It’s Wrenching Wednesday! If You’re One Of Our 100+ New Members I’m Here To Help With Your Wrenching Conundrums

Ww Dt Jeep Therapist
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I’m here in Santa Monica, banging away at the keyboard, trying to get articles up. Rewind about 15 months, and I was in Michigan wrenching on $500 Chevy Trackers and steaming heaps of Toledo-built 4×4 glory (Jeeps). Needless to say, I have a lot of expertise that’s going to waste as I handle administrative duty, so I figure it makes sense offer up that expertise to you, dear Autopian member (especially you new members who got in on our President’s Day Sale). So tell me about your wrenching conundrums, and I’ll see if I can offer up a bit of advice. Rust-related problems are highly encouraged.

It’s pretty wild to think that I went from this:

To this:

Someday I’ll write a deep-dive on the absolutely mind-bogglingly insane changes that happened over the course of only 12 months, but until then, I’d like to put some of that hardcore wrenching knowledge that I gained in the rusty junkyards of Michigan to use. Especially since I’ve gone soft/corporate/Hollywood/whatever other word works here to indicate that I’m not undergoing as much physical strain as I was before. (To be clear, I’m still buying dirt-cheap Jeeps and hanging out in junkyards, just not like before).

So tell me: What problems do you have with your car right now? Or, if you want to get more specific, what issue are you having while trying to repair your car? Have you broken a bolt in a bad spot? Do you hear a sound coming from underhood, and are you wondering whether you should keep ignoring it?

Ask me, and I’ll try to help. Other members with as much or more wrenching expertise (especially the real technicians), please feel free to jump in with your thoughts!

 

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Jason Torchinsky

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90 thoughts on “It’s Wrenching Wednesday! If You’re One Of Our 100+ New Members I’m Here To Help With Your Wrenching Conundrums”

  1. My ’78 Benz with the fancy oleopneumatic transmission bobs up and down at highway speeds like a boat on choppy waters. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to do the opposite. Some folks have suggested the accumulators may be bad. How would I diagnose this?

  2. There’s a weird noise in the clio 2. It’s a metallic rattle, that I can barely hear but I do hear it. It is engine rpm related (goes away over 3000rpm), but I doubt it’s a major component. I’ve been driving like this for a few thousand miles now.

    I suspect some bracket or whatever to be flapping around but I can put my hand on the fucker.

    Thoughts?

    1. Keep it over 3000 rpm?

      I once had that on the exhaust manifold heat shield. It was deceptive because it didn’t seem loose, but was rusted enough around a connection it buzzed above idle.

  3. I’m in the midst of a second try at regearing my pickup, but I think I have that handled now.

    One thing that actually has been kind of puzzling me: weird tire wear, maybe. So it’s my 1995 f150 single cab long bed 2wd 5spd.

    I had some super cheap Starfire Solarus tires on it and had some alarmingly fast wear on the rears(wore out a whole set of four in 10k miles), which I chalked up to a few too many drifts in the church parking lot+the chinesium quality tires.

    So I bought some actually nice Falkens and swore to lay off with the burnouts. ~3k miles later, my rear tires have considerably less tread than the fronts. They are in sore need of a rotation but it hasn’t even been long enough for that.

    I’m not 100% sure that it’s eating tires in the rear, but I’m rather suspicious. What could cause that? Is there anything I could check for? I was under the impression that a solid rear axle(in good shape) will always have perfect alignment, and that the only things that could cause excess tire wear were (1). Burnouts or (2). A seriously bent axle housing, which I know isn’t the case.

  4. I’ve got a stripped Torx bolt holding a valve cover that I need to remove. I’ve tried many ways of cutting slots in the bolt head (I have replacements) but I continually cam out with the flat head screwdrivers. How can I still remove this bolt while saving the cylinder head that I definitely want to keep?

        1. I mean, an impact gun is better than a screwdriver, and the hammer style impact screwdrivers are better than that, but I would weld a nut to it wherever possible. It really is an excellent way of getting fasteners out.

