What did you do to your ride today?

[Robert Hall]

Looking good for 8 yrs old, 65k miles.  Washed, waxed, interior cleaned and detailed, summer mats in.

[trinacriabob]

I recently had the accelerator pedal replaced - it was periodically throwing out the OBD II codes that come with intermittent malfunctioning, since most cars are now drive-by-wire.  I didn't do it.  I had a friend's recommended mechanic do it.  It seems to feel more "connected."  I'm hoping it holds up well.  This is a common issue for GM W-body cars that went to drive-by-wire.

While there, I had him put in a new PCV valve, which sits in a spring loaded chamber under the M.A.P. sensor, of all places, on 3800 V6s.

[trinacriabob]

It's what I did yesterday.

For my car:

I dropped by Costco to find out about the new Michelin sale cycle and look at (not kick) some tires.  Most of the time, the guys who work there are fairly cool and a few times you get the boorish meathead type.  The guy who helped me was very cool.  New Michelin Defenders, or Michelin equivalent, will be my September project.

For me:

I did the "express" "Costco lunch" and then went to "Cafe 150" for a dog and drink.

[trinacriabob]

What did I do to my car today?  A lot.

Today was the day for the new Michelins!  They are the latest Defender 2 design, branded a specific way for Costco.  With the current sale, the package deal for everything was a nice thing to have in these inflationary times.

Instead of going "Cafe 1.50," I went "Cafe 2.69," because I had a slice of pepperoni pizza and a soft drink while I waited.  "Costco lunch" pickings were slim.  I started out with that.

As I got near the place, I drove the car around a couple more miles and pulled it up to the tire department when the tire life was at exactly 72,000 miles.  OCD much, eh?  The guy told me I still had about 4 mms on the middle treads, but clearly not at the shoulders.  Still, that's impressive.

I then went to get them aligned at a small shop I happened upon a year ago and really like, and then went for a belated birthday dinner for and with a friend.

Between brand new tires, and their being balanced and aligned, the car drove as if it had less than 50,000 miles and reminded me of the incredibly quiet motoring on smooth asphalt between Portland and Seattle during the car's "early years."

[trinacriabob]

I didn't know where to put this.  It probably belongs here.

Before having the tires (see post above) put on, they were fairly worn, hadn't been aligned in a long time, and were out of balance, with a slight vibration coming through the steering wheel.

Now, with all that new tread, as well as optimal alignment and balancing, the car seems to show little rolling resistance on the freeway and unknowingly gets up to 70+ mph without even being aware of it.  I'm loving the way it drives.

I will be taking it on a medium-haul run in a few weeks and it will be a good time to check the mileage.  "Fresh" Michelins have always fetched fairly impressive fuel mileage for me.

[Robert Hall]

Had the Jeep in at the dealer for oil change, tire rotation, front and rear axle fluid replacement, transfer case oil change a couple weeks ago.   Today, got a set of Westin Oval 4" side steps installed.    Running great at 69k miles. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Robert Hall

[David]

Had to spend money on my rides this week.

$1,600 for new rotors, calipers and ceramic pads front and back on the Escalade. 180,000 plus miles and had only needed a pad set last few times, but this time, the rotors were warped due to having been machined the last few times and one of the rear calipers had frozen so messed up that. Went new all around to ensure solid safe braking with Ski season approaching and wet cold fall.

$1,124.91 for troubleshooting and new CPU on the SS. 200,000 miles almost, probably will crack it by the end of November, but my check engine light kept coming on rotating the same error message among all my oxygen sensors. I honestly when the repair shop said they suspected the CPU was thinking 2 to 3 thousand or so due to the chip shortage. Lucky for me, due to it being the 6L V8, the chips are readily available and was much cheaper.

Now to wash them one at a time, put them in the garage to warm and dry and then give them their fall/winter wax job.

[David]

Today I realized next week is Thanksgiving and I need to get my wax jobs done on the autos.

[trinacriabob]

@David  How many turns did the rotors on the Escalade (that did not get warped due to freezing) go through before requiring new ones? In a temperate enough climate, and yours qualifies, I've heard the rule of thumb is 2 to 3 turns.

- - - - -

Roughly on New Year's Day, I put in a new air filter.  A little over $10 to buy it.  I do it on the 10s on the odometer (the one being removed never looks all that bad) for the easy math, and I just turned over 120,000 miles.  Cheap insurance and peace of mind.

