dabuddha
Lifer
Couple of vehicle questions, thought I'd combine them into a single thread
1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
1998 Mercury Grand Marquis
For the dodge:
1) My parking brake lever came loose. I removed the bottom panel and found the cable hanging there. It still works (I was able to pull it to release my parking brake). Here are a couple of blurry pics taken with my phone:
The problem is, I was able to slip the cylinder looking thing into the side of the release lever but when I try to put everything back, it seems to slip out again. Is there some plastic locking piece or something that fell off maybe?
2) I can't seem to find out what size/how many speakers my van has. I want to replace the factory speakers with something a little better.
For the car, couple of things
1) When I brake at somewhat high speeds (30-40+ mph) the whole car shakes till I'm slowed down. What should I look into first?
2) When I have my AC blowing full blast, my blinker blinks fast (as if a bulb was out). When I turn off or slow down my AC, it blinks fine. I checked out all my bulbs and they all seem to be working ok. I just put in a new alternator 3-4 months back.
TIA!
UPDATE (08/02/2011)
So my grand marquis overheated this past weekend and I had it towed to the mechanic. I've had a coolant leak over the past couple of weeks. The guy changed out the thermostat and he said he'd check to make sure the coolant is flowing through the system (says he doesn't think the water pump is bad). He then said he suspects the intake manifold might be warped or cracked (apparently ford/merc cars had an issue where they used plastic intake manifolds and the new ones they use are aluminum). He recommended changing the manifold which he quoted me $1200 for parts and labor :O. Looking online, the manifold is about $200 so I'm hoping his quote is really on the high end. I guess I'm wondering if it's really worth changing it or if I can get by by keeping an extra bottle of antifreeze in the trunk and to check it before driving every time. I just got a new car that I'll be receiving in 2 weeks so this one will be used only when my parents come to visit (every 6 months or so).
This same mechanic said my car shaking is due to my rotors being warped (which you guys suggested already) and he quoted me $300 to machine the rotors, $450 total to change the brakes too :O
I told him no thanks, I can change both myself ($30 roughly for the brake pads and $50 for each brand new rotor). Sad thing is, he's one of the cheaper mechanics in the Woodbridge, VA area (or I've just had some shitty luck finding a mechanic) :/
/ramble
1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
1998 Mercury Grand Marquis
For the dodge:
1) My parking brake lever came loose. I removed the bottom panel and found the cable hanging there. It still works (I was able to pull it to release my parking brake). Here are a couple of blurry pics taken with my phone:
The problem is, I was able to slip the cylinder looking thing into the side of the release lever but when I try to put everything back, it seems to slip out again. Is there some plastic locking piece or something that fell off maybe?
2) I can't seem to find out what size/how many speakers my van has. I want to replace the factory speakers with something a little better.
For the car, couple of things
1) When I brake at somewhat high speeds (30-40+ mph) the whole car shakes till I'm slowed down. What should I look into first?
2) When I have my AC blowing full blast, my blinker blinks fast (as if a bulb was out). When I turn off or slow down my AC, it blinks fine. I checked out all my bulbs and they all seem to be working ok. I just put in a new alternator 3-4 months back.
TIA!
UPDATE (08/02/2011)
So my grand marquis overheated this past weekend and I had it towed to the mechanic. I've had a coolant leak over the past couple of weeks. The guy changed out the thermostat and he said he'd check to make sure the coolant is flowing through the system (says he doesn't think the water pump is bad). He then said he suspects the intake manifold might be warped or cracked (apparently ford/merc cars had an issue where they used plastic intake manifolds and the new ones they use are aluminum). He recommended changing the manifold which he quoted me $1200 for parts and labor :O. Looking online, the manifold is about $200 so I'm hoping his quote is really on the high end. I guess I'm wondering if it's really worth changing it or if I can get by by keeping an extra bottle of antifreeze in the trunk and to check it before driving every time. I just got a new car that I'll be receiving in 2 weeks so this one will be used only when my parents come to visit (every 6 months or so).
This same mechanic said my car shaking is due to my rotors being warped (which you guys suggested already) and he quoted me $300 to machine the rotors, $450 total to change the brakes too :O
I told him no thanks, I can change both myself ($30 roughly for the brake pads and $50 for each brand new rotor). Sad thing is, he's one of the cheaper mechanics in the Woodbridge, VA area (or I've just had some shitty luck finding a mechanic) :/
/ramble
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