Had to work on my jeep today

No fears. The 2006 was never a serious contender. If I was looking 2006, I'd go new and eat the depreciation, while taking the 0% interest rate. As for the engine .... I never complained about the 3.4l. It was a good engine. It was the placement in the damn van what was the trouble. This takes a 5.5 hours sparkplug change to 20 minutes. Changing the heads goes from 8 hours to 2.5.

Both of the dealerships I went to (no, they weren't both at the same one. Impala's don't make up a large percentage of cars on the lot for some reason. That might mean either that they jsut don't sell, or that people keep them when they do buy them) were outside the metropolitain hub. So the milage isn't excessive for daily commuting in that area.
 
The thing I was saying about the 3.4 was that little intake manifold gasket problem you had... and the little rod-tossing contest it held.
 
You bring up a really good point about having a full size spare. I have one, and it's in a little well right behind the rear wheel, and it is a complete bitch to get that thing out. It's a huge tire and it's sunken into the floor so that only the top third is visible. There's a little bungee cord thing that you have to pull. The whole process is relatively difficult, because the tire is really big.

I think that while a big tire is nice, it would be difficult for your wife to manuver (I know that there's no way in hell that my mother could remove the spare tire from my car) and unnecessary.

If your family is anything like mine, your wife probably only goes on relatively short trips, like within 50 miles. Long trips, like vacations, or the OTC BBQ, you are the one driving. A little spare tire should be enough for her to make it home from wherever she is, then you can fix it properly at your house.

If you are going somewhere far away, bring the full spare. If not, leave it in the garage, so that you can swap it out and have her car operational in a short time.
 
The intake on this I can do myself for about $100. Not even a serious consideration. And as for tossing the rod ....c'mon. With what I was hauling, on a 10 year old engine. And I've hauled that trailer south twice, and all around the maritimes ...... get serious. That engine did damn well. The only reason I'm not getting it fixed it the time/cost involved.
 
Altron said:
You bring up a really good point about having a full size spare. I have one, and it's in a little well right behind the rear wheel, and it is a complete bitch to get that thing out. It's a huge tire and it's sunken into the floor so that only the top third is visible. There's a little bungee cord thing that you have to pull. The whole process is relatively difficult, because the tire is really big.

I think that while a big tire is nice, it would be difficult for your wife to manuver (I know that there's no way in hell that my mother could remove the spare tire from my car) and unnecessary.

If your family is anything like mine, your wife probably only goes on relatively short trips, like within 50 miles. Long trips, like vacations, or the OTC BBQ, you are the one driving. A little spare tire should be enough for her to make it home from wherever she is, then you can fix it properly at your house.

If you are going somewhere far away, bring the full spare. If not, leave it in the garage, so that you can swap it out and have her car operational in a short time.
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Actually, she drives a lot further than that during the summer. they all vanish up to cottage country and leave me behind to deal with the summer heat all alone. but ... she's got a cell phone and a CAA card. The odds of her actually haivng to get her hands dirty changing the tire are remote. But CAA only puts on the tire you supply. And I'd personally prefer that it was a matching size, if only for the reliabilty and driveability.
 
well the 05 seems like the right car for a reasonable price.
how expensive to set it up for towing?
 
Well, go for the fullsize then, or at least bigger than the wimpy 105/80R12 or whatever the hell piece of shit they include.
 
So, are the ball joints the next project?

ETROIT (Reuters) -- Chrysler Group said on Wednesday it would recall an estimated 832,500 Jeep Liberty vehicles because of a potential steering problem.

Chrysler, the U.S. operating unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, said that, in some of the vehicles, a ball joint in the front suspension was prone to excessive wear and coming loose.

The automaker said that, in some cases, that joint could separate entirely causing drivers to lose steering control.

The voluntary recall covers 2002 to 2006 models of the Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicle, Chrysler said.

Owners of vehicles covered by the recall will be notified in September and work to repair the problem will be done at no cost to them, Chrysler said.
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Do you need all the trunk space? If not, you could get a spare and just keep it in the trunk.
 
I'll slip in the tranny cooler myself for about $50. The hitch shouldn't cost more than $150 ... unless I can salvage the off of the van. That'll depend on the width of the frame rails.

But this isn't gonna be a dedicated tow vehicle. At least, not initially. And it definitely will never tow the camper I've got now. If we do decide to go that route again, it'll be with a newer, much lighter trailer. But ... sooner or later I'll have to replace the mirage. We'll decide then wether to buy a dedicated hauler or not. For now, I'll use the old pickup for bumping the camper about as needed. 2.8l on a stick isn't my weapon of choice, but if I'm gonna fry something moving this beast ....
 
Inkara1 said:
Do you need all the trunk space? If not, you could get a spare and just keep it in the trunk.
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Negative. That comes in about 70 lbs. unanchored and relying on the cardboard seatbacks to keep it out of the passenger compartment. Not happening.
 
HomeLAN said:
So, are the ball joints the next project?
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the only vehicles that needed it were 02-03 liberty's really, there was a running change in production after that..
I probably did 50 of them last year, none this year.
(the recall paid 1 hour to replace 2 lower balljoints)
I had it down to 15 mins flat :)
 
You should buy a Pontiac 6000. Based on the one I saw on the road today they can haul 7 people...if that one didn't fall apart with all the rust it had and 7 people in it then it MUST be reliable :lloyd:

Seriously though, Impalas are DAMNED comfy (except the middle back seat when you're 5'9"). Rode in one to Montreal and back a few years ago.
 
Nixy said:
You should buy a Pontiac 6000. Based on the one I saw on the road today they can haul 7 people...if that one didn't fall apart with all the rust it had and 7 people in it then it MUST be reliable :lloyd:

Seriously though, Impalas are DAMNED comfy (except the middle back seat when you're 5'9"). Rode in one to Montreal and back a few years ago.
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Is it just me, or is that a rebadged Cutlass Ciera?

I HATE getting my car mixed up with a Cutlass Cruiser (Cutlass Ciera wagon). I was getting copies of the keys at the local hardware store and I said "Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser" and he's like "You mean Cutlass Cruiser?" and I'm like "No." and he's like "Well, Custom Cruiser isn't a model" and I'm like "Just get me keys for an '89 Chevy Caprice."

Then at Pep Boys, when they do the automatic car specs lookup for the page it always says I have a Chevy 3800 V6 and FWD and I'm like "No! It's a 307 Olds V8."
 
Kruz said:
well the 05 seems like the right car for a reasonable price.
how expensive to set it up for towing?
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Check that. With a rated tow capacity of 1000lbs, I can outpull it with the Mirage.

The missus took a test drive tonight. She like. She really like. V2.0 had no trouble with sitting in either position.

But the missus also like the 2005 Rendezvous. She wants to try that, given that it seats 7, and tows like mad. She also wants to give the Malibu a run, to see how it compares with a 4 stroker.
 
I took a look at the Rendezvous... not a big fan of the glass on the back, but that's one of the nicest-looking interiors I've ever seen GM come up with.
 
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