[David]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

@David  How many turns did the rotors on the Escalade (that did not get warped due to freezing) go through before requiring new ones? In a temperate enough climate, and yours qualifies, I've heard the rule of thumb is 2 to 3 turns.

- - - - -

Roughly on New Year's Day, I put in a new air filter.  A little over $10 to buy it.  I do it on the 10s on the odometer (the one being removed never looks all that bad) for the easy math, and I just turned over 120,000 miles.  Cheap insurance and peace of mind.

Usually, you can get two turns on rotors on most smaller autos. Escalade only seems to get a single turn on the rotors before replacing them due to the size and weight of the auto. As I stated, due to the damage done on the one rotor and the others have slight warps, I decided to replace them all. The repair place used GM Gold pads and then I went after market rotors and calipers as I went with multiple clamping calipers compared to the GM single piston version. I also went with the anodized rotors so keep them looking clean rather than rusting up since I am on the pass so much during winter to ski.

[Drew Dowdell]

4 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

How many turns did the rotors on the Escalade

 

2 hours ago, David said:

Usually, you can get two turns on rotors on most smaller autos.

I didn't think turning rotors was still a thing.

[David]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

 

I didn't think turning rotors was still a thing.

Here the cadillac dealer will turn the rotors as long as they still meet the GM speck. Same with many 3rd party shops at least here in Washington they do.

[trinacriabob]

3 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I didn't think turning rotors was still a thing.

In temperate climate zones, it definitely is, or was.  I never replaced the front rotors on either of my first two cars, both Cutlass Supremes and both mostly driven in California.  Granted, the front brake pads lasted about 50,000 miles because of the RWD platform's more even weight distribution, but they (mechanics) just kept turning the rotors ... and the drums.

[ccap41]

13 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

 

I didn't think turning rotors was still a thing.

Last time I went to an O'reily's for this they said they possibly could but for like 5-10 more per rotor, it's about the same to just replace them. This was probably 10-15 years ago at this point. I'm not even sure which vehicle this was on that I was asking about, lol. 

they also said most modern rotors are built so much thinner that there isn't much material they even could remove to still maintain spec. 

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

they also said most modern rotors are built so much thinner that there isn't much material they even could remove to still maintain spec. 

Yeah, I've heard the same.  I've been doing my own brakes lately and I figure if I'm pulling the caliper, I might as well do two more bolts and do the rotor as well.  Even the cop-spec winter weather coated AC Delco rotors for my truck were only like $75ish each from Rock Auto. 

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Yeah, I've heard the same.  I've been doing my own brakes lately and I figure if I'm pulling the caliper, I might as well do two more bolts and do the rotor as well.  Even the cop-spec winter weather coated AC Delco rotors for my truck were only like $75ish each from Rock Auto. 

Yep, I think I only paid like $30-ish each for my rear rotors for my MKC. It's also just easier to do the job all in one go rather than stop and run out, hang around for a bit, then continue the job an hour later when it could have already been completed. I honestly think that may be the biggest thing for me. I'd rather spend the extra $10-50, whatever it may be, to just get it done quicker. I HATE stopping to run out for something in the middle of a project.

[David]

@Drew Dowdell @ccap41 Ya guys had me wondering, so I called and talked to my service rep at the Cadillac dealership. The current Escalades use thinner rotors and are not turnable. They must be replaced where my 2006 Escalade uses much thicker rotors and can be turned. The lack of machine shops that can do this is another reason for GM I feel moving to use and replace rather than turn the rotor. Course much of this is moot with EVs now.

[Drew Dowdell]

2 minutes ago, David said:

@Drew Dowdell @ccap41 Ya guys had me wondering, so I called and talked to my service rep at the Cadillac dealership. The current Escalades use thinner rotors and are not turnable. They must be replaced where my 2006 Escalade uses much thicker rotors and can be turned. The lack of machine shops that can do this is another reason for GM I feel moving to use and replace rather than turn the rotor. Course much of this is moot with EVs now.

It's also a weight thing. Thick rotors are heavier in a time when every ounce counts against MPG.  If GM went through all the trouble and expense to figure out a process to bond multiple metal types together to make their vehicles lighter but didn't cut 7-10 pounds off the weight of all four rotors combined it wouldn't be a very wise investment.

