General auto repair questions answered

[roosterk0031]

Alignment guy looked at it yesterday and said it's the control arm bushings. Will order new controls arms tomorrow, and take it back to him after I replace them.

He's doing the 15 Rogue tomorrow, seems to jump sideways when hitting bumps on the passenger side and that side tires worn a little more then drivers side.

[MetroMPG]

I thought of a question! A boat is technically an automobile, right? This is generic enough...

My ~40 year old old 9.9 hp 4-stroke boat motor has an idiotic feature: an incandescent idiot light that you can't actually see when it's sunny out. The light comes on when oil pressure is good.

You can probably guess what this idiot did.

A few summers ago, the oil filter clogged, so the motor overheated and briefly "seized" -- meaning, it stopped running, but the flywheel would still turn (with a fair amount of resistance). After a couple of minutes sitting, it would re-start, I guess because it cooled down enough, and then seize again after a few more minutes. It actually made a squealing sound the last time it stopped that makes me cringe just remembering it.

When I realized what was wrong, I sailed back to the dock.

I flushed/changed the oil 3 times (VERY sparkly), and ran the motor briefly between flushes.

The engine still works, though I think it's noisier than it used to be. I've changed to a thicker motor oil and have used it without incident for a couple of hours since then. But obviously there was some kind of damage done (glitter in the oil), and I'm wondering how concerned I should be. It gets used -gently - about 5 hours a year. Think it's going to self-destruct?

[me and my metro]

Well now you’ve done it. Of course it is going to die when you need it most. Or it may outlive both of us just to prove us wrong. It is not going to get any better with time. I had an air cooled Honda motorcycle stick a piston due to overheating out in the desert. When it cooled off we bumped it free and rode it the rest of the weekend. However you have damaged the bottom end due to oil starvation. At the very least it needs a crank and a couple rods. You should still be able to get parts for a 1980 outboard if it is a name brand.

[MetroMPG]

Thanks!


What's the most likely evidence of damage from something like this -- connecting rod knock?

[me and my metro]

Correct, connecting rod to crankshaft is the first high load contact point to fail when the lube oil cushion is missing.

[Xist]

The last time that I checked Shouty had at least eight videos promoting stop leak. Should I have just poured a can, bottle, vial, or cauldron of that stuff into my Civic instead of spending, what? An entire year replacing the head gasket?

Is it normal for a head gasket replacement to take a year? What about a heater core?

Is it true that nothing stops leaks like two-part epoxy?

[me and my metro]

Stop leak is a temporary fix and causes long lasting problems. It is a necessary evil that can get you home and buy you some time. However it always plugs up things that need to flow like heater cores and oil coolers.

[Xist]

Even though it has taken me months to replace each head gasket, when people tell me "Just use stop leak!"--well, I probably stopped listening at "Just."

People give me terrible advice, invariably starting with "Why don't you just..."

Then again, people usually tell me to pay a mechanic or buy a new car.

"No, really, I will just replace the air filter. K bye."

Have you watched Eric the Car Guy's video about stop leak? He dissected a car that had been exposed to it.

It wasn't pretty.

[Xist]

This random Saturn starts and then slowly starts dying. It has a new battery and alternator: https://showlow.craigslist.org/cto/d...118602462.html

I do not know if this was the same problem, but it turned out their terminals were corroded: SaturnFans.com Forums

[those forums were down for maintenance; I needed to use Google cache]

[me and my metro]

Since this is my day job I get to see what others do to their vehicles first hand. I have used stop leak to get a truck or two to finish the job and back to the shop. It is often cheaper to repair the damage later. I work for a large utility and the objective is to keep the meters spinning and the customers happy. Trucks are just tools and they can be repaired later. I just have to make the correct decision as to risk and return. Stop leak may delay a needed repair but it often adds to the bill in the end.