INFO: Websites for Car Wallpapers

Information on Car Pictures:

Websites for HD Car Wallpapers

Websites that provide high definition and quality wallpapers for the desktop background.
DeviantART
http://www.deviantart.com/
DieselStation
http://www.dieselstation.com/car-pictures.html
Hot HD Wallpaper
http://www.hothdwallpaper.net/wallpapers/car/

INFO: General European Car Maintenance

Information on D.I.Y. Car Maintenance:

Pelican Parts: Technical Articles

In-depth car maintenance advice for most European car brands.
Website: http://www.pelicanparts.com/

Click on a car brand and click on the technical articles icons (on the upper center tabs or the left banner) to be directed to the do-it-yourself articles.

D.I.Y. MAINTENANCE: Idler Pulley Replacement

Do-It-Yourself car maintenance on,

Engine Idler Pulley Replacement

Replacing the idler pulley in a poly V-belt or serpentine belt system is a typically and simple DIY maintenance project. Replacement idler pulleys are typically inexpensive and the consequences of an idler pulley failing while driving on the road make this maintenance project a no-brainer.

Idler pulleys do not typically fail critically without warning. Signs like excessive dust and grinding or squeaking noises are normal indicators that an idler pulley has broken and requires attention. Since these pulleys are usually belted to other systems, such as alternators and power steering, having the idler pulley inspected and replaced at the early stages of failure is worthwhile in most instances.


Example of a broken idler pulley below:
Vehicle: Mercedes-Benz, 2001 SLK320

The driver noticed a squeaky noise coming from the engine in the Fall of 2012, so the owner opened the hood and pinpointed the source of the noise. Without a mechanic's stethoscope available to precisely pinpoint the problem without taking anything off the car, the owner narrowed down the area of the noise and made a best guess it was the idler pulley. Since the owner was able to drive the car around still and wasn't sure how difficult it would be to take off the serpentine belt, the owner didn't worry about it and left the broken pulley alone. It was not until the end of 2013 Summer that the noise got louder and fear of a failure escalated enough for the owner to take action.

The instructions from the website, 'Pelican Technical Article: Mercedes Idler pulley Replacement', explained and illustrated how simple replacing the idler pulley was. As the owner of this vehicle followed the instructions, here is what the owner found.

After the owner got the serpentine belt unloaded from the engine, the idler pulley immediately broke off into two pieces. Having the idler pulley break in this manner was fortunate because it allows a driver to drive to safety (or a handful more months in this case).

Figure 1: Broken idler pulley after the serpentine belt is unloaded.

Even though the idler pulley split into halves along one of the serpentine belt grooves, the bearing surprisingly remained intact and was able to spin freely. Additional pictures of the broken idler pulley taken out from the engine bay.

Figure 2: Close up, front half of the broken idler pulley showing black dust. This is an indicator of grinding between the two halves of the broken idler pulley.

Figure 3: Close up, front half of the broken idler pulley showing grind marks
(with flash on the right and without flash on the left).

Driving with the broken idler pulley in the engine led to a ground down, smooth surface shown above.

Figure 4: Close up, rear half of the broken idler pulley, showing the inner surfaces on the left and outer surfaces on the right.

The following picture compares the broken idler pulley to the ACDelco aftermarket pulley. Since the broken idler pulley bearing was still intact, the owner was able to perform a simple bearing test to compare the bearings. A free-spin test of the bearings proved that the OEM idler pulley was lighter and able to spin more freely than the ACDelco idler pulley. The ACDelco idler pulley was more robust and symmetrical in construction all around but the bearing has a larger rotational inertia, causing the bearing to come to a stop sooner.

Figure 5: Comparison between the broken idler pulley with the replacement ACDelco idler pulley.

Figure 6: Close up of the ACDelco replacement idler pulley. This replacement idler pulley is made symmetrically about the line of symmetry from front-to-rear and side-to-side.

