... but I got a new car a few weeks ago. Well, new to me that is.

It's a 1995 Honda Civic VX hatchback, and I bought it for fuel economy. I did some math the other day and discovered that I'm pushing roughly $1800 per year through my gas tank in the Ram as a daily commuter. And of course, that's at $3.00/gallon - which could change.

After riding with my pal Jeff to lunch one day in [then] his car, I was amazed at how much leg and head room there was, and stowed that away for future reference. Well, Jeff's been having some issues with the car lately (overheating, mostly) and it finally died on him on the way to work the other day. He took it to a mechanic and they told him that the cheapest thing that could've happened to the engine was a blown head gasket, and it would run over $450 to repair. Well, I offered to help him repair it, since a head gasket kit is a whole $25. He's had enough and thought about just selling it for salvaged. And I remembered that I wouldn't mind having something to commute with that was a little more thrifty. We talked and I offered him $800 for it... and he took it.

It's a pretty decent little car - not spotless inside or anything, typical years of use showing. However, the body's straight except for a minor dent and a few dings in the driver's side door - typical parking lot abuse. It has some normal wear on the seats - but not terrible. It has a nice Kenwood AM/FM/CD stereo and all the glass is in good shape along with new front tires and decent rears. It's also sportin' the 8-spoke VX alloy wheels and has a 1.5 VTEC-E engine. I'm thinking a pretty good wash and wax job will have it lookin' spiffy again.

After doing some more math, I even figured out that if I have to put $600-700 into the engine to get it running again (new head, radiator, and other minor stuff), I won't be into it more than $1500 total... and I should be able to recoup that cost in gas money I would've put through the Ram in roughly 18 months. So, I think I'll be doing pretty well.

Oh - and I'm still keeping the Ram, the Jeep, and the Grand Prix - this is just a 'beater-econo-commuter' after all.

And don't look for me to change my screen-name to 'Redneck Riceboy' or anything like that, either.

OK - here's pictures. I haven't done a thing to it (except pull the intake and exhaust manifolds and the head for inspection) and set the hood back on.






I'm thinking this is going to be a fun car. I've already been on a couple of Honda tuning forums/sites and seen some really nice looking VX's. One thing I might do to add a little zip to it is polish the outer ring of the rims and paint the centers black - much like my Jeep - and tint the windows. But, that's way down the road.

I already tossed out the SpongeBob air freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror. And that nasty-ass beige steering wheel cover is outta here the first trip to O'Reilly's Auto Parts as well.

Definitely going to deep-clean the carpet and seats, the rest of the interior pieces, and deep-clean and wax the paint. It has the old car smell to it. After I get the thing running again, that is.

I'll most likely leave it white, because of the heat and stuff here in West Texas. But at some point, I envision throwing down some wild paint on it... just for fun and because I can.

HELL YEAH BRO!!!!

I gots a honda civic hatchy....it's red with a CF hood...ah I love the thing...I get around 33mpg's in it...
and you can find parts anywhere for it and they're cheap to boot...excellent choice....RIGHT ON!

that is exactly the type of vehicle I am looking for. My wife and I are a 1 vehicle family right now and that is a Hyundai Santa Fe, which probably gets better mileage than your Ram but with gas prices up, I want something a little more fuel efficient. Hope I can find a deal as good as you did...though I would have to have help with any mechanical repairs. I'm hopeless under the hood.

Hey I ain't laughing! Thats a good move. I have owened Civics in the past, good little cars! Actually I just got a second car partially due to gas prices, It is a 99 Cavalier, I am getting 36 mixed driving miles per gallon, not bad for a 4 door sedan! Good luck with the car!

I'm driving the company Sonoma with the big V6 which gets not great gas mileage, however, my Corisa with the 2.2L inline four gets amazing gas mileage. I put Bosch Platinum plugs in it, a medium grade air filter, high end wiring, new tires, Monroe rotors and pads. I also keep my tire pressure right on the upper limit. I get at least 35mpg in the city and on the highway at least 44mpg. It's a 1990 with 207,000 km on it but acts a lot younger.

