In the mean time...
Delivered my spare S38B36 to Steve in DFW for stuffing into his '86 535i chassis.
What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
In the mean time...
Delivered my spare S38B36 to Steve in DFW for stuffing into his '86 535i chassis.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I'm replacing the leaky timing cover gasket in my brother's 2012 Chevy Cruze 1.4 turbo. It's a surprisingly easy job, considering the fact that the timing chain has to come off in order to do it. Also easy thanks to the YouTube videos. Also fabulous: for $206, I got a replacement timing cover, and it came with a new thermostat, water pump, oil pump, and crankshaft seal, all pre-installed, direct from GM. Wow.
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austin8753
- Posts: 1491
- Joined: May 16, 2010 1:37 AM
- Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
repaired the broken parking brake console in my 2002 pickup yesterday. a very common weak point on the early chassis cars. when the car belonged to my mentor still, he (self admittedly), was not quite so kind to the old girl, and had ripped the parking brake console off its spot welds. he repaired it once, but the repair wasn't well done and failed.
BKbimmer came up with a solution for my particular situation and made a new, custom platform, out of a piece of 1/8" plate steel, with custom uprights for the handle to sit in, and welded it in last night.
i hope to be as talented as him, some day. thankful to have a good friend like that. shitty picture, but you get the idea. another mark checked off, on the very long list of things it needs.
BKbimmer came up with a solution for my particular situation and made a new, custom platform, out of a piece of 1/8" plate steel, with custom uprights for the handle to sit in, and welded it in last night.
i hope to be as talented as him, some day. thankful to have a good friend like that. shitty picture, but you get the idea. another mark checked off, on the very long list of things it needs.
Replaced complete OEM exhaust system with SuperSprint on my e39 M5
Looking for more HP & torque, plus a deeper exhaust note, I had the complete OEM exhaust system on my e39 M5 replaced with a SuperSprint system, from the headers to the mufflers. The SuperSprint is beautiful, with great welds, stainless steel, and quality construction and fitment. 
It also weighs a whole lot less than the OEM system! Unfortunately, the exhaust note is not much different than stock 
... probably have to delete the resonators to get louder and throatier! Oh well, my neighbors will appreciate it anyway 
Today, she goes on the dyno for performance tuning & optimization... expecting a 40 to 50HP gain. We'll see?
-RoyW
P4131431 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
P4131430 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
P4131429 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
P4131428 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
P4131427 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
P4131426 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
P4131425 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
P4131421 by Roy Wicklund, on Flickr
It also weighs a whole lot less than the OEM system! Unfortunately, the exhaust note is not much different than stock ... probably have to delete the resonators to get louder and throatier! Oh well, my neighbors will appreciate it anyway Today, she goes on the dyno for performance tuning & optimization... expecting a 40 to 50HP gain. We'll see?
-RoyW
P4131431 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrP4131430 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrP4131429 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrP4131428 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrP4131427 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrP4131426 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrP4131425 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrP4131421 by Roy Wicklund, on FlickrRe: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
That's really cool Roy - I've never seen anything quite like that transition from the headers to the exhaust (springs/etc.). Very interesting!
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Not today, but a week or so ago... but who's counting.
Had the driver's side headlight go dark on the wife's Lexus. And yes, it has the adaptive HIDs. I asked around and was told that, judging by the faint flickering glow remaining, the most likely culprit was the ballast, which is about $250 worth of bad news. After mulling over my options for way too long, I finally placed an order for a fresh HID bulb and ballast from Rock Auto.
The bulb showed up the following Tuesday, and a second box showed up by my front door on Thursday, which was a day earlier than I was originally promised, but the ballast I had ordered wasn't inside; it was a harmonic balancer for a Northstar V8. WTH??? The accompanying paperwork showed that somebody had just messed up and shipped me the wrong part. Great. So that evening I went to their website, set up a return and had them send out a replacement. And on Friday afternoon I found another box by the front door, and inside is the ballast: Woot! I didn't have time to dive into replacing it that weekend, so set the stuff aside, and in my spare time reviewed what needed to happen to get the light working again.
Step one: Remove bumper cover. Seriously. The headlight assembly has three bolts/nuts holding it in place, and one of them can only be accessed by removing the bumper, or by removing most of the fasteners holding the bumper to that side and prying the plastic far enough away to get at the hidden nut. So dumb. The rest of the process is pretty simple.