[oldshurst442]

Huh...

I never questioned the mechanics who told me I need to change the rotors.  I havent witnessed any machined  rotors since my dad's 1994 Grand Am waaay back in 1998 or something.  I dont think I machined my Alero's rotors and I certainly havent machined my Acura's.  I needed to change the rears in the fall.  I never asked for machining and I never thought to ask why they didnt offer me that option.   

Now, I have learned why without asking.   Cool! 

 

[trinacriabob]

My car is 2008 vintage.  I don't do my own repairs, since I can't where I live and I don't have the equipment to do that.  I don't think I'd want to, anyway.  I just replace what I can reach.

A few years ago, I went to a GM dealer to have them look at my brakes.  The younger service writers were full of crap, as to both the timing of when brakes would be needed and that the car needed new rotors.  I then went to another GM dealership a friend uses.  They said the brakes would be fine for at least another 10,000 miles (that was the case) and that, when they looked at the time they were about to do the brake job, the rotors could be turned.

With rockauto type pricing for good brands, I would have NO issue with new rotors.  However, with dealership pricing, I would.  I have moved on from using the dealership within the last year.  Why should I stay when they want $140 to change a serpentine belt, but the mechanic who did my 4 wheel alignment after putting on the Costco Michelins wants $85?  I'll definitely want new rotors the next time, but will be looking at the pricing from regular mechanics.

Also, this, again, brings up "keystoning."  What I've seen is that one store keystoned off the retail price.  I have no problem if they keystone off their wholesale price.  They're supposed to, so they can make a profit.

If the part costs them $ 75 and they mark up 50%, it's $ 112.50 to me.

If the part RETAILS for $ 100 and they mark up 50%, it's $ 150 to me.

When you have multiple items that go into the repair bill, that adds up real quick. Watch your backs.

Edited January 6, 2023 by trinacriabob

[Drew Dowdell]

38 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Also, this, again, brings up "keystoning."  What I've seen is that one store keystoned off the retail price.  I have no problem if they keystone off their wholesale price.  They're supposed to, so they can make a profit.

I'm not familiar with this term, which is odd since I live in the Keystone state.

[oldshurst442]

3 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

  I never asked for machining and I never thought to ask why they didnt offer me that option.   

To be more precise, BECAUSE I havent had an option to machine the rotors since the late 1990s, I knew that my rotors were in need of change and so I was the one to tell the Acura technician to change my rotors for new ones.  The mechanic just confirmed what I already told them that the rotors...needed to be changed and so they complied.  

[David]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I'm not familiar with this term, which is odd since I live in the Keystone state.

WOW, you are the first person that I know who does not know what Keystoning of pricing is in retail. 

Thinking on this, maybe that is why, I have spent a good chunk of my life in retail/sales and Keystoning of the cost in what becomes the selling price is common.

I agree with @trinacriabob that I feel if a dealership or any place of business keystones the wholesale price, I see no problem with that in making a fair profit. I have issues when a place of business keystones MSRP. That is just highway robbery.

For those that are interested: Everything You Need to Know About Keystone Pricing | Wiser Retail Strategies

This I found Funny about your State Drew.

95 Pennsylvania Facts And Weird Laws 2023 (contactsenators.com)

Interesting things I have learned today about Pennsylvania.

Keystone Opportunity Zone (pa.gov)

[oldshurst442]

1. Pennsylvania is home to Hershey – the chocolate capital of the world.
2. Philadelphia Zoo is the first zoo in the United States.
3. The Great Dane is the official state dog in Pennsylvania.
4. Pennsylvania’s Rockville Bridge is the world’s longest stone arch railroad bridge.
5. Kennett Square in Pennsylvania is the mushroom capital of the world.
6. Indiana county is the Christmas tree capital of the world.
7. Nazareth is the birthplace of Martin Guitars.
8. The Moravian Pottery and tiles operate as a working museum.
9. Philadelphia is the birthplace of the cheesesteak sandwich.

 

**********************************************

#2.  I believe that.  Philadelphia fans of ANY pro sport they cheer for are ANIMALS.   

