Vehicle Maintenace General

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I will need to buy a new-to-me flat deck truck some time in the next year or so and I am seriously looking at a mid 90's fire truck from the Rural Fire Brigade. These have all the bells and whistles, have been meticulously maintained sparing no expense, and usually have fewer than 35,000km on the odometer. Plus, these older models aren't cursed with the AdBlue that new vehicles have to deal with.
I'll strip off all of the firefighting equipment and have a truck with a 4.5m steel tray.
 
Just know for equipment like that, milage isn't usually the aging factor it's hours on, make sure you are checking how its worn, and doing adequate repairs before you get to attached.
 
WHAT COUNTRY FRIED FUCKING SHIT NUGGET THOUGHT TO PUT A COOLANT LINE NEXT TO THE FUCKING MANIFOLD?!
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CEO of Gay said:
I expect to be having to change the clutch on my husband's car here soon. The car is front wheel drive. I've been watching a number of videos on swapping the clutch on this car. The process seems straightforward, just involved, as there's a lot of shit to remove just to be able to cleanly get at the transmission's mount and bell housing bolts.

2 of the 3 mounts which hold the engine and transmission in the car attach to the transmission, which means I'll have to support the engine while the transmission is out. I don't want to try to hold up the engine from below using a jack on the oil pan, because that seems a high risk of damaging the oil pan from the engine's weight.

Has anyone here used an engine support bar to hold up the engine from above when doing this kind of work? Will a cheap one from Harbor Freight do the trick, or is there a specific expensive brand I should get?
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The Harbor freight engine support bars are strong and work well. I've used it to support a V8 with no issues. I'd try to put jack stands under the motor mounts while you're servicing the transmission to avoid accidental slippage of the support bar should it occur.
 
Car Won't Crank said:
The Harbor freight engine support bars are strong and work well. I've used it to support a V8 with no issues. I'd try to put jack stands under the motor mounts while you're servicing the transmission to avoid accidental slippage of the support bar should it occur.
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I haven't decided yet whether I am going to replace the rear main seal while I'm in there. It's not leaking yet, but a lot of people I've spoken to, and some of the videos I have watched, recommend replacing the seal while that part of the car is opened up as cheap insurance against future leaks, especially if the car is older (it is). That will require taking the oil pan off. I obviously can't put jackstands on the crankshaft. Do you think jack stands on the edge of the block casting, where the oil pan mounts up will be able to take the engine's weight?

I think I understand now why @KateHikes14 recommends a tow strap and a chainfall. Wraping a tow strap aound the whole engine would certainly distribute weight and not put too much stress on any one small fragile part of the engine. The only problem is, the garage bay I have access to for doing this work just has an exposed concrete ceiling; there's nowhere to hang a chainfall from.
 
Can you rent a gantry crane? Might be worth it for the peace of mind lifting your engine.
 
If you can't lift form the top. You can used scrap wood between the engine and the jack to spread the force. Wood is stronger than you probably think it is. I've put my entire truck on wooden cribbing before because I had a lot of scrap lumber and no. Jackstands.
 
CEO of Gay said:
The only problem is, the garage bay I have access to for doing this work just has an exposed concrete ceiling; there's nowhere to hang a chainfall from.
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Like Hantavirus said a gantry might be your best bet. Rental, purchase or you could build your own from wood if you're stocked up on wood, feeling up to the task and have more time than money. While wood on the jack like waffle suggested might be fine I do think the crane will be your best bet. The gantry crane solves all your problems and can be had for $800-$3k (a bargain I know!) or rented which will certainly vary but shouldn't be too much of a drain on the wallet. Worst case you can either try to build a gantry or put wood on the jacks and give that a try.
 
CEO of Gay said:
I haven't decided yet whether I am going to replace the rear main seal while I'm in there. It's not leaking yet, but a lot of people I've spoken to, and some of the videos I have watched, recommend replacing the seal while that part of the car is opened up as cheap insurance against future leaks, especially if the car is older (it is). That will require taking the oil pan off. I obviously can't put jackstands on the crankshaft. Do you think jack stands on the edge of the block casting, where the oil pan mounts up will be able to take the engine's weight?

I think I understand now why @KateHikes14 recommends a tow strap and a chainfall. Wraping a tow strap aound the whole engine would certainly distribute weight and not put too much stress on any one small fragile part of the engine. The only problem is, the garage bay I have access to for doing this work just has an exposed concrete ceiling; there's nowhere to hang a chainfall from.
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Do you have a rough weight of the engine? I've used two ladders with a 4x4 between them to hoist a transmission before, mind you its a huge weight difference between a transmission and an engine, but if the engines anemic enough, and you're cheap enough, something that shitty just may be a reasonable option.
 
