Guest Post by Visayas Outpost
Somewhere in Interweb land, a guy with a new-ish Ford truck ended up spending $5,600 to fix a burned-out taillight. You read that correctly. The story has been making the rounds via the mechanic who diagnosed and repaired the vehicle. The truck’s owner brought it in because of numerous electronic faults affecting the stereo, the HVAC system, and finally the entire dash. Eventually the $60,000 techno-wonder would not start.
Mechanic Brian Makuloco correctly diagnosed that the truck’s CANBUS wiring system was causing a cascade of computer module failures, originating in the blind spot and cross-traffic monitoring sensor(s). Those happen to be located in the taillight, and failed because of a leaky seal. The seal itself is apparently not a replacement part, but the taillight is $1000. Add up the other five or six computer modules that got fried, plus labor, and the bill came to $5,600. The owner took some advice he got online and submitted it as an insurance claim! But it only covered $5,100.
There is so much wrong with this scenario that I don’t even know where to begin, but it is nothing new. I am a life-long car guy, Readers. My career started briefly in the automotive industry, then transitioned to tools and equipment. You could say I’m acquainted with both the design side and the repair side of things, and stories like this used to make me boiling mad. But now I just expect it.
A common failure mode would be a serpentine belt that runs all the engine accessories, and the water pump. So, a bad air conditioning compressor clutch pulley could snap that belt and render you helpless on the side of the road with an overheated engine. Imagine the idiotic process leading to that decision in the halls of GM when they developed the 3800 V6, which must be one of the most prolific engines of all time. It must not have mattered in the cost / benefit ratio, but it would matter to you if the engine was ruined from warped cylinder heads… all because of a pulley.
The Ford taillight problem is a needlessly integrated complex system. Unlike replaceable bulbs costing $1 from the hardware store, this truck had CANBUS. If you are unfamiliar with the term, just think of a single wire replacing many. Instead of dozens of little wires carrying voltage everywhere, the CANBUS sends signals to different modules on a shared wire. Sounds simple, except now the whole wiring system is interdependent on signals and computer chips. I can’t hate on Ford, though, when everyone is doing it. Appliances, computers, you know the tale. Over time, entire industries have moved in this same direction, creating a situation where the owner either has no idea how to fix it, or lacks the tools to fix it, or the parts are not even available.
The Right to Repair
This whole topic is known as Right to Repair, and I bring it up today because it will directly impact your ability to be self-sufficient during the coming dark days. These problems have become so commonplace that we think of them as normal. “Boy, I wish things were still simple.” Allow me to briefly rant, so you get what I mean:
– Those weird little screws on the back of your laptop that cannot be removed without buying a specialty set of drivers.
– That washing machine belt that costs $250 from the manufacturer, and the gear oil that costs $50, when both could be sourced from Autozone for about $20.
– Bespoke specialty parts that can only be ordered from the manufacturer, which could have been a common design but are not. Brake piston seals for my Toyota have to come from Toyota or they will not fit.
– Parts they won’t sell you because you are not an authorized repair center.
– Tools, computers, and appliances that have slight differences from one store chain to the next, so that they carry different model numbers; and thus, different warranty and repair policies.
Louis Rossman is a name you might recognize if you own an Apple product. He has become a champion of the people in this fight for the Right to Repair. He made his living and gained a huge following by showcasing repairs on common failures for Apple / Mac computers. With the right tools and techniques, you could make the same repairs he did. Louis noticed over time that Apple was throwing up roadblocks to independent repair shops, such as making certain components impossible to source. He saw simple design flaws that would often result in the machine being too expensive to fix, for example a resistor that would render the video driver inoperable (black screen). The recommended fix was always send it in to the Apple store and we will replace the screen. For a $1 resistor.
I corresponded with Mr. Rossman a few years back on repairing a bad motherboard I have, and he quickly concluded it is not even worth the shipping hassles to send it internationally to his shop. He’s about as straight as they come in my book. Shipping and supply chains are an additional dimension, especially for those of us outside of the normal shipping routes. Right to Repair encompasses supply, logistics, regulation, even information. Try getting a circuit schematic from Apple, for example.