But on Monday afternoon, I get home from work and found another box from Rock Auto on my front step; it contained a second HID ballast! Seems that the package with the Northstar harmonic balancer was a total fluke; the original HID ballast was sent out on time and arrived on Friday as originally promised. The replacement that was sent out in response to my return arrived on Monday. Oh for dumb...
I finally got around to the job on Tuesday evening, and first thing I found, after getting the bumper out of the way, was that there was an obvious issue with the bulb. I popped in the new bulb before unpacking the ballast to see if I'd get lucky, and the thing lit up. Woot! Got everything buttoned up, and got on the computer to see what I needed to do to return the TWO ballasts. And of course, Rock Auto's website is designed to make it easy to deal with what their web design team imagined was possible, but for those issues that don't exactly fall within their idea of possible, there doesn't appear to be any way to actually contact a real person to get help. So, I just packed the two up with a note explaining the situation. Pretty sure that was the toughest lighting issue I've dealt with. So far...
Had the driver's side headlight go dark on the wife's Lexus. And yes, it has the adaptive HIDs. I asked around and was told that, judging by the faint flickering glow remaining, the most likely culprit was the ballast, which is about $250 worth of bad news. After mulling over my options for way too long, I finally placed an order for a fresh HID bulb and ballast from Rock Auto.
The bulb showed up the following Tuesday, and a second box showed up by my front door on Thursday, which was a day earlier than I was originally promised, but the ballast I had ordered wasn't inside; it was a harmonic balancer for a Northstar V8. WTH??? The accompanying paperwork showed that somebody had just messed up and shipped me the wrong part. Great. So that evening I went to their website, set up a return and had them send out a replacement. And on Friday afternoon I found another box by the front door, and inside is the ballast: Woot! I didn't have time to dive into replacing it that weekend, so set the stuff aside, and in my spare time reviewed what needed to happen to get the light working again.
Step one: Remove bumper cover. Seriously. The headlight assembly has three bolts/nuts holding it in place, and one of them can only be accessed by removing the bumper, or by removing most of the fasteners holding the bumper to that side and prying the plastic far enough away to get at the hidden nut. So dumb. The rest of the process is pretty simple.
But on Monday afternoon, I get home from work and found another box from Rock Auto on my front step; it contained a second HID ballast! Seems that the package with the Northstar harmonic balancer was a total fluke; the original HID ballast was sent out on time and arrived on Friday as originally promised. The replacement that was sent out in response to my return arrived on Monday. Oh for dumb...
I finally got around to the job on Tuesday evening, and first thing I found, after getting the bumper out of the way, was that there was an obvious issue with the bulb. I popped in the new bulb before unpacking the ballast to see if I'd get lucky, and the thing lit up. Woot! Got everything buttoned up, and got on the computer to see what I needed to do to return the TWO ballasts. And of course, Rock Auto's website is designed to make it easy to deal with what their web design team imagined was possible, but for those issues that don't exactly fall within their idea of possible, there doesn't appear to be any way to actually contact a real person to get help. So, I just packed the two up with a note explaining the situation. Pretty sure that was the toughest lighting issue I've dealt with. So far...
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Chevy Malibus require removal of the front bumper cover to change the halogen headlamp bulbs.
and yes Rockauto is very difficult to deal with for any non-standard issues. I've had issues getting things that were just a wrong cross-reference. Their site said it fit, the box was the item I bought, but in person it was very obviously not what it was supposed to be. Convincing them I didn't want to be sent two more struts or oil filters or whatever that were clearly not the right item was a hassle.
and yes Rockauto is very difficult to deal with for any non-standard issues. I've had issues getting things that were just a wrong cross-reference. Their site said it fit, the box was the item I bought, but in person it was very obviously not what it was supposed to be. Convincing them I didn't want to be sent two more struts or oil filters or whatever that were clearly not the right item was a hassle.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Not strictly speaking a car, but.... Wracked up my 300th mile on my e-bike today!