No laughing needed. With gas prices that is a damn good idea for a daily commuter. I would like to see a picture of you getting in and witting in it though.

LOL@ what bullski said. Now bull.....

Got the Honda together, fired it up, and drove it around - terrorizing the neighborhood with my 'hole-in-the-muffler, rice-rocket-fart-cannon-wannabe' sound.

Actually, from inside the car, it kinda sounds pretty cool.

BUT! I have a new OEM muffler on the way and it should be here this week sometime.

All that remains is some tweaking of the engine (timing, idle speed, and the like), then some heavy-duty cleaning to get rid of the Previous Owner's funk - both inside and out.

And despite the Previous Owner's complaints of over-heating, even after letting the car idle in the driveway while I poked and prodded the throttle body (adjusting the idle), the temp gauge never rose over 1/3, and I did observe the cooling fan kicking on and off at regular intervals. Bonus! Funny what a new radiator will do for the flow of coolant.

Oh yeah - almost forgot... here's the tally on cost to repair so far:

$800 - original purchase price
$220 - first trip to O'Reilly's for the following:
- Complete cylinder head seal & gasket kit
- OEM Radiator
- Replacement coolant hoses
$177 - cost of having the head rebuilt by the machine shop
$336 - last trip to O'Reilly's for the following:
- OEM Air Filter
- Fuel Filter
- Oil Filter
- Gallon of Mobil1 Synthetic 30W50
- Gallon of Prestone coolant
- NGK V-Power platinum spark plugs
- 8mm spark plug wires
- OEM muffler
- Muffler clamps
- 4' of 3/8" fuel line (for making new smaller coolant lines)
- hose clamps
- Cast Aluminum spray paint (2 cans)
- O'Reilly's engine degreaser (2 cans)
- Chilton's Repair Manual
- Spiffy leather steering wheel cover
- Metric feeler gauges (for setting valve lash)
- Tub of Gojo hand-cleaner
- a couple of other things I'm sure I missed

Total so far: $1533

Cost of being able to do this myself and having a cool friend to help with the repairs: Priceless

So I'm pretty much on-track to getting all that investment back within two years of daily commuting with the Honda, rather than the Ram.

I'm sure I'll cheat and drive the Ram to work now and then - but Hey - I do the same with the Jeep as it is anyway.

I've also been snooping around on eBay and scored a tilt-steering column for $44 ($20, $24 shipping). I've got a couple of items on 'Watch' for the next few days: OEM Driving Lights (complete kit including harness and OEM switches/relays), computer-cut 20% window tint, and a center console storage bin (mine lacks this). Once I get those little niceties out of the way, I've also got a 400watt 4-channel amp and 2 10" subs that should compliment the spiffy Kenwood AM/FM/CD deck.

Then it'll be a matter of using some painting tactics to spiff it up a little more.

I am planning on pop-riveting a painted Folger's coffee can to the muffler tip - just to piss off the ricer crowd though. I won't go as far as a cardboard body kit and plywood rear wing though.

I too am lookin for a small 4cyl car to drive to work....60 miles round trip.
Ive put about a grand in the 93 dodge dakota Im drivin now (ball joints, tires, shocks, egr valve, throttle pos.sensor, tune up parts and so on), but the 3.9 mag engine anit so great on gas.
As 4by points out I am greatfull I am able to do this work myself.

I have explained to my wife once that she is spoiled... She has never had to take the car to the mechanic and pay for labor.

Your right Painer, they take for granted the amount of money they save by havin a man who is good with his hands.

Pulled the decrepid muffler off this evening... and left the 'welded' inlet pipe on the car-side of the exhaust system. Suffice it to say, the muffler's shot, since it left half its guts on the ground. Found out it was a universal muffler, and the OEM unit I picked up is quite a bit different. The last person that installed the muffler had to cut some length out of the inlet pipe to accomodate the longer universal muffler. So I picked up an extension pipe tonight when I went back to the parts store for a WTF concerning the difference in the old and new units.

