HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: khan@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Scott Coleman)
Subject: Re: Good books to learn auto mechanics?
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 23:22:18 GMT


Somebody said:

>>> You wanna be an auto mechanic?? I hope your five years old. Because that
>>> is the best age to start learning. You have to be raised an auto mechanic.
>>> There is no book(s) thacan n teach you mechanics. If you want to be
>>> better than 80% of the mechanics out their. You had better be prepared
>>> to give up your current lifestyle and become an apprentice at joes corner
>>> gastation. Being a mechanic is more tn changing your brakes or installing
>>> a rebuilt water pump.

epc1@quads.uchicago.edu (Merlin) replied:

>I want to learn about cars so that I never have to rely on a mechanic.
>I recently bought my first car and I'm having some trouble with it.

>Is there REALLY more to being a mechanic than installing a water pump?  Like
>not being able to spell - by any chance?

Well, lack of spelling ability does help, but it's not essential. ;-)

Seriously, there's quite a bit you can do on your own car without any formal 
training or even active supervision from a real mechanic. However, there's
no way you're ever going to be COMPLETELY free of dependence on professional
mechanics since there are so many tools which the average Joe just can't 
afford (for example, how are you gonna spin balance your tires?) 

Speaking as one who has changed brakes, water pumps, done tune-ups, etc. I can
report that I learned everything with no formal training and no supervision
from an experienced mechanic (although I have asked the net for help on a
couple of occasions ;-). If you can follow the cookbook instructions in a
typical Chilton's book, you'll be able to do quite well on your own. Start
with the simple stuff, like tune ups, oil changes, lubrication, etc. Work
your way up to the harder stuff, like brakes, transmission fluid change (if
it's an automatic), and so on. Since you said your car is new, you shouldn't
have to worry about water pumps and the like for quite a while; in the 
meantime, you'll have gained lots of experience and confidence just from the
routine maintenance jobs. 

Since you car is new, I recommend you pick up the factory service manuals 
for your particular car (there's probably an order form in your car's 
owner's manual). They're a bit pricey, especially when compared to 
Chilton's guides, but they're very specific and a lot more detailed and 
in-depth. A good investment for any Saturday mechanic.

Also, check a few of the more general books out of the library. They're well
worth reading, but after you do a couple jobs you won't really need them
anymore.

Good luck, fledgeling grease monkey! ;-)


--
Scott Coleman                                                    tmkk@uiuc.edu

Free Advice: It is inadvisable to read Bush's lips at an official banquet.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: welty@cabot.balltown.cma.COM (richard welty)
Subject: Re: Snow Tires
Organization: New York State Institute for Sebastian Cabot Studies
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 17:07:08 GMT

In article <1992Sep9.164545.1@vmsb.is.csupomona.edu> cvetp034@vmsb.is.csupomona.edu (Mike Cancellier) writes:
>I am moving to North Dakota next year and need some recommendations on snow
>tires.  I have lived in Southern California all my life and have no idea about
>conditions there in the winter. Please email responses

you will indeed want good snow tires; very good ones.

the best in the world appear to be the Nokia NR10; this is a finnish
made tire with impeccable deep snow manners.  it is available in restricted
sizes; its predecessor, the NR09 is available in most other sizes, and
the NR09 was the best you could get until the NR10 came out.

you can get them mail order from K T Motorsports, 518-765-2206, in
Voorheesville NY.  K T is one of the 3 US importers; their prices will
be essentially unbeatable.  expect to pay about $80 per tire; possibly
less.

i recommend all four tires; two tires only is a risky proposition in
serious snow.

cheers,
  richard
   (grew up in florida; live in upstate new york now, so i understand
    your concern)
-- 
richard welty                            518-393-7228
welty@cabot.balltown.cma.com
  ``if you can read this, mario, you're too close''
    -- bumper sticker seen on a CART safety truck
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: tgl@slee01.srl.ford.com (Tom Leone)
Subject: Re: emissions: electrical -> Nx or electrical ->Hydrocarbs. ?
Organization: Ford Motor Company Scientific Research Labs, Dearborn, MI
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 20:01:21 GMT

wpcallah@rwasic17.aud.alcatel.com (William Paul Callahan) writes:
: 
: I remember reading here a rule of thumb, that Nx was related to electrical
: function, and Hydrocarbs related to mixture/carb. Or vice-versa? This is
: the question.

