Car questions you have but are afraid to ask...

[SpeedFreak]

meh a headlight...we will take the risk and keep the old one. the fender......i dont think anything will happen....ill have to give the yard a call in the next few days and figure out if they have it or not then. Thanks

[enzia35]

I would say depends on if you absolutly must have to have new parts. Some people are like that...

[SpeedFreak]

My friend doesnt care....since its his mom's old van its really her choice. If she is ok with it then I'll make calls. If she is isnt then OUCH that is gonna cost a pretty penny.

[lucky]

I would say depends on if you absolutly must have to have new parts. Some people are like that...

buying new parts from the dealer is a waste of money. especially when you can get good slightly used parts online or from a junkyard.

For example. Back in 04 a new wiring harness for my 1990 eclipse gs-t was going to cost me 4,000. I got one for 150 bucks from a guy that totaled his car. the only parts affected in the wreck were body, suspension and one of his wheels.

[SpeedFreak]

I would say depends on if you absolutly must have to have new parts. Some people are like that...

buying new parts from the dealer is a waste of money. especially when you can get good slightly used parts online or from a junkyard.

For example. Back in 04 a new wiring harness for my 1990 eclipse gs-t was going to cost me 4,000. I got one for 150 bucks from a guy that totaled his car. the only parts affected in the wreck were body, suspension and one of his wheels.

haha I leared that the hard way...went to ford to get a little plastic thing that holds my clutch pedal to the assembly. I thought when i walked in it would be a 5 dollar part (and I sadly could not find the part at any auto parts store around)...it was 30 dollars...and that was for almost NOTHING. I learned then not to buy from the dealer unless I absolutly have to.

[enzia35]

Good thing for telling me, because I will have to fix up my car soon enough. It's pretty rough right now.

[SpeedFreak]

JUST IN CASE! I am getting guesses for the problem i am about to face here.

My friend went and got a free 1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo (4.0L L6) from a family friend of his. Well the reason he was able to get it for free is when the person trys to start it...it kinda wont start...the battery has a charge...the electronics work without a problem if you turn the key....but it will not start unless you jump it. Even if the battery has a charge you have to jump the car. It does not make sense. My friend and the person who is giving the car to my friend's guess is its the starter. The thing is it starts just fine when jumped. Any ideas on what it could be?

[avwolf]

The battery might have a charge, but can it push enough cranking amps? Batteries that don't start vehicles sometimes aren't all the way dead. Happened to me -- car wouldn't even run for long before dying, and it wouldn't start, but the battery looked like it was producing enough voltage. It wouldn't produce any sort of real amperage though. Grab a multimeter and watch the volts and amps as you turn the key. See what they do.

[SpeedFreak]

The battery might have a charge, but can it push enough cranking amps? Batteries that don't start vehicles sometimes aren't all the way dead. Happened to me -- car wouldn't even run for long before dying, and it wouldn't start, but the battery looked like it was producing enough voltage. It wouldn't produce any sort of real amperage though. Grab a multimeter and watch the volts and amps as you turn the key. See what they do.

alright ill try that on saturday when i get out there to work on the car...and maybe swap the battery from my truck into his to see if it will start then. If its not the battery any other ideas?

[avwolf]

If it's not the battery, I'm inclined to agree with your friend that the starter should probably be looked at next. But I know next to nothing about cars, so apart from "somewhere in the ignition system" I'm not of much further use for guesswork.

[SpeedFreak]

If it's not the battery, I'm inclined to agree with your friend that the starter should probably be looked at next. But I know next to nothing about cars, so apart from "somewhere in the ignition system" I'm not of much further use for guesswork.

I highly doubt it is there (but i hope its there cause thats cheaper to repair)

Also...since its a manual and the parking brake cables snapped or something the parking brake is shot and the car usually uses the transmission to park...any idea on if i have to replace both cables to hold all four tires or can i just get the right tires...i know for mine only the rear tires are held to park it.

[enzia35]

What do y'all recommend doing to learn about fixing up cars?

[FastChapter]

Take some classes, get a job at a mechanic's garage, or find someone who's crazy enough to let you work on cars with him. I don't know diddly squat about cars, but I do know that you won't learn something like this by staring at tutorials or YouTube videos,

[SpeedFreak]

Take some classes, get a job at a mechanic's garage, or find someone who's crazy enough to let you work on cars with him. I don't know diddly squat about cars, but I do know that you won't learn something like this by staring at tutorials or YouTube videos,

I learned from trial and error...also www.explorerforum.com they helped alot. just go to a forum to your car and there will be tons of people there to help you.

[Black Z]

Workshop manuals are handy too. Although they're next to impossible to afford.