I also was able to score a set of the correct plug wires (the ones they sold me last Saturday don't quite fit into the boots like the original set did). I took the original wires with me and we discovered that they are for a 1.6 engine - which is bizarre, because they fit my 1.5 VTEC-E engine... not the 1.6 VTEC engine. Apparently, some of the parts they have listed for the 1.5 VTEC-E engine don't fit right for whatever reason.

No biggee - I'll just take the part number off the boxes and keep them handy for the next time I might need them.

Still gonna pop-rivet that coffee can onto it when I install it.

Take some picts 4x4. I would love to see some of this

I'll work on it. It'll be good for my web page on the car as well. Thanks for reminding me.

I don't think anyone will laugh , I have rebuilt corvets , pinto's an many aircraft engines.
Takes a special person to be able to do this. Although i can no longer do any of it i still know how and would love to see pix of the work in progress.

i wish i could do my own mechanical work! I can rip a computer, or even a small network down and put it back together - no problem, but I am totally clueless under the hood of a vehicle. Which is really strange since I grew up around cars. My father had his own collision shop and I have straightned a few crumpled fenders in my time, but I never learned how to do anything else more challenging than changing the oil.

OK - I got the muffler on today. Went on like a champ, and without any extra clamps or other tailpipe extensions or other nonsense like that. Nice and quiet too.

BUT - since Jim was helping me, and making all sorts of comments about my coffee-can faux-fart-cannon idea, I elected to put that off til another day. It's gonna happen though - and I will post pictures.

Followed the directions in the Chilton's manual, shorted the two-prong plug to the ECM, and cringing in anticipation of the ECM going up in flames, timed the car. It's running like a champ now. YES!!!

Took it on the road, first to the gas station. Apparently, Jeff had run the gas down to the scary level just above 'E.' And after 7.8 gallons in the tank (just over $21), it's now comfortably on 'F.'

Drove it 'like I stole it' for about 24 miles putzing around today, and the needle hasn't left the 'F-zone' yet... I could get used to this.

Went out to the base and visited the Auto Hobby Shop's tools in their storage slumber and fired up the A/C Servicing unit to pull down, leak-check, and re-charge the A/C. It has a full charge, but it's not cooling as well as it should. So, the next task is to evacuate the 134a, flush the lines (it might have too much oil in the system), install a new expansion valve, and try again. Maybe next weekend or something.

After watching the race and mowing the lawn, I took the car to the coin-op car wash for some love. 2 hours later, I've removed most of the previous owner's funk (both inside and out) sufficiently to begin driving it to work. I'm still going to need to buff out the paint to remove the bad spots from the coolant leaks when the heater hoses popped, but it cleaned up pretty well for an $800 turd with a blown engine, and actually looks pretty decent. A guy at the car wash offered me $1500 for it on the spot.

Sorry pal... it's gonna take a lot more than that now.


Oh yeah - You know how all the Ricers put Japanese symbols (that mean something cool or whatever) all over their cars? Well, I grabbed an English to Japanese translator and looked up the symbols for 'Rice Burner,' and I'm going to have some vinyl decals cut for the windshield and side windows. Then I also might have one cut that says, "Type-RB." Along with my faux-fart-cannon, window tint, and some cool paint tricks, I may actually successfully out-rice the Ricer crowd.

JTancsi1...don't wrry you're not the only one...my dad is a steel mill mechanic and fixes everything, my brother is a small engines/auto shop teacher...

yet both can't take the side of a computer-shell....guess you and me are the oddballs...lol

yet I can change brakes (disc/drum) oil, and do some basic small engine repair...that's it...

when we become super-rich for starting a whole computing industry...we won't have to wrry about changing our brakes anyway

I was so pissed when I got the registration done. Apparently, the new Texas law concerning private sales and title transfers calls for the fair market value (as determined by TXDOT) for tax assessment. So I had to pay taxes on $2382.00 worth of vehicle. I challenged the pudgy ditz behind the counter, asking her if she would've paid that much for a 12-year-old car with a blown engine. She said no. I asked, "Then why am I being forced to?" Of course, she said that that's just the way the law is and she didn't write it, blah-blah-blah. I think I remember saying they should go ahead and get an extra box of donuts next week since it's pretty much 'on me.' Which was met with a dirty look... but I already had my paperwork in-hand and left. $181 to title-transfer an $800 car. And the registration expires in September! She wouldn't let me register it (so I could be done with this whole thing for the next year) early, because they only allow early registration 2 months out... and this was 3 months out. Freaken thievery is what it is. Oh well. It's done now.

