Recent content by sajohnson

I've read about that being an issue. Some owners had it covered under warranty. Many vehicles have shocks/struts that never have to be replaced. The struts on our '97 RAV4 are still good, and it has ~170,00 miles on it. Some mfrs cheap out on items like struts, figuring that they'll probably...

Nice! Those are some huge/tall valve covers. I'm used to Chevy big blocks. It's not surprising that it started easily. Batteries do self-discharge when disconnected, but it's a low rate, especially when cold. From Google: "At 30°F (-1°C), a 12V lead-acid battery's self-discharge rate is...

My experience is mostly with older cars -- aside from the Badlands the newest one we have is a 2002 WRX. There is no risk of damage from disconnecting the battery with older vehicles. AFAIK, it's the same with the BS, at least I haven't read anything to indicate otherwise. You definitely want...

Almost all products have many more positive (4/5-star) reviews than 1-star. I always read the 1-star reviews first. I disregard the ones that are clearly NA: operator error; box damaged; wrong color; late delivery, etc. I pay attention to the ones that are detailed and appear to be written by...

It's always a good idea to disconnect the neg(-) battery cable first. The reason is that with it connected, almost any metal surface is electrically connected to the negative battery terminal (B-). So if a person has a wrench on B+ and accidentally touches anything metal with the other end of...

I have at least 4 Deltran Battery Tender (BT) units. The oldest is from 2009 and still going strong. It is constantly connected to our RV chassis battery. One thing that's nice about BT (and Battery Minder, IIRC) is that they use standard SAE connectors -- unlike some others (<cough> Noco...

Another problem is how leaves and other debris get trapped behind the wheel well liners. Some can be vacuumed out, but not all.

But Iowa doesn't have any hills. :cool: (Having done RAGBRAI 3 times back in the '70s I know better)

I'm not trying to be a smartass, just curious -- since you have had so much trouble with the 2 dealers, why not do all of the work yourself? Your procedure sounds like it works well, but I don't quite follow your description. Is the plywood and floor jack used only to drop and move the skid...

My wife and I have done a lot of work that many people would file a claim for. Then we had a tree fall on our house -- after we had paid $thousands to have all of the trees that seemed to be a threat taken down (lots of large dead ash trees). The one that fell appeared perfectly healthy. The...

Ha! I was looking at "Do ya feel lucky" images to copy and paste, but decided that the whole .44 magnum thing was a bit much... :cool: That's something I haven't really touched on when posting about extended warranties -- mindset. Glass half full or half empty? Some people feel as though...

The underwriter has all of the info we do, and plenty more. They are aware of all of the issues with the BS (esp the 1.5L trims) and other models. They know the average repair cost per vehicle. The extended warranties are priced accordingly. All insurance is gambling, and the house always...

Unfortunately, unlike most other recalls, owners cannot check by their VIN. They must contact Ford or a dealer:

I'm sorry but that is some Grade A bs from a person 'in the auto business.'. If, as he says, "99% of the time, those warranties will pay themselves off", the underwriter would go bankrupt! Buying an extended warranty is "betting against the house" and the house always wins. We frequently hear...

I continue to have a good impression of Granger -- plus, both my wife and I have a lot of family in Iowa, which helps. If a person wants an extended warranty for piece of mind, Granger is a very good option. That said, we continue to hear people justify buying a warranty by citing the cost of...