Woody wrote: The bottleneck speed bump thingie may be there to create some turbulence for better mixing of the air and fuel.
I could definitely see that. Funny thing. Me at 18? "Darn stupid car makers! Look at that bottle neck. I bet that's choking all my air flow. I'm going to grind it out and..."
Me at 35. "yeah... there's probably a reason Mercedes put that there... I'm gonna put it back where I found it." 
Hungary Bill wrote:Woody wrote: The bottleneck speed bump thingie may be there to create some turbulence for better mixing of the air and fuel.I could definitely see that. Funny thing. Me at 18? "Darn stupid car makers! Look at that bottle neck. I bet that's choking all my air flow. I'm going to grind it out and..." Me at 35. "yeah... there's probably a reason Mercedes put that there... I'm gonna put it back where I found it."
I try to stay away from brainfights with German engineers.
This week's AC procrastination excuse is brought to you by the transmission. (It's hot under that dash and I usually cut my hands up rerouting stuff so I like to think up excuses for not going back under there)
There's nothing really wrong with the transmission but when shifting back UP from say "Drive" to "Reverse" I have to overtravel reverse a bit to get it into gear. That bugs me. And to show you how much I'm willing to procrastinate doing anything outside right now, I'll mention that I started by reading the book 
The book says that the car needs to be on all fours. On one hand I can see the logic, on the other I have my doubts as to how that can possibly affect things. But it means less work and crawling around for me, so I'm game 
Back apart comes the interior. Well at least the center console...
and it looks like this:
Now I can ALREADY tell you that what I'm about to do next is an exercise in futility, but remember, the book said "on all fours" and since that doesn't leave me enough room to crawl underneath, it must mean they want us to do the heart surgery through the mouth...
Except no:
<img src="
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No, that's impossible.
That pin that looks like it's being held in place by that spring? Yeah, that wont move with the tools I currently have... I can take the clips and spring off, but no amount of beating, prying, swearing, or begging got that thing to move. Time to berk the book and lift the driver's side.
Besides, I'm just going to loosen that adjustment point on the linkage a bit. How hard can it be?
More on that next week, because I decided I still didn't want to crawl around on the hot driveway 
Instead I decided to fix my leaky windshield washer tank.
By the looks of it it's leaked before. There was just a little crack at the top where the fresh epoxy was. I thought I got a "before" shot, but I guess not. Anyhoo. Should work (strong stuff)
Good times
Oh, I thought I adopted a stray cat this week. One showed up on my porch three days in a row, so I started leaving water out for him (her? it?). As soon as I did that, I never saw...er...the cat again.
(front door of mi casa)
I think people leave food out for the cats (either that or they toss out their leftovers in such a way that it stays on the plate. Then the cats find these leftovers and eat them. Then somehow the plate gets refilled every so often with leftovers again, just randomly
Here was one on my walk home from the store:
I thought this next one was a complete "cat feeding station" but I saw pigeons swarming it later (which explains the stuff that looked like bird seeds) but then again, maybe it's a really SMART cat feeding station. Get the birds, and the cats get fed
This next guy let me pet him, but also reminded me why I shouldn't just go around petting stray cats (he was jumpy, and boy do I not want to get cut open by a stray cat...)
This next one is inside a mostly unused entry way into a grocery store called "LuLu's" (it's like a Safeway, or a HEB, or whatever grocery store you might have in your area). There are actually three cats here, the one you cant really see is between the wall and the car kids ride.
OH no! there's four! (flikr let me zoom in) There's one by the grocery carts, near the wall too!
Momma and baby:
I did see one stray dog. There's a water pump house (more on these later) and next to it is a perpetual puddle. One day we were driving by and I saw a german sheppard pup playing in it (maybe a year old or two). My house was only a block away so I walked back to go check on him, and he was gone. As a general rule people don't like dogs here, so if he had been there when I got back he would have been adopted and I'd have some explaining to do when Mrs. Hungary got here.
mazdeuce wrote: Finally caught up on your adventures. Thanks for letting us experience cultural differences through automobiles. It's fun.