  5. I’m currently trying to figure out why my ’99 Corolla is randomly taking a long time to crank before it starts. It’s been happening for a few weeks. The starter/battery are strong, it’s not a starting system problem.

    A couple months ago I replaced the fuel pump, filer, pressure regulator, and inlet sock a couple months ago with OEM parts (except the regulator, no OEM available). The pump had died, and the other parts are in the tank with it, so I replaced them while I had it apart.

    This weekend I replaced the very leaky valve cover/spark plug tube gasket. I also replaced the plugs that had been bathed in oil for months and the plug wires. Again, OEM. It runs better than ever, but randomly long cranks before firing. It runs great once it’s running though.

  6. I have a 2023 Jeep Gladiator, currently around 14K miles. Around 11K miles, death wobble showed up. No lift, no tire changes, vehicle remains completely stock.

    I took it to the dealer, told them it had death wobble and showed the service advisor a video of it happening. He ordered a new steering stabilizer and it was repaired in a week. It currently drives like new.

    My question to David: As a former engineer on the JL (yes, I know I have a JT), do you have any inside information on if this fix is a band aid or a longer lasting repair? The dealer told me it was a higher quality replacement. I’m not so sure.

    1. According to my friend who’s a member of a Jeep club that include Jeep modification garage owners:

      It’s a Jeep thing.

      It’s gotten better over the years, but the steering setup is affected by minor wear of components. If you live where the roads are bad, it will happen more often.

      1. 11k miles, wear shouldn’t be a factor.

        My experience is that death wobble is very much not a Jeep thing. Between a 230k mile 1995 XJ, a severely crashed and poorly repaired 1994 XJ, a 1989 MJ with a horribly loose track bar, a 1986 CJ, and a 1974 J10, plus a lot of assorted solid axle pickups and trucks, I have never once experienced death wobble.

        1. In solid axle jeeps, I had an XJ and a YJ before my JT. Both were well over 150K miles and neither experienced DW.

          DW is always something you hear about. And in this instance, I was a little shocked to see it show up at 11K miles on a stock vehicle. I’m holding out hope that it’s a one-off.

  7. I could use some ideas…

    I pulled my 81 Jeep CJ-5 out of my FIL’s place on Monday to get some miles on it before we load it up in a month and drive 3.5 hours to Moab. It started great after sitting for 4 months. I drove it 26 miles without any issues the brakes are tight, timing and fuel seem to be right, nothing mechanical stands out right now, but…

    When I put it into storage the front drivers dis brake would squeak after it heated up. It sounded like the smallest bit of metal on metal. I could press the brakes lightly to get it to go away, but it would then come back. Unfortunately, it didn’t make this noise on Monday, when I liberated it.

    I redid the brakes 12 months ago along with a ton of other work associated with getting a car that sat for 25 years back on the road. I reused the brake pads because they looked new. I did run new metal brake lines to 1/2 of the brakes and all new rubber lines. It has two new calipers, new rear pistons, and a new power assisted master cylinder.

    I did not see retaining clips on backside when I removed the pads. Should the AMC disc brakes have them? Could that be the cause of my slight metal noise? Should I just grease the sliding parts and check again in 6 months? What would you do as an AMC wrenching expert and former Jeep engineer?

  8. I was convinced this morning that I’d need help, but now I just have an anticlimactic story.

    I have a hideous but mechanically healthy ’03 530i that will eventually be donating its engine to my 525iT, but in the meantime it’s not really getting used much. Sits outside, it’s been raining a ton, and I know the rear door vapor barriers are no good.

    The last time we had a break in the rain last week, I needed to move the car, which meant giving it a jump from my wagon, after which it started fine. But, I noticed as I was closing the hood that the right-hand headlight bulbs were pulsing. Got in to take it for a spin to recharge the battery and discovered that the turn signals and hazard lights weren’t working, either. At one point, out of nowhere, the stereo switched from playing a CD to the radio. When I got home and pulled into the driveway, as soon as I put it in park the IP lights started pulsing, too.

