Down At The Walmart (And Updates On The Maxima)

"Taylor Martin" (tjmartin) 10/21/2020 at 19:53 • Filed to: None

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Today has been a crazy mechanical day... Let’ s just start from the beginning.

I went to Walmart to pick up a battery for my roommate’s girlfriend’s 2007 Nissan Maxima (thanks to anyone who helped with that) and saw some interesting stuff in the parking lot... Really interesting actually...

I love Ford Focus wagons from the first gen era, but I’m not sure what the ZXW is... it’s a weird combination of letters and I’ll give a cookie to anyone who knows what it stands for... my best guess is Zealot Xylophone Whispers.

I also saw a lot of B E I G E.

Beige Cavalier on the left, beige Prius on the right, and the king of all beige:

Soft top PT Cruiser... yikes. Some poor old lady actually likes this... in beige...

Lastly, I saw a radical Nissan Pickup in an even cooler greenish teal ish color.

Snapped a very quick picture because I didn’t want to look suspicious in a Walmart parking lot (this goes for every photo), but when I walked up to take a closer look...

I started seeing double... in the same color and everything. Very few differences and I had to wonder... why? Sheer coincidence, or were two people in two of the same pickup truck hanging out at Walmart? I was very confused... but very pleased...

With the battery and some fuel injection cleaner added to our cart, we head back to the Maxima to install the new battery and pour in the cleaner and, sure enough, the car alarm starts blaring (seemed like the car’s breath of life). We started up the engine for a few seconds to see if the thing ran, and it did, then shut it off right after... this was before I checked the fluids because I’m dumb and didn’t tell her not to start the car.

Luckily, no damage was done. The oil in the car looked to be in pretty good shape. Not pitch black (though certainly old enough where changing it wouldn’t be bad... but we didn’t have the resources for that). However, we also discovered that the car had very little power steering fluid, next to no gas, and the reserve tank was completely out of coolant. Had we just let the engine run, it would’ve melted, so I’m glad we didn’t do that.

Rand back to Advanced Discount Auto Parts (in my car) and convinced them that we needed all the liquids (she wanted to try and get the car to the gas station while the needle was below empty, and didn’t want to spend the extra 12 bucks on power steering fluid... and they call me the cheapskate). We pour all the liquids into the car and I do the second stupid thing of the day: overfill the coolant reservoir (it happened so fast).

I feel bad because now I know the thing can’t go long distances without spewing heated coolant, so I call my upstairs neighbors who come up with a brilliant idea

Boy, my photos are poopy... anyways.

My upstairs neighbors is a nurse and has syringes for giving her dogs their shots. She brings it down and lets us use it to siphon the coolant out and it works brilliantly (took a while. My roommate handled the syringe and I handled the light). We got it down to a safe level and called it a night.

Does the power steering squeak? Yeah, it does. Is it nearly out of gas? Just about. Does the engine sound good? Not exactly, but it doesn’t hurt to listen to. Is there smoke billowing out the back? No, but I kept a watchful eye on that.

But none of those matter, because it runs and drives. Before today, it did not (and if I hadn’t of stepped in and offered to help my roommates/catch the lack of coolant , it would’ve never ran again ). I saved a car, and I’m damn pleased!

Hope you enjoyed this collection, and to everyone who helped out with my battery predicament thank you kindly. Always awesome to know I have a great gang of people who know stuff about cars and are willing to share their sacred knowledge (funnily enough, my non-car people roommates know you all as “the grand council” or “the elders” due to your infinite wisdom).

Take Care!

dogisbadob > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 20:05

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Yeah the Focus Wagon is cool! It’s actually the last wagon Ford sold in the US. Maybe ZXW stands for ZeXy Wagon? Sorry, that’s all I got :p

No really though, Ford should sell teh Focus and Fusion wagons over here. They sabotaged their cars because they only want to sell teh F150. Now that Ford doesn’t sell it in the US anymore, you can get a real automatic again. They did it on purpose.

