This is, for all intents and purposes, the first time I've been stuck in a major metropolis (or immediate suburb of a major metropolis) on Halloween ... during rush hour. Holy hell. I suppose it could just be a Microsoft thing—there are lots of families that cart their tots off...
Go ahead. See what this guy has to say about his RX-7. (cached)...
Automatically spammed with automotive spam. 3000gt trans gears allison 1000 trans filter Amused. That picture there is, in fact, a 3000GT transmission. Ehhh...at least this is better than the "bigcock" porn spam I usually get....
I'm not going to type much because earlier today, while attempting to remove the pressure plate bolts on the BMW, I cut a huge gash in the back of my hand. I can't help but think this is some sort of retaliation....
I've mentioned already the first challenge in the Torx-riddled gauntlet that BMW assembled to thwart mechanics questing to remove ye olde transmission from the engine. The guide I'm using mentioned that I would need about a half-dozen different ratchet parts to remove these, but in the end, I was able...
Good morning, Mr. Phelps. The throwout bearing on this 1993 BMW 325is has failed. The exhaust system, driveshaft, shifter, intake manifold, and transmission had to be removed to provide access to the clutch. Now that the transmission has been removed from the car, it has become evident that the throwout...
I spotted this a few days back on NASA's Earth Observatory RSS feed. It's an image of most of North America with population densities overlaid. To me, the most remarkable part is the wild, wild west. Or accordingly, just how popular the east half of the US is. I mean...
Bahahahaha Thanks, Rob!...
I remember encountering, around six months ago, a fellow by the name of Hakim. Unfortunately, I don't remember Hakim's last name—but suffice it to say, his last name (much like his first) was very much of Arabic origin. And similarly, Hakim sported the light brown complexion typical of people of...
Ripping off many great automotive journalists (and even more crappy automotive journalists), I'm presenting an issue of Separated at Birth this morning over at AA. Today's topic? The latest BMW 3 Series and the (gasp!) Pontiac Grand-Am!...
There's a sushi place just down the road from where I live. And the sushi there really isn't bad. The thing is that as far as I can tell, everybody who works at the restaraunt speaks Chinese. Odd, that....
In their wisdom, BMW has opted for Torx heads instead of nearly universally standard hexagonal heads for the bolts which hold their transmissions to their M50 series engines. I originally complained about this, but in reality, it's a huge bonus since Torx heads are nearly impossible to round. When they...
That's a guibo. It's a small (OK, slightly bigger than "small") rubber thing which attaches the transmission output shaft to the driveshaft. The idea here is that it isolates the two halves of the drivetrain from noise and sudden impacts. The guibo is also sometimes called a, "flex disc," but...
I have to commend the engineers at BMW. I've had the pleasure of extensively disassembling the lower bowels of a solid half-dozen vehicles over the years (most of which were newer than the BMW when I tore into them) and without a doubt, this BMW has held up better than...
I've got the 3 up on jackstands and I've realized how much of a pain in the ass this is going to be.The 3 sits lower than any other car I've ever owned. Even with the front subframe foisted up on my jackstands (four notches above collapsed, too) I've barely...
I've been spending quite a bit more time at the office recently, partly because I've got a lot more work to do lately, and partly because Layla has started her 20/20 program and it's convenient to stick around a few hours later and still carpool home. It's been really helpful...
I caught wind of this video about a Ford GT whose owner didn't seem to think a blown 5.4L V8 wasn't quite enough....
So I found out yesterday that most of my immediate family is coming to visit in a few weeks. I had thought originally this would involve four people (mom, step-dad, two step-siblings) but it turns out this will really be five (+sister). That's an awful lot of people to be...
I woke up this morning and thought, "What? I'm planning to fix dents on a sub-thousand-dollar Mercedes with absolutely no hope of ever making the body actually completely straight?" Absolutely nutters. So instead, I've got the BMW in the garage and ready to go for a clutch swap. Pardon the...
Despite my somewhat commonplace complaints about dent repair, I guess I'm back at it with the Mercedes. The funny this is that all told, the car really does have some not insignificant hail damage. The hood and the roof are both fairly seriously tweaked, and both front fenders have a...
Federal officials on Friday wound up an onsite investigation of a Wednesday's crash that killed Lidle and Tyler Stanger, a 26-year-old [driving] instructor from California. The FAA said a review of operations and procedures in the East River corridor prompted the rule change, which will require [drivers] of small [automobiles]...
Bikini babes running through a tire obstacle? Who are they kidding?...
October 11, 1967 Mercedes-Benz Engineering Daimler-Benz AG Stuttgart, Germany Dear Director of Engineering, I hear that you are getting close to completing your designs for the new 1969 Mercedes-Benz 250. Congratulations on so many years of hard work! However, I would like to ensure that a few features are not...
The throwout bearing is, in my experience, that "one damned little part" that costs about $20 to make but well over a grand to replace. It's a fairly small bearing about the size of a hockey puck, and it takes pressure exerted by the clutch fork (which is, in turn,...
I have to admit, I've got a lot of pet peeves. People who talk to me while I pee, people who leave "0:17" on the microwave by failing to press "Clear" after removing their pot pies, and people who post pictures of their kids on their office door at work...
Nobody can beat the Japanese for flat-out silliness, but the Koreans are seriously giving them a run for their money in terms of half-serious kookiness....
What you're looking at is some manner of kid's balloon playworld thing near the Macy's up at Alderwood Mall north of Seattle. As far as I can tell, Grover is seriously giving the business to that unlucky trailer there. It's too bad I only got the shot from this side....
It may be something in the water. It could possibly be all the fumes I've been inhaling while driving the Mercedes recently. Or maybe it's the fact that I've worked at Microsoft for over a year now and have already owned a BMW—but whatever the reason, I can't get my...
When owning an old vehicle, it can't all be roses and sunshine. And so, if you entered the onramp from 40th to 520 sometime around 7pm this evening, you would have spotted a white Mercedes stopped along the side of the road and, if you happened to look in your...
Seriously, how much cooler can you get than driving an eight-wheeled Soviet-era-looking truck through bigass puddles and over jumps?...
The absolute best ads in this book span two pages. And up until today or so, the book hasn't been flexible enough to really scan both sides. I'd even argue that it's still too stiff to really scan correctly. But holy crap—it's worth it for this one ad. I'm not...
...because I'm tired and my head is a bit clogged with the remnants of a cold. Anyone got any worthwhile comments?...
Despite the fact that I've driven the Mercedes all over the place now, it hasn't really been completely drivable. The rear defroster doesn't really work, the shift from 2nd to 3rd concerns me, the throttle linkage sticks, and the car sputters off-idle. The last of these means I can't really...
