Recent content by Ramjet Roger

For what it's worth, try the reading both ways and see if there's any meaningful difference. On my Honda Pilot, the difference was minimal between a running at idle reading and an off for less than 30 seconds reading. However, with the running at idle measurement, the readings were much more...

Mostly I use cotton towels--recycled from my linen closet (don't tell my wife). But, for grins, I took out my electric leaf blower and was amazed. Really works well on my huge pickup truck. Blows the water out of every nook and granny.

I routinely wax my cars and truck in the 30s. I especially like using RainX's Fastwax. If I wipe it on smooth and evenly enough, I don't even need a follow-up wipe/buff. For regular waxes like NuFinish and Black Magic, I wipe it on moderately heavy and wait 15-30 minutes. Then, I do a light...

I routinely use nitrile "blue" gloves for just about everything. They're cheap and last a long time. When sized correctly, they're just like a second layer of skin so dexterity is almost as good, in my case better, then using bare hands. NITRILE GLOVES, LARGE (PACK OF 100)...

I have the 2000 Grand Caravan with the 3.8L V6. The filter is a PITA to replace since it requires lowering the gas tank a few inches to get to the filter. I replaced mine at 50k and 100k miles. Not sure it needed at 50k mi, but it didn't hurt. I don't think 30k mi is necessary unless you have...

For what it's worth, I had a timing cover leak on my wife's Dodge Caravan 3.8L v6. Same repair as for your engine. Had the dealer do it under extended warranty ($800 repair). Developed the same leak 13 months later (now out of warranty). Did the Bar's Stop Leak, the old black stuff. Leak...

Guess it depends on the engine. On my wife's Caravan with the 3.8L V6, it appears that removing the oil pan has some entanglements with the front cover and possibly with the transmission housing. I noticed that when I had the front cover gasket replaced, they also replaced the oil pan gasket. My...

Inspected the car today and found the area visible from the oil filler cap was very clean. Turns out this was a lease car, so its maintenance history is anyone's guess. Looks like by 2004, this engine was doing much better. It sure sounded and drove strong and smooth. Unfortunately, my son...

I'm looking at used cars for my son and he's interested in a 2004 Dodge Intrepid with 120K miles on a 2.7L V6. I've read the horror stories about sludging, oil starvation, and catastrophic engine failures during the 1999-2002 model years for this motor. My question is: does anyone know if DC...

Well folks, just a short update. After a lot of research, time under the hood, and listening to all this good advice (and my wife's pleadings), I've decided to throw in the towel and junk the car for another used car. My son really likes these Chrysler's (Cirrus and Sebring) so I will be getting...

Be careful about general advice on trans pan bolts torque. I have had very bad experiences using a torque wrench and following specs in the manual. Broke several bolts. One time the darn Haynes manual had 20 ft/lbs listed when it was supposed to be 105 inch/lbs. On my 05 Ram, the manual specs...

I have an OBDII software package called Autotap installed on my laptop that enables me to read the the OBDII information. I noticed that the readouts include O2 Sensor voltages. I saw another post on this forum where the poster indicated that an O2 sensor voltage should read between .1 to 1.0...

Good point. I debated spending the extra $70 for the hydraulic tensioner. Since the original looked okay and had no obvious leaks, I thought it was okay to reuse it. I did notice the push rod had extended 1/8-1/4 inch out from the original setting. In fact, it appeared to be near the end of its...

Well, here's a bit more background: THE CAR: I bought the car used for $3000 about 6 months ago. It is for my son for use as a daily driver commuting to a local college. I expected it to last at least 5-7 years till he can afford his own. Overall it was in very good condition. The leather...

All: Check out the link for a series of pictures of the damage done when the rear camshaft sprocket slipped 2 notches. The damage is amazing. Question: does anyone think this engine is worth saving? The engine is in a 1999 Chrysler Cirrus. It's a 2.5L V6 with 134,000 miles. It was in great...