Weighing the Cost of Fixing Your 10 Year Old Car

[B. Elliott]

You're welcome lisab. I'm telling you, he'll love it. With my project car I had to completely strip down the factory Prelude and Civic engine harnesses and make a custom one by combining both. The Prelude and Civic manuals had every wire labeled along with the color coding, so all I had to do was draw up a cross reference chart to know how which wires go where. Pretty much plug and play! Getting the wires the right length for each sensor was a PITA though.

 

[chemisttree]

Sorry. My step father was looking into getting a hybrid and told me he had found this to be an issue with them. I just looked around at some articles that agree with you and now I'm wondering where he came up with this.

I did the same analysis as your father before I bought my Mariner Hybrid last year. I too was surprised at the lack of problems with the Toyota battery packs. Once I found out that they were a 'lifetime' battery pack, it made my decision much easier. Still getting between 33 and 34 mpg combined city/highway!

 

[chemisttree]

They can wear out on their own, or sometimes the rubber boot that protects them can split letting dirt in.

Thats the usual etiology of the problem. The boot splits along the seam of maximum flexure, flings out the lube (a great diagnostic, BTW) and the joint is operated exposed to the elements without lubrication. Unless you catch the boot failure early, joint replacement is the best solution. Replacing the half axle (both the CV and Plunge joint) is actually easier than trying to replace the boot itself and the lube.