#7.   Jesus Christ...of Nazareth coincidentally...was also um...born in Nazareth. You know...of Judeo-Christian fame.  Quite honestly, Ive NEVER heard of this fella named Mr. Guitars.  Mr. Martin Guitars.  

#9 I also thought that Philadelphia Cream Cheese came from Philly.   Dont forget Rocky Balboa.  The Italian Stallion.  Hey...badda boom badda bing! 

[Robert Hall]

Never heard the term 'keystone' regarding pricing either...sounds like 'markup' from the examples. 

As far as rotors, I haven't had to do any brake work yet on my '14 GC, at 70k now...maybe this year.   I remember my '00 GC needed brake work every 25k or so, I recall first replacing the rotors  and pads at around 25k (maybe I drove harder back then, and did a lot of mountain driving in Colorado).  

[trinacriabob]

Keystoning is marking up on retail, and not on the wholesale price the mechanic or dealer supposedly paid for the parts they will be putting in.  Get estimates up front.  It can really add up if big ticket items - win for the mechanic and lose for the customer.  When I had my Gabriel struts done all the way around, it was obvious he marked up on the retail cost.  I grew up with this brand so I chose their Readymount for my all-in-one strut assemblies over the Monroe Qui(c)k-Strut.  They seem to be working out, especially up front.  That's another story.

- - - - -

Well, I didn't do this today, but yesterday.  I had my oil changed.  This small outfit went from Castrol to STP, and a lot of these oil change places are going away from Castrol and Valvoline because of the $$$.  I let them put in the STP the last time, which was the first time I used them.  I just changed the oil at 4,000 miles (the longest I've ever gone in between oil changes and the dipstick was only down 2 out of 5 indicator "holes," so not bad). 

I had gotten a good deal on Castrol full synthetic that I bought in a 6-pack from Wally World.  I called this outfit to see how much it would be and they offer BYOO (bring your own oil) service at less than $30.  He even threw in the oil filter.  So, I've got my preferred brand of oil in the engine and it's full synthetic.  I think I will do this BYOO thing the next time.  

Edited July 8, 2023 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

Went to Costco to get the first rotation and balancing done on the Michelin Defenders I bought half a year ago or so.

My appointment abutted the lunch hour, so I went into the store afterwards to feast at "Cafe 1.50."

[trinacriabob]

My car has a DIC (driver information center) with 7 buttons. All of them had lost illumination except for 1. They stopped making the part.  I called a dealership and they told me of a couple of dealerships in the U.S. that had one.  I contacted one and the parts guy gave me a really good price, probably to clear it, and kept it aside until receipt of a money order for the part and a minimal amount of postage.

When having another service, I had the technician slim jim the panel away from the dash because I didn't want to break it. It was dangling there before I decided to finally insert the piece for which it was hard to remove the harness.

Last night, before heading into a Brazilian steakhouse to pig out, I decided to finally install it and push the bezel back into the dash.  After leaving the steakhouse, I cranked over the ignition and all 7 DIC lights were on, a sight that I hadn't seen in a few years.

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by trinacriabob

[Drew Dowdell]

My Toronado hasn't been road worthy in a while due to some sketchy brakes.  Today I started the rear drums and found that the shoes had been completely glazed over.  I'm assuming something got stuck at some point and overheated the brakes.  Drum brakes are such a mess to work on, I still do not understand why they are less costly to make than disks.

I got the left side back together, but I didn't even start on the right.  When I pulled them apart I found that the retainer springs and pins were being held there with not much more than caked on rust and a prayer.  So over to rock auto where the complete hardware kit is less expensive than the price to ship it.  Oh well, it will be here Wednesday.  I also ordered some caliper pins for the front because I can feel those sticking. I could probably just grease them, but new ones are $6 a pair and the ones on there are probably 42 years old.

[David]

Been Busy helping my son who bought a fixer upper house to move his growing family into. The best I have been able to do is run both the Escalade and SS through a new Touchfree auto wash system near my house and it did an outstanding job. $18 gets you an under-carriage wash, Power wash rims and then a multi-stage wash with two different soap soaks and then a tri-color wax, rainX application and one other thing I forget, but I felt for the money it was worth it as both autos are shinny and clean.

