Well, Suck me sideways! My wife and I went out to the store tonight and when we got in the car to come home the damn thing would not start!!!

I would turn the key and all the dash lights would come on, but there would be no noise at all! I tried a thousand times to start it, and NOTHING! Then, I tried again and it made a small, slow cranking noise and then it would slowly die off and make a weezing noise! WTF!!!!!!

Anyway, my wife and I just walked a few hundred miles home and here I am.

It's not the battery because we tried jumping it and nothing happened at all. Someone tell me what is wrong please....

So I guess you never did anything about this last week after you posted that thread

Do you have the ability to diagnose or work on your car? If not then I guess you got to take it in.

No, I could not do anything about it last week when I posted the thread. I am 2 weeks away from selling my house and purchasing another one so time is short these days.

I had it towed to a shop where they can diagnose it and give me the expensive report. I am having them look into that woo woo woo noise in the drivers side wheel area as well as check the CV boots. I know the passenger side CV boot is split wide open, but I figure while it is in the shop, I might as well have the pros diagnose everything and give me a report.

I think I will only have them fix whatever needs to be fixed to get the car running again. Then after I buy and sell the houses, I can go back for the other stuff. Son of a *****!

expert....but it might be your starter.

Logically, if you have a good battery and your starter isn't cranking then that might the best place to start.

Cheers,
Mark

yup...had the same thing happen to me 20 minutes before I had to be at work. It was my starter...pretty easy fix if you had the time to do it yourself. But you seem too busy...
good luck.
btw, let me know what the woo woo sound is coming from the wheel well area is. I am experiencing the same thing.

Similar thing happened to me about two years ago when I was trying to buy a house. I never had a starting issue then but I ended up buying a second car while getting a mortgage. Hopefully your trouble will turn out to be somthing minor like alternator or starter and won't cost you a lot....

FYI - "woo woo" sound coming from the wheel area is generally a sign of a bad wheel bearing.

mark350z: WE HAVE A WINNER! lol

Well just got a call from the shop and it is the starter according to them. Roughly $250 for the part and $90 labor just FYI.

Not too bad, I guess, but I would rather not have to shell out that money of course.

I am having them look at the woo woo noise as well and they will call me back later today woith that diagnosis. They did say that my passenger side CV boot is wide open and that I should replace the whole axle instead of the CV boot on that side. They said that the CV boot on the driver side has some pretty good stress cracks in it and may go soon, so I think I will have them replace BOTH axles as well.

Ugh, I love this car, but I have hit that point where I have a lot to be fixed at once and it is $$$$$. Oh well, it is still a great car!

I will keep you updated throughout the day. Thanks for all of your help everyone!!!

I have a Brand New Starter if you want them cheaper? Email me if you are interested.

Thanks

SY
sycefiro@yahoo.com

Thanks SY. I appreciate it, but unfortunately, I need to get it done today so I can have my car tomorrow..

Well, here is the update. They got back to me and I need both the left and right bearings replaced, and both the left and right axles replaced.

Emmissions inspection
new starter
L & R front Axles
L & R front bearings

$1616.70 out the door. SUCK ME SIDEWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

the woo woo woo noise was from the bearings, like a few people on here said it was. The clicking noise was from the CV boot basically being GONE and there being no grece in there anymore.

This car better drive as quiet as an F-ing mouse after I get it back or people will DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all of your help everyone. I hope my experience and info has helped some of you all that have similar noises and issues.

OH FREEKING GREAT!!!!! So I called up the shop to ask them about checking the hard shiftin from 1st to 2nd hear in the mornings and they guy tell me that the check ingine light is now on!!!!! WHTF? It was not on yesterday and has never been on before..

I may have to kill myself now..................

new starter
L & R front Axles
L & R front bearings

You just listed about 250$ worth of parts and roughly 3 hours of labor. Times roughly 60$ an hour for labor...... :shakes head:...CEL>? reset that bia and let it roll..

IF you did the wrok yourself you would only pay a third of that. For get about the cel. Tell them to reset it and, if they give you some bullsh!t about how they cant do that, reset it yourself when you get the car back... My guess is that they are trying to rip you off.

Well, there is the problem guys. I don't have the time or know how to do this myself. Labor is what kills us around Fairfax, VA. I believe the average hourly rate for labor around here is something like $89 an hour! This is one expensive place to live and every time you need any work done on your car, it shows!!!

I just need to have this done and get my car back tomorrow. At least my baby will be perfect again!

Thanks again.

how many miles on your car????

Poor Dr. This is another example of how shops RIP you the F off. Like the dude said earlier, 250$ in change of parts, and the starter is out in less than 10 min! Or at least it took me that. Dr. Monkey LOOK IN THE HOW-TO's They practically show you how to rebuild your car, i learned everything about my car through the forums. You should bless this site. I will never, ever take my car to a mech-scamic again. Good luck man.

You know what else i did, on two cars i had that wouldnt start. i had a friend turn the key while i smacked the starter with a crow bar, and wAAAALAH, it started. that is how i found my problem

I have 155K on my car.

I know I know, but like I said, I need my car NOW, and I don't have the time to fix these things myself nore do I have a place to work on the car at the moment, like a garage or anything.

holy **** man. wow, next time i will drive down to VA for 500 bux and then replace all the parts, and youll still save money. Dont go to that shop ever again. My axles were 65 a piece. my wheel bearing was a little pricey because a machine shop needs to press them in so i had a shop do that but it was only 250 for the 2 front. u should ask for a complete break down of parts and labor times. BMW charges 90 bux an hour i cant fathom a regular shop charging that much.