Replacement Part Information
ACDelco 38082 Belt Idler Pulley
Total Cost: $27.83 (purchased from Amazon.com)

PROJECT: 1972 Chevy C-10, 'Jenny"

Introductory post about a car restoration project:

1972 Chevy C10 - 'Jenny'

Decided to invest in a classic truck restoration project and convinced my roommate to be my partner. The vehicle is a 1972 Chevy C10. Original pictures from the previous owner shows that the truck was originally green. Over the years, parts of the truck has been replaced and the orange-red paint job was done within the past decade. Jenny comes not running, with 2 flat tires, an Edelbrock 1477 performance carburetor, and a V8 motor that is said to be bored 40 over.

Instead of lowering the C10 off the tow truck using a controlled cable, the operator opted to roll the truck off the tow truck at an incline. Luckily, the brakes work.

More posts to come.

INFO: General Car Care Maintenance

Information on General Car Care:

The Detailing Spot

Basic, straightforward advice for car detailing.
Website: www.detailingspot.com

INFO: Tire Cleaning and Shining Products

Information on Tire Products:

Tire Cleaning and Shining Products

Aiming for a long-lasting, non-browning product that doesn't sling and protects against cracking.

Sling is when the applied product gets onto the car from driving.

One of the first steps in getting into tire cleaning is understanding the differences and benefits between Water-based vs. Oil-based vs. Silicone-based products:

From website: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/car-care-discussion/1960040-water-based-oil-based-silicone-based-tire-shine.html
" Good Silicone / Not so good Silicone:
If a product contains hydrocarbon (petroleum) distillates, this does not necessarily make that product harmful but it does depend upon which petroleum distillate is used and whether it has been further distilled (purified).

a) Water - based silicone dressings - usually a milky-white liquid, (Polydimethylsiloxane (PDS) that doesn’t contain petroleum distillate; silicone oils, waxes, or solvents that can harm rubber and/or vinyl over time. Water-based dressings use a combination of natural oils and polymers to offer a non-greasy, satin finish. Some of these products also contain ultra violet radiation (UVR) blocking agents to help keep tires from cracking, fading and hardening. Most, if not all water-based dressings are environmentally friendly / biodegradable, whereas solvent-based silicone is not.

b) Solvent-based silicone dressings - usually a clear greasy liquid, (Dimethal (DMS) that contain petroleum solvents as a cleaning agent, they remove the elasticity from vinyl, rubber and paint; causing them to evaporate out of the substrate, leaving behind a dry inflexible surface. Most high gloss products are based upon DMS silicone oil, the difference between water and solvent based is in the carrier system used. Solvent based products use a hydrocarbon silicone to suspend the product. When you apply it, the solvent evaporates leaving the dressing's active ingredients (Silicone oil) behind; solvent-based silicone is not environmentally friendly / biodegradable.

Silicone's are primarily used to modify or improve certain characteristics; they are sometimes added as a lubricant to provide spread ability thereby making a product easier to apply. The automotive industry uses silicone as component parts (see polymerization) in its plastic, vinyl, rubber, paints, and fiberglass as well as in polishes and waxes.

Silicone (Siloxane) oils provide an excellent lubricant that when used as a carrier system in polishes and waxes that makes them easier to apply and remove When used in paints and other coatings it ensures an even flow through a spray nozzle ensuring an even product distribution.
It not silicone that you need worry about, just the 'type' (what its formulated with) you need to be aware of." 

General Tire Information: The Detailing Spot - Tire Detailing

TIRE CLEANING PRODUCTS
Standard Products:
Black Magic: Tire Wet
BlueMagic: Supreme Tire Shine
Armor All (AA) Extreme: Tire Shine Spray / Tire Shine Gel / Tire Shine Aerosol
Mother's: Back-To-Black Tire Shine / FX Tire Shine / Reflections Tire Care
Meguiar's: Endurance Tire Spray / Endurance Tire Spray Aerosol
Eagle One: Tire Shine Spray / Tire Shine Gel

High-End Products [$10+] :
303 Products: Aerospace Protectant
Duragloss: Aerosol Tire Gloss / Tire and Rubber Dressing / Wet Look Tire Shine
Forever Car Care Products: Tire Gel
Griot's Garage: Long-Lasting Tire  Dressing
Poorboy's World: Bold N Bright Tire Dressing
Optimum: Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Stoner: More Shine
Surf City Garage: Beyond Black Tire Pro
Tuf Shine: Spray and Shine / Tire Clearcoat*
Zaino: Z-16 Perfect Tire Gloss