[trinacriabob]

16 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

My Toronado hasn't been road worthy in a while due to some sketchy brakes.  Today I started the rear drums and found that the shoes had been completely glazed over.  I'm assuming something got stuck at some point and overheated the brakes.  Drum brakes are such a mess to work on, I still do not understand why they are less costly to make than disks.

I got the left side back together, but I didn't even start on the right.  When I pulled them apart I found that the retainer springs and pins were being held there with not much more than caked on rust and a prayer.  So over to rock auto where the complete hardware kit is less expensive than the price to ship it.  Oh well, it will be here Wednesday.  I also ordered some caliper pins for the front because I can feel those sticking. I could probably just grease them, but new ones are $6 a pair and the ones on there are probably 42 years old.

How does a person know when brakes are glazed over with both discs and drums?

That last F-bird I spotted had rear drums.  I put up a photo or two.

I couldn't believe that that one Pontiac LeMans basic coupe my dad had with an inline 6 cylinder and no air conditioning had drum brakes all the way around.  That car never gave an ounce of trouble but braking during any wet weather, especially after long dry spells out West, was a little hazardous.  I sometimes wondered if those cars that had front drum brakes could be converted to front disc brakes.

[Drew Dowdell]

Today, I got the starter replaced in the 1999 BMW R1100RS, the starter has siezed up.  I had concerns that the whole engine was locked up, so I took the breast plate off and put a breaker bar on the crankshaft and thankfully it spun freely.   So, then pulled the starter which was just two bolts and one nut to hold the wire on.  It was pretty greasy under all of that so while it was out, I used some ZEP 505 Degreaser all around the area and got 20 years of grime out. Once I got it all back together and threw the battery back in, it fired right up with no trouble.  It was running a little lumpy, so I got out the throttle body balancer and adjusted the idle and balance of the engine to where it's operating really smoothly (as far as boxers operate smoothly).

I removed the engine guards on each side that had been spraypainted yellow by the previous owner, I'll be ordering new replacements. The previous owner also clearly had an incident on the right side at some point because that cylinder head cover is all banged up.  I have the left one, and I'm watching a right one on EBay right now.  I already have the gaskets.  Once I get the right side, I'm going to do a valve adjustment as I can hear a tick and that is just a regular 12k mile service item and I have no idea when it was done last.  Waiting to get that done and then I'll change the oil.  I don't want to be opening up the engine after I put new oil in.

I still need to find the front fairing for around the headlight and a new windscreen.  I already have a new headlight, front turn signals, and a few other items, but it's getting pretty close to road ready.  One of the things I love about these BMW boxers is how easy they are to work on.  Everything is very accessible, the valve adjustment job will take me less than 30 minutes to do both sides. Pulling each cylinder cover is two bolts. Changing the oil is super easy.

 

[Drew Dowdell]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

How does a person know when brakes are glazed over with both discs and drums?

That last F-bird I spotted had rear drums.  I put up a photo or two.

I couldn't believe that that one Pontiac LeMans basic coupe my dad had with an inline 6 cylinder and no air conditioning had drum brakes all the way around.  That car never gave an ounce of trouble but braking during any wet weather, especially after long dry spells out West, was a little hazardous.  I sometimes wondered if those cars that had front drum brakes could be converted to front disc brakes.

There are a lot of disk brake conversion kits these days for older cars, but that's a modern development. It probably wasn't available when your dad bought it new unless it could be optioned that way from the factory.

In my case, it wasn't that I knew they were glazed over, it's that it felt like the rear brakes weren't doing anything at all.   My stopping distances were getting scary. When I pulled the shoes, the edges of the brake material looked melted over and the surface was very shiny. With brakes, only the surface receiving the stopping pressure should look shiny, so the inside of the drum and the surface of the rotors. The pad or shoe materal that touches the drum or rotor should be pretty matte. Any indication of melting of that material (virtually impossible with ceramic brakes unless you're in Indy) tells you that the brakes have overheated and must be replaced.

I don't mess around with brakes and I just replace rotors/drums along with pads every time I do the brakes on a vehicle. So I have new drums, shoes, pads, and rotors for once the rest of the parts come in.  Later years of the Toronado could be optioned with disk brakes, so maybe someday in a few years I'll see if I can get all the hardware to convert it.

[trinacriabob]

I'm at Costco right now getting the wheel torque and safety check that you should get after the rotation. I'm late; who's going to be at Costco after 25 miles?

