Random posting

[racer12306]

Did you use a website search tool to find lower insurance prices? I checked The Zebra last night but their recommendations weren't very accurate.

If you're looking to try one, GABI

www.gabi.com

[Midnight_Rider]

Removed last year's Gate-N-Go Carlisle sticker today.

Full insurance coverage starts again on Wednesday- time to drive! The car is going into the dealership on the 15th for a full day of work (including installing a dashcam).

[INVUJerry]

Ugh, I need to get my dash cam up and running again. Almost want to keep my gopro just for that, but it's pretty big.

I joined an Insight Facebook group recently, just as a guy was completing a swap on his 2gn insight using a 1.5 engine block from a Honda CR-Z. I started doing research, I think I'm going to swap in a CR-Z engine and ECU into mine. Should be easy as swapping in the engine, ecu, and maybe the key cylinder from a CR-Z. Or potentially getting my stock ECu programmed as a CR-Z ecu, I'm not sure how their anti-theft works.

On the neon front, I haven't done much, but the weather is getting nice. I'm going to clean the garage soon and figure out my plans for the NYG. I need to pull the engine from my parts car soon.

[INVUJerry]

I got these C4 wheels in a trade, popped one on the NYG and snapped some pics, posted them on .org facebook page. It's very polarizing lol.

[occasional demons]

LOL, those look like a vacuum cleaner fan!

[INVUJerry]

Had to replace the filler neck on the beater. I tried patching it with JB weld first, but that didn't work out for me unfortunately. I lucked out and found a filler neck for $36 on partsgeek.com and had it swapped in. It was a 95 style but worked on the 97-99 car by trimming 3 rivets off. Also switched to a vented gas cap that vents strangely. Basically, as you start to untwist it, it will vent, vs how a stock one will just twist immediately.



https://youtu.be/eDZ0woV_6YA

[INVUJerry]

Jammed a tow hitch on the 99 that I've had sitting around for a few years. It's not a reciever, just a ball mount, but it worked well enough for me to move my tow dolly to my buddy's house so he could borrow it for a few days. Eventually I'll snag a pic of me towing a car with it, but it honestly feels like it would be really sketchy doing this.

[Midnight_Rider]

Please be careful! I've seen too many YouTube videos of towing accidents.

[INVUJerry]

Please be careful! I've seen too many YouTube videos of towing accidents.

I've got more miles towing than some people have driving lmao, I know my personal limits for sure. The scariest thing I went through was towing a neon with my caravan to Ohio. We went over a mountain on a 2 lane road, and going down an 8% grade for 5 miles the brakes on the van got V E R Y hot. About 3 miles in the pedal got very soft, and I started to get pretty worried.

The key to avoiding accidents while towing is paying attention to the "tongue weight" of the thing you're towing, and making sure the weight is closer to the front than the rear of whatever you're towing to avoid trailer sway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWd8ml9mFMo

[Midnight_Rider]

That U-Haul video is exactly what I was referring to. I'm glad that you're smarter than that.

[INVUJerry]

Luckily the hitch is only rated for 2000lbs, so the tongue weight should be atleast 200lbs. The trailer I have is only an 1150lb trailer, so it's tongue weight would be in the 110lb range. Tow dollies are different because the weight of the car sits directly over the axle of the dolly, so the tongue weight isn't usually all that much unless you're stopping. It's more of a linear front/back pull when you use one of them.

When I got this car I noticed it had a weird thing with the camber alignment in the rear, it actually had positive camber. So I bought some camber bolts for it, but it turns out it already had a pair installed. I adjusted them and got it looking "better" but probably not where it needs to be. Unfortunately, my garage is still piled with stuff so I can't exactly pull it in there to get an accurate eagle eye reading. I'm gonna try to make that a priority this weekend to clear some space in there.

[INVUJerry]

Got some videos out over the weekend, installing the tow hitch and wiring, and replacing the clutch cable that broke an hour and 10 minutes into my 90 minute commute lol.

https://youtu.be/LB6TUvhxQ8M

https://youtu.be/sNv0rcYUuUM

[INVUJerry]

Criky was going on a road trip to NJ, and then Norrisville the other day and wanted to take the SRT-4. She drove it for a few days, and then on Thursday night wanted me to wash it for her, so I did. But on the way to the car wash, one of the brakes started making noise. I just fought to get the right brakes for this car for a few weeks last year, but did calipers and hoses on it. Turns out, both the inner pads had decided to commit sudoku and off themselves. The one pad wasn't even "bad" per se, it had just separated from the backing plate. Wild the things that age can do to such solid parts. Just took me an hour in the dark to change them, but unfortunately I had to re-use the same pad clips that were on the car. For some reason, the new pads were designed around the 06+ PTGT brakes, which have a thinner rotor, and therefor a thinner caliper bracket. Kind of annoying, but I got it done.