Had the windows tinted today. The rear hatch was much too convex for my abilities - even after I read up on how to 'heat-shrink' window tint for that seamless application. I had found an eBay auction for computer-cut window tint for roughly $25.00 shipped. It did not say what kind of tint film was involved, and it was all 20% - which is illegal on the front side passenger windows, according to Federal limitations.

So I took the car to Tuff Shine and only paid $119 for the convenience of not having to do it myself, not having to learn and experiment with the heat-shrink technique, and the fact that they use Madico film - which is the best in the automotive applications. And there's also a lifetime warranty against defects and poor installation. Window film isn't guaranteed against normal wear and tear... but I've never had any film bubble and go bad like I've seen on so many other cars. But we'll see.

I'll post pictures soon - it almost looks like a different car now, being clean and having tinted windows.

Next up is fixing the A/C. It seems like the expansion valve may be the culprit, so I need to evacuate the refrigerent and work out the bugs. Also need to find out why the A/C signal is not bumping up the fast idle when the compressor kicks on. Otherwise, the car's running like a champ.

My wife also scored a center-console w/armrest while on eBay as well. Now I'll have a place for nit-noids, since it has nothing currently.

Then it'll be painting the wheels. I've seen lots of cars the past few days sportin' painted and polished wheels - so I've decided to go for it. A couple of cans of black engine enamel, clear coat, and some hand polishing should have them looking the way I want. Thankfully, they're only 13" wheels - so it shouldn't be too bad.

Somewhere in there, I'll break in the new table saw by building a box for the subs and install it along with one of the numerous amps living in the garage.

This is kinda fun, actually.

Sounds like a good time.

Can't believe the costs for the title and shit though.

Just filled up from 1/4 tank yesterday - 6.6 gallons in all. The odometer was at 183.6 miles traveled.

Little more than 28 mpg - not too bad considering all the time spent idling while working on the A/C, and the fact that I'm driving it like a crazy-man because it's something new, fun, and different.

I can see some increase on the horizon as I settle down, finish tweaking everything, and get the final adjustment on the valve-lash squared away.

OK - I pulled the lower dash panel yesterday (driver side) and found out that the electric controls for the HVAC are on that side. So I moved over to the passenger side and pulled the glove box. Lo and Behold! There's the temperature control cable and guess what - it was WAY out of adjustment. I took care of that (it's too simple because they 'secured' it by snapping it into a clip - yeah, like that's going to really hold it in place. Oh well. It's fixed now, and blowing cold air. Not Arctic Cold air, but most definitely MUCH colder air than last weekend after recharging it. BONUS!

Also received the new pristine center console/armrest in the mail yesterday. It's actually gray in color, so I scored a can of Duplicolor Vinyl/Fabric paint, so I should be able to get the new center console installed before the end of the weekend between the rest of my chores.

Now I just need to rub out the paint, give it a monster wax job, install the 'performance' exhaust tip, pull the whole front end off to install the cool JDM projector driving lights, and work on the wheels at some point.

Sounds good. We need to see some new pics when you are all done.

Your mechanical and artistic skills are something I wish I have 1/2 of.

Im in the same boat. I just bought a 84 CJ8 (scrambler) its all stock other than a 2.5'' lift and an old Chicago winch. So im getting rid of the winch because its crap! And the kid i got it from jack the lift up so it goes to. I don't know what im gonna do with it yet but probably end up with 39 or 42's for tires with the new Atlas 6.0 transfer case, with 5.13 gears from Randy's Ring and Pinion. dana 70 front with a limited slip and a dana 80 with arb. (might run arb in the front but not sure) The new warn winch with the air compressor. Im not sure if i wanna do coil over conversion or keep with the leaf. Any suggestions?

