Did I get took?

woodmills1 · June 05, 2003, 05:16:23 PM

just tonight I talked to my friend Henry Ford, really his name is ritchie but he is so good with cars! :D He works as a mechanic for toyota, but has a chevy van to tow his trailer. He said the fuel pump on the van costs $295, so a repair bill might run to 600. yikes!

redpowerd · June 06, 2003, 05:22:32 AM

DanG, right again. theres this little spring in there that needs to be slid back, and the clip goes over it, i think. been years. anyway i was in there with picks and screwdrivers, tryin not to tear it up or get frustrated, hours later i spend 5 bucks or so for this plastic junk that slipped it right off LIKE MAGIC

Furby · June 06, 2003, 06:20:33 PM

O.K. here we go trip #2.

Let's start spring of 2002.
I started out 2002 with a new altenator in my Probe and didn't have any more problems for a little while.
Then I got a leak in the radiator, no problem I'll dump in a little
sealer. Didn't stop the leak, maybe a little more. Nope, still leaking.
If I get up early, I can fill the radiator before I leave for work, a 9 mile trip. Then I need to fill up again before I leave work. No problem, as long as I don't forget.
After a few weeks of this and not having the cash for a new radiator I got some super heavy duty sealer for trucks. ;) I only used half a bottle because it's only a car. ;) ;) Anyways the car is not running very good and coming REAL close to over heating due to the fact that the heavy duty sealer didn't work and I keep running out of coolant.
Well as you all guessed by now, I overheated and blew the head gasket. >:( After getting the car towed to my Grandparents house (where we do all our car work-hey, he has the tools for the job ;D) I was not sure what to do with car, I LOVE it but it will cost MONEY to fix.
O.k. I have the week off during the 4th of July. I took the car all apart. After getting the head off, I come to realize that the sealer had been doing it's job all along, just not at the leak.

The head was pretty well clogged with sealer, thus along with no coolant the car overheated. I took the head in to be ground, $25, got a new gasket kit $120, Had the radiator fixed $80, and since everyone in my family was up at the lake, I decided to put it all back together in one smooth stroke.
I slept in all morning on Friday (I worked 3rd shift at the time) and got started on the car at 4:30pm. After 10 hours of not having a clue to what I was doing, taking things apart and putting them back together over and over, my brother shows up just to spend the next hour irritating me. He shows up all dressed up and not once did he help me with anything, but did run his mouth the whole time.
I got off track there for a minute, at about 3:30am after not stopping for anything other then a leak or two, the car started right up. 8)
Due to the length of this post "The Trip" will be in the next post. ;)

Furby · June 06, 2003, 07:19:50 PM

Note: At this time (July 4th 2002) the Probe has a full 232k miles on it, a new alternator, starter, disc, drums, pads and shoes, rebuilt drive axles, newer tires, berings on all four wheels, as well as new hubs on the front, the radiator, a new clutch, and many other small things. The car is running great!
Lets move ahead to August. I'm getting a little itch that says it's time to get back on the road again. Seeing hows I'm not going to make it to Alaska for the 3rd year in a row, I decided to take the rest of my time off and go out to the N. West states over the Labor Day holiday. My goal was to hit as many National Parks as possible in two weeks.
August 31 2002 , back on the road again car is still running great.
After crossing 11 states, and visiting 10 National Parks or Monuments, with no real car problems and just a little bit tired, I headed for home.
On the way across Montana, on a hotter day then I have been seeing, I stopped at a rest area and fell asleep. About an hour later I woke up and got out to take a leak. On the return trip to the car I noticed coolant under the car.

