How to maintain your Delorean for less than $500 a year and put 10,000 miles on it

[stevedmc]

Bill Robertson may be banned for all time, but if he were here he would point out that even a brand new dust cap from Houston fits very loosely on the spindle cable. That is why he JB Welded his brand new dust cap before putting it into service, and it now fits very snugly.

[ccurzio]

Where does oil on your driveway go when it rains?

Oil doesn't go on my driveway since I lay down cover when I do an oil change.

Back when I DID get a nasty spill on my driveway, I sopped up the excess with shop towels and used clean-up granules to soak up the rest. I also disposed of all of the soiled stuff properly. (For free.)

I don't delude myself into thinking no oil got into the ground, but certainly far less than would have had I been doing it in the yard. So now I just lay down cover.

[Dangermouse]

Nope. I change oil in my back yard to prevent drips from getting on my driveway/carport.

It's easier to clean dirt.

I would just like to compliment Steve on posting the worst photo ever on either .com or .org. It looks like your oil stain is 6 feet behind the ramps, which is pretty impressive.

[stevedmc]

Oil doesn't go on my driveway since I lay down cover when I do an oil change.

Back when I DID get a nasty spill on my driveway, I sopped up the excess with shop towels and used clean-up granules to soak up the rest. I also disposed of all of the soiled stuff properly. (For free.)

I don't delude myself into thinking no oil got into the ground, but certainly far less than would have had I been doing it in the yard. So now I just lay down cover.

So where does the oil go when you dispose of or wash your rags.

[David T]

If the square shaft goes deeply enough into the cap it should not be loose. Tightening it up with some epoxy is OK, just do something so you do not glue the cap onto the shaft so you can disassemble things without breaking them in the future if necessary. I don't like using tape on the square shaft , it is kind of squishy, especially if it gets hot and gets messy. Turning the inner core by hand is not a great test of how tight or loose it is. When it is spinning fast it can get harder to spin. It can't hurt to lubricate the cable. I had a car that was eating angle drives and dust caps. It turned out to be some parts came loose in the speedometer head and were jamming it making it hard to turn.
David Teitelbaum

[ccurzio]

So where does the oil go when you dispose of or wash your rags.

Steve Rice's lack of a brain is preventing him from reading:

I also disposed of all of the soiled stuff properly. (For free.)

My local Autozone has a tank where you can dump off your used oil for recycling as well as a collection area for proper chemical disposal of soiled rags and towels.

[stevedmc]

Steve Rice's lack of a brain is preventing him from reading:



My local Autozone has a tank where you can dump off your used oil for recycling as well as a collection area for proper chemical disposal of soiled rags and towels.

Did your vehicle emit any pollution while driving to AutoZone?

[ccurzio]

Did your vehicle emit any pollution while driving to AutoZone?

Yes it did, and it was the same amount it would have been in either case since I go there to buy oil, and I recycle the old stuff when I go. And your argument is about to be cut off before you even attempt it because if "x" equals the amount of pollution caused by emissions and "n" equals the amount of pollution caused by oil spillage:

(x + n) > x.

I'd say nice try, but you never even got the chance.

[stevedmc]

Yes it did, and it was the same amount it would have been in either case since I go there to buy oil, and I recycle the old stuff when I go. And your argument is about to be cut off before you even attempt it because if "x" equals the amount of pollution caused by emissions and "n" equals the amount of pollution caused by oil spillage:

(x + n) > x.

I'd say nice try, but you never even got the chance.

Your math is all messed up.

[stevedmc]

