Don't use dish soap to wash your car...

All this time I was raised in a family that would grab the dish soap to wash the car.

Don't do it.

Buy some inexpensive (and boy is it really cheap at Walmart, like couple bucks) concentrated car wash which you can use a cap full (or two, read the bottle) for an entire bucket of suds.

It will make your car cleaner, faster, and will help the clear coat and paint look nice for longer.  Your car is many times the second highest payment you have next to your house.  For some of us, it is more than our house payment.  Think about that while you are dumping the dish detergent into that washing bucket....dumb thing to do.  You want her to last and stay pretty buy her the proper things she needs to stay that way.

And because I see so many people doing this the wrong way...I'll make a quick guide...

How to wash a car:

There are two rules which people argue over.  Windows and tires, first or last?  I do them last.  Why?  Because if I mess up and make a mess I get to rewash a section of the car and make it even cleaner.  If you do the tires and windows first, you will end up re-doing them or in the very least re-coating or re-drying them so why not just save them to the end, and if you get a little tire cleaner on the corner panel you have an excuse to wash it again...so I am of the "save the windows for the end, and the tires for the last" group.  That really comes down to personal preference and ALSO plays into whether you use a tire shine.  Because I do, I like to treat the tires last and make them really shine.  Be ashame to get the tires all shiny and then gorram screw over that job with some car washing...(if you like Firefly you'll get my slang, if not, forgetaboutit.)

FIRST: rinse the entire car....the whole thing.  Use a spray wash if you have one but don't keep it is one spot as you will hurt the paint.  Start at the top and work your way around and down.  Get all the grim and mud and other debris (which will scratch if you wash with it on the car) off the paint with spray water first.

SECOND:  Wash in sections.

[wrong way:  My family history is "soap the whole thing down, let it sit for a minute while you drink a cold one, then rinse it off."]

1. Of course by that method the car has dried a lot and it is not optimal at all.  THE RIGHT WAY is to do the car in sections.  Top of the car...wash it, then rinse it toward the back and/or sides (keep that grime off your front car hood is my key point here).
2. Rear trunk lid of car...wash it, then rinse it toward back.
3. Front hood of car (the "most important to look good") wash carefully and thoughly....rinse it from windscreen toward front of car.
4. Front passenger corner panel...wash it good, then rinse it.
5. Front bumper area...wash it good, then rinse it.
6. Front driver corner panel...wash it good, then rinse it.
7. You can cheat and do both passenger doors at once if you don't have a real dirty car and then rinse both. IF the car is dirty or it has been awhile, take each and ever door by itself.  Don't forget the door jams.  Yeah, get the water away from that door and open it and clean the trim.  Have a "not going to touch the paint" rag there to do them.  These get debris and small pebbles and other stuff you just don't want on your wash cloth, the cloth that "is going to touch the paint."  I buy two toilet bowl scrubbers (one for tires outside that never sees a toilet, one for inside to use for the real purpose).  Some people use the "softer" type toilet brush on the whole wheel (rim and rubber tire).  I'm guilty.  Not the best thing to do as you CAN scratch your rim.  So don't do it because I do, follow at your own risk.  I have never scratched a rim with my soft bristle toilet brush but you might.  Now, I've scratch a rim on a curb, but that is another story entirely. 
8. Then the front bumper area...wash/rinse, then the side panels again if they need it, wash/rinse, then the back corner panel passenger side...wash/rinse, then the driver back corner panel....wash/rinse, and finally the rear bumper area...wash/rinse.
9. Make sure your gas cap is on and on really good.  Using a cloth you don't want to ever use on your  paint again (or will take the time to wash out exceptionally good) wash out the gas tank fill area and lightly spray off the soap.  Lightly...you don't want water in the tank.  Don't use pressure washer for this part in case your cap doesn't seal as tightly as it once did.
10. Next we give the whole car a good and full over-all rinse.  If you have purchased a "spot free rinse" now is the time to use it.  I don't use it because I hate the film it leaves behind and also I plan on wiping down the whole car anyways, so no spots could form if they wanted to.
11. Next do the windows.  Pay special attention to NOT using Windex with ammonia if you have tint on your windows.  Use something mild....even a wet rag with nothing but water and some "elbow grease"....but whatever you do don't put anything with ammonia on your tint.
12. Lastly I do tires....rinse them real good even up in the wheel wells...wash them real good with some Comet (don't get it on your rims). A good washing rinse, not just letting water flow but put a rag and rub them while rinsing to get the dirt and grim from the grooves.  Then some Armor All product of your choice on them to make'em shine.
13. Stand back and take an overall look.  If something isn't clean go do it again.  If ANY tire cleaner or product that doesn't belong got even the slightest bit on your paint...get it off now...rewash/rinse/dry.