Tire cleaner for heavy-duty cleaning jobs:
Black Magic: Bleche Wite Tire Cleaner

Other Products:
Adams VRT: Adam's Super VRT Tire & Trim Dressing
Chemical Guys: Tire and Vinyl Dressings
Detailer's: DP Tire Gel
Rubber Lube
Hi-Temp Grape
* The Tire Clearcoat is a semi-permanent coating. 

Written on July 23rd, 2012, Published on August 17th 2013.

Great Parenting + Steve McQueen Lightning = Awesome Build

INFO: Maintenance on a 6 cylinder vs Turbo 4

Comparative informative post on:

Maintaining a 6 Cylinder Engine

Compared to a Turbo 4 Cylinder Engine 

Day dreaming about upgrading to a bigger car and it got me thinking about the cost to own a car with a bigger engine versus one with a smaller one. Talking with fellow Joe's, most of us tend to want certain types of cars at different stages of our lives. The natural progression would be the older we got, the more money we would make, the more car we could afford. This post briefly the cost to own a 6 cylinder engine vs a 4 cylinder by analyzing oil changes.

4 Cylinder Engines
Average displacement: 2.2L
About 3.5 US quarts of oil per oil change

6 Cylinder Engines
Average displacement: 3.4L
About 8.5 US quarts of oil per oil change

8.5 - 3.5 = About a 5 US quarts difference. Say for high performance vehicles you use synthetic and buy motor oil from Walmart.
Mobil 1 High Mileage 10W-40 5qt. Full Synthetic Motor oil would be about $26 rounded down.
Change oil every 3.5k miles, say vehicle lasts 225k miles, that would be about 65 oil changes over the lifetime of the car.

Without Tax: 65 x $26 = $1690 additional to a 6 cylinder.

Again this is when you change the oil by yourself, rounded down & without tax. The true cost to own of any particular vehicle would be different and this is a very general overview of one factor in the difference in pricing of ownership. The reason why I would mention turbo 4 is because they closely match horsepower to a 6 cylinder. Nevertheless great food for thought.

D.I.Y. MAINTENANCE: Fixing a Windshield Wiper Nozzle

Do-It-Yourself car maintenance on,

Fixing Windshield Wiper Spray Nozzles

Spray nozzles often collect dirt or dry windshield wiper fluid. This causes the nozzles to spray unevenly or might even stop fluid from getting through at all. Usually a simple fix and a good way to fix it will be explained here)

Fig 1: Nozzle comparison of malfunctioning nozzle (left) and working nozzle (right)

1) Open the hood and set it fixed open.

2) Most nozzles for Joe's can be removed by popping the nozzle out of the car, away from the engine. Depending on certain models, a flathead might be used to unlatch hooks on the nozzle. Check the service manual for your car to see if it is necessary.

Fig 2: Example of a nozzle that requires a flathead tool

Fig 3: Nozzle unlatched from hood

3) Twist the nozzle off from the hose. Clip the hose with some sort of clamp to hold it in place.

Fig 4: Clipped nozzle spray hose

4) Soak the nozzle in a bowl of water for a couple seconds. Wait till all the air bubbles get out and clean the nozzle in the bowl of water. Soaking the nozzle helps loosen contaminants and you'll be able to see how much dirt is cleaned out. After soaking, use a toothpick and rub the walls of both openings of the nozzle.

Fig 5: Nozzle being soaked in water (left). Visible dirt from nozzle (right)

5) Using a a dust buster, spray the nozzle dry, as well as spraying through all openings of the nozzle.

Fig 6: Dust buster and windshield spray nozzle

6) Reattach the nozzle back on the hose and hood.

Fig 7: Windshield wiper nozzles fixed

INFO: Units of Measurements for Different Car Brands

General car information on,

Units of Measurements Used by Different Car Brands

For consideration when buying tools, or already owning a set of tools and looking for an additional car to work on.

