hindsight of a cheapskate

[egnorant]

Has anyone else ever looked back at a repair and realized that the ACTUAL fix was a tiny portion of the money spent?

I just did a fuel pump replacement and all is well until I got to looking at the old pump to see what was wrong.
Little fuel line from the pump to the pickup line in the tank had a split that was not obvious unless you look (or under pressure of course).
Had to wait 2 weeks for the pump but I had the fuel line in the shop for about 100 bucks less.

Replace my IAC recently too. Looked at the old one and fixed it in about 10 minutes scraping off some crud the carb cleaner wouldn't crack.
50 bucks difference.

Or my transmission fix that I realized I could have accomplished in 2 hours and 25 buck (O.K.....65 as I replaced the shifter bushings)instead of the 400+ and 2 weekends to fix.

I often complain about folks that throw money at their vehicles without finding what is broke first.
I got revved up hard todaywhen a friend bought a beater Toyota and the brakes went out on him. Repair shop quoted $900 and we checked it out...
$21.77 and 40 minutes to replace the pads.

Bruce

 

[stegomon]

dude i just throw money out at the truck and dont look back any more.....just remeber...it is only money....but i do know were you are comein from....i bought a ps3 a wile back...2 games and a controller...i have about $700 into it...i have used it 4 times....now that is a wast

 

[MAKG]

I just had my 'sploder down two weeks for something similar.

Had a leaky fuel pressure regulator. Broke the FN fuel return line installing the new one. No excuse. It was just being ham-handed.

The dealer wanted $350. I told them where to stick it. Three junkyards later, I had one. $4. But it turns out I have a very rare return line fitting -- it changed in Dec. 1990 build dates for Exploders. It's the same on one end for Aerostars, but not the other. And I didn't see a single 4.0L Ranger in the yard (despite a dozen or so Exploders up to 1994). And of course the first one I found LEAKED so I got to go back.

It wasn't very expensive ($4 -- gas and two lunches were far more expensive), but it sure had the PITA factor up there.

Oh, plus the stupid $2 tool that the dealer insisted I had to get from Snap-On (Performance Tool sells one, and with a little filing, it worked).

 

[Natedog]

...plus the stupid $2 tool that the dealer insisted I had to get from Snap-On (Performance Tool sells one, and with a little filing, it worked).

What is the tool for?

Mine is my Tranny swap that turned into a 4x4 conversion, and then also a swap everything conversion...LOL>

 

[MAKG]

The earliest 4.0Ls have weird quick-release fittings on the fuel return line. It's a two-prong release, unlike any of the other fuel fittings. In Dec. 1990 (1991 model year), Ford switched to a threaded fitting, like the pressure line. Methinks there were a few problems with this....

I have a very early Exploder.... (serial # under 30,000).

 

[Sunk]

I was helping a friend earlier today work on his old squareback....It wasn't running right so he replaced the plug wires and distributor....It turned out the #1 and #2 wires were crossed and the carbs weren't synced.....oops.

 

[rangernotlifted]

I always drop money for stupid shit like i was rebuilding my a4ld and it cost 400 or something for the whole rebuild kit and manual, and once i dropped my tranyn i looked at the clutch adjuster things and they where all the way backed off and i already had the kit so i jsut said **** it ill stick it in and yeah bad idea i dont care what u say u shouldnt have to put all like 8 quarts in at once, well long story short, broke my torque converter, burnt all forward gears , and broke a clutch belt, no tell me who got fucked. o and i did follow the manual

 

[Ozwynn]

Welcome to my world.
1979 F-250 2wd with a 460/C-6
engine would run fine until it warmed up, then it would run like crap and die..... 2 hours later it ran fine.

new spark plugs, new wires, new coil, new ignition module, new cap and rotor. 6 mechanics looked at it. in the end it was a $19 part inside the distributor that all 6 mechanics told me "that doesn't go bad" took it to my dad along with the part ..... he said "those go bad all the time, I replace atleast 1 a week". some sort of little black magnetic pick up. this also the same truck that had it's starter stolen while I was inside Fred Meyers in Warrenton Oregon. I was gone from my truck for 15 min. cost me $90 to buy 15 pounds of hamburger. thank god Napa was willing to deliver the starter when I told them what happened and I am glad I just happened to have a core in my tool box, started carrying a spare after that.

2002 peterbuilt 385 with a 525 Cummins N-14 kept over heating.
$10 for a radiator cap (didn't solve the problem)
$7 for a thermosat (didn't solve the problem)
$165 for a water pump (didn't solve the problem)
$800 for a recored radiator (got better but the engine still got hot)
$35 for a new temp sender and gauge (throwing money at a problem)

Look on my face when the mobile truck wash guy blew a ton of dust out of the fins on the intercooler and solved my problem ........... priceless

 

[Mark_88]

Hmmm...I tried to fix my drive shaft but couldn't find a match...2.9 was originally in the truck but I swapped in a 2.3...one end fit fine but the back end was different...bought not one, not two, but three drive shafts at $100 a pop from the wreckers...then went to a weld shop and he cut the end off and welded the proper (flange??) on for $50 after I told him what I'd been through...

