Casper, Internet. Internet, Casper.This picture was taken shortly before snow fell, and is the most recent photo I've got. I will put up some interior shots once I've got them, just to give a reference for future comparison.
For now, courage.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Pictures
Casper, Internet. Internet, Casper.This picture was taken shortly before snow fell, and is the most recent photo I've got. I will put up some interior shots once I've got them, just to give a reference for future comparison.
For now, courage.
Maintenance
There are some simple things which I have never done in the past but will do from this point forward.
Petroleum Jelly
Applying petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to rubber components like weatherstripping, tires, etc. keeps the rubber soft. There is a 99% chance it is recommended in the owner's manual for your car. This isn't just something limited to cars, though! Any rubber item you own which is exposed to the elements can benefit from this simple practice.
Checking Fluids
There is no practical reason to skip checking your engine fluids when you fuel up your car. It takes all of 30 seconds to check your oil, and mere visual inspection for coolant/antifreeze, brake fluid, and power steering fluid. Even during the coldest days of winter this will not keep you out in the wind and snow long enough to be unpleasant.
Car Washes
It seems like vanity to hit up the wash for your car to become filthy again in such a short time. Things are worse during the winter, since sand and possibly salt end up all over your car daily. But this is precisely the reason you need to wash your car! Sand can be damaging to your cars finish and salt will cause rust. North Dakota, where we live, does not salt their roads, but we routinely drive on the Minnesota side where salt is applied liberally. It is optimal to be able to dry your car thoroughly after washing, specially in winter. For this reason, it is handy to have access to a heated garage.
Tire Pressure
My front tire pressure was off by 10psi. Ten pounds! This makes a difference in fuel economy as well as in the life of the tire. A tire gauge only costs a few bucks, and most gas stations will let you use one for free if you ask. Air is also generally free at gas stations.
Fuel Economy
Keep a log book in your car to track your fuel economy and to keep notes about car performance and maintenance. Every time you fuel up, take a minute to jot down how many gallons you put in and what your mileage looked like. It is easier to spot potential issues when you can see fluctuations in your average fuel economy over time. If you ever sell your car, you will have valuable documentation containing a record of every time fluids were changed or topped off, parts replaced, and even unresolved issues. A smart buyer would kill for this knowledge for a used car.
Petroleum Jelly
Applying petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to rubber components like weatherstripping, tires, etc. keeps the rubber soft. There is a 99% chance it is recommended in the owner's manual for your car. This isn't just something limited to cars, though! Any rubber item you own which is exposed to the elements can benefit from this simple practice.
Checking Fluids
There is no practical reason to skip checking your engine fluids when you fuel up your car. It takes all of 30 seconds to check your oil, and mere visual inspection for coolant/antifreeze, brake fluid, and power steering fluid. Even during the coldest days of winter this will not keep you out in the wind and snow long enough to be unpleasant.
Car Washes
It seems like vanity to hit up the wash for your car to become filthy again in such a short time. Things are worse during the winter, since sand and possibly salt end up all over your car daily. But this is precisely the reason you need to wash your car! Sand can be damaging to your cars finish and salt will cause rust. North Dakota, where we live, does not salt their roads, but we routinely drive on the Minnesota side where salt is applied liberally. It is optimal to be able to dry your car thoroughly after washing, specially in winter. For this reason, it is handy to have access to a heated garage.
Tire Pressure
My front tire pressure was off by 10psi. Ten pounds! This makes a difference in fuel economy as well as in the life of the tire. A tire gauge only costs a few bucks, and most gas stations will let you use one for free if you ask. Air is also generally free at gas stations.
Fuel Economy
Keep a log book in your car to track your fuel economy and to keep notes about car performance and maintenance. Every time you fuel up, take a minute to jot down how many gallons you put in and what your mileage looked like. It is easier to spot potential issues when you can see fluctuations in your average fuel economy over time. If you ever sell your car, you will have valuable documentation containing a record of every time fluids were changed or topped off, parts replaced, and even unresolved issues. A smart buyer would kill for this knowledge for a used car.
Blower Motor
Today I tackled the blower motor "repair", which turned out to be not much of a repair at all.
The blower motor - the motor responsible for blowing heated (or cooled) air into the cabin of the car - is simply an electric motor with variable speed. In Casper it is located in the housing for the heater core, which is directly behind the engine and in front of the windshield. Accessing it was simply a matter of opening the hood and removing a piece of weatherstripping and a plastic shroud.
My "repair" was no more than disconnecting an air hose and spraying lubricant onto the blower motor. I had first thought to use WD-40, but was told it would evaporate within a week and I would be back where I started. Instead, I ended up using a lubricant based on mineral spirits. Silicone-based lubricants would have also been suitable.
