76ChevyTrucker

wouldn't surprise me, there are a few DEKA-branded battery dealers here and there.

Insert the fuel line disconnect tool, sometimes you have to push really hard, give it a little twist, then pull the fuel line off the filter.

Bad gas wouldn't have lasted more than a tank, maybe in the most extreme of circumstances, two tanks.

Engine and transmission should be relatively trouble free, although the mid-90s Caddilacs do have their fair share of electrical gremlins.

Right now things are working out fine. I've got the check from my insurance company, I'm just waiting on the holidays to get over with so that I can get my car into the body shop. What'll probably happen is that I'll call the body shop on Monday, tell him to order the needed parts, then he'll call me once they're in and it'll be about a week turn around and she'll be back and all in one piece.

Probably buying my own system, since we sell them through work I would get a pretty good discount on it.

Before I went soley to Valvoline I was using regular Mobil in all the vehicles, but since the only Mobil that CQ has is Mobil 1 and I've got no need for synthetic in anything, I just use Valvoline (just in the pretty, plain, black CQ bottle).

Hmmm....got any legos?

Sly I wish you a speedy and full recovery, and as much as I dislike lawyers, its probably a good idea to go see one on this ocassion. Keep us informed.

Glad you've got your wheels back blu!

PCS, I wish you a speedy recovery sir. My dad had a pretty bad incident yesterday and broke a couple of ribs.

AutoZone's batteries are made by Johnson Controls, Advance batteries are marketed by AutoCraft, but if I believe they are built by Johnson Controls also. NAPA, CarQuest and a couple of other companies are made by East Penn/DEKA, which is a good company.

The Mass Air Flow meter is located on the throttle body on the 3.8L engine, it could be dirty. The MAF works by heating a wire element on the MAF and measures how much air is coming into the engine by how much power is used to keep the wire hot. There could be a film of gunk on the wire although cleaning it is kinda hard since the wire element is really thin and fragile. The system running too lean could also be a problem with an oxygen sensor too. As far as easy to reach, sure its easy to reach and only held in with two Torx-type screws (kinda like the Idle Air Control Valve, and the Throttle Position Sensor). As far as the fuel system cleaner is concerned. The reason you run the tank to empty and then dump in the cleaner in is because they want to mix the cleaner with clean, new fuel. You could probably easily just add it to what you have and run with what you've got. Now as far as it comes to running the engine lean for a couple of tanks of fuel, you probably won't hurt anything at all. You'll probably notice poorer fuel mileage and not as much engine power since the engine is going to be essentially starving for fuel on that one bank.

I do not believe that you can get 2mm out of that. You're probably going to have to get a lot closer than that.

Bob, have a good time with the new job and all. I hope that we'll be seeing you soon sir.

That's....that's pretty cool

I've got an idea, how about we beat the $h! out of him and leave him in someone's driveway. See how the $h!head likes it.

what everyone above has said. That could also just be built up soot in the exhaust of the vehicle from prior use getting blown out on first fire-up.

Yes, the newer and more expensive the vehicle, the lower the IQ of the driver.

I use CarQuest (ie Valvoline without the pretty white bottle) in all the gas-burning vehicles, change the oil at every 3,000. The diesels (both tractors) get Delo 15W40 and get changed every six months regardless of hours on the engines. Filters are all CarQuest (supplied by Wix), if I don't have access to CarQuest (and since I work there, I've got access to it) I'll use whatever is factory recommended filter, either MotorCraft, AC Delco or a Bosch filter for the non-GM or FoMoCo vehicles.

Him

Camino that is awesome, especially the classic transformers sound effect when the car changes.

Good point at least it isn't a completely totaled car.

Right now I know I'm doing a 6" thick concrete, rebar-reinforced flooring. On top of all that the floor will be epoxy coated, I'm also going to do the waste oil heating. I've got too many vehicles to worry with taking them in to have the oil changed. I've also got a tractor to keep the oil changed in, can't easily take that one in to have the oil changed. Besides, it only takes me about 10 minutes to change the oil. I also normally check everything too (sometimes even the stuff that the dealership and oil change places don't check), so I'm looking at about 20 minutes of work to keep the fleet running. On the flat floor side of the shop I'm going to primarily do stuff like painting and tune up stuff, anything where the car might even need to be lifted, I'm putting it in on the rack. As far as geothermal, I could do it since I'd only have to dig about four feet down to get do dirt at about 65 degrees in any weather. We thought about doing that in the shop up at my parent's house, but dad just eventually decided that a conventional heating and air system would do the job a heck of a lot easier, and cheaper since we didn't feel like putting the plumbing in to run the system. I'm not sure about the efficiency of the waste oil system, but I do know that one of my shops that my store services uses it and during the winter it definitely keeps the place comfortable (I'm talking about a nine-bay shop running one waste oil system, so I'm pretty sure that it'll more than keep my shop warm.

Yeah, the girlle support is going to need to be replaced, along with the hood, the headlight assembly, the bumper cover, odds and ends here and there and the fender can be straightened, its not too bad thankfully. All in all, $2,803 and spare change in damage. Just waiting on the insurance company to get in touch with me about the check for the body shop since I've got an estimate and all. I'm going to be calling the PD about their search for the vehicle at fault....doubt it'll get found though.