Joe

I found on CL a Diamondback mountain bike with the WCF carbon fiber frame and a new (according to him) Rock Shox J4 front fork with lockout. It has normal cantilever brakes and nice tires. He also says that he never went offroad with it. It's a very nice burnt orange color. He is asking 300, and it seems to be in very good shape. It pretty much fits the bill as far as what I'm looking for. I'm starting to get into XC and I want a real mountain bike.

BUT

I can get a Dawes Haymaker 1500 (aluminum, disc brakes, high-end shimano stuff, and Rock Shox Dart2) for about $450.

In general, I'm trying to score a good hard tail. I don't even mind having a steel frame, but the Diamondback seems to be a very attractive find. Any thoughts appreciated!

I enjoy having the springyness of the front shocks during my trail rides, but I learned that they don't last long. My bike is already 10 years old, and there is no hope in replacing the elastomers (as far as I know). They still work great, but I'm afraid of the time when they do go south. Any way to care for them so they last longer?

My rear wheel has a very slight amount of play and can be moved side to side. it makes a "clunk" noise if i do it firmly. The Wheel still moves freely and it rides just fine, but the bike is about 9 years old. Should I repack the bearings on the rear wheel?

Since domesticated felines like cats like petting, do most or all other felines enjoy it? This includes larger cats such as lions, bobcats etc.. Has there ever been a study on such a thing?

No, I will not get the iphone.

I need a practical, durable phone. A man's phone. Kinda like the Casio G'Zone. I don't care about the bells and whistles, but I don't mind a good camera and mp3 capability if it comes on an already good phone.

Any suggestions appreciated

Thanks!

For the past 2 1/2 days I've been feeling really bad. I have a very sore neck, sharp pains in my back whenever I'm not sitting comfortably (it especially hurts when I bend over), and my stomach has been hurting as if I had a stomach ache. The pain in my stomach makes me a bit nauseous when I stand up for a few minutes. It's weird though, because it does not affect my digestive system at all and I've been having normal movements. My sides hurt at times, about where my kidneys are. I've been trying to drink plenty but the pain is there at random times. Also, at times I feel like I have a fever and become weakened (keeping me bed-ridden for a couple hours), but when I take my temperature, it shows no fever. Please let me know what you think of this, hopefully I've explained it well enough. I plan to go to the doctor tomorrow.

Thanks!

I have a lame 55mm throttle body on my 1990 Cherokee and want to bore it out a couple mm. I know a newer model intake fits but I have an EGR valve and it's not an option untill I rebuild the engine (won't be for a looong time). What are my options and where can I get this done?

I have some faded and stained aluminum rims on my Cherokee that are cramping it's style. I find it a bit of a waste of money to go with new rims (the factory ones are not that bad and they have the "JEEP" on one of the arms).

So how do I restore them to a nice shiny pretty state?

Alternatively, I may consider painting them (or parts of them). My XJ has the gray/red color scheme; any suggestions?

Thanks!

Is there really that much of a difference aside from cost?

And does it matter what kind of cables are used?

I don't have OBD-II so I can't use a scanner, nor do I have a check engine light and would like to know how to get error codes to tighten things up after the major repairs i made. Thanks.

I know they have a MAP sensor, but do they have an MAF?

I have 5 gallons of diesel fuel I need to get rid of. It's contaminated with oil, water, and some garbage so there is no way it can be used. I'm having a hard time finding a place to bring it. Anyone know what to do with it?

Thanks

Oh, and I live in the Middle Tennessee area

I got brand new Pacesetter header with ceramic ArmorCoat. They look great but form a bizarre yellow film on them whenever they're exposed to moisture. I washed the downpipe section 4 times and it kept coming back, although less and less every time. Any thoughts on this odd phenomenon?

This is on a Jeep 4.0

The factory ones have black coating, while the hardware store bolts have the yellow-ish coating. I hear that the yellow coating resists corrosion better. In any case, I'm going to coat them all with oil for long term protection. Also, there are two studs in the place of bolts at the first and last holes on the head. I was only able to find uncoated grade 5 bolts to install on them (they were metric and fine threaded). Is this acceptable? The bolts only torque to 23lbs.

What are your thoughts? Is there any difference whatsoever between these besides the coating? What are your thoughts about the Grade 5 bolts on the end studs?

Say if your vehicle overheats for only a few minutes and you fix it immediately, would damage have already occurred?

I'm in an aircraft welding class and I wanted to know the exact methods you employ (holding the torch, torch movement, placing the rod properly, torch heat, anything else in any situation) when you weld.

Experienced oxyacetylene welders please.

Thanks!