[INVUJerry]

Realized I haven't touched my NYG in a meaningful way and I've only got 2 months til carlisle. I need to pull the motor from the parts car and see if it's going to be a viable option, or I'm going to have to find a motor to slap into it. Honestly don't care what I stuff into it at this point. Life keeps getting in the way of everything.

Christy lost her license for 2 months due to a targeted DUI stop. She had some pot in the truck but wasn't high. She passed her field sobriety test, but the cop said he thought her eyes "looked funny", arrested her and took her to the hospital. The blood test they do is similar to a drug test for a job. You'll test positive if you have used it at all within the last 30 days, not whether you're actively high or not. We got a lawyer, and she was put on a Probation period, but part of this is surrendering her license for 60 days. They did offer us getting an intoxalock installed, which I thought was funny since it wasn't for alcohol, and it doesn't detect marijuana at all, but we decided for the cost, the amount of time, and the fact that they'd be cutting into the harness of our truck, it wasn't worth it. So I'm the designated chauffer of the family for now.

She was working an event at a hotel, and the next day, the manager of the hotel said after 10PM she wont let most of her workers drive home because Littlestown is a targeted enforcement area for DUI's from the State Police, with a bunch of false arrests done where the state had to drop charges. There needs to be serious reform in how testing is done and how any of this is treated. She wasn't impaired, but the officer had to make his quota for arrests I guess.

[racer12306]

Realized I haven't touched my NYG in a meaningful way

Sounds kinky


Pretty sucky situation to deal with. Many things in need of reform with the legal system across many topics.

[racer12306]

Gearing up for fluid changes on my Ram. Oye

Rear gear oil = Unicorn Juice. The only fluid that I can confirm is guaranteed to meet an Unobtainium MS-A0160 spec is Mopar fluid. I'd much rather use Amsoil Severe Gear (especially because of those awesome pouches) but even Amsoil doesn't list it as recommended. Valvoline tech support said "oh yeah, no problem, our stuff meets that spec," the crickets when I ask where that is documented.

Transmission fluid = Narwhal Juice (Real but very rare ). I found Mopar fluid on Amazon for $111/6qts. The good side is that the ZF 8HP transmission is used in many German cars. So FCPEuro has it for $16/L and free shipping on 8 liters. Then there's the process. Call a Chrysler dealer and ask them if they'll do a transmission fluid change on a Ram, nope. The filter is integrated into the pan, looks like you have to at least loosen the exhaust off of the cats due to a crossover pipe. Best I come up with is $400 in Genuine Mopar parts and ZF brand fluid. PPE makes a pan that holds 2 extra quarts and has a legit drain plug and also a removable filter. It's tempting, not cheap but it would save $220 on the next fluid change. The pictures show it playing nice with the crossover pipe. I'm tempted to call a dealer say "Oh man, I had a round trail day this weekend, I damaged the transmission pan."

Front gear oil is technically 75w-85 but I'm confident that is largely for "fuel economy" purposes, so a 75w90 should be perfectly fine, but if I'm already buying Mopar rear gear oil, might as well by Mopar front gear oil.

Transfer case is push button, but isn't auto 4x4, so it shouldn't be special but Chrysler is acting like it is. There even seems to be a bit of a question as to whether I have the 44-44 or the 44-45 in talking to parts departments. It really should be the 44-45 but I need to look under it to confirm. Historically the 44-45 was spec'd for ATF+4.

Recently switched oils from trusty Pennzoil Platinum that showed solid service for oil change intervals following the oil life monitor to ~10,000 miles. Learned the hemi is a bit on the dirtier side. Switched to an oil that Bob is the Oil Guy has fallen in love with, boutique oil, and is really good at cleaning. We're gonna see just how long this truck lasts. My son turns 16 in 2032, so it'll be time for me to get a new truck around then Knocking down ~22,000 miles per year, it should have about 250k on it then. Just need to keep the body square.

[occasional demons]

Then there's the process. Call a Chrysler dealer and ask them if they'll do a transmission fluid change on a Ram, nope.