The Cavalier is nice, but it’s no Sunfire :p
The 122 is crude but simple

Chrysler even made a GT convertible (same turbo motor as the Neon SRT4), Too bad no Nismo CrossCabrio. LOL Nissan copying off Chrysler

The Nissan truck is a cool color

Longtime Lurker > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 20:06

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ZXW is just what Ford called the wagons. The hatchbacks were ZX3 and ZX5

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 20:15

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Interesting selection. Sometimes your day really can have an official color, even if it’s beige.

I saw one (1) interesting car today but it was a foreign market Renault so that's still a good day for Carspotting. Gonna be a long night though. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 20:29

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ZXW- Zetec X (stands for nothing) Wagon. Also came as ZTW in some years. Same car.

Power steering fluid is expensive, for leaky shitboxes just use type F ATF. It’s nearly the same thing but it won’t break the car and it works good.

If you overfill coolant, it’s usually pretty easy to pop off a hose. Worst case siphon it. Syringing it is an interesting move. I forget if Nissan does so, but many manufacturers put a drain nipple on the bottom of the radiator.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Longtime Lurker 10/21/2020 at 20:30

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Don’t forget the ZX2 Escort (don’t call it an E scort!) and the ZX4 Focus. 

Taylor Martin > dogisbadob 10/21/2020 at 20:33

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God how I’d love to have Ford wagons here in the states. The closest thing we have is the Ford Flex, but that’s just an elongated SUV... I hate that Americans think bigger is better when, in many ways, it’s just not.

Taylor Martin > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/21/2020 at 20:35

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Didn’t see any drain plugs or things to unscrew, though I didn’t really look under the car. There’s probably something, but once someone mentioned syringe my one track mind stuck with it.

Also thanks for spelling out the acronym... what’s a Zetec?

Taylor Martin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/21/2020 at 20:37

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Beige was the color of the day and 90's Nissan pickups were the cars of the day. Saw two more after I left the Walmart parking lot (different colors).

Seeing a Renault here in the states is very cool, and you do a lot more carspotting than I do, so I commend you.

Do you have a bundle of school stuff to do? Or is it something totally different that may lengthen your evening? Whatever it is, I hope it’ s quick and easy !

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 20:38

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It’s just Ford’s name for the family of motor in the cars.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Zetec_engine

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 20:48

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Well this particular Renault looks more or less exactly like a Kia Sportage so it could have been more exciting. Still incredibly uncommon to see a French car in the US, much less an elusive modern Renault.

Oh it is just a few hours of hand drafting an axonometric projection of an additive and subtractive assignment involving cubes. I am so behind on it. It is going to be a loooooong weekend but I was stuck inside all day in meetings and not able to work on it. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 20:53

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Says the single dude with a massive frickin station wagon.

Taylor Martin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/21/2020 at 23:36

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Those are a lot of big words for things I’ll never understand, but I feel you on being behind with school work. Fixing the car ate up most of my day, and while it was very productive, I didn’t do anything I actually needed to do... bummer, but oh well.

Taylor Martin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/21/2020 at 23:38

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It’s not massive... just extended is all... It’s the dudes with lifted trunks that’ll never understand bigger isn’t better, especially as they... compensate.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 23:39

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Want to know how much I’ve actually done tonight?

Yeah oof. It’s not as bad as it looks but yeah it’s not ideal. I always knew getting that haircut today would chew up way too much time. I have a template done from the wrong form of perspective so it should be terrible.

Hey, fixing a car is a good way to spend a day. Sounds like you spared it from the junkyard for at least another few months. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Taylor Martin 10/21/2020 at 23:41

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Lifted trunks? So chonky sedans are the problem. . .

Now trucks, yeah the stereotype exists for a reason but it's still just that: a stereotype. The drunk driver in a stance brod Ram that nearly ran me off the road probably fits that description. 

Taylor Martin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/22/2020 at 12:09

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Yeah, fixing the car was noble, but it technically didn’t have to be done.

Also I feel you on the school stuff. I’m just starting a weeks worth of pre- recorded lectures today... it’s gonna be crappy.

Cool key oob (cube) though. Very three dimensional. Many good!

Taylor Martin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/22/2020 at 12:11

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Looked up chunky trunk on google... not sure what I expected...

Sounds like a scary experience with a stupid dude. Glad you’re alright.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Taylor Martin 10/22/2020 at 12:31

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Haha the tree bloat is the real problem.