    I started to do a little online research—a blessing and a curse to have so much information available. The two most likely candidates: the Light Control Module, which is replaceable but requires coding, or, scarier, there’s an electrical panel under the passenger seat that can corrode and cause all kinds of gremlins if it gets wet. Remember now those faulty vapor barriers. Either way, not much to do about it right away, especially since it was about to rain some more.

    Fast-forward another wet week. It’s finally stopped raining, and I finally have a long-awaited batch of parts for the 530i, to reseal the VANOS unit, and replace the accessory drive belts/tensioners/pulleys while I’m in there—gotta keep it mechanically tip-top, right? I get myself ready to jump it to life again, but when I go out to the car, the doors won’t even unlock. I open the trunk—thankfully it doesn’t use an electric latch, unlike the wagon—and try to jump it, and get nothing.

    So, to make a long story only a tiny bit longer, I replaced the battery and now everything works fine. The moral being, don’t psych yourself out and try the simple thing first.

  9. Not a new member but I wanted to share that I got my package from The Autopian, the pin with the Changli and the new shirt, they are so cool.

    I just did a Walmart grocery order and added the Super Tech oil and filter for my Ford Ranger, weather is getting nicer. I will probably do it on the next weeks.

  10. A pertinent question for you but not wrenching. Just bought a used 2007 Toyota. A brief Google search turned up 10 recall notices on my model. How do I search my specific car for undone free recalls? Guess why I’m asking you?

  11. Not one of the 100+ new but here it goes. The rear pinion seal is weeping (not a full leak) on the z28. In May I am taking a road trip to Florida and back. With stops about 3000 miles. Should I just pull the trigger to get it replaced or hope it doesn’t fail in the middle of nowhere.

    With the estimate being 300ish, it seems like short money for piece of mind, just wondering if I am over thinking or opening myself up to more problems.

    1. A little weeping never hurt anybody, I often see cars go much further than 3k miles with differential leaks. It helps that diffs are relatively tolerant to being run low on oil.

      Also pinion seals are not that hard to replace yourself IF you have appropriately heavy duty breaker bar+cheater pipe.

      1. I have an injured body, no lift, and the car is low slung. That is why I would pay if needed. I will keep this in mind, I do a pre-trip inspection at a local garage I trust and they will determine if it has progressed.

        Good info.

  13. I got my girl, Rosie running a couple weekends back.
    https://youtu.be/yDPvSJPtN-g

    Now I need to do some minor work and I can drive her to the local gas station for some fresh go-go juice.

    Here’s the question:
    How do I open the tailgate and replace the tumbler back there?
    I can’t get the admins to approve my account at 67-72 Chevy Trucks so I’m just twiddling my thumbs.
    Do I climb through the cab till I can get a screw driver on the tail-gate, then disassemble from the inside? Some other solution?

    1. Nice Truck! I understand missing your Aunt.

      When I used to have 1967 Camaro, when the tumbler went bad, I ended up unlocking the door, pulling the panel apart, and soaking everything in degreaser for 2 days. It then came free and I reassembled it.

      I looked at the carryall doors and there is not the ability to access the locking mechanism unless the door is open.

      I looked at what the doors look like as one overlaps the other from the outside. I would try to shove a metal ruler or thin bar stock in between the doors from the inside to see if it will allow the latch to push in and release.

      Hopefully, someone else has some ideas.

  14. How long does it take the EV drive cycle test to complete? It has been a month and about 200 miles and still isn’t ready. I replaced the purge valve due to a CEL and need to smog it soon.

  15. C4 ZR1. After driven and shut down, sometimes it won’t start back up until it sits for a couple hours. Won’t even crank (and the lights don’t dim like its even trying). No CEL or stored codes. Battery is fine. when it wants to start there is 0 issues.
    Clutch safety switch – tried bypassing.
    Lockout from VATS failure (I cleaned the key resistor contacts and ignition cylinder contacts). Tried using spare key. Never shows VATS lockout warning on the dash.
    The only thing I can think of next is if the starter went bad. Bad news, the starter is in the V between the cylinder banks. Need to take the top off to get to it.

    Issue is intermittent. so hard to duplicate on demand. Nearly impossible to access the starter wires to check for voltage when trying to start as it usually fails in a parking lot somewhere.

