andymaviglia
Fish whisperer, scholar, and gentleman
Posts: 909
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Post by andymaviglia on Jan 8, 2012 19:31:52 GMT -5
Why did you put the alternator in the back of the engine? I was on my way to Gander to eat up $100 in gift cards. Luckily we have towing. $179 for the alternator on this 4 banger. Whatever...only way to get the bolts out of the alternator is to unbolt engine mounts and jack the engine up to move it for clearance. C'mon, I've done quite a few alternators on my cars but geez! The year after mine they moved it to the front but you have to remove the radiator to get to it.
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Post by ScoutB on Jan 8, 2012 20:09:27 GMT -5
Haha. As a mechanical engineer myself, you should hear some of the names I've called Ford engineers and Chrysler engineers while I'm fixing my cars. You can tell that these guys never have to fix their own stuff. I also think there is a concerted effort to make cars difficult for the average Joe to fix himself.
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andymaviglia
Fish whisperer, scholar, and gentleman
Posts: 909
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Post by andymaviglia on Jan 8, 2012 20:15:19 GMT -5
1 more dam inch of wheel well and no problem. Wth's wrong with people
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Post by ScoutB on Jan 8, 2012 20:33:23 GMT -5
That's what the torch is for. ;D
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Post by SPLASH on Jan 8, 2012 21:00:59 GMT -5
I have heard so many stories like this on Fords. GM isn't perfect either. I had a 96 Blazer and Dad and I decided to change the sparkplugs, sounds easy enough. HOLY SH!T, it was not! 5 of the 6 were easy, but the last was horrible. We couldn't get to it. After a call to a mechanic we tried going in through the drivers side wheel well after pulling all the plastic out. We could get to it, but no way in hell was a wrench getting in there. After a call to another mechanic we were told we had to drop the steering shaft. That wan't the easiest thing to do and if you mess up just a tad, you screw up your steering. We managed to get it all done. Took all day, but we got it done. I changed a few alternators on that one (something about a few thousand watt digital amps, 3 tv's and a playstation make them go bad without lightning caps and even after lightning caps ) but those alternators were switched in 10 minutes. Don't even get me started on the damn sensors for airbags. Now with the 06 Trailblazer, it's not much better. I haven't had to change anything under the hood, but believe it or not, changing bulbs in the headlights and blinkers is a pain in the @$$. It's like ya need a 5 year olds size hands to get in there. The simplest things are always the hardest.
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Post by ScoutB on Jan 8, 2012 21:06:55 GMT -5
My Toyota just rolled over 100K and I really don't know if it's easy to fix or not. Nothing has gone bad. Did the brakes at 80K and they were very easy.
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Post by SPLASH on Jan 8, 2012 21:35:20 GMT -5
Shhhhh. We're not supposed to admit Japanese vehicles are better than ours. We're just supposed to keep shelling out money to be "Patriotic".
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Post by ScoutB on Jan 8, 2012 21:42:20 GMT -5
I drove Fords and Chryslers for 30+ years. My wife is driving an '08 Chrysler Town & Country van and I've had to work on it a lot. The warranty was until 30K and the troubles started at about 31K. Go figger. Her next car will be Japanese.
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Post by gbrebory on Jan 8, 2012 22:02:02 GMT -5
only problem my dodge has in]s my left tail light keeps burnin out so there is a short somewhere....other than that she runs liek a top..... doesnt get the best gas mileage in town but she gets me from a to b
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Post by ScoutB on Jan 8, 2012 23:15:50 GMT -5
I resisted the Jap vehicles for a long time, but everyone I know that has one tells me how great they are. I had to see for myself and now I'm a believer too. My only complaint is with the interior trim. Lots of plastic covers and stuff that have fallen off. We'll have to see what the next 100K brings.
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Post by gbrebory on Jan 8, 2012 23:31:02 GMT -5
03 dodge ram slt with a 5.7 hemi the reason it has this problem is the bumper is aftermarket and whoever put on there rewired it to have only 1 license plate light when it originally had 2... long story short there is now a wiring issue in the passenger rear.... i will get to it.... i jsut dont feel like it right now i hate trying to undo someone elses mess and it can get real nasty if i dont take my time so its not a huge issue
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Post by Fobbitcrusher on Jan 8, 2012 23:56:32 GMT -5
everything is laid out nice and easy on my super duty!
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Post by ScoutB on Jan 8, 2012 23:59:17 GMT -5
That's a little different. They weren't going for mileage or aerodynamics on that one.
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Post by SPLASH on Jan 9, 2012 0:01:01 GMT -5
Yeah, same as the 350 in my Dad's 94 Silverado. Yup, he's still driving a 94 and won't give it up. I could sit in that engine compartment to do work.
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Post by Fobbitcrusher on Jan 9, 2012 0:04:28 GMT -5
That's a little different. They weren't going for mileage or aerodynamics on that one. I still get 26 on the highway, 19 in town....if that thing was aerodynamic i could break 30!
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