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Not today, but recently. Replaced the Rack and Pinion on the Datsun, AKA Infiniti QX4. I'd made the mistake of not noticing a torn boot and on vacation last year on the way back I was greeted by the grrrwoowsrrggg sound of a low P/S pump. I've done a bunch of boxes, but this was my first R and P. This R and R at least was easier than I feared. Biggest problem was the brand new Chinesium part (much cheaper than a rebuilt unit) was close, but not quite the same as original. The lack of a centering marking and oddly bent hydraulic line cost me hours. Still, not too bad. And... it doesn't leak!
Then some E36 love. The car that nothing goes wrong with is becoming needier. NBD, just front brakes because the rotors were warped, not wear, but I had a siezed caliper too I had to rebuild. The dust boot was cranky, but eventually I persevered. What was weird was the break in instructions for the pads. Ceramic, as I've come to like, but break in was 30 stops from 30-5 MPH. 30 friggin' stops? I made it to about 20 before I lost patience, so please guys, don't rat on me if I need to warranty them.
I was surprised though, around stop 10 or 12 I noticed a significant difference in initial bite.
Then some E36 love. The car that nothing goes wrong with is becoming needier. NBD, just front brakes because the rotors were warped, not wear, but I had a siezed caliper too I had to rebuild. The dust boot was cranky, but eventually I persevered. What was weird was the break in instructions for the pads. Ceramic, as I've come to like, but break in was 30 stops from 30-5 MPH. 30 friggin' stops? I made it to about 20 before I lost patience, so please guys, don't rat on me if I need to warranty them.
I was surprised though, around stop 10 or 12 I noticed a significant difference in initial bite.Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
bought an ozone generator and stuck in the Towncar to try to get rid of the rodent pee smell that I haven't been able to eliminate. Seems to have helped but now it has a vaguely metallic smell. Better than the ammonia stink of mouse pee though. Have to put it out in the sun and let it cook a while to see if the stink comes back.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
short story:
I wound up leasing an Audi A5 Sportback for a variety of reasons, mostly family related, and I my lease is over July 9th. The e28 I'm restoring is going to be my new DD, but it's not going to be ready until October, I hope. Between these dates I'm driving my 2002tii which I restored some years back, but haven't driven much for the past few years.
On my way to the body shop repainting Maeve, my friend was following me and let me know my brake lights were out. Checked the fuses, all were ok. So it must be the brake light switch. I took it out today and sure enough, no workie. I new one will be here Friday from Amazon. Easy fix.
My friend and I were talking about it, and we are both old enough to remember when fixing your car was common, shit like the brake light switch used to need attention all the time. Adjusting brake shoes, adjusting the timing, checking valve clearances etc. Back when my 1972 2002tii was a fairly new car.
Today if you had to do anything to your car, like my A5, you'd be disappointed (mad) with your car.
Man how times have changed.
Did one additional thing on the tii. My wife and I drove to the Vintage at the Vineyards in 2010, all the way from Seattle and back. I still had the Toyo tires on my tii from that trip and they're dried out, so I bought new Pirelli Cinturato tires that look like they came with the car. baby has new shoes!
on the trip
and if anyone can tell me who is standing next to my wife you get a bonus point!
I wound up leasing an Audi A5 Sportback for a variety of reasons, mostly family related, and I my lease is over July 9th. The e28 I'm restoring is going to be my new DD, but it's not going to be ready until October, I hope. Between these dates I'm driving my 2002tii which I restored some years back, but haven't driven much for the past few years.
On my way to the body shop repainting Maeve, my friend was following me and let me know my brake lights were out. Checked the fuses, all were ok. So it must be the brake light switch. I took it out today and sure enough, no workie. I new one will be here Friday from Amazon. Easy fix.
My friend and I were talking about it, and we are both old enough to remember when fixing your car was common, shit like the brake light switch used to need attention all the time. Adjusting brake shoes, adjusting the timing, checking valve clearances etc. Back when my 1972 2002tii was a fairly new car.
Today if you had to do anything to your car, like my A5, you'd be disappointed (mad) with your car.
Man how times have changed.
Did one additional thing on the tii. My wife and I drove to the Vintage at the Vineyards in 2010, all the way from Seattle and back. I still had the Toyo tires on my tii from that trip and they're dried out, so I bought new Pirelli Cinturato tires that look like they came with the car. baby has new shoes!
on the trip
and if anyone can tell me who is standing next to my wife you get a bonus point!
