HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: owen@Software.Mitel.COM (Blake Owen)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech,rec.autos
Subject: Re: Ford Escort Problems
Date: 14 Oct 92 16:25:59 GMT
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.

In article <1992Oct13.203951.12484@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu> crpresto@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Charlie Preston) writes:

>Perhaps the best thing to do is just replace the timing belt at 60k intervals.
>My brother's '85 broke the belt but no engine damage was done.  I understand
>that some earlier Escorts would damage the valves.  It should be considered a
>scheduled maintenance item for your car.
>
>Chas

Is this true for all cars with timing belts?  There was a recommendation
in BOLD LETTERS in my '81 Escort owner's manual to replace the
belt at 100,000 Km (which I did.)  The owner's manual for my '88
Sunbird has no such statment, nor could I find one in the shop manual.
Being really paranoid, I phoned the Service Department of a Pontiac dealer
and they didn't know anything about scheduled replacement of the belt
either.  

I've personally only heard of the belts breaking in Fords
and Toyotas and someone on the net claimed Honda belts also break. Do
GM and Chrysler use a different system or type of belt?  Any comments?
Maybe I should try another dealer:  if I keep phoning long enough I'm
sure I'll find someone to replace it whether it needs it or not..:^)

Blake

-- 
R. B. Owen              |
Mitel Corp.             |
Kanata, Ontario         |
owen@Software.Mitel.COM |
From: davet@ksr.com (Dave Teichholtz)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Buick 3.8L to 3800
Date: 15 Oct 92 16:34:43 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Kendall Square Research, Waltham, MA
In-reply-to: wesf@boi.hp.com's message of 15 Oct 92 10:06:40 EDT


Doug Stevens (stevensd@mentor.cc.purdue.edu) wrote:

> The torch converter went out in my dads car.  He thought he could 
> make it to the shop about 20 miles away.  Trying to get the car to the 
> shop he burned out the motor (at least thats what the mechanic told him).

Wes Fujii (wesf@hpdmm12.boi.hp.com) wrote:

>>How do you burn out a motor?  Sounds like a 2nd opinion is in order...


How do you burn out a motor? Easy, you use the torch from the  converter! :-)

-David
--
============================================================================
David Teichholtz                 Kendall Square Research 
davet@ksr.com                    170 Tracer Lane, 
(617) 895-9466                   Waltham Mass. 02154-1379

Women think men will change after marriage.  Men think women won't.
They're both wrong
From: dye@i88.isc.com (Ken R. Dye )
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Radials on '60s era cars?
Date: 8 Oct 92 16:18:47 GMT
Article-I.D.: i88.1992Oct08.161847.26172
Organization: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Naperville, IL

In article <1992Oct7.214440.4916@clipper.ingr.com> greeven@clipper.ingr.com (John Greeven) writes:
>many '60s era cars with radials I've also heard that the suspensions
>were not designed for radials and the combination can be bad or
>even dangerous.  At the very least I would only consider putting on 
>4 new radials and not mixing radial and bias ply tires, right?

	NEVER mix the two.  The slip angles that they work at are 
so different that you will oversteer into a tree or understeer
into a school bus.

        Radials handle soooooo much better than bias ply tires
that there is no safety issue.  If you are really worried, get
some new shocks at the same time.

        When I bought my '68 Bonneville (last year) it had
4 bias ply tires.  I'd been driving my '67 which has had radials
since I'd bought it, and the just couldn't get used to the squishy,
imprecise, swaying handling that the old 8.55x14's delivered.

        My parents just bought a '67 that had bias ply tires on it.
Mom couldn't believe how bad the thing handled, since she had also been
driving a similar vintage car with radials.

        However, I really miss that high pitched squeal the bias plys
make when you patch out (when I first got it, the '68 sounded like the
sound effects from Mad Max)!

        My '68 now rides on 235/70R15s in front, and 255/70R15s in 
the rear; BFG Radial T/As which I've been very pleased with.

	No flames from bias ply lovers, please.  I know they can
be made to work very well (Hoosiers, MickyT, etc.) but I am talking
about passenger car tires here, not autocross/roadrace slicks.

