Showing posts with label car repair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car repair. Show all posts

6/26/2012

Hyundai Excel & Accent Haynes Repair Manual (1986-2009) Review

Hyundai Excel and Accent Haynes Repair Manual (1986-2009)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I purchased this directly from the Haynes website, since I couldn't find it locally (in Ontario, Canada) at the time I purchased it (about two months ago). Haynes proudly states "Based on a complete teardown and rebuild" on the front of each of their manuals. That may have been true at one point in time, which is why I purchased their manual this time around, but I have to say if they did in fact do a complete teardown and rebuild, they did a lousy job getting their point across to the reader. I've used this book for only a few small jobs I needed help with, and each time I needed to use the book it was lacking information.
Example # 1 : I had to do a small job like changing the windshield wipers. Now this is by no means a complex job, but I wanted to see how the manual could assist me. For instance, what type of wiper arm does my car have? J-Hook Arms? P&H Arms? Pin Arms? Bayonet Arms? PTB Arms? or I&L Arms? Good luck trying to find out because it's not in the manual. Fortunately I was able to find out on an external website.
Example #2 : I had to change my spark plugs recently because my cars performance was slipping. The directions they list for changing your spark plugs are horrible! They feature 1 picture related to this task (and 5 other pictures that don't really help you understand HOW to change the spark plug, rather they show you a picture of gapping the spark plug, what type of tools you need, etc.). That picture is of a ratchet with an extension reaching into where the spark plug sits, but it's such a close up shot that you don't know where exactly on the motor you're looking to access the spark plug. I think somebody who's reading this manual (I.E: somebody who's a bit unknowledgeable about car repairs, like myself, which is why I purchased the book in the first place) needs a bit more help with maybe a wide shot (zoomed out) with arrows pointing to the general location of the item that needs attention indicating where the access point(s) are/is, followed up by a closer shot.
Some people will tell you to register on third party websites, or purchase additional materials but the point of this review is to review THIS BOOK, and this book alone. That's it. I am fully aware of the Hyundai forums out there (I belong to 3 of them!) and the Hyundai Motor American Service Information website (in fact, I'm registered on it!) but like I said : "the point of this review is to review THIS BOOK, and this book alone."
Honestly, this book has really disappointed me. I feel Haynes should offer an unconditional money-back guarantee because if they did...they wouldn't have put out such a lackluster product. 2 stars is probably 1 too many but I didn't want to be too cruel.

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3/25/2012

J-B Weld 8265-S Cold Weld Review

J-B Weld 8265-S Cold Weld
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
and this is great stuff. some pointers
Epoxy glues have a limited shelf life. Buy yours at a small store where the merchandise doesn't move quickly, or keep it 5 years on the shelf and it won't work well. Don't apply it at temperatures below 60 degrees. Spend at least 2 or 3 minutes mixing it. I use a timer to be sure. Surface preparation is the key. It must be completely grease free. I use naptha (lighter fluid) alcohol, and acetone in that order. The surface MUST be rough. I use a file,very rough (#40 or #60) sandpaper or a sharp Exacto blade to make multiple cross hatch cuts- this will even work on most steels. Apply the mix carefully, put the pieces together so they don't move for at least 8 hours.
Do all that and the bond is very strong.

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11/05/2011

Plews 75-751 General Purpose 3-1/2 Gallon Utility Drain Pan Review

Plews 75-751 General Purpose 3-1/2 Gallon Utility Drain Pan
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Galvanized steel. It invokes a sense of nostalgia. A reminder of the days before everything was made of plastic. Back when fathers taught preteen sons how to wrench their own bikes, and to crawl under the family car to change the oil. Back when fathers knew how to do those things themselves. Back when we didn't know that Darth Vader was Luke's father.
So it dents and makes a lot of noise. But guess what? It does the job. It will catch the automotive fluid that you are draining. And lots of it too. 3.5 gallons is 14 quarts. Now all you've got to worry about is disposing of it all.