Thanks man, I'm glad you like it! I was feeling kind of bad because I'm not having to do much to the car. I will say I've you guys have gotten me out of the house quite a bit lately. There's so much to explore just in my neighborhood. I can't wait till the family gets here and we can get out to more of the sights and whatnot (honestly, if it wasn't for this thread it'd probably be a lot of "Netflix and chill" for me these days)
I do need to go back and fix photoberkit one of these days...
Cheers!
Love seeing your adventures on the sun over there. Berk that heat.
AC would be my number one priority.
Yeah the middle east doesn't do dogs. It's weird. Cats everywhere, zero dogs.
java230 wrote: Cats everywhere, zero dogs.
The way it should be.
In reply to AClockworkGarage:
Hahaha I have two dogs and an shiny happy person cat!
AClockworkGarage wrote:java230 wrote: Cats everywhere, zero dogs.The way it should be.
Amen. Very strongly dislike dogs.
They say dogs are man's best friend but even my worst enemy wouldn't come into my home and E36 M3 on my living room carpet while looking me right in the eye.
AClockworkGarage wrote: They say dogs are man's best friend but even my worst enemy wouldn't come into my home and E36 M3 on my living room carpet while looking me right in the eye.
I dunno man, I might...
java230 wrote: Love seeing your adventures on the sun over there. Berk that heat. AC would be my number one priority.
Right now it's just "good enough". I've got the leak rate on a watch, and still have every intention of trying to reroute those hoses, but I think actually spending money on it will wait until winter time when I can disable the system for a few days if need be.
And really, the heat I don't mind as much as I hate the humidity we had last week. THAT was terrible. The heat has gotten kind of comforting. When they say "it's like a sauna", the comparison couldnt be anymore accurate.
This article popped up in my feed yesterday and it's very accurate about the heat AND general sentiment from the different view points: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/18/kuwait-city-hottest-place-earth-climate-change-gulf-oil-temperatures
We work on the flightline. It's so hot that everything metal will burn you. Technically we're allowed to stop if the temp gets over 50c, but officially the temperature somehow always peaks at 49 Lucky for us 90% of our work is done by 11am.
It's all good times. The workload is light, and the money is good. Lots to do around town, and the people are friendly
Easy money
Well, not the most productive week but I did get that transmission adjusted:
So the diagram wasn't even close:
That's the exact opposite of what it said it would be There wasn't much adjustment left on the rod and what I got made things better but not quite perfect. I'll take what I can get though
There was no way that was ever going to happen through the top of the tunnel though
Anyhoo, nothing else exciting under there but I did notice my e-brake cable looked like this:
Yeah, I'm going to pretend I never saw that...
Our mail has been taking a looooong time lately, and what used to take a week has now taken almost a month. No worries though because that door handle/lock I ordered a page or two back has finally arrived!
Wading through a system of springs and snap rings I was able to get the lock removed from the handle, but I couldn't get access to the tumblers. I thought I might get lucky and maybe my key would turn it anyways, but no dice their either. Anyone on here a locksmith?
I figure the screw in the last picture is the piece in the puzzle that I'm looking for, but after one turn it gets tight quick (like it's not meant to back out at all). I'm worried about stripping the head.
However, if someone on here knows what they're doing, I'd happily drill it out if they could promise me positive results! (after all, I can still cannibalize the one in the car for parts)
Good times
Speaking of cars
I dunno why, but that Merc truck really tickles my fancy. It's a common sight to see one of these running around town. That and the oversized square 70's Chevrolet pickups probably make up a good 75% of the delivery truck population around here
(this guy has been on the road for a week at least. I don't think the tow laws here are the same as they are in the states...)
(Skyline GT. I've seen a few of these now, I need to find out why.)
Hey, what happens at prom stays at prom!
That last one is just what a taxi looks like. I've ridden in quite a few and I think my record for waiting for one on a main road is about 3-seconds. They're great rides, cheap and you never know where the driver is going to be from. I'll tell you something though, no distracted driving teen has anything on a Pakistani Taxi driver after their big cricket game win a while back. That guy was browsing videos of not only the win, but of the celebrations around the world while navigating Kuwaiti traffic.
Me watching those videos became a means of self preservation. If I was focused on the video, then my brain couldn't process the imminent death we were somehow avoiding despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary glaring at me from outside the windows...
