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dipstick being a dips**t?????
OK for some strange reason my oil dipstick wants to come loose sometimes, tonight was the 2nd time it's happened, how long its been poped, only god knows, but all the stuff on the driver side of the engine bay is all oiled up, and for some reason my brake fluid resivoir was a bit loose too, not off just loose............... any ideas????
i'll probably consult a local professional later today, but wanted to know what y'all thought about it
How old is your vehicle?
In many cases, the rubber that holds these things on and serving as "detents" will come loose with age, and a replacement may be necessary.
its a 97 so its about 10 years oldOriginally Posted by TSi+WRX
How old is your vehicle?
In many cases, the rubber that holds these things on and serving as "detents" will come loose with age, and a replacement may be necessary.
I was also thinking that too.......... I mean it cant be too expensive right
^ Then I'd say that it's about time for at least some of the various rubbers and plastics on your car to start showing their age.Unfortunately, this is something that we as older-vehicle owners must simply always deal with....
Those parts you've listed shouldn't be all that expensive at all. I know that for my DSMs, a dipstick was pretty darned cheap, and it was also definitely a worthwhile replacement due to the mess it can make.
As for your brake fluid reservoir cap, that may or may not be something that you can get as a "generic" item even through your local auto-parts store. If it's the actual reservoir that's loose, though, I'd instead check its mounting points - it could be that a rubber/plastic grommet has come loose over age, or even that a metal bracket holding it in-place has finally started to rust through.
While you're under the hood, give your main hoses a quick look-see, too. Sometimes, the failure of one or the other of these plastics/rubbers could signal that it's about time that other components start to go, too.
Hehe, on my Saab all my rubbers are great and it's going on 17 years
http://www.z3bimmer.com/OffTopic/E24Bimmer/Gummi/
Apparently there is a product sold at BMW dealers, called "Gummi Pflege" (translating to English something like "Rubber Care"). Now say that 10 times fastIt is supposedly a very very effective treatment to old, dried-out rubber parts to "hydrate" them and make them flexible again. I've never actually used it, though, I suspect it is very similar to Wurth Rubber Care, which, also, I have never actually used.
Last time I used some kind of rubber/vinyl protectant my dash cracked in seven places within a month (damn STP garbage) so I just use soap and water now
^ Dang x2 - 17+ years of good rubbers? That's just jaw-dropping! :shock: Nice! Talk about durability!
And one of those "dangs" is for what happened to your dash - I'm very sorry to hear that. I hope I never have a run-in with that.....
Thanks for the pointer to the rubber-restoration stuff. I'll have to give that a look-see for my Talon.
Yeah it's pretty good. The only bad ones are the ones around the rear windows, they shrink like crazy. Even the ones at the dealer shrunk from sitting on the shelf
just got a new dipstick direct from Honda at the honda dealership (Acura dealer is WAY TOO FAR in comparison), it only cost me 8 bucks, no big deal, as for the brake fluid, the cap was loose, but its screwed down pretty good now, there was a little notch where its supposed to stay in, I guess it just poped off, no problem now..... I am though worried about all the oil that has spewed out of the dipstick tube thing while the thinkg has poped off, I guess its no big threat, only probably less than half a quart has spilled, ive replaced the oil in the crank case, but i guess a layer of oil on the parts outside cant be too bad :?
I would look into that rubber stuff, but the nearest BMW dealership is....well, I dunno, I know the closest Mercedes, but no real BMWs come to mind, i'll check sometime later (on a quick search I see that ther nearest BMW dealership is about 15 miles away, not too bad)............... as for stuff of this nature, my windows are going up and down REALLY slow lately, and in these cases ive heard that some sort of silicone lubricant should be used on the rails, where would I obtain such lubes and how do I go about applying them, i hear the Honda dealerships sell um, but I dont know what to ask/look for :?
^ Wish I could help you with the window stuff, but that's out of my territory.ops:
Just a weekend shady-tree greasemonkey wrench, I'm no professional.
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As for your engine-bay, look for some detailing products. There are engine-bay degreasers and cleaners - follow their directions carefully (particularly the part about covering-up the electricals and any open-air elements), and you'll be just fine.
Here's a good guide from a fellow BL/BP-chassis Legacy enthusiast who is also a detail nut, there's a specific sub-section on engine-bay cleaning:
http://www.ocdetails.com/html/detailing_guide.html
Search around on the Internet, too, especially on hobbyist websites that are dedicated to older, higher-mileage, but either performance or popular show-cars (i.e. DSMs, Integras, etc...), as they'll also often have good "how-to" articles.
Although some grease/oil on the outside of non-vital components and various cosmetic engine-bay covers isn't any cause to worry, any splashes onto belts and hoses should be addressed, as they can cause some degradation of the rubbers/plastics over time, and may cause premature or accelerated wear of such parts.
luckily Honda was smart and there are covers on the key belts, only a few accesory belts are showing (e.g. Alternator, and P/S from what I see), the timing belt going into the Cams are fully covered, and I cant see the A/c, but havent looked that hard for it either
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