Eric <Mister 4x4> is the guy to ask, Snuffy. Jeeps and 4 wheeling are his specialty.

But...but...but, I thought he was a RICER now?

One does not negate the other. <although..... >

Start another thread about your Jeep, please. Pictures would be helpful, as well as a little more background on what you plan to do with the Jeep.

39's or 42's would be happier with 5.88s, and if you're going to run a selectable locker, run it in the front, not the rear. The limited slip will suck on the trail as well, if you're actually going to use what you're building, so I'd recommend a 'real' locker or ARBs front and rear.

But - this is a thread about my econo-box.

The Check Engine Light (CEL) has been on this whole time, and I had a feeling I knew why. It's never idled like it's supposed to - with the rpms dropping by like 500 when the A/C compressor kicks on (yeah - it's that bad). And to combat that 'effect,' I had to "set the idle" (by re-positioning the throttle cable) to 750 with the A/C running... which would cause the non-A/C idle shoot up to 1350-1400. I also ran across a cool online repair manual for the car, and discovered how to engage the diagnotic mode of the ECU, and get the CEL to emit 'flash' codes, indicating possible problems.

The flash code I've been receiving happened to be '14,' which indicates a bad Idle Air Controller (IAC). So, after cleaning the Hell out of the throttle body and later the IAC, I had no change in how the car runs, so I ordered a new IAC - to the tune of $194! Which is damn near 25% of what I paid for the car initially!! Holy Crap!! Now I remember why I hate import cars.

Anyhoo - I got the new part and I'll be installing it sometime within the next few days, and hopefully extinguish the CEL for the time-being (until something serious happens later).

if ever anything cried for portal axles and a diesel repower, this is it...

now back to the Rice..

Putting in a diesel and portals under a 'real' Jeep is blasphemy - just like cutting the crap out of 'em and hiding what's left behind exo-skeletons.

The 'geeky, square-headlight' Jeeps are a different story - it just adds a new level of coolness.

The new IAC did the trick - runs much better now and actually seems a little zippier off the line... even with the A/C running.

The only CEL flash code left to tackle is the Intake Air Temperature sensor.

When you got it, were you aware it was gonna be quite this much of a project?

Yes - as a matter of fact. Whenever you 'rescue' a vehicle from a previous owner, you're always inheriting their problems. I'm just lucky enough that I've learned how to solve some of those problems without having to have them worked out for me. Did I know I was going to have to replace lots of sensors and whatnot? I kinda figured I'd have to start replacing some things. 190,000+ miles, after all.

O'Reilly Auto Parts had an Air Charge Temperature Sensor in their warehouse (for only $37.77 - that's more like it), and I should be able to pick it up tomorrow. And once that's done, the CEL should go out for good, hopefully.

Driving the car today, I noticed that the IAC definitely had an impact on how well the car runs... MUCH better now.

After that - it should be just a matter of another 350-ish miles til I pull the valve cover, re-torque the head bolts, and re-set the valve lash, and re-time the engine - for good. Even with this thing running poorly with the CEL issues, I'm still pulling damn near 28 mpg. Since the IAC made such a huge difference in how it runs, I'm hoping to see over 30. If that's the case - and it'll last a few more years, this will all have been worth it.

OK - I got the Air Charge Temp Sensor swapped out, and the CEL is now off. Runs a little 'different' now too... and I'm not sure I particularly like the way it runs now either. The sensor I replaced was completely fried - a big blob of blackened plastic on the end of the probe that lives inside the intake manifold... which most likely happened when the previous owner overheated the crap out of the engine.

Now I have a 'new' light that comes on at weird times. It seems totally random, but I did notice it comes on about 1200-1500 rpms before I usually grab the next gear, and then goes off again when I push in the clutch. I think I've heard this phenomena referred to as an 'upshift' light. Man, is that annoying. It didn't seem to be working when the CEL was on.

Now the car is pretty much mechanically straightened back out. All that's left is the 1000-mile tweak I spoke of earlier.

So how is it different?