Louis has been in front of Congress on these matters, and many of the talk shows. He is serious because it directly affects his livelihood. But he is a threat to these companies, because the implication is that manufacturers and suppliers must be doing this by design to make products unrepairable. You’ve already seen this in the way software updates cause your older phone to get hot and slow down. It has been shown that this is nothing more than a tactic to encourage you to upgrade. There are many valid points being made, and even some legislative wins.
Expensive, throwaway products are the antithesis of liberty and freedom. You probably all have rants similar to mine, but start to extrapolate it forward… Cars would become impossible to own, driving everyone into factory-supported leasing options. The habit of keeping older devices or appliances around could end completely; all the manufacturer has to do is make the OS upgrade incompatible with the old hardware. Even factory repairs we could expect to go away, in favor of something like a trade-in scheme. They already have this in place with the phones — upgrade it every year on your calling plan. Like the Mafia killer says in the movies as he spins a silencer onto his pistol, hey buddy, it’s just business.
At my first professional job in Detroit, mid-‘90s, we had a ‘tear-down room’ wherein was parked a brand-new Mercedes E-Class. That is the W210 for you car guys, and it had just been introduced. The technicians who were taking it completely apart, shockingly, thought it was a piece of junk. “Yep, the ‘80s Mercs were the last ones built to a standard”, one of them told me, “the new ones are just built to a price”.
The same observation has held up through other jobs and dozens of consulting projects over an almost 30-year career. Products are built to a price point. Business models insist on it, so test labs find out exactly how a design will perform, and the engineering team makes sure it lasts just long enough for the warranty. They go round and round to dial this in closely, to create maximum profit. Oh, they could over-design it to be tougher, but that is not the spec. Maximum durability is a rarity in business decisions, and increasingly, that means less and less repairability.
It is no wonder that the biggest trend in new cars are those subscription options everyone seems to hate. Gotta squeeze every last cent out of the profit model, while simultaneously making things impossible to diagnose and fix. But let’s shift gears and talk about how to turn the tables.
Wanted: Old School Mechanics
I have seen the possible future, and it looks like Cuba. Maybe you can see a day coming, Reader, where three-year-old cars just sit in the weeds for lack of a computer chip. Or that Nissan won’t run without six new coil packs, even though only one is bad. But good old mechanical know-how cannot be defeated so easily, once we are willing to look beyond that State’s regulatory powers. Even a modern car can be reclaimed by determined individuals.
Firstly, if you are not doing this already, it would behoove us normal consumers to think on the repairability of something before we buy it. Where I live now, those decisions are based on what stores are nearby; like if I have to go to the city it is a 5-hour drive.
Second, there are a few products that buck the trend and are designed for repairability. The laptop brand Framework comes to mind. In general, older products will be more readily repairable if you don’t need to have the latest thing. When I bought an older Blackberry phone, I bought two of them so I’d have spare parts. They disassemble easily. This works for cars too; get an extra parts car if it is cheap.
Third, it often pays to invest on the front end for the specialty tools needed for a job. Over time you accumulate these things and feel less helpless when something fails. Laptop disassembly is not a problem any longer at our house.
Fourth, look to the aftermarket industry, which often has solutions already available. Ways to bypass, or circumvent, or improve problem areas. Brake systems, air conditioning, even standalone engine management. Of course some things may be for ‘racing applications’ (wink, wink).
Finally, be inspired by some of the repairs you can see online from places like Pakistan. The ones where they disassemble and rebuild a 24V truck battery are uncanny. Or how about re-molding a truck tire by hand. There are tons and tons of DIY ideas out there, it is one of the things YouTube is great for, even though I complain about the internet in general.
Living in the Philippines has given me a completely different perspective on things like repairs and recycling. I have just about seen it all, and sometimes you just have to look the other way. We don’t throw out much of anything, because you never know when you might need to make a rubber bushing out of an old tire, or adapt parts from different vehicles onto yours. It’s a bit like Mad Max sometimes, but on a more practical level.
We have a whole class of vehicle here called the Owner-Type-Jeep. This is essentially a hand-made, stainless steel copy of an old Willys Jeep, outfitted with an engine and axles from whatever you can find. These are about as rudimentary as an old tractor, but are somehow able to be registered and driven. There are plenty of fire trails and off-pavement routes in the outback of America where a home-brew vehicle could operate, and if SHTF I doubt you will really care about the inspection sticker on the windshield.
