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A Mechanic's Life - Tales From Under the Hood

2886 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 8:06 PM

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     This topic is primarily for professional mechanics, current or retired, or ardent amateurs who would like to share the suprises, victories, tricks and challenges of working on the modern automobile. All Forums members are invited, of course, to ask technicians about their work, or comment on your own experiences dealing with mechanics.
 
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Messages Page 81 of 289

#801 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [thecardoc3] by srs_49

Jan 10, 2013 (9:05 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jan 10, 2013 8:27 am)
So do you blame the techs, discipline them and/or call them hacks when your system fails?
 
Nah! They blame us for not designing things better .

#802 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [srs_49] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (9:46 am)

Replying to: srs_49 (Jan 10, 2013 9:05 am)
Have you seen some of the car tech at CES in Vegas? Who the hell is going to fix this stuff? Will cardoc repair my armrest when it stops tweeting?

#803 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [Mr_Shiftright] by srs_49

Jan 10, 2013 (10:07 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 10, 2013 9:46 am)
No, haven't paid much attention to the goings on at CES. I'm not what one would call an early adapter . But, like most years, it seems to be full of products that are looking for a need. I mean, do we really need another TV upgrade?
 
Going along with what you and thecardoc3 said, I would worry more about what measures (or lack thereof) the automakers and their vendors are taking to prevent their systems from being hacked.

#804 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [srs_49] by steve_ HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (10:02 am)

Replying to: srs_49 (Jan 10, 2013 10:07 am)
Officer, my self-driving autonomous car just drove itself to the chopshop.

#805 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [srs_49] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 10, 2013 (10:14 am)

Replying to: srs_49 (Jan 10, 2013 10:07 am)
the user interface on the 2014 Impala looks exactly like a smartphone screen. You can have multiple screens and you can save your favorite apps. You can even swipe the screen icons from the center display, with your finger, and that screen will appear in miniature in your dashboard display.
 
Ford drivers their "infotainment" center through bluetooth & an android phone---funny though, to drive it with an iPhone, you need a cable!
 
I didn't actually see an armrest that tweets when I touch it with my elbow, but I'm sure it's coming. What with 'google glasses" and all, I expect drivers will soon be watching movies...

#806 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [Mr_Shiftright] by isellhondas

Jan 12, 2013 (3:51 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 10, 2013 7:49 am)
It sounds like you have a great shop.
 
Other places would have strongly suggested that you spend the 1700.00.
 
Besides, since this is so common it probably would have started howling again at some point.

#807 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [isellhondas] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 12, 2013 (5:32 pm)

Replying to: isellhondas (Jan 12, 2013 3:51 pm)
The only downside is if I wanted to sell the car I have to spend the time to convince the new buyer that the noise is of no consequence. Some buyers will care, some will not.
 
But really, who in his right mind would spend $1700 to fix an intermittent squeak that goes away when the car warms up?

#808 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [Mr_Shiftright] by thecardoc3

Jan 13, 2013 (4:47 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 12, 2013 5:32 pm)
But really, who in his right mind would spend $1700 to fix an intermittent squeak that goes away when the car warms up ?
 
Well that of course depends on who's $1700 they think they can spend. Your potential buyer would be happy to try and spend your $1700...
 
So why are they going to a dual mass flywheel in the first place, and just what does the noise it is making really mean?
 
Here is one style of a dual mass flywheel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnaXB8q3uzQ
 
The advantages of these is a lighter flywheel can be used and it des a fantastic job of dampening out variations in crankshaft speed, especially at low rpms. Another advantage to these is better acceleration, and less gryoscopic effect which really comes into play with a small light car, turning high engine rpm's and turning tight corners. In essence it's a performance upgrade, while it makes low speed driving more pleasant. Until something goes wrong that is.
 
Here is a site that sells solid flywheels to eliminate the DMF. There are a lot more of them, I just grabbed this one off a google search.
 
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/MN01/POR_MN01_Tclutc_pg1.htm
 
A little squeek is of course not really a big deal, but a banging sound, or worse banging and then no sound at all means the flywheel has failed and now the crankshaft speed pulsations will be directly transferred into the gear box, and that can and does cause damage there.

#809 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [thecardoc3] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 13, 2013 (10:11 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jan 13, 2013 4:47 am)
Oh I have no objections to the *theoretical* merits of dual-mass flywheels, nor do I doubt the ability of German engineers to come up with a great explanation as to why it is necessary on this car--having any noise or vibration in the transmission of a small FWD supercharged car would be very annoying indeed.
 
However, in the EXECUTION of this brilliant little device---ay, there's the rub.
 
Apparently what I'm hearing is a vibration in the DM flywheel itself.
 
this is one case where, when the MINI dealer says "oh, they ALL do that"--he's probably 90% correct.
 
The Porsche dual-mass flywheel had other problems, far more serious. They just seem to disintegrate.
 
if you ever want to feel like drinking DRANO, pay someone to do a flywheel and clutch on a Porsche 928.
 
Some interesting observations:
 
1. Did you read the comments under the video simulation of a DM flywheel---everyone hates them!
 
2. Pelican parts makes it quite clear that there are risks involved in replaced a DM flywheel with a solid one: (I also corrected their spelling errors)
 
" Installing the solid flywheel may increase noise from the transmission. Professional installation recommended."
 
I'd sure go for professional installation--it's a devil of a job, and I'd sure hate to have to do it twice-----12.5 hours labor.

#810 of 2886 Re: Pressured to not do your best [Mr_Shiftright] by thecardoc3

Jan 14, 2013 (1:00 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 13, 2013 10:11 am)
The Porsche dual-mass flywheel had other problems, far more serious. They just seem to disintegrate.
  
if you ever want to feel like drinking DRANO, pay someone to do a flywheel and clutch on a Porsche 928.
 
There are times that I don't see some of the blessings in my life as clearly as I should. But If I ever have the kind of money where I could own a Porsche, I wouldn't have to pay someone else to do it. I looked up the parts and labor and checked the R&R routine. That looks easy compared to some of the things I've done through the years.
 
Did you ever do a rebuild on a Northstar? Rethreading the block alone takes longer than the Porsche clutch job. How about injectors on a 6.0 DIT? There's a reason that we preach "Just say no to 6.0".
 
I'd sure go for professional installation--it's a devil of a job, and I'd sure hate to have to do it twice-----12.5 hours labor.
 
Again, today this isn't extra-ordinary by any means. Try doing a transaxle on a Toyota 4-Runner. You're dropping the engine, transaxle and final drive out the bottom, and then you have to divorice and re-marry all three at the same time.
 
We haven't even touched what the hybrids and now electrics are bringing to the party.
 
 Did you read the comments under the video simulation of a DM flywheel---everyone hates them!
 
There are times that I can tolerate the whiners, but usually I just skip them.

Messages Page 81 of 289

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