As for Cafe 1.50, they have done away with the sauerkraut for your hot dogs and, as for the pizza, they have done away with the supreme variety and are down to 2 flavors.  If this is what's needed to control costs and keep this "perk," then I can roll with that.

[David]

On 9/1/2023 at 10:00 AM, trinacriabob said:

I'm at Costco right now getting the wheel torque and safety check that you should get after the rotation. I'm late; who's going to be at Costco after 25 miles?

As for Cafe 1.50, they have done away with the sauerkraut for your hot dogs and, as for the pizza, they have done away with the supreme variety and are down to 2 flavors.  If this is what's needed to control costs and keep this "perk," then I can roll with that.

Since the founding father of Costco had to retire due to dementia, this CEO the family hired has a golden parachute and contract for payment based on performance and profits. He has slowly done away with those few items that cost money to Costco to increase the profits for his own personal gain. I am not a fan of this new CEO who is too focused on his own pocket book over the few perks the Original CEO felt was a proper give back to the members.

Gonna be keeping an eye on him as my wife and I have found bulk items equal to costco to be cheaper at Fred Meyers here in Washington. Costco is slipping is what they used to deliver to club members and some crazy changes in how they check membershps, etc. 

Just cause my wife is Korean, she is not borrowing my membership when she has her own and I hate this new approach to targeting folks that are not white.  Yes, I have issues with Costco right now due to the CEO making changes that are not viewed as very customer friendly.

[trinacriabob]

As for Costco, I just checked in on Levi's 505 jeans - the basic model with a zipper - and they've been $29.99 for a long time. I figured $32.99.  Nope.  They were $35.99 or $36.99.

- - - - -

Back on topic:

I got a new serpentine belt put on today.  I went in at 8:00 a.m. and was able to wait for it.

I replaced the original one, which went over 125,000 miles!  Unbelievable.  And the original one didn't look all that bad.  (Check out the photos.)

Edited September 5, 2023 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

Haven't been in a Costco in about 20 years...I have a Costco about 5 min from me, will have to check it out sometime..though I so rarely go in stores anymore, usually I do all my shopping from my phone and packages appear at my door. 

As far as my car, need to take the Jeep to my favorite local full detail car wash...grubby inside and outside from the last few months of moving.   

Edited September 9, 2023 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

On 9/9/2023 at 10:52 AM, Robert Hall said:

As far as my car, need to take the Jeep to my favorite local full detail car wash...grubby inside and outside from the last few months of moving.   

I'm employing some elbow grease these days to touch things up that I've let go, especially inside.  I have a collection of toothbrushes sitting on the floor in the back seat after using them for 2 weeks that I use to scrub some areas, such as places within the engine bay, for one. 

- - - - -

At around noon, I went to the oil change place.  I went back to the one that gave me a great BYOO (Bring Your Own Oil) price last time.  As it turned out, I made it so that I had exactly 4.5 quarts of Castrol GTX full synthetic in my possession ... and that's the amount it takes.  I have fresh synthetic oil again as of this afternoon and no bottles of engine oil around.

[David]

So, my SS today decided to not have the right turn signal working. So, I did the normal thing since the SS has both a LF turn, and RT turn fuse, replace them both since they are original from 2008. 

Nope did not work, so I replaced the turn signal relay. Nope did not fix it either.

Did a search and found in the SS forum that one member has had this issue and helped multiple others out as the SS Hazard relay powers the Turn signal relay and fuses. Usually, it is the right side that goes when the Hazard relay starts to die and sure enough if I turned on my hazards, only the left side of the auto blinked.

So replaced the Hazard relay and all works now. 

• $122 Hazard relay
• $42 Turn signal relay
• $0 cost as I had the 10amp fuses

If I had gone to a GM dealership here, it would have cost me $250 troubleshooting fee and then $150 for the labor and the cost of the Hazard relay. So, I figure I saved myself $400 minus the $42 for the turn relay as they probably would not have changed it, but I am happy as I have new relays and fuses in all those places that had not been touched since 2008.

[ccap41]

33 minutes ago, David said:

So, my SS today

*Somewhat random thought*

So obviously those are pretty rare vehicles, right? I managed to see two of them yesterday! A black one and a maroon one. Of course I never got pictures of either but both seemed to be in "pretty good" shape, not mint but far from bad. It's good to see, at least these two, taken care of. 