You should now have a very beautiful car...and as my Papawl and Deddy always told me "a clean car just rides better."

A list of good stuff and product companies:

     http://www.armorall.com/ (the greatest car care company on the planet can't go wrong it seems)

     Blue Coral WC102 Concentrated Car Wash. 20 oz. (cheap and works, enough said)

     SOFT bristle toilet brush--use only on the tire not the rim or "at your own risk."

     A good shop vac (wet and dry preferably), if not you can always steal your wife's like I do now.

Some good washing rags....and to be honest an old T shirt is great for this.  I know sponges have really started to become a fad but the first small pebble you get in your sponge that leaves a long line in the clear coat that you have to polish out for over an hour...you'll throw that sponge away.

     A moderate sized bucket.  Back at home we always used the huge five gallon jobs.  A pain to use and work in "sections" and probably why my Dad didn't do it.  Get a small or moderate sized bucket that you don't mind keeping with you so you'll do it right.

     GEORGIA PACIFIC 29985 Disposable Shop Towels

     As funny as this might sound, newspapers clean glass real well with Windex IF you DO NOT have TINT on them.  If you do have TINT, find another way to clean them or just use a wet lint free cloth.

Happy Car Washing...to those of you with black cars...we salute you!

E85 eat me...we are being robbed.

So I decided that Victor (yeah, I name my car) might want to try out a different drink.  He's been running like a champ on 87 octane since I got him.  We were on a family trip and down in "south kakalackie" (South Carolina) and their gas is cheap...then I realize they have E85 at the station which is "even cheaper."  I put it in the tank and we drive down.

When we got back I decided to continue the "low price" E85 gas and found a shop in Charlotte off Woodlawn Rd that had it (and about the only place that had it actually).  I proceeded to do two more tank fulls.

Here is the result: it cost me more money.

When you take into account I have to make a special drive over to Charlotte (time / mileage investment), that the price is only around 0.25cents cheaper per gallon, and the mileage reduction is between 4 to 5 miles per gallon...it costs more.  E85 burns longer (reduced efficiency), makes gas have a longer burning curve (any gas in the tank becomes less effective), and thus can reduce gas mileage more than 10%.  There is anecdotal evidence of even higher mileage loss in non Flex Fuel vehicles.  My vehicle is Flex Fuel and the reduction was from around 21mpg to 14.9mpg.  Doing the math I came up with that E85 had to be around 0.30cents cheaper to save me money and taking into account it was "out of my way" to get it, there is zero savings.

Now on to what it is doing to you.  Many pumps now have 10% ethanol.  E10.  This ethanol is reducing YOUR mileage if you use it.  You are burning more gas because it causes gas to have a worse mileage rating. You are paying the same for the product, the same tax per gallon, and being ripped off without even knowing that you are.

Now for some important facts:

1. It can take over 1,700 gallons of water and a gallon of gas to produce one gallon of ethanol.  This increases our dependency on foreign fuels and does not reduce it.
2. When you take into account E10 (and how it is reducing the mileage of "normal" gas) you can see it is a failure in absolute.
3. Corn is mostly used to make ethanol removing a food crop to produce a less than ideal fuel which makes our cars have worse gas mileage and costing us more money.
4. Ethanol would never exist without Government subsidies because it is so cost ineffective.
5. You are NOT being "green" when you use it.  You are taking food out of people's mouth, burning a very inefficient fuel, and falling prey to hype more than taking actual mileage readings and seeing for yourself that you are getting bent over at the pump.  The "cost per gallon" is meaningless when you look at the actual "cost per mile."