This is a shift in the way people think though, and I recognize it is not easy for most. But I have a sneaking suspicion that old-school mechanics are going to be in high demand under such a scenario. Maybe sooner than we think. Imagine just ripping out the wiring harness in that $60K F-150 and replacing everything, with toggle switches in the dash. That is how they would do it here where I live, and boy would it feel liberating.
In closing, right on time for this essay I just read that Tesla is looking to create the entire chassis of one of their cars as a single aluminum casting. Article and interesting comments here. It would be incredibly difficult to make, easy to crack, and unrepairable most likely. But it would replace 400 parts, and so they are seriously evaluating the idea. Can anything be more insane? But we live in Bizarro-World, where it seems entire cars are just throwaway items. I guess they will dump old Teslas in one end of the factory, and new ones will spit out the other end. Maybe they’ll lease you one if your social credit score is high enough.
But not for this DIY Tesla guy below, to leave you on a high note. He is transplanting a V8 into his Tesla. Now that is some American spirit.
We’re going to beat these guys yet, Readers, I can just feel it. So get out in that garage and roll your sleeves up, because they may tear this whole place down before it is all over. Lots of stuff to fix and modify. Invest in tools and skills.
Peace be upon you in Christ, friends
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Simple, basic cars and light trucks will probably be available from India and China soon. Others will catch on .
IF we have that much time of course.
No we dont.
Are you referring to the Supreme Court overturning the Chevron Doctrine next year?
A light truck today exceeds Catalliics and Lincoln’s in both comfort and price. Unfortunately it is what people want.
What is a Catalliic?
I have a simple, basic car, and it ain’t from anywhere but these US of A.
It’s a 1972 Buick Skylark GS. True Grid-down runner, points and condenser ignition, goes like you-know-what, and gets comments and turns heads wherever she goes.
Ruger, if able to, post a picture of your Gran Sport. It’s my fave cahr evah.
Had 1 GS manual trans; 4-on-the-floor; 3 Skylarks in total over the course of my life.
The 454 in the GS is a rare piece of Motown muscle that just oozes vroom.
Hang on to it, brother. I wish I had kept mine, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
The GS had an option 455 c.i., not a 454 (that was Chevy).
The Buick Skylark…ugly sister of the Oldsmobile Cutlass 442.
Indian motorcycles are pretty good. I have a Royal Enfield 650. The fit and finish, and the quality of platings, is excellent. The quality of the castings is FAR better than any Harley Davidson made today. I’ve put 5500 miles on mine so far. Basically it’s like the Japanese twin cylinder bikes of the late 1970’s
Old Indian motorcycles, pre 1953. The new stuff is a rebadged Polaris.
Uh, I’m talking about the motorcycles MADE IN INDIA, soon to be MADE IN BHARAT, not some $15,000+ POS
you are dreaming. NTHSB regulation drive the complexity in vehicles ,NOT the manufacturers. thats why the auto stop start that everyone hates is on every car sold in the US now. its the law. along with collision avoidance and I swear to god a built in breathalizer starting in 2027 I think.
That’s what I keep saying.
My rant is HE washers and dryers. I’ve had two sets of those and never again. They may save water but they don’t get your clothes clean and there’s too many computer parts. 8 years ago I bought a brand new Speed Queen washer that was not cheap at $800, even with dials instead of computer push buttons. It came with a 10 year warranty. I hope it never breaks. And I bought a $400 Whirlpool dryer, also with dials.
Guess how much a Speed Queen is now? $1479! Yikes! And only a 5 year warranty now.
We have gotten our washer/dryers FREE on craigslist from the douchebags who buy the “cool” ones with computers in em.
We been doing this for 15 years.
Its part of a frugal lifestyle.
If my dryer breaks and we can’t fix it, I can probably find another one cheap. But that washer is going to run forever, one way or the other.
As for your dryer, just go to Home Depot and ask for their “Solar Powered Cloths Drying System”. It may confuse them at first, It’s the way to go when energy prices go through the roof.