    Car is rust free. Sorry.

    Help me David Tracy, you’re my only hope.

      1. Good idea, I’m trying to rule out the simple things like that first. But the problem is that the issue happens barely once every couple months. So I try a couple things then wait till it happens again. Intermittent stuff sucks, I wish it would just die then I could tear it apart and get it over with.

    3. Had a recent similar issue with my truck. Battery cables were just loose enough to cause issues when it had recently been started, or was hot. Didn’t want to flow enough current through the marginal connection. I’d double-check them on the off-chance.

      I’d look through the rest of the car for marginal connections. Maybe something is getting hot, swelling and that’s holding contacts apart?

      1. I have checked the batter cables and they are tight. Also, everything else works as it should when this condition is present. But, since you mentioned connections maybe I need to check for lose grounds too. The C4 has ground connections all over the place.

    4. It is not uncommon for old starters to not work when they get hot and then work again when cooled down.

      When it does not start are you hearing a clock of the solenoid or the clunk of the starter bendix?

    5. You say it doesn’t even dim the lights/drop the voltage when you hit the key.

      If it was a bad starter it would.

      Next time it does it, get out the multimeter and actually test the voltage drop, if it doesn’t drop when trying to crank then you can pretty surely rule out starter.

  16. I actually got hot tips from DT in Chapel Hill but I’ll open the floor:

    2003 BMW Z4, 150k miles

    Front wheels make a heavy clunk with virtually any steering input, is not driveable. Outside observer notes it looks like the wheels very rapidly twitch when the clunk occurs – rapidly out of place and back into place, less than a second.

    This follows a replacement of inner and outer tie rods. It spent a long time with the front end up on jackstands. As I can’t drive it even to a shop, it hasn’t been aligned.

    ***Spoilers that may lead the witness, don’t read until you’ve got your own hypothesis if you like***

    DT suggested it’s probably the struts. At this age and mileage there’s no harm in replacing them, but I got laid off mid January and am trying to spend slowly while I look for work.

    1. Jack up the car and have somebody move the steering wheel while you observe; look for the part that doesn’t move when it should or moves when it shouldn’t. Pry, twist and tug on every pivot, joint and connection to find the loose one.

      If that reveals nothing put stands under the control arms to put weight back onto the suspension and repeat.

    2. More specifically, I’d guess the strut top bearings are sticking or damaged. They don’t want to turn with the spring as the steering rack pushes the knuckle until the force builds up enough to make them twist or the spring rotates on the perch. Before this happens, you’re twisting the spring and it wants to untwist, and when it suddenly can untwist when the bearing finally turns, it does it with the force of the wound spring behind it.

      Otherwise, any looseness in front bushings, ball joints, or wheel bearings can cause thinks when turning, but probably without that twitch. Keep in mind, it could always be a combination of things too, so even if the strut top bearing solves it, check the rest for play.

      1. Great tips, both! There’s absolutely a feeling of buildup, tension and release when it’s knocking like it does. You might be on to something there. Thanks!

      1. Since the tie rod replacement: I don’t know.

        I can tell you that it would take a steering angle and hold it, especially badly in hot weather. Say +/- 5°, but the steering wheel would center while the steering did not. Steering was then dead in the center (like a dead zone on a joystick) until I fed it a higher angle.

        It’s not quite as rambunctious as it sounds – I had control of the car – but little corrections on interstate sized roads were, let’s say, loosely defined.

        Edit: the tie rods were extremely floppy so I’m hoping that’s at least some correction, but suspension is not my strong suit. I’m not sure what actually is my strong suit, but it’s not suspension.

        1. In that case, I’d probably investigate the lower steering shaft or perhaps the rack itself. FWIW, if the lower steering shaft bolts are loose, it might be a free fix.

          1. I’m with this. I’ve had to replace the front inner rod ends on my 06 530. If you can jack the car up on one side, grab the whole tire like a hug and rock it back and forth. You should hear the same noise, and feel it. This will at least isolate the steering.

