Recent content by bdai

Ooo, shiney. I can't afford your Snap-On goodness, but throw a "Made in China" stamp on there and you got my drain plug torque wrench. Using a real torque wrench might be good for newbies though, to let them get a feel of how tight to go, especially if their drain plug has the crush washer.

I'd like a Honda dash layout with some Chevy thrown in - digital speedometer above an analog tach, and enough little gauges to let me know what's going on with the rest of the car.

That won't work for all but the softest alloy wheels (steelies are usually 100 ft-lbs, and most alloys I've seen go from 75 to 100 ft-lbs per manufacturer spec). Also, remember to back off the spring (if it's a clicker) every time you're done with it, and get it calibrated every couple of years.

You want the 'medium' size torque wrench - the small one with ft-lbs scale. I have three, and I think the big long one goes from 50 ft-lbs to 200 ft-lbs, the medium from 10 ft-lbs to 60 ft-lbs, and the little one goes from 12 in-lbs to 240 in-lbs. Most drain plugs I've come across are spec'd to...

onion, you're right, and I'm a drain-fill person myself, but for different reasons (it's just easier). The return line doesn't just dump into the pan, and I hadn't considered that before. However, ATF is like motor oil in that it coats metal surfaces for a while and doesn't just run off, so as...

No, you're adding fluid to the pan as it's being pumped out, so you never run dry. It's the same concept as those "flush machines" in a dealership, except you're doing all the measuring yourself.

To add to that, I find it easier to jack up the driver's side of the car for a transmission flush. That way, with the wheels removed, the inlet hose is staring you right in the face, and it's easier to see all the bolts and the single plastic screw holding the splash guard on. Also, since you're...

I think the GM motors using the PF47 filter all have an in-block bypass valve.

Only the newest Escapes, 2007 and 2008, came with Mercon V from the factory. Older Escape will have Mercon/DexIII fluid. You may or may not have shudder issues if you switch to Mercon V, but in my opinion, I would stick with straight Mercon, especially if you aren't doing a flush. You're right...

Yes, but disable the DHCP server on the wireless router so that all computers share the BEFSR41 DHCP server. Otherwise, you'll have problems getting computers to see each other. Also, make sure the IP address of the wireless router does not conflict with the wired router.

Which car does that? All my cars with the digital odometer store it in non-volatile memory, so nothing ever gets wiped. It would be stupid to be able to completely reset your odometer every time your battery went dead.

Every blue LED I have is bright as #@$%!. Can you remove the buttons? If you can, place a piece of masking tape over the back. At night, the LED will still shine through enough to see the buttons.

Switching to Mercon V caused problems with some (but not all) CD4E transmissions used in the Ford Escape. Ford back-spec'd Mercon V for that transmission regardless, probably because they had no other fluid to pick. You might want to check a Mazda 626 forum to see if there are any issues. I...

10k miles? That's quite a bit of time. Brake fluid is incredibly corrosive - I've used it as a paint stripper.

I've never measure the chain for wear, but the chain doesn't ever jump or anything like that. Good enough for me.