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Old 07-26-2016, 02:09 PM   #41
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$50 for filters? Are they high performance type like a K&N? Does anyone have anything to say about high performance filters, are they worth the extra$$$?
I'd never pay $50 for air and cabin filters. The last time I bought filters, they were $12 each on Amazon.
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Old 07-26-2016, 02:11 PM   #42
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Used to own a VW and it had a belly pan under the engine compartment. It was always too much work to get the car up on ramps and drop the belly pan so I would try and do what I could from the top even if it was more difficult. Inevitably whenever I worked on something from the top I would drop a tool or a screw and it would find the most inaccessible point to hide out in and I would end up having to take the pan off anyways.

Nowadays I have a good local shop that takes care of the work I don't want to do. My son is a mechanic so I have him do things if he wants to and pay him what he would make at work.

I used to always have to check things out after I had work done at a dealership. I've found oil filters not changed, oil caps missing, various nuts and bolts missing or not tightened back up. I once had to have the transmission replaced on my truck after it ate itself at less than 40k miles following some routine service done at the dealership. My son and I crawled under the truck to check things out after we got it home and found the main frame member that held the transmission up had all four bolts just threaded in finger tight. Also several of the wire harnesses were routed wrong such that they were stretched tight and would have pulled right apart after a short while.

My favorite story was when my son was first starting out working in a dealership and he was changing the tranny fluid in his VW manual transmission during his off time. He had dutifully drained the fluid and decided that the inspection port on the clutch bell housing was where you filled it back up. So he carefully pulled the little rubber plug out of the hole and filled up his clutch housing with four quarts of tranny fluid. He was the subject of some good natured ribbing from his coworkers after it all ran out onto the garage floor! 😁 And he was one of the mechanics fixing people's cars! That clutch never was quite right after that!

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Old 07-26-2016, 02:36 PM   #43
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Sometimes I have parts leftover....

The latest thing staring at me is a complete Rochester Quadrajet that I picked up at an antique swap meet for $5. Sure, there are Youtube videos, books, and web forums on how to rebuild this baby, but if I did that I'd have to buy a car for it.

No, those days are over for me. Maybe I can just polish it and use it as a yard ornament.


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Old 07-26-2016, 03:03 PM   #44
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The entire experience was a scam to create work for their dealership at my expense. I only hope others on this forum are savvy enough to know better, or at least can learn a bit from this attempted rip off.
Wow, just WOW! Good job of warding off the scam artists!

Maybe the dealer "experts" don't know that gasoline is a pretty good solvent and it just keeps fuel injectors clean as it passes through them. And it has special detergents in it to do so!
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Old 07-26-2016, 03:33 PM   #45
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The entire experience was a scam to create work for their dealership at my expense. I only hope others on this forum are savvy enough to know better, or at least can learn a bit from this attempted rip off.
The service techs are all pushed hard to sell service. When they get a car to work on they are expected to find something else that needs to be done. Some of the dealer's where my son has worked give the service techs a bonus each week based on what types of service they have "sold". I do feel sorry for those that don't know any better.

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Old 07-26-2016, 03:53 PM   #46
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You can find independent test reports on K&N filters vs. OEM ones and the results do not favor the K&N.

One more thing about K&N is that the filter mesh requires a periodic "oiling" WITH ONLY their oil. Most folks don't know that. If you over oil (spray on) the oil, there is a good chance you will screw up your Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor which is in the path to the engine intake. Messing that up will sometimes throw a "check engine light" and/or cause poor engine performance. A new MAF can be hundreds of dollars if it can't be salvaged through solvent cleaning. Want to take a chance?
I can report to the OP that K and N makes both these filters for your CRv. I clean the air filter about once a year. I think instructions claim they only need to be cleaned every 50k. I haven't bothered to clean the K&N cabin filter. It's fairly new. The blower does blow considerably more air thru now.

RE Aja's above comment. I was curious about K and N, so I experimented with them on my 76 Monte in 2010. I saw an increase in gas mileage and improved horsepower. I liked it enough I replaced the filters in my other cars (93 Ford truck, 2003 and 2012 CRvs). Newer cars did not see an increase in MPG. I suspect modern electronics vs the Monte's carburetor took care of that. Did feel an increase in power.

Oiling and cleaning is easy. I've had no problems. Importantly, they also will last the life of my vehicles.

