me so I declined. I later looked it up and it's actually a thing. You literally have to use an OBII mechanics scan tool and reset a "battery life" monitor for it to charge properly. Thankfully I have a scan tool and was able to do it myself, but it boggles the mind why such a step would even be necessary in the first place.

The whole experience left me bewildered, it's like the engineers are trying to make their cars as user-unfriendly as possible so you'll be completely and totally dependent on dealership service departments. It's never taken me more than ten minutes to replace a battery before. This one took the better part of a day.







The whole thing made me want to buy an old squarebody pickup and rebuild everything in it. There's like 4 wires in the whole truck and two of em power the headlights...

xt59tqx.webp
 
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mountainaire said:
Got another taste of what it's like doing even simple maintenance tasks on new vehicles. Helped a family member out with a dead battery (barely a few years old), tried the old tricks like jumpstarting it, charging off another vehicle, taking it for an extended drive to recharge etc. Didn't work, next morning it was stone dead...

So go to replace it, the car is dead and to open it without battery power, you have to solve this Rubik's cube style puzzle to gain access to the hidden lock cylinder...

Get the door open, pop the hood, battery is tucked underneath the cowl, against the firewall, have to spend an hour removing the airbox, plastic covers, and trim pieces just to gain access. The new battery was 260 dollars even after the core exchange, and the salesman informed me that I'll have to "register" the new battery with the cars system or it will not charge it properly. and that they'll gladly do it for an extra fee of $99. I though he was BS'ing me so I declined. I later looked it up and it's actually a thing. You literally have to use an OBII mechanics scan tool and reset a "battery life" monitor for it to charge properly. Thankfully I have a scan tool and was able to do it myself, but it boggles the mind why such a step would even be necessary in the first place.

The whole experience left me bewildered, it's like the engineers are trying to make their cars as user-unfriendly as possible so you'll be completely and totally dependent on dealership service departments. It's never taken me more than ten minutes to replace a battery before. This one took the better part of a day.







The whole thing made me want to buy an old squarebody pickup and rebuild everything in it. There's like 4 wires in the whole truck and two of em power the headlights...

View attachment 3850
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Yikes! These video clips are like a nightmare come to life! In a few years this will be electrophobic and appophobic, and people will post how they are amazed this storyline was ever allowed to be made. By then you won't be able to brush your teeth without an app enabled toothpaste dispenser.
 
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