Starter could be bad

Seems unlikely though

@sigruna14 Check inertia switch

@John O - Is that like blinker fluid?

No, it's a safety device that cuts off the fuel line if you flip. As the vehicle gets older, they become more sensitive

It's just a spring loaded normally closed switch. You can test it by pressing the button, and if the car starts and then stops, it's the switch

@John O - But if that switch were tripped, would I still hear the fuel pump whine when I turn the key to on?

Yeah

It stops the fuel line, not the electrical circuit going to the motor

The intention is that if the car gets in an accident, the fuel line doesn't pour all over you if the hose breaks

@John O - Where is the reset button? I Googled it but nothing definitive.

Consult the owner's manual

It was under my dash in my old truck

Or just Google "your vehicle inertia switch"

The reset button is on the switch

@sigruna14 You get it?

@John O - The internet seems to think this car doesn't have that. I just gave it to the shop to diagnose. I'm tired of dropping dough and screwing with this damn thing.

If I keep replacing things hoping it'll fix pretty soon it will basically be a whole new car. Anyway evidence seems to point to wiring or computer. Either one is pretty much beyond me I think.

I replaced the computer three years ago and if it's that then idk what to do, maybe it needs flashing or something. I just got one from Advance and threw it in, seemed to work fine until now.

What kind of car?

I'm just curious at this point

Inertia switch is often by rear left tail light in the trunk.

...here's a video for your car I think https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFuE31wFgE8

Nvm...not helpful.

John, he posted earlier that it’s a 2001 Caravan 2.4L 4-cyl.

Yeah, what brand

Dodge/Chrysler in 2001

Crank problem is almost always fuel issue for me siggy

Quick question. Does anyone have a good book they would recommend on the basics of automotive mechanics?

Haynes Repair manuels. The Bible for any DIYer.

Many a man tore his knuckles to bring us the glorious Haynes Manuels.

@Deleted User Perfect. Thank you. And this is an overview of everything I'll need to know?

Does this cover most modern cars? Sorry, completely illiterate on the subject.

Yes and you can purchase them at any autozone, napa or cookie cutter parts store.

Yes, everything. From routine maint to changing out A-frames.

It has it all.

Great. Just picked it up on Amazon. Thanks! Love how they're specific by model/year.
Second question. Is there a basic book on how engines work?

I dont have a good rec for that other than Youtube.

I imagine youre buying for someone

No, I just don't want to be completely helpless on the topic.

Ah. Well good luck with it!

Thanks! :)

@SamanthaM best advice I can give you is to work on small stuff, all preventive maintenance i.e. oil changes, and all fluids, spark plugs and filters.
Then make a point to know how your car/truck sounds every little noise it makes. Pay attention to roughly how many RPMs the engine is idles at. Once you know how your vehicle acts and sounds it will help you start to identify problems. Or at the least put you in the right direction. Newer cars are a lot harder to figure out as a newbie, if you're driving '96 or older its a little easier to pin point problems

@SamanthaM the absolute best advice I can give is find a man😂 😂

@RevStench 100% agree. Long story. Fixing things myself is plan B. Thank you, lol. Also just interested in the subject.

@SamanthaM another great intro - https://www.amazon.com/How-Cars-Work-Tom-Newton/dp/0966862309

@Deleted User Thank you! Just purchased. Big help.

@SamanthaM I was just joking about getting a man. Can't leave a good joke untold. 😂 you should do the maintenance on your car, once you get the swing of it it takes about 15 minutes to change your oil and filter and clean your air filter. It's really easy.

Get k&n filters. You just spray them off and apply oil

For sure, I put about 370k on my last one. It was with the car for 11 years. Still white. Just blew it off every oil change.

Do you guys keep any security cameras in your cars?

I haven't done any research in this but I'm wondering what's available.

Like so you have evidence of an accident, or for B&E?

Both

B&E more

Here are two screenshots I took from 4chan's /o like a year ago that I didn't have the agency to follow up on. Both were recommended in the context of accidents

The first one seems like the obvious winner, but that Chinese shit where you connect it to an app is always wonky

Thanks I'll look into it further

Looks like a big problem is going to be storage space. Only six hours of video on a 32gb card

Yeah, another guy in that thread said that one of the biggest requirements is 2 card ports

@here Pin style wiper blades. Which way to face the blade? The hole the pin goes through is not in the center, so depending on which way round you put the blade on, it will reach a little farther in one direction or the other on the windshield. I already got them on so I wouldn't like to go mess with them more but if I did it wrong I'll have to. But maybe it doesn't matter.

