What did you do to your other car(s) today?

[a]

Thanks for reminding me. Hafta check the 528e for starting before running rubbish to the roadside. On the Rat, the 1/4" structural rivets are not magical. I going back to 3/8 bolts for the final 4 connectors. Next will be replacing the gas tank and the bed.

[kzolee]

Watched, how the self levelling suspension had its final seconds. After a big bang. Good horse dies at home.

[davintosh]

Bought it. Just back from Germany, and we needed a vehicle, and we bought this, a 2006 Lexus RX400h.



My wife wanted something that sat a little higher and got decent mileage, or at least better than what her old X5 got. I was kinda thinking of an X3, but this was for sale locally. It's a hybrid, but dang does it move. Like a Prius on steroids. 268hp combined from the gas engine and two electric motors. Driving with hybrid and a CVT is a little weird, but the system seems to get the job done. It's not the best looking car, just another lump in the crowd, but I'm kinda liking how it drives. Got a nice growl when you hit the go pedal hard.

[a]

Sorta sad but , I don't have a 528e that is road worthy. First time in 21 yrs. I'm gonna harvest a few needful things and sell or scrap everything else. I have the 533i and it doesn't need very much to be drivable . MDW and the Princess picked out a '16 Camry LE. I plan to be bored in it. I don't need to to do anything but send them to a nearby Toyota outlet and look at these stock numbers and get the best one. Thats the thing about Camrys . A low mile lease turn in with a CPO warranty equal to a new car warranty . I did a little on line looking and the 2 shoppers were given parameters , agreed upon. I said to make sure it has new tires if the miles were over 30 K It did and they were new. Marina didn't like the silver one , said it was a dog and had a lag ,strong chemical reek too.. Whatever, they liked the white one Its a freaken 2yr old Toyota Camry. Welcome to the 3rd millennium, Pops.

This afternoon, the Rat's rear wheels touched ground for the first time since New Yrs

[tig]

Bought it. Just back from Germany, and we needed a vehicle, and we bought this, a 2006 Lexus RX400h.



My wife wanted something that sat a little higher and got decent mileage, or at least better than what her old X5 got. I was kinda thinking of an X3, but this was for sale locally. It's a hybrid, but dang does it move. Like a Prius on steroids. 268hp combined from the gas engine and two electric motors. Driving with hybrid and a CVT is a little weird, but the system seems to get the job done. It's not the best looking car, just another lump in the crowd, but I'm kinda liking how it drives. Got a nice growl when you hit the go pedal hard.

That's weird. But with your fascination with electric cars, I guess I get it. I think you should convert it to full plug-in-electric.

[davintosh]

That's weird. But with your fascination with electric cars, I guess I get it. I think you should convert it to full plug-in-electric.

Can't disagree with that, it is weird. There was a time when I was pretty skeptical of the hybrid thing in general; I thought they were way too complicated and would be massive fail monsters as they aged, but given the number that have been on the road for 10+ years and are still relatively reliable... Hard to argue with that. It's about the same size as the e53 X5, and ours would average about 18 mpg with mixed city & highway. This thing has been averaging about 24. Hard to argue with that too.

As for the plug-in thing, that might be possible, but I'd probably spend more on that than I did on the car.

[Karl Grau]

It's a hybrid

OMG! The time in Germany turned you into a tree hugger! What's next, a "Don't blame me I voted for Hillary" sticker?

[Dale3783]

Got my girlfriends Barracuda back on the road after a 5 year nap. Fresh motor rebuild and some new shoes. Still a long way to go, but at least she moves under her own power.

[Forza]

Put a 17mm rear sway bar (from an '04 Baja turbo) onto my wife's 65,000-mile 2002 Subaru Outback Limited to replace the original 14mm one. Easy job, inexpensive, looks factory, and it really helps to neutralize its handling characteristics.

[oldskool]

Chasing down a no AC and no high speed cooling fan /overheating problem with a 2004 4.0 Cherokee Jeep. This must be reason I don't do this for a living.

