Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Ethan, South Dakota

Ethan, SD Car Consumer Discussions

Re: Starter trouble [ethan_black]

by the_big_al on Fri Oct 21 21:54:18 PDT 2005

What size motor do you have? And do you have 4 wheel drive? Obviously if you have 4x4 you have the 4.3 and getting the starter out is not a fun chore. I can help you on the 4.3 but if you have the 2.2 I'm not sure how to pull that one as I have never done it. I changed the starter on my '95 4.3 2wd. I would assume then that the '97 is basically the same even though they updated the motor in that year. I am assuming a lot here as I don't know what motor you have and the fact that my experience is based on a truck 2 years and different motors but since the motors still are basically the same, the starter location and removal process should not have changed. Also it has been several years since I changed the starter so my memory my be a bit fuzzy. So all in all I may not be much help but you can take what I have to say for what it's worth. For the 2wd, I had to use swivels to get around the motor mounts to get the bolts out. Then I had to undo both of them and drop the starter to get one of the bolts to drop past the mount. You do not have to remove the oil pan to get it out however it is a very tight fit to fanangle the starter past the transmission and frame. I had to disconnect the wires while holding it up with one hand and then drop it down to get it out. Installation was easier. This was for the 2wd. For the 4wd I believe you have to undo the motor mounts and then lift the engine slightly to get the starter to drop out. And then for the 2.2 I really have no idea. My best suggestion is to get a Chilton or a Haynes manual. The Chilton is by far the better one. It has saved my life many a time both on my '95 and my '01 S-10.

Re: Footprint?

by smu1976 on Wed Jun 11 22:00:37 PDT 2008

The footprint is quite small for towing 8000l bs? Do you know of any vehicle with smaller length or width that can pull this weight. This is nearly 20 inches less in length than my Suburban, and 1.8 inches wider. Funny the "hate" for SUV's, but a new 500 HP Mustang is all the rage. As far as what GM does with Hummer, the topic here, one, American General still makes them, yes even the H2. I would say they will go back to the military market only as their other AM General vehicles have done numerous times over history (JEEP). Try to find a 63 civilian Jeep? American Motors sold Jeep to Chrysler and American General Military division went to GM. Time to stick a hole in Alaska and tap that 20 year supply, sacrifice an owl or a few Caribou one before we loose to many Human lives and further bankrupting companie and households. Also Ethanal, or "fill it up with Ethyl in my day" (just alcohol from corn, has shown that the extra pesticides and run off has a high price to pay also). Quite frankly, there is no free energy or fuel, the price of gas will stabilize in the high 3 buck range. The U.S. at least should bluff that they are going to drill to shake the market. Think of the deals cut and price guarantees from Mexico and Canada, if you don't cut us off for 20 years? They would be at the table for lunch tomorrow. "Hybrids are the answer", and for MPG alone, they are, but for polluting our globe you have to take birth to death of an object or vehicle. Lead batteries are absolutely polluting the earth more with a Prius than a Hummer ever will (I do think Toyota make a fine car and truck too), electricity comes from coal, the most unclean source of power there is, so what is the answer? I don't know. Drive conservatively, don't waste trips, carpool if available. I drive between 7-8K a year, so a 12 month old Hummer will last me with bumper to bumper warranty until 2012-13, which are now buy it now on ebay for about the high thirties, 20 less than MSRP. I'll spend 11K over the next 5 years on gas at 12 mpg, Add in zero repair cost except wear and tear being a certified vehicle. Can't tow two horses with a Prius or anything hybrid, this is for the city folk and I can understand the distain for a Hummer or calling it a beast with anger in your words son, for one of these with 22 inch chrome wheels that are just for show, but arguably, the Prius is just the same, one trying to brag about being "green", maybe with some training in acting and the theatre, but nothing in engineering department. Toyota buys 100 tons of lead in England and there is not a plant or animal now within 100 miles of the facility, 14 years ago it was lush green. The U.S. now uses part of the land for space vehicle practicing site, for it is so barren, yet not sandy.

fuel

by matrix42 on Fri Apr 18 12:28:52 PDT 2008

I talked to a rep from Toyota Canada about my poor gas mileage and he was very helpful. He told me that I could bring in my car to the local dealer and have it checked (under warantee) because if it is getting bad fuel economy than that is a warrantee item. He also said the dealers have ways of checking the fuel milage the car is getting and would be happy to do so for me (at no cost). He acutally phoned the dealer of my choice and told the service manager to look after me regarding these two items. The fact that Toyota stands behind their products this well is awesome and is great news for Toyota owners. I also talked to him about my findings with changing gas stations and posed the question to him about bad fuel and/or fuel with the wrong type of additive in it that may not work well in this car. He told me that any unleaded fuel from any gas station should be fine. As far as any additives in the fuels he thought that running up to 25% ethanol in the fuel is fine (he wasn't sure but he thought it was 25%) and the fact that gas stations shouldn't be using more than 10% ethanal in their unlead fuel (depending on gas stations) it should be fine. I found this interesting since ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) is produced by using a fermentation process of yeast and sugar to produce alcohol which is basically the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol contains approx. 34% less energy per unit volume than gasoline, and therefore in theory, burning pure ethanol in a vehicle should result in a 34% reduction in miles per gallon, given the same fuel economy, compared to burning pure gasoline. Therefore, I would have to asume that the more ethanol that is added to the gasoline the worse the gas milage would be using that fuel. In other words if 10% ethanol was added you would expect to get 3.4% worse fuel economy (10% of 34%) than gasoline with no ethanol. This would mean that bad fuel or fuel additives could only account for 1-2 mpg difference in fuel economy not the 25% difference I noticed. It would now seem most likely that the cause of the huge difference is incorrect pump calibrations. Obviously more checking is needed in my cause but I found this information very interesting.

