Mo Rides Mo Problems

Hi I’m new to the forum but a long time video viewer. My fleet is growing exponentially. Currently I own- 1987 Buick Regal V6 that I restored over the past few years, a 1999 Chevy Suburban K1500 that I bought a month or two ago, a 2004 Toyota Camry LE 4 cyl, a 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5, and a 2015 Toyota Camry LE. I’m up to 5 cars! Current issues are- the Buick has an issue where it refuses to shift, bogs and eventually stalls when going up hills, the 2004 Camry just got a new O2 sensor but has 173,000 miles and is starting to develop an oil consumption issue, the Suburban just got 2 new catalytic converters, 3 new oxygen sensors, a valve body rebuild, a new U-Joint, a new master cylinder and front brake lines, and differential fluids changed, and now I’m dealing with some rust issues that it has on the doors and rocker panels and it needs a rear bumper and an emissions test. The two new cars run like dreams.

Welcome to the forum, JoeInPennsylvania!

Eric, I could see a bunch of cars being both a blessing and a curse, as they seem to be to you. They are great to have, but when you don’t have the time to fix them, that would be the nightmare. Not only that, but keeping all the maintenance schedules straight, what needs fixed, what has priority. Stuff like that. But you can also make videos of you fixing your own junk which is nice. You are getting a pretty deep library so I know all the routine stuff has been taken care of for the site. So that kinda leaves you there to your own devices. Doing (most) of that stuff on your daily driver doesn’t further your site now. The red Vigor in its current form is awesome, but it’s not a project for now so it’s not furthering the site. So it’s just work you gotta do when you get the time. That’s why the Element hasn’t been fixed yet. And I certainly understand why. (As an aside, I totally defend you on the element hood cable thing. What a horrible service writer/experience.)

Personally, I never liked doing maintenance on my daily driver. But now that I have my 07′ F-150, I kinda like tinkering with it. My 05′ Matrix didn’t give me any joy when I worked on it. I now have a three vehicle stable. 12′ Chevy Sonic (Wife’s), 07′ F-150, and 81′ El Camino. I like working on my trucks. My wife’s car is so damn modern that it’s almost foreign to me. The maintenance on it is strange. Not “supposed” to change the trans fluid unless it’s at the dealer or some horse hockey like that. It’s all just runaround anyway. They just want you to take your stuff to the dealership. Oh well. I like my simple trucks. 08′ and older for me, for now.

My fleet consists of 4 vehicles + ~500 vehicles at work.

2006 VW Jetta 2.5 5 speed MT
2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue 3.5 V6 Shortstar AT
1994 GMC Sierra 4.3 4 speed w/OD MT
2014 Ford Focus 2.0 AT

I’m entirely responsible for my mother’s 2014 Focus, I even coaxed her to buy it because the salesman was an acquaintance. I just noticed what appears to be rust around one of the door seals. She bought it brand new last May, there should be no rust at all on it yet! I now have to take it back to the dealership because she refuses to take it in herself.

2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue; my girlfriend’s car. There are many problems with this car, the main two are that it’s consuming oil at an alarming rate and leaking fuel. There is also a clunking in the front end when you go over bumps and it has a rusted exhaust.
The oil, I believe is being burnt, but I’m surprised the car’s running so well (not throwing any codes) given how much oil it’s consuming. I don’t see any oil leaks and yet it’s taken over 3 L of oil since it’s last oil change (~ 9000 km ago). There’s no blue smoke or burnt oil residue on the rear bumper, near the tailpipe. I’m baffled as to where the oil is going.
The fuel leak is due to a rusted fuel line. I spent two hours on my back at a junkyard in a futile attempt to get a fuel line off an Impala, only to let out a stream of expletives when I broke it. One of the attendants at the yard took pity on my plight and said that he would remove one for me the next day. When he called me the next day, he said he’d broken two or three and had given up! So the fuel leak remains. I’ve also since learned that the fuel line from an Impala would not have fit her car anyway…

2006 VW Jetta; my daily driver. It is slowly leaking coolant, the blower motor is seizing up from time to time. The rear defrost doesn’t work, the keyless entry doesn’t work. The heated seats don’t work and the whole car is getting quite rusty. I intend to fix some of these issues, but it’s winter and I have nowhere indoors to work on it.

1994 GMC Sierra; Helga. My baby. I put her away for the winter. I just recently changed the clutch. In the spring, I’ll do a tune up, she wasn’t running quite right when I put her away but that’s a few months away yet!

I work for a car rental company and my job involves moving cars all day long. I drive 30+ different vehicles every shift. These vary from brand new vehicles with 3 or 4 km on them to an “old” (2013) van we use to move employees that has close to 300,000 km. Not to mention driving anything from a Chevy Spark or Hyundai Accent all the way up to a Chevy Suburban. We also have very high end cars like BMWs, Audis and Cadillacs. We have 3/4 ton work trucks with crew cabs and 8 foot boxes that are like driving an aircraft carrier on the road. We have cargo vans that will shatter your ear drums if you drive them through the car wash when the high pressure jets hit the sheet metal in the cargo area.

My Fleet:

1983 Chevy K-10 4WD pickup. 6 inch lift, 4.11 gears, 350 with goodies. This was supposed to be my toy, but has primarily been used for working around the houses. However, now it has a random “Tick” in the drivetrain. Probably time for transfer case work. So I don’t drive it much at all. I don’t have any expertise with transfer case work, and I do not have the funds to rip it out and take it in for a rebuild. It can wait.