The only way to tell at this point is to use them and see if they extend past the glass when in use.

@sigruna14 as long as it gets the water out of your line of site and it's not hitter the other wiper, I'd say you're going to go brother.😁

I’ve done a fair bit of research and have purchased 4 different dash cameras and 8 SD cards. I recommend the below camera with the smallest card card from the factory because you’ll throw away the card:
<https://streetguardian.cam/product/sg9665gc-v3>
Then put in this far more reliable SD card:
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BDKTRAE/>

If you want it to record while your engine is off, that’s a car-by-car case. My truck leaves the 12v outlets on all the time, so I can just plug into the outlet. Most cars turn off the 12v outlets when the ignition is off, so you’ll need either a standalone battery power system or a hardware to the main car battery next to your engine.

If you’re looking for watching your car while at home, consider a security camera mounted to your house, pointed at your car.

Haynes owner manuals.

Thank you for the rec. @Tanner - SC

@Tanner - SC I'd be interested in hearing what you think about them after you use them

I've thought about getting some mainly for my work truck.

@JesseJames I've been running dash cams for 4 years. What would you like to know?

>Dashcam AMA
Nice

You mentioned you did a lot of research on them I was just going to see if you end up liking them. Idk why I asked really because since I want one for my work truck I would probably just buy the cheapest I could find lol

I bought 2 cheaper ones, one for front windshield, one for rear. Then I learned that the cheap ones are not reliable and their mounts make for shaky video and audio with rattles. Then I bought the $150 one I linked and it’s amazing.

It has been reviewed on websites and YouTubes as having best reliability, best heat resistance, best night time video quality. I think it’s designed by Australians, and the customer support is good.

I also learned that anything less than the best SD cards will fail because they’re not designed to be written to constantly for hours every day.

150? Wow I thought surely a man could get a decent one for cheaper than that. What is pros/cons of using a GoPro as a dash cam

@here Anybody know much about manual locking hubs? My 4wd isn't engaging, and through some testing I've determined it to be my passenger side hub. I've got it off now but while holding it in my hand and turning it between lock and free, it does nothing. Isn't it supposed to push out a gear? I'm just trying to determine if I need a new one before I grease it and reassemble. Thanks!

I was researching that a while ago...I'm also curious, I'm planning to buy an old C or K 4x

@Sonic Who makes them?

Conical spring may be broken.

Part 20

I think they're Aisin. I'm finishing dinner and am going to take it apart and determine what's wrong. Thanks!

They're actually Warn hubs.

How do the gears look? Are the teeth worn. If you can send photos would be very helpful.

It's toast. I forced it to lock a month ago when it was freezing cold out. A bit of water had gotten inside and froze. When I forced it to lock, it caused the thin spring to twist and deform, thus rendering it useless. No rebuild kit available. I ordered new hubs already. Thankfully they're under $200 for the pair. (For Warns) 👌🏻

Everything else inside the hub was in good condition. Thanks for the input gentlemen. Appreciated.

Every 4x4 I've owned especially with (((auto))) hubs I have replaced them with warm hubs. You will be glad you did.

@JesseJames Just because China turns out cheap shit doesn't mean that should be the standard for our expectations. I've had $50 dash cams and they were unreliable junk. I would have saved quite a bit of money had I purchased quality the first time, rather than purchasing cheap junk, then going on to purchase quality.

And this is a device that could save you thousands when some liar crashes into you and blames you when the police show up. GoPro might overheat under continual recording. Also, when the SD card fills up on a GoPro, it stops recording. Dash cams automatically over-write the oldest footage to keep recording perpetually.

Yes very good points man. I think it is worth it. I should invest in a couple good ones.

My transmission coolant line is leaking on my 2007 f150. Can a novice home mechanic replace the line or should I take it to a pro?

@Dale Wyte#3319 is it just the line?

And how bad of a leak?

@Deleted User

@Deleted User are you sure it isn't an oring or something rather than the line itself.

@RevStench @JesseJames it is leaking where the line enters the radiator so something with the seal and not the line itself.

Yes that will be very easy for one to repair themselves. I think they just use an o ring on the end of the line. You will just take it loose take the old o ring off and install the new one. You can google it and find a guide.

@JesseJames thanks !