Metric / International System of Units (SI) [ie 6.5 mm]:
BMW / Mini
Honda / Acura
Hyundai
Nissan / Infiniti
Mazda
Mercedes Benz
Mitsubishi
Subaru
Toyota / Lexus / Scion
Volvo 

SAE / English / Imperial / US Customary units [ie 7/32"]:
Chrysler / Jeep / Dodge / Ram / SRT
Fiat
Ford / SVT/ Lincoln
General Motor: Buick / Cadillac / Chevrolet / GMC
Tesla

Please kindly make note if I categorized a brand incorrectly

D.I.Y.: Making a buffer pad storage out of CD casings

A Do-It-Yourself post for organizing buffer pads,

Making a Buffer Pad Storage Box out of Multi-CD Casings

Used some applicator pads for headlight restoration and wanted some place to store them. Since there were a couple of multi-CD casings laying around, thought it would be perfect for storage.

Fig 1: Common CD casing for blanks discs

Fig 2: Sawed off center stick from base

Fig 3: Hole punched top for ventilation

Fig 4: Rubbing Compound buffer pad storage

Fig 5: Stack of buffer pad storage casings

The last figure, figure 5, shows a stack of the modified casings. The bottom casing of the two in figure would be ideal for compound product storage, as well as the the buffer pad.

PROJECT: Introduction to Solar Panel Project

Introductory post about possible project:

Installing Solar Panels behind Rear Headrests

Dashboard trickle chargers are being introduced to keep the 12V car battery. It would be useful in situations like camping and road-trips but would not be necessary for most Joe's. Nevertheless, solar power might be of some use for a Joe and let's look into it. Instead of the dash, placing solar panels behind the rear headrests of a medium sized sedan seems more appealing. Less clutter and possibly a safer option if wiring is not an issue.

Possible uses for the extra electrical power:
- Running a small fan to cool the car while ignition is off.
- Charging your smartphone (Androids in particular).

PROs:
- Extra power source
- Time is not a concern in charging battery
- Cool factor
- Educating experience

CONs:
- Additional sprung weight
- possible glare
- Costs vs Benefits
- Tinted windows reduce the amount of power received in solar panels
- Time
- safety (ie glare while driving, overheating, fire)

Rechargeable battery life is a priority. Possible places to place the battery would be in the center compartment, glove compartment, or trunk.
These are some options for consideration:
i) Lead / Acid battery packs
ii) Lithium-Ion or Nickel-Metal Hydride (pulled from old laptops or cordless and cell phones)
iii) Wire rechargeable batteries in series

The specifications for the HTC wall charger, battery output to USB cable should be 5V & 1.0A.
Therefore 5 Volts x 1 Amp = 5 Watts maximum should be transmitted to the smartphone.

Suggested specifications of the project:
- With a maximum input of 5 Watts charging a cell phone battery, a solar panel receiving about 5 Watts is sensible. Tinted windows supposedly reduce the power solar panels receive through glass by about 20%. Therefore: 5 Watts / 80% = 6.25 Watts maximum. A 6V / 5W solar panel, like the KS-M200200G, would be a good starting point.
- For a daily driver content with an extra charge in the car, wiring 3 rechargeable D batteries could work (Each battery gives an output of 1.5V, therefore 3 x 1.5 V = 4.5 V).
- Would need to attach a heat sink to the transistor for cooling.

Figure 1: Basic circuit diagram for solar panel project (suggested to me)

USB Layout:

Figure 2: Layout of different Universal Serial Bus receptacles

For 4 pin receptacles:	For 5 pin receptacles:
Pin 1: VCC, +5V Pin 2: D-, Data - Pin 3: D+, Data + Pin 4: GND, Ground	Pin 1: VCC, +5V Pin 2: D-, Data - Pin 3: D+, Data + Pin 4: ID, not connected Pin 5: GND, Ground

Conclusion: Right now the prices of solar panels are too expensive to justify a project like this. If solar panels become cheaper or a great deal for one is found somewhere, this project would be worth considering.