Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Gunslinger on December 13, 2004, 10:26:44 PM
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My wife has lost her free mechanic. I will NEVER AGAIN work on her POS 2000 Ford Explorer. This is one of the most mechanic unfriendly cars I've ever worked on.
It's a POS to change the oil because the stupid drain plug is on the side of the pan and drains right on the frame.
NOW, I just spent the last 5 Hours changing spark plugs. Some engineer was smoking crack the day he put the plug on the passenger side furthest back towards the firewall. Right next to it are several heater hoses, A/C parts, vacume tubes, ect. Such is the crowding on that side of the engine that there is a wopping 2 inches of space to stick my hands through to get to the plugs. Well after trying finess this plug i finally resorted to brute force wich only resulted in me tearing the boot in half leaving an inch and a half of rubber on a barely accessable plug.
AFTER 4 HOURS of trying to get this stupid boot off (using everything from channel locks, to needle nose, to kitchen knives) it finally came off BY HAND! Yup all I had to do was undo the wheel well cover and all sorts of space just seemed to open up.
My hands are completly scratched up and it hurts to type so no more venting for me!
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Ford makes a special tool just for that. It's horrible on my 94 Explorer, too. You want to have some real fun, try changing the timing belt on a 92 Escort.
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Ford makes a special tool just for that
A Hammer?
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FORDs are like tampons.
Every ***** needs one.
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lmao ... lucky it wasnt an aerostar van ... it gets worse .
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At least you don't have to remove the engine to change the sparks :D
Alpine suck !
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I recently changed the plugs on a frend's Fiero. I could have charged him a thousand bucks and it might have made me feel better.
Then the goob spends $5000.00 on improvements..... to a fiero.
(no improvements to drivetrain except my tuneup, a Maaco paintjob, literally)
WTF???
He put it in the auto trader.. thinks he's gonna get $8500.00
for a fiero!!! '86
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You think it's a b**** on as Explorer? I wanted to change plugs on my Dodge-Cummins, and I still haven't even found the sominobeeches.
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i s that ajoke?..isnt a cummins a diesel....which doesnt use sparkplugs?
glowplugs baby ...glowwwwwplugs..dam thsoe are expensive
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Originally posted by GreenCloud
i s that ajoke?..isnt a cummins a diesel...
(http://www.gilbertv.com/coppermine/albums/08182004/toolsign.jpg)
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Ford hasn't cornered the market on inaccessible spark plugs. Just about any car put out today is a pain in the keester to change those puppies. Give me the good 'ol days of Detroit when you could climb into the engine compartment to get some work done.
Cougar
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I had the same problem with the spark plugs on our 1999 exploder.
I don't change the oil, Jiffy lube does.
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my brother did a clutch in his explorer and it took days. My girlfriend has an S10 chevy tho that I couldn't get to one of the plugs. Snapon makes a special tool for it. My son works opn late model cars tho and he is huge. I can't believe he can even get his hands. let alone arm in some of the places he does.
What was funny is that while he has no trouble working on these late modle chinesse (japanesse) puzzles... he had to call me most every night while putting a small block and 4 speed in his 60 chevy Belair after taking out the six and 3 speed.
I had to tell him how to tune a small block lately and he had to show me how to get the door panel off of the S10. Different worlds.
go figure.
lazs
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wrag <---- Has two older Toyota 4x4 (82 and 84)trucks that he can work on :D
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Had to chance the light bulbs to my Peugeot 307's head lights; right one was easy but left one took a hour: couldn't see it, couldn't get my fingers in it properly, just behind the lights are fuse/relay box... I almost drove the car the the dealer for changing a frigging light :(
Nice car but Frenchies fcked up that one.
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I love my Honda CR-V and Civic. I have no problems whatsoever changing the sparks or the oil.........cuz I have done EITHER in YEARS!! The older I get, and the more money I make, the lazier (lazyer?) I get. Our vehicles go to the shop regularly and often, so others may have the pleasure of working on my cars. I love to share:D
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atleast you guys have a car..
i dont
but thats gonna change
maybe this week
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You have to take the front Driver's side tire off to replace the Battery in my Plymouth Brees. That's just going out of your way to **** with the owner.
-Sik
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If your wife's hot, I woulnd't mind working getting under her hood for free.:D :D :D
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Originally posted by Sikboy
You have to take the front Driver's side tire off to replace the Battery in my Plymouth Brees. That's just going out of your way to **** with the owner.
-Sik
THAT'S WHAT I SAY
I see these designers/engineers sitting around the water cooler at work saying something like this:
"You think that's funny, I just made it so that the only way to get a socket on bolt X would be to use mechanical fingers......I'd love to see the poor slob work all day just to get the socket on just to find out there's no way he's gonna hook a ratchet up to it and even smaller chance of him getting a 'click' out of it"
these guys are crack smokers to come up with these designs. I went in my garage this morning and saw my socket set sitting there witht he needle nose and kitchen knife still sitting by it and my hands just started hurting all over again. She's gonna need shocks this spring and I'm making her take it to a shop.
My jeep I could tear down and build back up no problem. Her POS.....hell NO!
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Just remember....the company that boasts having the most "professional grade engineering" leads the pack in recalls.
:rolleyes:
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Originally posted by Holden McGroin
You think it's a b**** on as Explorer? I wanted to change plugs on my Dodge-Cummins, and I still haven't even found the sominobeeches.
OMG I'm a girl and even I know that a cummins is a diesel engine. they DON"T HAVE spark plugs.
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You didn't read Greencloud's and RPM's posts that followed mine....did ya...