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10/14/2011

Quaker State Higher Mileage Engine with Slick 50 10W30 Motor Oil -1 Quart Review

Quaker State Higher Mileage Engine with Slick 50 10W30 Motor Oil -1 Quart
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After I fill my car with this oil, I notice this higher milage Quaker State motor oil is not rated for any API service rating nor mantion ILSA GF rating. Why??? I can not find any info from there web side neither.
I do not feel different with other regular oil, I purchased this oil because of saw this is pnly oil had the SLICK 50 added.
But, I will like to know if this oil is comparable to API SM or ILSAC
GF-4? otherwise, I will stop use this oil again!!

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9/12/2011

Blitz 11845 Green Drain Pan - 5 Gallon Review

Blitz 11845 Green Drain Pan - 5 Gallon
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Good for what it is intended for, but it's almost too big, and too shallow. Makes emptying into another container to take to the oil recyling place a little challenging. I also noticed that the cap at the end other spout does leak a little, but overall, it gets the job done. After all, it's a pan.

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9/03/2011

The Plastics Group W78 Drain Pan And Container Review

The Plastics Group W78 Drain Pan And Container
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I bought this because I learned that Blitz products were failing me over and over. I'm impressed at the threading for the small cap - it's like thick, cast plastic. The cap screws on tight and feels like it will last.
It's also nice that the handle for carrying this is on the same end as the cap for pouring. You can trust that this won't spill while carrying it.
My only complaint is how small the funnel is. Some cars spill oil over a large area when removing the oil filter. It could be a challenge to catch all that oil with the funnel that comes with this oil pan.
However, this seems like a much higher-quality product than the likes I've had from Blitz.

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8/12/2011

Blitz 05080 Less Mess Oil Drain Review

Blitz 05080 Less Mess Oil Drain
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This drain pan does hold some oil. While the "up to two oil changes" seems a little optimistic (maybe for cars that take less oil than mine), this pan is a good size for catching drips pretty well. It's of flimsy construction, though, so I'm not too sure of its durability. The big problem is that the "pour spouts" are terrible. They're just extremely shallow grooves in the corners and are basically impossible to use without pouring oil all over the place.

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8/05/2011

Dorman OE Solutions Oil Pan 264-100 Review

Dorman OE Solutions Oil Pan 264-100
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Can't complain about the pan. But the drain plug leaks! It left small drips on my driveway. I'll be pulling the old drain plug and putting it in the new pan.

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6/13/2011

Blitz 11849 Dispos-Oil Review

Blitz 11849 Dispos-Oil
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This was exactly what I was looking for (a very wide-mouthed jug that can hold more than one oil change), and surprisingly, I've never seen another product like it.
I've always stayed away from using the bulky oil pan/container combos, because they look like they would make a mess, and are usually very low quality. Using one of these with a traditional open-faced oil pan is perfect, and creates very little mess. The mouth of the jug is even wide enough so that you don't need to use a funnel when transferring oil from the pan to the jug (so long as you're somewhat careful). If you've been using old milk jugs or something similar, then you know how much of a mess this can create due to spills, over-fills, and drippy funnels as you switch jugs. The extra wide mouth, and 12 quart capacity eliminates all of these problems.
I got this at a local autoparts store for about half of the current listed price on Amazon, and even then felt that I was over paying (but like I said, I've never seen another product like it, so I had no choice but to pay what they were asking). As other reviewers have mentioned, the plastic is very thin, and the cap does not go on very securely. I filled it with water when I got home in order to test it (better to have to clean up a water mess than an oil mess), and found that there were no leaks at all around the thin plastic's mold seam, but when I turned it upside down, as predicted, the area around the cap leaked heavily.
This shouldn't be a problem so long as you don't over fill it, but it would be nice if it were better quality. Just pick up any American-made gas container, and you will immediately see and feel the difference. These jugs are made with blown plastic, and probably cost less than $0.50 each to produce and ship, so it really is a shame that the price is so high.
Like I said, these jugs are very convenient, but due to the poor quality, and the fact that they will obviously get knocked around while doing what they were intended to do, I don't expect it to last longer than a year or two. Oh well..

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