2012 Honda Odyssey – This is for the wife. Looks just like Eric’s. We use for road trips with the kids, trips home, etc.. Been very good to us. Almost 80K on it with no major maintenance needed. I changed brakes, tires, and the battery. That’s about it. We are trying not to drive it to keep the miles down. The wife has another toy to slog to work and back every day.

1998 Jeep Wrangler – This would be the wife’s toy. And another good one. It ran like garbage when she picked it up. And it sounded like it had an exhaust leak. Crawling all over it, and doing some research, I discovered it had the standard cracked exhaust manifold. E-bay is awesome, and I buy the majority of my parts on line. New exhaust manifold, and since I had to pretty much take the intake off to get to the exhaust bolts I did some work there too. (Straight six engine with 130K). Took the intake down to the machine shop and had it dipped and blasted. Added a little paint. Replaced the injectors. Added a throttle body spacer. Completed the new exhaust manifold with a cat back Magnaflow kit. It runs like new, and pulls like it should. Very reliable machine, and for days like today – gets her to work in the ice. I just saw the shocks are leaking, so I have a new set on the way. Time for front brakes too, and the rotors are scarred, so they are coming as well. New slotted and drilled rotors with ceramic pads for 50 bucks? Yup, I ordered a set.

1985 Jaguar – I was looking for a beater, something to keep the miles off my daily driver. However, the wife saw this – remembered that she went to the prom in one – and it became a “Gift”. I know nothing about Jaguars, but I am learning. Picked it up very cheap as it was not running. I got it back to the garage, and dropped the oil plug to find white/yellow oil. Apparently the head gasket failed at some point and the previous owner just parked it. The engine is locked up solid. So, it has been in the garage for a couple of years now. I have overhauled the rear end, front end, gas tanks, but the money and time ran out. I have a used engine, I am just biding my time and funds to drop it in. Maybe this summer? I don’t know, I said that last summer too.

2013 Durango – I was driving a Jeep Commander. Loved it. Good truck, great for the kids, enough room for me, and the six cylinder was “Forgiving” on the gas bill. I took it into Dodge for a oil change – I had a coupon for 19.99 and a free tire rotation. Had the work done, and left the dealer to have the tire fall off in the lot. They did not tighten any of the lugs. The Jeep came down on the axle, the tire never left the wheel – at first – and took out the fender which pushed into the driver door. Get this – the “Tech” did the same thing to a lady earlier in the day. The dealer told him he was fired, but could finish the day. He got me right after. Long story short, I ended up with a great deal on the Durango. Sweet looking ride. It is NOT an R/T, but looks like one. Very happy with this truck. On a road trip the six cylinder will average 24/mpg. Third row seats for the kids when needed, and it folds down for grabbing parts for all the others when needed. No complaints.

1989 Cadillac Fleetwood – My parents are on a fixed income and cannot afford auto repairs. I am not an official “Auto Mech” but I know which way the wrench is supposed to go on. This was my grandfathers car, and he passed it on to my mother when he passed. She will not ever consider “moving on” to another vehicle as long as this one runs… So, no matter what – I work on it when I need to. She does not drive much any more, and if she does – it is never far. It is not pretty at this point, with over 200K on it. But it still runs. At this time I am looking for a brake accumulator for the system. Not easy to find in a decent price range for a 1989 – but I found one and I should have it any day now. As long as it fits – I should be able to get the brake pedal feel back to where it should be. Otherwise – it runs.

2003 Lincoln Towncar – I talked my old man into leaving Cadillac’s and moving over to the Lincoln. After dealing with the dreaded Northstar head gasket failures, I was very irritated with this entire driveline. Working on this car was hell. Zero room anywhere under the hood. I do not have a lift, and I have a Jag with permanent residence in the garage. Working in the driveway on the Caddy was no fun. When the head went, he agreed. My thought was that since the Lincolns are near the same as “Service Vehicles” I should be able to get parts pretty cheap. Plus it is rear wheel drive – I thought that would be so much easier. After this last job – changing both valve cover gaskets – I realize I cant win. Pull the wipers off to get the drivers side off? Pull the motor mount – or – remove the A/C evaporator for the other? Not really hard work per say – just a lot of it. I survived, it is done, and it works. The car runs well, and he has grown to like it, so overall it is a win. Honestly, after driving it some – I like it.

1992 F-250 – Picked this one up at an auction for 150 bucks. This may replace my Chevy until I can get some transfer case work done. For now, it is sitting out back. the exhaust is shot, the passenger tire shows cord, and it idles rough. (Ford straight six) But it runs. When it warms up, I will get to know it better.

Essentially my part time job is auto maintenance. The Honda, and Durango do not need much at this time. Everything else requires attention. I don’t mind the routine stuff. But when I get into the weeds on something I have little access to, and/or no experience with – it can get stressful. Between all of us, somebody always has a ride to work that’s for sure.

Forums rule. I learn 90% of what I need to know from good people that share knowledge. I really appreciate it!

I drove it home from the auction and it seemed like the engine was screaming. I automatically assumed the overdrive was not working. It has the OD button on the stalk. Well, it turns out it has the button, but no OD. Looking at the VIN number this one is a straight six, with a standard C6 transmission and stock 4.10 gears. So, yeah it is not a highway cruiser. I didn’t mention this – it also has a working hydraulic lift on the tailgate. It is rusted over, but it still goes up and down. It is a workhorse, just not a cruiser.