Not a good sign. I looked the car over and didn't find any place it could have come from and after checking and filling a little low but not that low overflow tank, I decided the coolant must have been from another car, forgeting that I had been parked there for over a hour. On I went across Montana, across N. Dakota into Minnesota.
On Saturday, I'm starting to not like Saturdays. >:(

On Saturday about 11am I stopped and filled up the car and had a bite to eat. Got back on the road just before noon, and everything was running smoothly. The car was still running great and other then a slight vibration from one of the wheels that I found someplace in Illinois towards the start of the trip. That vibration got progressively worst, but since I could not find it or anything wrong, I didn't worry about it and decided I could limp home. I was feeling so good I had even started to think about getting home and going back to work on Sunday night. ;) I try not to think like that when I travel until I get almost home, because it is nothing but a distraction that I don't want. Just before 1pm doing 75mph down the highway (I normally drive 85-90 when I can, but didn't need to and wasn't sure about that vibration in the wheel) the car stalls out.

After trying to start it with no luck, I looked everything over and started to get the really bad feeling that I had problems. A cop stopped and helped me push the car off into the grass in case I needed to leave it, and after I convinced him that I thought it would start after it cooled down, he left. I still couldn't get it started so I hiked across the highway, jumped the fence and walked up to the only house around, which happened to be, being remodeled so no phone. I did get a number for U-haul incase I needed it, and went back to my car. Then I used a cell phone (I didn't have service but you really can call 911 from them anyways) to call for a tow. A few minutes later a State Trooper pulls up and I explaind that I had a tow truck coming. After calling it in the Trooper drove off and along came an upset tow truck driver.

I guess the state police got ahold of him and wanted to know what was tking so long even though it had only been anout 30-45 min.
I had the driver take me to the U-haul place thinking that I blew another head gasket and not having all the tools or another couple of days to fix it myself, and being near 2:30pm on Saturday I wouldn't get anyone to fix it, and not really being sure WHAT was wrong with it, that I would get a price on towing it home myself.
Now when you travel a lot, you see a lot of U-hauls with cars behind them. So I think it can't be that much, can it? The guy behind the counter says I can't have a truck and if I could, he thinks it'll be around $1200 bucks

but it don't matter because he can't give me a truck. Now after a now helpful tow truck driver and I try for a hour to locate some way of getting the car home,( I guess the only place to get anything in that area of St. Cloud Minn. is at U-haul, where I can't get anything ???) I asked the driver to take me back to the motel that we had passed. It shared a parking lot with a Wal-mart or something so I thought I would get a room and try and fix the car. Driver says that he can't just drop me anyplace so I have to get permission first but that he would take me to a motel where I could save a few bucks. Great motel, looked like it was full of hookers and adicts. I got permission on the basis that if I wasn't out that afternoon, I would get a room.
After calling the only number in the phonebook that I could get any answer at by way of trucking, I got reservations for a 14' (the smallest they would let me tow with) truck and tow dolly from of all places the U-haul I just came from. After calling home several times, more then a little upset and going over the options I had, which weren't many, I called back and got the truck. I had to walk five blocks through a maze of streets to get to U-haul where the guy behind the counter wants to know why I'm back. I told him and gave him the # I had been given and he told me I couldn't have the truck! ??? ??? ??? After a half hour of arguing with the guy, he gave me the truck and told ME to go hook up the dolly. Got the dolly hooked up and the lights don't work. By now this guy is getting mad. He got the lights fixed and when I asked if he knew where I could get a winch or a come-along, he said he didn't know and walked off.

This is getting looooong, so I will finish it later. Stay tuned!
Furby

cut2size · June 07, 2003, 07:56:17 AM

Shopteacher,
There is a microswitch in both doors of your truck. Spray wd-40 on them every once in a while and the lights will go off when you shut the door, One of my best friends is the service manager of the local ford garage and that is how he fixed mine. I had removed all the bulbs so that I could drive at night. Oh, by the way, the switch is in the doorlock. Cost to fix--< less than a penny.
David

Frickman · June 07, 2003, 07:30:06 PM

A little update on my VW Jetta. Turns out there is water in the gas. Alot. I had just filled it up, and it made about a mile. Well, I've been busy all week, so I left it at my cousin's house, where it broke down. Friday morning I stop at the filling station with one of the pickups. I get a mile down the road toward home and the engine starts cutting out. Put two bottles of dry gas in and made it home. The station is about two miles down the road. Thought about it awhile. This has happened the past three or four times I've filled up, but not as bad.