I was raised in a house with one of those. When it was not being used for its primary function, it made a passable zip line, but not enough slope to go very fast.
That’s a last resort. Especially in winter. In summer, not a bad idea.
They used to make racks that you could sit next to a woodstove or radiator to dry things in winter.
Still make them. Keep ours in the master bedroom to dry sweaters and socks. Keeps the room from going throat killer dry.
Yep, I have one in my laundry room for stuff I don’t want in the dryer.
I had a friend whose mother would dry her clothes outside in cold weather. I joked with her about them being freeze dried. She didn’t laugh. Winter can be as dry as deserts or so I’m told.
I used to do that but bad allergies brought clothes line drying to a halt in all but winter.
Yep. Hang those clothes before the sun goes down and the temp is above freezing. The overnight freeze pulls all the moisture out of the air and anything else. Just keep the clothes high enough off the ground the racoon doesn’t pull them down.
Don’t forget to head over to the Dollar General for a bag of the all natural garment retainers to complete your purchase.
If unavailable, the local adult fetish center has some most likely in the bondage section, or at least that is what someone on this site once said, Eyes Wide Shut or Mark maybe.
i’d bet on mark knowing about the bondage section,at least the male on male parts —
It is skills like that, that will serve you well in the times to come.
That’s why I fixed our dryer that had a bad timer on it. The part was $80 and my labor but, a lot cheaper than the repairman or a new dryer!
Old top load Kenmore Heavy duty are the best out there. My 20 year old set is running fine a few cheap minor switches replaced by me over the years. 20 minute cycles and hot dryer.
Had one in my old house when I bought it in 1988. It “lived” until 2015 or so.
Many people I know have sold their cars and now use an electric scooter or e-bike and use Uber. Some people will call their friends for a ride and pay them cash for a ride cutting out Uber completely.
If I had to get another one I would go with Speed Queen.
The old appliances last forever and are easy to fix. My wife reads the reviews and it hasn’t been too hard to convince her the older appliances are better.
Recently retired after 50 years as a mechanic (trucks, aircraft, heavy equipment, etc.) and one thing I learned early on about automotive and industrial design philosophy- everything for production, nothing for service.
Recent 45 year retired out of the electrical trade…………same thing.
Never let an electrician install an arc-fault breaker in your home………..over-priced piece of SHIT prone to nuisance tripping.
Arcfaults
The expensive solution to replacing “tired” 120v outlets.
They could pass a regulation that receptacles be replaced every ten or twenty years.
No need for arcfault.
Dont give the parasites any ideas !
Just replace them when the plugs are loose in them and prone to falling out. Don’t buy the cheapest outlet, they just go sooner. No need for the most expensive one either, it won’t last any longer than the mid priced ones.
When we built our house Arcfault breakers were required by code for all bedrooms. I guess we have been lucky, so far, knock wood.
They are easy to replace w/standard breakers………….just ask me if you ever need help.
My Dad was an electrician, so I grew up helping him wire houses. Thanks for the offer, though.
Why the fuck would arc-fault breakers be needed anywhere where explosive fumes are absent? Who gives a fuck if there’s an arc in a bedroom? Your anal lube is prone to explosion when in contact with an arc???
Municipal code has little to do with common sense or safety, and a lot to do with certain trades making money.
I’m guessing the local electrical contractors talked the county into including it in their code. All it seems to take is a little rea$oning with the right people, IYKWIM.
No…………….they adhere to the National electrical code……..NEC.
The electrical.equipment manufacturers typically press for mandates to use their products.
Same for other building materials.
Simpson Strong Tie has all manner of products they make which are “required by code”
The theory is that some people are not good cleaners behind couches and beds, where over time, dust bunnies might begin congregating on top of an old outlet with something plugged in and energized.
Some one bumps the bed or couch, the loosely plugged in cord sparks, and ignites the dust bunny. House burns down the whole city.
Try at home:
Take some lint from the dryer, and see how combustible it is.
(Lint actually makes a decent firestarter)
Do not test this near flammable fuels or fumes etc.
Hey code in many places.
Are you a certified A&P by any chance?
Of the last two mechanics I had used in the past, one has a C-6 fracture and is out. The other is over 80 now and fully retired.
