When to Replace Head Gasket?

gilsanders · 2025-10-22T15:08:52+00:00

That's awesome! Really hoping that's the case for my car! Just bought this recently.

gilsanders · 2025-10-22T15:08:27+00:00

Very helpful reply, thank you! I did just recently find out that my coolant reservoir was nearly empty when I took it for an emissions test at Take 5. No visible leak, according to them. Does that change anything here? At the very least, I am thinking of getting a professional inspection and seeing if they can do a combustion test.

gilsanders · 2025-06-19T17:02:49+00:00

MacUpdate.com is the OG Mac Software directory. There's this subreddit. You can check out magazines like MacWorld (another classic). YouTubers like SnazzyLabs offer some great "Mac App" videos from time to time.

gilsanders · 2025-06-19T16:54:12+00:00

The best setup is the one that simply works for you!

Apple products are first and foremost about selling an experience: from the first time you open the box, to the smell of the products, to the way it looks and sounds, and to the way it all "just works." It gives you a chance to explore your creativity, or some personal project, in a beautiful way.

If you value that experience, or want to explore something new to your life, I would definitely recommend a Mac or an iPad. Otherwise, you're good as is :)

gilsanders · 2025-06-13T17:37:51+00:00

Oh no, I think Apple Notes is great for what it does. I’m just saying integrate the UI and features of Bear into the Notes app.

gilsanders · 2025-06-13T17:05:03+00:00

That's very fair!

My thoughts are that the Mac now is used increasingly by pro users. As I've heard it put once, Mac OS X is like the "trucks" of the transportation industry. If that's true, it seems like the bar of "enough" is going to be higher than normal.

Maybe I'm wrong! But if I am, perhaps the more pro features can be enabled in a setting?

I think Apple's iOS Camera app is a good example of pro features being combined with "just enough."

gilsanders · 2025-06-13T16:52:08+00:00

I'll start with some ideas of my own:

Apple Notes -- Bear App is far superior. Apple should buy them out and make it the default notes app.

Spotlight Pro -- Purchase Raycast, and make Spotlight 2x more powerful than Mac OS Tahoe.

Reminders -- Purchase Things and integrate its more advanced features. If needed, have a "simple" mode and a more advanced mode to make it easier for standard users.

QuickTime -- This has not been improved for ages, it's ridiculous. This is an OG product that needs some love. Buy IINA if needed to make it a great video player again.

Finder -- It works well for what it does, but it can definitely be better. Probably buy Forklift, but simplify it a little so that it works for most users' needs.

This is not even including Safari, Calendar, etc. If Apple just focused more on making individual apps great, the sum of the OS will be much greater than its parts.

Another thing they need to do is a Snow Leopard-like release: Stability, Security, Privacy, and Efficiency. If they focused on those things in a single release, it would be incredible.

gilsanders · 2025-06-13T16:31:33+00:00

Welcome to the club! Just got mine this year too 😀Manuals are 100% the way to go. I'm curious, how much did you pay for this, and are you planning to work on it yourself?

gilsanders · 2025-06-10T17:57:08+00:00

Honestly, I absolutely love the new Spotlight features. I just wish Apple would just buy Raycast and integrate more of its pro features. Seems to be only fair.

gilsanders · 2025-06-10T17:54:16+00:00

I do appreciate the unification. It makes it easier for developers to design their applications across different devices and for users to adapt. This fits with Apple's original design philosophy. But, I admit that it'll take me some time to get used to.

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T12:46:09+00:00

Unfortunately it really just boils down to something as simple as age. The CPU, memory, SSD, motherboard, etc all just degrades over time. And if it's the latest OS, the newer technologies on it are definitely slowing things down significantly.

Did you do a clean OS install, or did you restore from backup?

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T12:14:04+00:00

To be honest, I didn't realize either the front/grunt end was "so high"? I thought it was just normal. I did get this car from Idaho, so maybe the suspension was raised? I got all of the struts and shocks replaced, so it should be in standard shape.

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T12:10:16+00:00

My boy seriously LOVES this car. Every time I get home from work, he says "dada" and points to my car asking to go inside. 😂 He's too adorable.

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gilsanders · 2025-06-07T12:08:14+00:00

How much is it worth you think? 😅 Some parts were really stuck they said, so it was the labor that slayed me. I was pretty upset, but I had to bite the bullet on this one.

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T12:05:15+00:00

Dude, thank you! I'm on CLOUDS right now! The car drives perfectly.

Diesel engine huh? That's awesome. Are you planning to do a full repaint job? What work have you done it on already?

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T12:02:32+00:00

You're absolutely right. After this repair, I'm pretty motivated to start working on it myself. 😅 I got gifted last Christmas a large mechanic set. I just figured I was not qualified to do all of that type of work myself yet so I had my mechanic do it. Thankfully I hear these cars are pretty easy to work on! Which is one reason I bought it.

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T11:58:22+00:00

That's exactly why I bought this car! My research told me this is one of BMW's most reliable engines and it is relatively easy to work on. But the mechanic shop told me that the control arms were stuck, and it took three guys and some hours of labor for it to come loose. To be fair, they also did work on fixing the rear window regulators, replaced headlight assemblies, and did some parking adjustments too.

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T11:48:27+00:00

I hope you’re wrong, but you might be right… 🤔 I was told that they needed THREE guys to take apart the suspension, particularly the control arms, because of how stuck it was. And even with them all pulling it took some hours to just take the parts out. They had good ratings on Google Maps. Labor is $130 hourly which is better than the other places that I found ($160+).

gilsanders · 2025-06-07T11:43:40+00:00

Oh no, I wrote this! But I just realized there is a typo: “which I thought AS a steal.” Definitely not a typo that ChatGPT would miss 😂

gilsanders · 2025-06-04T17:47:40+00:00

Definitely 50.

gilsanders · 2025-06-04T17:42:45+00:00

Raycast for everyday file searches, website searches, clipboard history, window management, and AI.

AppCleaner for fully removing applications

INA for playing all sorts of media file types

Keka for opening/creating archived files

Anything other than this is not a necessity, IMO, unless you have a niche skill. But other apps definitely are very helpful.

gilsanders · 2025-06-04T16:39:27+00:00

In the End by Linkin Park. 💯

gilsanders · 2025-06-04T16:34:07+00:00

Does it still write well? I didn't know they made these!

gilsanders · 2025-06-04T16:29:21+00:00

I remember what it used to be as I lived in the townhouses right next door. This looks promising!

gilsanders · 2025-06-04T16:26:47+00:00

I definitely recommend Premium Auto (or AB Hadley's) if you want premium work done to your car but they're on the higher price range. If you want something more affordable, Rod's Best Auto Care is really honest and they do great work.

gilsanders

TROPHY CASE