“ I think it even had rear drum brakes.”

Oh the horror! See what happens to rear disks in the salt belt and get back to me. On a long term family car, give me rear drums any day. You rear disk hand-wringers crack me up.

Signed, guy who’s about to mess with rusty rear brakes on an ‘03 Pilot

Also not a 3800lb porker (in Trailhawk trim). The Renegade is just a travesty all around. How they could make something with so little practical interior space, so heavy, based on a lame car platform, is beyond me. For comparison: my BOF 3rd gen 4Runner weighs the same, has a ton more cargo room, has a ton more ground…

Your friend had a point actually, older (80s-mid 90s) Honda autos do in fact shift “funny,” harsh but positive is how I’d describe it. Throw in some tired trans/engine mounts and never-changed ATF and it is even more exacerbated. The guts of a Honda auto are unlike a typical automatic, as they refused to pay Borg…

He just didn’t want to mess with it. I asked him multiple times to make sure he wanted to sell it that cheap. And yes transmission health is at the forefront of my mind, already did a drain and fill with correct Honda ATF, and am planning on installing an external trans cooler. it had been maintained sporadically…

Yeah my ‘00 was kind of used up when I bought it for $1600 from a neighbor for winter beater duty (to keep salt off that 4Runner). I really liked the motor in it, and even with the automatic it just wanted to be driven spiritedly (I’m typically a pretty laid back driver). Ended up doing brakes and struts all around…

Honestly, I’d just flat out avoid any Michigan/northern trucks. Do a fly and drive for something from the sun-belt, and undercoat it. The rust stains on the bumper point to ample salt exposure, I can almost guarantee the underside of that truck is a horror show. Also, if you see any with a nice looking coat of…

I see your passive aggressive neighbor note and raise you this:

“I’m ready for a new car.” With the AC acting up lately (need to re-patch a leaking rear line... ugggh) I figured that must be the reason. I asked her why, hoping it wasn’t because of a new mechanical issue, she said “because it’s really starting to look like hell.” 

Dude this was literally me with the ‘98. Corroded…

It is crazy just how much Trackers/Sidekicks are going for these days. Samurais are in the stratosphere and/or offroaded to death, more and more people are discovering how capable (and more comfortable) these trucklets are. I wonder now if the slightly larger bubblier late 90s-2000s gen will now start getting more…

Gotta love squeezing the juices out of older well worn vehicles that just keep on going. The ‘89 Just got a fresh junkyard transmission after it lost 2nd gear (automatic), $360 shipped and a pretty easy swap later she’s shifting like new. The ‘89 is actually one of the rare 2.6L 4 cylinder models only made during…

I’m more of an MK1 MPV man myself who grew up loathing the ‘neutered’ FWD gen 2s, but that is really cool man. That’s our family ‘89 with 245k miles on it. We also have a ‘98 Allsport 4wd that’s still in the family with 175k. Both slowly succumbing to rust but still ticking along. Just did an 8 hour road trip in…

“but most U.S.-market cars had the 2-liter”

That gen ALL had 2.0Ls in the US ya dingus.

This generation of Elantra cemented Hyundais increasingly respectable reputation in the US as making a high value, reasonably well built and reasonably reliable car for the US market. The previous generation had already turned the…

I’d much rather read about a fantastically engineered and durable old Toyota than any of that other horseshit you listed.

I’d definitely check if any ended up at an Ashley Schaeffer store

Yes all domestic interiors were plasticky, but only the Rams had the extreme propensity for dashes to completely disintegrate.

I’ve only seen brake lines rot from the outside in, in the salt belt. I’m not saying that moisture inside doesn’t have an effect or to never change fluid, but I wouldnt’ attribute it as a serious contributor to brake line corrosion and failure. More like clogging up ABS and fluid level sensors and such.

Not sure, I just helped install a new Bando on my friend’s 4.0L FJ Cruiser tonight, it was made in USA and was one of the cheaper options at NAPA ($23).

Gates has been going to shit in terms of their timing belt kits, outsourcing the pulley bearings and sometimes tensioners and water pumps to China (belt itself is likely still American-made). I’ve shifted to Aisin for Japanese makes, although even THAT is no longer a guarantee of all-Japanese components. I prefer…

Because the perps themselves were telling the people they were robbing as much, jackass.

Not gonna lie, it’s kind of lame to read through this expecting to see some wrenching shots/DIY stuff on an IH, only to see you relent to outsourcing even simple jobs to mechanics, and Instagraming about the issues. Basically the only things you did yourself were silly interior “modifications.”