o/26523602.txt

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--- 26523602
Last thread hit bump limit. 

I cut my 158" van chassis in half with a sawzall today. Blade survived, sawzall let the magic smoke out. 

What did you do anons?
--- 26524296
VY ss is straight again, just waiting on headlights and paint for the new front bumper and it is back on the road.
--- 26524317
>>26523602 (OP)
Look at this cute lil’ 1/4” impact screwdriver
--- 26524936
looking at a 2006 Envoy Denali today for $1800, 5.3 4x4, claims there's some transmission issue but it runs and drives, also super low mile

later im loading up the vanhalf, shits gonna be good
--- 26524976
>>26524317
xD
--- 26525193
>>26525173
Too much work. Easier to buy the complete strut assembly.
--- 26526088
If you could get only one power tool for wrenching, what would it be? 1/2 inch impact? Or one of these electric ratchets
--- 26526208
went to get the tires onto the buick today and the tire shop was taking part in a new national holiday i havent heard of 

more importantly i have a P1810 and only 2 forward gears, that's one of the pillow switches in/under the valve body

first couple times i started the car i didnt have the torque converter bolted to the flexplate because my lines weren't here yet, but i didnt get any codes for input speed below threshold so im thinking its a hard fault, bummer if 3-4 is in the pan but the donor had dexcool in the motor and golden dexron 6 in the tranny so im expecting no hard parts failed 

i got the cv boot clamps on, the correct tranny fluid arrived, filter will be here soon, garage door is getting fixed in the morning so im not dumping it out yet
--- 26526257
>>26523602 (OP)
I changed my 05 forester’s gasoline fuel filter that havent been changed for 255 000km. Had to dig under the glovebox to find the fuel pump relay, absolute pain in the ass to pull the clip off. Hoses to the filter still good and not rotten but stuck and a absolute pain to remove
--- 26526259
>>26526208
sheesh that's a lot of work for a cheap car. I thought american car gearboxes were plentiful and like $50 at every junkyard
>>26524317
Did you buy this in addition to having a typical 3/8" impact screwdriver? Does it serve a different purpose? Honestly if I knew a 1/4" one existed it probably would have been sufficient for everything I've used my 3/8" and would take up less space in my toolbox
--- 26526277
>>26526259
it was a $90 pull lol, but the good news is you take the pan off and its right there, i have the old tranny beating up the bed of my truck so ill pull that one and see if its usable
--- 26526285
>>26525173
I fucking hate pinch knuckle style struts, so much more of a pain to remove and install than struts that bolt to the knuckle and also removes the ability to install a cam bolt for a small amount of camber adjustment
--- 26526299
>>26525173
E46?

Quick tip you can put in Z4 strut mounts, sachs 802 066, which’ll drop the front 1cm or so.
--- 26526307
>>26526300
--- 26526315
>>26526088
Impact wrench by far. Yanking a breaker bar to loosen lug nuts gets old fast.
--- 26526324
>>26526088
At work I hardly use my electric ratchet, definitely the cordless impact. I use a cordless drill fairly frequently as well though.
--- 26526331
>>26526315
air impacts are much stronger and pulling the hose around the shop isnt that much of a chore 

i'd say no e tools at all but my shop doesn't have air so impact wins
--- 26526391
>>26526324
Drill, really? For what?
--- 26526428
>>26526391
Mostly hub polishing during brake jobs with these 3m roloc kits (helps prevent pedal pulsation) but also headlight restorations. I would use a die grinder for the hub polishing but they spin too fast and wear these discs out very quickly. Not very often, but it's also been useful to have drill bits to drill holes in ratty/broken/missing hardware skid plates or other paneling so it can be ziptied back up.
--- 26526439
>>26526428
Cool
--- 26526587
>no one will ever comment on a project ITT because everyone will be talking about power tools
--- 26526596
>>26526587
Sorry bro, I enjoy looking even if I don't comment. Here's a consolation (You).
--- 26526612
>>26526088
Impact. But don’t be a dumb fuck and buy a stubby 1/2” because you really want to have Milwaukee but only have $150. Stubby is like the ratchet, speeds up lots of work, but it’s not going to save your ass like a good mid torque or high torque 1/2”.