There’s no help posts at the moment, so here’s the funniest motorcycle video I’ve seen all month:
<http://reddit.com/r/CalamariRaceTeam/comments/882jvt/hit_them_with_a_mating_call_then_ran_out_of/>

And here’s the 2nd funniest:
https://i.imgur.com/r83g06B.gifv

@Pinochetball I have a question for you. So for the first time in my life I took my truck to a shop to have them break loose an O2 sensor. Which never happened, but he asked if I wanted them to run a diagnosis on it, I said sure, I've only had the truck since October, so I figured why not. I did all the preventive maintenance when I got it. All fluids changed, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs. I have one of the 150s that spit spark plugs, and who ever owned it before me tac welded one in, not worried about that.
So the truck is throwing a code P0130, which is powertrain code for the O2 sensor, the shop is telling me that my truck is throwing a false ODB2 code and it's really my mass air flow sensor. Is that possible?

It can happen but its more likely to be an o2

Higher rate of failure on o2s than mass airs in general for forda

Fords*

They told me a lot of wrong information, they tried to say K&N filters aren't good on 150s.

Id have to see the fuel trims and the actual data from the mass air to tell

Lol

Dude

Do you clean your k&n yourself

It's brand new as of march 9th

The oil on k&n filters can fuck with mass air meters

They might be right here

Sry to say

Im more of a buy a cheap filter and be diligent about changing it kinda goy

So they also told after their check that my reverse and clearance lights weren't working, that morning before I dropped it off they were working for a fact. It was lunch time when I went to pick it up and they told me this, so basically it came down to me saying screw you give me my truck. I took it home and started to try and figure out what they did to kill my lights, so I did the normal trouble shooting, first thing check the fuses, they fucking pulled on and didn't even try to put a blown one in. They created a problem and expected me to just roll over and let them fix it.

Still haven't had time to figure out why my clearance lights aren't working.

Why do you think they broke your lights?

You certain they were working when you brought it in?

Generate business

Ehh...

Most guys dont actually do shit like that lol

Yeah, I went to the coffee shop across the street and they have cameras, and they were kind enough to show me leaving that morning

Ahh nice

This shop is the ONLY shop in town

High agency inspection of expectations

I like it

Leave a review

Literally the only shop in town?

Yes

Fucking rough doode... here hop into voice chat i have a minute or two so i can explain but then i gotta bounce

Thanks bro, I really appreciate you

No problem borther, thats why i came here. My florida boys told me to jump into this server for that reason 👌👌

@RevStench bro all we have to do is for me to bring my scanner to the next meet up and monitor your 02 and maf. It's no problem.

^^^^

Don't forget your coordinator is an ase, Nissan, Infiniti and Mitsubishi master tech. Well I was until about 5 years ago when I left the trade and didn't pay to re up my ase

Oh right on. We should have a meet up soon haha

😏

Reminder if you're car shopping, here's an objective review of how nationalist your car is:
<http://kogodbusiness.com/auto-index/>

Have you taken the Pre-1975-California-Smog-Exempt-4x4-truck Pill yet?

I've taken the South-Carolina-Doesn't-Even-Inspect-Vehicles Truck pill.

BASED

It blew my mind when I moved here. They literally don't inspect your car. Ever.

It's funny in a lol-republicans way, but I actually oppose it.

I don't want to die because some idiot felt like driving on bald tires with brakes that don't work and a cracked windshield they can't see through.

But whatever because on the whole, SC is amazing.

Well, bald tires is *more* of a non-white thing, thankfully.

Then again, Texas has annual inspections and the mexican car inspectors will pass anything if you pay cash.

I've never owned a vehicle in a state that requires vehicle inspections. Thank God, too. My Danger Ranger would've never passed.

In CA you'll get community service for windows that are tinted too dark.

Hey, it gives cops a reason to pull over shady looking vehicles.

And some doofuses run 2.5% tint, which is legitimately dangerous.

Yeah, you're not supposed to have really dark windows in Florida, but I've never know anyone to be ticketed for it. I think it's just a tool they use to stop you

I knew people in Missouri who got ticketed for dark tint. Those Germans in St. Louis don’t mess around, the cops run a tight ship. Orderly and clean.

I believe in CA, technically as long as the DRIVER window is not tinted past X, the rest can be blacked tfo. But try explaining that before you go to court.

To the citing witness

Lol

Reason being, if a cop doesn't see a threat before you roll down the window, they say they are at risk...but that's the legend.

I KNOW MY RIGHTS

Am I being detained?

@Freiheit - CA that's how it is here, on my car the back 5 pieces of glass are damn near blacked out, my front 2 are 5%, legal limit on the front 2 is 35%. Never had any problems for 12 years. The actual front windshield is 35% all the way down. It gets a little sketchy when it's raining at night.
But both times I've ever been pulled over I roll down both driver side windows so they can me while walking up to the car.

