mloakley

It looks like I'll have to take money out of the Vegas fund for this, which sucks. So, now I have to decide if I'm going to freeze my butt off and do it tonight, or risk getting pulled over by the same... <deleted>..... <more deleted>... <still more deleted>.... officer tomorrow on the way home. Thanks for the input folks! Oh, BTW.. in my googling of various ORC laws, Columbus codes, and Dept of Public safety websites, I discovered that according to Ohio Administrative Code 4501-41-03, you can tint your windshield to 30% (70% light transmission) (reference: http://statepatrol.ohio.gov/FAQ.stm ) @ evan9381 - I don't mind paying a luxury tax, its the totally random way that it's applied that has my knickers in a twist.

I just got PULLED OVER for window tint of 31%. $126 fine. They've been tinted that way for SIX years. Apparently, I've never passed an officer who was bored enough to pull me over for it. Anyhow, any opinions on whether its worth fighting? And IIRC, I just need an ammonia-based glass cleaner to get it to come off?

Anyone ever had any experience w/ Geico insurance? They're about $200 / half lower than Allstate, and about $100 / half lower than progressive. Thanks! -=Oak=-

Yeah, probably best. I was just wondering if a quick squirt of something would save me a $50 copay on the warranty, and not having a car for a day or two.

Check this weirdness out.. I've got a 2001 Grand Prix with a passenger window that only goes down when the temperature is below 32 degrees. Worked this morning, not working now (it's been sitting in the sun, so the skin of the car is warm.) The motor doesn't even try to come on that I can hear. I had two thoughts: 1) There's some crud in the channel. Squirt some lube down there the next time I can get it open. Problem: Anyone know if WD40 will screw up my window tint? 2) There's some kind of thermal overload sensor in the window motor that's malfunctioning. Have Pontiac replace it under warranty. Any thoughts / suggestions / ideas are GREATLY appreciated! TIA!

ATHF has got to be the dumbest show ever. How anyone can sit through it even to the 1st commercial break is beyond me. (Here come the flames.)

I thought that they supposed to mean that the driver only has "work priviledges," so cops will know that a car driving around at 3am should probably be checked out. Of course, that makes sense, so I'm probably wrong.

I've got a Mongoose mountain bike, barely ridden, that I was going to put out in the condo garage sale. (Its blue IIRC.) Make me an offer if you're interested.

Looking at wheel cleaners over the weekend, I noticed that most of them say "Not for aluminum rims." Someone told me Scrubbing Bubbles worked awesome on rims, and was safe on aluminum. Can anyone confirm / deny, or give me the name of a good aluminum rim cleaner? TIA!

Run a virus scan. The latest virus, MYDoom, can spread over Kazaa. Also, look for a program called "AdAware" from Lavasoft. This will get rid of "Adware" on your PC that file sharing services just LOVE to install.

This may not be a 100% "Tech Help" question, but here goes: My roommate's looking for a Chilton's or Hayne's manual for his 92 Toyota Paseo. They're extremely rare, so he can't even order one for it. Has anyone ever bought one of the "shop manuals on CD" that I keep seeing on Ebay and other places on line? It seems like a pretty good deal, but I don't want to waste $30 on an inaccurate POS, either. Thx!

Actually, the easyperformance / zzperformance kit looks really nice. Don't know if its worth $90, though. smile.gif

Ok, I did some more digging last night. Since some other folks have the same questions, i'll post what I found out. I couldn't find anything specific, but I did find this on a Camaro/Firebird forum: The photo eye works in the following manner: When the "eye" detects light, the resistance is zero. As it gets darker, resistance goes up. When the resistance gets to a certain point, the voltage will drop below a preset level, and <CLICK!> the lights come on. If you put a switch in parallel (or just cut, strip, and tie the wires together), the resistance will stay at zero, and your lights will stay off. Note that you can NOT just cut the wires. Here's a quickie diagram: http://www.mloakley.com/images/auto-headlight_bypass.jpg I'll give it a try this weekend and let y'all know what happens.

Car in Question:2001 Pontiac Grand Prix Background:My graemlins/asshole.gif drunk neighbor decides to hit me up for beer money AND a ride to the Dairy Mart the other day around 1am as I'm getting home. Since he's already drunk, and I'm too polite to tell him to f*** off, I have to stand outside in the rain and listen to him babble for about 10 minutes before he asks and I say "NO." I think to myself: "Self, if I could somehow disable the damned auto-sensing headlights, I could cruise up in stealth mode, park, and be in the house before he knows I'm home." Problem: I thought the manual told me how to disable the headlights, but it doesn't. It says that the lights will stay off until the E-brake (sorry.. "parking brake") is released. Drat. Question:Can anyone tell me how to disable the damned headlights? I've got the DRL's disabled, but the headlights still pop on when it gets dark. I even tried shining a flashlight at the sensor, but they stay on. Thanks guys!

Hey, that paseo has at LEAST 90 horsepower. I bet that car could run in the mid 11's. Maybe. With a tail wind. Downhill. A REALLY steep hill. Like a cliff. After a running start. graemlins/thumb.gif And now I'm graemlins/offtopic.gif

Morning all, My roommate drives a 94 Toyota Paseo, and in the last couple of days, he's noticed that its started to do weird things at idle. With the clutch pushed in, and no throttle applied, it constantly revs itself between 1500-2000 rpm, which is just enough that some guy in a civic thought he was being challenged to a race. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!

Well, ain't I a dumbass.. I didn't see the forums link. graemlins/slap.gif Thanks!

I've got a 2001 GTP, and saw these instructions online for adding a performance shift button: http://www.rivman.com/perfshift.htm 2 Questions: 1: How do I tell if I have the right PCM to do this? 2: Is it worth doing? Also, can anyone recommend someone who can do a U-bend removal fast, cheap, AND correctly? I know, I'm only supposed to pick 2 out of the 3.

Supposedly, this little gizmo attaches to your bike and lets the trip sensor know you're waiting. Link to Ebay item Anyone ever used one? It sounds JUST plausible enough, but barely.

Holiday weeekends, highway patrol sits on either side of the hill just east of 23 (aka Columbus Pike aka High Street.) IIRC, the limit is 45, they'll pull you over at 51. Thanks go out to the guy in the ricey cavalier who just HAD to prove he could pass me there Memorial Day weekend. He got the ticket, I didn't. graemlins/thumb.gif

Actually, my friend who usually helps me with these things isn't all that keen on pulling the halfshaft. Know a good shop that won't screw me (or my wallet) over? North side or East side of town preferably. Thanks! -=Oak=-

Hi All, Back in January, I slid my 2001 Grand prix into a curb at about 20 mph. Gotta love that first 1/8 inch of snow on a wet road. Anyhow, it turns out that I broke the front left rim (which slashed up the tire), bent the tie rod, and broke a strut. I had all the work done at the local pontiac dealer I bought the thing from, grand total on the repairs was over $1500 (including car rental, replacing 2 front tires, labor, etc.) of which the insurance was nice enough to pay $500. Well, all that and it still isn't fixed. There's still a loud hum and a vibration from the front end. It seems to be dependant on speed, not engine RPM. I took it back and the dealership quoted me $500 to replace the wheel bearing. Me being a bit reluctant to pay that much, I installed a new wheel bearing ($120 from AutoZone.) Fun's not over yet. The hum is still there, though it isn't quite as loud. My friend's dad works up at GM Lordstown, and he thought I had screwed up the half shaft. Now for my question: I know for a fact that the dealership is going to charge me an arm and a leg to replace the half shaft. Anyone got any other ideas, or know a good place I can get it fixed inexpensively and reliably? Thanks! Oak