>>26526259
Yeah I had the larger one already. But the hex bits are huge, so not like I can stick a normal T-25 torx bit in there. The big one is good for the brake rotor screws though.

I could’ve used the smaller one a couple weeks ago, was swapping a pully on a washing machine motor and the little set screw was like 1/8” hex and loctited or some shit, it was about to snap regular t handle hex keys. So finally I tried my 18V impact driver with a 1/8” hex bit and it absolutely shredded the set screw. I ended up using a spiral extractor and it budged, but I bet the 1/4” manual impact driver could’ve gotten the job done.
--- 26526621
>>26526587
>>26526612
>>26526259
Here’s some hand tools for ya

And I keep saying no to /o/ related projects since I bought this house 6mos ago because it has been constant homeowner type shit. I don’t think anybody here wants pics of all the goddamn lint I sucked out of the dryer vent a few days ago.
--- 26526639
>>26526428
>>26526391
This is why I shill all you retards looking at M12 stubbies and ratchets, first damn cordless tools you get should be an 18V drill + impact driver combo with 2 batteries for like $149 on sale, then think about the 1/2” impact.

You can replace the 12V ratchet with hand tools, but good luck drilling out a broken stud with hand tools. And the impact driver is basically free in those kits and will do 95% of the jobs a stubby impact would do if you stick a $3 socket adapter in the thing.

>>26526587
Have some lint
--- 26526682
I wonder if I can do "good enough" corner weighting on the cheap with four walmart bathroom scales rather than shelling out $1400 for fancy longacre scales. They're all 400lb limit these days thanks to fat people. Car is only 1200 lbs with me sitting in it. Seems like it should work.
--- 26526777
>>26526682
You only need one scale and 3x boards of about the same thickness as the scale.
--- 26526859
>>26526777
Checked, and yeah that should do the trick too. But the scales are like 10 bux so four is no big deal.
--- 26527475
My new torque wrench arrived. It's a Korr brand, made in Taiwan. 5-80 ft. lb. Clicks nicely even at 5 lb. Good stuff. My days of guessing torque on spark plugs are over.
--- 26527655
Picked up some cheap tubular control arms. The stock passenger arm had almost no clearance with the swap header. Thought about modifying the old control arm but I don't think it would have been anywhere near as effective seeing how much room I gained.
--- 26528941
Drove the Buick to the shop and had 4 gears and maximum line pressure. Drove it to get lunch and had 1&2 but shifted perfectly. Methinks harness or computer. Wiring diagrams and data will sing me information so true and detailed I'll end up on a federal watch list
--- 26528978
I pulled the cluster to do the dash bulbs. Temp gauge doesn't work so I might thread an old school heavy equipment temp gauge into the factory sensor bung if the threads match. The gauge is just a copper wire direct to the probe and only needs a ground to get a reading.
I'm also going to be doing engine mounts but the springs need to come out, and I also need to do the shocks so im waiting to order some bilsteins. Eventually this truck will be daily driven and then I'll sell my shitbox jetta and probably buy a 5.0 sn95. 
Here's a hurst, I have a new boot in the mail.
--- 26529639
got the fancy schmancy scantool on the buick and drove it, it was not requesting 3rd and didnt have any TPS or VSS data issues

THEN it started starting in 4th gear, threw a P0730, and couldnt be manually shifted into first. Approaching a stop the gear ratio approaches 0 but when you stop it then reads 4:1, the code sets the second you ignition on. It would not revert to any of its previous behaviors the entire afternoon. 

There was no CPS data at all it started claiming there was open circuit. 