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Blunt himself, Stevie boy. 
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
one bonus point for you!
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Was 2010 the Shelton Vineyard year,
where all the 02s were parked up on the hill?
Reason I ask, I recall, as I was taking the 02 tour through that maze on the hill, talking to a couple who had driven thru from Washington state to the event, and IIRC, w/o working a/c, as wifey and I had driven our Das Biest over from Tejas w/o working a/c, and it was rather warm.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I don't think so. The entire 2002 fleet was parked on the grass, mostly level. We did win the prize for longest travel to and from the Vintage.
There were however 4 e30's parked on the hillside that reflected in the lake. One was a bright metallic Colorado color that, IMHO, was pretty much the perfect color.
There were however 4 e30's parked on the hillside that reflected in the lake. One was a bright metallic Colorado color that, IMHO, was pretty much the perfect color.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
*"long sloping flat slight rise in elevation hillside" better describes it.
It was some 02 anniversary meet, again, IIRC.
Must have been ~ 150 02s.
They covered the whole hillside.
Is that the only one you attended?
It was some 02 anniversary meet, again, IIRC.
Must have been ~ 150 02s.
They covered the whole hillside.
Is that the only one you attended?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
It is in fact the only one. Just a long way to go in my tii, especially with a lowered suspension and sport shox.
I installed a 5spd tranny for the trip to cut down on noise and vibration. Even so when we were done driving for the day, we'd rock like we just got off a boat.
We were stopped entering the Badlands on the way back due to road construction, waiting for a lead truck. I was first in line talking to the flag lady when it was time to go. The lady asked how the car was running (perfect so far) and Cindy said "fine if it starts". I just looked at her and asked why would she jinx the car? Guess what, car would not start for about 30 seconds until I just floored it. You never say stuff like that about your car! I later opened up the fuel tank, with a turkey baster, and sucked some rust flakes out of where the fuel pick up resides.
Once Maeve is up and running going back is an option.
I installed a 5spd tranny for the trip to cut down on noise and vibration. Even so when we were done driving for the day, we'd rock like we just got off a boat.
We were stopped entering the Badlands on the way back due to road construction, waiting for a lead truck. I was first in line talking to the flag lady when it was time to go. The lady asked how the car was running (perfect so far) and Cindy said "fine if it starts". I just looked at her and asked why would she jinx the car? Guess what, car would not start for about 30 seconds until I just floored it. You never say stuff like that about your car! I later opened up the fuel tank, with a turkey baster, and sucked some rust flakes out of where the fuel pick up resides.
Once Maeve is up and running going back is an option.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Had to of been you then.gwb72tii wrote: Jun 07, 2022 3:55 PM It is in fact the only one. Just a long way to go in my tii, especially with a lowered suspension and sport shox.
I installed a 5spd tranny for the trip to cut down on noise and vibration. Even so when we were done driving for the day, we'd rock like we just got off a boat.
We were stopped entering the Badlands on the way back due to road construction, waiting for a lead truck. I was first in line talking to the flag lady when it was time to go. The lady asked how the car was running (perfect so far) and Cindy said "fine if it starts". I just looked at her and asked why would she jinx the car? Guess what, car would not start for about 30 seconds until I just floored it. You never say stuff like that about your car! I later opened up the fuel tank, with a turkey baster, and sucked some rust flakes out of where the fuel pick up resides.
Once Maeve is up and running going back is an option.
Those Vineyard settings were much preferred over the current Hot Springs venue, with the exception of our E28 Hooters who hang out in HS all weekend.
Looking forward to meeting Maeve.
TexFest might just be a bit closer, and it's in October.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
October might be a push, but looking forward to Maeve being up an running
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Porsche used paper-thin leather to cover 911 shift knobs. That, combined with the small size and shape of the knob means that drivers likely grip tighter which leads to them wearing. Mine was peeling and the sharp edges of the plastic knob made shifting less than a pleasure. I couldn't find a reasonable replacement or someone to recover, so I gave it go.
I sourced very thin leather, not as thin as the original, and I think it was lamb. First I was trying to do it in 2 pieces like the original which required sewing 2 seams and getting them to line up just right so the inner seams could be tucked into the 2 channels in the knob. After cutting some test pieces and trying to come up with a plan, I scrapped that approach.
