Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Orange, New Jersey

Orange, NJ Car Consumer Discussions

Re: Here's the Deals I worked for a 2008 4Matic R-320 CD I & R-350 [p2potter]

by heris on Tue Nov 18 04:50:27 PST 2008

Hi, I'm sorry that I'm just now responding....months later. The Orange Park Mercedes Benz dealership. link title

Re: Slow starter in cold [bassman14]

by cowboy9 on Sun Nov 16 11:49:28 PST 2008

Hey Bass, It was not an option it comes standard. When facing the truck from the front on the Drivers side look in the far right Hole of the Bumper and it should be in there or look behind the Grill above that area, I know some people will re-run the plug for easier access to it. Now you can also Track it down, Crawl under the Drivers Side and on the back of the Motor where the Freeze Plugs normally are one of them is replaced with the Heater Block Plug, The Plug should be and Orange Plug and the Wire should follow the Frame out to the Front of the Truck. Good Luck , Hope that Helps Tony

I found it!

by oregonboy on Sat Nov 15 11:17:14 PST 2008

I found it! :) Driving south on I-5 between Eugene and Roseburg Oregon... nightime, moderate-to-light traffic... two lanes (each direction)... 65 mph posted limit, most traffic traveling 70-75. I overtake a group of cars: 4 in the right lane with moderate spacing between, and an orange and white VW microbus in the left lane. The VW is passing the rear-most of the group at a glacial rate. I wait behind in the left lane. Traffic starts to pile up behind me. Eventually, the VW clears the first of the cars in the right-hand group. There is plenty of room to pull over to let traffic by, but it continues, apparently intent on passing the entire group. At this rate it could take hundreds of miles. I give two quick bursts of high-beams... no response. I put on my left blinker an drift two feet to the left, so that the blinker is clearly flashing in the VW's driver's side mirror. A minute later... the VW solders on. I don't think he's gaining on the other cars at all. In fact, he's lost ground and it looks ok to pass on the right... as long as he doesn't speed up to pin me in. I decide to give it a shot, so I signal a right lane change, move over and pass deliberately (as opposed to "with extreme prejudice"). The VW doesn't appear to have changed speed. I signal and move left. I pass the second car of the 4-car group in the right lane and as I approach the third vehicle, a newish white Ford pickup, I notice a decal on the driver's door: "Oregon State Police". I check my speed... under 74 (should be ok). I slide on by, watching in my mirror for a reaction. The OSP pickup signals and pulls into the left lane behind me. to be continued...

Re: Orange County CA OTD prices? [whwang]

by jgbaustin on Sat Nov 15 06:52:44 PST 2008

In Austin TX. I just purchased a 2009 LX sedan for 20500 + TTL. The sticker was 23,855.00 which included what they consider a dealer option package worth 846.00. Unless a dealer is willing to show me the financing papers for the car from the manufacturer, the "invoice price" is irrelevant.