Got my A&P in ’79 and used it briefly primarily on light aircraft. Didn’t want to go the airline route and there’s no real money in general aviation. Stayed working on trucks then heavy equipment.
You probably already know that the A&P license is good for life unless the FAA takes it away.
Thanks GDP.
Yes, I know how the certification works.
I have a partially restored plane. It’s a lone story from there, but even thought I have much of the assembly myself, it was always backed by an A&P and would need a final check by an AI. There is a backpack full of yellow tickets (literally), and would take hours to log all that has been done. But, as you say GA has a deficit of GA mechanics.
Also, EAA is zero help unless I want to donate it…
Auto Giants Refusing Union Demands Paid Just 1% in Federal Taxes on $42 Billion in Profits
Despite reaping tens of billions of dollars in profits between them over the past five years, General Motors and Ford paid an average combined tax rate of just 1% on total pre-tax income, an analysis published Tuesday by economic justice advocates revealed—as the auto giants claimed they cannot afford striking workers’ demands for better pay.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/corporate-tax-dodgers
EV’s are killing the auto industry and Joey is determined to make them the only game in town.
Totally relate to the signal light dilemma. My F350 decided one day to drain the battery over night, every night if I didn’t leave it on a charger. Took to the local repair shop and they said they couldn’t find the problem because various control modules (CMs) wouldn’t go to ‘sleep’.and it would be a different one everytime they turned the ignition off and back on.
Long story short, took it to the stealership and they had it two days before they found the problem. It turned out to be a CM in the radio, the frik’n radio, that was tweak’n various CMs and draining the battery. I sold that stupid on wheels and got an older 95 F150. No electronics and a 5 speed antitheft device to boot.
They are also making it impossible for older OS’s to be installed onto newer computers. As for updates, on software, they aren’t doing it for safety reasons but mostly for stealth control and monitoring. Normally I install and get what I installed running the way I want, then turn off update. Doing this on new software is getting tougher because they force updating with no option for you to opt out. You have to now know which executable is calling for the update and block it with a firewall. NOT the OS’s firewall either but a stand alone, like TinyFirewall.
The day will soon arrive when you will be faced with dumping all electronics and going completely greyman or risk being forced into surrendering your autonomy to the borg.
Thats pretty fuckin retarded.
I hear you loud and clear on all the above. Since I retired, I now have the time to do what I didn’t use to have the time to do; repair as much as I can on my own. With my handy triplit meter and sometimes YouTube, I’ve fixed our refrigerators (will never buy another Samsung fridge) multiple times, our clothes dryer, and multiple other appliances and household items.
Most recently we had an problem with the backup sensor on our 6 year old Subaru. It was always giving us a ‘beep’ on backing up when nothing was there. If you went too fast backing up, it would engage the automatic brake system and jerk you to a stop. I found out that there are 4 sonar type sensors on the back bumper of the vehicle. If you were to take the car to the dealership, the minimum cost is $600 for just one sensor replacement.
I decided to try and fix it myself.
I did find out once I started the task was that you have to remove the bumper cover to get at the sensors, along with the rear taillights and, the rear tires so that you can get at the attachments that hold the bumper and the mud flaps on. It was a bit of a pain in the arse but, after I got at the sensors, not one of them was failing the ohms (continuity) test! WTF??? I put everything back and guess what, it worked! This was almost 2 months ago and no failures since. Loose connection? Maybe. I had disconnected everything, cleaned up the parts, and reattached it all.
I’ve bought some of my appliance parts from this source:
https://www.appliancepartspros.com/
Bad electrical CONNECTIONS is a common problem with vehicles.
You had quite the tear down just to gain access.
Giving you an A+ for pluck.
My wife brought a damn Audi, battery in the trunk and you can’t get a hand inthe engine compartment edgeway without taking the whole car apart. A failed thermostat was over two grand to replace. In my late sixties I am just not doing that shit anymore.
The electrical connections on trailers are worse. I just disassembled the trailer light fixtures, cleaned all the contacts, reassembled with SUFFICIENT physical connection from wire to contacts, and plugged the enclosure holes streaming in the dust and water the tires threw out.