Drive back to station to talk to guy working there. He's the owner's brother and has been working there for thirty years. Ask him if he's been having trouble with gas. Yea, he says, we've been pumping lots of water with our gas. I told him what happened with my two vehicles. He figured I have at least a gallon of water in the VW tank. I ask him how long they've had water in the gas, and his answer is " A good while." Well that ticked me off and I promised him I'll never be back.

My neighbor has a car trailer so we hauled the Jetta home yesterday. I've been pumping out the tank and have gotten one to two gallons of water out of a fourteen gallon tank. No wonder the car won't run. Luckily the in tank fuel pump is working good, and the in tank filter isn't clogged. Now I have to get a decent mechanic in to see if I've damaged the injector pump or injectors. I don't work on these little cars much, I'm used to bigger truck and tractor engines.

What really gets me wound up is that I've been buying nearly all my fuel from the same place for ten years, and they turn around and screw me. I spend $500 to $1000 every month on gas, diesel, and kerosene, and they could care less about me or my equipment. Now I have to find a new place to fill up. I like to use the same brand all the time, that way the engines get used to what I run. The station that ran me off is an independent station that buys from a major oil company. Anybody have any suggestions on a good brand of gasoline?

Frickman

beenthere · June 07, 2003, 08:37:34 PM

Frickman
Not many brands of gasoline will be much good if water is added as you have described. I would think the State of PA would have some interest in a station that is adding water, or knowingly selling a product that they admit is diluted. Maybe a weights and measures bureau, or a commerce office would take your plight. Good luck.

shopteacher · June 08, 2003, 05:17:39 AM

Thanks Cut2Size for the info. I'm definitely will try the WD40. That thing has been doing that for almost a year now and I was always going to take it to Ford to look at, but never could find the time. I know a couple other people with the same problem and will pass the suggestion along. If you know anyone who's drivers window is stuck open(automatic down electric) to get it up and working again take and hit the drive motor with a mallet and don't use the auto part of the window switch anymore. Friends mechanic showed me that one. These new fangled vechicles are great, aren't they?

CHARLIE · June 08, 2003, 12:59:56 PM

I was cussing and discussing in-tank fuel pumps with my neighbor, who is a certified back-yard mechanic. Errrr ahhh, well.....he's a back-yard mechanic anyway. He said that he had heard that the reason the Enjunears put them in the fuel tank was because they were high pressure pumps and tended to run hot. By putting them into the gasoline, they kept cooler. He said that if you run low on gas, the pump will overheat and won't last too long after that. I DonT see why an electric fuel pump placed outside of the tank wouldn't work. DanG if it wouldn't be worth a try. Maybe mount it in the engine compartment.

Furby · June 08, 2003, 01:41:40 PM

Well guess what? My dad blew the fuel pump in his Buick, Friday. >:( Go figure! ;D ;D

Frickman · June 09, 2003, 09:31:51 PM

beenthere,

Yes, we have a Bureau of Weights and Measures in PA. The problem is getting anybody to listen to you. In PA they are too busy handing out welfare checks to pay attention to real problems. Also, I live in a relatively small community where everybody knows everybody else, so it can create some real problems if you report someone. This station's business is going downhill fast, as there are major problems within the family who owns and runs it. I don't think they will be in business much longer. I plan on buying fuel elsewhere.

My mechanic came by this evening and took a look at the car. I had already managed to drain the tank, flush out the fuel lines, change the filter, and check the spark plugs. We put some fresh gas in along with a bottle of dry gas. With some help from a can of ether the engine started and tried to run. It would run on two or maybe three cylinders on full throttle but stall when you left off the gas. He figured there is a bad injector or two, and will stop by tomorrow evening to look at it again.

