SOLVED! Post 2853 Leaking Injectors, Dealer Techs Rock! Extended Cranking after Engine Swap 3.4L 5vz

I'll ask Eric to look at the water pump. We have really done anything unusual with the car, it's had what I imagine to be a pretty typical Civic life. Commuting, errands, pretty boring stuff.

The good news is we are spending on these repairs one step at a time. Tires and alignment wouldn't be til October or November, so this way we can see if more stuff goes wrong between now and then, and abort the mission before we are fully sank if more crap breaks. So far we've spent ~$150. We'll spend $40 on CV boots this weekend. Then ~$200 for tires/alignment in a couple months, IF it still seems worthwhile at that point.

 

Heading out, thanks for the input guys!!

 

exactly what we have been trying to tell you, it will still last another 10 years just like that if you don't fix "anything" so get the a/c fixed then replace the cv boots and put those tires on it. I wouldn't even bother getting the alignment unless it pulls to the side when you let go of the wheel

 

seams like you don't care if the a/c works or not ??? maybe that's because its erics ride and not yours

I couldn't imagine not making fixing the a/c a top priority, didn't you just say you were melting in the heat the other day

 

I don't know what you're talking about

In all seriousness though, I've shown him those conversion kits before, and for whatever reason he didn't feel like it was worth it to him. I was surprised, but ultimately that part is totally up to him, because I rarely even ride in the Civ anymore. I think the fact that it's more of a dry heat when we get hot weather, rather than humid heat like the midwest/southeast get, makes a big difference in how tolerable the temp actually is. Come to think of it, the AC works great in the Taco and I don't think I've used it once this summer - windows down usually does the trick as long as you're moving.

Just got back from the park. As usual, enjoyed every second of driving my Taco!! Man I love that truck. I hope we can squeeze in some time/money to take a short trip somewhere next week - it sounds so fun to have some sunny Taco days, we are due for some of that goodness

 

its not the heat that gets you its the humility

 

It's funny, I'm kinda remembering that whole situation now. They changed the timing belt and water pump at 125K, then we took it back at 135K to get an estimate on a torn CV boot (we did wind up replacing the boot at that time, by the way!). It wasn't until then that they told us a billion things were wrong with it, gave us a $1300 estimate to fix it all. They pretty much told him the car was going to disintegrate into a million pieces if we didn't do all of those repairs immediately. Seemed weird to us, that suddenly ALL of these things on the car were shot to the point of dangerous, yet all of those items were apparently just fine when they did the expensive timing belt/water pump replacement with them only 10K miles prior. So Eric paid the diagnosis fee and brought the Civ home. And 10 years later, it has not fallen apart yet. Same problems, just slightly more advanced now. And some are finally being dealt with.

 

Guess what? I just figured out what I wanna be when I grow up!!

Thinking about starting a business.

I've been trying to figure out what the heck my next career move was going to be, mulling over a million ideas this past year. After 10 years in the veterinary field, it was time for a change. But I couldn't figure out what. Then this idea came to us last night.

A courier/delivery business!! Using whatever new car we get!! Two birds, one stone.

It's perfect!! I can be my own boss, make my own schedule, and enjoy driving whatever my new car is to deliver flowers for florists, legal doc's for attorneys, run errands for elderly people or people that just need a hand, fetch parts for mechanics, etc. The idea came to us because a florist near Eric's work (who sends flowers home with him on holidays, she rocks!! there's no way I'd ever get flowers otherwise ) asked him if I wanted to work there. Then he mentioned that she pays some courier service to do deliveries for her on a regular basis. So we figured, why not have her pay me to do them instead? Then figured, why not offer that service to a bunch of local businesses?

Need a name TW. What's it gonna be? My neighbor suggested "Reliable Courier." Hoping for something a little jazzier than that.