Going to get a computer tomorrow since you can pull one in 5 minutes.
--- 26529858
I was finishing rebuilding the steering gearbox from my Hilux but the seal kit came with the wrong sized oring and Teflon right for the piston, so I guess it’s off to the engineering shop to try find the right size
--- 26529906
>>26526300
Does the carb cleaner just clean the visor or does it do something to the old vinyl?
--- 26530075
>>26529906
Looks like he used it to get the sticker off. But be careful with solvents like that around plastics.
--- 26530113
Is it feasible/worthwhile to try and weld shit at home?
--- 26530133
>>26530113
Sure.

I keep wanting to do it, but it’s a big investment for better machines. You can get small stick welders for cheap though. I imagine it’s like soldering, I never thought I needed a soldering iron, but then I learned how to do it and use it more than expected on random shit. It’s like 50/50 repairing electronics and fixing jewelry for family members.
--- 26530166
IT BEGINS
--- 26530187
>>26530113
I bought a hobart handler 140 several years ago when it went on sale for $450 from the then usual price of $500. With Bidenflation now they're $630 for exactly the same product. Hobart is the home gamer sub brand of Miller, the big name brand of welders. Add $125ish of harbor freight mask/cart/wire/nozzles/welding pliers and chipping hammer, $250ish for a C25 bottle. So all-in it's about $1,000. Holds value extremely well though. 
Is it worthwhile? I don't really need it but it's good to have, I've repaired rust holes in 3 of my cars, 1 of someone else's, I've used it for a handful of small projects. For my cars, properly fixing rust holes is something that simply would not have been done otherwise. You'll have to judge if rust is a big problem for you and your cars and if you'd be ok with investing significant time- dozens of hours into fixing it even if you had the whole welding setup.
They do usually ship with a mini spool of flux core wire so you can fuck around with it right when you get it but I wouldn't fuck around with the cheap harbor freight flux-core-only welders if you want to do automotive work. Flux core can't do thin sheet metal well; you need a small MIG setup or TIG. Save your pennies and buy the one you really need.
Keep in mind that if you want to custom fab stuff, and you want aluminum, you'll need a tig or a (kind of uncommon) "spool gun" as alu wire isn't rigid enough to be pushed like steel wire. So aluminum will cost you more.
Finding sheet metal and other kinds of stock can be a challenge, Home depot has tiny pieces of overpriced metal, but you really need to harvest metal from other projects or find a steel supplier near you.
The sky is the limit with how far you go with a welder, personally when I had a roll cage made for my track car, I drew the line there and hired it out. There's no freaking way I was buying a bending rig let alone figuring out cage building.
--- 26530191
>>26529906
>>26530075
Yup, removed the stickers because they looked like ass on an all-black interior.
And yes, be VERY careful with carb cleaner. "Test in an inconspicuous location first" most definitely applies.
--- 26530213
>>26530166
Is that the tail for your Gawr Gura sex doll?
--- 26530233
>>26526208
What holiday?
--- 26530238
>>26530113
>>26530187
Can confirm, bought a flux core at HF and made a ladder rack and repaired my trailer with it, tried to touch exhaust pipe and it was nothing but headaches, but at least pipe doesn't have to look pretty. No one that does decent body work uses a flux core.
--- 26530944
>installing radio
>drop tiny screw into dash fucking somewhere
I'm so fucking useless. Just pulled my entire dash apart and can't find it. My entire life is just making the easiest tasks imaginable impossibly difficult and painful.
--- 26530967
Slapped on the summer tires today, and installed the new freewheeling hub I've had on the shelf for a couple of weeks

>>26530113
Ofcourse - kinda dependent on what you want to do tho, and how much money & time you want to invest
--- 26530999
Why are these new parts so shit. The welds look like shit, the rubbers look like shit copies. 
Hope i dont find out its all wrong and unusable when it gets aligned 