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Originally posted by spitfiremkv
If your wife's hot, I woulnd't mind working getting under her hood for free.:D :D :D
Sure....if you can afford her you can take over the payments ANYTIME!;)
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Gunslingr, buy Japanese! They have the best reliability and maintenance ratings.
In order for American vehicles to be competitive with Japanese, the U.S. puts a huge import tax on them.
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Originally posted by Holden McGroin
You think it's a b**** on as Explorer? I wanted to change plugs on my Dodge-Cummins, and I still haven't even found the sominobeeches.
ROFL ..Yep Cummins is notorious for hiding the sparkies. :D
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nilsen... aren't you afraid the ice bears will eat the upholstry if you buy a car? How will you afford the $30 a gallon gas?
lazs
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he's having his own oil-well in his backyard.
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Originally posted by alison
OMG I'm a girl and even I know that a cummins is a diesel engine. they DON"T HAVE spark plugs.
Alison, stop bragging and get back in the kitchen where you belong. Girls ain't s'posed to know that kind of stuff. :p
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Originally posted by Staga
he's having his own oil-well in his backyard.
What's funny, is that I know a guy in Huntington Beach who does have an Oil Well in his back yard. It's the damnedest thing.
-Sik
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Japanese cars can be just as bad as american ones...
Your fooling yourself if you think you won't get a lemon from Toyota etc.
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sick... when I grew up in hawthorne we had an oil well at the end of the street and everyone on the block got like $4 a month from it...
We didn't have to worry about ice bears eating our upholstery tho and no real boy over the age of 16 (except those who listened to show tunes) didn't have a car.
lazs
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Try a 69 GTO or firebird with a 400 eng and ac. Best way to do it is drill a couple 1" holes in the right wheel well and change them that way.
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Originally posted by slimm50
Alison, stop bragging and get back in the kitchen where you belong. Girls ain't s'posed to know that kind of stuff. :p
You go cook something slim :) I know more about cars than most girls ever will, granted I have no idea what the thing under the hood does, but I know the difference between diesel and gas. Spark requirements and compression ratios for combustion of oils :)
Oh by the way I can cok better than you too LOL
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"CoK"
I think she is hitting on ya slim!
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You think those are bad? Try changing the rear bank of plugs on a Fiero GT. The V6 is in there sideways and to get to the rear bank you have to unbolt the motor mounts and jack the engine up out of the car. Sheesh. First time I heard about the problem with them catching fire, I knew it was a plan from the one and only engineer at GM that was looking out for the regular guy. He built in an automatic self destruct. :)
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I think that a big problem is that the engine designers and body designers never talk to each other. A bigger problem is that engines now have so much crap on them that they are not meant to be worked on by anyone other than pros with expensive tools.
I used to have a bunch of air cooled VWs. On one of my bugs I could pull the engine out, by myself, outside on a hill, with one jack, in 5 minutes. I could put it back-in in 10 minutes. I would pull the engine just to do a lot of routine maintenance, it was faster and easier.
eskimo
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Originally posted by Sikboy
What's funny, is that I know a guy in Huntington Beach who does have an Oil Well in his back yard. It's the damnedest thing.
-Sik
I've got 3 on my place and mineral rights to 3 others. What's your point?
Oh yeah, use more natural gas, please.
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Originally posted by rpm
I've got 3 on my place and mineral rights to 3 others. What's your point?
Oh yeah, use more natural gas, please.
Sorry, I guess I didn't make a good visualization here. Let me try again.
To the left, Million Dollar condo. To the Right, Million Dollar Condo. Straight Ahead: Pacific Ocean. Next to the Garage: Old rusty Oil Rig pumping up and down.
It's a strange thing to see in the middle of Rich Yuppie town.
-Sik
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Heh, you want to see something funny? Come to North Texas and check out the look on the face of the guy that just bought 20 acres, built a million dollar house and finds out that they are putting a drilling rig in his front yard because he did'nt get the mineral rights when he bought the land. Priceless.
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Originally posted by GtoRA2
"CoK"
I think she is hitting on ya slim!
Oops I meant to spell it cook, not cok, give me a break I have longer nails than I used to have.
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heh, well I really have no room to talk about typoes and misspellings but... hey you see an opening you take a shot!
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( rolls eyes and mumbles "oh brother another one " ) :)
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And I bet you think those engineers spend their time thinking of ways to allow "weekend mechanics" repair their own vehicles!
Ha! Ha!
Thorns
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Try checking the tranny fluid on a '96' isuzu rodeo
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Originally posted by Sixpence
Try checking the tranny fluid on a '96' isuzu rodeo
HA! That one's a trick, Isuzu's dont have fluid in the transmissions! Its just a chain driven setup powered by the hamsters under the hood, shifting is accomplished by a 10-speed shifter on the steering column!
Ignore me, its amazing what you think is funny when you've had too much tequila.
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i second the plymouth breeze issue. had to change a friends battery and it took half an hour just to figure out where they hid it.
changing plugs in FWD v6s is a pain in the ass. another friends maxima entailed removing the intake manifold.
i agree with the idea that designers do this stuff just to amuse themselves.
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Olds Achieva is a nightmare for changing the plugs and the belt tensioner is even worse. Passenger side wheel assembly and inner fender needs to be removed to replace the tensioner.
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*
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Originally posted by moose
i second the plymouth breeze issue. had to change a friends battery and it took half an hour just to figure out where they hid it.
changing plugs in FWD v6s is a pain in the ass. another friends maxima entailed removing the intake manifold.
i agree with the idea that designers do this stuff just to amuse themselves.
I think they're all on pot or something, I can't even put a seat cover in my Toyota without Brian removing the seat first