The Unofficial "Ask a Stupid Question" Thread

The previous battery was an Interstate from Costco that died exactly 1 month after the 3 yr warranty ran out. The AGM was similar in price to the Interstate but better warranty and it had great reviews. It’s just over a year old and has worked fine so far. It’s actually better than the Interstate because I do not start the car often enough (it’s been 3 or 4 weeks since I’ve had time to drive it, hopefully this upcoming weekend) and the old battery often needed the jump box but so far with this battery it fires right up even after a month without starting it.
 
Batteries have gotten more expensive thanks to Johnson Controls buying up manufacturers. Used to be $99 at Walmart for group 65. Now they are $139+. Warranties are not as good either. My understanding too is that oem's are putting in just good enough to get through the 3 yr 36k miles new car warranty and we get to buy replacement while making payments.
 
Charging them once a month, adding distilled water when needed, keeping them clean will make them last longer.
 
Is it easy to find rocker panels for 96-97 cars? My passenger-side one has rust on the corner, so I assume I need to replace the whole thing.
 
I have the same issue, but if you have to pay for it to be done professionally, it may be cheaper to buy a different car without the rusty part. My passenger side rocker has rust on it, and the drivers side has had a repaint at some point, so the same rust may be on my driver's side, but hidden. Until it isn't.
 
Does the A/C cool best on fan speed 3?

Serious question. I've been driving around in very hot weather, and a few times I felt compelled to set the fan speed to HI. It cools fine, but when I reduce one to 3 (though the marking isn't a 3 but just a dot), I actually feel it cools better! And it's less noisy.

Am I crazy? I wonder if it is because the air flows through the A/C more slowly and therefore gets cooler.
 
You’re not crazy, the lower setting not only gives the air more time to move over the evaporator, but when too much hot air is moving over the evaporator, the evaporator cannot maintain as cold a temperature. What fan setting will get the coldest varies depending on the car, the size of the evaporator, the efficiency of the system, etc, but it is almost universally not the highest. That is good for quickly cooling down a car that has been sitting in the sun, but once the initial heat soak has been dealt with, drop the fan down a notch or two.
 
I know about the magnet in the trans, but I don’t remember ever seeing a factory magnetic oil plug. I came across some while looking for a replacement.
 
I run them on bikes, never hunted one for a car. Definitely a good idea, and if I had to buy a replacement drain plug, I'd buy one. Can't say I've ever stripped a drain plug. Replaced a shitload of gaskets, tho. :)
 
Somebody stripped the drain plug on my town car. Next oil change will be a new plug.
 
IMO any stray magnetic metals in the pan mean the engine is already dead. Failing bearing glitter won’t be picked up by a magnet so why bother?
 
I guess it's more of a you're fucked! indicator, now that you mention it.
 
Is there a sturdy, reliable way to reattach a broken door card plastic hook so that it can bear a load again?
 
My rear window seal, and drivers side door need some love. i finally have time to spend money on other things, but the money is lacking.

I know noone is selling that seal, but is there any room for diy here? apoxys/ rubber paints? or is it time to hit the yard and get lucky?

also how difficult is aligning the door hinge?

2 things i would really like to do myself before fixing the clearcoat/ repaint hood and front bumper or have done at a shop
 
LukesCougar said:
My rear window seal, and drivers side door need some love. i finally have time to spend money on other things, but the money is lacking.

I know noone is selling that seal, but is there any room for diy here? apoxys/ rubber paints? or is it time to hit the yard and get lucky?

also how difficult is aligning the door hinge?

2 things i would really like to do myself before fixing the clearcoat/ repaint hood and front bumper or have done at a shop
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Likely need a door hinge pin and bushing kit..
 
My pop is back, now I’m thinking I have an issue with the UCA. What’s the proper was to check the upper ball joint? On the ground with weight on the joint or up in the air?
 
Kidd-7 said:
My pop is back, now I’m thinking I have an issue with the UCA. What’s the proper was to check the upper ball joint? On the ground with weight on the joint or up in the air?
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You could do what i did. take a camera/your phone and tape it to your fender. You will probably see something move if its popping there . Im a dumbass lol

otherwise im not sure how to diagnose other than prying this and that and looking for movement, but that failed at 2 shops and i had a very similar issue
 
Grog6 said:
When I worry, I pull the wheel, disconnect the uca, feel the balljoint and check for play, then grab the spindle, move it around. If you can feel play, it's bad.
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In his case it seemed the whole UCA was loose. It took a few watches of the video to spot it but you can see the entire LCA deflect slightly
 
Either bolts are loose, ergo 18mm wrench, or wasted bushings. iirc, these were replaced, so somebody fucked up, most likely. Don't you have to remove them to see the bushings?
 
Is it normal for these cars to "heat up" easily? It's 70F outside and I made only a few sharp accelerations when testing/bedding my refreshed brakes, and already got temps above "normal". Pic attached, sorry for the reflections.
 

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Grog6 said:
Yes, before the fan turns on. When the fan comes on it should drop quickly.
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The fan was spinning but it didn't seem to help much. The temps started to decrease only after I stopped and turned the interior heat to maximum.

Perhaps I should try radiator flush..
 
XR7-4.6 said:
In his case it seemed the whole UCA was loose. It took a few watches of the video to spot it but you can see the entire LCA deflect slightly
Click to expand...
What are the preferred UCAs now? I think I used ACDELCO last, those are not available anymore. I remember hearing MOOG has down downhill. So rockauto has Mevotech supreme (I’m leaning toward those) and Delphi.
 
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