Hardtop Convertable - What do you recommend?

[edward]

by the way, is the C.E.L. still on gonzo? did you try twisting the gas cap all the way until it clicks multiple times?

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by edward

by the way, is the C.E.L. still on gonzo? did you try twisting the gas cap all the way until it clicks multiple times?

OK, since you seem to know a bit about cars

1. Does the air go out of the tires when it gets cold? Seems when I start my car they are 25psi when they've been 31psi forever. Sometimes they'll get up to 29 or so if I drive down the interstate a bit, but I can never get them to 31psi which keeps the damn alarm keep popping up.
2. The other night "Service 4WD System" popped up for about 5 seconds. I was going about 70mph and haven't even used the 4WD system in this car in months.

Now you know why I try to get rid of cars before the warranties are up

[edward]

Originally Posted by Peaches

OK, since you seem to know a bit about cars

1. Does the air go out of the tires when it gets cold? Seems when I start my car they are 25psi when they've been 31psi forever. Sometimes they'll get up to 29 or so if I drive down the interstate a bit, but I can never get them to 31psi which keeps the damn alarm keep popping up.
2. The other night "Service 4WD System" popped up for about 5 seconds. I was going about 70mph and haven't even used the 4WD system in this car in months.

Now you know why I try to get rid of cars before the warranties are up

im far from an authority, but the cel is usually associated with the emissions systems, could be an o2 sensor that is fouled but usually its just a case of the gas cap not being tight enough unless there is an actual issue... the cel is not a very usefull gauge unless we are talking about generating revenue for a dealership... a while back my rodeo threw a cel and the dealer quoted me 500 bucks for bullshit... went online and did some research and learned that they were trying to fuck me badly... isuzu sucks like that... anyway that was a long time ago

i wouldnt really worry about any of that stuff but if you wanna stay in warranty theres nothing wrong with that, peace of mind is priceless

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by edward

im far from an authority, but the cel is usually associated with the emissions systems, could be an o2 sensor that is fouled but usually its just a case of the gas cap not being tight enough unless there is an actual issue...

Yeah, I've been dealing with CEL's and loose gas caps for years - learned that lesson on my 1997 Maxima

I usually wait for a problem to happen at least twice before I worry about. My theory through life You have to tell me at least twice you love me before I believe and you have to screw me over at least twice before it bothers me, lol

[iamkathi]

Peaches, all of the Toxxic Navigators and all of the NationalNet Navigators have the "low tire pressure" lights come on when it gets cold. I was told by Lincoln that the tires should be 'calibrated'. Ha! I will take LBBV's in tomorrow and watch what they do.

Get the tires checked but it should be nothing other than cold weather

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by iamkathi

Peaches, all of the Toxxic Navigators and all of the NationalNet Navigators have the "low tire pressure" lights come on when it gets cold. I was told by Lincoln that the tires should be 'calibrated'. Ha! I will take LBBV's in tomorrow and watch what they do.

Get the tires checked but it should be nothing other than cold weather

They just need air.

Send the porter to quik trip with a couple of quarters... problem solved.

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

They just need air.

Send the porter to quik trip with a couple of quarters... problem solved.

I hear they are hell on those porters at Toxxxic.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by Peaches

OK, since you seem to know a bit about cars

1. Does the air go out of the tires when it gets cold? Seems when I start my car they are 25psi when they've been 31psi forever. Sometimes they'll get up to 29 or so if I drive down the interstate a bit, but I can never get them to 31psi which keeps the damn alarm keep popping up.
2. The other night "Service 4WD System" popped up for about 5 seconds. I was going about 70mph and haven't even used the 4WD system in this car in months.

Now you know why I try to get rid of cars before the warranties are up

1) This is simple physics. You lose 1-2 pounds of pressure for every 10 degree farenheit drop in temperature. If you park outside in winter, first cold snap you will typically need to go adjust the pressure in all of your tires. Keep the pressure where it's supposed to be, tires will last longer and you'll get better gas mileage.

