Car Trouble

[James.]

Last Thursday, as I was getting on the freeway, my truck died on me. When I tried to start it, it would start to turn over and then misfire. I was sure that it had jumped time...long story short after I pulled everything off to get to the timing chain I realized my distributor broke. :mad:

I pulled the oil pan to change the gasket and check for broken metal which I didn't find any. But on top of all that is the looming fact that my wife's Durango has water in the oil. Best guess is a blown head gasket which means tearing the motor apart on that as well.

I am so f***ing frustrated right now.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Car Trouble

Sorry to hear it. Sounds like you know what you are doing though.

[MacGyver]

Re: Car Trouble

Feeling your pain, James. Car in the shop is getting picked up tomorrow and the truck goes in. I know Dodges are prone to lifter noise, but this thing's chattering like a Diesel and getting worse by the day. I can fix damn near anything in a house but with vehicles, I'm at the mercy of mechanics when it comes to anything much more than a starter or shocks.

[James.]

Re: Car Trouble

Sorry to hear it. Sounds like you know what you are doing though.

Thats the thing. I have no idea what I am doing.

[James.]

Re: Car Trouble

Feeling your pain, James. Car in the shop is getting picked up tomorrow and the truck goes in. I know Dodges are prone to lifter noise, but this thing's chattering like a Diesel and getting worse by the day. I can fix damn near anything in a house but with vehicles, I'm at the mercy of mechanics when it comes to anything much more than a starter or shocks.

I am the same way. House is no problem. With cars I just keep telling myself that its already broken so what is the worse I can do. Actually, motors are not really that complicated at their core. Once you learn how the engine goes together and works it takes a lot of the fear away. Then it is just being careful that you don't destroy something while you are taking things apart. To me it is just a matter of time. The work I am doing on my Chevy right now is taking WAY longer to take apart then it will to put it back together.

[Mike]

Re: Car Trouble

It is pretty cool that you can fix your own car, James

[terasec]

Re: Car Trouble

older cars is one thing,
working on newer cars gets more and more frustrating,
parts that were simple to replace on the side of the road like an alternator/starter, now are generally buried underneath making it a big ordeal,
last summer went to change valve cover gaskets on a 2003 jeep liberty,
it was a 4 hr job!!! for valve cover gaskets!!!
i have a jeep patriot with 145k miles, alternator requires removing wheel, rotors. fender well, and then with tiny hands maneuvering it out of position from under the engine,
as much as i would like to work on my own cars more,
i have thrown in the towel and let the mechanics handle it.

[MacGyver]

Re: Car Trouble

I'm with terasec on this one. I had a '66 Valiant and a '72 Satellite back in the day and it seemed I was always working on something at one time or another. But now, with all the sensors and computer controlled crap, I'm afraid to touch anything for fear of throwing something out of spec. And, yeah, even simple jobs like changing spark plugs can be a major job. Had a girlfriend years ago who had a Cavalier. After looking at it for about an hour, I found out you had to pop motor mounts to tilt the engine to change plug #1. Brilliant engineering!