It seems a little sluggish as the rpms come up, whereas with the 'bad' sensor, it would just cook right through the rpms. It also seems to have a mind of its own where the idle is concerned. When I put the IAC on, it pretty much solved all of the idle issues and A/C compressor problems I was having - the A/C would come on, and the rpms would drop by like 500 or so. Now, the rpms hold station (thanks to the IAC), which keeps the A/C compressor working and allows the evaporator to stay cold.

But the new sensor seems to make the ECU change more things on the fly, and the engine seems to be doing better 'off the line,' but also seems a little more 'restricted' at higher rpms.

Oh well - this is the 'economy' VTEC engine after all. It might be running perfectly, for all I know. It just seems like that one sensor made a bigger difference than I thought it would've. I'll get used to it, I'm sure. Worse case, I'll just unplug it altogether and live with the CEL light being on.

Or there is always a piece of black tape over the CEL or unplug the bulb?

OK - I got fed up with the 'upshift' light and the new weirdness that came with it - so I unplugged the Intake Air Temp Sensor (which brought back the CEL and put the ECU into 'limp' mode - no jokes about that, please...) and the car actually runs better. Or at least it runs better regarding the way I drive - more power and no weird 'governing' sensations when the upshift light's on. More troubleshooting is in order I guess... or maybe I'll just learn to live with the CEL on.

Installed my JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) driving lights... well, the 'wanna-be' JDM driving lights I got off eBay. You truly do get what you pay for - they're not bright at all. Oh well - they look nice, anyway.

I also discovered an oil leak. Well, seep is more like it. It appears to be the oil pan gasket, based on the seepage I found underneath the car. It began leaving a 6" mark in the driveway and I get a burnt oil smell when I'm done driving it. So, I jacked it up onto jack stands, slid under, and cleaned any oil evidence from the underside. Then I started the car and let it run for like 40 minutes - nothing. Not a drip. After it cooled down, I slid under again and nothing... nada... no evidence of seepage at all. F00kin' thing. Now - 2 days later - burnt oil smell and I think I'm leaving spots again. No biggee though - the oil pan is pretty much accessible with no crossmember in the way - so changing it will be almost as easy as doing the Jeep's pan gasket... but no lift at the Auto Hobby Shop this time.

While I was waiting for things to cool down, I installed a nice 2" chrome exhaust tip - nothing obnoxious. I nix'd the coffee can idea for now.

I also called my insurance company and inquired about getting a new windshield based on poor visibility from all the years of neglect and poor maintenance. I explained that the glass didn't seem too bad when I bought the car, but after the first rain storm, the wipers brought out some scratches that I cannot see through when driving into the sun... let alone barely see through it at all under ideal conditions. The claims guy didn't seem like he was buyin' it though. I explained that I was calling to ask their policy because I've heard of fradulent claims of people getting new stuff because they wanted it, and didn'tnecessarily need it. I told him if it wasn't claim-worthy that I would understand - I just didn't feel right about tossing a brick at it and claiming it later, because that's kinda dishonest. He put me on hold for 10 minutes.

They hooked me up - I get a new windshield Monday.



And that's The Rice Report for Thursday, 16 August 2007.

It is always great to hear about people doing the right thing. Thanks Eric.

New glass is in! And I can actually SEE what it is I'm about to hit/run-over.

Of course, the installers left some masking tape over the windshield molding so the adhesive can cure. I asked the guy if I should've picked a different installer because it looks like I got the 'Do-It-Yourself Windshield' kit application. He laughed at me and said he hadn't heard that one before.

I'll get a picture before I pull the tape - just for posterity's sake.

I also was surfin' eBay for lack of anything else to do and found a '+20hp Performance Chip' for $5.00 (+$3.00 S&H). Apparently, it's some kind of 3300 Ohm resistor that you plug in somewhere (I'm guessing in the intake air temp sensor socket), to fool the ECU into thinkin it's sucking in 56 degree F air... which is supposed to alter the mix for more performance.

I've always been lukewarm on the 'gains' that installing a Cold Air Intake kit are supposed to provide, simply because they typically utilize metal pipe for the intake 'hose.' The metal retains more of the engine compartment's heat than the stock plastic, so I've never bought into it making THAT much of a difference.

