Month: March 2008

As I mentioned in a previous post, I noticed a very small coolant leak coming from the host from my coolant bottle. The hose clamp was corroded, so I ordered a new hose with clamps. This was my first venture with cooling system maintenance. I asked someone how tight should the hose clamps be – to paraphrase, they replied “it’s hard to say, you have to have a feel for it.”

So I didn’t want to drain the whole cooling system. It’s still March, and freezing cold out. I’ll do it later this year. I bought a small pump so I could empty the tank. I bought one new hose online, and received three:

Bonus! Thank you. Got my pump:

My problematic hose and clamp:

Old hose left, new hose right. Not quite the same…

New hose installed:

Add some new coolant:

Why is my old coolant brown?

All done! Haven’t seen the hose leak yet.

Supplies:

Prestone 50/50: On Hand
Water hose large to water bottle tank: $9.95 @ SpecialTAuto.com
Fluid Transfer Pump: $4.99 @ Autozone

I’d been getting a gasoline smell in the car when I would fill up. Someone suggested it could be the clamp on the fuel pump boot cover. I’d never accessed this area, so I read up on it, and went for it.

You can still see some residue around the boot. I’ll check it again in the future.

The fuel was around the boot cover, and not the fuel level sender. The boot and cover seems like a terrible design. The hose clamp can easily slide off the boot cover, which I think is what happened. I cleaned off the top of the tank, repositioned the boot cover, and clamp, and tightened it back down.

I’m proud to say I filled up with gas over the weekend, and I couldn’t smell any gas in the cabin.

So while I’m doing my oil change, I look back at the rear wheels, and am horrified to see this:

It appears the passenger side trailing arm shield came loose, and was wrenched down under the axle (I never heard or felt it). Probably when that happened the axle boot came off. I tried forcing the shield back into position, but couldn’t do it easily.

I just had rebuilt axles installed mid-last year. The car has only driven a few hundred miles since I last looked under the car at the tech session this fall. I’m guessing it hasn’t been long since the CV boot has been off.

So I had some questions about if I should rebuild the axle and replace the boot, and how can I secure the trailing arm shield better. I was relieved to find out I could reattach the boot, and secure it. I removed the clamps, put the boot back in place, and secured it with zip ties. Sadly, the boot has a small puncture, and should be replaced. I’ll think about doing this next winter, and I’ll keep an eye on the zip ties in the meantime.

I took the trailing arm shield off, and examined the clips. They’re corroded and kind of bent up. I don’t have a part number for them, but I’ll try to find some replacements. Since I had one trailing arm shield off, I decided to examine the TAB. After looking over the process for inspecting the TABS, I invested in a floor jack, and some jack stands. With the car jacked up, I tried wiggling the rear wheels, but they were secure. I can see the shims on my passenger side, and I can conclude I’m not missing any on the driver’s side. Someday I’ll check the bolts, but for now I’m satisfied.

I also bought a torque wrench for future TAB replacement, and other projects. So far I can’t figure it out.

While under the car, I also noticed a small coolant leak coming from the hose joint below the tank. The hose clamp looks corroded, so I ordered a new hose with clamps.

Good thing I do my own oil changes!