Instead, I cut a single piece roughly in the shape of a curved funnel that was wide enough to span the circumference of the knob. I then mounted the knob on a long bolt through a board so it was immobile and fully accessible. Next I tucked and glued one edge of the leather into the channel. After it dried completely I clamped that glued section with ~3 small welding clamps, applied glue to about the next 5mm of the knob, stretched the leather as much as I could and clamped that section.
I really couldn't tell if it was doing what I wanted until it was like 1/2 way around when I could see that the leather was getting tight enough to follow and snug to the taper below the ball of the knob. After about 20 more rounds of stretching and gluing, the seams met and I was able to carefully cut, tuck, and glue the end into the same channel. I then laid a simple cross-stitch over the seam. Last step was to trim the top down to ~2mm so it would tuck but not be too bulky under the cap.
What you see was done with no water or heat to shrink the leather. The result is a very comfortable slightly cushioned knob that provides for a no-slip grip. It has really transformed the driving experience.
I sourced very thin leather, not as thin as the original, and I think it was lamb. First I was trying to do it in 2 pieces like the original which required sewing 2 seams and getting them to line up just right so the inner seams could be tucked into the 2 channels in the knob. After cutting some test pieces and trying to come up with a plan, I scrapped that approach.
Instead, I cut a single piece roughly in the shape of a curved funnel that was wide enough to span the circumference of the knob. I then mounted the knob on a long bolt through a board so it was immobile and fully accessible. Next I tucked and glued one edge of the leather into the channel. After it dried completely I clamped that glued section with ~3 small welding clamps, applied glue to about the next 5mm of the knob, stretched the leather as much as I could and clamped that section.
I really couldn't tell if it was doing what I wanted until it was like 1/2 way around when I could see that the leather was getting tight enough to follow and snug to the taper below the ball of the knob. After about 20 more rounds of stretching and gluing, the seams met and I was able to carefully cut, tuck, and glue the end into the same channel. I then laid a simple cross-stitch over the seam. Last step was to trim the top down to ~2mm so it would tuck but not be too bulky under the cap.
What you see was done with no water or heat to shrink the leather. The result is a very comfortable slightly cushioned knob that provides for a no-slip grip. It has really transformed the driving experience.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Not a fan of the white, which for all I know is original, and in my paws it wouldn't stay white very long, but other than that, I like, I like it a lot!
Nice work.Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
That's seriously impressive.
For my '88 with Linen interior, I used a leather recoloring kit with pretty good results:
I also re-did my steering wheel
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Chased down a vacuum leak on the e39. How did I make it so many years without a smoke machine?
Lower intake boot.
Lower intake boot.
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John in VA
- Posts: 5295
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Leesburg, VA
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Which unit are you using?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
From Amazon and it looks like it's gone up $20. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JV ... =UTF8&th=1
It appears to have been assembled from off the shelf parts that probably cost less than $50 but I didn't mind paying $100 for someone else to source the parts, assemble it and ship it to me.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
plotting a repair / upgrade to the AC on my Continental. Had it working when I put the car back on the road but its been slightly leaky. Currently its charged but just works poorly. The condenser was full of trash and it plugged the orifice tube. Flushed it, but I suspect I didn't get quite all of it and its clogged again.
Plan is to evacuate it and check the orifice tube. Hopefully thats it and I can carry on. A parallel flow condenser thats a drop-in exists for small money so ideally it will just be a case of swap the condenser and orifice tube, then recharge it. If the compressor is not happy with life, I've got a spare one of those too. The leak appears to be one of the connections based on the drool of UV dye, so that should be easy enough to deal with.
Plan is to evacuate it and check the orifice tube. Hopefully thats it and I can carry on. A parallel flow condenser thats a drop-in exists for small money so ideally it will just be a case of swap the condenser and orifice tube, then recharge it. If the compressor is not happy with life, I've got a spare one of those too. The leak appears to be one of the connections based on the drool of UV dye, so that should be easy enough to deal with.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
replaced the flukey power window switch on my truck. Super easy job, pop a trim panel out, remove 2 screws for the pull handle, the panel with the switch lifts right out. 2 plugs and 4 little plastic tabs to pop it out. New switch was 16 bucks. I'm sure its crap but at the moment all 4 windows go up reliably so its an improvement.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Replaced the motor mounts on my mom's old Camry (since the last time I visited this thread). I've done a fair amount of work on that car, and have to say it's incredibly easy to work on.