HERE IS WHAT I WENT THRU TOOK ME 3 DAYS

by pla4kps on Fri Nov 14 18:13:00 PST 2008

"i have a 97 cherokee with a 4.0 that's not getting any spark. i have replaced the coil and checked to see its getting power (my test light will light up on GREEN / ORANGE and when i flip the tester to + i have ground on GRAY / WHITE just not while cranking) i visually inspected the cap and rotor and checked injector pulse. all the gauges work on the dash and the info cluster. all the fuses are good under the hood and in the vehicle. the fuel pump kicks on fine. any idea's ?? i was told that if the crank sensor is bad then the 3 wires should test 1 as a ground 2 should have 8 volts and 3 shold have between 0.3 volts and 5.0 volts but when i tested it with my volt meter i was getting between 5v and 0.3 v on one wire and between 3 and 4 volts on the other so i replaced the crank sensor because it should have 8 volts on that wire but it didn't solve my problem. so i have also pulled the codes ( key on key off key on key off key on and count the blinks of your check engine light between pauses, if you have a digital odemiter it will tell you the codes) and they are reading 12_54_55. 54 being the cam sensor which is inside the distributor on this model and year jeep aka sync signal generator and its called the IGNITION PICK UP COIL at your local parts store, and swapped it out then took sandpaper and some contact cleaner and went thru every relay under the hood. then i disconnected the neg. batt terminal and removed the coolant reservoir and pulled the 3 plugs from the pcm checked the terminals and tested the gray / white wire (-) from the pcm to the coil itself to make sure it wasn't damaged AND now i start and run beautifuly. WHAT A PAIN IN THE BUTT!! here is another idea below that may also help you and the link to a jeep site that explains your vehicle sensors and how they work. good luck http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/engine/154_0608_1987_jeep_wrangler_xj/ind- ex.html Short story long: I have a 96 Grand Cherokee 4.0L, 125,000 miles. Several weeks ago, I started to have stalling issues. Hot or cold, dry or wet, first drive of the day or last, it didn’t matter. The engine would cut out. It felt like it lost all electricals. At the time it was showing an ASD relay code. Swapped the ASD and A/C relays. Same problem. I didn’t have time to look at it, so I had the dealer go through it. After 2 days and $200, they called and said it was the ASD relay, and that they put in a new one, and it’s all good. Um, ok, maybe I missed something. I’m a trusting soul, but let’s see if this fixes it. The next day the problem was back. I went back to the dealer and they basically said, “We don’t know what it could be, good luck with that”. Now my wife knows why I don’t go to the dealer. By the way, the old relay tested good. My turn. Being the methodical aircraft mechanic that I am, I grabbed a multi-meter, contact cleaner, and wiring diagrams. I cleaned connectors, ohmed out wires and sensors, checked for power and grounds. Everything checked good. By now, it’s showing ASD, crank sensor, and primary ignition codes. Then, with my wife trying to start it, I wiggled the connectors on the PCM. Every time I wiggled the gray C3 connector just right it would run. When I let go, it would die. So I took the connectors apart and tightened up the crimps (I don’t recommend doing this without the proper extractors and crimper). Threw it back together and BAM! Same problem. Well, time to bite the bullet and check for bad solder joints on the PCM board. I took the cover off of the PCM and realized that looking through the potting compound is like looking through Guinness Stout. But, I put it back in and hooked it up. It started stronger than ever, and didn’t even think about stalling. Yes! I figured that I finally got the connectors sorted out, so I left it over night to cool down. Got up the next morning and it started right up and wouldn’t stall even when wiggling the connectors. So I put the cover back on, put the PCM back in, hooked up the connectors, and BAM! It wouldn’t start! That was the point when my wife asked, “How’s it going?” And I, being the methodical aircraft mechanic that I am, said, “what the ----?” That’s when my wife turned around and went back into the house. While smoking a pack of cigarettes, I thought, “Gee, it runs with the cover off, but not with it on.” DUH, wonder what it could be? So I backed out the two screws that hold the cover on and BAM! It started right up. Then, while it was running, I tightened the outboard screw and sure enough, it died. Yes! Aircraft mechanics love it when they can make things stop working. I installed new screws (1/4” long, factory screws are 1/2” long Torx head), and she’s been running great ever since. Now, will this fix a bad crank sensor or idle air motor? No. But it is an easy trick to try before going to the dealer and having them throw expensive parts at your Jeep and seeing if any of them stick. Just back out the cover screws about 1/8”-1/4” (don’t worry, nothing will fall apart inside). If it fixes it, great! Spread the word. If not, use logical trouble-shooting steps. Learn the systems – what will and what won’t cause the problem. Good luck. As a side note, if you want to see a service manager’s eyes pop out of his head, tell him that you want your money back because your not going to pay them to trouble-shoot a design defect. It’s a glorious sight.

Re: Heater/Defrost takes 20 min to get warm! [jeffbatesfan]

by ryster on Fri Nov 14 15:58:20 PST 2008

I had a similar problem just happen to my '06 Impala 2 days ago. A seal in my water pump failed, causing the car to lose a considerable amount of coolant. The coolant in these cars is orange, which is very similar to power steering fluid. If you are losing coolant, you should notice a strong sickeningly sweet smell from under the hood while the engine is warm. When my water pump spewed, coolant was thrown all over the engine compartment. I was also losing a lot of coolant while parked. The heater was also ineffective. It would warm up while the engine was under load, but immediately stop working at idle. The more coolant I lost, the less the heater would work. By the time I got the car to the dealer, the heater barely worked. The dealer replaced a seal/gasket on the water pump and all is well again. It was, however, a major inconvenience for a car with only 33,000 miles on it.