Category: automotive

All the people who read this who know something about cars, can you provide me with some suggestios? I believe that the battery in my car is dying, but I’m not completely convinced.

What’s happening is that after the car has been sitting for a bit, it’s really sluggish to turn over. It cranks slowly, but after a few revolutions it starts up like normal and runs just fine. After starting slowly, the idle speed will swing back and forth between ~600RPM and ~1500RPM for about 10 seconds.

If I drive the vehicle for a few minutes and then shut the engine off, it’ll start right back up like normal. If I let it sit for a few hours, it’s sluggish to start again.

To me this sort of sounds like a battery which is reaching the end of it’s life. The battery is the original, and the car is a bit over five years old, with 120,000 miles on it.

It should also be noted that there are no engine or electrical problems while the car is running, so it’s definitely not an issue with the alternator not charging the battery.

So, does it sound to you like the battery is what’s going?

Thanks!

Hmm, so it looks like I’m going to need to take my car in for the weird clicking / squeaking suspension issue. It appears that I’ve got a problem with the driver’s side strut, as if I open the hood and bounce that corner of the car by pressing down on the portion of the car where the upper strut mount attaches, a clicking sound can be heard from the center shaft of the strut.

So, I’m thinking that it’s a strut issue… At least I know it’s safe enough to drive to Cedar Point and for the next little while. I wouldn’t mind doing the work myself, but because of the need to compress the springs and ensure that things are torqued to spec, I’m not going to do it.

Now to find a place that can be trusted who can get the car done in a reasonable amount of time…

For now I think I’ll just get an oil change and tire rotation, and maybe tomorrow I’ll do the rear brakes. Those have never been done, and I imagine they are getting close.

Click for huuuuuuuge…

Thanks to I’ve got my brakes done. I was afraid to put too much force on the bolts, so I didn’t want to use too much torque. Well, Sean informed me of just how solidly those bolts are going to be seated, so using a large pipe-like device, I got them free. Rotors and pads are now replaced, and after the brief test ride around my court yard, things are good.

Now I’m going to go have a quick test drive, coupled with returning an unneeded part (cupped drill-mount wire brush which I thought I’d need to remove rust) and cash in my pocket change at Farmer Jack.

Yay!

Gee, it appears that the bolts holding the non-moving part of the caliper is not removable. It should be, but I was unable to move the bolts AT ALL. I gave up after tapping the wrench (socket and box) with a 3lb sledge, but both wrenches kept caming off.

Uhm…. Yeah. I guess I’m keeping the same rotors.

Well, it seems that I can get all the stuff I need to do my brakes for about $115. That’s a floor jack, pair of jack stands, new OE-spec pads, and new rotors. I was thinking of taking the rotors to get turned, but buying new ones are $18/each, and I don’t think the hassle of taking them to be turned is worth it. I’ll probably get a new pair, then get the old ones turned before doing my brakes the next time, then pull the same swap in reverse.

Two things…

One, new icon.

Two, I need to do the brakes (well, front brakes) on my car. I think that since I don’t really have a way to get to the shop, I’m going to skip having my rotors turned. They don’t appear too grooved, and they were replaced the last time my brakes were done. The problem I’m having is figuring out what pads to get. I guess the OEM pads were ceramic, and OEM will cost $80.06. At AutoZone I can get a set of Morse-brand ceramic pads for $42.99, although I can’t find much info on the brand.

Can anyone recommend a moderately priced decent pads and some place to get them? I think that tonight after work I’m going to go pick up my dad’s floor jack and stands, and wash the dust (best I can) off the wheels. Tomorrow I’ll swap the pads… If I remember right, it’s only a couple hour job.

I think I also might have a suspension issue with the driver’s front wheel, but I want to at least get the more immediate need of an oil change and tire rotation (I’ll pay someone for this) and brakes (I’ll do this myself) before I go looking at the suspension issue.

UPDATE: Per the recommendation of a friend who’s brother is a mechanic, I think I’m going to go with some Wagner ThermoQuiet pads which are OE formula partial-ceramic, at $41.31 a set from a local non-chain auto parts shop. Now I just need to get the floor jack.

Hmm, so $179.40 later and my car has a new passenger side outer tie rod. $75 for the tie rod itself. Looking now I could have purchased this from Jim Fresard for $58.05, but labor to install it was $30. That seems pretty reasonable… Then with a four-wheel alignment was $69.95. Looking now, my alignment was a fair bit out of whack.

That said, my car now drives considerably better than it had been. For maybe the last six months I’ve noticed a small knock when going over very small bumps, and I’d noticed what felt like the car was pulling, but it wasn’t consistent. When I’d take my hands off the wheel, it’d stay within the lane, only moving like there was a cross wind.

After doing some reading, this appears to be consistent with a worn tie rod. Now the slight clunking / knocking sound is gone, and the car drives as if it’s on rails. I also don’t have to fear for the tie rod breaking, and the wheel ending up damaging everything near by while I skid to a halt against a concrete barrier. I think this is a good thing.