Fortunately, the wrecking yard is one I frequent so the did take back one of the shafts and let me take some other stuff for the $100...

I could go on about the body mounts that nobody told me NOT to cut off and ended up costing me $500 to replace...and several other things...so I know where you're coming from...

 

[chico4554]

i got dumped on once, never again. It was when i just got my lift and bigger tires on. I didnt know how to do much on the truck yet, and there were no brakes cause the automatic hub nuts had backed off. I didnt know what was wrong so i brought it to the shop. 480 bucks later i had brakes and he said the wheel bearings and the hubs were all lossened. Well thats dumb i thought, at least its fixed now right? HAHA!! 2 months later the same thing happenes. I find out a few days later that the auto hubs are prone to back off and fry the wheel bearings. I then paid another 200 bucks to buy manual hubs, 40 bucks for wheel bearings, and i fixed the problem forever. So i paid half the money to do the same work myself and get an upgrade to boot. SCREW THE GARAGE!!!!

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Welcome to the life of a mechanic....home, shadetree, or professional.

Actually anyone who owns a vehicle that's over 5 years old...

I've swung back and forth between throwing money at things and finding out later that it wasn't the problem or finding the cheap fix at the start. It's frustrating at times, but I'm starting to get to the point where I don't get excited about it at all.

My 89 BII that I sold back in the spring was a fine example... Bought it for $250 not running. Got it from a junkyard that hadn't transferred the title yet so it had a clean title. They let me snag a couple fuel pump relays to try since the one in the truck was smashed apart and taped back together. Still no-go. Jumped the inertia switch and checked the fuses. Still no-go. Started to work on pulling the fuel tank and I'm wedged up under the thing with a flashlight trying to get the skidplate free when I notice the floor doesn't look right above the pump. Go topside, flip the carpet out of the way and discover a handy access hatch cut in the floor. Yank the pump to find the wires came undone in the tank. Couple drops of soider later and the thing fired right up. Lots of wasted time, $0.02 fix.

 

[bullitt]

I more or less cost myself time, not money. See a few weeks ago i replaced my rotors,pads, and wheel bearings in my ranger. The passenger side rotor was starting to look like an old .45 record, and it sounded like death. So while i have the front end tore apart, i noticed the cords showing on the inside of my driverside tire. I knew i had bad ball joints, but i found out just how bad they had gotten...needless to say, instead of fixing them while i had everything tore apart, i just continued with putting it back together...and the ball joints continue to be ignored, costing me more time somewhere down the road.

 

[Will]

...just remeber...it is only money....

You haven't read Atlas Shrugged have you?

 

[egnorant]

Just the learning curve

I really shouldn't complain a lot.
I now know that my fuel system is top-notch from gas cap to injectors.
Tank had sat for 3 years with all the gas evaporating and leaving varnish looking stuff in the tank and the if one line rots and blows, the rest may be soon to follow.

My tranny problem also allowed had me with new clutch, pressure plate.throwout bearing, rear main seal, slave AND master units...and the hose between them.
(I hate those "quick" connects).
Inspect and gauge the gears, replace one gear and seals.
The tranny is now up to par!!
Original problem that benched the truck was the end of the 1-2 shifter rod broke and could not be taken out of 2nd. This was a 5 buck part and the rest is just age and because it sat so long.

Since I have already done the brakes, cooling and steering system I feel pretty confident in my little truck.

Got it on the road and running well for less than $1000 including tires and legal stuff. So I feel proud of myself.

Bruce

 

[Yank]

I was about to have my a4ld tranny in my 85 Ranger rebuilt. It was slipping bad in 2nd. Then I started thinking about all the crap I had done to my truck and I remembered something... I saw I was there was tranny fluid in the vacuum tree coming from the vucuum hose leading to the tranny. I immediately knew the module was bad on the tranny so I replaced it. It was a chore because the guy who owned the truck before me put dual exhaust on it that run right beside the tranny. When I put the module it ...it wasn't tight enough so now it even slipped worse! So I said the heck with it and let the truck sit all winter. The first nice day last week I was checking out what kind of a job I was looking at to pull that tranny when I thought about that module. I crawled under that puppy and grabbed that module and it was loose as a two dollar whore! I cranked it down and away I went! I nearly spent 1300.00 needlessly!! Now, if I could get the engine oiling the top end properly I would be set! I feel your pain, friend! lol