flyerjmr33

In today's engine manufacturing, the tolerances are so close and consistant that break-in as us old timers knew it is long gone. Just drive the car normally without sustained high speed for the first 500 miles and it will be broken in. If it makes you feel better to baby it and do an early oil change, the have at it. When I used to build an engine back in the late 50's, I would do several hard accelerations to 60, and then let the engine cool a while and do several more. That's all that was necessary to seat the rings. The same holds true for today's engines. Makes no differenceif you use Dino or Synthetic oil.

Yeah, don't trust Corvettes or Cadillacs that come from the factory with full synthetic oil! GM doesn't know what it's doing!

My speedometer reads one mph higher than my GPS at a steady 60. This is the most accurate speedometer I have ever had on a new vehicle!

If the problem can be fixed by flushing, that is much better than having the dashboard removed to replace the core. It's better because I prefer to NOT have a flat rate mechanic leaving out a few of the parts, creating some new rattles and creaks, and tying my vehicle up for a couple of days! I give high marks to Ford for handling this problem the way they have!

Harbor Freight has a sale going on for 2005 bright white HL bulbs. They are $5.99 each---soooooooo, I bought a couple of them and installed them in place of the stock high beams---- What a difference! They really are super white and bright! Unfortunately, they do not have any H-11 so it was off to the parts store for them. The Silverstars are not quite as white, but they do make a helluva difference. I also did a little adjusting of the aim-- raising it up from the stock adjustment. LET THERE BE LIGHT! :happy feet:

There's a rubber mat that fits into that recessed area on top of the dash--- Any Ford dealer will be able to get this for you.

First sight on the Venza and I thought it looked great--- I had a Toyota Sienna and hated the damn thing because there was no way for me to get comfortable on a long trip. The seats were very uncomfortable in comparison with my old Windstar. I did test drive the Venza and found it to be just as uncomfortable as the Sienna. The window ledge is too high, the door arm rest is too low, the center arm rest is a joke as is what they call a tilt & telescope steering wheel. I also looked at the Edge at the same auto show and after sitting in it for a couple of minutes, had to go drive it at a dealer. At the time I wasn't ready to trade, but I always plan a year or so ahead--- The Edge was very comfortable. Everything was the right height and in the right place and the price was a little easier to swallow. My last concern was how the dealer treated me--- The Toyota dealer was excellent--- but, after talking to the Ford dealer, so are they now! The only feature I liked better in the Toyota was the cruise control switches, but the Ford's are livable---

So, what will you buy? I've had the tire noise appear on my Toyota Sienna at 15K miles, My Hyundai SanteFe at 22K, a Ford Windstar at 30K--- and a friend who has a Cadillac at 23K--- all from a combination of being slightly out of alignment and not rotating every 5K. The tires can be salvaged if they have decent tread. Take them to a dealer who has a tire buffer. They will make them round and remove all the irregularities. Then get an alignment done. There are brands of tires that are more quiet than others. Check out Tire Rack-- they have a comparison table that will allow you to set up 4 brands for comparison. Lots of customer reviews to assist you in making a decision as to what brand is long lasting and quiet! http://www.tirerack.com/index_w.jsp

Back in '04, I installed a system on my Toyota Sienna. For the price, which was around 80 bucks, it worked fairly well. It consisted of a 12" bar that had the sensor in it and mounted in whatever convenient spot on the rear that you had. I used the tailgate just below the licnse plate because that eliminated having to run wires down to the bumper. I mounted the speaker for it on the inside top of the tailgate. That was a strain on my old deaf ears and probably should have taken the time to run the wires forward. It only had about a 5-6ft range. The power for it was the back-up lights which were in the tailgate. If I had it to do all over again, I would go with one of the inexpensive wireless reverse cameras, and there's plenty of room on the Edge dash for that. I don't remember the brand, but there are several available. It just matters as to how much work you want to do to install the thing. My 2cents worth--- :stats:

This may sound dumb, but when I had that problem some years ago it was caused by me throwing things up on the dashboard that covered up the eye that controls the lights on/off!

Those are cool looking--- but I would like some that are larger in diameter! If you are gonna be crazy like me, you gotta be noticed! :happy feet:

Edge wheels? 20" are only about $525 each----- My edge was a used car when I bought it-- a 2008 LTD. and had those wheels on it. Had there been a choice, I would have opted for the 18". I would much prefer the smoother ride over the small difference in handling. At my age, I don't play racing games anymore and going around a corner at rubber burning speed just doesn't happen. Now--- if I could just find a set of add-on spinners------ :shades:

If you fulfill the lease for the 1.6 years and then do the 22,000 buy, you will have paid 32782 for the vehicle--- I bought my '08 edge LTD for 23,000 out the door which included tax,title and registration, in September. Mine is FWD but has the 20"wheels like the one shown. It had 16,750 miles on it. Admittely, that is a pretty edge, but I think you could do better price wise. I also can find nothing wrong with the '08. There are a few here that are having leak problems with the AWD, but that seems to be a fixable problem. The Canadian dollar doesn't stretch as far as the US dollar, but it should go further than what you state. UNLESS---- 22,000 is the buy out right now!