--Ken
-- 
Ken R. Dye				an optimist is a guy		 |
Interactive Systems Corp., Chicago	that has never had		 | 
(800) LAI-UNIX x341			much experience			 |
dye@i88.isc.comm						archy	 |
From: vandeweg@bbn.com (Mike Vande Weghe)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Time of the day and Filling up
Date: 9 Oct 92 19:01:16 GMT
NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com

harling@miki.pictel.com (Dan Harling) writes:

>In article <1992Oct04.151911.36827@lobo.rmhs.colorado.edu> seanr@lobo.rmhs.colorado.edu (Sean Reifschneider) writes:
>>In one of my physics classes we calculated the rate of expansion on 12 gallons
>>os fule between 30 and 70 deg F, and it was several gallons.  I don't remember
>>the exact numbers, though.

>Too bad I can't buy all of my gasoline (by volume) in the Winter and
>store it away for the Summer months...
>____________________________________________________________________________
>Daniel A. Harling                        (harling@pictel.com)
>PictureTel Corp.             Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of
>Peabody, MA  01960                 PictureTel, but they ought to be!


Seeing as how the gas tanks at the station are underground, though, I
doubt that there would be much variation between times of day, or even
seasons of the year (ground temperature stays pretty constant).  The
only way I can think of to get ahead would be to buy gas in winter
just after the station had been re-filled by a tanker.  Having the
surface of the tanker out in the cold air probably _would_ cool it
down quite a bit, making it correspondingly more dense.

 -mike
From: chenn@acf5.NYU.EDU (chenn)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: selling accord LXI, need advise on replacement car
Date: 14 Oct 92 19:41:12 GMT
Organization: New York University


 I have a Honda Accord LXI (1987 w/53,000 miles on it) that I want to
sell it.  The thing is I don't know what to buy to replace it.  I'm
thinking of either buying the new accord, a nissan maxima or a
toyota camry.  I've been very pleased with my accord, but my 
mechanic says that he thinks toyotas are better cars and more
reliable.  (he says he's seen toyotas come in w/130,000+ miles on it
that were still in good condition, but that he doesn't think hondas
would last that long. He likes (in order of preference) the camry, the
maxima and (lastly) the accord).

 I'm also thinking about the Acura legend, but I'm not sure if
it's worth the extra money I'll be paying in parts, etc if anything
goes wrong.  The reason I listed the legend separately from the
other 3 models is because I'm not sure if I want to spend in the price
range of the accord/maxima/camry, or go up a notch and buy a legend.      

 If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it.

	Thanks
	Fletcher
	chenn@acf5.nyu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: mark@ve6mgs.ampr.org (Mark Salyzyn)
Subject: Easy out: Easy in, but not easy out
Organization: ADEC Systems Inc.
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 18:25:22 GMT

Darn (or some similar expletive), I broke the head off one of the bolts
that holds the shock tower to the cast spindle assembly in an 1981
Honda Accord. I started drilling the bolt out, when it occured to me to
grab one of the easy outs to see if I can help it.

Anyways, the Easy Out broke off in my hands and in the partially drilled out
hole. I guess it had a crack in it from the last use (years ago, I was
afraid of breaking these things off in the bolt so I refrained from using
them ... :-( ). It broke off TOO deep in the hole for me to get it out.

The hole diameter is 5/16" (ie, small). I have tried using Carbide, Cobalt
and other `super' bits to drill the easy-out and have found them all
balding :-( or just no shavings of any form come off the Easy-Out (perhaps, if
I had patience, I might eventually drill through, but that would be months ...)
I could drill alongside, but alas I now can't drill out the broken off
Cobalt bit from that attempt :-(

I tried removing the other suspension parts to get the spindle assembly
out only to find that all the other bolts are, or will, meet the same fate
as the first bolt (heads snap off). If I could remove even one of those
bolts I could `flip' the spindle assembly to gain access to the back side
to drill out from the other direction (then I could simply poke the
Easy-Out ... Out). But no-can-do (yet).

I have access to propane torch, 230A Arc welder and other incendiary
devices, but not sure if they will help me get this out. I have been
told that no drill bit that I can purchase from the local tool warehouses
is as hard as the Cobalt bits I have been using.

Any tools/procedures recommended to solve this problem?

If nothing else, I could buy a whole new rear suspension and cut out the
old one (grrrr).

No `how much you got invested in the car' cracks that I get from the various
amateur mechanics, I simply don't want to be beat by this one. I have NEVER
seen a rust problem so bad, and I used to own FIATs. Why didn't Honda design
their suspension parts so that there is clearance between the bolt and the
slieve, or hole, to allow for rust expansion. You'd figure they would have
learned from the American cars ... Now don't all yack at once ...

Ciao -- Mark Salyzyn  mark@ve6mgs.ampr.org   alberta!adec23!mark
From: damong@wpi.WPI.EDU (Damon Francis Gentile)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: How to loosen the brake assembly when changing pads?
Date: 8 Oct 1992 10:36:20 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: wpi.wpi.edu

In article <183801@pyramid.pyramid.com> ihusain@pyramid.COM (Intisar Husain) writes:
>Whenever I changed pads, I always loose the brake assembly, by opening
>the bleeding valve, and push the piston, by hand. Ofcourse, then I 
>have to do the bleeding.
>
>Are there any disadvantages with that??

Well, to save the agony of bleeding, you can open the brake fluid reservoir
and place a rag over it to be sure that the fluid won't spurt out. You can
than simply push the piston back by hand or, I've always used a C-clamp and
a scrap of wood to prevent damage to the cylinder. This is the way that I've
always done it and it is the approved Fiat method (like it means something,
too....)

Damon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
damong@wpi.wpi.edu      |  1974 1/2 Fiat X1/9  |  Hey Florindooooooooooo     |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 11:10:21 EDT
From: <QXF1@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: when to shift?

Hey everyone, I've always been told that shift up early will help to get better
gas milage.  Some say shift at 2000 rpm, an article in a magazine even said
at 1500 rpm.  I believe shift up earlier will give better gas economy.  The
question is, does this have any negative effect to the engine other than lesser
performance?  Carbon deposition, for example, is one thing that jumps into my
mind.

Ching
From: welty@cabot.balltown.cma.COM (richard welty)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: oxygen sensor
Date: 13 Oct 92 00:04:11 GMT
Organization: New York State Institute for Sebastian Cabot Studies

In article <Bw0IKw.Jw@ssesco.com> elmquist@pez.ssesco.com (Chris Elmquist) writes:
>In article <1992Oct11.203434.27766@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> chohan@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Harpal Chohan) writes:
>>In article <BvvHJJ.9qK@ssesco.com> elmquist@pez.ssesco.com (Chris Elmquist) writes:

>>>It would be nice to diagnosis the O2 sensor as bad before trying to pull 
>>>it out...

>>You can hook a voltmeter to its output and observe how fast it reacts
>>when hot. Should fluctuate between 0.4 to 0.7 V at a fairly brisk
>>rate. Introduce unmeasured air into the system by pulling the dipstick
>>or the oil filler cap, and see if the voltage drops immediately. Sluggish,
>>or no response, should be fairly indicative of a non-functioning sensor.

>So, the more O2, the lower the voltage out from the sensor ? Or visa-versa ?

i don't remember the relationship; i have a chart at home, which i'll bring
in tomorrow, and i'll post the information unless someone beats me to it.

>Mine (my engine) seems to misbehave more before it is fully warmed but
>after it has stepped the idle down from the higher speed cold idle.  It
>is during this warmup phase that it runs the worst.  What kind of O2
>sensor output would be expected by the computer during this time...? is
>the computer even looking at the O2 sensor then ?

O2 sensors need to warm up before they take effect.  single wire
sensors take a couple of minutes; three wire sensors take effect
in about 30 seconds.  most well designed fool injection systems
will run in their open loop mode for a brief period of time while
warming up before they start to make use of the sensor data.  i'd
guess that your engine has warmed up enough to be in closed loop
from the sounds of it, but not being familiar with the car, this is
only a guess.

richard
-- 
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
Organization: Junior, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 14:42:30 -0400 
From: Stefan E Sherwood <ssa7+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Broken pipe on turbo car

I have an '84 Dodge Colt Turbo which has a broken pipe that carries
exhaust air to the intake manifold for cooling.  I will be fixing the
problem soon (the part should actually be coming in today), but I was
just wondering if anyone knew whether or not the turbocharger might be
affected by the hole in the pipe.  I realize that damage might be
incurred by lack of cooling, but the turbocharger also uses the exhaust
air, so I was worried that it might be affected also.

If the turbo might be affected, I was wondering if anyone might be able
to suggest a way of testing/checking the turbo for damage without taking
apart the entire system.

SES
From: samblane@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Sean Samblanet)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Threshold braking (was Re: "tank" superchargers)
Date: 8 Oct 92 16:39:40 GMT
Reply-To: samblane@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Sean Samblanet)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

In rec.autos.tech, dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) writes:
:-> this business about right side wheels locking up is out of the blue,
:-> as far as i'm concerned; i have never seen nor heard of anything of
:-> this sort in my previous experience.
:->
:-> since you claim to be an expert, why don't you explain why this
:-> happens?
:
: Perhaps you're driving on a level surface instead of the cambered road
:which was mentioned in the original message?  Perhaps you simply aren't
:pushing the envelope hard enough?  Perhaps you're not driving a normal
:production automobile, which usually isn't within 300 pounds on
:left/right weight bias and usually not within 1/2 inch of square?
:
: If all your wheels lock up at the same time, very nice, but that's not
:normal behavior.
>
    My $.02 worth: I drive an Eagle Talon Turbo in SCCA showroom-stock
road racing.  In hard braking(in a straight line) my right front tire
is always the first to lock up.  I don't know what other explanations
were expressed in this thread but I assume the reason my car does it
is that the left front tire is more heavily loaded(60lbs.)than the right
front without me in the drivers seat then I add another 215lbs. to
the left side when driving.

Sean S.
From: simnet@ssc-vax.boeing.com (Mark R Poulson)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Calling F-body Suspension experts
Summary: Rear traction
Date: 7 Oct 92 22:59:57 GMT
Organization: Boeing Defense and Space Group, Seattle WA

In article <1992Oct02.194027.19898@bnr.ca>,  (Eric Youngblood) writes:
> I am looking for anyone who knows how to tune 69-81 firebird/camaro
> suspensions. The problem I am having is during the first 60 feet of
> acceleration.  The right rear tire breaks loose while the left rear
> does not.  I understand that the torque from the engine loads down
> the left rear wheel and unloads the right wheel reducing its grip.

A very common problem. The things to do would be:

	Remove the rear antisway bar (very important).
	Relocate the battery to the right side of the trunk.
	Use stickier tires.
	Get a positraction rear axle.
	Install traction bars or ladder bars.
	Use drag racing type shocks on the front end (not for street cars).

Using weight jacking techniques will help (or just put a sandbag in the
right side of the trunk), but this is masking the problem. It will also screw
up your cornering balance unless you always remember to undo the weight
jacking for street driving. I guess this kind of applies to my first
suggestion too -- removing the rear antisway bar will allow a lot more body
roll and it will seem like the back end is floating all over if you corner
hard on the street, but the live axle isn't too badly affected by body roll.
Using a trans-am WS6 or larger FRONT bar will help to compensate.

		Mark
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: What is the air pump used for?
From: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
Date: 12 Oct 92 07:17:00 GMT
Reply-To: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
Distribution: world
Organization: The Courts of Chaos * 501-985-0059 * Public Access Usenet


->      Lean mixtures run hotter and are more prone to detonation.  If
-> you've ever played with a two stroke you can see effects of mixture

> It still puzzles me why cars cannot run a little bit lean.

 There's no problem with running a little bit lean.  The problem is
determining exactly how lean you are, and not letting it slide into too
lean.  It can be done, but it takes a little more work than conventional
stuff.
From: damong@wpi.WPI.EDU (Damon Francis Gentile)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: when to shift?
Date: 16 Oct 92 19:30:23 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: wpi.wpi.edu

In article <92290.111021QXF1@psuvm.psu.edu> <QXF1@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>Hey everyone, I've always been told that shift up early will help to get better
>gas milage.  Some say shift at 2000 rpm, an article in a magazine even said
>at 1500 rpm.  I believe shift up earlier will give better gas economy.  The
>question is, does this have any negative effect to the engine other than lesser
>performance?  Carbon deposition, for example, is one thing that jumps into my
>mind.
>
>Ching

	you can upshift all you want, but by upshifting so soon you miss
out on the peak torque range for the engine. you also put a _lot_ of 
strain on the main bearings when you lug the engine, and they are not
very fun to replace.

Damon
Xref: sparky rec.autos.tech:13967 rec.autos:23919
From: crpresto@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Charlie Preston)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech,rec.autos
Subject: Re: Ford Escort Problems
Date: 13 Oct 92 20:39:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: rs6000.1992Oct13.203951.12484
Organization: Illinois State University

In article <1bf6t1INNf29@bigboote.WPI.EDU> jayg@wpi.WPI.EDU (Jay Giurleo) writes:
>
> I own a 1986 Ford Escort.  I was speaking with a mechanic today who
>mentioned that at around 60K miles, bad (terminal) things might
>start happening to my engine.  Specifically, he mentioned a chronic
>problem with timing belts.  Can someone comment on this for me? If this
>
Perhaps the best thing to do is just replace the timing belt at 60k intervals.
My brother's '85 broke the belt but no engine damage was done.  I understand
that some earlier Escorts would damage the valves.  It should be considered a
scheduled maintenance item for your car.

Chas
From: summ50@cse.unl.edu
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Live axle vs. IRS
Date: 14 Oct 92 03:41:54 GMT
Article-I.D.: crcnis1.1bg4u2INNsq
Distribution: world
Organization: University of Nebraska--Lincoln
NNTP-Posting-Host: cse.unl.edu

rrusk@ssd.csd.harris.com (Bob Rusk) writes:

>On 13 Oct 92 01:49:54 GMT, rodder@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Jon D. Rodder) wrote:

>>In article <1992Oct6.034025.13839@sol.UVic.CA> atovorni@engr.UVic.CA writes:
>>>If there was one thing to be changed on the '82 to '92 F-cars, it would 
>>>be to ditch the live axle and adopt a Corvette rear-end setup. Guess
>>>we'll have to wait another ten years...

>>Wait until the F-cars do what the Z and Rx-7 did?  I can remember when
>>the Z and the rx7 were fairly affordable cars.  Look at them today.

>Ummmm ... Didn't the original 240Z already have IRS?  Nissan may have
>moved the Z-cars up-market, but they didn't do it by adding IRS.

>--
>--
> Bob Rusk
> rrusk@ssd.csd.harris.com
> My thoughts, probably not Harris'.

	Heck, even Chevy's own Corvair had IRS!!!    :)
	(of course, the early models had that damn swing-axle design,
	but the late models had the sophisticated IRS based  on the
	Corvette/Cobra/E-Type rear suspensions)


                                                                   __
/-----------------------------+---------------+-------------------///-------\  
|    ___  __   ___  __   __   |               | Multitasking __  ///        |
|   |    |  | |    |__   __|  |  Unsafe at    | my life      \\\///  Amiga  |
|   |___ |__| |     __| |__|  |  any speed... | away !!!      \XX/   3000   |
|-----------------------------+---------------+-----------------------------| 
|    Eric Elliott            summ50@cse.unl.edu         GEnie: E.ELLIOTT7   |
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------/

--
 
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: alter@rchland.vnet.ibm.com (Eric Alter)
Subject: Throttle position sensor diagnosis
Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1992 12:42:07 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM Rochester

What tests can I perform on my throttle pos. sensor to determine if it is
functioning properly?  I have a GM 2.8L engine (1988 vintage) that when I
release the gas and engage the clutch the engine increases RPM by as much
as 700+.  At full stop, it will idle around 1500-1700 RPM and then drop down
to 850 or so after about 5 seconds (this occurs with clutch in and in 
neutral or even with the clutch out and in neutral).

Thanks,

-- 

Eric Alter		alter@rchland.vnet.ibm.com
IBM Corporation		Rochester, Mn
From: fred@network.ucsd.edu (Fred Criscuolo)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: RFI Problem
Keywords: RFI, ignition systems
Date: 15 Oct 92 23:36:09 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
NNTP-Posting-Host: network.ucsd.edu

I recently upgraded the ignition system on my 70 Pontiac by installing
an MSD ignition and coil and a new set of Accel 8.8 mm Suppressor
ignition wires.  Everything is working fines except that I am now
experiencing some RFI on the car stereo ( a lot on AM, less on FM,
none on tape).  I am using resistor plugs.  On the old coil there
was a 3 microFarad capacitor mounted near the positive terminal, but
its lead wasn't connected.  Any suggestions on what I need to add
to solve this problem?  Please e-mail any responses and I'll post a 
summary.  Thanks.

Fred
fcriscuo@ucsd.edu  


-- 
Fred Criscuolo
fcriscuo@ucsd.edu                             (619) 546-4083