Up next is the same job on my wife's Odyssey, which is not nearly as simple
Up next is the same job on my wife's Odyssey, which is not nearly as simple
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Replaced the MAF on the e39 to fix a transmission issue. 
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Stare at it, I bought a stupid 84 533i on the spur of the moment. Has a major fuel leak, haven't had the chance to figure out, wants to start, can't tell if the 5 speed is good, something something cylinder by previous owner, looks a mess. I bought it for parts, but now I want to get it to run.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Dragged the '84 733i home on a transport.
The trip didn't start that way.
The trip didn't start that way.
Last edited by 1st 5er on Aug 08, 2022 9:26 AM, edited 2 times in total.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Changed the oil on the Mark VII for the first time in my ownership. I've owned it since 3/2020, it was changed 10/2019. It was at 3000 miles. Clearly I drive it a lot.
found a soft spot in the floor which I'm not happy about. Will have to deal with that eventually I guess.
found a soft spot in the floor which I'm not happy about. Will have to deal with that eventually I guess.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
AC leak checked the Continental, ended up being the compressor. Friend used his AC machine to evac it for me, I changed the compressor with the NOS spare I had and changed a few O rings. Pulled the orifice tube and apparently I had a big stupid moment 4 years ago when I put it together, the tube was in backwards. It worked but it was out of position and probably why the pressures seemed odd. Put it all back together and pulled vacuum on it for an hour. It held for an hour over dinner so I'm calling it good. Will charge it this weekend when I visit my friend to help him put together an engine.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Charged it, but the pressures are funny. Too high on the high side, too low on the low side which is what you get from a restricted metering device. Thinking either it needs the next larger orifice tube size (0.072 vs 0.067) or the tube I have is smaller than it ought to be. At some point I'll have it pulled back down, swap the tube, and see what that does for it. Unfortunately its not really possible to measure these things without destroying them, and any part that costs less than a dollar from China has suspect quality control.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Got started on the family Mazda3 today. My son had an encounter with the edge of a driveway... 
Since I no longer trust pretty much anything in the passenger front wheel well, it's getting the works - both sides getting new struts (complete with new strut mounts and bushings) and new control arms, and going ahead and replacing the hub, wheel bearing and knuckle on the damaged side. (I know the knuckle is probably undamaged, but it's not worth the alignments and tires to find out I'm wrong). I took the opportunity to upgrade the struts to Koni Special Actives, which is what I have and love on my Mini Clubman, so the I did the rear shocks as well.
The full kit (minus the new wheel and the two new front tires...)
Since I no longer trust pretty much anything in the passenger front wheel well, it's getting the works - both sides getting new struts (complete with new strut mounts and bushings) and new control arms, and going ahead and replacing the hub, wheel bearing and knuckle on the damaged side. (I know the knuckle is probably undamaged, but it's not worth the alignments and tires to find out I'm wrong). I took the opportunity to upgrade the struts to Koni Special Actives, which is what I have and love on my Mini Clubman, so the I did the rear shocks as well.
The full kit (minus the new wheel and the two new front tires...)
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Ow. All that looks expensive and a lot of work.e24mpwr wrote: Aug 30, 2022 5:18 PM Got started on the family Mazda3 today. My son had an encounter with the edge of a driveway...
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
With the tires and the (used/eBay) new wheel, we're just under $2300. There's another few bucks for mounting the tires and pressing the wheel bearing in the knuckle/hub. I'm guessing at a shop I'd be looking at $2K-3K in labor, but hard to say. Honestly the work isn't too bad - the car is pretty easy to work on. I'm OK at "nuts and bolts" stuff - I just can't do anything that requires actual skill or knowledge.