At one time, I dont think he had hands or feet on the controls yet the car still weaved through traffic like it was its job.
Good times
Cricket game yeah, I don't know the rules either. But the highlights video is about half way through the article
Drivers license day!!!
(well, actually last Thursday but insurance had lapsed so I couldn't drive until today)
So. The driver's license:
Out here I think the wait period is two years for expats. Unless you're on a short list of professions that "need" a license, or are the sole care taker of children (which will be what Mrs. Hungary goes with). I fit one of those professions so I, of course, didn't have to wait two or so years.
Also, in the license department, you may or may not have to take a Kuwaiti driver's test. This all depends on how much "wasta" your company has. Wasta is like combining respect and prestige. Apparently our company has it, because I just had to take an eye exam.
This is where I tell you I have bad vision in my left eye. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20/70? Possibly worse. (I got in a fight, dude stuck his thumb in my eye. Whatcha gonna do?)
So. For the eye exam you sit in this chair and look at a mirror. The mirror is angled in such a way that it reflects to the eye exam chart directly above your head. The nurse has a clipboard and a stick. With the clipboard he covered my left eye and pointed to the letters on the line with a stick.
"E-K-L"
Good. Now he covers my right eye. I cant see squat on that line or the line above it.
I hear the stick click
"uh, M (click) R (click) O"
Good! Sign here. Your license will be delivered tomorrow
YAY!
(I looked afterwards. Those letters aren't anywhere on the chart)
The bad side is I went for a drive today and if the car is under 80deg C, it wants a very gentle roll into the throttle, otherwise it coughs. It also died once at idle.
Once it's warm I can stab and steer to my hearts delight. I think I'm going to check for vacuum leaks tomorrow morning.
Good times.
(If you're interested, insurance was $20 for a month and a half of liability coverage)
I LOL'd
Woo-hoo! Now you can actually drive it!
Title day today! (I took the day off work to get the title, and to have a washing machine delivered )
In preparation for title day, I thought I'd give that carb a go. I sprayed brake cleaner all over the place trying to find a vacuum leak but alas, there weren't any. It dawned on me that since this only happened when the car's coolant temp needle was at 80deg c or below, it was probably a problem with the cold start circuit.
Except I have no stinking idea how the cold start circuit works on this carb. Unlike any other carb there isn't an exposed choke butterfly anywhere! Good thing I have my trusty book and practice carb!
(Oh yeah, on "car insurance day" I bought a binder for my manual finally)
I figured I could just find the adjustment procedure in the "fuel" chapter, but I thought maybe there might be a quick and dirty description of how to adjust the choke here. The idea of the troubleshooting section is pretty simple, you read a description of a problem and it sends you to a lettered bullet point that tells you what to do to fix it.
I thought "Engine misfires, low speed", and "engine misfires on acceleration and fails to rev" would be good ones to go off of. From there I'd take the letters that were common between the two and go from there.
I don't think you're ready for this. Are you ready?
The letters the two faults had in common were "E-F-I"
Those Germans have a sick, sick sense of humor...
Ok enough with that. Lets go to the fuel section and see what it says:
The book is already off to a bad start with me because it is rather insistent that I have a choke cable (mine is an aqua choke). Then it goes on to say I should actuate the choke (via the cable) and then adjust some sort of stop until it is 1mm away from some arm. (photo'd below around the little letter b). I dont see any of this on my practice carb...
<img src="
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Instead I have an arm like one I'd expect to see on any other normal carb's automatic choke system. Mine has the aqua housing and bi-metalic coil removed already but I'm familiar enough with its operation that I can picture how it works.
Basically the bi-metalic coil spring pulls that arm to the right to actuate the choke. I can use my fingers for that part and just see what happens from there. So I push some slight pressure on the arm, blip the throtte, and...
That's when I notice movement in that little window! That must be where the choke magic happens!!
3-screws later:
Boom. There is the cam I was hoping for.