>>26530213
nagadashi
--- 26531000
>>26530999
Are they OEM replacements or aftermarket?
--- 26531006
>>26531000
aftermarket junk. Might rebuild the originals if they are in ok condition/not too rusty. Then try to sell this cheap garbage.
The aftermarket stuff for the front was fine.
--- 26531544
>>26530213
It's an engine cover for a 24yo open wheel car. The other pieces are in a little better shape, mostly just gel coat spiderwebbing and the odd scar from going off track but this one is the worst. Big cracks that go all the way through and will need actual fiberglass repair. Nothing holds it up in the back, it just kinda sits there and bangs around. I intend to change that too.
--- 26531555
>>26523602 (OP)
>What did you do anons?
I put my "24" registration stickers on my plates.
--- 26531597
>>26530238
Those are sexy flux core welds. Outside, welding a trailer, that's like the best application of flux core where the wind might blow away MIG gas.
>>26531006
This is why I don't like messing with older Hondas; for cheaper cars, the aftermarket parts are all Chinese trash.
--- 26532246
brought the wrong tools to the junkyard and got railroaded into pulling a '98 ECM, as a result the engine cranks in the on position, but it seems to work enough to test, though if its anything like the S10 the new computer may be faulty, more testing this afternoon

rockauto saves the day with an interchange list of other vehicles i can get an ECM from, basically what i thought, anything with a 3.8 and a 4t60 around the same year
--- 26532439
Gloves or no gloves when wrenching?
--- 26532448
>>26532439
If it was my job I'd probably wear gloves. It's not so, eh. I'll probably get cancer from something else first.
--- 26532532
>>26532439
>>26532448
if job definitely. But for hobby its a tough one. When im not wearing gloves I constantly wipe my hands on a rag, when I do wear gloves all my tools get covered in grease.
--- 26532613
>>26532439
Mechanic's gloves 100% unless you really can't have them on for dexterity.
Double gloving with nitrile gloves is helpful; when the outer one rips, it's easy to put on replacements as the inner one blocks the sweat.
I'm in training to be a surgeon so YMMV, but my hands are potentially worth like $50M so I'm not fucking around.
I like these, available at home depot, I rotate through them pretty quick once they start to get gross. https://www.homedepot.com/p/reviews/FIRM-GRIP-X-Large-Dura-Knit-Work-Gloves-2-Pack-34298/316897443/3
--- 26532617
>>26532613
*single or double nitrile gloves instead of the mechanic's gloves not in addition.
Some people wear thin white inspection gloves underneath nitrile to wick the sweat but I've never tried that
--- 26533065
Putting a camper shell on today. Is two bolts enough? It already had two holes drilled and I'm just trying to be lazy and not do anymore.
--- 26533280
>>26533065
I would probably do 4 minimum, if you lose one then it’s not going anywhere. If you lose one of two bolts, could go bad quick.
--- 26533388
>>26533280
Makes sense, didn't really think about that.
--- 26533431
ecm needs the key programmed every time you swap it, wonderful way to spend half an hour in our wintery 90 degree days. Consistently stayed in limp mode which is a 1-2 and nothing else, P1810. Harness/valve body issue, ill screw with the connector and probe it tomorrow but Im shelving it now since some work to the garage is starting and i cant have anything inside.

Bought an acdelco reman ecu off summit for my S10, we'll see in about 6 months whether or not they actually have them.
--- 26533791
swapped out upper axel bushing on the 7.5 even though I expect it to explode.
--- 26533828
>>26533791
ive heard these are pretty stout and hold up to a 14 second car