I save money on filters in the long run, and waste less environmentally. In some cases I get improved performance.

I'm a satisfied customer.
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The attempt ....
Old 07-26-2016, 04:56 PM   #47
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The attempt ....

To clarify
It was $50 for both the normal air filter and the cabin filters (there are two that sit side by side)
I did a little research and it it appears the two air cleaner assemblies I need would be $130. Apparently the problem I had with the seized bolts is common. What a pity no one thought to put a drop of anti seize on the bolts when they replaced them. Maybe they wouldn't I would need both parts today.


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Old 07-26-2016, 05:52 PM   #48
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I am a huge fan of anti seize as long as it's not a torque critical bolt.
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Old 07-27-2016, 06:48 AM   #49
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Took a leap of faith and ordered a air filter assembly $170...


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The attempt ....
Old 08-04-2016, 08:21 PM   #50
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The attempt ....

Got an email yesterday that the parts finally shipped (upper and lower air cleaner assemblies) before I try to remove anything the bolts are getting a healthy helping of penetrating fluid at least an hour before... And anti seize on the upper unit bolts when I finish (I say that with cautious optimism)


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Old 08-04-2016, 08:51 PM   #51
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There are several things that absolutely need attention on a schedule - these are pointed out in the owners manual (oil/filter, trans flush/change/ coolest flush/change, etc.) Things that Jiffy lube and other shops tend to push (air filters, etc.) generally either work or you notice degradation of performance or fuel mileage. I changed an air filter after 60+K miles and the Jiffy lube guy said I needed a new one the next time I went in. I laughed in his face.

I no longer do much maintenance because I no longer like crawling under a car and getting dirty. Stuff like burnt out bulbs, wiper blades, etc., I go to AutoZone or similar and they help or do it themselves once I purchase. For big stuff (for me) like brakes, I use a quality independent shop who has always been fair (not cheap, though.) I know brakes are "easy" but I just don't like doing that kind of stuff any more and I got rid of almost all my tools. YMMV
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Old 08-05-2016, 05:10 AM   #52
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I have a defective mechanical gene but still managed to do a few simple maintenance procedures (points, plugs, valve adjustment, and oil change with an occasional minor repair) when I owned an aircooled VW many years ago. They are long gone and my old bones aren't up to wiggling on concrete anyway.
Now I take my Escape into the dealer for oil changes but that may change. Has anyone had experience with this Fumoto drain plug? If they are a good product/idea I may try doing my oil changes again.

https://www.fumotooildrainvalve.com/

http://www.fumotousa.com/about-fumoto-valves.php

Cheers!
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Old 08-05-2016, 06:30 AM   #53
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I have a defective mechanical gene but still managed to do a few simple maintenance procedures (points, plugs, valve adjustment, and oil change with an occasional minor repair) when I owned an aircooled VW many years ago. They are long gone and my old bones aren't up to wiggling on concrete anyway.
Now I take my Escape into the dealer for oil changes but that may change. Has anyone had experience with this Fumoto drain plug? If they are a good product/idea I may try doing my oil changes again.

https://www.fumotooildrainvalve.com/

About FumotoŽ Engine Oil Drain Valves | FumotoŽ USA

Cheers!
Seems like all modern cars go long enough between oil changes that you always change the filter at the same time. If you still need to crawl around to get to the filter, I don't see much advantage to a valve in place of a plug.

Am I missing something?

-ERD50
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Old 08-05-2016, 09:21 AM   #54
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There are several things that absolutely need attention on a schedule - these are pointed out in the owners manual (oil/filter, trans flush/change/ coolest flush/change, etc.) Things that Jiffy lube and other shops tend to push (air filters, etc.) generally either work or you notice degradation of performance or fuel mileage. I changed an air filter after 60+K miles and the Jiffy lube guy said I needed a new one the next time I went in. I laughed in his face.

I no longer do much maintenance because I no longer like crawling under a car and getting dirty. Stuff like burnt out bulbs, wiper blades, etc., I go to AutoZone or similar and they help or do it themselves once I purchase. For big stuff (for me) like brakes, I use a quality independent shop who has always been fair (not cheap, though.) I know brakes are "easy" but I just don't like doing that kind of stuff any more and I got rid of almost all my tools. YMMV


The kids will have to pry my tools out of my cold, dead hands before I get rid of them!
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Old 08-05-2016, 01:10 PM   #55
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Seems like all modern cars go long enough between oil changes that you always change the filter at the same time. If you still need to crawl around to get to the filter, I don't see much advantage to a valve in place of a plug.

