Mike's car Mikes Car

Mike has a rockin' 1981 Mazda GLC, it has gone over 167 thousand miles, and everything that could be replaced was and everything else is still just broken. Due to a failure of the rubber gasket around the winshield, in the rain, the cars leaks heavily, Mike fixed this with globs of silicone seal but water had been leaking for many years, and it leaked primarily onto the electrical components under the dash, this has caused OVER 3 minor fires, 2 of which occured on the steering wheel while the car was in motion. Luckily Mike carries many Big Gulp® cups filled with melted ice for just such instances. Mike also has rewired the electrical and now in addition to the flame retardent capabilties of half empty Big Gulp® cups Mike also carriers around a small Halon fire extinguisher in his glove compartment.


Last Reported Problem:

8/1/95 ignition switch failure
8/16/95 front brake pads nearly gone
8/23/95 raditor cooling fan died
8/29/95 still overheating
9/4/95 Broken passanger side window
9/6/95 Transient, random and massive electrical short in instrument cluster.
10/11/95 Front Left worn down to steel belts, blow-out pending.

Description of problem:

Ignition switch:
$2 Radio Shack® toggle switch for starter solenoid finally failed resuling in a 3 minute long continous start until main battery cable could be removed and switch yanked.

Brake pads:
Brakes squeaking mightily, concern about messing up the rotor soon
Cooling fan:
Car severly overheats at stops and in traffic, above 30mph no problem.
Overheating
Car still overheating, fan repair might have jarred loose some other component...
Broken passenger side window
"World's stupidist thief" broke Mike's passanger side window at Tantalus lookout, back windows have no locking mechanism and are opened easily.
transient electrical short
Every once in a while the fuse that supplies power to the dashboard guages will fail.
Bad front left tire
After 4 years, Mike's misaligned front end has worn down the tire to the steel belts, msut be replaced.

Resolution of problem:


Ignition switch:
8/1/95 None yet, car is started with broken switch for the interin, switch is quickly hooked up and then removed once ignition has been achieved.
8/20/95 Ignition switch repaired and replaced.
Brake pads:
8/20/95 no repair yet, need parts.
Cooling fan:
8/20/95 no repair yet, gotta go scavange a cooling fan somewhere
8/29/95 New fan acquired at Kapahulu Car Quest® for $103.97, when it finally became apparent that the vehicle would not be able to survive many more 7am Rush Hour, Pali Highway transits without almost certain critical engine meltdown occuring. Fan motor installed without incident in 20 minutes.
Overheating
9/1/95 After fan repair car still was overheating, small hose that went to the bottom of the radiator was leaking causing perciptious drop of cooling fluid levels, this was attended to.
Broken passenger side window
9/5/95 New window scavanged from junkyard, total cost: $76.24
Transient electrical short
8/6/95 The "stick the largest fuse you can and wait till affetected component makes it self known" problem solving procedure failed, short instantly zaps a 30amp fuse. The next day a 15 amp fuse is not blown when inserted, looking into using circuit breakers for this electrical sub-system until short can be detected and fixed.
Bald front left tire
10/17/95 Six hour foray to the Sears Automotive Department at Pearlridge Mall concluded with the purchase of 4 brand spanking-new Sears Guardsmen Steel-belted Radial tires. Service technicians had determined the orginal tires on the car were FAR too large for such a vehicle, Mike was aware of this, and had used a very big hammer to effect the necessary wheel well modifacations to allow use of the oversized tires. Service Technicians were unimpressed and would not replace only the bad tire, nor only the front tires. Mike now has a 50,000 mile warranty on tires that are on a vehicle that will complete another 50,000 miles only through divine intervention.



This page maintained and written by Mike
Last update 10/20/95
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