Of course I imagine gas mileage will take a hit - we'll see. Yeah - I bought one. And before the 'R' word is thrown, realize that if this dealio actually works, this will be a bonafied performance part... not a sticker worth 5hp.

I guess I'll be faced with a decision to remove it or somehow bypass it when the temps turn colder than 56F... otherwise, the car might not run right.

I have a Cold Air intake on my Dakota. I would have liked to have run it without to see if I noticed a difference. From what I read the results are mixed. Seems the people who spend the money think they are great and the ones who don't think they are not. Strange how that works?

**off topic** How are you with dodge truck electrical questions? I am troubleshooting a problem with my Dak and stuck.

Start a new thread and find out.

http://4peeps.com/ivb/index.php?showtopic=28942

Now I get to troubleshoot something completely unrelated to the engine I resurrected in the Honda - I've got a nifty new noise coming from what sounds like the right rear wheel. It's kind of a cycling noise that increases and decreases in frequency and loudness with the speed of the car.

Could be a wheel bearing. Could be a tire (since it IS the odd-ball tire out of the bunch, after all). Could be something wrong with the brakes at that corner.

I haven't been into the brakes yet, and I do have some pulsing in the pedal when I'm hard on the brakes, so it looks like a brake job is due aside from the issue with the right rear.

Considering how fast the noise has been 'getting worse,' I'm going to wager on the bearings - because it's the most difficult task of the bunch, and since the tire is in fact a tad smaller than the others, it would realisitically have more miles on it than the others - along with the bearings having more wear than the others as well.

Whatever the case, I parked it until I get a chance to fix it... meaning I'm driving the Ram full-time again - which is a joy and kinda weird too. It almost literally feels like driving a Monster Truck now. I never thought I'd ever feel 'not used' to driving the Ram. Weird.

The wheel bearing turned out to be bad. If you've ever hand-turned a DC-powered electric motor, you'll know exactly how it felt when I turned it by hand - kind of a stepped feeling as it rotated. So, my intuition paid off this time. So far, so good with this car.

I did some checking online and found the complete hub assembly (wheel bearings, seals, everything) at O'Reilly's for $78 - in stock. So, Saturday afternoon I got the back end of the car in the air (on jack stands, of course), pulled the wheels, pulled the drums and found some very normal looking brake shoes with lots of life on them... and the same of the drums (both sides). When I went to pull the hub assembly, I realized I didn't have the right sized socket for the spindle nut. So, since I needed to go to the parts store anyway, I figured I'd just pick up the right one and I'd have it for next time if necessary.

Since the tire on the right rear was an odd-ball size & brand (smaller, too), I swung by Discount Tire to see if they could order a new tire of the right size (and brand too, hopefully). Well, they could order one, but they actually had one in stock... and had it mounted & balanced in about 15 minutes... for only $46 with road hazard. Bonus! Now all the tires even match.

Got to the parts store and had Jason pull the part - just like the one on the car (of course, I gave him the part number...). Also had him get me a new spindle nut, since the online repair manual says not to reuse them. Since I got a new spindle nut, now I knew the size of the socket I'd need too - so I grabbed a 36mm specialized socket and a couple cans of house-brand brake cleaner. It was getting hot, so I bailed for the day, hung out and watched the first boring Bristol race I'd ever seen.

Sunday morning I got out there and decided to finish it off. Unfortunatly, Jason (the parts guy) struck again. Not only was the spindle nut he gave me much too big, the $14 specialized socket I bought to take the old one off was too. Crap! So I called Jim, who was busy mowing his MIL's lawn, so I waited around for him to finish - I was bored, so I cleaned the drums and seal caps and painted them black. About 10 minutes before he showed up, my neighbor across the alley was picking on me for working on that car again, and I asked if he had a 1 1/4" socket - and he did and offered it up. Within 5 minutes, I had the spindle nut off, the hub swapped and was ready to put the old nut back on when Jim pulled up. He checked out my work, blessed it, and I put the rest of it back together.

Went back to the parts store and returned the oversized spindle nut and socket, and got a 1 1/4" socket for the tool kit. Pretty sad to think that I could've had the whole thing done in about an hour if I'd had the right tool to begin with.

