Piston Slap: The E-Z Out for My BMW, Minivan

TTAC regular psarhjinian writes:

I just bought a E46 3-Series that needs some care (hey, it was cheap!) and snapped off both bolts holding the alternator to (I think) the oil filter housing. I’ve gotten the alernator off, but the last inch-or-so of the threaded section of one bolt is broken off. Thank you, BMW for using steel bolts in an aluminum block.

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Piston Slap: The Last Afghani Trail to Blaze
M.D.K. writes:

UNCLASSIFIED

I am currently at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan where I will often find myself motoring around the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in one of the last generation Chevy Trailblazers. It is the straight six variety and it has undoubtedly led a difficult life. My requirements are few however…pretty much I need something that can do 25 miles an hour or so and not strand me on the other side of the airfield. As a bonus, the Trailblazer has a working AC and radio. What it doesn’t have is the ability to do 25 or so miles an hour regularly and get me back from the other side of the airfield.

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  • Lorenzo I'd actually buy another Ford, if they'd bring back the butternut-squash color. Well, they actually called it sea foam green, but some cars had more green than others, and my 1968 Mercury Montego MX was one of the more-yellow, less-green models. The police always wrote 'yellow' on the ticket.
  • ToolGuy Some of my first cars were die-cast from pot-metal in 2 pieces: body-in-white plus chassis. I spray-painted some of them, the masking was a pain. The tires did burn realistically.
  • Vulpine Tesla has NOT said they're scrapping the Gigacasting process, but they have also said they wouldn't cast a one-piece body. The concept is to have a total of 5 main pieces: Nose clip, tail clip, 2 sides and belly. They're already using the first two and the sides are not necessarily going to be castings. The belly casting, however, is being delayed as the battery technologies are changing far too quickly to lock into any one fixed design as the battery packs themselves are currently consisting of at least three different types based on the cells being used within them. It's a matter of convenience for the company to let the technologies stabilize somewhat before locking in on a specific design.
  • MaintenanceCosts I've never prioritized color when looking for a car, but there are usually some colors (particularly bright reds and refrigerator whites) that I just won't accept.That said, one of my cars gets parked outside in a city environment, and it's silver, and that's good because silver does not complain too much when oxidized to he!l. The brown BMW is neat because there aren't many brown BMWs, and the green Legend is historically correct because the mid-'90s meant green.
  • ToolGuy • Black vehicles and dark interiors burn more petrol and are bad for the planet (look it up, I'm not gonna hold your hand on this one lol).• If your current vehicle was new when you took delivery, and you didn't get EXACTLY the color you wanted (blithely accepted what was foisted on you by the dealer), shame on you. You are the problem with today's franchise system. In future, please notify the dealer that your policy is to collect a Non-First-Choice Paint Upcharge in such a circumstance. I recommend $1200.• Also, fine-thread drywall screws (in wood) waste electricity (and time). When I am President of the Universe, fine-thread drywall screws will be banned in favor of the more environmentally- and wallet-friendly coarse-thread variety. (Again, you can work out the reasons but I am absolutely correct.)