Car crapped out

[Anck Su Namun]

First what kind of car do you have how old and has it had any probs? I have a 99 beetle and it has been pretty good so far, except today it wouldn't start and is making a disturbing noise when I try to start it up (kinda like gun shots). I don't know a lot about cars but I am hoping it is just the battery although that noise is not very comforting...
Had to get a ride from my boss to work. Great way to start out my third day at my job. Thank goodness she lives 2 blocks away...

[sho.gun]

I think you should take it to the shop and have someone look at it. It's too young to make gunshot noises. Too bad our resident car expert Passwird isn't here right now, he can tell you what the causes of the gunshot noises are right off the bat.

But as for me, I have a 1982 Honda Accord. It's sky blue and still runs really good. I don't have a license yet, I gotta get off my lazy bum and schedule a driving test. Oh, by the way, I already got a ticket for the car. Sad isn't it, no license and already a ticket. $40 for parking violation. :(

[Anck Su Namun]

Originally posted by sho.gun
But as for me, I have a 1982 Honda Accord. It's sky blue and still runs really good.

My dad had an '88 honda for 12 years and it had no probs. Damn I should have gotten a honda! I have heard that beetles have bad electrical problems, so perhaps my car is following in the grand tradition. P.S. That is pretty bad, a ticket w/no license :laugh:
I have been driving 2 1/2 years and not one ticket for anything. and I speed all the time. yay! I think it's the cuteness of the bug :P it has it's good points...

[Nanotech9]

http://bimmers.dhs.org/images/91BMW.jpg

the sweetie on the left is mine, adn the baby on the right is my brothers "new" one...

'91 318is, and a '91 525i...

should be reliable as most anything 11 years old...
my brother did have an 87 accord lxi that was VERY reliable, except he totaled it twice (4 wrecks in it altogether) and hasnt fixed it this last time... Thats why I got him the Bimmer... plus, the bimmer should be a lot more safe than a little flimsy honda, and they have a kid on the way...

[sho.gun]

Originally posted by Nanotech9
the sweetie on the left is mine, adn the baby on the right is my brothers "new" one...

sweetie? The girl or the car?

[Nanotech9]

the car (*dummy*)!

the girl in the pic is my sister-in-law...

[Anck Su Namun]

Originally posted by sho.gun


sweetie? The girl or the car?

note the "on left" portion of his statement. The girl is on the right :heh:

[sho.gun]

Originally posted by Anck Su Namun


note the "on left" portion of his statement. The girl is on the right :heh:

But the girl is sitting on the left side of the car, and plus who knows what nano is hiding from us these days...

[mojo]

gunshot noise? it's too young to be out of time. how does it drive? does it sound like a backfire? did you drive this thing across country, or buy it when you got back? does it crank a few times then make the noise? does it smoke when it does?

[Anck Su Namun]

Originally posted by mojo
gunshot noise? it's too young to be out of time. how does it drive? does it sound like a backfire? did you drive this thing across country, or buy it when you got back? does it crank a few times then make the noise? does it smoke when it does?

Not a gunshot noise...more like loud pellet gun shots or something. It's quite disturbing though. It drives lovely, no probs till now. It kinda struggles to start then makes the noise. No smoking or anything that serious...not yet anyway :heh:

[mojo]

if it's a loud, sharp, abrupt grinding noise, it could be the starter missing the engagement thing. it could spin up before the gears are together...then the grinding stops when it engages fully or you let off the key. but if it starts to turn, then makes the noise...i dunno yet. so is it like pellets rattling around in there? maybe the starter disengages before the engine is started. a solenoid could do that if it was bad n stuff.

[Anck Su Namun]

Well it jump started today. So I am guessing it's the battery...

[bachviet]

I had a 87 Accord for 6 years (bought it used in 94)! I managed to put 120K miles while the previous owner(s) put in another 110K miles! The car still runs great when I sold it! I have a 2K Accord V6 now and I'm quite happy with it! :D

[shoeish]

I drive a 94 Mustang Cobra with extensive mods. I've had it for only four months now, and have had no major problems but the one I am experiencing right now, which happens to be a blown head gasket. :(

Even with 450hp at the rear wheels, it is unbelievably tame and smooth to drive. When you stomp it down, though, you are firmly planted to your seat through fourth gear, and it still pulls hard in fifth.

Although I still own it, the car I drove before was a 1995 ford contour. At 33000 miles the motor blew. It let go of a rod and destroyed everything. $2200 to replace it with a used one. Other then that, no problems.