Re: Well Gas OK for vehicle refuelling device? [lee14u]

by jim314 on Thu Mar 06 11:09:42 PST 2008

This is an interesting question, but one which is not of much practical importance to very many people. My guess is that unpurified well gas would not an acceptable input to a home refueling unit for fueling a GX. "Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane but including significant quantities of ethane, propane, butane, and pentane—heavy hydrocarbons removed later on as condensate—as well as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium and hydrogen sulfide." wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas The levels of hydrogen sulfide present would probably overwhelm the adsorption unit designed to remove the mercaptan odorant in commercial natural gas, and the levels of uncombustible gasses could be significant. You'd never know how far you could go on a fill. Then there would be the problem of the heavier hydrocarbons possibly condensing to a liquid in the tank. But this raises the question of feeding a Fuel Maker with gasified LPG (aka propane), say an LPG designed for a cold climate. What would happen?

Re: The New Malibu [03accordman]

by zzzoom6 on Mon Nov 12 22:23:25 PST 2007

wow...7 consecutive posts in a row! that's got to be a record...someone's feathers must have been ruffled ;) I have no qualms in admitting the Accord is probably several tenth's faster to 60 than the Mazda6, but for the most part, that difference is not worth the $6,000 more I'd have to pay for an Accord v-6 coupe with a manual transmission over a Mazda6 with the same. And I'm actually being generous... the Edmunds Accord coupe came to 28k and a Mazda6 v-6 w/ side airbags, ac, cruise, cd changer and 2 extra doors I saw advertised last week for 17k (sticker was 23k). Perhaps, a person could get a discount on the newly released Accord, but I don't think it would be very much at this point. Add to this equation, the Mazda6 would stop in a panic stop 10+ feet sooner from 60mph than the Accord, which over the last 6 months that 10 feet would have put me into the passenger door of a BMW when they made an illegal left hand turn in front of me. I'm not saying the Mazda6 is the better car, because in some respects the Accord has some traits that I like more than the Mazda. The seats are some of the best, I like the look of the interior better, it is quieter at speed, it's manual transmission is probably among the best of cars under 35k and yes, the engine has more power. But... the Mazda6 has very good seats, has a nice interior (a bit sportier look vs an Ethan Allen look of the Accord), has a solid manual transmission, has statistically been very reliable, has plenty of power, better brakes, better steering feel, cargo room that is much more flexible, nicer looking exterior (at least in the sedan version imo), is more enjoyable to drive, has 2 extra doors, and costs at least 6k less (not necessarily equipped equally btw). I never would disparage anyone for choosing an Accord though, in fact I've recently suggested friends should consider it. But for me, the Mazda made sense on many levels, and in two years of ownership, I've never regretted my choice, which for me is very unusual as I often second guess my choices. In that way, most of us on this forum are lucky that we have found cars that really appeal to us which is why we have such strong opinions about things. I look forward to driving the Accord coupe... not so I can say my Mazda is so much better, and not so I can discover how much better the Accord is than the 6... I look forward to it because I like cars, particularly good cars irregardless of brand.

Strategy on MF Reduction via Security Deposits

by eshapir on Thu Oct 18 07:23:08 PDT 2007

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my 08 Journey and I was thinking about this the other day when running the numbers on my lease offer. According to my dealer for every $550 in security deposit, I can reduce the MF by 0.0001. Also, if I go this route, I must give a minimum of $1,100 and the maximum is $4,950. Seems like a no brainer if you've got the cash. If the buy rates on the 08 Journey are 0.00241 for 36 month term, does it make sense for us/me to reduce these high MF's with security deposits? Also, in the event of a total loss accident on the car, how are security deposits handled? Do we get it back if insurance pays the early termination liability on the lease? Here are the Terms and Conditions from the back of the IFS lease form. #22 Security Deposit "We may use the security deposit to offset any amounts that you owe under this Lease. If you perform all of your obligations under this Lease, the security deposit will be returned to you at the end of the lease term. No interest, increase or profits will accrue or be due to you. We have no duty to segregate the security deposit and do not have a fiduciary duty to you in regards to the security deposit." #26 Damage, Loss or Potential Loss of This Vehicle "If you owe any past due payments or other amounts under this Lease, we may use your security deposit to offset such amounts." Would love to hear the consensus on this strategy... Ethan