Chatbox Thread

Finally got back into the flight club's Arrow this afternoon. The last time I flew it (in April) there was a problem with the injection system that delivered an incombustible fuel quantity to one of the cylinders under low power and it took them all summer to fix it.

Now I can finally get back to logging more complex hours at 150+ MPH. :cool:
 
Random mechanical trivia... My truck is at the shop, for to a cranks fine but won't start. It happened between the noon and Evening Thanksgiving meals, parked in the driveway (Cougar now owns it's spot in the garage). It was 20° or so. Ran ok in the morning, although I thought it was a bit underpowered. Cranks well, almost starts but then dies. My thought was fuel pump, but now the shop says it starts five when inside. Doesn't outside.

Water(ice) in my fuel?
2015 Silverado 5.3L on E85.
 
Doesn't E85 absorb water? What if you run standard (E10) fuel in the tank?
 
CDsDontBurn said:
Doesn't E85 absorb water? What if you run standard (E10) fuel in the tank?
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That's the theory, but it can degrade. The shop game up since it's running. I put a couple bottles of iso-heet in it and filled it up with non- ethanol 91(which is expensive as h3ll). Will see tomorrow morning, I guess. Thankfully they only charged me for cleaning the throttle body.
 
Why 91 though? Doesn't it run on 87 octane?
 
Zep5.0 said:
Random mechanical trivia... My truck is at the shop, for to a cranks fine but won't start. It happened between the noon and Evening Thanksgiving meals, parked in the driveway (Cougar now owns it's spot in the garage). It was 20° or so. Ran ok in the morning, although I thought it was a bit underpowered. Cranks well, almost starts but then dies. My thought was fuel pump, but now the shop says it starts five when inside. Doesn't outside.

Water(ice) in my fuel?
2015 Silverado 5.3L on E85.
Click to expand...
The ethanol in E85 won't freeze until the temperature is -150°C, so you're good there.

However...

Any ethanol-based fuel can phase separate at any temperature, including E10. This happens when water is introduced to ethanol gasoline. The water absorbs the ethanol out from the gasoline, causing both fuels to literally separate as if it was a suspension mixture. The ethanol will then sink to the bottom of the tank with the water in it. This can happen with as little as 0.5% water in the tank (i.e.: heavy winter condensation). The more ethanol in a blend, the more likely it'll phase separate if water is introduced. In a 6,000 gallon E10 UST, 30 gallons of water can cause phase separation.

If this has happened, you will have the symptoms you've mentioned. For a car fuel tank, you'll need to drain it. If any of the mixture was pumped through the system, you'll also need to purge the lines and change the filters. Injectors should be fine provided the phase separated ethanol didn't sit in them for too long.

If you want to prevent this during winter, keep your tank full with an ethanol blend of E50 or less. Less airspace + less room for condensation to form + less ethanol to separate = a happy motorist.
 
Derphound01 said:
The ethanol in E85 won't freeze until the temperature is -150°C, so you're good there.

However...

Any ethanol-based fuel can phase separate at any temperature, including E10. This happens when water is introduced to ethanol gasoline. The water absorbs the ethanol out from the gasoline, causing both fuels to literally separate as if it was a suspension mixture. The ethanol will then sink to the bottom of the tank with the water in it. This can happen with as little as 0.5% water in the tank (i.e.: heavy winter condensation). The more ethanol in a blend, the more likely it'll phase separate if water is introduced. In a 6,000 gallon E10 UST, 30 gallons of water can cause phase separation.

If this has happened, you will have the symptoms you've mentioned. For a car fuel tank, you'll need to drain it. If any of the mixture was pumped through the system, you'll also need to purge the lines and change the filters. Injectors should be fine provided the phase separated ethanol didn't sit in them for too long.

If you want to prevent this during winter, keep your tank full with an ethanol blend of E50 or less. Less airspace + less room for condensation to form + less ethanol to separate = a happy motorist.
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Thanks, I often switch this time of year to E10, due to the diminishing return of lower E85 cost with even worse mileage. And E85 starts like crap at 40° or below. I just hadn't yet this year because it was so warm until a couple weeks ago.

I still had ~16 gallons in the tank so I decided to dilute it versus dumping it. It seems to be much better, albeit not quite right. I'll take it down to 1/8 tank, even though my norm is not less than 1/2 full during winter (to avoid condensation as you stated).

If I wish I had drained it I'll give you your kudos, as I know better, but am too cheap to do it right.
 
So, what's the current market for M5R2s? I bought a T56 so I'm looking to unload all my spares
 
Wile E. Coyote said:
So, what's the current market for M5R2s? I bought a T56 so I'm looking to unload all my spares
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I had someone ask about mine for $700 with pedals, reservoir, insulator and shifter rebuild kit. Not sure about just the trans. Are yours all early models?
 
