Reminiscing about older vehicles

[turnkey4099]

lol no prob about hijacking, makes the treads interesting when they take on new meanings.

I think i just need spares of all these sensors in my toolbox, so tired of being absolutely stranded, sometimes in remote locations only to find its a $20 piece of plastic junk stamped made in mexico that did it. My old trucks and i have owned all the brands over the years were so simply made that they were all so dependable compared to this thing i drive now. Just feel like im going backwards.

Speaking of parts failure, my 1989 F150 blew the clutch cylinder out in the boonies. I was at a stop sign, herd a bang and no clutch. Shut it down (mistake), Fortunately it started in granny gear. I drove it home, 20 some miles, by shifting without need of clutch. I wonder if any of the new vehicles couild even be driven that way anymore. Probably some sensor gizmo that wouild disable everything.

Harry K

 

[MF283]

I

I hardly ever see cars on the side of the road disabled anymore. 40 years ago there were broken down cars, often over heated on the roadside.

Nope, they won't last 10 minutes with the chop shops up that way i witnessed it from a motel stay overlooking the interstate one time, didn't do a bit of good to call the cops, those guys oughta work for NASCAR.

I see a lot of newer cars burnt on the side of the road here & read about electronic problems with them, part of that is up to the owner though.

Ronnie

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Speaking of parts failure, my 1989 F150 blew the clutch cylinder out in the boonies. I was at a stop sign, herd a bang and no clutch. Shut it down (mistake), Fortunately it started in granny gear. I drove it home, 20 some miles, by shifting without need of clutch. I wonder if any of the new vehicles couild even be driven that way anymore. Probably some sensor gizmo that wouild disable everything.

Harry K

I can remember when clutch safety switches were new technology -- my first three cars didn't have them -- and how they got in the way of improvised maneuvers like bump-starting.

 

[3930dave]

Speaking of overly complicated. I see in hte news that Chrysler Corp has a major problem with the fancy shift stick in the big Jeep and one of the cars. After you shift, the lever returns to a central spot. You can't tell what gear you are in by looking at it. People are having problems tryng to hit park, think it is there, get out and vehicle runs off. Can't shut off engine unless tranny is in park.

What idiot came up with that asininity?

Ongoing abstraction/virtualization. If a designer has primarily grown up with video games, then goes on to design that shifter on a computer...... you can get what you just described..... pretty much a vid-game joystick.

Real-world operation and feedback takes hands-on use..... with today's fast(er) design cycles, sometimes not enough time is allocated.

Rgds, D.

 

[dmccarty]

So concerning these sensors, am i the only one that had 4 leave me stranded in the last couple years and on a fairly late model truck?

Nope, it is just you..... :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I have to help hijack too! I have 3 of the 7.3's, my buddy has 2, both of us had them since 2007, not one single cam sensor issue. Bet I just jinxed myself...

Yep, you are now jinxed or danged lucky.

My 2002 7.3 had at about 3 bad CPSes. It was a well known problem on the Diesel Stop and my first stop after buying the truck was at an International dealer to buy a spare CPS to keep in the glove box. Ford screwed you on the price of the CPS and the fact there was only one on the engine. I think Ford was charging $200 for the CPS back then vs $100 from International. If the CPS died, Ford would fix it for $200 but you had to pay a $100 deductable. The 7.3 engine shipped in International trucks was supposed to have two CPSes so if one went, and it would go, the truck would stay in service.

I drive quite a bit in cruise control and I think this allowed me to see that start of the CPS failures. The CPS would fail for a split second and almost always the RPMs would fall enough to kick off the cruise control. Not sure if that little skip would be noticed with regular driving. I was lucky in that I would replace the CPS before complete failure. Though one time the CPS failed completely killing the engine as I was making a right hand turn. If car(s) had been on the street I was turning into, I would have hit them since power brakes and steering went out.

Ford came really close to a class action lawsuit over the CPS which they avoided by putting out a new CPS for $25 and having a recall. Knock on wood, the new CPS has been working far longer than the old CPSes and I have not had a blip on the "new" one. :thumbsup:

I can't remember when the new CPS was released but it might have been after you bought your trucks.

Later,
Dan

 

[ovrszd]

I have a '66 mustang that I've restored and dropped a 1990 5.0 HO and an AOD transmission into it. I get the best of both worlds, fuel injection and overdrive transmission with a vintage mustang...lol. Runs like a scalded cat with EFI.

Love your Mustang!!!! Great restore and modernization. Bought a V8 '69 new. It too ran very well. Just don't yank the wheel or slam the brakes. Love vintage vehicles. Just remember they are vintage

Unless you have also done serious undercarriage modifications you have only increased the odds against you in a wreck situation as referred to by Tom Seller's previous post.

 

[ovrszd]

It wasn't all that many decades ago that steering-column design was killing people.

My Grandfather died from injuries sustained to his chest from the steering column in his 1956 Ford. He was going 20mph in thick fog, crossed a T intersection and hit the opposing road bank head on. With a new radiator and some front suspension repair the car was still driveable.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Here's my old girls; as you can see they are rusting away and neglected.

 

[jerrybob]

Very nice 2lane! A buddy and I were at a high school basketball game the other night......I mentioned to him that kids today spend more on their basketball shoes than I did on my first car. A long time ago.....I bought a 58 Chevy for $150. Drove it for a year and a half.....sold it for $300 and thought I was making a fortune. That old Chev had a radio with tubes......took the first mile to warm up and hear some music. Great times!

 

[JerryK]

49 Pontiac, had a stomp starter.. just above that somewhere below the dash was the vibrator [ oscillator ] that made the A/C to make the radio work.. Sometimes had to tap it with your toe it to get it going.