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1500 questions
11
votes
3 answers
What is involved to recharge the Air Conditioning System?
What is involved to recharge the Air Conditioning System? I believe you need a machine to do it, so I am guessing you can't do it yourself.
Paul C
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11
votes
1 answer
Brake Specific Fuel Consumption of 2-stroke vs 4-stroke
How much fuel do various types of engines burn per power output? I'm especially interested in naturally aspirated piston engines, and comparing two-stroke to four-stroke.
The wikipedia article gives the value for several specific engines, but…
user3092
11
votes
5 answers
Aligning a castle nut with a torque spec to a cotter pin hole
The nuts at the knuckle on my outer tie rod ends are castle nuts, which are locked by cotter pins fed through holes in the studs. The nuts also have a torque spec (27.0±2.5 N∙m, in this case).
If I tighten them down to the midpoint of that spec, the…
jscs
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11
votes
5 answers
Can I drive my 4WD 4Runner in front wheel only?
I recently had the misfortune of having my 1997 4Runner's rear diff lock up because of a leak and then no gear oil.
Unfortunately to add to that the frame and major members are very rusted/rotted. (I had a new rear end to put in, but would take A…
Tim
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11
votes
3 answers
What do these compression figures mean
This is a follow up question to What are the causes of fluctuating intake manifold vacuum
I have a 2005 Honda CBR600 F4i which suffers from occasional hesitation at low rpm when accelerating.
After a compression test on a hot engine I got the…
Ian Oakes
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11
votes
5 answers
Why would there be transmission fluid in the water overflow reservoir?
The car is a '98 Buick Lesabre with the 3800 engine and about 170k miles. It appears as though some oil was in the radiator, but I haven't seen any signs of coolant in the oil. The water pump recently went bad, so I'm not sure how much oil was in…
wickedpissah
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11
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between a V belt and a serpentine belt?
My understanding is that in either case it is a belt that is connected to the crankshaft and via a series of pulleys powers all the peripheral systems of the car.
My understanding is also that a fan belt and drive belt are the same thing, and that a…
temporary_user_name
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11
votes
9 answers
Are bad winter tires still better than summer tires in winter?
We bought a car recently which has very bad winter tires on. We didn’t realise how bad they are until it snowed last week. They lost all grip, the car barely stopped while braking or even go in the wrong direction while steering. So, they’re really…
Kinaeh
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11
votes
3 answers
How do I safely siphon gas from a tank?
Our 2003 Windstar was recently totaled in an accident (everybody's ok). This happened the day after we filled the tank.
Before we hand over the car to the insurance, we'd like to get the fuel out of the tank to use in our new car. I tried…
qualidafial
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11
votes
4 answers
Large rust hole in spare tire area. (Completely rusted through) How to fix?
This is a beater car and I'm not worried about fixing it "properly" really. Trying to spend minimal dollars on this. My main concern is keeping rats or bugs out of the car.
Basically the car completely rusted through where the spare tire holder is.…
Karmapolice
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11
votes
3 answers
Why only one spare wheel
I wonder why a car has 4 wheels but has only one spare wheel. Is it that only one tyre can puncture at a time? If not, what if more than one tyre punctures on the go?
DhKo
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11
votes
3 answers
What could cause high HC and CO, but low NO and CO2 in a smog test
Despite my confidence in having a (relatively) new catalytic converter and a new O2 sensor, my lovely 1994 BMW 325i Convertible got flagged as a "Gross Polluter." The test results are summarized below:
CO2 O2 HC CO NO
13.6 0.1 333 …
Hari
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11
votes
2 answers
Muffler off car. Safe to drive with exhaust open underneath?
So leaving work yesterday I heard a clang! - the muffler simply fell off. Further inspection revealed a lot of rust in one particular area on the pipe. Thankfully the forward muffler is still intact so the car isnt that loud.
My question is: would…
MeltingDog
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11
votes
3 answers
What is a hot patch, and how is it done?
I recently picked up a piece of metal in my tire, leading to a flat. The mechanic said he could not plug the tire, and that a "hot patch" was required.
What is a hot patch, how is it applied, and when is it required?
Tester101
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11
votes
3 answers
What's the purpose of having the cat right after the exhaust manifold
In a lot of the cheap cars I have looked at their exhaust components, I always find the catalytic converter right after the exhaust manifold instead of being after the down/front pipe in a "typical" exhaust setup.
Why do cheaply manufactured cars…
method
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