Creative,

I will definately get a break down from this shop and then post it for you guys. I figure that way, you all can laugh harder at me. Oh well, it's done and I will be picking it up after work today. They said it drives like a dream now. IT DAMN WELL BETTER!!!!!!!

Look for the breakdown on here around 7:30pm or so.

OK, here is the breakdown of the job that was just done on my car.

LABOR CHARGES:
Check Starting and Charging System $40
Replace Starting Motor $96
Emissions Inspection $28
Replace front Hub Bearnings $528
Replace Axles W/Hub Bearings $80
Computer fault Test (P1335) $40 They gave me a credit for this

PARTS PRICES
Starter Motor $289.96
Front Hub Bearings $99.92 each = $199.84
Drive Axles $159.95 each = $319.90

So there you have it folks! $1658.94 later and my baby is back on the road, smooth, quiet, and strong again.

Well, can't stay and chat, I have to be downtown to ***** myself out for a few months to pay for the car now. *&^%#^%#@#*&^*$)(&)(*_{&^%#^%*!!!!!!!

i dont understand y they charged u so much to install the bearings in the hubs all they do is press them in with a machine and bam. done. holy **** on the starter price too. god i would go down there n bug the **** out if i were u. never bring ur car there again please!!!

Looking at the labor, it does not look that bad at all (with the exception of the $528 wheel bearings...which you dont even need a mechine for). The rip off appears to be with the price of parts. You could have gotten a rebuilt starter for about $200, rebuilt CV axles for $70 each, and the wheel bearing for maybe $50 each. You could have saved almost $400 if you sourced the parts yourself...

Good god they ripped you off on parts... and honestly, their labor seems a bit high for the hub bearings and starter replacement.

Yeah, I agree with you guys, but I asked them if they would let me purchase parts myself and then pay them to install them and they don't do that at this shop.

Oh well, at least the car is running great and is very quiet now. I mean, I am trying to find a possitive in all of this. Live and learn and be broke! LOL

Thanks for all your help everyone. Have a great day!

I think alot of you are ignorant

Most all shops these days will not let a customer supply their own parts. This is for two reasons. The main one is that they make money on parts, the other is that they won't warrenty a job unless they supply the parts. Most shops these days charge $70-$80 an hr labor. You can still find some "ma and pa" one bay shops that charge $50 and let you supply the parts but then you get into issues with the warrenty on the work.

I am not sure if you guys have done a wheel bearing before, but a shop will charge a few hours labor on each side. The whole steering knuckle has to come off. Then a press has to be used to press in the new one. I have done mine and it is not a "press in with a machine and bam"/

As I see it, the prices may be a tad high but this is what happens when you can't do the work yourself. You pay a premium to drop your car off and pick it up all fixed up.

I30tMikeD: Yeah with regards to the wheel bearings, they said it would take about 6 hours for both sides to be done. I thought it sounded crazy, but then again, I have no idea what is involved. (that is why my car whent to the shop instead of me trying to do it)

Like I said earlier, it was a lot of money that I wish I could have spent on other things, but hey, I have a 9 year old car in great shape, with 155K on it and of course things are going to need to be replaced. It is to be expected IMO. I am just happy that they were able to fix the car and that I have it back now and it is perfect for the time being.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for your opinions and thoughts. At least we have this website where we can get others thoughts on this stuff.

Dr. Monkey,

MikeD makes good points. I didn't have time (or tools) to change out rotors, pads & steel braided lines and the local dealer did it for me using aftermarket parts I got from TireRack. In some cases, if you have a record of business at a dealer and know a bit about your car, they'll work with you.

You do have a lighter wallet but in my knowledge gleaned from these threads, you have a car good for another 155K now. (An oxygen sensor, at most is all you'll need done.)

About that check engine light....my info says it is for the Crankshaft Position Sensor.
As indicated by another I-30 brother, reset it and drive on.

If it comes back, then we'll deal with it.

Double E: I feel the same. I think I should get another 155K easily on this car.

As for the check engine light, it showed a P1335 which is the Erratic Crank Sensor Signal. Basically it was from when I tried to start my car and the engine turned over very very slowly and then died. Anyway, the shop reset the computer for me and didn't charge me for it, so we are all good now. Thanks again!

Its "ignant"

my car front suspension sound pretty bad on pothole road while it just cruises like a dream on highway ...

just been thinkin what shud happen first ... change the suspension or move to an apartment in a different area with good roads ...

been thinkin of buyin two coilovers for the front !?!

Dr.,

how much did u buy your car for ? coz investing $1600 is like a big money ..

i guess i may need to spend abt 1000 bux on my car that i bought for $7000, my friend says the investment is not worth it ...

flthere: Well, When I bought my car it was $12,900. It is paid off and it is a great car that IMO looks brand new inside and out. I think it is all about personal opinion and what situation you are in ya know?

For me $1600 was not a lot all things considering and it was well worth it for me.

Good luck with your car.

I live in PG Cty MD and have found that PEP Boys is usually a good deal cheaper than other places around here.

I understand your pain b/c I had the delema of trying to fix my 95 Max that only had a blue book of about $2,500 when the repairs were more than likely going to be around half that. Given the mileage that I had on it (132k) and the age of the car I finally ended up trading it in on a 2002 I35. I figured that in the long run I may do better getting something newer. I hated to take on a payment b/c mine was paid off. But if you put a little time into searching you can find good deals on some that are a little newer, especially the 2001 model. I saw two of those for around $14k in PG Cty MD.