[davintosh]

While my wife was driving the Lexus last week, a persistent "SERVICE REQUIRED" message came up on the dash, accompanied by a red warning triangle, and managed to scare the crap out of her. I put a code reader on it, and no codes on it at all; checked around and found that it's just the reminder that it needs an oil change. Good grief. I was going to do the oil change myself, but didn't know how to reset the warning, so called the Toyota dealer to see if they'd do it for me, and found out that having them change the oil would cost less than I'd spend on just the oil for for the job. So I went in yesterday for an oil change and tire rotation, spent a half-hour in their air conditioned customer lounge eating their donuts and drinking their coffee, and was told when it was done that the radiator has a crack and is leaking. Great.

They have a rad in stock, and could probably schedule it in sometime this week; $800 parts & labor. Um, nope. I checked around online, and a new rad is under $100. R&R looks to be pretty straightforward too.

And I also learned it's possible to download (for free) Toyota's Tech Stream software & install it on an old laptop, and use it to reset the scary service reminders and other cool stuff. I am all over that. Can't wait to find out how much else I can do with it!

It's a hybrid

OMG! The time in Germany turned you into a tree hugger! What's next, a "Don't blame me I voted for Hillary" sticker?

No stickers, and the trees are safe.

Got my girlfriends Barracuda back on the road after a 5 year nap. Fresh motor rebuild and some new shoes. Still a long way to go, but at least she moves under her own power.

Dang; that is one gorgeous car. More pics?

[Dale3783]

[/quote]
Dang; that is one gorgeous car. More pics?[/quote]


Thanks!! It ran better than it looks which was really exciting. I'll post some more Sunday night. I didn't take many cause it's actually filthy in the above photo. Getting a full detail this weekend.

[a]

'66 Baccaruda , my buddy Jeffrey had one with a 6. Spoli's was the same colr and had a 272. Roger's was BRG with 272 and a 4 spd . Great cars, really needed front disk brakes.That is why I din't fix my Valiant when it needed work back around 1990. I went out to '16 Camry Le and took the keys out it .I last drove it Thursday.

[waynet1]

Dang; that is one gorgeous car. More pics?[/quote]


Thanks!! It ran better than it looks which was really exciting. I'll post some more Sunday night. I didn't take many cause it's actually filthy in the above photo. Getting a full detail this weekend.[/quote]

Very, very nice. Brings back memories .

'66 Baccaruda , my buddy Jeffrey had one with a 6. Spoli's was the same colr and had a 272. Roger's was BRG with 272 and a 4 spd . Great cars, really needed front disk brakes.

I believe it was/is a 273, smallest V8 Mopar made at the time.

[m-racer]

While my wife was driving the Lexus last week, a persistent "SERVICE REQUIRED" message came up on the dash, accompanied by a red warning triangle, and managed to scare the crap out of her. I put a code reader on it, and no codes on it at all; checked around and found that it's just the reminder that it needs an oil change. Good grief. I was going to do the oil change myself, but didn't know how to reset the warning, so called the Toyota dealer to see if they'd do it for me, and found out that having them change the oil would cost less than I'd spend on just the oil for for the job. So I went in yesterday for an oil change and tire rotation, spent a half-hour in their air conditioned customer lounge eating their donuts and drinking their coffee, and was told when it was done that the radiator has a crack and is leaking. Great.

They have a rad in stock, and could probably schedule it in sometime this week; $800 parts & labor. Um, nope. I checked around online, and a new rad is under $100. R&R looks to be pretty straightforward too.

the service light is set to go off every 5k. There is supposed to be a way to over ride it, but it never bugged me that much. I did the radiator on my Sequoia because the dealership wanted 1200 bucks. Took most of a day but I am arthritic and took a bunch of breaks. Not very complicated. You'll probably drive that new to you
Lexus long after you get sick of it.

[Mike W.]

the service light is set to go off every 5k. .

5k oil changes? The E28 seemed to go off about 9 or 10K and god knows what the newer ones are set at. The new to me '03 Datsun only spec's 7.5K or 3.75K in dusty conditions.

[m-racer]

the service light is set to go off every 5k. .

5k oil changes? The E28 seemed to go off about 9 or 10K and god knows what the newer ones are set at. The new to me '03 Datsun only spec's 7.5K or 3.75K in dusty conditions.

yep...at least on both my Sequoia and Landcruiser. Not a measure of if it needs changing. More a reminder to give the dealership a visit. As Dave indicated, oil changes are cheap so they can find something expensive to fix.