The quick answer is, yes, your rule of thumb has some value if
you call ignition timing "electrical function".  But it is not
an iron-clad rule.

NOx is a strong function of ignition timing.  Retarding the
spark will reduce NOx (because it reduces peak combustion
temperature).  This also tends to reduce HC and CO because it
increases exhaust gas temperatures (so more HC and CO break down
in the exhaust manifold).  NOx is also a function of air/fuel
ratio and especially EGR rate.

Unburned hydrocarbon emissions increase for rich mixtures, or
for extremely lean mixtures (misfire).  However, they can also
be caused by misfire due to ignition problems.

Tom Leone <tgl@slee01.srl.ford.com>
From: winders@aux.support.apple.com (Scott Winders)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: '78 911SC 3.0 liter mods....
Date: 9 Sep 92 23:38:07 GMT
Followup-To: rec.autos.tech
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.

Anyone one have ideas on what I can legally do, in California, to a
stock 1978 911SC 3.0 liter engine (California version) to increase
performance?

At this point, I do not have the cash to increase the engine to
3.2 or 3.4 liters. So I guess I am limited to changes in the exhaust
system. Any recommendations are welcome. Please include information
on manufacturer and horsepower gains....

Scott Winders
winders@aux.support.apple.com

"My opinions are my own, not my employer's"
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: jjolly@jjolly.b24b.ingr.com (Jack G. Jolly)
Subject: SB Chevy valve stem seals
Organization: Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville, AL.
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 16:46:26 GMT

My 350 smokes upon startup (pulling through the guides).  I intend to
install some type of seal:

- anyone have experience with "plastic umbrella" vs. "teflon rings" - I
have someone who can get me teflon seals that will interference fit over
the guide (no machining), but I've also heard "the teflon jobs wipe off
too much oil and your valves will go away" ??

_ I intend to us an air compressor to keep the valves up while doing the
replacement.  Assuming piston is at TDC (low-comp 8.5:1 motor) should
I expect problems??
From: bhendrix@ledge.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Brian Hendrix)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Annoying Achieva
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 92 12:42:13 MDT
Organization: Private Waffle 1.65

> >Remember that if you wreck your car with the doors locked, the 
> >police/ambulance people will have to cut your car open with a
> >hydraulic pair of scissors in order to get you out, if you are unable
> >to unlock the doors yourself. This will take A LOT longer than just opening
> >the door and get you out.
> >You may be safe while your waiting for a green light, but you may also
> >die while you wait for the hydraulic pair of scissors to arrive.
> >/Love Feuer 
> >(love@lk.se || love@stacken.kth.se)
> 
> Can't they break the window and open the door ? If the driver can open
> it from inside, the ambulance people should be able to do it through
> the window.
> 
> Bhaskar(bhaskar@orion.me.uiuc.edu)

It's also worth mentioning that in many places (where I am, for instance) 
if an ambulance is called they also dispatch fire and/or rescue units.  
This is often done because a fire station may be closer to you than an 
ambulance is.  In my experience the fire units arrive before the 
ambulance, and I doubt if the firemen have much trouble opening the door.

Brian Hendrix:    bhendrix@ledge.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca    :Private Waffle 1.65
    DoD# 0754:          Please note new address!         :Edmonton, AB Canada
From: jsw@umiacs.umd.edu (Jeff Webber)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Toyota Timing Belt
Date: 9 Sep 92 21:41:52 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: UMIACS, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

Late Followup:

A couple of weeks ago I posted an article about having problems
getting my Corolla GT-S to run after a timing belt replacement
by me.  

The car is running fine.  No major engine damage occured (no valves
bent, etc.)   The major cause of my problems was the centerpiece
in the distributer cap that makes the electrical contact between
the coil wire and the rotor was messed up.  This occured when I
removed the cap to initially make certain that my problem was the
timing belt -- rotor didn't move so it was the belt.

A $12 distributer cap fixed everything up.  I can only assume that
my compression readings were just plain no good.  I had lots of
problems getting the guage to tighten in correctly and that must
have been the problem with the readings.

