AMAs seem to be the cool thing to do lately, so thought I'd give it a try. Have been a mechanic for 15 odd years, worked on everything from Hyundai to Porsche. Recently moved to marine in the last year or so. Will try to answer when I can.
Edit - Wow this was much more popular than anticipated, thanks for the great response everyone, hopefully it's helped a few people out.
Thank you Brendan for your generosity with this AMA. Very helpful!
Hope everything is going great for you at the marine side :)
I have a dual fuel 380. Bought it in mid-2013 with around 150,000km. Now approaching 200,000km and still going strong, and cheap as chips to run.
Questions:
A) Battery. NRMA? Or will I get a better quality, reliability, longevity, and value alternative from a battery specialist?
B) SRS warning light. It came on one day whilst driving. Can clear it and it stays off, but then it will come back on and stay on a few random hours / days / weeks later. MUT3 says it has to do with the front passenger airbag squib - it's easily accessible after removing the glovebox. What would be a reasonable repair cost?
C) Timing belt, main belt, cam belt, tensioner, water pump, pulleys, seals, gaskets, maybe even valve clearance etc. What would be a reasonable total cost? I should've suspected, investigated, and discovered the previous owner's lack of preventative maintenance earlier, when we finally traced the misfire/lean error codes (when running on LPG) to the aged spark plug seals. Have only replaced the spark plug seals and the spark plugs so far (besides the usual servicing).
D) Brakes. What brake pads would you recommend for occasionally enthusiastic street use? And is it worth getting slotted rotors? Again, I am looking for a good blend of performance, quality, reliability, longevity, and value. Low dust is a bonus, but not a must. I've found the QFM HPX and the RDA slotted OK in the family's ex XC Barina and my ex TS Astra Turbo respectively, and the Bendix 4x4 works alright in the Grandis now (although it sounds like they are already due for replacement after not that many years and km). Is it true that some genuine/OEM pads can last way longer, and thus are actually better value than quality aftermarket?
E) Shock absorbers. As with my kind of usage and preference as per D), would you just stick with genuine/OEM or KYB?
Thank you very much for your help in advance :)
Not nrma. Go to a battery shop and get a reliable brand, should have at least 2, if not 3 year warranty.
Undo the connector, clean with contact cleaner and reconnect. Airbags themselves 99% of the time do not fail, and if so, they will be failed all the time.
The cam seals can be a nightmare to dominate those. Possibly around the 1000-1200 mark, cant remember how much timing belt kit and water pump is for those. Lifters are hydraulic so no adjustment needed. The spark plug tube seals?
Qfm and RDA combo is just fine for street use, slotted is only useful if you are getting the pad up to outgassing temp, very unlikely in street driving. I haven't seen any OEM pads that last significantly longer.
Can't go wrong with kyb. They probably do a "sports" valved setup for your car if that would suit you more.
What price range should fixing cracked engine mounts, rear brake pads and a general service on a 2006 Honda Civic be?
Which engine mounts?
Not sure…
500 service
305 2 engine mounts replaced (165+140)
16 engine flush
16 injector cleaner
48 synthetic oil
3 sump plug washer
22 oil filter
77 brake pads
12 brake fluid
55 disc rotors
10 degreaser/workshop
love spending money on cars
Seems pretty reasonable apart from the injector cleaner and engine flush, and the price of the mounts themselves. I'm assuming what you have labelled as "service" is labour? If so that's a bit excessive also, probably by an hour or so if it's $100 an hour, and depending on which mounts were done.
Unfortunately it's all just age and wear and tear stuff that your going to get on any car that age, that era civic are a good little car, you shouldn't get any expensive surprises with it.
What do you think of carbon cleaning? My mechanic always posts videos of it and says it doesn't increase performance but helps the engine breath better? Any benefits in doing this?
The cleaner it is the better it is. What sort of carbon cleaning is he advocating, physical or chemical? The Subaru upper cylinder cleaner works quite well.
