PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Did that say what is wrong with the rack, just a leak or a bunch of play in the steering? If it's a small leak l would just add a little fluid here and there instead of spending all that cash on the replacement.

 

I will ask. We’ve also decided to do the water pump and timing chain, and that’ll definitely save money!

 

@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@shakerhood
@steelcity2
@TnShooter

So, it’s been a stressful week. The same day we committed to buying the PT Cruiser (actually just before), Amanda got a call from the doctor’s office that a recent mammogram had uncovered a nodule in her left breast; Amanda carries the BRCA gene, which genetically predisposes her to breast cancer. She had a second mammogram and some other tests done on Tuesday. Thankfully, the nodule has been determined to be benign.

 

Phew, good thing you all were on top of it. Never too early to start this stuff.

I have to reschedule my colonoscopy that was going to be in 2 weeks, hate to do it but wife's surgery got bumped out a week and she's going to be down for a bit.

 

I told @ColoradoTJ about this on the phone…

Before we did our research, Amanda was planning to buy a 2011 Nissan Altima 2.5S for $3,000. This was just for the car and nothing else. She paid $800 cash for the PT Cruiser. The combined cost for title, tax, tags, etc was $346.08. Insuring the car for six months is $329 if I remember correctly.

The only thing that the car NEEDS to pass inspection is rear shocks, which comes to $303.08 for parts and labor.

The steering rack leaks, so we have decided to replace that at a cost of $662.64.

The front brakes pass inspection but are worn out, so we have decided to do those for $517.91.

The cost for a Bluetooth stereo and backup camera is about $200; I can install the HU, but my mechanic is doing the backup camera wiring at a cost of $150…?

That is a little over $3,300 for a car that is 100% legal and has a significant sound system upgrade. Not bad when you consider than renting cars or taking Ubers for a year is almost five grand!

So, here’s where the problem is…

The car has just shy of 95K and the timing belt has never been done. My mechanic won’t do it. Another mechanic I know who doesn’t mind working on older American cars is willing to do it for like $1,450.

First, I called my friend Dave who used to be a mechanic and has done work on my Tacoma before. He doesn’t think it’s worthwhile to do the job even if I get a good deal.

I called the two Chrysler dealerships nearest to my house and wasn’t able to get an answer from them right away. Neither of them called me back.

I also called the mechanic who used to work on my truck before I went to Pete and left a message (he didn’t answer); I never got a called back.

Amanda has an 11-mile round trip commute from her home to her place of employment, and back again; I don’t see her putting more than 500 miles a month on the car, and if the engine gets nuked before 100K miles then it’s whatever. Needless to say, the car will not be driven more than 10 miles from Amanda’s house unless it’s an emergency, and I am constantly looking for something that’s a bit easier to work on.

 

Read the above quoted post, @Just_A_Guy…

You were NOT kidding, @TnShooter! My friend Richard and I were looking under the hood today, and the PT Cruiser is a fucking nightmare. Stuff that can be done in a matter of minutes on my Tacoma requires a lot of disassembly on a PT Cruiser. I am taking the last response from two Chrysler dealerships and a mechanic as a hint that they will not touch this car; Richard and I watched a YouTube video showing this exact job on a 2006 PT Cruiser, and what a pain in the ass!

 

I’ve never done a brake job, and I could probably do the shocks but I do not have the time or the space to do that. Less than $310 ain’t bad to get it through inspection…

 

1+ for this.....

IIRC, the 2.4 is a non-interference engine.
The chances of catastrophic engine failure on a broken timing belt are slim.
The valves "could" hit each other if the stars align and the conditions are right.
But the odds are in your favored they wont.

I say....Brake and Shocks.
Save money, drive the car until it wont move.
Then spend what you saved on a new car.

 

I say again that I have never done a brake job in my life, and it’s worth paying that kind of money to not break my girlfriend’s car…

 

Also, is not an interference engine?!?!

 

It means the valves wont poke a hole in a piston if the belt breaks.

Understandable. You won't ever hear me criticize another man for paying someone else to do a job.
Hell, I pay someone to change my oil. For Less than $60, I don't crawl on my back or deal with the old oil.
Take my money...,

My "I'll do it myself point" is around $200.
If it cost me more than $200 and I can do it myself, I do it myself.

Not counting small stuff. I am not paying someone $30 LABOR to change my air filter.....

 

You misunderstood; I know exactly what a non-interference engine is. I am shocked that a Chrysler product that’s almost 25 years old has a non-interference engine!

 

Ahhhh...ok

Just be glad it isn't a turbo engine. Even worse to work on......
And even more of a POS......

 

Also, remember my cousin’s 2023 VW Tiguan that had blue smoke R like 12,000 miles? They finally got fed up with the damn thing and traded it for a 2017 Subaru Forester with almost 130K miles!

 

It has a clean title, the A/C blows ice cold, and it’s cheaper to insure for six months than it is to rent a car or take an Uber for a month! Those are the biggest reasons we bought this thing…

 

For the price you paid.
You can not complain…

They aren’t as bad as I make them sound.
I mean, they are “good”. But I just remember working on a couple.
And they were a bitch to work on. So that probably why my opinion of them is less than stellar.

 

Amanda’s landlady was pondering scrapping it for $500. I told her the book value was like two grand and she said we could have it for $800. We are hoping to upgrade Amanda to a late 1990s Camry inside of a year…

 

I have worked on very few Euro/German cars.
I knew when none of my tools “fit”, they weren’t for me.
Special 12 point socket just to change a cv axle in a Jetta……

 

What I think is utterly pathetic is that the Tiguan had blue smoke coming out of the tailpipe at 12K miles, and is burning more oil than truck does at 218K miles!