[David]

On 9/22/2023 at 2:34 PM, ccap41 said:

*Somewhat random thought*

So obviously those are pretty rare vehicles, right? I managed to see two of them yesterday! A black one and a maroon one. Of course I never got pictures of either but both seemed to be in "pretty good" shape, not mint but far from bad. It's good to see, at least these two, taken care of. 

I have found that SS Trailblazers come in two conditions, those of us that take care of the rare SS and those that trash them hard till they break and go to the junk yard.

Lucky for me, I see them pretty much all the time here in the PNW and they all seem to be in very good shape.

[Robert Hall]

I've seen one TB SS in the last 6+ years here in NE Ohio...a battered rust bucket, still on the road.  Maybe one of a dozen GMT-360s of any trim I've seen in that time period..compared to Explorers and Grand Cherokees of that era of which there are still many on the road..here in NE Ohio where domestics are still pretty common, the GMT-360s seem to have all rusted away. 

[Robert Hall]

Got a call today from my auto mechanic that my '87 Mustang GT is done and ready to go.  Plan to go pick it up next week.  Looks good after 20+ years in storage--been thoroughly cleaned inside and out (original paint, 64k miles).  Went through it mechanically and replaced a lot of seals, gaskets, hoses, etc.     Looking forward to getting it home and enjoying it again like I did in Colorado in my 20s. 

 

[David]

46 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Got a call today from my auto mechanic that my '87 Mustang GT is done and ready to go.  Plan to go pick it up next week.  Looks good after 20+ years in storage--been thoroughly cleaned inside and out (original paint, 64k miles).  Went through it mechanically and replaced a lot of seals, gaskets, hoses, etc.     Looking forward to getting it home and enjoying it again like I did in Colorado in my 20s. 

 

Are those the pictures he sent ya? WOW that is very sharp indeed.

[Robert Hall]

32 minutes ago, David said:

Are those the pictures he sent ya? WOW that is very sharp indeed.

Yes, taken this morning at his shop.  That's the original paint, they buffed it out, waxed, etc. 

[oldshurst442]

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Got a call today from my auto mechanic that my '87 Mustang GT is done and ready to go.  Plan to go pick it up next week.  Looks good after 20+ years in storage--been thoroughly cleaned inside and out (original paint, 64k miles).  Went through it mechanically and replaced a lot of seals, gaskets, hoses, etc.     Looking forward to getting it home and enjoying it again like I did in Colorado in my 20s. 

 

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

4 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

 Looking forward to getting it home and enjoying it again like I did in Colorado in my 20s. 

Does this qualify as mid-life crisis?   Even though the Mustang is yours since 40 years ago?   

 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

19 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Does this qualify as mid-life crisis?   Even though the Mustang is yours since 40 years ago?   

 

 

 

I think so.   It’s been over 10 years since I’ve driven it more than 50 feet.  It sat most of the last 20 years.  
 

And I’m at a Depeche Mode concert tonight, and going to a Geddy Lee event where he tells stories from his autobiography next week.   So I’m really indulging in 80s nostalgia.

Edited November 11, 2023 by Robert Hall

[David]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

I think so.   It’s been over 10 years since I’ve driven it more than 50 feet.  It sat most of the last 20 years.  
 

And I’m at a Depeche Mode concert tonight, and going to a Geddy Lee event where he tells stories from his autobiography next week.   So I’m really indulging in 80s nostalgia.

I am such a Depeche Head, Loved them since my first concert with them in Japan.

Depeche Mode Music for the Masses Tour 1987 to 1988, Japan Leg. This is memory lane of an amazing time in my life.

Depeche Mode "Music For The Masses Tour" 1987-1988 (depmode.com)

 

[Robert Hall]

3 hours ago, David said:

I am such a Depeche Head, Loved them since my first concert with them in Japan.

Depeche Mode Music for the Masses Tour 1987 to 1988, Japan Leg. This is memory lane of an amazing time in my life.

Depeche Mode "Music For The Masses Tour" 1987-1988 (depmode.com)

 

They were great...2 hr show tonight on the new 'Memento Mori' tour...new songs and songs from throughout their career.  Gore and Gahan don't disappoint. 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Robert Hall