there's a weaker shittier 6.75 with 2.43:1(?) gears but ive never seen it
--- 26533855
>>26533828
>ive heard these are pretty stout and hold up to a 14 second car
I think the non wc t5 is probably going to go first, but a 408 to a 7.5 tracloc is also suicidal.
--- 26533860
>>26533855
>408
fucking nice 
>non WC T5
definitely weaker
--- 26533875
fixed a spark plug thread on my 500$ town car. very easy repair and she's good as new. next up is new HD air springs and new orings and/or solenoids for a long lasting car.
--- 26534114
I'm restoring the headlights on this puppy, i've done it several times but in this case this little shit had sooo muchbyellow garbage it's insane, headlight on the driver side is halfway there, just needs more polishing and 2 coats of 2k clearcoat
>>26528978
Based, i bought an old f100 v8 that barely ran qnd it's almost completely fixed, just rebuilding the shifter seals and i'm looking to put a Hurst on it and a pool ball as the shifter, i've been obsessed ever since the craig did it
--- 26534496
>>26534114
what are you polishing it with?

i always put some bleach on scotchbright and clear coated it afterwards
--- 26535350
>>26534114
Did a friends honda recently. Removed the lights then did 1000-1500-3000grit wetsanding then buffing wheel and coarse compound. Then waxed with collinite 845 boat wax.
--- 26535356
>>26535350
Used stuff I had lying around so it was a free job
Sadly the plastic is fogging a little on the inside which I couldnt get. Otherwise they're mint
--- 26535874
>>26531006
>>26530999
>>26531000
Fuck those things. I could replace only one side. Both different brands btw. Now I have 2 new toe adjust bars, one new control arm on the left and the old one on the right. I did put a new rubber mount on both so they are the same ones. Put some high pressure fuel hose over the spring so it isnt metal on metal.

Not sure if I should get the same brand for the right or just get it aligned and worry 10 years later
--- 26536079
Is this fine?
Marks left on the bearing material from measuring the clearance. 
I'm not sure how else you're supposed to check it so I assume it's okay idk.
--- 26536100
I think it leaking from the water pump. Coolant was dripping down the block. Was hoping it'd be something easy like the rad or a hose :-(
--- 26536468
>>26530166
Scoring gelcoat cracks
--- 26536487
>>26536079
did you measure them with the scribe side of the calipers? You should be using a telescoping gauge for this that has soft metal
--- 26536633
started putting upper control arms on, finished welding the passenger side strut tower factory mounting holes for that dollar store shaved engine bay look.
--- 26536704
>>26536487
I used a bore gauge which has hardened steel spherical measuring points 
Like it just discoloured the surface, there's no actual scratch or anything.
The rod holes all had similar marking out of the box from probably the same tool at the factory
--- 26536708
did some more logic elimination on the buick and have it narrowed down to the shift position sensor, ill tap into the harness and watch 4 probe lights as i swing the shifter around

the side of the case needs to come off to access this, which is a drop subframe deal again, gm is really trying to make me regret my choice of project here 

the nice part is if this fails my test, which i do believe it should, ill just rig up some switches on a board and tell the computer its in drive, there's no limp mode lockout or anything for the shift position sensor
--- 26536748
>>26532246

Do you have a tuner, S10bro?

The part will be the same but if the programming will prevent a start. i had the same issue with my 1995 Monte Carlo Z34 L67 swap. The only year that allowed the engine to run without tuning was from a 98 GTP any other year needed the VATS tuned out. It will look like a faulty ECM when diagnosing. I could send you a programmed one.
--- 26536757
My 91' MR2 has been sitting for a year and a half, I moved a few hours away and haven't had the motivation to touch it. Ran when parked, how fucked is it? Thinking of going next week and getting it running for some summer driving.
--- 26536764
Also another dumb question
This is my highest clearance on rods with smallest being 0.00015 less 
All torqued with the maximum allowance of bolt stretch.
Is this not kind of a lot? What I'm reading is about 1thou per inch of journal diameter and it has like 1.9 ish journals
It's for high boost and road racing, lots of heat basically.