Is it similar to the Caliber CVT (and others), where the fluid has to be specific temperature to get the level correct on the dipstick you have to buy as a special tool? Or you open an over flow plug and let the excess fluid out at the specified oil temperature...

It seems manufacturers don't want the American market to do transmission fluid changes. Just run it until it doesn't anymore, and have to fork out $8000 for a new transmission.

But a little research in other markets shows that fluid changes are recommended at specified intervals.

[racer12306]

Then there's the process. Call a Chrysler dealer and ask them if they'll do a transmission fluid change on a Ram, nope.

Is it similar to the Caliber CVT (and others), where the fluid has to be specific temperature to get the level correct on the dipstick you have to buy as a special tool? Or you open an over flow plug and let the excess fluid out at the specified oil temperature...

It seems manufacturers don't want the American market to do transmission fluid changes. Just run it until it doesn't anymore, and have to fork out $8000 for a new transmission.

But a little research in other markets shows that fluid changes are recommended at specified intervals.

Yeah, it's unique and there's a specific window for temperature. It doesn't look too crazy when you break it down, so I'm considering doing it myself, but some of these systems terrify me anymore. I would just need to confirm if the trans temp readout on my cluster is accurate enough for the process. I'd be pretty surprised if there was a secondary temp sensor that would report to a scan tool and not to the cluster.

Drop the pan, install new pan, pump fluid into a fill hole, start the engine and toggle through specific gears (depending on which transmission it is), warm it up to the window, check the fill plug. If it dribbles out, you're good, if not add until it does. If you get it too hot, stop everything and let it cool. Its a 10*C window.

[occasional demons]

Sounds pretty much like the Subaru method.

It's pretty much use a scan tool from what I gather. Subaru doesn't give you a trans temp gauge, just engine oil temperature.

[INVUJerry]

Had big plans for myself this week and this weekend, turns out I hurt my back at work Tuesday and pretty much haven't done anything since. I came to work today because I'm absolutely out of leave, but I'm not healed yet.

This shit sucks so bad. I don't know if I'll get to touching the NYG at all at this rate.

[racer12306]

Hope you get better. It's a bitch getting old.

I buckled my son in a week and a half ago, I'm just now getting over it. DIDN'T EVEN TWIST DOING IT.

Not to belittle your pain, truly. I hope it's nothing major.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Had big plans for myself this week and this weekend, turns out I hurt my back at work Tuesday and pretty much haven't done anything since. I came to work today because I'm absolutely out of leave, but I'm not healed yet.

This shit sucks so bad. I don't know if I'll get to touching the NYG at all at this rate.

That sucks. Yes back pain IS HORRIBLE. I hurt my lower back for the first time last year in October while on vacation. I went to the chiropractor asap the next day. Did like 3 more follow up appointments after that. Luckily it wasn't anything major like a disc or something. But the first 2 weeks were horrible. I still went back to my job the next week. Barely made it by. I am not into pain medications, but I would take 2 IBprofeun a day during that time. Nothing stronger. Took a good 3 months to get it to feel close to normal. I am extra careful now with my back, sometimes it aches. Definitely need to start doing stretches and exercise and get it nice and strong again.

I buckled my son in a week and a half ago,

I hope your son is okay!

[racer12306]

I buckled my son in a week and a half ago,

I hope your son is okay!

Should’ve elaborated. Buckled him into his car seat. I was the one in pain

[INVUJerry]

Thanks for the comments fellas. I ended up going to urgent care Friday, I got a shot of Toradol in my back which helped the pain. Apparently I pulled a lat muscle. I don't have the stabbing pain anymore, but I still feel very uneasy in my back. Makes sitting for a long time painful, and driving sucks. Add this to the hip pain I've been having because of the bone spur and I'm in almost constant pain at this point.

Also, I have hearing damage from a long time of very loud music and loud cars, and although I've been wearing ear plugs at concerts and band practice for a few years, I have tinnitus. And I went to start mixing some music I had recorded on my phone recently and it turns out I have hearing damage that causes a distortion at a mildly higher volume in my ears in the 1500hz range and the 5500hz range of hearing. Right in the mids and lower highs of where mixing is pretty important. This really broke my heart the other day.

Last year at this time of the year I felt literally unstoppable. Now, I just feel beaten.

