Recent content by THX1138

I was relieved to see this UOA. With the horror stories I've read about PCV problems in Volvos, I was concerned that my 7500mi oci with Castrol 0W40 in our '03 V70 2.4T might be contributing to sludging up the PCV system. I feel better about it now, but still need to get the pcv system serviced...

We asked my daughter who's a senior in college if she wanted a car for graduation. She said no thanks, too much trouble and expense. To her and many of her generation, a car is just a tool you use when needed.

When the drain plug threads on our Volvo V70 got sloppy, I used a thread chaser to clean up the pan threads, then installed a Fumoto Valve with some oil resistant thread lock. Been installed for a year and working fine.

When my daughter's Volvo plug stripped, I used a simple solution to fix it. I cleaned up the oil pan threads with a thread chaser, then installed a Fumoto Valve with some oil-resistant thread locker. Working fine so far.

I've used Kaspersky Internet Security for years now and not had viruses or problems. $18 for 3 Windows 8 computers, down-loadable from Amazon.

They probably have a good idea if they're looking to attract women customers. Most of the women in my wife's office refuse to take their cars in for inspections and servicing. They have their husbands or boy friends or male family members take their cars. They are paranoid of getting scammed or...

I've seen people use the heavy plastic strips that hang from ceiling to floor similar to vertical blinds. Strips are about 4 inches wide, overlapping so you can use your hand to part them and walk through.. I've seen them used in butcher shops to keep cold air in a room. No idea where they can...

In 2003, MolaKule posted a BITOG Tech Brief from his review of SAE Paper 2001-01-1073, "Engine Lubrication Model for Sump Oil Temperature Prediction". This model predicted the following source amounts for heating of the sump oil: Piston undercrowns 76%, main and end bearings 13%, camshaft...

We had a 70's Honda Civic which mysteriously kept losing coolant. Plugs looked fine and no coolant odor in exhaust. Evidently the head gasket leak was so slight the engine could burn the coolant. Then the gasket abruptly let go further and generated a cloud of coolant vapor when started.

While wandering through some links to technical articles here on BITOG, I think I once read that the primary source of heating of engine oil was the bottoms and skirts of the pistons. So the more fuel you combust, the hotter the oil.

My philosophy is that any car that cranks, runs, and drives with no major problems or safety issues is worth a thousand. Heck, you can recycle it to a scrapyard for $400, I think. He can always accept less than asking price.

We have Time Warner for an ISP. We went to the listing of TWC approved modems and bought the Motorola SB6121 from eBay for about $60. That was more than a year ago, so it's more than paid for itself. We also have TWC land-line phone service for which we need the TWC modem. But they don't charge...

In 3 of the 4 cars I maintain I cant hear before and after differences when changing viscosities. But with the Volvo's twin cam 20-valve engine, which sounds like a sewing machine anyway, I'm confident it's less noisy at a warm idle with the 0w-40. After the oil change I drove a few blocks...

In my eBay experience, sometimes even good sellers screw up. Just contact them and ask if order was shipped and ask for tracking number.

We called Time Warner to cut the cable but they offered a year of free cable as a teaser. That ends next month, so I have the hi-def antenna ready to go. We have Amazon Prime (mainly for free shipping), Netflix, and Roku. I listen to my favorite college team on the radio just like I did many...