Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Brendone

Those are cool, for sure, but the price is obscene and by fun I meant fun to drive. Slowish and fun. That's what I'm getting.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Should be signing on a new vehicle next week that fits this bill. You guys will never guess it in a million years. Not saying what it is until the deal is done, but it's so fun and so practical. And kinda weird.

hmm. I know you like Euros...
Fun, slow (relatively) & practical.


B3 Coupe Quattro
Corrado G60
MK1 TT
318Ti
Fox Wagon

[Fuzz]

Clearly it's a Lamborghini tractor.

[Wormius]

A Fiat or Mitsubishi Mirage.

[Sliver]

Guys, we can stop. You'll never get it and you honestly won't be impressed when I tell you, anyway. It's sick to me, though. On my test drives I had the ass end kicked out and had so much fun. This thing is going to be awesome.

[Coach]

Sliver's got Cybertruck written all over him.

Added extending ramp for easy Rascal stowage.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Coach

Sliver's got Cybertruck written all over him.

Added extending ramp for easy Rascal stowage.

Dude my new rascal doesn't even need a ramp. Lithium battery, baby. Can fold and put it in the trunk of almost anything. Doesn't look cool, but she's got it where it counts. My fastest one yet. I had it at the mall last week and it felt like I was ripping around in a friggen Corvette.

[cam_wmh]

1985 Honda Big Red

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

TQdog what did you end up getting?

Oh, that's some ancient history stuff. In 2020 to replace the E550c I had, I'd contemplated getting a Rapide for the combination of 4 door practicality and V12 AM fun, then ended up with another V8 Vantage S.

For the winter runabout -- once the Panamera 4S was out of the picture -- it came down to Cayennes and Range Rovers, and well, we know how that turned out, being two Range Rovers in and all. I'm pretty content with my current garage and have no plans to replace anything in it for a good long while if I can help it. Both cars run phenomenally and do everything I want them to.

My girlfriend wants something with a bit more juice than her current EcoSport AWD runabout, but it's economical to run, and only gets used when she goes to work, so there isn't a lot of incentive for her to go drop money on something more premium when we're buying a place and need the capital available.

[dubc80]

Ugh, figure I'd post on here in case anyone who knows engines can provide advice/feedback.

The check engine light on our family people mover (2015 Toyota Sienna, just over 200K) came on last week.

Took it into the shop to diagnose and it was giving multiple cylinder misfire codes. They changed out the spark plugs and ignition coils, but the issue remained.

Now the bad news... they did a compression test and one cylinder doesn't build pressure at all. They did a leakdown test and they said it sounds like valve(s) doesn't close properly and the pressure leaks back in the valve intake.

How the heck could this happen suddenly? WTF

From there, they said they could proceed to remove the valve cover to check the header/rings to further diagnose, but suggested at that point, you'd be looking at either re-building or replacing the engine. . They quoted me around $12K all-in for a used engine.

I towed it to my house and I'm currently considering options.

Looking at getting a 2nd opinion on the repair.
If anyone knows a good Toyota engine shop, let me know.

What type of low-ball offer would a dealership give me on the van "as-is"? $1000?

[MegaErtz]

Call Elmo from Elmo's Auto Service. (403) 313-0959. Bay 5, 11450 29 St SE.

If he tells you that you need a new engine, pm me and I will give you a list of people I know in Calgary who will do it for a lot cheaper than a dealership.

[Fuzz]

If it is a leaky valve, might be worth trying something like this:


https://www.amazon.ca/Liqui-Moly-200...S1M?gQT=1&th=1


Though it will need to be running. You said towed home, so not sure if it runs at all now.


They could also scope the cylinder to look at the valves through the spark plug hole.

[speede5]

I did a Sea foam treatment on and it cleaned up the valves somewhat as I had a couple leaking. The car ran and would just miss a little bit now and then, as one cylinder would misfire from time to time. Doesn't take much carbon to break the seal on a valve seat.

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by dubc80

Ugh, figure I'd post on here in case anyone who knows engines can provide advice/feedback.

The check engine light on our family people mover (2015 Toyota Sienna, just over 200K) came on last week.

Took it into the shop to diagnose and it was giving multiple cylinder misfire codes. They changed out the spark plugs and ignition coils, but the issue remained.

Now the bad news... they did a compression test and one cylinder doesn't build pressure at all. They did a leakdown test and they said it sounds like valve(s) doesn't close properly and the pressure leaks back in the valve intake.

How the heck could this happen suddenly? WTF

From there, they said they could proceed to remove the valve cover to check the header/rings to further diagnose, but suggested at that point, you'd be looking at either re-building or replacing the engine. . They quoted me around $12K all-in for a used engine.

I towed it to my house and I'm currently considering options.

Looking at getting a 2nd opinion on the repair.
If anyone knows a good Toyota engine shop, let me know.

What type of low-ball offer would a dealership give me on the van "as-is"? $1000?