  17. Okay, I’ll test the more modern wrenching knowledge amongst the Autopian citizens. Two questions:

    1) 2016 Volvo S60 w/ a factory rebuilt 2.0L turbo (T5). Since Volvo doesn’t believe in DIY, I can’t find official specs for engine oil. In various message boards, I’ve seen both 0W-20 and 5W-30 recommended for this engine, preferably the Euro synthetic with some additive. I’m in Austin, so not a whole lot of below freezing driving. I should probably know this, but which oil weight is better for warmer climates? I’m guessing 5W-30, but I’m looking for re-assurance.

    2) 2015 Mini Cooper (F55) with a panoramic sunroof with busted rail brackets. The roof will open with the motor, but won’t close. Even pushing it closed won’t get it flat with the roof (the brackets won’t stay in the fully closed position). I had a shop get the roof fully closed, but they didn’t disconnect the motor or pull the fuse. I cannot for the life of me find out if there is a dedicated fuse for the roof motor or how the motor power cable can be unplugged/cut off from power. Anyone?

  18. David, fellow mechanical engineer and sometime wrench

    I’m working to resurrect a 1962 Corvair 700 for a friend. It’s solid and clean, just has not run in a while. The bottom end of the flat 6 engine was leaking bad. I replaced the 60 year old pushrod tube and oil cooler seals with modern Viton components . I cold set all valve lashes through multiple iterations. The thing just does not want to start! It was running before I began tearing it down – I fully warmed it up prior to working, started with just a shot of ether. I rebuilt the twin carbs, primarily just a full cleaning and replacing the gaskets and elastomers. I installed a basic Pertronix to do away with breaker points, properly bypassing the ballast resistor, new and properly gapped plugs with wires and distributor cap. I have verified strong spark. Need to reset ignition timing ( I found the distributor hold-down clamp was broken while troubleshooting and have since replaced) with my light and hopefully it will fire up with new gas. Then the joy of tuning a multi carb motor.

    Is there any chance I jumped the timing – I find it hard to believe just turning the engine by hand. This thing shows no inclination at all to fire. I’ve gone over the ignition diagram too many times to count – I’m certain I’m not off by a cylinder on the cap. I’m hoping resetting the distributor fixes it.

      1. I’ll follow that up with “see if you can adjust the valves between cranks of the starter.”

        I rebuilt my truck engine, wouldn’t fire. No compression on any cylinder. Pulled the valve cover, checked compression on #1, adjusted valves till I got compression. Did that for all of them and then cranked her over just fine.

    3. I cold set all valve lashes through multiple iterations.

      Isn’t the recommended procedure for a Corvair to set valve clearances while the engine is warm and running? Yes, I’m serious. I believe that was a topic in the comment section of a recent Autopian article on the Corvair.

      1. I had to cold set first with a feeler gage since it won’t start. I checked the factory manuals and forums before finalizing. I plan to set while running eventually (removing the lower pans is no picnic). Also no fan of fingers next to running valves.

        1. This is just making 100% sure question because I have seen it be the issue before; did you rotate the engine over and set the lash on the proper valves for each position as you rotated? And were you at TDC compression on #1 when you started and not TDC exhaust? And are you sure of that?

  19. I have more of a parts-sourcing conundrum: Where the hell do I find tires for a 1971 Volkswagen 411?

    Tire Rack doesn’t even have it in the drop-down, most U.S. shops seem to offer one Token Old Beetleish Thing tire, and goshdarnit, mine are seven years old, cracking on the sidewall and dangerous now.

    Longstone’s selection out of the UK is tempting—my beater on whitewalls? SEND IT. https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-car-tyres/volkswagen/type-4.html
    …but IDK how long they take to ship, whether shipping would be $One Kidney, and again, there’s the size conundrum. The page lists everything from 155-175 as a width. I guess I could manually search for those sizes and see what comes up, but if anyone knows any stateside classic tire people, LMK.

    Its primary use lately is Gambler-type crawling around. Stage rally tires sometimes come in teeny tiny narrow sizes. It does need to rallycross. That’s the other thought.

    I should probably ask the local with a 2CV Sahara where he found his because they look pleasingly knobby as well.