An actual tech could probably knock all of this out in three actual-hours (maybe less), but I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what book-hours would be on all of this... Some of that # above is the cost of the upgraded struts - I could have gotten away with OE shocks and saved a hundred or so up front and all $250 of the rear. But (A) I think these are the originals on an 85K-,o;e car and (B) I love the ride and capability of the Konis, I felt like it was the right choice. I'm also doing more than I absolutely have to. I don't know for sure the control arm is bent (and had mixed feedback about whether replacing both was needed), but it was another one of those "the car has 85K miles, might as well do it now and be comfortable/sure" kind of thing.
(I'm doing the front brakes too
)Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
got the leaky compressor re-sealed. Learned several things along the way, most importantly that the compressor I was working with was not what I thought it was. Apparently for 2 model years it switched to a slightly different model that fits and functions the same, but is slightly different internally so the seals don't work. After spending too much time and buying a couple of seal kits plus a set of O rings to make it all go, I found someone selling a kit for this specific compressor for 14 bucks. Porsche apparently used it in the 80s too. Whatever, the miserable POS is together and its held vacuum for 12 hours at this point so I'm willing to declare it re-sealed. Also my home-made pressure testing tools and seal drivers worked perfectly. I suspect they will go in a drawer with the other assorted special tools I've made over the years, never to be used again.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
That must have been maddening.gadget73 wrote: Sep 07, 2022 8:57 AM got the leaky compressor re-sealed. Learned several things along the way, most importantly that the compressor I was working with was not what I thought it was. Apparently for 2 model years it switched to a slightly different model that fits and functions the same, but is slightly different internally so the seals don't work. After spending too much time and buying a couple of seal kits plus a set of O rings to make it all go, I found someone selling a kit for this specific compressor for 14 bucks. Porsche apparently used it in the 80s too. Whatever, the miserable POS is together and its held vacuum for 12 hours at this point so I'm willing to declare it re-sealed. Also my home-made pressure testing tools and seal drivers worked perfectly. I suspect they will go in a drawer with the other assorted special tools I've made over the years, never to be used again.
I had a sorta-similar experience with the rear shock mounts for that Mazda. I got aftermarket (Dornan) as they were well-reviewed and less-expensive. When I went to put the shock post through the mount, it didn't fit (post was too wide). Odd. I tried to figure out if I was pushing hard enough or if there was something else I missed. I measured the new Koni shock post and found it was 0.5mm bigger than the stock Mazda one. Ah. I debated enlarging the opening in the shock mount, but it's a metal plate encased in a rubber membrane that offers a little give at the top. I thought modifying it would lead to short-term failure of the mount. I checked and the old/OE shocks fit the Dornan mount. I thought to see if the new Koni fit the old (OE) mount. Yup.
So I decided to re-use the mounts and just replace the two mounting nuts. Except they wouldn't thread... 
This taught me to never toss anything you're replacing until the new one is in and fully functioning. It took me forever to find the damn nuts from the original mounts. Eventually I found them and they went on with the old mounts. It's a pretty easy job when everything fits, so I'll eventually get back in there and replace everything with new Mazda-brand mounts, but what I thought would be 30 min. max wound up being over two hours
. Sheesh...Net: I feel your pain when a nuance extends a job and you have to become a Sherlock Holmes to figure out what's going on...
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
yeah, always fun finding out you have the odd crossover part, and just the general fun of dealing with incorrect parts listings. Have bought struts that the holes simply don't line up, and then had to argue about it to get a refund. I spent most of a day troubleshooting power mirrors that didn't work right, only to finally figure out the factory wiring diagram was wrong. Ended up tracing the whole thing out and adding a page to the book.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Did this, AC works fine now. Not frigid cold but it works adequately, and the pressures are not stupid.gadget73 wrote: Aug 29, 2022 1:36 PM Charged it, but the pressures are funny. Too high on the high side, too low on the low side which is what you get from a restricted metering device. Thinking either it needs the next larger orifice tube size (0.072 vs 0.067) or the tube I have is smaller than it ought to be. At some point I'll have it pulled back down, swap the tube, and see what that does for it. Unfortunately its not really possible to measure these things without destroying them, and any part that costs less than a dollar from China has suspect quality control.