So, save yourself and check the label.  Get what you pay for and attempt to stay away from E85 and even the 10% blend as best you can.  Some states have mandated that all gas be mixed with 10% and you can not get away from using this garbage.  Just know in those states you are paying the same (or more) for less mileage.  You are helping to keep this lie alive and allow special interest groups to cause hurt to our environment, usage of a food product as an ineffective fuel, and furthering our dependence on foreign oil.

I hate you E85...because you are a lie that has been dressed up in the "green" idea which is so far from green it is crazy that any of us have fallen for this lie.

WRITE YOUR CONGRESS PERSON.

EATC Electronic Automatic Temperature Control Unit repair

The EATC Electronic Automatic Temperature Control Module:

...is a know issue with the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, Mercury Marauder, and Lincoln Town Car. Ford should have fixed this wide spread issue and done a recall a long time ago, and they just got lucky that enough squeaks haven't been in the wheel to get this thing fixed right for free. In a nutshell, Ford (or a supplier to Ford) used crappy o-rings:

...in the thing which wear out early in many cases and cause a failure.

That failure's symptoms are you drive along and the air conditioner moves to the defrost under acceleration and to the floor under deceleration. At idle it may go defrost/floor or return to vents at times. The problem causing this is a vacuum leak within the EATC module itself which in turn is caused by these (in my opinion) limited life "faulty" o-rings.

The way to test if this fix is for you, is by simply unhooking the vacuum nozzles under-neath the dash,

...placing a tube where the black hose is, and suck. Does it hold a vacuum? If so this is for you, if not, it might be something else.

You have a few options:

1. Pay Ford around $600 bucks to get a new EATC put in (parts and labor even more, I've heard upwards of $900, ouch!).

2. Have a rebuilt one put in (anywhere from $200 to $400) and labor even more if you can't install it yourself.

3. Exchange yours on Ebay (risky? if not a high rating number for the guy) and then put it in yourself.

OR...

4. Do the repair to your current EATC yourself.

I got a GREAT write-up online from:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36922&highlight=eatc

...by an author named JACook. He's a genius. The problem is the o-rings inside the thing. Gotta get the EATC out and take it apart and replace the bad "lowest bid" O-rings.

I got my replacement parts [ o-rings Silicone #007 Pk/10 5/32" ID x 9/32: OD 1/16" WIDE. PART #: ORS-007-10. Itchg #: ORS-077-10. Mer: 018402-01. ] from Amazon.com SMALL PARTS, Inc. (800)-220-4242. They got here in two days (paid extra for fast shipping) and I think it was around $13 which most of that was because I paid for two day shipping.

The T20 Torx screwdriver was around $6 bucks.

The silicone lubricant,

...die-electric grease,

...and some normal tools you probably already have were around $15.

As you can see, nothing close to $400 to $900.

It can be scary if you don't know what and where to do but in all honesty it was quite easy and the satisfaction of doing it yourself is always fun. And of course keeping the $400 to $900 in my pocket and not in Ford's is also a great thing.

Let's get started, I took a lot of photos to walk us through.

First thing is removing the dash panel...pull gently moving up and down and side to side (wiggling) the panel to get it to come loose. Slow, gentle, firm. Don't be harsh it isn't needed and you'll break a support:

More removing of panel (note wiring in this photo is of the rear window defroster switch and in center the trip/reset/select switches have been unhooked already):

More dash panel removal photos:

Airbag light connector reverse view:

Airbag connector normal viewing angle:

Four bolts to remove, sorry I do not know the actual size as everything I had didn't fit them and I had to use pliers. Ugh.

Right Side of EATC:

Left Side of EATC:
Decoupling the vacuum tubes below (passenger side lower dash in foot well area left side) area:

You may or may not have to remove the passenger side plastic cover to get at this and I will say it made it very easy to get to if you do remove the passenger foot plastic guard.