Following a liberal application of sprayable lubricant, I turned the heater on and added a little more during operation. After everything was put back together I moved the car out of the garage and left the heater fan on full blast for ~20 minutes for good measure.
For the time being I have heat as I should. This might last me a week, or maybe for as long as I keep the car. With any good fortune it will last until the end of winter.
The blower motor - the motor responsible for blowing heated (or cooled) air into the cabin of the car - is simply an electric motor with variable speed. In Casper it is located in the housing for the heater core, which is directly behind the engine and in front of the windshield. Accessing it was simply a matter of opening the hood and removing a piece of weatherstripping and a plastic shroud.
My "repair" was no more than disconnecting an air hose and spraying lubricant onto the blower motor. I had first thought to use WD-40, but was told it would evaporate within a week and I would be back where I started. Instead, I ended up using a lubricant based on mineral spirits. Silicone-based lubricants would have also been suitable.
Following a liberal application of sprayable lubricant, I turned the heater on and added a little more during operation. After everything was put back together I moved the car out of the garage and left the heater fan on full blast for ~20 minutes for good measure.
For the time being I have heat as I should. This might last me a week, or maybe for as long as I keep the car. With any good fortune it will last until the end of winter.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Next Up
The car is back to running smooth, but there are still some issues to be tackled. Since I've put a budget cap at ~$100/month for non-critical issues, I've got to pick and choose my battles...
Blower Motor
This is the motor which delivers hot air to the cabin. Right now it is spotty at best, which means I drive in a whole lot of cold. I am not sure what to expect for this repair. It could be quite an adventure!
Fuel Injectors
I'm told I can rebuild them "on the cheap". This is a more likely option, as they cost $50/each new. That's the best price I could find. I would need five of them. I will need to do this before I can hammer down the correct idle mixture.
Idle Mixture
While the idle is much better, it is still not where it should be. I think I may be running rich (more fuel than should be in the mix, as opposed to lean), as I'm burning fuel much faster than I should be. Before I can do this, I need to make sure there are no vacuum leaks.
Instrument Panel
A bunch of soldering needs be done to fix issues with the LED display, speedometer, indicator lights, etc.
Fuse #4 Power Drainage
The devices on fuse #4 are non-critical (mostly interior lights), but I would rather they work without draining my battery. I need to test each device on the circuit to find the short, and while I'm at it I will replace bad lights and clean the switches for smoother operation.
Headliner
Saggy, saggy, saggy. If I get this cut out then testing all of the lights should go much quicker. Evidently you can buy headliner fabric at normal fabric stores. It is just padded fabric with adhesive. You use a roller paintbrush to gently apply the new fabric to the surface it is mounted upon. I have no clue how much the fabric costs.
Heater Box Enclosure Cover
This is a thin, brittle plastic cover held down by metal clips and weather stripping. It is cracked all over pretty bad. I can't buy a replacement, so I had the clever idea of making one using a superior material. The plan is to make a plaster cast and manually tweak said cast to compensate for the missing portions. Following this, I will attempt to use silicone rubber to create a replacement part. If I am successful, I will market them on the Audi World forums for other owners. If this process pays off it could pave the way for making other replacement parts.
Those are the main projects for now! The blower motor is priority #1, for obvious reasons...
Blower Motor
This is the motor which delivers hot air to the cabin. Right now it is spotty at best, which means I drive in a whole lot of cold. I am not sure what to expect for this repair. It could be quite an adventure!
Fuel Injectors
I'm told I can rebuild them "on the cheap". This is a more likely option, as they cost $50/each new. That's the best price I could find. I would need five of them. I will need to do this before I can hammer down the correct idle mixture.
Idle Mixture
While the idle is much better, it is still not where it should be. I think I may be running rich (more fuel than should be in the mix, as opposed to lean), as I'm burning fuel much faster than I should be. Before I can do this, I need to make sure there are no vacuum leaks.
Instrument Panel
A bunch of soldering needs be done to fix issues with the LED display, speedometer, indicator lights, etc.
Fuse #4 Power Drainage
The devices on fuse #4 are non-critical (mostly interior lights), but I would rather they work without draining my battery. I need to test each device on the circuit to find the short, and while I'm at it I will replace bad lights and clean the switches for smoother operation.
Headliner
Saggy, saggy, saggy. If I get this cut out then testing all of the lights should go much quicker. Evidently you can buy headliner fabric at normal fabric stores. It is just padded fabric with adhesive. You use a roller paintbrush to gently apply the new fabric to the surface it is mounted upon. I have no clue how much the fabric costs.
