Hurting for money real bad..

[LittleHorse]

they did inspections here until some time around 2001 or so. They stopped doing them partly because they didn't have enough stations. None of the shops wanted to do it because it only cost $5, $1 of which went to the state, so the shop kept $4 for an inspection that if done correctly took about 20 minutes. We could run a $26 oil change in that amount of time so it wasn't real profitable.


If it helps any, I can report that business in my industry is picking up some. Our work backlog is currently almost double what it was in August.

 

[WNY964x4]

an inspection in NY state costs $21 and they check the following

on all vehicles 25 years and newer;
-All emissions controls systems ( PCV , Catalyst , etc , etc )
-Gas Cap
-All Lights
-Horn
-Tread Depth ( 2/32 min )
-Brakes
-Glass ( Cracks must be 11" long AND in the Path of the wiper to fail )
-All suspension components ( Cannot Fail for Ball Joints )
-Safety Equiptment

If a vehicle is 25 years or older , 2 model years old , Diesel , Over 8,000# GVWR
-Safety Equiptment
-Tire
-Glass
-Lights
-Brakes

if a vehicle is 1996 or newer
- All Items for 25 years and newer , plus must be plugged into a computer system which scans the computer for any codes ( CEL must be off to pass )

and all of this is just upstate NY , in the New York Metropolitan Area they actually put the vehicle on a chassis dyno and put a tailpipe sniffer on it

( I am an NYS certified Inspector )

 

[AllanD]

Don't assume the wheel bearings are bad.
they may just need adjustment.

Frankly on a TTB/TIB ranger I would NEVER replace JUST the wheel bearings.

IT should come as no suprise (as I've said exactly this before) that ANYONE who drives bearing races out of a brake rotor to install new bearing races needs to have the word "stupid" tattooed across their forhead in 1-1/2" tall block letters.

Rotors aren't expensive enough to justify the aggrevation, so the time you spend doing it would be better spent wacking yourself in the head with the hammer.

Don't get me wrong I'm perpetually short of case
I can't remember the last time I managed to mail my insurance payment before the cancellation notice arrived.
I usually get my truck inspected, but often a month or more late
and In essence I'm buying a sticker as I haven't actually had parking brake cables for several years.
(I put NEW ones on and they sized within six months so I took a pair of bolt cutters to them and never replaced them)

But as for wheel bearings:
Unless the rollers are pitted or "burned" to a brownish color clean
the old grease off of them pack them with new grease and put
them back in.

Ask me nicely and I'll mail you four sericeable used bearings.

NO it doesn't matter that you'd be putting them onto used races, bearings of all manufacturers are so close that they are indestinguishable from one another by dimension.

And you'd be amazed just how far you can stretch $100 by artful "junkyard shopping"

The thing is to look and find some idiot that junked a vehicle with new parts, and you'd be amazed just how often people do that.

If you can drag your butt down here I can walk you to several pairs of "Junkyard gold" rotors that some idiot or another installed on their Explorer or Ranger (with new bearings) before turning in their vehicle in the Cash-for-Clunkers program.
In more than one case I scored a pair of shiny new Warn Hubs.
(one of those sets is on my truck now, the other set is my not-for-sale spare pair)

But my real prize was a brand new LuK clutch that someone didn't even wear the fuzz off of before clunkering their vehicle

Someone else's slightly used parts are FAR cheaper than anyone's new parts, and I live in a target rich environment.

Like a bear durning a salmon run...

as for the brake line? not exactly rocket surgery, but it's more than possible
to "slip" the brake line through.

Flaring in place WILL be necissary

Frankly when I had my truck (literally) down to a bare frame I replaced
all my hardlines with stainless steel, because I didn't want to do
it ever again...

Mechanics make their living by being mechanically inclined and
collecting money from people who aren't.

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[lil_Blue_Ford]

Splicing a brake line never works very well, if it rusted through, it's gonna just break again. Oh, and the hard line that goes from the front to the back axle should be in two pieces, there should be a joint in front of the gas tank somewhere. Cheapest fix is to pick up a coil of 3/16" line and a couple ends. Most parts stores will let you borrow a flaring tool if you leave a deposit. Should be around $20 or so for the line and ends.

E-brake cables are $20-30 each, IIRC. If you do it yourself.

Not sure about the bearings, last time I replaced my 2wd bearings, I replaced the rotors at the same time... $80 each for the rotors and they came with races installed, but I think the rotors for the older Rangers are cheaper.

Cold out? It's not THAT bad yet...

