Thursday, June 13, 2013
Replacing brake pads on the Nissan with his own hands
Recently, the stopping distance of your car has become much longer, and examination showed the minimum allowable thickness of the brake discs. Then you will need, and urgently to replace. Thus, the tools you need: - the lift or pit - Jack - a standard set of tools that should be available at each motorist - consumables and spare parts - a tripod. It bears and assistant. Before we get started, you need to fix stops with both rear-wheel drive car. Now you can loosen the nuts on the wheels and poddomkratit one side of the car. When the machine is raised to the desired level, take a tripod and with her help fix a car located in the position. Remove the wheel. Stupichnuyu surface and caliper clear the dust and dirt (you can not prevent it from entering the bearing). Unscrew six bolts attached the brake disk, by resorting to the help of an assistant, who must hold down the brake pedal and steering wheel, while you will undermine the bolt. Now you can remove by unscrewing the two bolts, brake calipers. Unscrew two screws and remove the caliper bracket, brake pads and pressure spring. Securely fix the hub, so she did not turn until the end unscrew the six bolts securing the brake disc. However, at the hub cap unscrew the six bolts. Remove the hub. So we got to the main thing - lock semiring. Remove and take out of it two goals - a bronze and steel. After that, unscrew the two screws fixing the locking disc. Here you can apply an ordinary Phillips screwdriver. Unscrew the nut of the external support bearing. To avoid damaging the seal, to be very careful to remove the hub from being in her inner bearing and outer bearing clip. Further bring down the disc with the hub using a soft bumper, and a hammer, but do not forget to do all this must also be very careful in avoiding damage to the gland. And now we take the new drive, make sure that the hub and tsentruem. Before you install should be thoroughly flushed all the details in the solarium, gasoline, kerosene, etc. After a full set of brakes and host, spinning six bolts. Hang on the hub and gathering place of the bearing. After squeezing the nuts, put the lid hub, friction, and washers. Install the caliper and new pads, call assistant and compress the brake disk six bolts. Dress the wheel and the same thing to make with the second party.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Tulsa Sorta Unintended Acceleration In Reverse Thank God It Was A Mercedes
I mean, can you imagine if it had been a Toyota?
Big props to the 67 year old driver, too...who admitted that his "foot got caught on the gas pedal". Not sure how that happens, but at least he fessed up that it was his problem and not a phenomenon caused by floor mats, electronic gremlins or Satan.
Friday, June 7, 2013
New Car Review 2011 GMC Terrain
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| The 2011 GMC Terrain. |
As easy as it is to take potshots at badge engineering (taking one vehicle, putting a different grille, taillights and nameplate on it and calling it something else), think about what it must be like to be a corporate cousin of a big volume brand like Chevrolet. You need product or your brand wont survive, and the fact, even prior to the great recession and Carpocalypse, is that the bucks arent there to build unique vehicles for each brand. Platform sharing...and the more blatant badge engineering...are the only way to go.
Thats GMCs lot in life and has been for decades. They finesse it by positioning themselves as more upscale...a good play for Acadia, Yukon and Yukon XL..a mixed bag when it comes to Sierra pickups, and for the Terrain? Well, its gotta be a tough sell. Or so youd think. The Terrain actually sells mid-pack among 12 compact crossovers (the other 11 being the Ford Escape, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4, Subaru Forester, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-7).
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| The 2011 GMC Terrain rear view. |
Not that theres anything wrong with the Terrain. Its just that in the small crossover segment, theres only so much you can do to differentiate it from its sister under the skin, the Chevrolet Equinox.
GMC sent us a loaded Terrain SLT-2 AWD (all wheel drive). $31,650 base price, and after $6,435 worth of cargo management packages, navigation, audio system upgrades, swapping the 2.4 liter 4-cylinder for the 3.0 liter V6, the rear seat entertainment system, 19-inch wheels and trailering equipment, the bottom line (with $810 destination charge) was $38,895.
Thats $2,010 more than the similarly equipped 2010 model we tested last year, and also a couple grand less than loading up a 2011 Equinox in similar fashion would cost you.
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| The 2011 GMC Terrain interior. |
And theres the trouble. It really is an Equinox. Is the GMC nameplate or the blockier, arguably more masculine stying of the Terrain worth $2,000? For a few thousand people a month, the answer is yes.
2011 GMC Terrain AWD SLT-2
Base price: $31,650.
As tested: $38,895.
Likes: Room, comfort.
Dislikes: High price as tested, low-ish gas mileage.
EPA estimates: 16 mpg city/22 mpg highway.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
TireKicker Time Machine 1970 Chevrolet Bel Air
Some TireKicker Time Machines are well cared-for, almost museum quality pieces.
And...some arent. But theres beauty in surviving against the odds, and this 1970 Chevy falls into that category.
While some top-of-the-line Impalas and Caprices got the care needed to make it to the Saturday afternoon car shows around the country, cars like this 70 Bel Air (the two taillamps per side instead of three is the giveaway, as well as the somehow surviving Bel Air badge on the front fender) were meant to do workhorse duty for salesmen and frugal families more than 40 years ago, then be junked like an old refrigerator or washing machine. Still, the Bel Air was one rung up the ladder from the bare-bones Biscayne.
The concentration of rust on the roof makes me think this may have originally had a vinyl top...a popular option of the time that was notorious for trapping moisture right up against the sheetmetal.
For a taste of what this car was like in its prime, heres a neat little video of a better-preserved 70 Bel Air, not perfect...but with considerably less rust:
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Latest 2011 Honda Jazz
Striking changes is the design of a new front bumper and grille. There are two new colors are offered one of them "Vibrant Lime Green Metallic" as used in Jazz Hybrid. On the interior side of the rear bench seat can recline features extended back to 73 mm so that rear passengers can be more comfortable. Several other changes are cruise control, remote entry, an audio system AM / FM / CD with four speakers, a USB audio interface2, auxiliary audio input jack, MP3/WMA playback, Radio Data System (RDS), power windows, power mirrors, and power door lock.