Chatbox Thread

Cold, but not that cold! šŸ„¶

Rain this afternoon ending before midnight then snow arrives in the afternoon tomorrow and it's done early Monday morning.

Joe
 
Yeah those temps are making it here,today and yesterday the high 20s-40s felt positively tropical compared to the 10s earlier this week, I even desalted the Focus! So Iā€™m not looking forward to being shocked back into January again

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Non-Ford venting.

It is 2025. The youngest Mk5 Jetta is now 15 years old. Why the hell is a set of Chinese knockoff tail lamp housings still $200 on a good day?

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The inner left lamp housing on my GLI is cracked and leaking water into the trunk. Since it's a GLI, it has the smoked lenses. I can't find a single smoked GLI inner housing for under $100. Also cant find a full set of any style for under $200.

To compare, I replaced the ones on my Mk4 wagon with brand new in box OE Volkswagen E-code housings for $150. Which included shipping from Poland.

(moved over from the wrong thread)
 
I only ever see the incandescent version in junkyards. For a full set, the yard would charge approximately $60.

For a brand new all-LED set, even if it's a Chinese imitation, I think that price seems logical. Did you try Aliexpress?
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
I only ever see the incandescent version in junkyards. For a full set, the yard would charge approximately $60.

For a brand new all-LED set, even if it's a Chinese imitation, I think that price seems logical. Did you try Aliexpress?
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US-spec Mk5s didn't get the LED housings, but ROW only got LED. That's why the fleabay pickings are so slim even for used incandescent housings. And since the majority of them were driven by teenage girls or junked after Dieselgate, the yards are scarce.

They're also out of production from VW, so the OE replacement from the dealer is about $190, if you can even find one.

I forgot about AliExpress. :rofl:
 
My Focus ST (Phokey):
When I started noticing the 2nd gear synchro was starting to slip, I began gathering parts for the rebuild. I got a multi plate clutch kit from Competition Clutch and all the trimmings to do the rebuild. It's a simple transmission so I decided to do it myself but after life got in the way I decided that I would have Jack's Transmission do the rebuild since they are dialed in with the ST as well as GTR transmissions. I had a heart attack after I lifted the trans out of Cougie at work where I was shipping it out of. My buddies at work sent it out to CO where Jack's is located while I was getting my heart pulled out of my chest for a quadruple bypass. The newly built trans came back and sat for a while till I was ready to start the install. I called CC to ensure there were no issues with the kit and I was told that my kit was not part of run they had clearance issues with so I continued with the install. I couldn't get it into gear with the car running so i called back and they said that they had a replacement disc set that was supposed to address the lockup issue. I got the new disc set and proceeded with round 2 of the install only to find I still could not get it into gear and wasted another slave cylinder in the process. I called them back and they wanted the kit back so they could re-engineer a new kit using the Pineapple design they use for high HP BMW's. I waited for at least 6 months and got the newly designed kit installed and while I did have some PTSD before starting it up, I was excited to finally get it into all the gears and gave them the heads up. They asked if I was happy with the kit now and if I thought they should market it to the public. I told them I would rather they make that call and inspect the car themselves after I put 500 miles on it. I needed to get the car aligned after replacing all the rear end bushings so I took off on Friday and figured it was also a good time to bring it to Comp 1 (new name) and brought the car to them. They were very appreciative and impressed with the engagement and performance of the car. They were also glad I was able to help them put this clearance issue at rest with the new design. I was never a dick towards them even though it was not easy for me to deal with the installs and driving from Cumming GA to Conyers GA is not a easy drive on a Friday. My good friend owns a Tattoo shop there and is friends with the owner of Comp 1. The owner is aware of my issue and I have a feeling they may do a wrap job on the car in the near future.

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Carbon Synchro kit & LSD.

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1st version on right, 2nd gen on left.

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I have the 1st one of the Pineapple (Gen 3) version.

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Flywheel.

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Inner disc on flywheel.

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Fulcrum (with outer disc, upside down on pressure plate).

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Outer disc on flywheel (pineapple complete).

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All together now.


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Leonard sez It's now ready for the Bug Turbo and fuel system installs.
 