Physical, would it be beneficial to a diesel at all?
If you don't have a catch can and don't have the EGR blocked, your intake manifold is likely filthy. What sort of car? I've seen triton 2.5s about 50% blocked.
@brendanm: Audi A5 3.0 TDI - It has the same VAG 3.0 TDI engine as found in the Tourag, Amarok, etc.
It has 75k km on it atm, do you think there's any benefit of doing a carbon clean?
@maybeamacy: Easiest way to know would be to remove the anti shudder valve and have a look. If it's dirty, it's definitely worth cleaning.
Thank you for the AMA brendanm! and thank you for answering my earlier gearbox oil change question - 5 speed with dip stick.
On a 2010 Camry, 65k, when it cold starts, what goes "clank" the first time the car speed goes above about 18km/h?
Sometimes a slight vibration can be felt on the peddles.
Is this a standard feature of Toyota because no other non-Toyota I've owned/driven does this.
Have done some experiments but the following tests haven't stopped the clank from occurring:
* Engine idle duration before driving - 1min to 20min
* Gearbox changing gears first time or preparing to - can be in 1st or 2nd by 18km/h
* Different accelerating speeds
* Distance travelled before reaching 18km/h - 30m to 300m
* Accelerating & decelerating several times before accelerating past 18km/h
* Rotating, balancing, alignment and new rubber on wheels.
It only happens once per cold start and all subsequent times driving past 18km/h doesn't cause it to happen again.
Leaving the car switched off for a while also doesn't trigger it unless it got too cold and does its fast-idle cold start procedure - when the engine idles at 1,500rpm before slowly reducing to normal idle rpm as it warms up.
Thoughts?
2nd question:
Camry has pink radiator fluid. Does this pink stuff evaporate slowly at a rate of 50ml per year?
Engine oil is not milky colour nor droplets on hoses/ground etc.
Just wondering if this is normal.
Thank you brendanm!
That's a strange one. First thing that comes to mind is that the handbrake shoes are sticking, and the noise is them releasing.
The water in the coolant can evaporate, 50ml a year is certainly nothing to worry about.
Thanks brendanm!
Never thought about the handbrake shoes sticking. Will leave handbrake off next time it's parked overnight.
Is this thread still going? I posted previously but this is a separate issue.
VW Jetta 2012 TSI. Coolant was flushed about 5000kms ago with the red stuff. Had a look today in the reservoir and it's got a brownish color to it but it is still over the minimum mark. What could be the cause of that, hope nothing serious? Should note when the car heats up I can slightly smell coolant in the car.
Brownish as in oil or a milkshake? Or just a darker colour? No leaks anywhere? Not uncommon for water pump to fail.
Looks a bit like old coolant mixes with new from the pictures.
What do you think of injector cleaners?
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/460272
Does it work? Are there any potential negative sideeffects?
Pointless. You wallet will be lighter.
Thank you!
Thanks @brendanm for your comment about injector cleaners. I wanted to ask the same question but was beaten by @adamadam haha
I had to take my VW Passat to the dealership yesterday for the compulsory Takata Airbag recall. The dealership washed and vacuumed my car without me even asking. When I picked up my car it had that "New Car Smell" which I liked. Do you know what they do to get this smell and can I do it at home everytime I wash my car?
No idea sorry, I've never worked in a dealership, and the closest I get to detailing is washing my car once every 3 months if it's lucky ;)
Hi there,
I was thinking of putting an APR chip in my 2014 Audi S3.
What are your thoughts on tuning the S3 and what are the natural concerns of tuning the car to increase its performance.
A chip or actual flash tune? I wouldn't do a chip on a petrol vehicle. If done by a reputable company, and afrs are kept in check, there should be no issues. I assume you are just doing a basic tune, and no turbo etc upgrades? I would have no issues doing it if it were my car.
It probably wouldn't be my choice then.
Not really, they just seem to burn it.