@TV yes

@RevStench Yeah, hey have to measure it...but they aren't trained how...so they botch the test if they even bother. Same goes for noise violations. They never use a properly calibrated SPL meter.

When I got my truck, it was an out of state buy so they do a quick inspection, the cop put the reader on my windows because they were after market tinted, it read 32 and he said, "hmmm close enough". Haha they don't care here.

@Tanner - SC well I do live in the hood now haha. But I traveled a lot and slept in my car a lot while traveling from auto plant to auto plant.

@Tanner - SC OMG

Privacy is an American tradition

Inspections are gay. If your state does inspections then you live in a commie state. Also I tint all of my vehicles also.

@here My car normally idles at <1000 but today on the way home from work it started idling at like 2000. I figure it's gotta be some kind of vacuum leak but I'm not sure how to find that, other than spraying flammable substances all over the engine which I'm not too sure about. Anyone have an opinion on whether this is safe to drive like this?

@sigruna14 have you tried turning it off and back on again?

@Mark Vandal Have you tried shaving with a propane torch?

@sigruna14 no but I think you may be onto something

^^^^@Pinochetball @JesseJames

Maybe you fellas can help a brother out

Propane is the safest way to go, or a static smoke test

@sigruna14 DM me

@sigruna14 IS it carbureted? Possible just a stuck throttle?

@Deleted User It's not carbureted.

@sigruna14 Bad throttle body on your injectors?

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/symptoms-of-a-bad-or-failing-throttle-body

I mean, it could be a lot of things. Hard to know where to begin our if I should just let the shop deal with it.

well if its just a stuck throttle that's a pretty easy fix

What year make and model?

@JesseJames 1995 Mustang 3.8L.

If it means anything, first I noticed it was rolling down the other side of a bridge in 3rd at 35, so revs were a little high, I was using the higher revs to help keep my speed down.

When I put it in neutral at the traffic light I noticed the revs were still up and I was like... Uuhhh... Wtf?

@Pinochetball Maybe that means something to you.

I would remove the throttle body and clean it with throttle body cleaner. And remove the mass air flow meter and clean it with MAF cleaner.

Yeah like a i said last night youll wanna remove that plenum and visually inspect the tb to make sure its not sticking open, and remove the iac to make sure the pintle isnt sticking open

Btw is the MIL on?

@Pinochetball No MIL

Btw, since the IAC is what the computer uses to adjust the TB, shouldn't the problem have gone away when I unplugged it?

No lol the computer adjusts the pintle in the IAC on idle to keep it smooth so it doesnt surge. If its sticking open, like mechanically stuck the ecm wont be able to adjust it and the idle will be high

Most the time when they stick they stick just a little open and the car surges or it sticks shut and it wont idle at all or it will but super low

If the cars at 2000rpm unplugging it wont matter anyway because youre off idle

Ill be at work in a few mins and ill email you some Identifix test plans real quick so you can mess with it today

To bad it isn't obd2 would be much easier to pinpoint. But I agree I would start with tb and or iac

@JesseJames It is OBD2 but all I have is a basic code scanner.

Also there is a sticker on the TB that says not to clean it because there is a special coating.

If it's the IAC pindle sticking that's causing this, should physically removing the IAC from the TB and then starting the car make the symptom go away?

@Pinochetball ^

No dont do that lol

Youll have massive unmetered air

The car wont even start

Ok if the TB says not to clean it, then just make sure nothing is keeping the blade open, but id take that IAC off and clean it real well

Sorry i didnt get a chance to send you any test plans, today was busy as shit

That's alright.

So you pulled the MAF pigtail and the car ran rough?

@Pinochetball "Pigtail"? I unplugged the sensor, and yeah, it barely ran.

Lol yeah pigtail is just what i call the connector ends

Thats ok tho thats a good sign actually

I'm still not sure how to tell the IAC valve from the TPS. I know you said the TPS was the big aluminum thing on top and IAC is just a little plastic piece on the side, but I'm looking at some YouTube videos and it seems like they're calling the big one the IAC, but sadly I can't find a video of someone doing this on my exact engine.

Oh, another thing I noticed today: A popping feeling in my accelerator. When it's all the way up and I press down, there's a tiny little pop, like I'm overcoming an infinitesimal amount of resistance.

Yeah I'm looking up pics of the IAC on AutoZone.com and I'm pretty sure the IAC is the big one on top.