[racer12306]

Thanks for the comments fellas. I ended up going to urgent care Friday, I got a shot of Toradol in my back which helped the pain. Apparently I pulled a lat muscle. I don't have the stabbing pain anymore, but I still feel very uneasy in my back. Makes sitting for a long time painful, and driving sucks. Add this to the hip pain I've been having because of the bone spur and I'm in almost constant pain at this point.

Also, I have hearing damage from a long time of very loud music and loud cars, and although I've been wearing ear plugs at concerts and band practice for a few years, I have tinnitus. And I went to start mixing some music I had recorded on my phone recently and it turns out I have hearing damage that causes a distortion at a mildly higher volume in my ears in the 1500hz range and the 5500hz range of hearing. Right in the mids and lower highs of where mixing is pretty important. This really broke my heart the other day.

Last year at this time of the year I felt literally unstoppable. Now, I just feel beaten.

Glad you got some relief, hopefully it helps calm that muscle down.

I have an audiologist appointment next month. I'm sure you've had much more exposure than I have with the band, so I'm hoping they don't tell me something weird. I know I did my share of damage as a kid at the race track.


Keep on plugging through, this is temporary.

[Midnight_Rider]

I'm really sorry to be reading things like this. I was in constant pain at Carlisle last year but Jerry, yours sounds much worse than mine was (I saw a chiropractor and had two epidurals to get where I am now pain-wise). As for the hearing troubles, I had Koss stereophones back when I was in high school (for my Technics cassette deck- LOL) and Sony Walkman headphones for my Walkman and Discman players but never the loud music that people your age seemed to want. Even though my SRT has a subwoofer, I haven't done the whole "vibrating car" thing so I can't relate to your situation. But please know that I am counting on things becoming better for both you and Frank.

[occasional demons]

There is not much good about getting old.

Been through the epidural stuff about 15 years ago.

After a year it seemed to help. Being more active has also helped. It's just working through the pain to be more active that's the bitch.

The first 6 months at my new job, where I was on my feet all day was rough, but it doesn't bother me so much now, as long as I can move around. Standing in one place all day is still tough.

The human body wasn't meant to sit all day. Unfortunately some jobs make it unavoidable. I get the stand up computer desks, but even those are worthless if you aren't moving.

While there are days arthritis makes it rough to do things like working off a ladder for hours, it seems to take a bigger toll on the days I am not doing a lot.

[racer12306]

Gearing up for fluid changes on my Ram. Oye

Rear gear oil = Unicorn Juice. The only fluid that I can confirm is guaranteed to meet an Unobtainium MS-A0160 spec is Mopar fluid. I'd much rather use Amsoil Severe Gear (especially because of those awesome pouches) but even Amsoil doesn't list it as recommended. Valvoline tech support said "oh yeah, no problem, our stuff meets that spec," the crickets when I ask where that is documented.

Transmission fluid = Narwhal Juice (Real but very rare ). I found Mopar fluid on Amazon for $111/6qts. The good side is that the ZF 8HP transmission is used in many German cars. So FCPEuro has it for $16/L and free shipping on 8 liters. Then there's the process. Call a Chrysler dealer and ask them if they'll do a transmission fluid change on a Ram, nope. The filter is integrated into the pan, looks like you have to at least loosen the exhaust off of the cats due to a crossover pipe. Best I come up with is $400 in Genuine Mopar parts and ZF brand fluid. PPE makes a pan that holds 2 extra quarts and has a legit drain plug and also a removable filter. It's tempting, not cheap but it would save $220 on the next fluid change. The pictures show it playing nice with the crossover pipe. I'm tempted to call a dealer say "Oh man, I had a round trail day this weekend, I damaged the transmission pan."

Front gear oil is technically 75w-85 but I'm confident that is largely for "fuel economy" purposes, so a 75w90 should be perfectly fine, but if I'm already buying Mopar rear gear oil, might as well by Mopar front gear oil.

Transfer case is push button, but isn't auto 4x4, so it shouldn't be special but Chrysler is acting like it is. There even seems to be a bit of a question as to whether I have the 44-44 or the 44-45 in talking to parts departments. It really should be the 44-45 but I need to look under it to confirm. Historically the 44-45 was spec'd for ATF+4.

Recently switched oils from trusty Pennzoil Platinum that showed solid service for oil change intervals following the oil life monitor to ~10,000 miles. Learned the hemi is a bit on the dirtier side. Switched to an oil that Bob is the Oil Guy has fallen in love with, boutique oil, and is really good at cleaning. We're gonna see just how long this truck lasts. My son turns 16 in 2032, so it'll be time for me to get a new truck around then Knocking down ~22,000 miles per year, it should have about 250k on it then. Just need to keep the body square.