I don't really know what I'm doing I just am kinda Yolo it
--- 26537065
>>26536748
i ended up with a 01 lesabre computer, only the key needed programmed, the 95 monte probably doesn't have the same key transponder system, i know the communication system changed in '98 because my first buick was a '97, absolute PITA to find a working gauge cluster.

anyways i drove this buick around all day today and got a consistent pattern of behavior. Computer sees that its in 2nd when its in anything other than park reverse or neutral. Intermittent P1810 and P0730, tranny harness is shot, shift position sensor is shot, have to verify at the connector.
--- 26537171
>>26523602 (OP)
Stumped on a head unit upgrade, I've got constant 12V at the appropriate terminal and I know the ground is good but I'm still only reading ~.22V at the ignition/ACC terminal whether I turn the key or not, this is all at the factory plug too. At least I got new lights for the hvac controls.
--- 26537220
Doing Radiator, Thermostat, Heater Hoses, and Expansion Tank + A few misc coolant hoses (TB Inlet/Outlet, Crossover for 2 Coolant Pipes, and TStat to Oil Cooler) on a 2011 Pathfinder (VQ40DE same as Xterra/Frontier). 

Holy fuck. Every god damn hose on this truck is BAKED on. Half the clamps had the tabs facing the inside with the worst one being one that had the clamps facing the inside against a heat shield (shielding the hoses from the cat) and only accessible through the wheel well. 

And the nuts were rounded off for the fan clutch which I kinda took off for no reason....I need new vise grips and studs/nuts (fan clutch is tight, bearing on bracket spins freely but a little loud, and fan is mint).

The ONLY thing that makes me feel better is that the nipple for the junction/elbow for the heater hoses were ready to break.
--- 26537447
>repainted fiesta air filter lid because the paint got stripped when I cleaned 40 years of oil leaks off the topside of the engine with oven cleaner
>flushed out cooling system on my merkur, took about 5 flushes before the water stopped coming out brown
>installed new shift knob in fiesta

Don't know if I'll do anything through the actual weekend, weathers going to be shitty tomorrow so we'll see
--- 26537800
>>26535874
I will just have it aligned. If the result is good then i stop caring
--- 26537858
>front suspension hase been driving fucky for a few weeks
>weird noises and clunks
>feels like some bolts have worked their way loose
>crunch sound when taking off or stopping suddenly
>full lock turns feel fucking weird and there's scrubbing
>get the car up on 4 stands finally today, get my pry bar and creeper and go to town under there
>not one single loose bolt, fucked bushing, loose anything
>everything is perfectly tight and fine under there
>engine, gbox mounts all like new

What in the fuck man, wish I could find what's making all that ruckus. On the plus side I did locate the source of some knocking/rattling sound in the rear left wheel. Shock absorber top bolts had worked loose and the lower bushing is sacked out.
--- 26537872
>>26537220
when i had to take off my fan clutch the nuts were also stuck. i ended up getting a short 10mm wrench and then just hammering on the end for each nut until they loosened up.
--- 26538810
Friendly reminder to change your transmission fluid
--- 26539145
>paint delamination on rocker and both doors 

Ahhhhhhhh I hate how this shit will cost thousands to fix, or thousands in shit I gotta buy and time I have to invest to fix.