I absolutely hate wiring. Simple math, but the more of it there is, the more that can go wrong. My aging Toyo van right now has some melted sections of the harness, looking forward to having the time to R&R it properly. But then the can-o-worms rule takes effect, and I’ll be stripping the whole thing down to fix other issues.
In the early 90’s I brought a truck with a rubber floor covering, four on the floor, and no radio. Stripped down model for sure, best darn truck I ever had
Yup, crank windows rarely fail unlike power types. I miss standard transmission trucks.
One of our vehicles would not start because of the antilock. I found the right YouTube video and I was able to fix the car for the price of a Dremel, $55 or so, instead of at least $1200 and a wait. YouTube is useful for somethings besides censoring.
I miss the quality analog days. But, unfortunately, the future is now:
I miss a lot about older cars, but points and condensers are not one of them. Electronic ignition is much better. Do miss 4 barrel carbs though.
61 Chevy bubble 409 is still my favorite car.
My dad had one but with a 327
To bad you don’t still have it, they are worth big bucks. 61 was a transition year away from fins and only tooled for one year, which is what makes them so rare. The Mexican types love them for putting in hydraulics and doing those bouncing tricks with their cars.
The 327 c.i. started production in 1962, not 1961.
Bought a 2014 Cayenne Diesel years ago, just sold it last month at 152K. Decided to keep the 2022 Tundra, as it only has 21K on it. Owned a ’85 300D, a drunk ran into it when parked. Total loss of a great, albeit slow, vehicle.
At the local Porsche dealer, they wanted $390 for an oil change. So, bought a $20 oil change 12V pump from Amazon, the filter from RockAuto & the Mobil 1 ESC oil from Amazon. Had a torque wrench but had to buy a 32mm socket.
W/o the socket & pump, I had $90 of oil & filter invested per change. Similar situation w/ the cabin & engine air filters. YouTube is a lifesaver.
My model T runs fine.
Has no computer chip controls.
Fuckin’
Over-
Rated
Disaster
LOL, great vehicle if you don’t want to go over 15 mph
Conscious decisions…..
The last new car I bought was a 2013 Wrangler with the Pentastar V6. At 80K miles, the cam followers were so worn the timing was affected. I bought a rebuilt engine with a 35K warranty and swapped it out. The rebuild now is approaching 200K miles, and zero issues because they knew what would fail and replaced parts so they got minimal angry buyers calling them.
The rest of my rides are 2007 FJ Cruiser, 1999 Jeep Wrangler, 2001 F250 7.3L, 1968 VW Beetle, and recently a SMART Car that has shot engine. I think I can fit a Suzuki GS550 engine in it, which I have sitting around…
I have fixed over 20 front-load washers where the tub mounts have broken away from the chassis. All you have to do is weld the broken bit up and put a reinforcing piece of 1/4″ steel over it – instead of buying another for a grand.
In my fam, computers are all old – because the CPUs are always fast enough to match any human typing speed. We run UNIX-types of OS because the subscriptions suck. Same with software – open source or forget it.
We will be going the way of Cuba, but it was inevitable when the resources are so ill-distributed across the globe. The rising price of oil due to us being post-peak will hammer us all, so reworking will become normal,.
My next purchase, for my boys, is going to be a Percheron, and accompanying equipment including a new wagon with motorcycle wheels/tires. My grandkids are pumped after I took them to meet a Perch – they are excited. Should be YUGE fun!!
The new jeeps with those 3.6 litres call for 20 weight oil. Too light. I run 10w30 in winter and 10w40 in summer in my moms jeep.
You really need to run the oil the engine was designed for. Tolerance’s in todays engines can be so tight that they will not get proper lubrication with a heavier oil, especially cold. I have seen many Toyota’s run 250-350k on 0W-20, and most Ford 5.4’s run 300K on 5w-20. I do suggest synthetic though. and of course keeping to schedule for changes.
It’s unreal. These broke ass people have a thousand dollar a month truck payment. They got em out here in the woods, brand new Chevy trucks buried in the mud, pulling out other dumb asses with chains and tow straps. I’ll stick to my 20 year old diesel 4×4 that gets 20 mpg and has no DEF emissions bullshit or touch screen bullshit.