KateHikes14 said:
Do you have a rough weight of the engine? I've used two ladders with a 4x4 between them to hoist a transmission before, mind you its a huge weight difference between a transmission and an engine, but if the engines anemic enough, and you're cheap enough, something that shitty just may be a reasonable option.
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From what I can find online, probably somewhere between 350-400 lbs
 
I'd never roll the dice if I was gonna be under it personally, but for bracing I think it's good odds tbh.
Plus life's too short to be a spreadsheet brain, especially if that's what you're paid to do in your day job
 
Abella said:
I like the S10 lineup, but people want too much for them.
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those 4.3 vortec engines are god tier. Keep the oil changed at 3500 miles, and the spark plugs + wires changed replaced at 100k and you can get 400 thousand miles out of it super easy. Got a cousin that has 600k on his and it's still ticking along like it was brand new. That's why they fetch the resale value they do, they will last forever.


I'll do my best to keep my eye on this thread, seems like you have a ton of good folks in here already to help though.
 
Despite all advice I bought a new car because I wanted to know its full history intimately, and also make sure it has been properly maintained for its whole history.

Of course when it comes to new cars these days there is always the consideration of all the electronics they stuff in it.

Big annoying as hell touch screen, bright as hell headlights, spooky as hell radio transmission stuff, and annoying as hell stuff the computer does for you.

So far I have fixed most of my annoyances.
I got a make that seems to consider the annoyance of the customer. I was able to disable all the warnings and turn off the touch screen entirely without any modification.
I put a power resistor in the path to the headlights to dim them to reasonable levels, and adjusted them downwards some more.
I got the factory service manual for 70 bucks and found all the spooky shit and unplugged them, quite an adventure for that. Factory service manual is awesome though, basically an instrucion list on how to tear down your car into its individual components. Using this I was also able to modify some sensors to stop certain other annoyances.

However!
Part of this was my accepting the challenge to deal with this technology. I am interested in getting a copy of the center console's firmware/software, making modifications to it, and reflashing.
I am not new to screwing with hardware, but this is different.
I have no clue where to start.

Does anyone have any info or pointers for when it comes to reflashing cars? I know my model has a way in to push updates, but as to if that is what would work is different. I know someone has looked into this and I would love to have any kind of guidance.

The only roadblock I have to complete control of the vehicle is what is going on in those computers.


Also I realize this will mean nothing without the make, so I guess I can't hold off on it.
It's a 2025 Subaru. I know they are a kind of meme car but they haven't burned me yet.
 
Sammich said:
those 4.3 vortec engines are god tier. Keep the oil changed at 3500 miles, and the spark plugs + wires changed replaced at 100k and you can get 400 thousand miles out of it super easy. Got a cousin that has 600k on his and it's still ticking along like it was brand new. That's why they fetch the resale value they do, they will last forever.


I'll do my best to keep my eye on this thread, seems like you have a ton of good folks in here already to help though.
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I always appreciate these kinds of threads because it’s better to ask here than go to some random forum where the latest post might be from 9 years ago. I’ve got the stuff to switch out the wires, rotator and spark plugs this weekend, definitely is reassuring reading that. I appreciate the advice here.
 
Abella said:
I always appreciate these kinds of threads because it’s better to ask here than go to some random forum where the latest post might be from 9 years ago. I’ve got the stuff to switch out the wires, rotator and spark plugs this weekend, definitely is reassuring reading that. I appreciate the advice here.
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yep, that's a solid bit of maintenance that will keep it running well and the mpg up to 20ish. Looking at the old spark plugs can tell you a lot about how the engine is running!
 
Jotch said:
However!
Part of this was my accepting the challenge to deal with this technology. I am interested in getting a copy of the center console's firmware/software, making modifications to it, and reflashing.
I am not new to screwing with hardware, but this is different.
I have no clue where to start.
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I don't know how much things have changed nor am I proficient in car hacking by any means, but in the first Kodo generation Mazda you could connect to the infotainment system through USB serial and ssh into the linux system. There's probably a similar vector for the subaru. Depending on how integrated the infotaintment is, you probably don't want to mess with it if it also interfaces with hvac and door lock functions.
 
Car Won't Crank said:
I don't know how much things have changed nor am I proficient in car hacking by any means, but in the first Kodo generation Mazda you could connect to the infotainment system through USB serial and ssh into the linux system. There's probably a similar vector for the subaru. Depending on how integrated the infotaintment is, you probably don't want to mess with it if it also interfaces with hvac and door lock functions.
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Thanks!

If there is a linux shell somewhere that would be the best possible option, but sadly most manufacturers of anything do their very best to hide or eliminate that.
The service manual lists using their own tool to push updates and other things, so there is a way in somehow.
I know you can mess with the ECU over CANbus but I think I will start with less impactful things like the radio. I am very certain the infotainment and the hvac are the same box, but I hopefully can leave the hvac alone.
Really what I want to do is mess with the UI on the touch screen to make the HVAC controls less of a nightmare to access.

The good news is that since all the spooky stuff is unplugged I am not subject to OTA updates, so I don't have to worry about suddenly losing my riced up Sneed's Feed and Seed themed console (optimistic).
 
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