The clicking sounds like a dead battery, your probably left a dome light on. ;) You may want to get your charging system checked by the dealer regardless, just in case.

[pd123]

Originally posted by shoeish
I am experiencing right now, which happens to be a blown head gasketI blew either my head gasket this past summer on my 1987 Acura Legend with 120,000 miles. It was going to cost more than the car was worth to fix around $2000. As a last resort, I went to Auto Zone and got a can of called "Block Sealer" by a company called CRC Industries. If you want info, phone them 1800-521-3168. It cost around $8, I never espected it to work, I was blowing over a quart of radiator fluid out the exaust by driving less than ten miles. It amazed me, worked great. At first I thought it worked 90 percent, and I thought I would give it a second treatment. I didn't need to, within a day or so, all leakes stopped. If you do it, follow directions carefully, you must void all radiator fluid out, a simple flush is not good enough. I think they way it works is that it is a fine glass that melts into the crack, but I'm not too sure of the technical reason. There are many types of this stuff on the market, my mechanic specifically recommend this product. My car is running great now, no sign of performance problems at all. I have put over 3,000 on it since the treatment and added no fluid to the radiator. Still I won't go more than 100 miles away from home, the limit of a tow from AAA. Originally I broke down in Connecticut when the engine went, about 160 miles away and a $500 tow with my old AAA card. I since upgraded the the better AAA card and I can get 100 mile tows.

[shoeish]

A few reasons I why I didn't try a sealer:

1. I drive on the highway a lot. The nearest town from Laramie is 45 miles away, and I don't even go that way out of town. 60 miles and 120 miles to the next town on the routes I use.

2. Once the glass seals in to a motor I'll bet it sucks to get out to fix properly.

3. I am making over 500 horsepower at the crankshaft. Halfassed solutions aren't going to cut it at 9-11psi of boost.

4. I've heard that stuff will seal up a heater core. Mine is behind my dash and it would not be any fun to replace.

If I was desperate, had a car that I didn't care near as much for, and the next nearest towns were closer than 60 miles, I would consider it. I'm glad its working for you, though.

[johnnymk]

My head gasket went Kapooey aver a week ago. I had it repaired for $380.00. I was sooo worried that the head cracked or warped but it didn't. I heard about that sealer from a guy at work.Any kind of sealer that you pour down the radiator would likely clog up the heater core, and possibly the radiator.
But considering your circumstance- the age of the car, the mileage and the cost to fix it, I would have taken the same chance. I hope it lasts for you.

[pd123]

The sealer was a good solution for me as you said, given the age of my car. I agree that your car, shoeish, is more worth fixing. Today it was 14 degrees in NJ and though I used the gasket sealer, my car has no heater proplems.

[Anck Su Namun]

Well the VW is fixed, I got a new battery (I had to get it from the dealer though cause it was a "special" kind and Sears didn't have it). It actually started on it's own this morning, so the battery wasn't totally dead but I definitely needed a new one. Don't want it to crap out again and have my mom take me to work anymore...Anyway it is running fine now. They said it is normal for the battery to crap out every 3 or 4 years. They tested the electrical system and everything seems fine. I also got some little things fixed like the seat belt cover in the back seat my mom's german shepherd chewed up :rolleyes: and I got a tire rotation and oil change. and the total costs for these little things? $466! sheesh. Maybe I don't want a mercedes c class (pictured below). I can barely stomach seeing the repair costs for my little volkswagen.

[brain]

2001 Mercedes C320, 14 months old, 22.5k miles.

List of problems:
-Coolant bottle cracked (3 times)
-Keys replaced (3 times) The keys are infrared transponders, BTW.
-Windshield replaced due to faulty radio reception
-Ignition system replaced
-Squeaky drivers seat
-Squeaky shifter assembly
-Faulty fuel sensor

That's it for now. My word of advice to everyone: NEVER buy a car after it has been completely redeisgned. Give it at least a year to let the company work the bugs out of it. I love my car, but life would've been much better if I didn't have to take it to the dealer so often.

[shoeish]

I agree, let them work out the bugs before you buy a new/rewored design.

My 1995 Contour was the same way... First year of the completely new design, new platform, new motor, tranny, everything. It was designed from scratch.

12(!) recalls since I've owned it in 1998, one blown motor (30k miles, connecting rod bolt came loose), and a magnet for getting hit by things (okay, maybe not ford's fault).