I can change the timing belt on this car in about 2 hours now. :-)

-- 
Jeff Webber /   U of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies
path: uunet!mimsy!jsw  phone (301)-405-6746 jsw@umiacs.umd.edu  DoD #243
1965 Ford Mustang Convertible                     1988 Honda Hawk GT 650
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: mike@mote.Berkeley.EDU (Mike Friedrich)
Subject: Re: tire speed ratings
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 04:10:55 GMT

In article <JEFF.92Sep4104534@dsp.sps.mot.com> jeff@dsp.sps.mot.com (Jeff Enderwick) writes:
>
>Does anyone have a tire speed rating chart handy? How fast/hot is safe for
>a H rated tire? a V rated tire?

According to that font of automotive knowledge, Consumer Reports:

Rating  Max. sustained speed
------  --------------------
  Q            99 mph
  S           112
  T           118
  U           124
  H           130
  V           130+
  93V         149
  Z           149+

-- Mike Friedrich, UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering,
mike@mote.berkeley.edu
From: cherkaue@ee.rochester.edu (Brian Cherkauer)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Annoying Achieva
Date: 14 Sep 92 17:03:54 GMT
Organization: Univ of Rochester, College of Engineering and Applied Science

In article <2700119@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> wesf@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Wes Fujii) writes:
>While renting an Oldsmobile Achieva the other day, I noticed that anytime
>the car was taken out of Park, then the doors would lock.
>
>Is this law now? Or is it done because the Oldsmobile doors won't stay
>closed by themselves?

Does the Achieva have seatbelts attached to the doors, like so many other
GM cars?  This would be an excellent reason to keep the doors locked
when moving.

-Brian
  cherkaue@ee.rochester.edu
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: mvore@access.digex.com (Michael Vore)
Subject: Re: Stall Out when stopping
Keywords: Plymoth Horizon Stall When Stopping, Manual Shift
Organization: Mid Atlantic Soaring Association, Fairfield Pa.
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 03:50:09 GMT

bphdarcy@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (SJ Roc D'Arcy, MBP) writes:

>I have a problem with a 1987 Plymoth Horizon with a manual shift.

>What happens is that when one depresses the clutch to come to a stop
>the engine stalls out.  It runs fine elswise and re-starts just fine after 
>stalling and doesn't stall again until the next decelleration to a stop.
>It seems like a sensor failure or an idle problem.

Two earlier chrysler products, one a Plymouth Duster, the other a Dodge
Dart, both had sorta similar problems.  The float in the carb was getting
"waterlogged" causing a flood condition.
- mike

-- 
/*------------------------------+----------------------------------------*/
  Mike Vore  W3CCV              |    DC - Food-SIG
    mvore@digex.com             |    Ka-8  MU at W73
    mvore@fedix.fie.com         |    Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association
/*------------------------------+----------------------------------------*/
Xref: sparky rec.autos.tech:12240 misc.consumers:16173
From: abulloch@garnet.berkeley.edu (Anthony Bulloch)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech,misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Rain-X leaving cruddy film on windows?
Date: 5 Sep 92 01:15:19 GMT
Followup-To: rec.autos.tech,misc.consumers
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: garnet.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Sep4.220209.9491@icus.ICUS.COM> 
lenny@icus.ICUS.COM (Lenny Tropiano) writes:

>I just applied some Rain-X to my windows, and it seems after a day or
>two a dry-film of some sort appeared on the windows, side windows and
>the sunroof.  Has anyone else had this experience?  

You might want to consider using Reflections, manufactured by Espial.
It's a great glass-cleaner which never streaks and also protects
agaist misting and fogging - better still, it's 100% non-toxic and
ecologically green. That's what Espial specialises in, actually:
100% green products. They also do an extraordinary 'Power Cleanser'
which cuts grease of all kinds and is good for anything, from cooktops
to floors - we recently used it on our cars, and they came up beautifully.
In both cases (Reflections and the Power Cleanser) these products replace
things like Windex etc. which are packed with ammonia and phosphates,
so you're contributing quite a lot to the cause of reducing pollution
by using the Espial items, and you lose nothing in effectiveness.

Espial has a complete range of green products; they're available only
from independent distributors or direct from the company at wholesale
if you become an associate, which is very easy to do. (There's a small
sign-up fee, but you recoup that almost immediately by being able to
buy at wholesale, of course, and the company has an 800 number for
ordering direct.)

There's a number you can call for a recorded message (available 24 hours)
with product information (303/595-5674), and I'll be glad to provide
more details, on both products and buying at wholesale if anyone's
interested.

