|
Post by Sir Trevor on Sept 25, 2023 18:41:41 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I went with the aluminum. No way was I putting plastic back in. Paid enough for them too. Autozone listed them on their site for $11 but didn't have them here at my local one. O'Reillys hit me for $19. Since I wanted to get it done I paid the higher price to get the parts that day. I mean, what the hell. I already spent a whole lot more than that on the 3 gallons of antifreeze I lost due to this leak. I'm just glad it went fairly smoothly. Usually I end up with some kind of issue that make things take 3-4 times longer than normal.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Sept 26, 2023 20:35:30 GMT -5
I don't remember what I paid, nor where exactly I bought them, was either Rock Auto or NAPA. When did Conneaut get O'Reilly's? Thought you just had Marshalls and A.Z.
Prices for ANYTHING anymore are ridiculous. EXAMPLE: had to replace the plastic knob on the clothes dryer that controls the various settings. The original cracked so the knob would turn but not the actual switch. My buddy Frank knows a couple of sources for that stuff so he said he would get me one. Found one online for 10 bucks, but they wanted 12 bucks to ship it. WHAT?!?! The damn thing can't weigh an ounce. How the Hell were they shipping it, next day Fed-EX? Well, he found one at an appliance parts store in Parma for $19.00, which I feel is outrageous for a little plastic piece that probably cost 10 cents to injection mold, but it was a couple of bucks cheaper than the online one so we got it.
Bunnie installed it, so now the dryer works once again without having to use pliers to turn the switch, but $19'00 is absurd for what it is.
HANK.
|
|
|
Post by Sir Trevor on Sept 27, 2023 18:43:39 GMT -5
That's why I check ebay and find one with free shipping. But, sometimes you have to bite-the-bullet and get what you can find. I had to do that when the processor went out on my computer. I know I could have found it cheaper, given time. But I needed it then and had to settle for the best price I could find at the time. Which was at least 1/3 more than what was reasonable in my mind.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Nov 12, 2023 14:08:39 GMT -5
Well folks, it's getting to be that time of year when you need to show your lil tin buddy (that's your automobile) some love. Most of it is simple stuff you can do yourself. like make sure you have plenty of window cleaning juice in the reservoir. Check your tire pressure as they are low. When the temperatures drops so does the air pressure in your tires. How's the oil? Changed it recently? Or maybe the last time was 2021, I'm not sure. How's the battery? Pretty good you think, cuz when you go out to go ta work or wherever and you open the car door only to see you have NO interior lights...guess what, it ain't agonna start either. You might wanna go to Auto Zone or your mechanic and get that checked out as most of you probably do not have that kinda equipment at home. OH! Make sure you have a good snow brush in the ole buggy, you'll need that for sure. So, there ya have it, a few suggestions of things to do.
HANK.
|
|
|
Post by Sir Trevor on Nov 13, 2023 18:33:57 GMT -5
I've done my checking on both vehicles. Even went and got a couple new tires for the front of my car. Been meaning to do it for a while but quit putting it off with winter right around the corner. Those things aren't cheap anymore. I miss the days of grabbing a retread for like $25.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Nov 13, 2023 22:00:57 GMT -5
Does anybody even do passenger car retreads anymore? I know they do retreads for semi trailers but that is about all to my knowledge. Hell, Trev, EVERYTHING on these damn cars is outrageous anymore, tires, batteries, paint, you name it. You and I are lucky we can do a lot of this stuff ourselves. I don't know how the average person can afford to have their car fixed anymore when they are paying not only ridiculous prices for parts that most shops markup 15% to boot but then add in a $125.00 labor rate as well.
No wonder ya see all those ads on TV for car repair insurance, and why most people LEASE a car instead of buying it. Any major breakdown that should happen in the 3 year lease period would be covered by the warranty anyway. Sure, you're making endless car payments the rest of your life...BUT! Ya get to drive a brand new car every 36 months.
HANK.
|
|
|
Post by Sir Trevor on Nov 14, 2023 18:21:05 GMT -5
I just checked online, and yeah, retreads are still a thing for passenger cars. I can't remember the last one I bought. Had to have been about 20 years ago. Now, I have bought used tires in the last 10 years or so, but for the most part, I don't screw around with tires anymore.