Oddly enough, swapping out the wheel bearing and getting a matching tire also quieted down the interior noise quite a bit as well - so an extra bonus.

:nod:

don't think we'd expect anything less from him, yaknow?

OK - it's been awhile since I've updated this, but suffice it to say, the car's running better even though it's leaking a little oil. OK - maybe a little more than just a little.

The eBay 'performance chip' upgrade that I ordered turned out to be a 3300 ohm resistor that you're supposed to plug into the IAT (Intake Air Temperature) sensor socket instead of the IAT itself. But Nope. The Check-Engine Light never went away, and there was nothing noteable with the performance.

One thing that I've done since all that was look into the Cold-Air Intake systems. Everybody raves about them, although I was less than enthusiastic. Rather than pay $180+ for a K&N kit, I found a display at O'Reilly Auto Parts for a modular CAI - a whole bunch of parts to build your own CAI. Since the throttle body was WAY smaller than anything the 'kit' offered, I left the stock air tube on (all the way to the factory air box). After grabbing a coupler, a 6" length of tube, and it's corresponding cone-style air filter. I removed the factory air box and installed the new parts, and the engine really seemed to wake up. Of course, if you hammer the throttle, you can hear the engine sucking in tons of air, but it actually moves along much quicker now.

Actual price: $49

Which brings us to the issue of the oil leak. I figured that since we hadn't cranked down the torque on the head bolts, that maybe between that and the gouge I put in the head gasket (albeit not in a critical location), might've caused the oil leak. As it turns out, 2 weekends ago, Jemezman and I pulled the head, swapped out the head gasket, and had it all back together in about 4 hours. Even with an hour or so of picking up some furniture from an estate sale his wife wanted mixed in there. Easy as pie to work on this car.

Unfortunately, it had zero impact on the oil leak, but I now have the peace of mind that the head gasket is pristine, as well as the head is torqued on properly. Now, we're looking at the oil filter adapter, and/or the oil pressure sending unit being the culprit, since the leakage has not subsided.

We also discovered that there's a distinct possibility that the PCV was not re-installed when I put it all back together the first time. We don't remember having to go through all the pain of hooking it back up from the last time, so it's a distinct possibility - that, and it's running like a champ right now. Between that, and the new home-made CAI, the little car's running awesome. Once I get the oil leak under control, I think I'll be in good shape.

All that's really left is to finish cleaning/waxing, get some seat covers, and dump a couple of subs and an amp in there to flesh out the stereo a little.

I did happen to see some really nice (cheap) rims at Pep Boys when I was in San Antonio this past week... and even though I know I'm not supposed to be thinking along these lines, I might see what happens if my position gets upgraded as has been promised. Or maybe even might make a nice Birthday present... you only turn 40 once, after all... and I guess this is as close to a mid-life crisis car as I'm going to get.

Here's what I'm thinking of:

Just filled up last week and discovered that all my work has paid off (even though I'm not completely done yet).

Before doing all the work I did last time, I was averaging 185 per tank (8 gallon tank, but since the car's new to me, so I chicken out and fill up around 7 gallons - just barely above 'E'). 185/7=26.4-ish mpg. Not bad, and roughly 220% better gas mileage than the Ram.

This time, 7.1 gallons on 240 miles traveled. 240/7.1=33.8-ish mpg. All of this with increased performance at minimal cost (better acceleration, no lag when the A/C is running, and all sensors plugged in and functioning properly - finally) and me driving it like I stole it.

Didn't know the ol' pile had it in 'er - 192,400 miles and counting.

I caved in Monday night and ordered some seat covers (black/black simulated leather and vinyl) as well as decided to do something about raking my right leg on the steering wheel every time I get in and out of the car. I ordered a Momo-like racing steering wheel (complete with removeable hub)... it should be here by next weekend hopefully.

I also just floated the idea about getting the cool rims & tires (shown above) by the wife, and she said, "Well, if that's what you want for your birthday..." (I didn't hear a "No" anywhere in there... )

Ya know - this car is actually kinda fun!