Springfield

A simple answer... you change the rotors when they are needed. A more complicated answer. A brake rotor has a minimum thickness. It varies for every make and model of vehicle, but the specifications are available through many different resources. If a brake rotor is below a minimum thickness, it needs to be replaced. Brake rotors, over time, may become warped (not completely flat) and will cause a vibration in the steering wheel. This vibration can be eliminated by machining (cutting the top layer off, thus making it completely flat again) the brake rotor. A tool called a micrometer can measure the thickness of a brake rotor to a 1/1000 of an inch. Using a micrometer, you can determine if the brake rotors on your vehicle are thick enough currently or thick enough after machining (which will remove some of the rotor metal). Back to simplistics... If you are not experiencing any sort of vibration, my suggestion would be to do nothing with your rotors. If there is a vibration, it may be easier and cost less time to go ahead and replace the brake rotors. They are usually between $50-100 each. Brake rotors aren't hard to replace at all (on most cars).

Shhh! :shutup:

It's probably the bulbs for the dials. Some vehicles have bulbs that are replaceable behind the dials and some have bulbs that are integrated into the dials themselves. As you can imagine, replacing the bulbs behind the dials is a lot cheaper than replacing the dials. I can't remember off the top of my head what design that vehicle has but it is a lot more common to have bulbs behind the dials. They aren't really hard to replace on most vehicles. You'd have to pull apart the dash panels, which is surprisingly easy on most vehicles. After that it should be fairly easy to replace the bulbs (if equipped).

Good. Glad to hear that you don't have to pay out the ass for a huge suspension repair.

As far as prices go. It's hard to say. Prices vary depending on your location. It is certainly more expensive to have your vehicle fixed here in the D.C. suburbs than it is in most other places of the country. I can tell you that you would end up paying more here if you needed those things done. So, to me, $450 sounds like a good deal on a fuel pump. It would easily exceed that price here in the NoVA area. That was one of the things that I said I wouldn't be able to do in the OP. I can't judge whether you are getting ripped off or not. It's too hard to judge because prices in different areas vary by quite a bit. I'd say that something is bent in your suspension. They can put it in the air and see if there is anything obviously bent. If there is nothing obviously bent, then they can hook the alignment machine up to it. That will measure every angle of the suspension in measurements that can't be easily judged by the naked eye. My opinion would be tie rods, struts, control arms or a combination of the aforementioned. It's also possible that the steering rack shifted as well. There are many things that can bend to give you those results. If you whacked a fire hydrant and your wheel isn't centered, there is a good chance that your expense will be rather large. Keep us posted.

I have definitely heard of Warranty Direct before. I can't recall whether they were any good or not. I see so many different companies that I hardly remember if any of them are good. The only one that I can clearly remember as being a good aftermarket warranty is Carmax (which is called MaxCare). For most of the aftermarket warranties, I would have to look at the paperwork to give my opinion on whether it is good or not. A lot of them may sound good but really be worth nothing. Those types of warranties will cover things like engine block, intake/exhaust valves, valve springs, pistons, piston rings, connecting rods, connecting rod bearings. They have exclusions of things they don't cover like oxygen sensors, air/fuel metering devices, knock sensors, crank sensors. What I'm getting at is they will cover (seemingly) a lot of items. The problem though, is that they cover things that generally don't break. The sensors, switches, relays, and other electrical items is where you will run into most of the problems. Some warranty companies that I have seen will not even cover gaskets. EDIT: I would also, definitely, avoid the aftermarket warranties that solicit you over the phone or mail. That's just my rule of thumb. Also, the guy who sold you that warranty at the dealer gets a bonus out of it. Not to say that the warranty is bad, if it's from a dealer it probably isn't, but they guy made a little extra dough because of you.

It could be a catalytic converter. It could be that it's getting clogged once it warms up. That would explain the smell that you smelled. That's all hypothetical though. As for tonight, you could probably just let it run for a while. Once it warms up, hold the idle up at like 2K-2500 RPM and see if it overheats at all. See if you smell anything after you do that. That way, if you are just sitting in your driveway and it starts to overheat or do anything wrong, you can just shut it off right there and not be stranded. "Will my car make it?" is a question that I hear quite often. It's very hard to answer a question like that to be honest. Even if I did know what the exact problem is, I can't see the future. If I could answer that question accurately at all, I'd probably make a fortune.

No it's not normal. However, it isn't always a big deal if you do. There are lots of things under the hood that can "smell" without being a huge problem. You probably didn't have any problems in your 2 mile drive because the engine didn't have enough time to heat up all the way. I would strongly suggest getting the correct coolant in the cooling system.

Cool. It's hard here in NoVA with no AC, I can only imagine how bad it would be in MS. Have fun in Cozumel, I took a cruise down there a few years back and had a blast!

OK... If it only makes the noise when the AC compressor is on, there is one thing you can do that is very simple and will cost you nothing (because AC compressor replacement is going to cost you an arm and a leg). You can disconnect the wiring harness to the AC compressor. There will be a connector with a tab or release of some sort. Disconnect that and your AC compressor won't try and engage and thus it won't make the noise. The downside is, you will never have cold air coming out of your vents after you disconnect it.