Re-foamed a sub for my friend, he put the interior back in my Towncar for me so now its actually drivable and doesn't require motivation on my part to deal with it.
replaced the passenger window switch trim on the Continental. Ford mounts their power window and power lock switches to the trim panel with two screws and the plastic around one of the screws was totally blown out. The door pull on the driver's side ripped out too. It doesn't attach to the door skin, it mounts to the 35 year old brittle plastic backing of the door panel. It now has a rivet nut installed in the door with a custom spacer I made from some 12mm hex bar to make it sit at the proper depth so the door pull actually pulls the door instead of the plastic.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Got to play Family Mechanic and did some work to my parents' 2007 Hyundai Sonata over the Thanksgiving holiday:
-New Plugs & Coils
-Oil Service
-Air Filter
-New Trunk Lift Shocks
Still have a few things to do, and at 69K miles it's due for some Cooling System overhaul as well as other vital fluid services.
I have to say it was a weird sight and vibe having a Hyundai in The Hangar.
-New Plugs & Coils
-Oil Service
-Air Filter
-New Trunk Lift Shocks
Still have a few things to do, and at 69K miles it's due for some Cooling System overhaul as well as other vital fluid services.
I have to say it was a weird sight and vibe having a Hyundai in The Hangar.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Replaced the windshield trim on the e39 for the 2nd time under my ownership. Went with URO this time.
The two rubber triangle thingies and the bottom cowl seal thingie also need replacing. *sigh*.
Also made a shopping list for the X5 that I just bought to replace the Cayenne from hell.
The two rubber triangle thingies and the bottom cowl seal thingie also need replacing. *sigh*.
Also made a shopping list for the X5 that I just bought to replace the Cayenne from hell.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Recently replaced the carb on my 68 Deville with an Amazon quadrajat (yes you heard it right). Spent the day dialing it in, setting the timing and the idle speed.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Yes, spelling aside, does it now work like it should? Not questioning your skills, and I've bought plenty of parts from A, but a carb that's not even spelled right would make me nervous.alabbasi wrote: Apr 08, 2023 9:15 PM Recently replaced the carb on my 68 Deville with an Amazon quadrajat (yes you heard it right). Spent the day dialing it in, setting the timing and the idle speed.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
In fairness, that was my spelling error and not theirs. The carb seems to function okay but i'm getting some dieseling when I shut it down. It could be a stuck float as i've seen it blow fuel out of the carb when I shut it down in gear. I don't know much about carbs so I'm trying to figure if it's a defect or an adjustment. I have about a week left in my return window to figure it out. It's got great power though and now lights up the tires.
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/681.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/carb1.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/683.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/682.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/681.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/carb1.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/683.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/682.jpg
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Wow, sharp looking throwback car. Back when the marque meant something.alabbasi wrote: Apr 08, 2023 11:08 PM In fairness, that was my spelling error and not theirs. The carb seems to function okay but i'm getting some dieseling when I shut it down. It could be a stuck float as i've seen it blow fuel out of the carb when I shut it down in gear. I don't know much about carbs so I'm trying to figure if it's a defect or an adjustment. I have about a week left in my return window to figure it out. It's got great power though and now lights up the tires.
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/681.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/carb1.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/683.jpg
http://w108.org/images/Caddy/682.jpg
Dieseling. On American cars from the 60s, somewhat earlier than yours, I've run into vacuum leaks and timing as culprits. No expert on them to be sure, but just something to look at.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
idle set too high does it too. Not sure what spec is, but probably not over 800 rpm. Often the idle isn't actually set right either even if its at the right RPM. If the timing is set late, the throttle blades have to be too far open to make it idle. The usual clue there is the mix screws don't have much effect on how it actually runs. If thats what its doing, advance the timing a couple degrees and back off the screw holding the throttle blades open.
Make sure the advance mechanism works properly too. Should have both mechanical and vacuum. Often the weights will get stuck and not advance properly, or they get funny and it won't come all the way back down to base timing. When it does that you'll find that the idle doesn't settle down to the same spot each time.
this is probably my favorite generation Caddy, the late stacked headlight models are cool, before they turned into the tacky barges they became in the 70s.
Make sure the advance mechanism works properly too. Should have both mechanical and vacuum. Often the weights will get stuck and not advance properly, or they get funny and it won't come all the way back down to base timing. When it does that you'll find that the idle doesn't settle down to the same spot each time.
this is probably my favorite generation Caddy, the late stacked headlight models are cool, before they turned into the tacky barges they became in the 70s.