Vacuum coupling while it is together:

Vacuum decoupled (don't take apart individual tubes from the main decoupler, you'll break them and/or rip off the tips) be gentle and pay attention there are two hooks (one on each side) holding them together:

Below you see me GENTLY pulling the vacuum tubes up from bottom and out main dash opening:

What EATC looks like when out a bit with wiring still attached at back and vacuum tubes moved to the right:

Unhooking the wiring harness from back of EATC (SPECIAL NOTE black is on left, gray on right with the EATC facing you):

Both wiring hookups removed from back of EATC:

EATC removed:

EATC inside and on a "highly visible towel" so I don't loose parts:

Another view:

Close up rear view of EATC you can see the two T20 Torx screws on each side which need to be removed:

Removing the Vacuum assembly from the EATC do not pull the vacuum assembly too far away there is a wiring hookup to be unhooked:

Touch something metal (to remove static from yourself) then detach the wiring inside the EATC which links the vacuum assembly to the inner control board (try not to touch the board at all):

This is what you are left with after the vacuum assembly has been removed and what we have been after all along and note the screws removed in upper left corner:

Two following photos showing the eight outer screws removed on the vacuum assembly. This shows the removal of the inner / center two screws with the small metal plate:

Now we remove the vacuum assembly from the plastic support structure:

Underside view as removal of vacuum assembly from plastic support structure continues:

Side view of the small metal tabs/pins in "down" / "factory" position which hold in the vacuum nozzels:

Straightened out the metal tabs/pins that hold the nozzels in they are on the right and left beside the yellow patch (two per nozzel):

With some "finessing" of the ends, the nozzels will work out of the assembly:

The vacuum nozzel, our problem is on it, the little black o-ring has to come off, please make a special note of the proper facing of the bottom spacer (seen on the left side under spring in this photo):

Removing the small factory o-ring from the nozzel:

Comparison between old (black rubber) and new (red silicone) o-rings:

Don't forget the lubricant to get them off and on (be VERY stingy on the SILICONE based lubricant that you spray on the o-ring and make sure you don't use a petroleum based lubricant):

Putting the SILICONE red o-ring on the vacuum nozzel:

One down and three to go:

Showing where the nozzel came from:

What the nozzels look like in the vacuum assembly:

Clean the inside and ensure everything is lined up nice:

Removing the old factory black rubber (personal opinion: P.O.S.) o-ring from the vacuum nozzel:

Putting dielectric grease onto the new o-rings:

Minor note, be careful or the vacuum assembly will fall apart a little (easy to put back):

And so here we are and I'd like to take a special moment here and say I hate springs. They are useful and do a great job, but when they jump away it takes a lot of looking to find them. Spent around 15 minutes on this sucker trying to find him. Way under the couch and near the base board. How he got that far I'll never know. Special note: keep a close and careful consideration of your nozzels when they come out so the springs don't get away from you:

Broke an old o-ring while removing it and I think it broke only because it was dry rotted:
Number the nozzels as you complete each one:
On the spacer (that little part below the spring) make sure you note how it goes, the part you see in this photo goes up toward the nozzel has a small round rubber seal:
The part that goes down is flat and looks like that in the photo below:

Broke a new o-ring, arrrgggg, and that is why you order extra (I ordered ten and we only need four!):

This was how I bent the metal tabs / pins back down to hold the vacuum nozzels back in the vacuum assembly:

Vacuum nozzel back on the plastic support and now to put back the ten screws:

Ten screws back in including the two in the middle with the small metal clip, the hard part is now done:

Touch something metal (to remove static from yourself) and then reconnect the internal control wire from the vacuum assembly to the EATC control board laying it back together and replacing the two T20 Torx screws on the back of the EATC:

The following two photos are closeups of the T20 Torx screws, left side then right side:

Back in the car we are about to hook up our EATC to the car, remember where the black and gray goes?:

In case you forgot, black on the left, gray on the right of the rear of the EATC, photo is below:

You can't see it but there is air condition coming out of the vents below, IT WORKS!!:

Here is a closeup of the top right bolt/screw you have to put back in to hold the EATC in place, there are four in total, two on each side:

Reconnect the airbag light (special note, if you crank the car with this unhooked you will get an airbag light on the dash, if you cycle the car off then back on with it reconnected that light will go out because it will know the light is working again):

Reconnect the Select/Reset button wiring to the dash panel:

She's pretty when she's back together:

Ah, satisfaction:

Below are some assorted photos which may or may not be helpful:

Thanks JACOOK, you rock man!


Broke a new o-ring, ack!: