HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: leonglaw@hpsgm2.sgp.hp.com (Lawrence Leong)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Steering problem on FWD Car --(Alfa Romeo ALFA 33)
Date: 28 Aug 92 09:55:51 GMT
Organization: HP Singapore

In rec.autos, david@cerberus.bhpese.oz.au (David Masters) writes:

|leonglaw@hpsgm2.sgp.hp.com (Lawrence Leong) writes:
|>In rec.autos, shiv@cs.man.ac.uk (Shiv Sikand) writes:
|>|
|>|Here's the problem:
|>|
|>|Car: Alfa 33 1.5 Flat four
|>|
|>|Problem: Car pulls to the left on off-camber roads, steers ok on straight
|>|roads
|>|
|>|Observations: I've had the wheel tracking checked twice by my dealer.
|>|
|>|But, when I look at the front wheels, one wheel ( the left one) seems to be
|>|toeing out when the right one is straight ahead.
|
|[toe out and dealer info deleted]
|
|>I'd check with another dealer/mechanic.  Instruments to measure toe in/out
|>should be quite easily obtainable.
|
|The alfa 33 does not respond well to wider tyres. They exhibit
|the behavior you describe, as well as _tram-lining_ ( feels like
|it it is following railway lines laid in the road)
|So, do you have wider tyres?

How wide is wide?  I've used 185/60/14 and 195/60/14 (185 was stock) and both
exhibited tramlining.  Is mine the only one?  Didn't have this pulling to
the side, though.

|
|I found that the front end on mine, and the 4 or 5 other Alfa 33
|enthusiasts I know, have had zero trouble with the front end. The
|only _wheel_alignment_ adjustment was in the steering rod, and
|nothing ever used to wear or get knocked out of spec.
|
|Check that your tyres are not damaged as well.
|>|
|>|Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated 'cause its bugging me real
|>|bad!
|>|_____________________________________________________________________________
|>|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|>|=   Shiv Sikand                          =  Eat, drink and be merry for     =
|>|=   Department of Computer Science       =  tomorrow you may die.           =
|>|=   University of Manchester             =                                  =
|>|------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|>|------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|>|			I speak only for myself 
|>|______________________________________________________________________________
|
|david
|
|-- 
|David Masters, Group Leader - UNIX, 
|BHP Information Technology, Newcastle, AUSTRALIA.
|Internet: david@bhpese.oz.au        	     Phone: +61 49 402132
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Lawrence Leong            Telnet:       520-2732 
Barcodes Manufacturing    Voice:  (+65) 279-2732
HP Singapore              Fax:    (+65) 273-0848 or 278-5319
                          e-mail: lawrence@hpsgsh.sgp.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.autos,rec.autos.tech,misc.consumers,sci.environment,talk.environment
From: wlsmith@valve.heart.rri.uwo.ca (Wayne Smith)
Subject: Re: Carburetors, gasoline, and why I don't recycle
Organization: The John P. Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 04:46:35 GMT

In article <1992Sep02.010828.24870@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu> ejhupper@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Eric Huppertz) writes:
>
>I refuse to recycle.  If I have an empty soda can, and there's a
>garbage can right next to a recycling bin, I'll throw it in
>the garbage can.  Same with newspapers, bottles, plastic jugs,
>you name it.  I say, into the trash with it.
> 
> [much stuff about oil-company motives deleted]
>
>The above is (c)1992 by Eric J. Huppertz.  

I hope you don't mind if I recycle some of your text...

To comment on the oil/gasoline stuff, the fed's would much rather
not have the US so dependant on mid-east oil, because it makes for
rather messy foreign policy, and the occasional war.

But on a larger scale, recycling is really not a good thing.
What recycling does is it enables us to maintain our current
population and standard of living; for a time.   
Every advancement in human history (agriculture, plumbing,
sanitary devices, waste treatment etc) has enabled us to
continue our exponential population growth.
Sure we can recycle now, but we will need to take even more drastic
steps in the future -> it's part of a spiral that will have very
bad consequences later on.
From: bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ron Bense)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Michelin MXV tire and its competitors
Date: 26 Aug 92 15:22:23 GMT
Reply-To: bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ronald Bense)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

In rec.autos, edj@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (edward.jung) writes:
>Bridgestones and were much cheaper than the MXV's or XGT-H4's.  The treadwear
>rating on the Pirellis are better than the MXV's also (220 vs 180, I think.)

First off, the treadwear rating is based on each individual manufacturer's
base tire, whatever they choose it to be. This means that you cannot
directly compare treadwear numbers without comparing the mileage of
the base tires. I don't remember off hand if the base tire is a 100
or 200 rating.

As for hydroplaning at 45 with MXV's, did you have the V or H rated
tire? There seems to be *HUGE* differences in the performance of these
two tires. My H rated tires do fine in the rain, although they tend
to roll a bit more than the Dunlop D60 M2s they replaced. The Dunlops
however, tended to break completely free when they did start sliding,
which I didn't care for at all. They also tended to pull the car to
one side, and NTW never discovered why. My next set might be Bridgestone
HP RE71s which were highly rated here and elsewhere, although the dealer
said I'd be lucky to get 20k out of them driving in the DC area.

As an aside, my mom has Dunlop D40 M2s on her Thunderbird Turbocoupe,
has driven them 30k and still has some really good tread depth left.
I was surprised, although a lot of her driving is freeway (if DC can
be said to have any freeqay driving available:). She also is not gentle
with them, and by no means is the stero-typical "old lady driver".:)
She did, after all, get her first liscense in Holland, where they actually
give you a real driver's test, and don't give every moron a liscense
just because they can spell their name and turn the key in the ignition.
(Were you aware that it cost over $500 more than 27 years ago to get
a liscense in Holland?)

Ron

Potassium Benzoate included as a preserver.
Newsgroups: rec.autos
From: mts@citi.umich.edu (Michael T. Stolarchuk)
Subject: Warrenty
 
Organization: Center for Information Technology Intergration, University of Michigan
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 17:28:04 GMT

I've got a question which you may/may not be able
to answer, first the background, then the question.

We bought a used car, which needs some service.  The
car ought to be under warrently, but the car dealership
requires transfer of warrenty, which the previous owner
didn't tell us about.

I would belive there would be some test case, to
determine whether the 'thing' itself is warrientied,
separate from the owner.  Or another way of saying
it: I can't see the transfer of warrenty as anything
but a hack to keep the warrenty from being valid.

mts.
From: donrm@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Don Montgomery)
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 19:44:00 GMT
Subject: Re: Repair Job of an old Maxima at the Dealer
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech

In rec.autos.tech, garyc@lenny.acns.nwu.edu (Gary I. Chang) writes:

>    My girlfriend and I were driving her Maxima Yr. 84 on the highway;
>    suddenly all the gauges on the dashboard dropped to the bottom, the entire                                  [text deleted]

Exactly the same thing happened to my wife's '84 Maxima.  It turned out that 
one of the "molex-like" connectors had popped loose under the dash on the
driver's side.  I pushed it together and everything worked once again.

>    	So, my questionb is, could this be simply the alternator? I 

I doubt it.  I'd check the connectors under the dash and/or start looking for
a corroded common ground connection in both the passenger/engine compartment.
If you don't have a factory service manual, you're going to more-or-less be
working in the dark.

>   checked and were sure there's no broken fuse in the box. Should I bring it  
>   to a Nissan Dealer for a complete check and repair? Or I can bring it to 

Not unless you want to pay up to $65/hour loaded labor rate.  Last time I
had a real brain-buster with a Nissan product, I just asked around some of
the local repair places, describing the problem.  One of them said, "Oh,
sure, we see that all the time.  Check the (whatever)."  Sure enough, that's
what the problem was.  Bought the part at a local foreign-car jobber at 
half of what Nissan wanted for factory product and saved over $100.

>   any local shop? 

If you're tool-impaired, I'd ask around and find out who/where a good local 
shop is.  There's usually at least one that won't rip you off or try to
repair something that doesn't need repair.

Good luck

Don Montgomery, Santa Rosa, CA
donrm@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: rll@frieda.mitre.org (NAME)
Subject: Re: CV joints
Organization: ORGANIZATION
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 21:16:45 GMT

In article <1992Sep1.100414.5782@mr.med.ge.com> hinz@picard.med.ge.com (David Hinz Mfg 4-6987) writes:
>Han Lin Goh (hgoh@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu) wrote:
>: How can you tell when CV joints are worn and need to be replaced?
>: My Datsun 210's front right suspension makes noise when taking bumps.
>: How much does it cost in general?
>: Are CV joints the same as ball joints?
>
>It sounds like you have ball joint problems, rather than CV problems.

I agree.  All the Datsun 210's that I ever saw were REAR WHEEL DRIVE.
They had solid (non-independent) rear suspensions.  Such a
configuration doesn't use CV joints.
--
The opinions stated above are not necessarily my employer's.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Roberto L. Landrau    KC1YP    landrau@mitre.org  rll@linus.mitre.org
The MITRE Corporation  Bedford, MA 01730          rll@linus.UUCP
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: chenh@neptune.ecs.csus.edu (H. Philip Chen)
Subject: Re: Handbrakes /discbrakes
Organization: California State University, Sacramento
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 92 06:07:23 GMT

danapple@vicor.com writes:
|> After spending some time under my two Alfa's (with inboard rear discs)
|> I wondered how the general solution is for braking with the handbrake
|> on rear discs.
|
|> How is it done? How do you move the slave cylinder mechanically?
|
|I think there are at least two possible solutions to this problem.  My
|1986 Supra with 4 wheel discs uses one.  A friends 1987 300Z with 4
|wheel discs uses another.  
[Supra's info deleted to save bandwidth]
|
|The 300Z uses a cable to actuate the rear calipers for the disc
|brakes.  Now that I think about it, though, you were asking for
|details of this activation, which I don't know.  Sorry.  

It's a lever & cam thing in the Z for the parking brakes.  The 
manual cable pulls on a lever which on/outside the caliper 
body/assembly.  This lever rotates a ~small cam (on axis) ~inside 
that assembly.  This cam pushes a rod, and that in turn moves the 
piston & brake pad.  Got a couple of misc parts there too, eg. the
return springs and etc.  

For normal braking, the hydraulic fluid pushes on the same piston 
as mentioned above; so, it's just one piston per brake/wheel.


Cheers,

-phil

Xref: sparky rec.autos.tech:12019 rec.autos.vw:4976
From: dagraham@unix1.tcd.ie (David Graham)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Different tyre sizes & remoulds
Summary: Two questions regarding mixing tyre sizes and using remoulds
Keywords: Tyre, Tire, Remoulds, Size, Panda, Fiat, Ireland
Date: 30 Aug 92 17:40:59 GMT
Organization: Just enough to get by


Hi, 

A couple of months ago I posted a question about the advantages of using 
wider rather than narrower tyres. Now the time has come such that at 
least one of my tyres needs replacing, so I expect (since I'm not rolling 
in money) that I may replace two of the tyres at a time since I have at 
least two tyres with plenty of tread depth left. I may well go up one or 
possibly two sizes after reading the responses to my previous post, so 
I'll go from 135 to 145 or perhaps 155, although I'm not sure how well 
155's would fit on my 4" wheels.

My first question is, is there anything wrong with having two of the 
tyres wider than the other two tyres? I'd be inclined to put the new 
tyres on the front (steering and drive end) and would thus end up with 
slightly wider tyres at front than at back. Could this cause any problems 
for the handling, traction, steering, etc?

My other question is about remoulds; I don't know if these exist in the 
US where most of you will probably be reading this, but anyway. Small 
cars are popular here in Ireland (not what you'd call small in the US- my 
Fiat Panda is small but not the smallest and weighs 600kg (~1400lb), has 
a 45bhp 903cc engine and is 3.3m (133") long and 1.4m (57") wide, just to 
give you an idea.) Because of astronomical prices and various taxes, 
a large proportion of cars on Irish roads are small and under 1000cc in
engine capacity. (Comparison- 1992 top of the range Civic here is IR#18000
= $34000!!) Anyway, I'm wandering a bit; remoulds are also popular amongst
people with small cars and little money. Now, I have no intention of buying 
remoulds, but when I got my Panda last February, three of the tyres were 
remoulds. My question is this: I know remoulds aren't really great, but 
how bad are they? What is the comparison (handling, traction, steering, 
etc) between a car equipped with remoulded tyres and a car equipped with 
new, 'ordinary' tyres?

Many thanks, please excuse my verbose posting,

David
--
   \--- David Graham ------- Internet: dagraham@unix1.tcd.ie ---\
    \---- C.24 Dept of Statistics, Trinity College, Dublin 2 ----\
    /----- +353-1-286 8571 (home)   +353-1-702 2048 (work) ------/
   /---------- "On a clear disc you can seek forever" ----------/
From: samblane@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Sean Samblanet)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Cleaning spark plugs??
Date: 31 Aug 92 11:50:27 GMT
Reply-To: samblane@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Sean Samblanet)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

In rec.autos.tech, yosinaga@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Naoko Yoshinaga) writes:
:Why is anti-seize lubricant necessary on spark plugs? Someone, who builds 60-70
:'s Chevy engines said to never use it. Because the anti-seize can be conductive
: and the anti-seize can also mess up the gap of the plug. Therefore it will deg
:rade the performance of the spark plug.
:All I can say in return is that the manuals say to use it. I don't know why, th
:ough. Could someone please give me explanations or references on why it is nece
:ssary? I would really appreciate it!

    I've heard that anti-seize should_be used with aluminum threads
because they are much more prone to seize up.  Many of the newer cars
today use aluminum heads.  Because of this extra care should be taken
not to cross thread the spark plugs because aluminum is much softer
than cast iron.


sean
Xref: sparky rec.autos.tech:11701 rec.autos.vw:4872
From: mcentral@netcom.com (Media Central)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech,rec.autos.vw
Subject: Suggestions needed !!!
Keywords: Audi Steering service maintenance
Date: 25 Aug 92 18:17:42 GMT
Followup-To: poster
Distribution: ba
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

Hi folks,
I have an Audi 5000S(82) which I bought some 8 mnths back.
Since last month, iam having some problem or the other.
The lastest is stiff steering+cranking noise problem.

I want some suggestions regarding the viability of retaining
such a car (i love the car) which has done 140k and more
importantly where should i give the car for service & maintenance
(i live in cupertino).

Please consider this as very important and e-mail your resposes
ASAP.

regards,
shahid ahmed
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: bohdan@cbnewsd.cb.att.com (bohdan.l.bodnar)
Subject: car ramps for Mustangs
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 13:30:09 GMT
Keywords: of interest to Mustang owners

I have a 1986 Mustang which has a very low body + air scoop.  The ramps I
currently use are too high for this car -- any work done beneath the car has to
be done with jack stands.  Does anybody know where I can get car ramps that
will fit this car?  I currently have the stuff that's sold in Giant and Trak
stores (Tru-Cut?) and also tried the stuff that Sears has -- none work.

Cordially,

Bohdan Bodnar
From: nall@sun8.scri.fsu.edu (John Nall)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Recommendations re: 82/83/84 Mercedes....
Date: 3 Sep 92 14:36:51 GMT
Followup-To: rec.autos.tech
Organization: SCRI, Florida State University

If someone has a recommendation for or against the 82, 83 or 84 Mercedes
models, I'd sure appreciate a little insight.  In particular, the 300
turbo-diesel models.

I have an old '77 300D, which I bought very cheap because it has a lot
of things wrong with it.  At this point, I've driven it enough to know
that I really like MB's, and would like to get a better one.  (Mine is
a former taxicab, and really is not worth spending money on.  The body
has a *lot* of rust, the A/C needs complete replacement, etc.)

I figure that I can sell mine for a couple of thousand, and puttting that
together with some savings, can come up with about $7000 cash.  Looking
at the car ads, it appears that for that amount, I can probably get a
turbo-diesel somewhere in the 1982-83-84 range, with around 100K (more
or less) milage, that has been serviced regularly and is in good shape.

I know that every now and then there is a "bad year" for cars, just as
there is for wine :-)  So does anyone happen to know if any one of these
years is bad?  Any recommendations will be appreciated.  Since I doubt
this would be of interest to the net, e-mail is fine, although I *do*
read rec.autos.tech regularly, so posting is fine, too.

Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge :-)

John

--
John W. Nall              | Supercomputer Computations Research Institute
nall@mailer.scri.fsu.edu  | Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
  "Sugar and spice/and everything nice/blend it twice/add more spice/
   Then serve over ice..." - original recipe for making southerners
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: bakc@giraffe.ru.ac.za (MR KR COMAN)
Subject: Re: Exhaust Manifold Stud Removal
Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 06:11:50 GMT

Just another idea that worked for me once:

1.
Use a thread cutting die to make a thread on the stud -- fortunately your '
problem' stud seems to be long enough to do this.

2.
Screw 2 nuts onto the stud and then lock them  hard (i.e. turn the bottom 
one anti-clockwise whilst turning the top one clockwise using two spanners 
simultaneously).

3.
If you've an arc welder (usual precautions!!), tack the two nuts together.
(This is an optional step.)

4.
Soak the thread in a freeing agent (as per the general advice already 
offered) -- a little hint here that you might like to consider is to get a 
wad of kid's modelling putty (we call it "Plastercene") and make a little 
cup or bath around the stud and which is stuck onto the manifold.  You can 
then fill this with your freeing agent to keep it in contact with the stud (
soaking) -- otherwise, if the manifold is still on the car, the stuff just 
runs off and very little will get where it's ultimately supposed to go.   *
Best to leave it soaking overnight IMO*.

5.
Now take your spanner and apply it to the locked nuts, gently working 
the stud backwards and forwards (clock and anti-clockwise).   As another 
chap has stressed: Patience and Perseverence.

Main assumption is that you can get hold of a thread-cutting die.  If you 
can't, ignore!!

Best of luck,

Keith Coman
From: bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ron Bense)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Timing Belt revisited
Date: 1 Sep 92 13:46:24 GMT
Reply-To: bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ronald Bense)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

In rec.autos.tech, jsw@umiacs.umd.edu (Jeff Webber) writes:
>(1985 Toyota Corolla GTS, DOHC 16v 1.6l  same engine as 80's MR2's)

>When timing belts break do they normally break by splitting somewhere
>or do they lose a bunch of teeth in one area?  I ask as my belt had
>its teeth torn off by the crankshaft.  I believe that something
>caused the belt to stop moving (something caused a camshaft to stop
>turning).   And thus the teeth were stripped off.  The belt didn't
>look bad otherwise.

I've seen both types of failure. The break is obviously a belt failure.
Losing teeth can be caused by either a belt failure or something like
a water pump siezing (if you hav a car where the pump is driven by the
timing belt).

>I replaced the belt and lined everything up according to the service
>manual but the engine does not run (well it barely runs but I don't
>count the horrible noises its making as running).

First, check to see if you have both cams lined up correctly, and I
even went as far as to make sure that the distributor (mine turns off
the intake cam, I think) was lined up to fire cylinder one. One tooth
off would cause all kinds of running problems (I did this once :) I
was *veeerrrryyy* careful this time. :)

>Compression test reveals only one cylinder with normal compression.
>1) 180psi
>2) 160psi
>3)  90psi
>4) 100psi

This could be because one of your cams is a tooth off. (Or, worst case,
you bent/broke a valve) I don't think you put a hole in a piston, as
then I think you'd have less compression than that shown, but I'll leave
that to others more familiar with those problems.

>Did my belt break as a result of some other failure (valve dropping,
>or some other top end problem?)?

Don't know. It is possible. Remove valve cover and check valves by turning
camshaft/crankshaft.

>BTW - The crankshaft pulley bolt is not a problem if you have an
>impact wrench and compressor. :-)

I did, and it was still a bear, requiring heat to finally break free.
Broke an impact socket on it too. :( (It was a 120 psi wrench and compressor)

Ron

Potassium Benzoate included as a preserver.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: iseman@ravel.udel.edu (Stephen Early)
Subject: 'maint reqd' light on Dodge P/U
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 13:39:30 GMT


	My 1988 Dodge Dakota p/u with 54500 miles and a 3.9L V-6 engine recentlyhad the 'maint reqd' light come on and stay on.  Does anyone know what this
light is telling me?  How do I do the maintinence the light is telling me to do and once I do the maintinence, how do I turn the light off?