Dan Hampton

You were actually pretty lucky. Many of the Ford V8 plugs twist off in the spark plug wells when you attempt to remove them. That requires $1000 in special tools resulting in about $80 per hole for every plug seized in the well. Most people never think they would ever see a $900 spark plug change. We see this all the time at our shop. A bigger nightmare? Don't get me started on the Ford 6.0 Diesel.

raypilot65

I agree with a little bit of what everyone said, but all things are relative. I bought my 02 Maxima new, and other than tires, brakes, a battery and belts, I have changed the plugs (thate's a pain), changed the radiator (easy), and now the alternator (two hour job and $200 bucks). During the 130K miles I've driven it, it is still fast, tight, quiet, gets 25 MPG, and can easily go another 100K. What would I have done to my new 65 Corvette in that amount of time? We forget how quickly our new cars back in the day got worn out, leaked oil, and blew smoke out the pipes. Convert those rebuilds/repairs to today's dollars and your not much better off.

Dan Hampton

And my friends who own high end cars wonder why I drive a 2002 Ford Taurus that I inherited from father-in-law. We had an Audi in the shop the other day whose adjustable ride control had given up the ghost. $4,500 to fix the whole mess. $1,700 for the air compressor, alone.

mikem350

This sounds like a really good idea, considering the cost and upgradability!!! Try ebay for the adapter..they mention the app too or Google it.

Adapter (Bluetooth) that plugs into the OBII diagnostic port = $20
App for your phone = $5

Makes me want to actually use my phone for this
Just have to get my son to show me how..

Why spend the $$ for a scanner?

cv67

Had a beautiful Acura RL I took back from an ex...140k and couldnt tell it had 20k on it incredibly reliable and well built car.

Always had a slight tick from the flexplate. Over time got worse when I looked at what was involved I sold the car.

Too bad that was the best driving car ever, niicer than my girls Benz by a landslide.

MikeM

My daily driver. Very little to go wrong and if it does, it's cheap to fix and they'll routinely run 300,000 miles and it gets 50+ mpg as a bonus.

http://ford-parts.uneedapart.com/ima...tiva-parts.jpg

Bluestripe67

Workin' on my '67 or a friends mid-year is ok. Parts are easy and relatively cheap, and tools simple. Our only other car is a '01 Mercedes AWD wagon. After the warranty expired I have done all the maintenance and some of the repairs. Have only needed my MB indy shop two times in 3.5 years, front CV joint boots and full fluid flush. I have a numbered account with the dealer that gives me 40%-60% reduction in cost. I can actually by my Mobil 1 for less there then any flaps. When or if diagnostics or a breakdown well out of my ability are needed, my indy will get the car. Dennis

AZDoug

I remember getting frustrated with all those vacuum lines and EGR valves and such on early '70's Chev V8s.

They so totally made working on the cars harder as compared to the simplicity of pre '66 cars, especially the inline six cyl cars.

Today, that 1974 car is a dream to work on compared to many new new motors.

And yes, i believe that making cars too expensive to own is part of the plan, the new fuel econ standards will result in cars that coat about twice as much for a current similar sized vehicle, (it has already been stated by auto engineering groups that a full size pickup or auto would have to be made almost entirely of aluminum to meets its MPG goal in 2020) and the maintenance expense on old high mileage cars will likely make them unattractive to own.

And why on earth bury a starter under the manifold?? No place else to put it, or some other reason?

Doug

ToolMaker427

This brings back memories.
My friends '67 GT500 has the same iisue. I'm called because I have the longest arms! It's all day job.

tuxnharley

Back in the day I had a '67 Mustang FB GT 390. To change the plugs I did about half of then from under the car, then undid the motor mounts, jacked up the engine about 3 or 4 inches, and was able to get to the rest from the top. Got so I could do it in 2 or 3 hours after several times thru. I don't know why I ever thought a truck engine was a good idea in that car...............

MrPbody

The only semi logical explanation I've ever heard is due to the heat, which actually is the real killer of starters, (and that it's a clean area). I guess when the options were with a 210* valley location or next to a 450* exhaust manifold, the choice was clear. In the Northstars defense, I've never had a starter go bad on one, and even if I did, it's actually only an hour job to pull the manifold, as it's "dry" (no water circulation in the intake manifold). Also, due to the DOHC design, there is no oil in the valley area BTW. I know, it still seems weird, but it seems to work.

