Car Help Thread

[James]

I know there are a few more DIY mechanics in the clan, so I figured this could become the place members go if they need some input/suggestions on how to diagnose or even fix your vehicles. If you have any questions, concerns, or tips about your car or truck - post it here!

The internet has been a valuable resource for my endeavours to improve and fix my truck. If you can diagnose what is wrong with your vehicle, there are countless websites that are reliable which will help guide you through the process of fixing your problem. Ehow is a great example of one of these websites. Often times their guides will include not only tips for diagnosing a problem, but how to fix it. Because this is the internet, and anyone has access to it, be sure to double check the procedures listed on any website you find with a Google search. If you're not 100% confident in your abilities, take it to a mechanic.

A good example of ehow helping me:

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4926979_what-symptoms-clogged-fuel-injectors.html

Youtube also has a lot of DIY videos. Type in the generation of the vehicle* and the type of job you want to do and there is a good chance you'll find somebody (oddly enough they usually have a southern accent, which I find hilarious for some reason) who is doing the same job and put a walk through up for you.

Example:

A great youtube channel I found is ScottyKilmer. He's a veteran mechanic who posts videos of DIY jobs.

His channel can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/scottykilmer?feature=g-u-u

If you need help diagnosing a vehicle, you need to post information about it.

This includes:

Year

Make

Model

Engine Size

Type of problems

Mine for example would be:

1998

Dodge

Ram 1500

5.9 Liter V8 Magnum

Loss of power and slightly rough idle

Through a lot of tedious trouble shooting and trial and error, I found that my ignition system and 3/8 of my fuel injectors going bad lead to this problem.

By replacing my ignition system and running some Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner through my truck at a concentrated rate, there has been a massive increase in the engine power.

Speaking of additives:

You should generally refrain from adding fuel or oil additives to your car. There are a lot of cheap ones that do nothing, or could even harm your vehicle. It's a completely unregulated market and just because the label says it will fix your problem doesn't mean it will. There are some exceptions:

Lucas Oil makes some good quality products. The Fuel injector cleaner is a good product because it's not only a solvent, but a lubricant which can help improve the life of your fuel pump, injectors, and pistons/rings. They make dozens of other additives too. Check their website by clicking here.

Seafoam is a controversial additive. It's a pretty strong solvent that can be used in your gas tank, but using too much of it can fry your fuel pump and your injectors. They also recommend you add it to your crank case oil 50 miles before an oil change to help clean your engine. Everybody I've ever talked to about this has begged me to never do this to my engine, so this should be entirely your call. You can also add some to your break booster line to help clean out your engine further. There are youtube videos that can walk you through the proper procedure for seafoaming your car.

There are various coolant additives that can help seal gaskets. Some of them can help if it's not a major break in the gasket. Do your research before blindly dumping something into your engine. Get reviews, testimonials, and so on.

Earlier I mentioned "generation of vehicle" and put an asterisk next to it. Most vehicles are made in sets of generations, not changing much over the years that include those generations. For example there is little difference between a Dodge pickup truck between 1994 and 2002. So extending my search parameters to include fixes for a 2001 Ram, for my 1998, could potentially help me find somebody with a similar problem and how they fixed it. Every car company makes cars in sets of generations.

So, keep in mind that the few mechanically inclined members of this clan are not professionals. However, if you'd like any help in troubleshooting your vehicle or even figuring out how to make it run better - by all means post!

[Doc]

Thanks for this topic. I am not good with cars, and I'll be driving soon so yeah

Anyways, this is worth a shot, asking here.

So I've got this 2001 Saturn Ion. It's good and all, but has one *major* problem. When turning off the car, the key sometimes doesn't want to turn to the fully-off position. It wants to lock or something, so the battery is still in use. We usually wait some time and then go get it and it turns and comes out. You guys know what this could be?

[James]

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181589

See if that helps. Seems like it's a pretty common problem with Saturns.