General Tech Love the old cars

[tinman58]

I recently changed the thermostat on our 250. It always ran cold, took forever to warm up. I replaced with a 180* stat and know the 250 warms up nice and the temp gauge is where it should be. Total time to replace it 15 minutes and about $5 bucks. Now my Wife's Audi A3 Has a thermostat problem, stuck partially open. Ok "I can replace that!" Well 5 hours later I almost have the old one out. What a PITA! Every thing is very tight and so many hoses and wire looms. The new stat was $75 bucks I know that it will take 7-8 hours to install the new one tomorrow. It is enjoyable to work on the Triumphs and even MG's, after this I will pay the Audi shop to do the work..............it is not enjoyable to work on the newer cars. Just had to vent a little bit.

 

[pdplot]

I raise the hood, look hard and slam down the hood.

 

[Geo Hahn]

I'm thankful my wife's Toyota never needs anything done. The engine bay looks like the back of a color television set. Seems to say 'Buddy, don't even think about working in here'.

 

[sail]

Today I pulled out the Eurovan for a dump run and to make more room for chasing around the TR. It ran like crap and wouldnt go over 40 after apparently suffering a brain aneurism from the battery having been out. Between the scanner and web think I found a fix but I WANNA WORK ON THE TR.

 

[glemon]

You got that right, my son has a 99 Maxima which was a great car for me for many years, but is starting to show its age. Running rough, on a Triumph I would look at the carbs and fuel delivery, as well as the distributor/ignition. On the Maxima (code is no help, random multiple misfire or something like that) you have lots of possibilities, six coils, six fuel injectors, Mass Air Flow Sensor, Ignition Module, cam position sensor, knock sensor, oxygen sensor, etc. and a few I am probably forgetting. Some stuff easy to get too, much of it not so much. And of course not many of the parts give ANY indication of whether they work or not by looking at them, and they are not meant to be removed and serviced. Also have a 81 Porsche, new adventure in car work, somewhere between modern and vintage simple, easier access because older and RWD, still a rats nest of wiring and circuits compared to a Triumph.

 

[trrdster2000]

Or, Don't open the hood without a mutimeter, your worst nightmare, Jaguar XK8. I'll learning things I really didn't want to know, but it is a great car.
We have great suspensions on the Triumphs, the Jags have a foam cushion stuff at the top of the front and rear shocks, flaky junk after 30K in some cases.
But the LOOK as you are pushing it down the side of the road, unsurpassed. LOL

Wayne

 

[trglory]

I got under the hood of my wife's Toyota one time. Couldn't really identify much of what I was looking at. I did see three big black wires going to three black plastic cans embedded in the front of the engine. I assumed that the spark plugs were under them. I was pretty sure that it wasn't a three cylinder engine and got a knot in the pit of my stomach when I concluded that there was probably three more of them buried beneath the firewall in the back. I closed the hood and made an appointment with the Toyota service department.

 

[Kleykamp]

It could be worse... It could be a ultimate driving machine. Looked for 20 minutes for a dip stick. Read manual, Push a button on the turn signal, wait 5 minutes, then check the dash display for oil level. Now that's way more convenient than pulling a dip stick out.

 

[Popeye]

Honestly, sometimes the same advice applies to new cars as old. Get a service manual - if it exists.

My main complaint about modern machinery is that is is not designed to be repaired / disassembled. Plastic connectors are usually good for about 1 or 2 disconnects before something breaks. Very little is held together with screws, all just snaps together. As a pilot of an ultimate driving machine with a whole lotta miles (the only dipstick is me in the driver seat :wink-new the Bentley manual is a godsend - just like it is with my TR. Granted, it is about 5x the number of pages - and there is a whole lot of jumping from one section to another to complete a repair (i.e. remove the cowl cover as detailed on page 2. next remove the spark plugs as detailed on page 22. next ...). But I can do a lot - not everything - with normal tools and skills. And diagnosis usually involves internet searches, vs. knowing with my "gut" what needs to be fixed.

At the other end of the spectrum, my 2-stroke single cylinder vespa... piece-o-cake!! (But even for that, the technical manual saves time. Things are "efficiently" tucked away under the curvaceous sheet metal; sometimes a little tip saves a lot of aggravation.)

 

[mrv8q]

I got a knot in the pit of my stomach when I concluded that there was probably three more of them buried beneath the firewall in the back.

Dan's post is timely since I spent the last two days pulling the intake manifold on my 16 YO Lexus transverse 6. Not fun to change out knock sensors, wiring, and a buried coolant hose, but replacing the inaccessible spark plugs under the plenum really woke up the car for the test run afterward.

Much more straightforward working on the TR3, but I do appreciate an OBDll scanner; its diagnosis hasn't failed me yet...

What is going to kill this car is the heat generated in the engine bay. I'm paranoid every time I have to disconnect an electrical connector, and await that distinctive 'snap' from the connector breaking somewhere...

 

[crash21]

My Dad and I have discussed this a lot.
We restored a 1947 Willys CJ2A that had been sitting on a dirt floor in a garage long enough that the differentials were buried in the dirt. The wheels had sunk into the dirt to the brake drums.
It took some time but that vehicle is up and running and has better than 90% of the original parts.
He drives a 90 Corvette and a 2011 Corvette and I have a 2013 Mustang GT. Try setting any of these in a dirt floor garage and go back and try to restore them in 50 years. It would be impossible. The electronics would be long discontinued and impossible to repair.
It just makes my TR6 even more special, at least to me.