    I’d love to do a Porsche Club soft-road tour later this Spring, but tires are my hangup.

      1. Yep. I can’t help it. The dishy hubcaps look cool.

        I have a wider set of wheels that fit—technically—but they stick out a bit and would need fender flares not to look weird. I don’t wanna do that.

    3. I recall reading that 165/80-15 is a good replacement for the 165SR15 and will fit on the stock 4.5″ wide wheel. You may have more options available in that size.

      These days a 165SR15 should be a 165/100-15, since tires without aspect ratios specified were assumed (?) to be 100s, so going with an 80 will give you a different diameter.

    4. I’m pretty happy with the Pirelli Cinturato CA67 for my SAAB 96 which I believe uses the same size as your 411. I get them from Lucas. They’ve got a couple of other options, too, but I’ve never tried them:

      https://lucasclassictires.com/classic-vintage-tires/search-by-tire-size/155r15/

      I also run a 13″ CA67 on my Austin Allegro and Volvo 66 GL.

      I have ordered tires from Longstone and found their shipping charges to be reasonable. That was a few years ago, though.

      1. I’ve never seen that Lucas site before, they have an amazing selection. Maybe one of these days I’ll put together a set of wheels and tires for a more period-correct look for my bug…

        1. A guy at a car show recognized the CA67 tread pattern on my 96 and warned me it was dangerous to be driving on tires that were several decades old. He was delighted to learn they’re currently in production.

    5. Do you know what width your wheels are? I’ve experimented with a few different tires on stock-width (4.5″) beetle wheels and the best size for modern tread patterns is either a 175/65r15 or 185/65r15. Classic style tires are a completely different issue however, they’re super expensive and are generally sized for the more exotic cars of the era, but there are still a few 165/80r15 tires out there.

      1. Gosh, I’d have to look at the car (which doesn’t live at home, sadly.) I’m okay with modern tires on it, though. Heck, all-terrains would rule given how it’s been used lately, haha.

    6. Have you tried calling AutohausAZ or PelicanParts? They don’t sell tires but they cater to weirdos with old German cars and maybe they can hook a sista up with a referral.

  20. I’m too lazy to rotate my tires and I don’t want to take it to a shop because then I’ll have to spend an hour saying no to every bullshit thing they say needs to be replaced. Can you help with that?

    1. I guess it depends on what your car is; my i3 eats through rear tires before fronts, so there’s no point in rotating. (And actually, it’s not possible since the fronts are a different size than the rears).

      1. Thanks! I’ll replace the front tires only since they wear faster and not rotate them. That way the rear tires will never wear out because they stayed away from the front. You just cut my tire costs in half.

      2. Yeah, I got that 330e instead of the i3 and one reason was that I figured the tires would last longer. Anyway, at about 19,000 miles on the odometer, the back tires were at 2/32 and the fronts were at 4/32 and one had a bulge in the sidewall. We got the car with about 14,000 miles on it, and honestly, I didn’t even look too much at the tread then because I figured they would be fine for at least a few years.

        Anyway, I ditched those run-flats and got some more standard Michelins on there with a 49,000 mile treadwear warranty. Maybe the electric torque just chews through tires, but the OEM, Low Rolling Resistance Goodyears on my 2014 Volt at least lasted about 40,000 miles.

    3. If you have a Discount or America’s Tire near you, I think they charge about $15 for a rotation (it’s free if you’ve bought tires there). Since they don’t do anything but tires there, the don’t have anything to upsell you on, unless your tires need to be replaced. They don’t even do alignments. Flat repairs are also free there, even if you didn’t get tires there.

      1. Good point, I’ve never had them try to upsell me. Belle Tire is the one that tells you your car will kill you soon if you don’t buy extra services. They told my wife her brakes had locked up (how the fuck did she drive there, then?) and that everything had to be replaced. When she said our usual mechanic would take care of it the prick went with the old your car isn’t safe to drive, think of your daughter (who was with her), I don’t feel right letting you drive away in danger, etc. Mrs. Regert told him in no uncertain terms to take the car off the lift and give her the keys back.

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