Seems to me that he was posting some cost factors and being that you didn't specify exactly what he was lacking in knowledge it kinda left it open, didn't it?

According to the Kelly Blue Book trade in value. ---- You get $1025 more for the AWD than for the FWD using 35,000 miles and a north NJ zip code on an '08 model. That cost you approx. 1000 bucks for a 2 winter usage. You possibly could have attained 2 winters out of it by buying it just as the model year changed in '07.

Having grown up in NY and after living in Kansas City and Milwaukee, the only advantage of having AWD is that it will help to get you going but won't help you stop. I used to travel over 60K miles a year and have been in some really serious snow and ice conditions. All with rear wheel drive and never really had any problems as long as my driving was sane. Once or twice I let things get a little crazy and did some fancy skidding-- but never was stuck anywhere. When I got my first FWD car in '86, I thought I was in hog heaven in the snow. Each system has advantages and disadvantages. I think it's great that we have a choice and will not knock whatever someone else decides is best for themselves! :happy feet:

The TYC filters showed up in today's mail. It's hard to tell the difference between the OE filter and the TYC other than the fact that the TYC is clean! I ordered them last Thursday night and received them today! Excellent service and no need to spend big bucks on a filter that can be bought for a little over 5 bucks apiece including shipping! :happy feet:

There are conditions that render a battery a short life-- One big one is if the battery never ever receives a full charge. What happens is sulfation of the plates and a low cca reading. The other one is how you use the vehicle. Short trips in the heat of the summer or cold of the winter utilize high blower speeds which uses a lot of current. Even worse if done at night with headlights on and in heavy traffic. What happens is the battery is supplying current to all the heavy drain and in traffic, the engine rpm will never stay high enough to get the alternator output up above the current drain of the accessories. The third way is use of a tester that is doing a bad test on the battery. If there is no excessive electrical draw with everything turned off, check for one of the things I described. And---- get a second opinion from a different dealer. Hope things work out OK---

Thanks for all that information. I just ordered 3 of the TYC filters for $17.66 including shipping charges! I opened mine up tonight and it was as dirty as I've ever seen a filter. Bought the 2008 edge used with 17K miles on it --- guess no one ever looked at the CAF--- There's no reason for a small cheap looking filter like that to cost more than 5 bucks! So far I've had 3 vehicles with these rip-off filters and one day, I really got pissed off and made a few of them out of a large 6 buck furnace filter. Cut them to size and used tape for the edges. My Toyota Sienna never knew the difference! :happy feet:

A slight loss of water from your coolant mix is a normal thing. That's why they put the line on the reservoir jug. Towing a boat will certainly put a little more heat in the system and could well be the cause. Whatever it is, and a slight as it is, I wouldn't be too concerned as long as it's just a small amount and there is no sign of a leak. :D

Cutting up styrofoam is easy-- an electric knife costs about 10 bucks-- or perhaps find a model airplane builder to help you!

It wouldn't take much to hollow out the styrofoam that is in there now-----I've considered doing that to my '08 LTD. :happy feet: That would save a bunch of money. An electric knife (borrowed from your wife) allows you to work wonders with styrofoam!

Sounds like you are getting a typical idle speed rroughness from a new, tight engine. Give it a chance to loosen up. may take a thousand miles or so, and if the vibration is still there ask the dealer service department about it. At any rate, I wouldn't get too concerned with as few miles as you have on it.

Just to back you up, I'll throw in a success story about buckling up--- I had 12,000 miles on my '84 T-Bird-- It always drove a little funny and we just hadn't had the time to get it on the front end rack-- I was in the automotive equipment business---Rarely used the seat belt in this car. That night, it was raining and I decided to buckle up just in case-- was I ever right-- Crossing the Goethels Bridge and while in the 180 degree turn going on to the NJ turnpike, I hit a diesel fuel spill that had water on top of it. The car hit both sides of the NJ walls and when it finally came to a stop, there was not much left on the front end. The car was totaled! The only hurt I got was my hand had a small pain from the steering wheel impact. The seat belt and shoulder harness prevented me from getting hurt. I NEVER EVER ride or drive any car without buckling up-- reminder or not!! The reminder is for the passengers that forget-- I'll not move the vehicle till they are secured!

You did provide what I asked for and, as direct as I can say it. I STAND CORRECTED. Please accept my apologies