Lease payment, they never own anything. I love when I see a $90 to &100,000 dollar truck sitting outside in front of a rented twenty years old trailer home. Tells me a lot about the person’s priorities.
The stereotype is based on reality lol
I was a teenager in the 50s and one of our cars was a Model A ford at the time and no matter what needed to be fixed on that car, I could take it apart and fix anything with the most basic tools. One of the easiest cars to work on ever.
It was designed to where the owner could fix anything without having to taking it to a mechanic, DIY.
My grandpop told me once that he and his brother, plus a cousin, rebuilt the transmission in a model A in one afternoon. None of them had ever done it before, and they only had limited tools.
I rebuilt a straight six chevy engine in 1999.
Never had day one of automotive instruction.
I bought a manual, some torque wrenches and some air tools.
Astonishingly, I did everything right.
(I was astonished anyway)
Drove that ugly pos for years after.
$100 a year on insurance.
No payment.
Cheap insurance.
Reliable personal transport.
Ugly as sin so people always gave me a wide berth.
I had an old ’66 F100 in college and it was pretty ugly. People gave me such a wide berth I learned I did not even have to look while merging onto the highway. Just mash the gas and go. Had a similar experience a few decades later with a rough-around-the-edges 454 Suburban. No one really want to try to battle for lane space or cut me off, strange.
I had a 55 Chevy with a straight 6 and over 250,000 miles on it with no rebuild. By then it did leak and burn a lot of oil, I bought the cheap stuff at the Holiday Station store, 99 cents a gallon in 72.
I drive a Ram 1500 Classic. They updated the OBD2 interface (all Stelantis car, I believe), to make it “impossible” to just plug in your OBD scanner, read the codes, AND erase the codes, and they made it “impossible” to use aftermarket scanners to modify parameters in the computer(s) (like activating remote window down, tire size modification for speedometer reading, activating remote start, etc.). They added a “safety” module (well hidden behind the dash) because, according to them, one dude started and stopped the engine of a Jeep remotely. That “safety” module corrected the problem, but they added all these other roadblocks at the same time. Some motherfuckin’ dudes whose dicks I’d like to suck, found a workaround (you gotta take a couple of wires from your OBD2 harness and plug it into another connector on the truck to bypass the “safety module”). All well and wonderful, but it shows that asshole companies will go to any length to trap you into having to buy products and services from the manufacturer or authorized (read “protected”) third parties. Fuck ’em, My buddy, who’s a mechanic, told me about a burnt brake light on a Mershitdes. it’s built so you can’t just change the bulb, you gotta change the whole fucking thing, and it costs over $2,000. I hate modern society. I miss the 80s and the 90s. Cars where still mostly analogic and EASY to diagnose and fix. Didn’t need much in the way of special tools…
I drive a 40 year old 4WD Toyota pickup truck. I put a new engine and transmission in it three years ago. Just put a new igniter and distributor in it, new plugs. Runs like a champ. Darn near theft proof as nobody can drive a manual transmission anymore.
I just got my hands on an ’81 yota pickup up 4×4. Put a new carb on her an a tune-up and she runs great. We live above 8500 ft. but it is a great playground for this truck. Replacling all the fluids now.
Enjoy them because there aren’t many left.
Holy #@#$, you just described the situation I went through with my F150 a few years ago. Had a leaking rear tail light that allowed water vapor to condense, which ultimately screwed up the rear sensor. They wouldn’t repair, only replace whole tail light and it was around $1500 so I said screw it, I won’t use the sensor and just go back to using side mirror like I used to do. Flash forward a year in the middle of COVID and the chip shortage, and my internal control module wigged out screwing up GPS, radio, windows and A/C. Sometimes car wouldn’t even start. In middle of August my heater would come on and I couldn’t roll down the front windows. Took 3 months to get the replacement chip only to find out that the tail had caused the problem and so I had to replace it anyway. Over $5k and 4 months of hell. The whole time I was thinking….what sort of dumbass designs a control module that fails into this sort of mode where all these unrelated features go apeshit backwards? Talk about terrible design.
Fucking Old Rebuilt Dodge! TBH, they’re all probably like that. The newest car I have is a 2013 Toyota Corolla. Dirt cheap to operate, 45,000 miles. I have a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis, garage kept, at 52,000 miles. That’s my road car. Then for hauling and driving on snow and ice, I have a 1991 Chevrolet Silverado bought new, at 35 miles. It has 339,000 miles on it now.