Total expenses to date: $931.4432 Miles Driven: 9,446
Expense #1 (Radiator Leak) - January 7, 2012 - 44,079 Miles - Total Cost: $117.83 (including tax)
Expense #2 (Radiator Leak) - January 15, 2012 - 44,386 Miles - Total Cost: $7.40 (including tax)
Expense #3 (Replaced windshield wipers) - January 15, 2012 - 44,386 Miles - Total Cost: $17.54 (including tax)
Expense #4 (Oil Change) - January 21, 2012 - 44,643 Miles - Total Cost: $24.4616 (including tax)
Expense #4 (Reinstalled steering column bushing) - January 22, 2012 - 44,693 - Total Cost: $1.35 (including tax)
Expense #5 (bought coolant and water) - February 20, 2012 - 45,000 - Total Cost: $11.88 (including tax)
Expense #6 (replaced rear interior light) - February 23, 2012 - 45,500 - Total Cost: $31 (no tax and free shipping courtesy of Farrar)
Expense #7 (replaced heater control valve) - March 4, 2012 - 45,766 - Total Cost: $10.39 (including tax)
Expense #8 (bought more coolant/water) - March 7, 2012 - 45,766 - Total Cost: 23.65 (including tax)
Expense #9 (glued rear view mirror to windshield) - March 16, 2012 - 45,772 - Total Cost: $1.57
Expense #10 (604 Manifold and Shipping to Captain Carburetor) - March 22, 2012 - 45,840 - Total Cost: $179.65
Expense #11 (7mm Helicoil Kit) - March 23, 2012 - 45,840 - Total Cost: $49.25 (including tax)
Expense #12 (throttle cable) - March 23, 2012 - 45,840 - Total Cost: $4.20ish (I lost my receipt)
Expense #13 (new wire connector) - April 14, 2012 - 46,123 - Total Cost: $0.25ish (part was laying around)
Expense/Deduction #14 (removed 604 manifold/carb) - April 15th, 2012 - 46,200 - Total Cost: -$179.65 (selling it)
Expense #15 (installed new crimp on throttle cable) - April 16th, 2012 - 46,220 - Total Cost : $1.51 (including tax)
Expense #16 (alignment) - April 21, 2012 - 46,700 - Total Cost: Free (I have a lifetime alignment plan)
Expense #17 (reinforced black lip of binnacle with black screw) - April 21, 2012 - 46,725 - Total Cost: $2.32 (including tax)
Expense # 18 (installed adjustable alternator bracket) - April 24, 2012 - 46,873 - Total Cost: $55.90 (including shipping from McMaster)
Expense # 19 (front wheel balance) - April 26, 2012 - 47,002 - Total Cost $23.92 (including tax/fees)
Expense #20 (oil change) - April 29, 2012 - 47,238 - Total Cost $24.4716 (including tax)
Expense #21 (LCA Brackets from DMCMW) - May 2, 2012 - 47,461 - Total Cost $361.78 (including shipping)
Expense #22 (Shift Linkage) - May 5, 2012 - 47,640 - Total Cost $0.00
Expense #23 (Weather stripping glue, CB Radio, Cigarette Lighter, Fixed some rattles) - June 12, 2012 - 49,219 - Total Cost $2.50
Expense #24 (Filled coolant and replaced coolant tank cap) - June 14, 2012 - 49,920 - Total Cost $15.26
Expense #25 (Added washers and replaced LCA bolts) - June 16, 2012 - 49,930 - Total Cost $48.43
Expense #26 (Replaced ignition rotor) - July 13, 2012 - 51,256 - $11.98 (including tax)
Expense #27 (Oil Change and replaced distributor cap) - July 29, 2012 - 52,158 - $55.39 (including tax)
Expense #28 (r134a charge) - October 5, 2012 - 53,482 - $6.98 (including tax)
Expense #29 (redneck cruise control bushing) - October 6, 2012 - 53,517 - $5.44 (including tax)
Expense #30 (Third brake light and AC Belt) - October 6, 2012 - 53,525 - $9.23 (including tax and shipping)
Expense #31 (6 new intake O rings, 3 helicoils in intake valley, and emergency hood release cable) - October 11, 2012 - XX,XXX - $5.56


10-11-12
I installed 6 new intake O rings, put 3 new helicoils in my intake valley (I did one earlier this year and was too lazy to do the rest back then), and installed an emergency hood release cable.

The complete cost of the heli coil kit was included in expense #11 therefore I am not adding it in this report. Before I departed for my 2k mile trip I replaced my intake O rings and installed an emergency hood release cable. The hood release cable is just a wire connected directly to the latch. I estimate it was less than a dollar worth of wire but for the purpose of this thread I'll say $1. The O rings cost me a little over $18 (including shipping) from McMaster for a bag of 25. I'll round the cost of the bag up to $19 since I don't remember the exact total. This makes the cost 76 cents per O ring. Total cost for these expenses is $5.56.