Boring Daily Build

[LankyKiwi]

Looks like an alignment will sort that camber issue out

Steam cleaning sounds like fun, I'm guessing the interior only? The paint and plastic might not like it too much.... There's a giant commercial steam cleaner at my work which would be fun to try one day

 

[pcb]

The struts can have some camber and caster adjustment by how the top of the strut is installed.

The big nut in the middle at the top of the strut is not exactly centered so you can pick one of 4 ways to install it.





Some aftermarket struts are centered and you have no adjustment.
I remember one guy that had to oval out the mounting holes in the body of the car so he could move the top of the strut and adjust his camber and caster.

 

[Spencer_P]

Sorry, I meant using water to decarb the engine. My interior is actually in decent shape.

Thanks for the diagram!

 

[Spencer_P]

Success

 

[Spencer_P]

I drove around for about 25 minutes and after the first minute or so it stopped smoking. I pulled over to check everything over and the upper cat was dry and the only thing smoking was the rear caliper that was seized up. Once I got back home I pulled the plugs and the two cylinders that were just wet were dry and the two that had a puddle on them just had a drop of oil. The hottest my scanner said it got was 209 F. What's normal operating temp? When should the fan kick on?

 

[pcb]

I remember using my scanner years ago to check temperatures and found that the temps were a lot higher than I expected but I forget the numbers.
(the numbers are in one of my threads somewhere but I have no idea where?? Lol)

You could idle your after a drive and get the fans to kick in.

I remember thinking of waiting until the useless temp gauge on the dash started to rise above the halfway point to see how hot it needs to be before it moves but I would have had to unplug my fans and get it way hotter than I was comfortable with.

 

[Spencer_P]

It seemed to move between 190 and 209. I didn't notice the dash gauge move at all, not a noticeable amount anyway.
It felt good to be driving it, could benefit from an alignment but not too bad.
Hopefully I can get it to pass inspections, maybe this week.
Oh heres a picture of the spark plugs, dry and white

 

[pcb]

Our stock temperature gauge is a dummy gauge and is completely useless.

It's controlled by the ECU and hits the halfway mark at I think around 165°.

It doesn't move above the halfway mark (actually, just a hair under half) until your head is probably warped.

It's not a temperature gauge it's a "time to buy a new head" gauge. Lol

 

[pcb]

Now is the time to do your smoke test again.

Everything seems pretty dried out.

Check for oil in the morning then fire it up.

 

[pcb]

You'll want at least get your toe-in set or you'll scrub out your tires.

I do my own alignment.
$110 for a ten-minute job bothers me.

 

[Spencer_P]

We've got an alignment rack at school which I plan to take advantage of lol.
Although there's a place here that charges $150 which doesn't seem terrible if I didn't have that option.
That's really dumb, why even make it a "gauge"
Maybe I'll look into adding one, probably not, but maybe.
I'll pull the plugs again tomorrow and see what I find.

 

[Spencer_P]

I just swapped out the idiot light gauge cluster to a full gauge cluster in my jeep not that long ago because I hated not seeing what the temp was.

I've gotta get a spare made this week lol
I went to a place across the street but they didn't have the right key.

 

[pcb]

I don't even look at the gauge because it never has anything to say.

I'm afraid of missing it if it ever starts to climb.

That's what happened with my 626 and I warped the head.

I'd rather have an idiot light.
At least I'd notice it.

 

[pcb]

Get two spares made and hide one on your car somewhere.

Get creative and find a clever spot.

Not behind the license plate. They look there first.

If it's in your wallet, you'll end up locking that in your car too.

I put mine in a piece of sponge rubber and wedged it in somewhere.

I cut the rubber off the key so that it's smaller and flatter.

If anyone can see you going for the hidden key, find a new spot for it.

 

[Spencer_P]

The problem with idiot lights is the damage is already done, especially in the case of my Jeep it doesn't come on until about 260, at least there's a chance I'll see it climbing with a gauge. When you drive a 23 year old Jeep you quickly learn to keep your eyes on the gauges.

 

[pcb]

If I had a functional gauge that would show the difference between warm, hot and too hot, I know I would check it all the time.

 

[pcb]

You might consider getting an old cell phone or tablet and installing it on your dash and use the Torque app with a OBDII reader.

You can pick any gauges or set of gauges you want and set alarms.

Jackie Chan did that and did a really sleek job.

 

[Spencer_P]

I've got a bluedriver, I never thought about using an old phone with it though... I might have to do that.

 

[Spencer_P]

I just went and looked at the blurry photobucket picture of his tablet and I'd love to put a double din or something in but I don't think I'll ever justify spending that kinda money on a $200 car lol

 

[pcb]

You could just mount the phone/tablet to the dash as a dedicated "gauge cluster".