Also, has anyone here ever used fluid film. On their sportier cars, or is it just a truck thing? I might end up using this car as a daily this winter.
--- 26539388
Ever seen a penta head bolt lmao?
Also, corded high torque impact or cordless mid torque? Job at hand is front main seal replacement.
--- 26539409
junkyard turned over some inventory so i went to check it out, was curious if the lesabre had air ride suspension in base trim, it does, but both of the lesabres i just happened to be in front of while pondering this had air ride eliminator kits, so i just fixed my air ride for $20, its pretty stiff compared to functioning air ride but its better than bouncing and i should be able to use a class 3 hitch without worry now, only complaint is the coilover assembly isnt tight and the coil springs rattle around. Installed the door handle which was a bitch and then went and drove maybe 50 miles around backroads i've never explored, the car decided to have all 4 gears today.
--- 26539416
>>26538810
NOT FALLING FOR THAT ONE AGAIN
GEAR OIL VERY STINKY
FUCK YOU
--- 26539460
>>26539451
Need to fix my suspension. The springs in the back have snapped or been cut some time.
1: Can I just replace the springs or should i replace the shocks too? 
Pros and cons?
2: Can I put in the longest springs there is for my model (I want more clearance), or is there a risk of them not fitting? The difference seems to be about 100mm between shortest and longest. This is from putting in my model in a parts store.
--- 26539472
>>26539460
I'm taking about cheap parts btw, AutoDoc/Ridex shit. $30-40/spring.
--- 26539670
Anons ever get wrenching anxiety? There are some jobs, even jobs I've done several times before, where I always get stressed out before I start because I'm worried something will go wrong and I will be without a car and looking at a tow to mechanics if I fuck it up.
--- 26539704
>>26539670
Yes, often. It nearly happened with my last oil change due to fucked threads. Was at a gas station with a lift for DIY stuff, managed to find an old bolt that sufficed though.
--- 26539712
>>26537858
Wheel bearing?
--- 26539786
i bought power steering fluid and brake fluid for my junker, also a new auxiliary belt, i have never replaced a belt before so it will be interesting, my car requires me to remove an engine mount to change the belt
--- 26539814
>bought a van with some frame issues for $500, inspected it and figured I could get it home (less than 30 minutes)
>frame snapped in half crossing a railroad
Debating on welding it together or just saying fuck it and scrapping it
--- 26539819
>>26539814
Weld it together with rebar
--- 26540017
i was curious how much these cost since ive only seen the heavier coil springs

still fucking raped them 

>>26539670
yeah, its why engines sit on stands in my shop for fucking forever
--- 26540041
Finally got around to new sparky day today. New torque wrench worked perfectly. It felt great to know I tightened them exactly to spec instead of my old use squint eyes, bite tongue, finger tight and a quarter turn-ish(???). Old plugs weren't due in terms of mileage but the idle was getting a tad rough. I found out while. One of the plugs was starting to give up and was doing an incomplete combustion in that cylinder. Not entirely sure if coil needs to be replaced or not but this car is being sold in coming months and it won't be my problem then. Idle is buttery smooth now so I guess it was just the plug. 
>>26539786
>my car requires me to remove an engine mount to change the belt
Jesus christ I hate auto engineers sometimes. There is no reason why you would ever need to design an engine like that.
--- 26540494
I took the springs off my front struts so I can get the worn out shock cartridges out, and when I was compressing a spring the bearing came open and some of the magic got out.
If I can find all the balls can I drop em back in their holes and move on or am I just fucked? The other seems solid, I didn't even know they would come open, especially not just at random while I was tightening the spring compressors.
--- 26540697
>>26540494
they're not supposed to come out of the holes, its called a cage, if they come out then its pretty worn the fuck out, but who knows, i dont even know why your coil spring has a bearing in it
--- 26541279
Welding up my exhaust. It was funny to piss off leftists and fags in the big city and the kids around the neighborhood thought it was cool, but that drone got on my nerves very fast.
Surprisingly it's not loud at all when idling, only when you make the trugg work does it start droning really loud
--- 26541301
>>26523602 (OP)
I did the annual service on my NA and noticed the crank pulley was wobbling, so am currently crying inside, hoping it's just the pulley that's shagged and not something more involved.
--- 26541411
>gearbox oil change
>missing the right size gasket
>Nothing open on sunday
It's over
--- 26541435
rotated tires and snapped a wheel stud. far out. thought the brake cleaner i sprayed on the threads would've flashed off after a few minutes but apparently not. or maybe it was the wd40 i used to fuck the water off. either way, i need a ball joint separator and new studs.
>>26541411
assuming this is a washer for a drain/fill plug, is it copper? if so, you can heat it up on the stove till it's cherry red to make it soft again.
--- 26541442
>>26540697
looks like the top strut mounts. they'd have bearings so the strut can rotate when the wheels are turned
--- 26541460
>>26523602 (OP)
my valve stem seals turned into injector rebuild then turned into timing chain turned into timing chain again turned into headgasket turned into piston rings, but i should be able to try and crank it over today
--- 26541464
>>26530999
most factory welds are just hot garbage
>t. welder
--- 26541686
>>26523602 (OP)
yesterday i got my summer car running. went out for a drive.
still needs repairs, might start dumping money into it.
--- 26541691
>>26539460
1. Yes, you can. If your shocks are really old and worn out then ideally they'd be replaced but that goes for all worn out suspension parts really.
2. I don't want to answer that really, but ideally just leave it at standard ride height.
--- 26541917
I cant get my 2012 ford focus SE's radiator fan tobbn spin up. I replaced the assembley and the relay and its still not working. Do i need to check everything with a multimeter?
--- 26541934
>>26541279
considered earplugs?
--- 26541946
>>26541934
Nah, it wasn't that loud, you could still hear the radio.
My 1.2 litre honda civic with a rusted off exhaust was much louder than the truck has ever been.
Welded a new exhaust anyway and you legit can't hear the engine anymore when driving.
I know, I can't weld for shit and don't care, it holds well enough for me.
--- 26542552
>>26541917
Yes.