If I may ask how often would you perform oil and filter changes on the engine? A lot of the more modern cars, including Toyota's are going with these insanely long oil change intervals which just are not good. There is a whole host of problems from going 10-15k km's between oil changes.

For future reference regardless of what car you have, always advisable to increase the fluid change intervals for things like transmission, coolant, engine oil etc.

Fingers crossed it's not the worst case scenario but if it is and you decide to move on, don't sell it to a dealership. You could get way more money selling it for parts if you wanted to do a little basic work. There is a huge parts shortage now and a lot of people with a similar Toyota are having trouble getting parts for minor accidents. Selling basic things like seats, wheels/tires/doors/transmission could net you thousands.

Good luck! A great youtube channel for Toyota owners from a Master Tech who is incredible and knowledgeable is https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCarCareNut

He straight up talks about the disaster that is happening with these longer oil change intervals and other corporate made up maintenance garbage. The suits and executives are overriding the engineers and regular working class people are paying the price.

[Fuzz]

What's a decent place for paint chip repair in the north(I see a bunch in Greenview)? Mostly just rock chips, some scratches on the bumper and one small rust bubble that needs doing before it gets bad.


Don't need the best of the best here.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

What's a decent place for paint chip repair in the north(I see a bunch in Greenview)? Mostly just rock chips, some scratches on the bumper and one small rust bubble that needs doing before it gets bad.


Don't need the best of the best here.

I feel like you could DIY that fairly easily, unless you want the whole hood and bumper repainted.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I feel like you could DIY that fairly easily, unless you want the whole hood and bumper repainted.

I've done the paint chips on the hood in the past, but the rust bubble is about the size of a loonie, just above the windshield. I suspect a proper repair might involve removing it. And if I remove it, that's basically a guaranteed shattered glass experience. The bumper scuffs are not really small ones, either.


Perhaps if I had nothing else to do I might consider it, but it is also the wife's car, so I won't be able to gloss over my #### ups like I could on my vehicle. That discoloration? Ya, I did that on purpose, for flair.

[dubc80]

Originally Posted by curves2000

If I may ask how often would you perform oil and filter changes on the engine? A lot of the more modern cars, including Toyota's are going with these insanely long oil change intervals which just are not good. There is a whole host of problems from going 10-15k km's between oil changes.

For future reference regardless of what car you have, always advisable to increase the fluid change intervals for things like transmission, coolant, engine oil etc.

Fingers crossed it's not the worst case scenario but if it is and you decide to move on, don't sell it to a dealership. You could get way more money selling it for parts if you wanted to do a little basic work. There is a huge parts shortage now and a lot of people with a similar Toyota are having trouble getting parts for minor accidents. Selling basic things like seats, wheels/tires/doors/transmission could net you thousands.

Good luck! A great youtube channel for Toyota owners from a Master Tech who is incredible and knowledgeable is https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCarCareNut

He straight up talks about the disaster that is happening with these longer oil change intervals and other corporate made up maintenance garbage. The suits and executives are overriding the engineers and regular working class people are paying the price.

My wife got oil changes on it regularly. Everyone seems perplexed at why this happened. Looks like an engine swap is around $8-10K for this van based on other estimates Ive been getting.

This van has been pretty good to us but this catastrophic failure has not been ideal. I guess $10K is better than a new van at $65K?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by speede5

I did a Sea foam treatment on and it cleaned up the valves somewhat as I had a couple leaking. The car ran and would just miss a little bit now and then, as one cylinder would misfire from time to time. Doesn't take much carbon to break the seal on a valve seat.

I did one recently and it was surprising how smooth the vehicle seemed right away. A few hundred km later, it's a little rough again, but still noticeably smoother than it was before the treatment. It's far surperior to fuel injector cleaner and octane booster.

I did it mainly because seafoam claims to help get rid of water in the engine and gas tank. I'm planning on using seafoam a little more regularly on my higher mileage cars.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by curves2000

If I may ask how often would you perform oil and filter changes on the engine? A lot of the more modern cars, including Toyota's are going with these insanely long oil change intervals which just are not good. There is a whole host of problems from going 10-15k km's between oil changes.

For future reference regardless of what car you have, always advisable to increase the fluid change intervals for things like transmission, coolant, engine oil etc.

Fingers crossed it's not the worst case scenario but if it is and you decide to move on, don't sell it to a dealership. You could get way more money selling it for parts if you wanted to do a little basic work. There is a huge parts shortage now and a lot of people with a similar Toyota are having trouble getting parts for minor accidents. Selling basic things like seats, wheels/tires/doors/transmission could net you thousands.

Good luck! A great youtube channel for Toyota owners from a Master Tech who is incredible and knowledgeable is https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCarCareNut

He straight up talks about the disaster that is happening with these longer oil change intervals and other corporate made up maintenance garbage. The suits and executives are overriding the engineers and regular working class people are paying the price.

10-15K oil changes have been the norm in Europe for decades (some now as long as 30K). The 5-7K North American maintenance window is the "made up maintenance garbage".