Anthony Bulloch
(510) 549-9127 (home)
abulloch@garnet.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: hempsp@an.hp.com (Paul Hempstead)
Subject: Re: Supercharged vehicles
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara Division
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1.3 PL5
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 12:38:48 GMT

Paul Heuer (pzh@myna.dsto.gov.au) wrote:
> That was movie land! The supercharger has two rotors with very small gaps
> between them and the casing walls. If you disengage the drive to the blower
> you will all but stop the flow of fuel and air into the motor. That is one of
> the big drawbacks of supercharging - the blower is always running and taking
> power from the motor. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of a blown motor
> (V8 preferably), and the blower should last longer than a turbo as it spins at
> about the same speed as the crankshaft and doesn't get as hot.
> Now if the car makers had put the same amount of thought into supercharging that
> they put into turbocharging many of these problems would be solved by now.
> 
  Although the supercharger is always running and taking power from the motor,
  the power it does take is related to the load on the engine.  For instance,
  in a properly set-up Rootes system (constant-volume), if there is no load on
  the motor, then there will be no boost (approximately) over a wide range of
  rpm's.  The main power loss is due to drive friction.  The boost level increases
  as the load on the motor increases, up to the point where rotor blow-by limits
  the boost.  A turbocharger is essentially a constant-pressure device (over a
  limited range).

  A blower's operating temperature is strongly dictated by the amount of rotor
  blow-by.  The more the blow-by, the hotter it runs.

  The only benefit I have found of a turbocharger over a supercharger is that
  the turbo is far easier to intercool.  For Do-it-yourselfers, I have found that
  superchargers are easy to install, and with a little bit of scrounging at 
  junkyards with Detroit Diesels, can be installed for about the same price as a
  turbo setup.  Blower life expectancy has never been a problem for me.


Paul Hempstead
Hewlett-Packard
E-mail:   hempsp@hp-and.an.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: ninke@cactus.org (Don A. Ninke)
Subject: EGR and EVP on Mercury Grand Marquis
Organization: Capital Area Central Texas UNIX Society, Austin, Tx
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 13:13:48 GMT

I have a 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis with the 5.0L engine.
I have been plagued with a slight pinging at 55 MPH, even
when I run Unleaded Plus gasoline.

Having had a "tune up" recently, I took it back to the garage for
a check-up.  They connected their diagnostic unit to the car's
computer and read out failure codes which said "EGR" and "EVP".
They said I needed to have these two units replaced.

Since then, I have done the following:
   1. With a hand vacuum pump connected to the EGR valve, the
      EGR valve actuates (opens) at about 3-5 inches of vacuum.
      The valve will stay actuated when the vacuum line is clamped
      off, which indicates that the EGR valve does not have a
      leaky diaphragm.
   2. Connected a vacuum guage to the line feeding the EGR valve.
      After the engine is warmed up, looked for vacuum reading.
      At idle, zero vacuum.  When the engine is "goosed", the vacuum
      reading rises to about 4 inches, and the valve actuates.
      This only happens while the engine is at high RPM.
   3. Connected the hand vacuum pump to the EGR valve again.
      At idle, pumped a vacuum on the EGR so it opened.  Noticed
      a reduction in idle speed, and engine started to idle rough.
From these steps, I have concluded that the EGR valve still works properly.

My next step is to check out the EVP.  But first, I have several questions:
   1. What does EVP stand for?  Maybe "EGR Valve Position" sensor?
   2. What role does the EVP perform?
   3. Is the EVP a passive device, like a variable resistor?

Any clues will be appreciated.
-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donald Ninke, 2307 Lehigh Drive, Austin, TX 78723-2113       ninke@cactus.org
From: Frank.Mallory@f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Frank Mallory)
Sender: Uucp@blkcat.UUCP
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Castrol Syntec
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 19:27:29 -0500

 JM> Has anyone tried Castrol's new synthetic called Syntec?  I noticed that 
 JM> it is
 JM> 5W50.  Widest range I have ever seen...

I believe that Quaker State's new Questec synthetic has the same viscosity
range.

Pat Goss said that new Corvettes are being delivered with Mobil-1 oil. Seems
like the synthetics are getting a big push.




Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: mjsutton@bnr.ca (Michael Sutton P025)
Subject: Advice on white exhaust fumes
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, BNR-RTP 
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1992 12:48:31 GMT

I have an old 81 Datsun 310 with 165K miles.  Upon starting after an
overnight sit white exhaust fumes come out of the tailpipe.  After
warm-up, the visible 'smoke' dies off but I still smell a bad odor
coming from the tailpipe.  The plugs look OK with no evidence of burning
oil.  Other ignition components are OK.

The car runs OK otherwise, but it fails HC emission testing; the CO is
very low however.  Should I attempt changing the idle mixture to fix?

There is one other issue.  I've noticed that the timing seems to have
changed over the years.  If I set it at specs it will knock at high
acceleration.  If I set it back a degree or so I can tune out the knock but
I get a backfire when changing gears.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
From: Frank.Mallory@f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Frank Mallory)
Sender: Uucp@blkcat.UUCP
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: DB 200 diesel motor question
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 01:12:51 -0500

 RV> 1.) What makes diesel motors smoke? Apart from the motor burning a
 RV>     fair amount of oil, which I think is normal for a 20-year old 
 RV> engine,
 RV>     I suspect there are other reasons.

A leaking diaphragm in the vacuum pump is the most likely cause on the M-B.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: octane boosters (was Re: Broquet: Fuel Catalyst)
From: rakoczynskij@gtephx.UUCP (Jurek Rakoczynski)
Date: 4 Sep 92 17:26:06 GMT
Organization: AG Communication Systems, Phoenix, Arizona

In article <24526@oasys.dt.navy.mil>, samblane@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Sean Samblanet) writes:
> In rec.autos.tech, jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond) writes:
> :ggg@hpsad.sad.hp.com (Gary Goodlund) writes:
> :(stuff deleted)
> :>I'd like to find another product that reduced detonation effectively
> :>but didn't cause these problems.  So far, I haven't seen anything on
> :>the market in Northern California.
> :
> :Easy.  Good old fashioned toluene.  At about $1.60 a gallon in 50 gallon
> :lots (recent quotes) and at a rate of about a quart per tank for about
> :3 or 4 points octane boost, it's about a cheap as you can get and no
> :fouling.
> :
> :John
> A question along these lines.  Does toluene or 104 octane boost or any
> octane booster raise the octane rating the same amount for 87 octane
> as 93 or 94 premium fuel?  100 octane fuel is much more expensive($3.50/gal)
> and hard to find.  Can any additive boost 94 octane to about 100 octane?
> 
> Sean

It's a function of percentage octane boost to a certain octane
gasoline, but no one is going to get that complicated on a can:
"If your gasoline is x octane and n gallons then 1 can miracle
additive = x1 new octane rating!".  But it really doesn't make that
much differance to worry about.  Gasoline blends probably vary too
much from month to month, batch to batch to say it is exactly 87
octane, or 92 octane.  I'll leave the math to you as an excercise, but
here are some numbers you can run through your calulator (in the US,
we use the (R+M)/2 column):

Compound   Research Octane  Motor Octane  R+M/2

Isooctane      100              100        100
Xylene         118              115        116.5
Toluene        120              109        114.5
Benzene        120+(exceed capability of octane rating machine)

Source: Circle Track & Racing Technology, Jan 1992
        Which quoted the source:
           Automotive_Fuels_Handbook by Keith Owen & Trevor Coley
           Published by Society_of_Automotive_Engineers

The SAE book list price is US $125.00.

Just follow John's guidelines.  But if you think more is better, keep
this in mind (this is only partial info I have ...I'm still collecting
info): Toluene has a higher boiling point and is why it does a good
job in cleaning valve stems and engine deposits.  But it does not burn
completely in stociometric(sp?) ratios, forming instead a soot (this
is in one of the chem books at home), just sending your unburnt HC
levels up... unless you have an excess of oxygen, like most cars do at
cruise/idle.  This has to do with the way the benzene ring reacts.  So
don't get carried away with additives, as miracle cures.

-- 
Jurek Rakoczynski, AG Communication Systems, POB 52179, Phoenix, AZ. 85072
UUCP: ...!{ncar!noao!enuucp | att}!gtephx!rakoczynskij  Voice: +1 602 581 4867
Inet: gtephx!rakoczynskij@enuucp.eas.asu.edu              Fax: +1 602 582 7111
Inet: /DD.UN=J.RAKOCZYNSKI/O=GTE/PRMD=GTEMAIL/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@sprint.com