Why you gotta be this way, Jolene?

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
07/15/2018 at 08:05 • Filed to: None

Last night I went to my friend’s house around 9, then drove about 40 miles up to Cleveland to get dinner (Barrio makes good tacos, and their blood orange margarita is fatastic). As we drive up, I notice the intermittent power loss that I hope is from the fuel pump is getting more frequent. As we get on the highway to come back, I notice a rhythmic knocking/tapping metal on metal noise under acceleration. We pulled off to a service plaza and I took a peak under. Obviously, it’s 1 AM and I’m tired, so I don’t actually see anything suspect.

I have been hearing the same noise when I make a sharp turn at low speeds since I got the car. My thoughts are CV axle or a axle bearing, so I probably wouldn’t have seen anything anyways.

I drove out to U Pull It a few towns over on Friday on a tip that there were some Cabrios over there that would have trim pieces I didn’t have, namely a mounting bracket for the center console and a hand brake handle. So 200 miles over two round trips serves as a shakedown for moving 200 miles away in a month... I guess? I’ll bring jack stands with me, because I know I’ll have to work on this thing during the school year.

Other possible causes: I’ve had an OBDII code for camshaft position sensor, which is code for hall effect sensor in the distributor, for a while and haven’t gotten around to it. Could also be a fuel filter, but my thinking is that since I lose like 10% power for a second or two before it comes back, it isn’t that. I don’t think it’s coil pack, because the car still runs.

Oh well. I’ll see what my Bentley says on troubleshooting the fuel delivery and the knocking.

VWs are reliable.

DISCUSSION (21)

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 08:27

Funny thing was, about five minutes before the power dipped the first time, my friend said “wow, this car feels super solid for as old as it is!”

You don't say that! You cursed it, man!

pip bip - choose Corrour > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 08:30

sell it and buy a Cavalier

;)

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > pip bip - choose Corrour
07/15/2018 at 08:39

What if I like myself?

pip bip - choose Corrour > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 08:42

FiST or FoST then?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > pip bip - choose Corrour
07/15/2018 at 08:44

Too broke. I still have a year of college then grad school to deal with before I stop being broke.

pip bip - choose Corrour > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 08:48

by driving a VW you’ll never save money.

they’re a money pit of epic proportions

buy a Corolla?

shop-teacher > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 08:59

VWs are a nice place to sit and burn money.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > pip bip - choose Corrour
07/15/2018 at 09:16

I’ve still spent less than I would have for any similar hatchback, though. It really hasn’t been that expensive to run, and parts are cheap ish and it’s easy to work on.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > shop-teacher
07/15/2018 at 09:17

It’s not even that nice inside!

shop-teacher > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 09:20

Well then it's a crappy place to sit and burn money ;)

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > shop-teacher
07/15/2018 at 09:22

Still not sure why I like this car so much. It’s not terribly powerful, it doesn’t get exceptional fuel economy, whenever I fix something something else breaks, and the interior isn’t that great. I guess it handles okay?

shop-teacher > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 09:25

I’m not one to tell others what to do with their money, but it doesn’t sound like a wise vehicle to keep around when one is a broke student.

I guess none of us are here because we're particularly wise though, are we?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > shop-teacher
07/15/2018 at 09:31

The biggest reason that I have stuff failing right now is because my work commute is 50 miles round trip. That’s 1000 miles a month. Over the course of the school year, I probably will only drive 1000 miles.

The only stuff that’s broken on it has been an O2 sensor (which may or may not eventually be fixed, who cares) and now this axle issue and the fuel delivery issue. It’s not that bad. I have the time and money to wrench and go to salvage yards. For now, at least. I have a my senior year of undergrad wrapping up an Electrical Engineering degree and a Mathematics minor, so who knows how much free time I’ll have.

shop-teacher > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 09:35

Riiiiiiiiiiiight, your car breaks because you drive it ... Who could ever expect a car to be driven without breaking constantly ... Inconceivable! :P

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > shop-teacher
07/15/2018 at 09:38

I’m just going to chock up all the failures to differed maintenance by the previous five or so owners.

brianbrannon > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 10:20

Why wouldn’t you start with fixing the cam sensor instead of guessing about fuel problems? Find a parking lot and do full lock circles under a little power and you should be able to tell if it is an axle and which side it is

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 10:36

I believe this is the fix for your car:

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > pip bip - choose Corrour
07/15/2018 at 10:51

I’ll be honest now, mechanically they are fine(well the FiST is) , but the ST’s have a lot of “Why the fuck did Ford cheap out here?” problems.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > brianbrannon
07/15/2018 at 11:14

I have the distributor on order from RockAuto, and I already have a new fuel pump I got for free. I’ve done the circles, but it’s intermittent and seems to happen more at highway speeds. I dunno.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/15/2018 at 11:15

Dude! I could have taken the coil pack from that!

But yeah, that’s where it’s heading in a few years.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
07/15/2018 at 20:13

I’m sure that one had a pre-failed coil pack.