by "gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
Published 06/27/2017 at 22:14
by "gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
Published 06/27/2017 at 22:14
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STARS: 1
The St Jimmy is the spark in the night.
Restoring age-faded and yellowed plastic headlights with toothpaste, as per MCM’s bible of none of the above, actually works. It’s not amazing. There’s still some oxidation I couldn’t quite get out, so I didn’t do the second one. I’ll wait till I can pick up a more abrasive scotchbrite pad. I also won’t count this in prices. I used likely a week’s worth of toothpaste, but was washing dishes when I had the idea, and I just grabbed the container I was washing, the scrubby sponge I was washing it with, and the j-cloth I was also using, grabbed my toothpaste from upstairs and went outside. About 20 minutes of tiny circles resulted in the above. Not perfect but much better than the other side.
Bearing gifts and trust
I took St Jimmy on a pretty epic road trip. I had a three-day weekend and decided to take St Jimmy and drive 17 hours home to visit people who had also moved away (the opposite direction) and were back visiting, then turn around and head back. I left straight from work after a nine-hour shift, getting in at 10am the next morning. By the time I went to bed that night I’d been awake forty hours straight. Life gets interesting.
The day before leaving I replaced the blower motor, resistor pack, and recharged the a/c. This was entirely for my own comfort on the trip. The blower motor had chewed through its bearings, sounding and vibrating like a freight train was blowing by inside my dash, often accompanied screaming as though the freight train had left its tracks and was mowing people down. It however would only do this on speeds two and three, hence the resistor pack, which returned speed 1. Speed 4 didn’t return until replacing the HVAC fuse under the hood, likely popped by the old motor overdrawing.
The factory procedure for replacing the blower motor and resistor pack involves cutting a rubber shroud out of the way to get at them. GM is adamant you glue the pieces back in with weather stripping adhesive (not RTV!) because the repair will be visible to the customer. Knowing the MJ’s blower motor is completely exposed, I didn’t bother gluing the bits of rubber back in. Doesn’t seem to be an issue. Educate me Oppo. What’s going to asplode?
The fixture in the city of rust
Er, lust. Before I left, actually a long-ass time ago, I had the brake warning light come on while I was driving. I got home and sure enough the reservoir was empty. This was odd, cause it had been full when I first brought St Jimmy home. And there was exactly zero change in braking performance or pedal feel, despite this:
Realistically I wasn’t super concerned with brake performance. They still worked OK (they hadn’t been great) and when I picked up the new lines it was mostly cause I was sick of topping up the brake reservoir. Then I discovered that the ABS needs pressure in the rear line to be effective. Pretty much as soon as the pump started going we lost all brakes. This happened while stopping at a couple pull-outs with grit on them. I had the lines for a while, but really only was inspired to replace them after having displaced a K-rail by about eight inches coming into a spot at moderate speed in the gravel lot at work and triggering the abs.
What the Hell’s
Your name
What’s your pleasure and what is your pain?
Do you dream? Too much.
Do you think what you need is a crutch?
Is St Jimmy a crutch? I’m not sure. I don’t think so. It’s definitely a distraction from the MJ’s issues that I’ve been ignoring, and the Niva’s issues which I’ve been avoiding.
I also changed the oil again last week. For the second time in seven weeks. Excessive? I dunno. I did drive this $250 POS 3000 miles in that interval...
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
06/28/2017 at 07:37, STARS: 0
3000 mile intervals seems excessive to me
but well done with the toothpaste
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
06/28/2017 at 08:14, STARS: 0
5000km? It’s the change interval on just about everything I’ve owned. Anyhow I’d just as soon do it too often than not often enough, especially given how I have zero maintenance history of this thing, but all evidence points to neglect and that it likely wasn’t changed very often.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
06/28/2017 at 08:17, STARS: 0
i just go with the factory intervals of 15,000km
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
06/28/2017 at 23:08, STARS: 0
Good god. Must be something newer running on synthetic. The MJ and Niva’s owners manuals state 5000. (the Niva needs every other fluid changed every 10,000km...) So do the manuals for any of the cars my parents have owned. I figured St Jimmy should be around the same. At my old workplace the fleet went in at 5000km. Here they do 10,000km intervals, but that’s just because they have such a large fleet and the garage is so understaffed that they barely have time to get them all done at that, they’d prefer to do it at 5 as well.
Went and looked it up. From the owner’s manual:
When to Change Engine Oil
If any one of these is true for you, use the short trip/city maintenance schedule:
•Most trips are less than 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 km). This is particularly important when outside temperatures are below freezing.
• Most trips include extensive idling (such as frequent driving in stop-and-go traffic).
•You operate your vehicle in dusty areas or off-road frequently.
•You frequently tow a trailer or use a carrier on top of your vehicle.
•The vehicle is used for delivery service, police, taxi or other commercial application.
Driving under these conditions causes engine oil to break down sooner. If any one of these is true for your vehicle, then you need to change your oil and filter every 3,000 miles (5 000 km) or 3 months — whichever occurs first.
If none of them is true, use the long trip/highway maintenance schedule. Change the oil and filter every 7,500 miles (12 500 km) or 12 months — whichever occurs first. Driving a vehicle with a fully warmed engine under highway conditions causes engine oil to break down slower.
Bullet points 1,2, and 3, are true.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
06/29/2017 at 06:09, STARS: 0
2004 Lancer and i only use 20w-50 semi syn at best.
done 650k km