Say hello to the Black Mamba!

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

My 97 Ranger has the original rad hoses and radiator. It runs cool and there are no signs of leakage or any other reason to replace at this time. I don't drive it much and had the original timing belt replaced at 133k miles. Original plugs at 125k miles.

When you have the radiator flushed look at the tubes (you can see some in the picture) and see if they look better. A long grade climb in hot weather is a pretty good test of max capacity of your cooling system, probably OK for now but look for the first signs of trouble or you could blow the head gasket and spend alot more money than a $100 replacement radiator. Always watch all the fluids on anew purchase for at least a couple of months and make sure none of them are disappearing.

regards
Mech

Agreed. I gotta get the money to do this first though :P

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

First, congrats on the ride.
Second, love the name.
Third, thumbs up on making the roadworthiness moves.

But what strikes me most about his car is the idiots in your area:


The Monty Python crew would have added this bidding war twist to the haggling scene in Life of Brian, but they decided it was too stupid!

Thanks I love that I got it.

My Dad came up with the name, I was trying to think of it and my dad walks out and says 'hey look a black mamba'. And hence the name was born.

People in Socal... They just... You really don't even wanna know how stupid they are.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

I've drained hundreds of gallons of factory fill coolant out of Japanese cars. I know what it looks like. Stop by a Honda dealership and look at the coolant in the recovery bottle on anew car, that should convince you.

regards
Mech

I don't doubt that you know what the fluid looked like from the factory or at a Honda dealership, but I just bought coolant for my 1998 DX. I'm flushing my coolant system right now and I'm out there with the block tester checking for exhaust gasses in my coolant because I suspect the head gasket for replacement. O'Reilley's will tell you to buy the green, and that's what the shop put in 5 years ago when I had the radiator replaced. I realize the FSM calls for mixing Honda coolant with water 50/50 and that this might be that stuff. But unless we feel certain this is 14+ year old coolant (warranty), I'm suggesting that the coolant might be incorrectly replaced premixed stuff, for example using the orange/yellow or whatever, instead of the prescribed green. EDIT: just posted my test results: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post431456

[Baltothewolf]

Wow. My mechanic wants 700$ for distributor gasket replacement, and timing belt replacement /water pump/system flush and refill. They are also gonna check the crankshaft seals and stuff to make sure that it's not leaking anywhere else but Jeez, that's expensive! It's more in labor then it is in parts!

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Wow. My mechanic wants 700$ for distributor gasket replacement, and timing belt replacement /water pump/system flush and refill. They are also gonna check the crankshaft seals and stuff to make sure that it's not leaking anywhere else but Jeez, that's expensive! It's more in labor then it is in parts!

Yeah. With an old car, it can pay to be your own mechanic. The down side of being your own mechanic is that, well, you are the mechanic. I have been learning as I go, which means I invest valuable labor time both doing the work and learning how to do the work--and sometimes redoing what I did wrong. Still, with the help of EM (especially guys like Old Mech and several others) as well as Honda-tech.com I save lots in labor. I love the learning. And I generally know who to blame when something goes wrong, which is "comforting" I guess.

james

[darcane]

That's $200 cheaper than I had found locally for the same work on my '01 (minus the distributer gasket).

[user removed]

Top it Up with Green? Or Orange? Which Antifreeze? - Column - Car Reviews - Car and Driver

regards
Mech

[Baltothewolf]

Hey guys, is this a good deal?Timing Belt Kit Honda Civic 1.6L LX DX EX HX CX (1996 1997 1998 1999 2000):Amazon:Automotive

I was thinking about getting this, as my mechanic suggested I get the parts myself to save on money.

[Daox]

Rockauto.com has a timing belt kit (doens't include the valve cover stuff or accessory belts) for $65. And, it made by Gates, which is a good name brand. Valve cover gasket and seals is another $10. Accessory belts are roughly $5/each. Just looking this all up as I type. So, I would say no, thats not a great price.

[Fat Charlie]

I had time yesterday afternoon to do the front brakes and change the oil on the minivan. Labor would have been about $130, but I had the time and my 5 year old was thrilled to watch/pretend he's helping. It's nice not to spend the money for just swapping parts, and it's nice to just tinker.

Oh, and the "I didn't break the car!" feeling when you get everything back together and it works is pretty good too.