All this trouble because someone tried to rip me off. I still have an account balance at the station, and every cost I incur is coming off what I pay them. In the end they might owe me money.

Frickman

Frickman · April 03, 2004, 12:50:45 PM

A little update on my little Jetta. We finally got it back on the road this week. The water in the gas rusted the fuel injectors completely shut. The cheapest new injectors I could find were $50.00 each at NAPA. Let the car sit all winter in the garage and got lucky this spring. I met a guy who was parting out a VW and I did some horse trading for some good used ones. Put them in the car, bled everything out, and thar she goes! Makes me feel better not to have a machine broken down.

The service station that sold me the bad fuel is still in business, and still selling bad fuel. I don't know how, but they are. They're keeping the local garages in business with repair work though. I was talking to a buddy the other day that has a fleet of road tractors, and he has an account at this station. He was telling me about having to change fuel filters more then he used to. I told him about my experiences so he is considering looking elsewhere for fuel.

old3dogg · April 03, 2004, 02:45:56 PM

Yep! You can hook up an outside fuel pump.
My first car with a fuel pump in the tank was a 75 toyota.
It quit working one night on the 40 mile drive home from my girlfreinds house.After a walk to the only house nearby a farmer said he could take the pump off his 49 ford and make it work.we removed the windsheild washer tank to have a place to mount it and the guy spliced into the gas line to the carb,hot wired the thing into my battery and whamo!I had a fuel pump that worked.The only problem was that after I shut the car off I had to hurry and pop the hood and pull the hot wire out from under the the positive term on the battery.
Drove the car like that for 2 years!
I still stop in and see that good old farmer.Great guy!

Ga_Boy · April 03, 2004, 03:46:34 PM

I took my wifes 01' Suburban to the Dealer for the 60K mile service. We take all our vehicles back to the Dealer for the major service, 30K, 60K and 90K. The vehicles seem to last lots longer. Any way....

The emergency brake had been adjusted too tight. This caused the shoes to eat away the drum. New rear rotors cost $400, the labor was $350.

Total bill $1400, that hurts.

Frickman · April 03, 2004, 04:36:30 PM

old3dogg, I see that you've owned a hillbilly car too. Anytime a hillbilly lends you his car it comes with special instructions.

Ga_boy, I don't want to sound like a sidewalk superintendent, but did you notice any drag on the rear brakes going down the road? Or were the brakes only dragging barely enough to wear out and you didn't notice with all that Chevy power. A cousin's wife had sort of the opposite problem. She never ran the car in reverse and use the brakes to adjust the rear drum brakes. After the shoes wore some all she had was front brakes. He was changing front pads at every oil change until he figured out the problem. Seems she was scared to back up the car and would only go places, including their driveway, where she had enough room to loop the car when she turned around.

Ga_Boy · April 03, 2004, 04:43:43 PM

Frickman,

We've only had it for about five months. We didn't notice any problems until the Dealer called with the bad news :-/. Next time I'll listen to my wife and get off the dime and buy her a new vehicle.

rebocardo · April 03, 2004, 04:54:54 PM

Most places charge $50-$65 an hour, so about five hours worth of labor sounds right. Especially on a truck with rusted straps that you have to cut off or grind the heads off the bolts holding the straps. If you had a leaking second tank, it would be something to do carefully for sure :D

re:dinging and/or lamps staying on
There is a TSB about this somewhere. I have not worked at a Ford garage since 2000, otherwise I would look it up. Most likely the switch is inside the door on the door handle latch, driver's side. Common failure on Rangers, I did not think it affected the F-150.

Frickman · April 03, 2004, 04:57:50 PM

I'm getting tired of used vehicles myself. Seems all I get is someones else's problems. A neighbor just traded in a Dodge diesel dually pickup about to blow it's third automatic transmission. I wouldn't want to be the guy to buy that used truck. The last repair bill was $1,500.00.

With a few exceptions I buy only new equipment for the business anymore. I'm starting to think of doing that with my personal vehicles as well.