Does it only make the noise when the AC compressor comes on? (example: When you turn on the defrost and AC at any level)

This is not a good sign. What you're saying is that your vehicle is misfiring and/or running rough. You implied that it may have been overheating. The vehicle may have been misfiring because it was overheating, it may be because you have some other, more serious problems. Never use straight water in the cooling system unless you plan on replacing it soon after with a 50/50 mix of water and coolant/antifreeze. Water will boil or freeze and will cause you much more serious problems. One thing I do know, is you must have a leak in your cooling system somewhere. Coolant does not evaporate (unless of course you are using straight water) so it had to have gone somewhere. The overflow is sealed from the rest of the cooling system which is pressurized by the radiator cap. If the cooling system builds up too much pressure, because your car is overheating, the radiator cap will open and allow coolant to flow into your coolant overflow. The best way to accurately measure the coolant is through the radiator, when cold. The overflow may or may not be correct. Yes, if it is full, you will be able to drive your car again. It will probably happen again though if, like I suspect, you have a leak in your cooling system.

Cool... good luck with it man. Hope all goes well with it.

So what ever happened with your problem? Always like to hear how my internet diagnosis goes.

Sorry, I missed this... Question for you: Was it squealing before you changed the belt? If it wasn't, it's highly likely that the AC belt isn't tight enough. If it was, you could have an AC compressor that is starting to lock up and the belt is squealing because it wants to move but the AC compressor doesn't.

I would worry about getting your running condition fixed before you worry about the oil leak. They oil leak could be the cause if the problem goes back to the wires but it's no fire hazard. I'd plug the wires in and see if that fixes it. If it does, have the wires fixed soon after. I'd like to see how this turns out. Keep me (us) informed.

I know that there was a long line of detachable face plate problems in Sony head units. I've owned several Sony aftermarket head units in my life and have experienced that problem first hand. Does the music continue playing when the head unit blacks out? If so, I'd suspect a problem with the connection between the unit and the face. If you jiggle around the face and it starts working again, I'd be sure of it. Does the music stop laying when the unit blacks out? If so, I'd suspect a connection problem going into the unit on the back. If it exhibits both or a mix of those problems, it may be the unit itself. If you suspect the face to be at fault, you may be able to source a face from a local junk yard. Tiburons are rather rare though, so good luck finding one. One other note... sometimes the face is keyed to the unit, meaning you cannot pull one from one car and use it on another. As far as I'm aware, that's the way that the Sonys were.

Skin'Em... Is this a "factory" head unit from a Tiburon in your Accent? Does the faceplate remove completely for security purposes? Did you have to do any rewiring when you installed the Tiburon head unit or was it plug and play?

This is what makes me think that.

To be honest ldysknzfn... It sounds like you need to replace the ignition wires. I'd buy some and throw them on. It's not hard to do and the wires are probably only $50 or so. One way to tell if the wires are bad. Spray them with a squirt bottle while the car isn't missing. If it starts to miss after you spray them, it's very likely the wires. Cheap thing to try before you go taking it into a shop and paying for check out.

Precisely. There is a huge risk involved in not repairing it completely. You may think you are helping out the customer at the time, but when he comes back so mad you can see the steam coming out of his ears... it isn't worth the hassle.

Well as far as why not just replacing the valves or the head... why not you ask? Imagine your timing belt breaks. You come in to my shop and we diagnose the problem for you. You expect a $500 bill. I call you and tell you that your timing belt has indeed broken. We can replace the timing belt but that is just the first step. See, since your Escort is an interference motor, it is highly likely that the valves have made contact with the pistons and there is engine damage. You can spend $500 replacing the timing belt but there is the possibility that there is more damage, and cost, involved. About 5 hours later, I call you. I tell you that the timing belt is done. The bad part is that the valves are making noise, the engine is running rough and the compression test shows that cylinder #3 doesn't have sufficient compression for combustion. End of the story being that I warned you, but you are now $500 out of pocket. You have an engine that doesn't run right (remember, poor compression can be caused by faulty piston rings too) but you are already in the hole. I give you your options. We can quit now, knowing that we have spent $500 of your money attempting to fix the problem. You can spend $2000 installing a new head complete with new valves, valve springs, lifters, et al. You could also spend $3500 installing a remanufactured engine that comes with a 3 year, 100K warranty. The remanufactured engine comes with all new moving parts on both the top end (head) and lower end (block). Let's say, for the sake of argument, you decide to choose the less expensive route and have us replace the head. We do it and the car runs just fine. You've spent $2500 in total with us. Your as happy as can be that your vehicle is alive and on the road. Something goes wrong though. About 4 months down the road your car starts running poorly. It's missing badly. You bring it back to us, of course you would, you just spent $2500 on your car here. We look at it, for free, and tell you that the compression in cylinder #2 is poor. It's likely that your piston ring is blown and you need the complete engine to be rebuilt. There is no way that you (or me for that matter) could be happy with this outcome. You're out of pocket yet another $3000 to rebuild the engine (when you could have just paid $4500 for the engine in its entirety), that is if you choose to believe me and not complain to a higher source. OK, take the above paragraph out of the question. Say your AC doesn't work during summer time. You bring it back to us as it was 4 months ago and we carry a 6 month warranty. We charge you yet another $150 for an AC service and tell you that your car's evaporator is leaking and you need $1200 worth of repairs. We just worked on it in the winter and now the AC isn't working. Could it be our fault? My bet says the amount of money you spent on your car says you think it is our fault. This is why I think that if the car is not fixed "completely" that we are "married" to the car. Customers almost always think that if they spent a huge amount of money on their car it is our fault that something (completely unrelated) else is broken.

You are completely right about the compression test. A skilled technician can tell if there is a problem, hell even a vacuum test can tell you something. I put the emphasis on "skilled". And yes... If there is a bent valve in my shop, I generally recommend a complete engine replacement. Sure you could get away with replacing the head, but who knows what kind of fun problems you might be married to in the future. Once you do major engine work, if there is a problem, the customer keeps coming back even if the problem wasn't related to what you've done.

This is what I was saying. You are right about the whole "inner" workings of the starter though. Props on that.