Also need to decide on the best vehicle for the job. Could even use the Taco w/topper to start out, to be sure I am actually able to make a go of it before choosing a car based around the idea. Because if we weren't doing this, I think a small commuter would still make the most sense for us. But if this idea worked and took off, thinking a new or newish Subaru Forester or RAV 4 or Honda CRV would be best - all wheel drive, and lots of tall/wide space in back for large floral arrangements, awkwardly shaped auto parts, etc. Yet those are small enough that they'd be easy to drive and MPG would be decent.

I love driving. I think I may have finally found my calling guys!

 

Door levers are on their way.

 

Thanks buddy!!

 

Lol yip

 

X's2↑↑↑

 

Totally different subject, what kinds of phones do you all have?

Getting ready to officially make the change to smartphones

 

Regarding your courier business idea, just remember the miles will be piling up rather quickly if your idea takes off, also, your insurance will be higher because of the higher miles, don't know if a business license is needed, but probably...

I just upgraded my 5 year old phone, got an LG G3 (VS985 4G LTE), lightyears faster...I had a Samsung, served me well but it was really slow by comparison...

 

Sony Z3. Waterproof, fast, Sony, and Android. Hard to beat IMHO for the price.

I also have a work phone; an iPhone 5. Hate it.

Wife has an iPhone 6. $990 CAD for a phone that isn't any better on paper than mine and isn't waterproof lol.

 

Yep, gotta get a business license. And call insurance to see what kind of additional costs we'd be in for. And decide on the best vehicle for the job - as usual, trying to keep cost down, MPG up, and cargo room plentiful. A RAV4 might fit the bill, AND with one of those, we wouldn't have to shop for a new mechanic - we could have one very smart/trustworthy person handle any major stuff on both vehicles for us, and that would be super nice. Other than it's poor MPG and slightly rough appearance, the Taco would work in the short term, just to be sure the phone is actually ringing before investing in something larger/newer/more expensive to replace the Civic than we would have chosen otherwise.

I think where I'm most stuck right now is figuring out the proper accounting formula to decide how to set prices - gotta be sure they are high enough to make some kind of profit, yet low enough to be competitive. You'd want to account for all of your expenses - phone, home office equipment use, insurance, fuel, car maintenance/repair costs, the cost of the car itself, eventually if it took off I'd want to get some basic software to make it easier to track everything.......anything I'm forgetting?

Then I'm not sure how to calculate depreciation on the car and equipment. I vaguely remember learning about that in an accounting class I took, but it's pretty fuzzy now. Anybody on here an accountant, or even just remember the depreciation formula?

I suppose looking at how similar businesses in our area price their services should be another influence on how I'd set the prices, to make sure I'm in the ballpark.

Still trying to decide on a name too!!

And I have an idea to get my "baking fix" in with this idea - free cinnamon roll and hot coffee with every delivery!! Now that should set me apart from the competitors, dontcha think TW?

 

this is the one I bought, they had a nice financing plan so I was able to afford it at $29 http://www.cnet.com/products/kyocera-kona/

 

whatever you do, get incorporated, its easy to do and that way your personal assets are not liable if the business gets sued for any reason.

as to the name "crazy electrodes to go" kinda rolls of the tongue doesn't it?

as to pricing food costs you better spend time watching "restaurant impossible" because they teach you a lot about what people do wrong when they open a food business and how to price things. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=restaurant+impossible

 

How do you become incorporated?

"Crazy electrodes to go" is kind of fun, I'll give ya that for sure. But when people are in need of a courier, it's hard for me to imagine them thinking, I NEED CRAZY ELECTRODES TO GO!

Although, sometimes the weirdest shit is what works, because it's what people remember. Hmmmmmmmmmm

What else ya got @keakar ? You're on the right track with the fun-ness of it but gimme more ideas............

 

Lease a car if you are going to use it for business and let an accountant do the math.

My phone is an HTC M1 8. I rooted it to get rid of all the Verizon bloatware that I will never use and reduce parasitic drain on the battery.