So there still isn't a butterfly or anything like in carbs I'm more familiar with, but at least I've found the part that makes the idle higher. It looks like the cam actuates the "fast idle" and the arm there threads out to increase or decrease the fast idle speed. This wont solve my cars coughing when I try to accelerate before it's fully warmed up but maybe this'll keep me from stalling while idling in traffic again.
Now I feel comfortable enough to tinker on the real deal so out to my car I go. Here's my starting point (I ended about 3/4 rich)
Unfortunately while in there I noticed the little piece of foam that was plugging what I think was originally a PCV port is missing in action (maybe one of those coughs blew it out? maybe it got sucked in?)
So out came the spare parts.
Unfortunately it's kind of picking the lesser of two evils. Both have ports that arent going to be used, both are cut to some degree, it's just a matter of which one I think is going to do what I need it to. Already I'm thinking of using my extra because it has room for clampage. Apparently whatever I put in next is going to need a bit more positive engagement than what it had before.
I made a plug by slicing down the center of a section of hose and rolling it into itself. It's not quite perfect but it's almost completely sealed. I used my last zip tie at the base to help squeeze it. I'll snag a couple more later today to finish it off. Then I installed the boot upside down to hide the gruesome patch. Easy money
Oh and thanks to a dropped screw, I found my foam! It's not in the engine, yay!!!
(for the record, that's the previous owners work. it's all his fault )
Good times
And the title...
I'm really hoping that sentence on the back part was just translated poorly
I think if you loosen the 3 screws that hold the choke assembly on, the round part that the hoses connect to, you can then slightly rotate the choke assembly and that will richen or lean the choke. The little brass bit in the window will move, there is a label there "rich with a arrow".
That's what i tried this morning to move it a bit richer. It didnt make much of a difference though. I may find myself canninalizing my spare... I'm beginning to think i might not have a fast idle cam installed in my current carb
Eid holiday weekend here. I'm off today and don't have to go to work until next Tuesday. Here's the battle plan:
Fans. That cold start problem turned into a drivability problem last night when I got caught in accident related traffic on the way home. The car is a bit overcooled with the electric AC fan and the belt driven fan. The temp went down to 85 deg c and the car lost its smooth idle, and coughed with too much throttle transition. This is not a place to stall a car in traffic
Passenger door lock. Has to be done. Could probably bring it inside during the hotter parts of the day to stay busy
That trans needs a little more adjustment. After driving a few days, I've found I still have to over travel a bit. If the car is going to overcool itself and idle rough, I need to be able to flip it into neutral and back to let me give it a bit of gas without moving. (a manual transmission swap would also work.
That cold start/ cold running problem. I'm touching in the right spot with that bimetallic coil but I haven't solved it yet. I'd like that sorted for reasons already mentioned.
Here goes!
Wait wait wait. I'm already getting ahead of myself. First, I went through a tank and a half of gas in two days. Along the way I was photographed (or recorded) driving down the highway, stopped once at an intersection by two kids in a crown vic asking me to sell the car, I got the windows tinted (30% all the way around), and I got a flat tire.
^ I haven't seen a tire machine like that since I was 16! I had an after school job at a used tire shop (Tire Dogs in Olympia) and that was the first machine I learned on
So there ya go. All caught up on the week's events!
Good times
I also locked myself out of the car at work...
But speaking of locks, I kind of hit a wall on the disassembly of my spare lock. I was trying to be as delicate as I could with the darn thing and progress kind of came to a halt. After work last night, I decided that the best thing I could do is pour a glass of blueberry wine and see what a complete lack of inhibition could accomplish 
The way I figured, I had another lock still in the car. If I broke/cut something I shouldn't then I'll just be more careful next time
Well, I got lucky and it worked. I went out to the car this morning and started taking her door and locks apart again:
All that stuff that required sawing and prying last night? Yeah, on the car they just kind fell into my hand... Hey, I'll take a win wherever I can get it!
So I had one last piece to gut on the new lock, stuck the good guts from the old lock in and ta-da! We had one complete assembly. I had to bend a few things to get it to actually unlock the door, and I'm not sure it's exactly going to last forever, but right now the door unlocks with the key. And I'm happy with that.
I have to run an errand requiring the car in a couple few so I'm kind of hesitant to do much else, but maybe I'll take a look at that transmission again...
Good times
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