TimmaC

my car (94 ford probe) has a suspension creak i assume. however i just changed the struts and strut mounts. the creaking only happens when weight is transfered forward and back, like when i push the gas harder or brake and it is only a few creaks as the weight transfers. i thought it would be fixed with the struts but it hasn't been. so what else could cause this?

i know it's sort of taken for granted that it's better to travel a constant speed, but why? i'm not talking about using the brakes though, just accelerating then coasting down (repeatedly). From a physics standpoint, shouldnt all things be equal? kinetic energy in the faster moving car equals further distance traveled right? this is assuming you are under the point at which air resistance starts increasing dramatically, so lets say 30-40 mph. I know that there is the hypermilling technique called pulse and glide but that involves turning off the engine, i'm not talking about that either. just want an explanation of the physics behind this.

I'm looking for a lower control arm for my 94 probe gt and all i can find are ones that say base, se and sometimes gts models. even autozone's suggested part for my vehicle is one that specifies it's for the base version. from the pictures they look nearly identical so i'm wondering if anyone knows for certain whether they are the same part.

all the cars i remember before about 2000 have the hazard/4way light switches on the steering column or otherwise unobtrusive location. now they're front and center on the dash. was there a law passed or something that changed this? why? did people not know where they were before? does this make them any more likely to remember to use them? (i doubt it)

I have a 1994 ford probe gt. for long time now, at least 6 months, i've been having a starting problem with my car. When it hasn't been on in about 20 minutes, The engine doesn't start unless i pump the gas and takes about 3-5 seconds to start. However, it's always started for me after hundreds of times. most of the time, though, after sitting for more than 5 or 6 hours it will start immediately with no gas pedal input at all, likewise when its been only a few minutes since i turned it off. the first 5 seconds of so of idle can be quite rough (sometimes it does stall back out but if it does it usually fires right back up) but after that, the engine runs perfectly, idling, cruising, or flooring it.

I changed the fuel filter a while back to no avail and have changed spark plugs (wires were already like new). The engine does burn some oil (i add 1 or a little more quarts per oil change), but that is normal i suspect for a 16 year old car. The oil and coolant do not mix and there is not white smoke from the exhaust (when it's warm that is, obviously you can see exhaust when it's freezing). The car used to give off a bit of blue smoke on startup but i haven't noticed this since the end of last summer. There is some oil which seeps into the wells that the spark plugs sit in which i think might come from the head gaskets. Is it possible that the oil that seeps into the wells leaks through the spark plug threads and makes them not fire until the engine has turned over a bit? the plugs look fine when i take them out though (the insulator and the electrodes are nearly perfect but the outer ring where the threads end generally have some oil on it, some cylinders pool more oil in the wells than others) so i dont know how valid this is. or maybe oil just leaks right into the cylinder where it pools a little until the first couple seconds of turning over have cleared it? this problem has perplexed most of the people i've talked to. I'd like to fix it but i dont really want to change the gaskets. The problem really doesnt have a detrimental effect and i've become quite used to just pumping the gas a few times to start. but if it is something moderately simple to fix i'd love to clear it up.

A couple of years ago, Popular science ran articles about an off the grid home that had a fridge that tunneled in cold winter air because it was in like north dakota where it is always cold. i've never been able to find a manufactured product like this. I live in W. NY where it's below freezing for the better part of 5 months. during this time i could feasibly never run my fridge. obviously i wouldn't want to put it outside so why hasn't anyone made a product like this? i'm sure they could make it cheap and easy enough to make it worth while.

i can't seem to find this specification in the manual, which to me seems dumb. i found somewhere that told me .044" and the plugs i've been looking at online come gapped to .04". i'd like to know for sure before i go and stick new ones in.

my car, which has always run perfectly smooth, has developed a stumble where the engine jerks (almost as if i was just pushing the throttle in and out in and out quickly) at low engine speeds from about 1500-2500 rpm. it seems to fade as i go past about 35 mph. it also does not cut out or anything past about 3000 rpm. i can floor it to redline (as long as i start above 2500) and it responds normally, maybe a little sluggish though. I've also had a starting problem for quite some time. when the car is dead cold (after sitting overnight at freezing temps) and when it has been sitting less than ten minutes, it starts perfectly. any other time i must give it gas to get it going. idle has also been a little rough lately when the engine is warm. it always starts though and has never failed me. i'm wondering what your ideas are on what it is. i was considering o2 sensor, fuel pump or injectors. i think the spark plugs are decent so i'm pretty sure those are not the problem.

I cannot find a fuse specifically marked as such in the cabin fuse panel or underhood panel and no fuses looked broken at a quick glance. i'm guessing i tripped it using a heater in it so i need to find and replace it so i can continue using it. Any incite would be much appreciated.

i am very eco conscious and i try to get the best gas mileage as i can with a car. Theoretically, would it be better for the environment if i was to buy a less efficient used car which otherwise would be bought by someone who doesn't drive as consciously as me. thereby forcing them to buy a more efficient car which would burn less fuel even with a more lead-footed driver. for example, if i get 20% better gas mileage than a normal driver and i have a car that is rated for 5 gallons per 100 miles (20 mpg) i'll use only 4.16 gallons per 100 miles (24 mpg). however if i have a car that uses 4g/100m (25mpg) i would use 3.33 g/100m. I save more by using the less efficient car. so would this actually be better for the environment?

The rear defroster on my 94 ford probe doesn't work. When i press the button a click is emitted from the rear of the car and the light turns on on the button but it doesn't defrost the window. it must not be the fuse then. I know that the rear hatch was replaced at one time on the car so maybe it isn't wired correctly? but why would it sound like it turns on? Also if i cannot fix it what kind of alternatives do i have that i can buy to defrost my rear window?

I mostly just need to know how to get the face plate off the center console. i need to know where any screws, etc. are located because i don't want to break anything.

while the air conditioning is on in your car the compressor must be turned by the engine. however, does turning down the fan speed on the a/c cause the compressor to do less work seeing as you are cooling less air or would it continue to work at its normal speed?

the main one is for the engine coolant i know but there is a slightly smaller one in front of it. it looks stock and it's smaller metal hoses run to a black cylinder near the back of the engine bay. i think maybe it's a transmission cooler? but i dont know why my engine would have one of those as its not like a super high performance car. but it's a manual and i was under the impression that manuals do not have transmission fluid

I have a 1994 probe gt with the 2.5L v6. I've owned it for about 2 1/2 months now. its always been a little reluctant to start after sitting for a few hours (curiously it usually starts immediately in the mornings) but recently its been getting worse. it now requires a small bit of gas to start from cold. in addition, oil consumption has been alarmingly high. i had to put more in the other day so i filled it half way between the low and high marks on the dip stick and three days later its almost down to low again. i'm almost positive it was burning little to no oil prior to the last couple weeks. I am thinking of replacing the spark plugs which, though they look good might be faulty. but i don't think that explains the oil consumptions. i'm worried that it could be valves or piston rings but the engine runs perfectly still once it starts and has idled for about 30 secs.