Is there any way to know for sure if it's the IAC before I clean it? Cause I don't have full confidence that cleaning it will work, maybe I don't do a thorough enough job, or it just doesn't work and what it really needs is replacing. But I'm not sure how to test it. @Pinochetball @JesseJames

Usually, you should be able to pull the IAC off, keep it plugged in, and have a friend turn the key to just the "on/run" position (not start it) and you should see it move a bit

Also, what kind of little handheld code reader do you have?

Most of those, even the little cheapos, you should be able to see the long and short term fuel trims

Just some $20 Advance junk that tells you if there's codes and which monitors are ready.

A 95 model is obd2 they got it before the v8 models. You should be able to scan it and retrieve any stored codes.

@JesseJames I sprayed a bunch of stuff but I didn't hear it rev up. I unplugged the MAF sensor so I could hear better (revs went down) and then if I put my ear up to the throttle body/IAC, I can hear a loud hiss of air, but not sure if it's just the normal air flow through the IAC.

The hiss could be normal. Air coming in the intake through the tb does hiss. But if you had a leak it could hiss also. Can you feel any air at the iac location? Being that unplugging the maf makes the engine idle I am leaning that way. Did you try to pull any codes with your scanner? Keep in mind you unplugging stuff while the car is running will set a code so you will need to check how many times it has set that code. But if you could find a cheap maf to test by swapping it out would maybe be the best route.

@sigruna14

@JesseJames Pulling the MAF makes the actual revs go to normal, but the engine chugs and struggles, almost died earlier when I had the MAF unplugged.

There's no MIL.

When the maf is plugged it it changes the settings on the car according to the air that is metered. When you unplug it it goes to a stored default setting that will allow the car to run but it isn't efficient. Just because the light isn't on doesn't mean there isn't codes stored. Have you checked? The obd1 and early obd1/2 hybrids like yours are not near as efficient as obd2 or the later canbus systems. @sigruna14

@JesseJames Well, I did check at one point when the MIL actually did come on because I unplugged the IAT by mistake, but the only code was for the IAT.

@sigruna14 darn. So if you have a parts store you frequent or preferably know someone who works at a parts store I would go to them get the maf and try it. If it doesn't fix it return it and tell them it turns out you allready had an extra so you didn't need it.

@sigruna14 if that's not an option and you have a Dmm you and I could do a video chat and I could walk you through some tests on various parts.

@JesseJames I have a multimeter. Is there an effective way to test it with that?

You bet. Dmm= digital multi meter. What are your work hours tomorrow?

@JesseJames 9-5

Wish I had me a smoke machine but they're $750.

A couple years back I tore down half the motor to do the lower intake manifold gaskets. It damn well better not be then that's leaking cause that's not a job I wanna do again.

@JesseJames I was reading some advice to block the intake and if the car doesn't stall, you've got a vacuum leak. I tried putting my hand over the throttle body last night, but immediately pulled it away cause of the strong vacuum. Do you think it's safe to do that, or is the negative pressure dangerously high? If not, what could I use to block the intake?

Unless it is a very bad leak it won't stay running for very long anyway. I have a pretty busy day but I will find some specs for the maf and iacv and get with you on testing them later.

True or false: putting a performance carburetor on your motor can render your mechanical fuel pump insufficient, potentially necessitating an electric fuel pump.

<@&435155863217504256> Please have a look at my question when you get a chance. Thanks.

@Deleted User certainly there are carbs big enough that they will not be supported by the stock pump. But if your engine isn't a wildly built engine you don't need a carb that big. If you have a slightly modded or stock engine and wish to upgrade the carb chances are your stock pump will be ok. But they also make mechanical pumps that flow more than stock.

Sorry I have been out of town and not on my phone much.

I'm assuming there are no external leaks? I'm also assuming there is no gas in the oil? Also that is a returnless system right?

Try taking the filter out of the line and just running the line straight to the carb. I've seen a few filters suck air and cause this issue. I wouldn't think the carb would cause this issue. Honestly though I've never worked on many carb vehicles. All have been for hobby/racing applications.

I know a few old guys that I always go to for carb help that I can talk to tho. One is of the greatest generation and really knows his shit.

Still had the trouble then? If so that tells us it isn't anything from the tank to the pump or the pump to carb. That leaves the carb or pump.

Where the filter glass meets the end of the filter allows air in the system causing an issue like you describe.

Well I always remove the filter from the carb. But I thought u had an inline filter.

Yes try removing that from the system