Who here knows shtein about cars?

[mussa]

my air filter is getting sorta dirty. its a basic toyota air filter. do you clean them, or do you just replace factory air filters as they get dirty?  i have no idea other than my 4 wheeler has a k&n and i clean it and lube it up and put it back in. real easy.

[SD_Eagle5]

Replace it, they're cheap

[mussa]

What about after market air filters? Is it worth buying one?

Also need new tires for my truck. I had BF Goodrich Rugged Trails on my Tacoma when I got it. Probably looking to get the same. Anyone go through costco for their tires? They have some benefits to it. I might also look into trying to find slightly used pair, calling around to like NTB. Costco quoted them at 145.99 including installation. They balance them and rotate for life, but they don't do alignment. Why would I run to costco to balance and rotate and then have to run to some other place to get them aligned? Curious to see if anyone got tires through Costco

[methdeez]

Totally off topic, but if you are ever going to break down, Mexico is the place man!
Wifey and I went for a two week Car-camping trip in Mexico this winter, as is our custom, in my '87 toyota Pickup.
Long story short, the car broke down on two separate occasions.

Two tows - one of 30 miles, on dirt roads and one of 50 miles on highwy, plus two stops at the repar shop - Total cost = $180.
That's value!

[mussa]

so i should drive to mexico to get tires?

[methdeez]

If your tires make it to mexico than yuo don't need new ones.

[Susquehanna Birder]

What about after market air filters? Is it worth buying one?

That reminds me: I have an aftermarket cleaner on my cold air induction tube, and the thing sits inside my one fender well. Because of the size of the thing, though, I'll need to reach up from the wheel well to change the thing. I'm not looking forward to having to wrestle with that damned thing.

[Diomedes]

What about after market air filters? Is it worth buying one?

Also need new tires for my truck. I had BF Goodrich Rugged Trails on my Tacoma when I got it. Probably looking to get the same. Anyone go through costco for their tires? They have some benefits to it. I might also look into trying to find slightly used pair, calling around to like NTB. Costco quoted them at 145.99 including installation. They balance them and rotate for life, but they don't do alignment. Why would I run to costco to balance and rotate and then have to run to some other place to get them aligned? Curious to see if anyone got tires through Costco

First thing I do when I get a new vehicle is buy a K&N air filter.  Stock air filters are crap...it's an easy place to cut costs at the factory.  Ditch that paper thing and get yourself a K&N.  And since you're already used to the cleaning/oiling routine from the maintenance on the ATV, you're golden.

Regarding tires, we bought our last set of tires from Costco and take full advantage of their rotate/balance feature.  Balancing isn't really needed more than when you first put the tire on the wheel, unless you throw a weight, so really all they're doing is rotating the wheels, but hey better them than me.  I don't have a car lift.  Regarding alignment, that's not something you should have to do often...certainly not as often as you rotate the wheels, and furthermore, rotating the wheels does not affect alignment.  The nice thing about the Costco arrangement is that she can get the rotation done while she shops. 

[MadMarchHare]

Haven't gotten the quote yet, but we decided to ditch the old beast.  Donate it to a local charity.

Besides, Abbott cut deals with all the US car companies, so a new one won't be so brutal.
I'll drag it on with the mechanic, just to find out what happened though.

[MadMarchHare]

farging mechanics.  I told them on THREE separate occassions I needed a quote before work could start, and now they're all pissed off because they ordered the parts.  What. The. farg.  So now I gotta drive all the way the farg back there to figure this shtein out.  Who the farg gives blank check authority to a mechanic?  Criminals.

[Geowhizzer]

farging mechanics.  I told them on THREE separate occassions I needed a quote before work could start, and now they're all pissed off because they ordered the parts.  What. The. farg.  So now I gotta drive all the way the farg back there to figure this shtein out.  Who the farg gives blank check authority to a mechanic?  Criminals.

They're pissed off?  To damn bad for them - they shouldn't even have to be told.

[mussa]

What about after market air filters? Is it worth buying one?

Also need new tires for my truck. I had BF Goodrich Rugged Trails on my Tacoma when I got it. Probably looking to get the same. Anyone go through costco for their tires? They have some benefits to it. I might also look into trying to find slightly used pair, calling around to like NTB. Costco quoted them at 145.99 including installation. They balance them and rotate for life, but they don't do alignment. Why would I run to costco to balance and rotate and then have to run to some other place to get them aligned? Curious to see if anyone got tires through Costco

First thing I do when I get a new vehicle is buy a K&N air filter.  Stock air filters are crap...it's an easy place to cut costs at the factory.  Ditch that paper thing and get yourself a K&N.  And since you're already used to the cleaning/oiling routine from the maintenance on the ATV, you're golden.

Regarding tires, we bought our last set of tires from Costco and take full advantage of their rotate/balance feature.  Balancing isn't really needed more than when you first put the tire on the wheel, unless you throw a weight, so really all they're doing is rotating the wheels, but hey better them than me.  I don't have a car lift.  Regarding alignment, that's not something you should have to do often...certainly not as often as you rotate the wheels, and furthermore, rotating the wheels does not affect alignment.  The nice thing about the Costco arrangement is that she can get the rotation done while she shops. 

Yea a buddy explained the whole alignment thing to me last night. Costco seems like the way to go. I'm sick of taking my truck someplace to do simple shtein like oil, fluids, air filter, brake pads. I want to do it myself. My dads got a big garage and equipment to do it. I enjoy working and learning about the quad, why not my truck. Any ideas how many miles you should clean the air filter? Clean it with every oil change? Atv's don't really go by miles...more like hours...then its still a estimated guess. I clean it every month when riding in summer due to amount of dust and riding it every weekend and at least once a week.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

MMH,
Did you declare it dead? This might not be to pricey, or even too hard to do yourself on the cheap. Let me know what you did. Hell, let me know if you are going to donate the beast, I'll give you the cost of the repair for the title.