Yesterday, somebody stopped by asking about buying one of my Tbirds as a project car. It's the first time in a long time since I've had a compliment on this car. The last time was an Amazon driver who had to stop just to check it out

So I offered the 95 SC rolling chassis for free .. just take it away. I explained how it would be best to just pick up a 96/97 with the 4.6L. He seemed a lot more interested in the 5 speed 94 SC though. .

I declined selling the 94 because my 14 year old son said he wanted to learn stick and fix this car up .. it has some sentimental value; and "potential" if I actually spend some money to get it nice again. That and California smog is BS for a 30 year old car.

But most times Im more along the lines of Fuck this Shit. Just get rid of it and we'll find something better to deal with.
 
The biggest issues with cheap Chinese/Taiwanese light housings IME is fit. Finish is usually surprisingly up to snuff but Iā€™ve bought headlights where the lens was clearly glued to the housing ever so slightly crooked, at least with our MN12 junk.
 
Just heard there's a blizzard warning for Lake Charles, Louisiana! šŸ˜²

Joe
 
Oil rigs in the gulf too! We had 100 degree days this year, it's 15 currently. Kaatu wantedout,took a sec at the door, and hit the litterbox. Smart kitty.
 
Temperature is down to 0 now, another 10 degrees or so to drop before it bottoms out in the morning. Coldest it's been since 2014 when it made it down to -12. šŸ„¶

I took this opportunity, out of personal curiosity, to measure some key locations around the house with my IR thermometer. The thermostat is set to 68Ā° and the heater has been running at about 40%

Untreated windows: 45Ā°
"Heat control" film treated windows: 52-54Ā°
Exterior walls (R-13): 64Ā°
Finished basement walls (R-25; both above and below grade): 68Ā°
Unfinished basement wall in an unheated closet: 40Ā°
Adjacent basement wall with R10: 55Ā°
 
theterminator93 said:
Temperature is down to 0 now, another 10 degrees or so to drop before it bottoms out in the morning. Coldest it's been since 2014 when it made it down to -12. šŸ„¶

I took this opportunity, out of personal curiosity, to measure some key locations around the house with my IR thermometer. The thermostat is set to 68Ā° and the heater has been running at about 40%

Untreated windows: 45Ā°
"Heat control" film treated windows: 52-54Ā°
Exterior walls (R-13): 64Ā°
Finished basement walls (R-25; both above and below grade): 68Ā°
Unfinished basement wall in an unheated loset: 40Ā°
Adjacent basement wall with R10: 55Ā°
Click to expand...
Your house is really well insulated. :thumbsup:
 
My thermostat tells me a bunch of info about the system's operational status, including the commanded duty cycle of the furnace or A/C compressor. It was a few degrees warmer yesterday than it was today and it used 6.13 CCF gas to heat the house; it'll be interesting to see what it used today (and uses tomorrow).

If I do the math, the most gas the furnace could use if it was running full blast over a 24-hour period is 29 CCF, so overall it's running at about 20% capacity.
 
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It's 9 degrees here this morning. I hope kaatu is happy with his freshly refurbed litterbox!
 
When I woke up it was -8. Looks like the furnace used 7.09 therms yesterday.

The car on the other hand looks a little worse for wear right now - with the temps 20-30 degrees colder than usual the front end of the car has taken a nosedive. It's been a while since that's happened; I would prefer to not have more air ride futzing in my future, alas I'm too stubborn to give it up. :rolleyes:
 
Hopefully it's something easy, like a cracked air line.
 
Probably one of the O-rings that seals the air solenoids to the air bag shrunk and is leaking slowly. I could probably fix it by removing it and replacing or re-sealing the O-rings.
 
If they're the std black buna-n, see if you can find viton ones; I used to use those on LN2 fittings. Expensive, but long life. :)
 
I've about had my fill of this weather. Extremely cold weather. Fine. Snow, Fine. Extremely cold weather and snow. Not fine. I have to drive about 8-10 miles from my house in the morning on my way to work before I can see any actual pavement. Hopefully it warms up into the 20's so the salt can start doing its thing. All the snowplows are doing right now is polishing the layer of ice on the roads.
 
KevinVarnes said:
I've about had my fill of this weather. Extremely cold weather. Fine. Snow, Fine. Extremely cold weather and snow. Not fine.
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My thoughts exactly! This shit sucks, give me one or the other, but not both. The older I get, the more I hate it. Last couple of winters were great up here, but we're back to reality! :sad:

Joe
 
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