Russ

Ps: tuxinharley. I'll bet you wish you had that Mustang with the "truck engine" back now

tuxnharley

Well, yes and no. That one got wrecked back then thru no fault of my own. I was out of town, parked it on the street in front of my parents house, and it got hit by a drunk in a 64ish full size Olds 88 going about 60 mph. It knocked the Mustang up on the next door neighbor's front lawn! The rear end was accordioned in about 2 feet, and the left rear tire was almost to the driver's seat.

About 8 years ago I found a virtual twin of it except with an "A" code 289, now built to Hypo specs. A much better handling car especially since I put on sub frame connectors and drop front spindles. I do miss that truck engine torque, 'tho! But, I never could make the old one handle like McQueen's in "Bullitt". Or maybe it was just the driver.......


Glenn

csherman

I work on all my stuff
New and old -
New just takes more time and patience - plus more tools
I dont mind it - rather work on my own stuff
get great satisfaction work on my cars (and neighbors too)

IGO200

This is all so true! I HATE the lack of serviceability in these cars. The only offset is the general reliability. I see that the need for "professional" service is infrequent enough to offset the cost, so I try and avoid working on my DD.
"Hung the heater core from a coat hanger" That's SO funny and believable!
I did headers on my C5 and it wasn't bad, but I needed to have the car on a lift. Injectors were easy as well.
I think this plays into my decision to do my '66- I really enjoy working on stuff, especially building engines and this gave me an outlet.

Dan Hampton

Until you need a $7,500 scan tool.

Crunch527

I always joke that on the newer cars, step one is always "remove rear bumper"...well, last week I had to R&R a tail light on my 04 Acura TL..."step one" actually is, "remove rear bumper"...

Frank

62Jeff

"Do you ever work on modern cars...."

Only when I want to.

I have pulled the motor in my 62 vette.

I never considered doing my engine swap on my XK8.

rayvaflav

So many of the newer GM model faults are repairable as a software change or module recalibration, it's actually rare for a newer model module to have an internal fault (unlike the PCMs in the '80's/'90's). Unfortunately the module recalibrations are only available through GM's TIS2Web or GlobalConnect site which is dealer specific.

Ray

Plasticman

Our 2005 Dodge Magnum 5.7 Hemi is a good example of both a software issue, and inept dealer service manager. Since new, it has had an AC "failure to cool" a total of 3 times (system freeze up), each on a relatively long trip, at highways speeds when ambient temp is between 70-80F, & always "fixed itself", never repeatable, so never pursued repair. Like I said, only occurred on long trips, and that type of situation begs for the dealer to keep replacing parts, with no end in sight........

I was aware of a TSB for that exact issue, but our car was purchased in Sept. 2005, while the TSB was for vehicles built before end of previous Jan. As it turns out it was actually built in Feb., so it barely was out of the TSB range.

On a long trip this past Sept., the AC froze up several times, so we took it into our Mopar dealer. Dealer says TSB does not apply, but will check the AC charge (which means discharge the system and refill with a new charge - which it did not need, $cha-ching). He said it was only minimally low, and was not the issue, so he goes ahead and does the TSB software update (even though our vehicle is just barely out of the TSB "range").

Just after we purchased the vehicle in 2005, I had "added" a LED dash indicator to tell me when the engine went into 4 cylinder mode. It is just a LED and dropping resistor wired across one of the 4 fuel injectors that switches off when switching to 4 cylinders. If the LED is off, that injector is not firing, and it is in 4 cylinder mode. If in 8 cylinder mode, the LED flashes at the injector pulse rate and duration. Very useful.

After the recent software update (for the AC TSB), the LED is now flashing all the time (indicating that the engine is not switching into 4 cylinder mode). Call dealer service manager, and he states our car never had the 4 cylinder mode, but was much more concerned about how I "knew" that it was switching from one mode to the other, and what modifications I made that could of damaged the (his) vehicle. After 30 minute explaination, he said he would get back to me......2 days later he says bring it in for further checks, but only after I had to explain again what changes I had made.

In the mean time, I went on the LX Forum (Mopar forum), and found a method to reset the computer for this type issue. It reset properly, using that method, and the LED is now indicating both 8 & 4 cylinder modes. And I cancelled my next dealer visit.....and the AC continues to function properly (will see what happens on the next long trip).

And no, the dealer service manager does not know how to reset the computer for that fault (4 cylinder mode not engaging after software update). He had never heard of it before, and I never found it in the 4 volume service manual.

Plasticman

DansYellow66

My 2003 is (supposedly) the first year they changed the heads to increase the threads securing the spark plugs from 4 to 8 so I am lucky in that respect. I put the new ones in with a liberal coating of anti-sieze.