Heater Box Enclosure Cover
This is a thin, brittle plastic cover held down by metal clips and weather stripping. It is cracked all over pretty bad. I can't buy a replacement, so I had the clever idea of making one using a superior material. The plan is to make a plaster cast and manually tweak said cast to compensate for the missing portions. Following this, I will attempt to use silicone rubber to create a replacement part. If I am successful, I will market them on the Audi World forums for other owners. If this process pays off it could pave the way for making other replacement parts.
Those are the main projects for now! The blower motor is priority #1, for obvious reasons...
Merry Christmas to Me!
To show appreciation for some assistance I had offered, two of my friends bought a new starter for Casper. I set aside some time to install it yesterday, and the whole process went rather smooth. There is really not much to write about it except this:
If I had lacked a nice jack and jack stands, I wouldn't have been able to do this. My friend Gary had recently purchased a new creeper (that thingy with wheels which mechanics lay on), which also made a world of difference.
Lesson: While there are some parts which are less expensive online, local auto parts stores still have competitive pricing and many places will price match (or even beat by 5%+) other local stores. The new starter cost $70 less locally than the best online price I could find.
- Disconnect the battery
- Jack the front end waaaaay up
- Lower the car onto jack stands
- Remove old starter (two large bolts + electrical wiring)
- Install new starter
- Reconnect the battery
- Test
- Remove jack stands
- Drive away
If I had lacked a nice jack and jack stands, I wouldn't have been able to do this. My friend Gary had recently purchased a new creeper (that thingy with wheels which mechanics lay on), which also made a world of difference.
Lesson: While there are some parts which are less expensive online, local auto parts stores still have competitive pricing and many places will price match (or even beat by 5%+) other local stores. The new starter cost $70 less locally than the best online price I could find.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Dead Battery Update #1
It turns out my battery was shot, too. It tested as only able to put out ~220CCA (cold cranking amps, meaning cranking amps below 30F) but should have been able to put out >700CCA.
Thankfully, the battery was still under warranty and the shop I'd picked it up from handed a new one across the counter with no questions asked. Nice.
Lesson: Warranties are a Good Thing (TM).
Thankfully, the battery was still under warranty and the shop I'd picked it up from handed a new one across the counter with no questions asked. Nice.
Lesson: Warranties are a Good Thing (TM).
ISV Revisited
It turns out my idle stabilizer valve (ISV) is shot.
Since I was having such wonderful idling issues I posted to the audiworld.com forums hoping someone would have some ideas. I had some ideas of my own, but it is always best to have a full hat of tricks when entering the garage.
Some kind soul suggested I remove my ISV and blow in one end to see if the gasket was good (no leakage) or bad (some to much leakage). Mine came in on the bad side. The very bad side.
I ordered a new ISV on Thursday, received it on Friday, and was able to install it today (Sunday). Oh. My. Goodness. What a difference! The idle is stable, but the car still idled quite high. So, back to the bag of tricks.
In my perusal of the repair manual I found information regarding a special procedure for changing the CO (carbon monoxide) mixture. It appears some of the CO running through the turbo ends up back in air headed for combustion-land. The procedure calls for removal of a semi-permanent aluminum plug near the fuel distributor, and mine had most obviously been removed. That's right: somebody messed up my CO mixture.
It took some trial and error, as well as proper adjustment to the idle via the throttle body, but I presently have the car starting decent and idling smoothly at ~1100RPM. This is still not where I would like things to be, but it is much better.
The car should be able to start without pumping the accelerator, and should idle at ~750RPM. I'm almost there!
Since I was having such wonderful idling issues I posted to the audiworld.com forums hoping someone would have some ideas. I had some ideas of my own, but it is always best to have a full hat of tricks when entering the garage.
Some kind soul suggested I remove my ISV and blow in one end to see if the gasket was good (no leakage) or bad (some to much leakage). Mine came in on the bad side. The very bad side.
I ordered a new ISV on Thursday, received it on Friday, and was able to install it today (Sunday). Oh. My. Goodness. What a difference! The idle is stable, but the car still idled quite high. So, back to the bag of tricks.
In my perusal of the repair manual I found information regarding a special procedure for changing the CO (carbon monoxide) mixture. It appears some of the CO running through the turbo ends up back in air headed for combustion-land. The procedure calls for removal of a semi-permanent aluminum plug near the fuel distributor, and mine had most obviously been removed. That's right: somebody messed up my CO mixture.
It took some trial and error, as well as proper adjustment to the idle via the throttle body, but I presently have the car starting decent and idling smoothly at ~1100RPM. This is still not where I would like things to be, but it is much better.
The car should be able to start without pumping the accelerator, and should idle at ~750RPM. I'm almost there!
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