Yeah, I can't imagine paying full price for someone to work on my car. When I do have the garage do something, I get the parts myself and save there. Especially since I get dealer pricing from Marshall's.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Dec 19, 2023 18:03:59 GMT -5
Just came in from digging the car out from all the snow that landed on em from yesterdays storm. and it made me think of something. You and I have incandescent head and tail lights on our vehicles,Now,your wife is driving a much newer car, a 2016 or 17 Chevy of some sort as I recall, which most likely has LED lights as most newer vehicles do. Now, since our bulbs produce heat they pretty much clean themselves, but since LED's produce little or no heat do you find you need to clean the snow and ice off of them more often when driving in snow?
HANK.
|
|
|
Post by Sir Trevor on Dec 20, 2023 19:22:58 GMT -5
No idea. I don't really drive her car. And, as a rule, she doesn't go anywhere when the weather is bad.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Jan 6, 2024 14:30:16 GMT -5
Ya know Trevor, the older I get the less damn sense the world makes, Case in point. I need to do some brake work on the Town and Country. When I apply them I get horrible grinding noises from what I believe is the passenger rear side. And since I've not replaced pads since we got it back in 2018, I figured a new set was in order. I bought both front and rears just in case I was wrong about where the noise is coming from.
Now I am all for supporting the local businesses and all, but when I can buy front and rear pads from Rock Auto, plus pay the shipping cheaper then I can buy fronts alone local, well you can guess who's getting the business.
So I ordered a front and rear set of Wagner brake pads from Rock, and here is where I'm scratching my head and going what the F***? The front pads arrived yesterday from New York, and the rears arrived today from North Carolina. HUH?!?! You would think a parts store would carry both front AND rear pads of the same manufacture, no? Why did they come from TWO different stores hundreds of miles apart? Make no sense to me.
That makes about as much sense as going into your local supermarket and being told we only carry SMOOTH Peanut butter, if you want crunchy you'll have to go to a different store. Or we only have RYE bread, if you want white, try the store across the street. Goes a long way toward explaining why old people like me are so GRUMPY, it's cuz we're so old we can remember when the world made sense!
HANK.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Jan 7, 2024 16:59:55 GMT -5
Well I was wrong about where the noise was coming from. Turns out it was passenger front. The inner pad was non existent, metal on metal. chewed that rotor up pretty bad, and the rust monster has done a number on the other three, so, four new ones are on the way, so hopefully I can finish it up next weekend.
Here is something I don't understand. Brake pads come with a wear indicator that is on the OUTERpad, but it is the inner pad that wears first because that is the one nearest the piston, so by the time the wear indicator contacts the rotor and starts making noise to let you know your pads need to be replaced the inner pad has ground your rotor into a piece of junk. Yet another example of DAE.
HANK.
|
|
|
Post by Sir Trevor on Jan 7, 2024 19:11:42 GMT -5
You are right, it is normally the inner pad that goes bad first. No clue why they put it on the outer pad.
As far as the front and back breaks coming from two entirely different cities. They probably warehouse the parts at the warehouse closest to where they are manufactured.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Jan 27, 2024 23:27:28 GMT -5
Hey Trevor, if you missed this story on the news the other day, google man who drove off Ohio rt 82 bridge. talk about a DUMBASS! It's scary when you think about how damn stupid the guy driving next to you might be. Makes ya want to trade in your car for an M1 Abrams tank.
HANK.
|
|
|
Post by Sir Trevor on Jan 28, 2024 11:08:51 GMT -5
Funny story. I didn't need to read that to know the road is full of idiots. I see it every day. It's been 2 years and people in this town still don't know how to handle a left turn lane. They changed part of RT 20 from 4 lanes to 3 when they re-did it, as apparently it is too narrow for 4 lanes by modern standards. Anyway, the 3rd lane is one of those left turn lanes. You know, where you get in that lane before you get to your turn, then turn from there. Well, most people in this town, wait until just before their turn, come to a stop, turn into the left turn lane, then make their left turn.
|
|
|
Post by bunbun / Hank on Jan 28, 2024 15:00:22 GMT -5
Yeah, those center left turn only lanes are a problem for a lot of folks. Use EXTREME CAUTION when using them as I can't count how many time I've nearly had a head on collision in one because some idiot coming my way entered the lane way too soon and was going to make his left turn BEHIND me.YIKES!!!
HANK.
|
|