My chief bitch is something I know a lot about: sewing machines. I’m a pretty decent HONEST mechanic, and can work on about any METAL machine, from a minuscule Singer 221 Featherweight all the way up the big 175 lb long arm awning-producing triple feed machines. I also warranty my work for a year, unless some part goes bad that I had nothing to do with during the recommissioning. It’s also much cheaper to buy a refurbished old machine, which will last much longer than any of the China Mart specials people have to buy each year. They can last a lifetime plus.
I absolutely curse and despise plastic electronic sewing machines. I refuse to work on any of them. It is impossible to find parts for them, but I can find parts for 90+ year old Singers and Whites very easily. The new machines also have few adjustment capabilities built in them, as it’s set at the factory. When critical parts go out of adjustment, all one can do is toss them into the garbage. The old machines, with the exception of the Singer 99, are replete with adjustable features such that one can easily get one back into service.
As long as the finish is in excellent condition, I’ve taken long idled metal machines (some sitting unused for 40+ years) and turned them into something that looks almost new, right down to new wiring and carefully inspected motors and speed controllers. They were that good.
Ostensibly governments exist to protect us from private predation, e.g. warlords, highwaymen, monopolies, etc., but obviously it was more profitable for this government to get in on the act.
The USA does not have a legitimate government.
A former coworker called it a Fucked Over Rebuilt Dodge and she drove a Ford. She only bought one because of a family discount.
Found On Road Dead
Fix Or Repair Daily
But they are all pretty much like that. Dodge trucks had transmissions for years that didn’t last. Most had to add transmission coolers or they failed early. Government Motors has had their share of troubles too, especially their first diesel engine was a gas engine block.
The old joke, Chevy is very innovative, they put hand warmers on the tailgate. So you could keep your hand warm while pushing it to the Chevy garage!
Yeah, TELL me about CANBUS….
I’m a Chief Engineer on a 400′ Factory Trawler, and the entire Main Propulsion System is CANBUS.
WTF? The Iowa Class Battleships were all-analog, and are STILL Seaworthy after 80 years, yet a simple Fishing Vessel has systems that can shut down the entire ship over virtually NOTHING!
Cars are to be refurbished in the future. Look up the plans for the Flins Renault Factory. That’s what they gonna do, instead of producing little ICU cars. That’s what’s behind Tesla’s casting plans. On the other hand, parts and stuff is available as never before. First example on the list here … special screws? Come on, get some cheap bit set. As said, it’s all available. Information is available as never before. You can get terar down videos on everything. Videos, or just browse for car parts, see how panels look from behind.
Cuba is still running cars from the fifties, but not because they want too, because they have too.
Key to survival going forward into the dark times we face is redundancy. Most preppers understand that when it comes to prepping 3 is 2, 2 is 1, and 1 is none.
If you do not have back ups, then you are not properly prepared.
If possible, you would be wise to pick up a few more vehicles, on the cheap, and just store them if you cannot afford to insure them. If you can duplicate whatever you already have that is great, because of parts interchanability, but just having a couple more running vehicles could make all the difference going forward.
The same goes for refrigeration and freezers. Chest freezers are worth their weight in gold as they are super cheap to run, and can achieve temps of -20 degrees which is a state of deep freeze that will preserve most food for 4-5 years.
Having a back up generator is a no brainer, but I often see used ones so cheap, it is hard to justify not having 2 or 3.
Likewise for kerosene heaters. It is time to get serious about preparing for what is coming, so you need to ask yourself how much of what you have stored in your garage is going to help you when you cannot get the things you need to survive. Time to clear out the junk and replace it with things that may make the difference between surviving and not.
“We’re going to beat these guys yet, Readers, I can just feel it. ”
Nonsense.
Btw…quite a few canbus topics in comments.
Always find the Canbus multiconnector and eliminate one connector at a time until all other modules start operating properly.
It’s a time consuming process of elimination and it could be a while before the canbus recognizes the bad processor/module out of the picture but it’s as basic and cheap a fix you’ll find.