2) If it just flashed on and went back off and doesn't return, dont worry about it, especially in cold weather. Some of those systems have to reset themselves in the cold. I've known many cars to do the same thing with the traction control system. You'll be riding along and a sensor reboots and it'll say "traction control warming up" for a few seconds or just flash the light even though you're on dry pavement doing nothing other than going in a straight line.

If you haven't done it though, since you actually USE your 4WD, lose the cheap shit factory transmission fluid and put some high quality stuff in there if you start getting overheating warnings from the gear box or you smell it after a hard climb.

I dont know about the Cherokee and CJ, but in the Liberty Jeep puts some cheap shit transmission fluid in that will overheat on one good long climb.

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

I dont know about the Cherokee and CJ, but in the Liberty Jeep puts some cheap shit transmission fluid in that will overheat on one good long climb.

Once again, it's a TJ

I'll have a place with FREE air - I'll stop by there on the way to Woodstock today and get some air. I just thought it was reading it wrong since I park on such an incline in the cold weather. If I park it flat, the alarm doesn't go off, but the PSI is still lower than 31.

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by edward

by the way, is the C.E.L. still on gonzo? did you try twisting the gas cap all the way until it clicks multiple times?

its in great shape. I didn't really examine it too close. I was too busy driving it like I stole it.
cars are so much more fun to drive that way.

next trip I do plan to see how many cans of spam it will hold.

they saythe ones from canada are canspam compliant.

[edward]

Originally Posted by gonzo

its in great shape. I didn't really examine it too close. I was too busy driving it like I stole it.
cars are so much more fun to drive that way.

next trip I do plan to see how many cans of spam it will hold.

they saythe ones from canada are canspam compliant.

the ls1 is a great engine, the only thing you have to watch for is piston slap which seems to be an issue... a good mechanic or a specialist can detect that though... check out ls1.com for some good info and dont be afraid to get an automatic... the transmission in ls1 f-bodies is great, not a slow shifter at all...

[edward]

more on piston slap:

Excessive piston slap occurs when the clearance between the piston and the cylinder bore is too great. The piston to cylinder bore clearance becomes too great either through wear, mismatched pistons and cylinder bores at manufacturing or, a combination of both. The audible noise associated with excessive piston slap is due to the perpendicular impact of the piston against the wall of the cylinder bore. Audible piston slap is typically loudest when the engine is first started up. The pistons then expand with heat reducing the piston to cylinder bore clearance thus, reducing the perpendicular impact of the piston against the cylinder wall and its resulting noise.

In the case of the famous GM piston slap engine defect, the piston design with hypereutectic (high silicon content aluminum alloy) pistons, reduced or eliminated piston skirts (to reduce reciprocating mass), and a higher ring pack to reduce unburned fuel mixture on the sides of the piston crown have made piston to cylinder bore fit much more critical. The amount of tolerance (variation or margin) in allowable clearance between the piston and cylinder bore to prevent audible piston slap has been reduced by a factor of at least 50%. Consistently hitting the narrower margin for piston to cylinder bore tolerance has not happened for GM during mass production. Thus, some engines have no audible piston slap and some have piston slap on only one or two cylinders. What might have looked really good in testing of hand built engines in the lab hasn't transferred to the production line of this corporate giant.
Make no mistake about it, while a lot of these engines don't appear to be driving rods through the blocks, the ones with louder and longer duration piston slap will wear out before the ones that are basically quiet. The perpendicular heavy impact of the piston against the cylinder wall over time will not come without a price. This is also why GM has released a recent TSB saying that opening 4 quarts of oil to add to your crankcase between a 7,500 mile recommended oil change interval (1 qt per 2K miles on an engine with 36K miles or less is "NORMAL". After 36K miles, all bets are off (there is no abnormal oil usage rate). This is why the now common offer of an engine component letter extending your warranty to 5 years or 100K miles is basically worthless. If the piston isn't laying in the oil pan in pieces, the engine will be operating "NORMAL" according to GM