I helped replace leaf springs in my buddies Jeep a couple years ago. Outside in the snow. High temperature that day was around -5 or something stupid like that. Wind chill in the like -20s. It was cold enough that when we stopped for a beer break, we popped the tops and chugged. The last few mouthfuls were nothin but ice, it was freezing faster than you could drink it... Praise heavens for Carhartts!

 

[93rangerXLT4x4]

i live in BC canada and we gotta have an inspection done if your insuring the vehicle in a different province.. so say i wanted to insure my truck in alberta i'd have to get it inspected first, then insure it.. they check the same stuff..

ya i know all about the money problems too.. jobless, pick up side jobs when i can.

 

[TheOne]

isnt salmon arm pretty small? im in edmonton and doing not that bad...lots of work in sheet metal this recession around...my uncle didnt fair too good in the 80's recession....

 

[metalmacguyver]

Koda, this is TRS.... we can walk you through ANY repair that your ranger needs.

 

[adsm08]

Koda, this is TRS.... we can walk you through ANY repair that your ranger needs.

Sometimes we might even come help you do it.

 

[koda6966]

It's not my Ranger it's my car..

 

[adsm08]

It's not my Ranger it's my car..

meh, still applies. there are enough of us running around here who do this for a living that we can figure it out.

I know at least TheBeast, myself, and of course our illustrious house expert on all things Ford and 99.9% of all things car, Mr. AllanD are professional auto techs.

We can still talk you through just about anything/everything you need to know.

Whats the car?

 

[koda6966]

It's in my sig. Last line.

The wheel bearings are press in, so I can't do those myself anyway.

Brake cable I can't even find. I have to borrow my girlfriends fathers ramps if I get the brake line fixed this weekend, or wednesday if I don't.

o2 sensor should be easy to fix. Depending on the corrosion.

 

[adsm08]

phhhhh. those are the easiest things in the world to work on. The parking brake cable disappears into the floor around the center of the car, 02 sensor should be real easy, and if those are the bearings I'm thinking they are, they aren't actually that hard to do in the driveway.

 

[AllanD]

On a ZX2? Escort?

Unless you are unlucky enough to have one of the relatively few
ZX2's with ABS.

MY '98 Escort had bad wheel bearing when I got it, drove it for a year
that way before the shifter cable broke.

That job was an absolute BASTARD... I have permanant scars on my hands
from that job...

But while the car was apart I replace not only the wheelbearings but the balljoints
(ebay) and Tie Rod Ends ("junkyard gold") and the wheel bearings by the cheapest method... by patrolling the junkyards until I found an Escort that someone already replace the wheel bearings.

this was made difficult by the fact that my Escort has ABS, the knuckle
and outer CV are different.

I think I've got a Non-ABS knuckle with a good bearing
If I still have it you are welcome to it.

One will get you halfway there....

This is a job I wouldn't attempt at home. pull the knuckle and replace it with another assembly? sure... but the wheel bearing is a pressed in bearing, there is no bolt in bearing carrier on an Escort.

As for the rear brake hard line? I can't remember the routing of the
rigid lines in the back... and my 4dr SE-Sport is different from your
2dr ZX2 anyway....

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[adsm08]

On a ZX2? Escort?

Unless you are unlucky enough to have one of the relatively few
ZX2's with ABS.

MY '98 Escort had bad wheel bearing when I got it, drove it for a year
that way before the shifter cable broke.

That job was an absolute BASTARD... I have permanant scars on my hands
from that job...

But while the car was apart I replace not only the wheelbearings but the balljoints
(ebay) and Tie Rod Ends ("junkyard gold") and the wheel bearings by the cheapest method... by patrolling the junkyards until I found an Escort that someone already replace the wheel bearings.

this was made difficult by the fact that my Escort has ABS, the knuckle
and outer CV are different.

I think I've got a Non-ABS knuckle with a good bearing
If I still have it you are welcome to it.

One will get you halfway there....

This is a job I wouldn't attempt at home. pull the knuckle and replace it with another assembly? sure... but the wheel bearing is a pressed in bearing, there is no bolt in bearing carrier on an Escort.

As for the rear brake hard line? I can't remember the routing of the
rigid lines in the back... and my 4dr SE-Sport is different from your
2dr ZX2 anyway....

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I must be thinking of something else for those bearings then. To be honest, I do more work on mid-sized trucks and SUVs than I do small cars, unless its AC work. I seem to get every fricking focus with warm A/C that comes through that shop.

I swear I can fully rebuild a Focus A/C system in about an hour, including writing the estimate and waiting for parts. I hate A/C work.

 

[WNY964x4]

Koda , Try seeing is SUNY Morrisville does customer work , i know over at Alfred the senior shop does , and all they charge you for is parts , there is no labor fee , see if Morrisvilole does the same , it will save you alot of money.