[Dale3783]

'66 Baccaruda , my buddy Jeffrey had one with a 6. Spoli's was the same colr and had a 272. Roger's was BRG with 272 and a 4 spd . Great cars, really needed front disk brakes.That is why I din't fix my Valiant when it needed work back around 1990. I went out to '16 Camry Le and took the keys out it .I last drove it Thursday.

This is a '65 with a 273 auto.

[davintosh]

I finished up the radiator R&R yesterday. What a total pain in the arse. Toyota packaged the radiator with the AC condenser and the radiator for the inverter; normal process to change the radiator means removing the whole works, then having to refill both cooling systems and recharge the AC afterward. It's possible to remove it without the condenser, but some of the fasteners are next to impossible to get at with normal tools. Access to the two bolts holding the bottom of the radiator to the frame is through a hole barely large enough to get a socket into, and it's offset by a couple inches. I ended up using a flex socket to get them loose (and tightened on reinstall), but one of the lower bolts was seized to the nut in the radiator, which was held in place by plastic. I fought with that one for way too long. It's done now though, and I'm glad.

I had a bit of a surprise when I was crawling under the raised front of the Lexus yesterday. When our RX400h was built in 2005, it was available as either FWD or AWD; I assumed that since the RX400 shares a lot in common with the non-hybrid RX350, there was a mechanical connection between the two axles. I knew there was an electric motor on the rear axle, and that it only came into play when the front wheels lost traction, or when you nail the throttle... But when I was underneath it yesterday I noticed that the driveshaft was missing. Turns out the rear axle drive is pure electric. How cool is that? Well, at least I think it's pretty cool.

[boomslack]

Got my girlfriends Barracuda back on the road after a 5 year nap. Fresh motor rebuild and some new shoes. Still a long way to go, but at least she moves under her own power.

We're gonna need to have some talking! I have a '66 cuda that I'm slowly rebuilding, any information in getting materials would be a godsend.

[1st 5er]

Over the last several days ElJeepO got a new CPS.

[BavarianTexan]

Bought it. Just back from Germany, and we needed a vehicle, and we bought this, a 2006 Lexus RX400h.



My wife wanted something that sat a little higher and got decent mileage, or at least better than what her old X5 got. I was kinda thinking of an X3, but this was for sale locally. It's a hybrid, but dang does it move. Like a Prius on steroids. 268hp combined from the gas engine and two electric motors. Driving with hybrid and a CVT is a little weird, but the system seems to get the job done. It's not the best looking car, just another lump in the crowd, but I'm kinda liking how it drives. Got a nice growl when you hit the go pedal hard.

Is that squeezable BBQ sauce on the ground?

[Mike W.]

Washed them. All 5 of them in the last 3 days. Gets old quick. Only one needed wax so badly I didn't have to bother with the chamois.

[Forza]

Washed my E34 last weekend and replaced the thirdbrake light after the "1 brake light" alert appeared on the instrument panel. Previous owner, mracer, kind enough to keep a pack of spare bulbs in the tool kit.

[Mike W.]

Much to my surprise the Datsun didn't come with an aux fan. Seemed odd for a passenger truck that was 38K in '03 but oh well. Yeah, A/C while not awful was lacking while stopped and it heated up a couple of times on vacation either up a steep 4WD hill or stuck in traffic. So in goes a BMW aux fan I had. Not sure what it came out of, it still has the BMW P/N on it but I know I didn't pull it out of a late model E24. I think a E32 or E34. It was tight getting it in behind the hood latch support, but it's a thin fan so I had room. In honor of red BMW engine fans it will probably see red paint soon, just cause. Actually I should probably make a guard, you don't really see it when it's running and red might help. Or just add 10HP, no wait, it's Japanese HP, it would be at least 15HP. Wiring doesn't quite have a factory look, but it is close on grade and fully up on wire sizes.

Before


The fan installed


The fan running


Controls weren't as simple as they could be since I elected to use low speed for A/C operation and high speed off a fan controller. But it works.