Made some decisions.

Screw the MS-A0160 spec. Can't find any real reason why the spec is necessary. Interesting bit is that 2017 and some 2018s come with 75w140 as the recommendation, then they switch to 75w90 and then they backspec'd it. There are no TSBs for a 2017 to reference this change.

Going with HPL 75w90 in the front and rear.

Did a bunch more research on the BW 44-45, even in the newer Classics and came to the conclusion that the OEM fill was Shell Spirax S2. Good ATF, but nothing super special.

Going with HPL ATF Blue which is their standard viscosity replacement for Dex III/ATF+3/+4/etc/etc

I think I'm going to just do a Mopar pan and the ZF fluid and have my local guy, who is the only one of the numerous places that I've called that has given me any confidence to do this fluid change. The ultra bitch is that damn drain plug as it is perfectly right above the cross over. I learned a little more about the PPE pan and you need to transfer some steel sleeves from the OEM to the PPE pan, so if the local guy will give me the old pan back (I'm sure he will), then I'll get the PPE pan all clean (because apparently it arrives a bit dirty from casting ) and ready to go. Then when I change the fluid again it'll be with HPL ATF Green (low viscosity fluid fluid for Dex VI/ZF/etc) and then I'll do a few drain and fills on my own since the drain plug is fully accessible and realistically I probably may not change the filter again.


And apparently one of my daughters has expressed interest in driving my truck when she gets her license. The other is like no, but she does want a 66/67 Chevelle. and she's been really eyeing this 65 Chevy II 4 door that a neighbor is trying to sell lol

[INVUJerry]

I'm really sorry to be reading things like this. I was in constant pain at Carlisle last year but Jerry, yours sounds much worse than mine was (I saw a chiropractor and had two epidurals to get where I am now pain-wise). As for the hearing troubles, I had Koss stereophones back when I was in high school (for my Technics cassette deck- LOL) and Sony Walkman headphones for my Walkman and Discman players but never the loud music that people your age seemed to want. Even though my SRT has a subwoofer, I haven't done the whole "vibrating car" thing so I can't relate to your situation. But please know that I am counting on things becoming better for both you and Frank.

I guess, the problem was not just listening to loud music, but playing live music. Being in loud rock/metal/hardcore bands made it so we had to compete with drummers and had to turn up. My right ear is worse off than my left, and that's directly tied to hearing a 24" ride cymbal being wailed on by my old drummer. Then, driving loud cars, and then road trips with loud cars. All that adding up just did the damage quick. I really appreciate it though! Using headphones, I never turned them up loud because I enjoyed sound quality lol.

Glad you got some relief, hopefully it helps calm that muscle down.

I have an audiologist appointment next month. I'm sure you've had much more exposure than I have with the band, so I'm hoping they don't tell me something weird. I know I did my share of damage as a kid at the race track.


Keep on plugging through, this is temporary.

The shot seemed to have worn off yesterday. I did a lot of walking at work and by the end of the day, I was really miserable. Then, I had to do the 2 hour drive home. It was pretty rough. I made a follow up appointment with my doctor's office, so we'll see what happens.

[racer12306]

We've been kicking around getting rid of the Pacifica in favor of a Wrangler for my wife. Put it off because Wranglers are pretty pricey, especially when you want the power sliding top. Weighed similarly priced Acura's, Lexus', etc.

Insert major life change

My wife decided to leave her education career. Variety of reasons, but mainly, she wants to be home. Not at work until 6 or 7pm.
So starting in July, we will be carpooling to work everyday. She's going to be the General Manager at the machine shop that I work for and her father owns. The day ends at 4pm. Period. Half day on Friday. So much less stress but a lot of learning to do.

That led us to, her car won't be driven a lot because I'm super comfortable in my truck and I'll be the one driving. Does it need to be a van/suv/cuv/have 5 seatbelts............

Stumbled on a 2012 Beetle in Candy White with the 2.5 and 6 speed auto for a decent price, with an envelope of service receipts. She's in heaven now lol. She had a 98 when she was 16 and missed it since it was totaled in 2007.

Need to get it inspected and registered and post the Pacifica up for sale.

2017 Chrysler Pacific Touring L
8 passenger configuration
Price TBD
95,000 miles

Just putting that out there