mws

Halibut coming your way.... DON'T duck....

I filled up most of the fleet last week in anticipation. So far, no changes in NoCal. But the S&D theories says some rise is inevitable. Especially if more people did exactly what I did and create an artificial demand spike! Yes, I am part of the problem.

PU bumper? Don't know. Bumper hitches have very weak ratings anyway. Weld on? Not advised. Just hit a junkyard. LOTS of pathies had class III hitches added.

Wow, someone woke up with serious suicidal tendencies....

/\ Shot "IT" < Stuffed "IT" \/ Will eat "IT"

/\ Needs to go on desert run < Is trying to help \/ Is figuring out how they can help as well!

Methinks the precise one speaketh with great wisdom. Listen well, grasshopper.

Gastown! That's it! There used to be an awesome cigar shop down there.... The only place I've found to get consistently good non-conterfeit cubanos.

If Vancouver WA, drive to the other Vancouver! Just kidding, Oliver. Which Vancouver are you referring to? I really liked the BC aquariam. And the old part of town, where the old steam clock is.... And Stanley Park is nice.

Wow, an ad and a PSA all in one! "I'M A DAFT ILLITERATE RETARD! AND YES, MY CAR IS AS F'D UP AS MY LANGUAGE SKILLS!" Yeah, I'll not be thinking 'bout buying that one....

Retreads done right are excellent. Retreads done wrong are horrible. Do your research, talk to as many customers as you can, make your decision about how trustworthy they seem to be.

I like tats and find the artistry (in a good one) to be amazing. But, man. There are going to be some seriously ugly people walking around in 40 years. Fading and blurring starts making them look not so cool in just a few years. After 30 years, those detailed back pieces and sleeves are going to look like acid induced Rorschach Tests... "This one, err, this use to be a, HEY, ETHEL, WHAT WAS THIS TAT ON MY ARM????"

Britney?

A very key factor: Is this a rebuilt starter or a factory Nissan?

Here's the link: http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...80&start=80 The I6 springs may be quite adequate, depending on which they are. Jeep used MANY different spring rates. Slap a caliper on the wire and measure and you'll know what to expect.

How often to change? That is a great question and you will get many answers. For me, the answer is "it depends". The biggest benefit of paying for synthetic oil is the additive package. It is usually the best the manufacturer has - which is why the synthetic costs so much more. Many studies have shown the additives will keep the oil stable and the engine protected for many, many thousands of miles under the right conditions. The things that cause any oil to "wear out" or consume its additives: - Thermal cycles. Each time you start engine from cold, consider it a cycle. - Extreme heat. Driving through Death Valley in August stresses everything! - Extreme work. Like towing. The more you do any of those, the sooner you should change the oil. The other factor is contamination build up. The two nasty contaminations to be concerned with are combustion blow by and good old dirt. Blow by contains a lot of acids, dirt is just abrasive. So.... Factor in all of that and decide for yourself! For example, my situations are as follows: In our BMW 318is: This engine has been on M1 all its life. So despite almost 200K miles, it has very little wear with almost no blow by. Only street driven, no dirt. So the oil is still honey gold at 5K miles, getting darker at 10K. Based on this, it could easily go 20K miles without contamination issues. BUT, it it heavily used by my wife to commute back and forth to work. And lunch errands. So all the thermal cycles become a factor as they consume the start up protection additives. Based on that, I back intervals back down to about 10K miles. Nissan Maxima: Only 40K miles. No engine wear. Honey colored at 10K miles. Used mostly for long freeway drives. 20K mile change intervals is my norm, but this is the kind of application where studies show 50K miles may be OK.... Pathy: Unknown miles on this engine. Oil is dark brown at 5K, so some blow by. Used offroad, so dirt as well. Used by me for commuting and short hops. Usually change around 6K. Less often if long trips or no offroading. If it looks black, change it sooner. F250: Used for heavy towing, usually on hot days. Would really hate to lunch this expensive engine and be stranded. Change every 5K miles. Side note: I use high quality paper air filters on all, so minimal dirt intrusion. If you are running a cotton gauze filter (K&N et al) then you will be getting a lot more fine dirt contamination into cylinders and into oil, so need to change more frequently to minimize wear.

Or if you are running thicker than recommended oil now, try thinner. On my 240SX, it would do exactly what you described when I used the highest recommended weight thinking it would be good for it during our 110 degree summers. Went back to lightest recommended and it went away.

Based on 30 years experience and 6 years of Engineering education: I use straight Mobil 1 or Valvoline full synthetic Unless engine is leaking or so worn it is on last legs and burning lots of oil. Then I use cheap dino oil with Lucas oil stabilizer to milk another few 10's out..... Funny, all the engines I ran only straight Mobil 1 in NEVER became one of the ones needing Lucas.

Hopefully this won't digress into political disaster... but I am questioning the Republican Party's decision. It is clear they are hoping to capitalize on the perceived Obama/Clinton division in the Democratic party and try to win over some female votes. But it seems to me they would be losing more sexist a-hole votes than they would gain female votes.... I did my own poll among my female friends, and even the most ardent Clinton supporters would still NEVER vote Republican regardless of who he has on the ticket for VP. I even asked "What if it was Hillary?" They still said no. What say our ladies? Will this decision change your vote? Yes, you non-American's can sound off as well! Please disregard Bush and his actions, most of us do still respect you and your opinions!

Ohhh...... touche!

It'd be about 550 miles (each way) for us, so unfortunately I don't see it happening. I just don't have enough vacation time available.

Welcome back, Ben! We thought about you often - sounds like all our wishes for a SAFE return have come true. We'd like to hear some of your stories when you get a chance. Little Red is doing GREAT! She misses you, but I think she is pretty happy in her new home as well. Yes, I still have her and use her regularly. She's still ugly as ever (almost ALL of the clear coat is gone off the hood now), but the running gear is 100% like new now! Drives like a champ. Well, except for the A/C.... the compressor died a couple months ago. Got a new one, just need to get it installed and charged. Just a tough little truck with a lot of life left! 250K miles is just break in, I tell ya!

Do it like the pro's (or at least the last pro that touched my Pathy): Just use the biggest impact wrench you have and hold the top nuts with a wrench. Don't even need to loosen the lock nut! Of course, it won't do a dammed thing but eliminate all the threads on the adjustor bolt. But no worries there - they won't notice until they try to adjust it themselves.

UNLESS an oversized fuse was installed, a melted fuse box usually indicates a damaged contact or wire in the fuse box. If the contacts are spread, or the wire going to the contact is severely compromised (like 90% broken) then a high resistance point results. High resistance means heat generation, even at current levels lower than the fuse installed.

With that, you will need to cut away a LOT of front fender if you want to be able to turn.