Need advice please.

I have one tire with a slow leak. Inflated to 32 PSI in the evening, it's at about 20 PSI in the morning. I put it into a tub to locate the leak, and it's close to the side. Discount Tire says it's not repairable, and a local tire shop concurred.

The tires are Goodyear Reliant (a Walmart exclusive tire essentially identical to Goodyear Assurance A/S). I bought the set shortly after buying the car, 30,000 miles ago. I am very pleased with them (traction, quietness, etc.). My driving is probably 85% Interstate and usually quite gentle.

I am on a tight budget, so ideally I'd like to buy just one tire of the same type (or potentially a cheaper tire to keep me roadworthy). My question: is one new tire ok? Is there risk of damage (to the differential)?

I'd like to delay the purchase of a full set because I'd like to combine that with new (bigger) wheels.

From what I'm reading, replacing one tire is acceptable up to 30% of thread worn. After 30,000 miles, that may be a stretch (?).

Thanks for your all's opinions.
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
What about any alignment issues in the back? I know I'm overthinking this...

Open diff, yeah. I guess sometimes it's an advantage to have a base model!
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Theoretically with a limited slip diff if you have a bald tire on one side and a fresh tire on the other with let’s say .5” difference the bald tire will be spinning just that much faster than the fresh tire that’s taller and in effect slipping the clutches in the differential at all times and wearing it prematurely. Alignment isn’t near as much of an issue if at all since in reality there is room for error for minor disparities like tread wear, or doesn’t change camber/caster/toe. In a super extreme case it might cause a pull but that’s more in a scenario significantly different size tires we’re used
 
Ok, guys. I guess you put my mind at ease about just buying a single tire.

Long-term I'd like to go to a larger OEM wheel, but I just don't know which one. I love the Octastars on the Mark, but I'm not convinced I want to go that route. I there's a Cougar 16" wheel I like, but I never see them in the junkyard.
 
If you don't have AWD, you're fine. If you're worried about tread depth differences, rotate it to the RF and it'll wear faster without causing too much of a pull (since most US roadways are canted to the right).
 
Zep5.0 said:
I had someone ask about mine for $700 with pedals, reservoir, insulator and shifter rebuild kit. Not sure about just the trans. Are yours all early models?
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All are early. Ones a seized one so that's a part trans for like $50. I have 3 that work but 2nd gear synchro is toast. I have the one that broke in 2nd so that's another parts trans. Then I have the one I just had rebuilt.

I was hoping to get $700 for all of them. Still debating if I wanna get rid of the rebuilt one. I hate how it shifts.
 
Big Scott said:

This is insane. I'm drilling a couple holes in the pump connector area. WTF?
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You're giving my mother in law anothe reason to dump her 2012 Focus!

She's so done with the car. It's barely cracked 100k miles and it's had so many problems. So much so, that she was able to successfully sue Ford for the transmission problems of the DCT and Ford paid off the car and gave her some cash on top of that.

And because she lives in the Coachella Valley area - Think 100F+ degree days from March 1 to November 1 - all her interior plastics, dashboard, and whatnot have all failed or cracked.
 
Continually validates my 09 Focus. Yes yes, the later STs are beasts but in terms of regular commuter grade Focuses the 2012+ ones continually prove themselves to be JUNK.

That’s not to say I haven’t had my own issues, this year has not been a great year, ironically enough my last repair being a bad washer pump, which is never something I never thought would need replacing in a modern car, but it certainly didn’t send its fluid through the wire loom at least!
 
Fluid was coming through the actual wire insulation.
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
New Hyundai Palisade brings back the bench seat for a total of nine passenger seating. I love it. Who will be next?

View attachment 9020
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If I didn't know better, I would think I was looking at a Lincoln Navigator from the outside of the 2025 Hyundai Palisade. It looks HUDGE!
 
White Lincoln said:
If I didn't know better, I would think I was looking at a Lincoln Navigator from the outside of the 2025 Hyundai Palisade. It looks HUDGE!
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Remember when people used to think MN12s were fat and overweight? Oh how times have changed! Progress!
 
A co-worker of mine picked up a used 2015ish Navi last year. Another co-worker had one just like it and now has a 2020ish, so the two were chatting about their rides over lunch today. The guy in the older one has had varied problems with it and today was complaining about how it was sliding all over the roads last night during a snow squall. After he turned on the 6000 lb leviathan's 4WD, he was saying he was cruising along at 15 MPH. The other guy who has the newer one was lamenting similar woes - "sliding all over until I turned on 4WD". Meanwhile, I was comfortable in the Mark at closer to 25. Snow tires helped a lot, but I'm sure the car's leaner diet helps a lot too. :biggrin:
 
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