Am I missing something?

-ERD50
I can understand that being a problem if the oil filter on your car is in a hard to get to location. Fortunately in my case the oil filter is centrally located a few inches back from the front bumper and angled straight down. I have never seen a filter so easy to access. I can sit on a stool and reach under the bumper to twist it off. Since the Escape sits off the ground a little higher than a regular sedan I won't need to jack the car up. The Ford engineers got this one right.
Still wondering if anyone has experience with the Fomoto oil drain valve.

Cheers!
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Old 08-05-2016, 05:17 PM   #56
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Has anyone had experience with this Fumoto drain plug? If they are a good product/idea I may try doing my oil changes again.

https://www.fumotooildrainvalve.com/

About FumotoŽ Engine Oil Drain Valves | FumotoŽ USA

Cheers!
Yes, I have, it worked fine. It was on my 2003 GMC pickup and I never had any issues with it, not a drop leaked. Since I don't change oil anymore I put the original plug back in. The plug has a magnet in it to attract and hold metal shavings and the fumoto does not. I bought the fumoto after I changed the oil on a gusty day and a hard gust of wind blew a spray of oil all over me and everything else. Note to self: don't change oil on windy days. But with the fumoto I could attach a drain hose and drain directly into the used oil container.

Actually I had bought two, one for my truck and one for the then Buick, but the car had some bend in the oil pan near the drain that prevented me from screwing it all the way tight.
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Old 08-06-2016, 02:19 PM   #57
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As a female I have to be wary about taking my car in. When I was young just after college, I know I was ripped off once, though didn't know it originally. The owner of the shop I had just had my car repaired at came into the restaurant where I worked and started telling me how I should bring my car back in as he needed to complete some thing on my car. I think he felt guilty that he "cheated" what he now saw as a poor waitress. (What he didn't know was this was a second job to earn the down payment for my first home!) He had never called be to tell me he needed to finish my car, so that is why I say he felt guilt when he saw my waiting tables.

I did take it in like he asked. I am not sure what he did to ease his guilt, but it taught to question repair needs in the future. Hard, but good lesson.

Just recently I took my 12 year old Jag in with only 52,000 miles on it for service. The manager of the shop had changed. They called me said I needed almost $2200 in work. I had them list it all out and price each thing. Some made sense, some didn't. The most expensive one sure didn't. They tried to tell me my air conditioner was blowing hot air. As I had just run the AC on the way to the shop I knew that was incorrect, so no I don't need the AC repaired. That has been over a month ago and it still works. Not sure I would fix it on a 12 yo car. AC isn't that important to me. The AC went out on my last car before I sold it at 10 yo.

I guess I will to find a new place. I hate having lost a shop I trusted and it was close to work. Of course when I finally stop OMM and retire, that won't be a consideration.
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Old 08-06-2016, 04:08 PM   #58
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Wal*Mart has a bare bones oil change deal---$19.88 for 5 qts QS, Fram oil filter and tire/battery test. Good deal if you don't require the high grade oil.
I priced out the oil and filter over the counter and it was almost exactly the same which means the labor is free.
As someone mentioned earlier, the DIYers can save by buying filters at Amazon.
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Old 08-07-2016, 06:24 PM   #59
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Wal*Mart has a bare bones oil change deal---$19.88 for 5 qts QS, Fram oil filter and tire/battery test. Good deal if you don't require the high grade oil.
I priced out the oil and filter over the counter and it was almost exactly the same which means the labor is free.
As someone mentioned earlier, the DIYers can save by buying filters at Amazon.
Good deal if you watch them like a hawk. They forgot to put a cap back on on DD's car at the time. I think it was the power steering cap. Went back the next day and the cap was gone. I expect they threw it away. (What else would you do with left over parts?)
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Old 08-07-2016, 07:44 PM   #60
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I have changed my oil in my vehicles for over 40 years; most all made it over 250,000 miles. The ones that didn't,were either sold or wrecked prior to.

The only time I ever let someone change my oil was after a w$rk transfer to a new state. Free oil change coupon from the Welcome Wagon. Two weeks later, it blew a head gasket on a trip back to the old homestead. $5000.00 for new engine replacement.
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