It’s an electric fan I’m assuming? Turn on the AC, does the fan come on when you turn the AC on? If not that, you can jump power to the fan to make sure that’s good. If the AC running turns the fan on, I recommend checking if there’s a coolant temp sensor that has gone bad. Last car I had that issue on was a honda and one temp sensor is for the dash gauge and stuff and a second temp sensor controls the fan, and the AC often overrides it and turns the fans on
--- 26543278
im very concerned about the cars behavior, seems to like cycling the ignition to detect it's in drive than sweeping the shifter back and forth, there's no reason the ignition switch should produce this behavior 

i was thinking about adding a relay to the dashboard shift indicator to send the drive position signal to the ecu, but the shift indicator never appears on the wiring diagram anywhere, and as you can see, isn't quite reliable
--- 26543281
>>26543278
--- 26543326
I fucking love my beam torque wrench lads I got one for $20 on eBay and I got a 110 reading on my wheel nuts after the shop put my new tyres on and I checked some bolts rated at 20nm on my thermostat and the needle held at 20 exactly sure I don't have the accuracy of an electric wrench And I'm probably 5nm out every time but at least I didn't have to pay hundreds and my beam style torque wrench goes all the way to 300nm and reads in ft/lbs
--- 26543472
Lil bro came and helped put the back half of the car back on
--- 26543488
>>26541946
it would probably look gooder if you wire brushed the flux spatter off
--- 26543666
>>26543326
beam wrenches are reliable, but it's probably gonna suck if you need to torque up a bolt blind. i got a deflecting beam one that has a little pin you push in, when it reaches the specified torque it springs out with a click that you can clearly hear and feel.
--- 26543697
I've blogged about this a couple of times, but I was on a journey to change the front lower control arm bushings on my CC as my first big "wrench" job. Finally finished the actual task today. Almost had a heart attack when I went to screw in the bolt on the u-joint and it wouldn't catch a thread. Thankfully that was just a matter of forcing the steering column lower by hand. I guess it was pushed up by the steering gear(?) when I put the subframe back.
Forgot to replace the single bolt that makes this a pain with a new stretch bolt, but I'd rather the car fall apart on the highway than take all of this apart again.
Also couldn't get a seized nut out, so I broke the sway links off. Going to take it to a mechanic to replace those since I need an alignment anyway. Hopefully they just laugh me and do the job. I really don't want to hear too much shit or deal with some asshole pretending that it costs a fortune for a professional to remove a seized nut.
--- 26543721
>>26534496
I mean, i've restores several headlights from various shitboxes, not just this ones again and again, i usually on grits i do 1000 then 1500 then 2000 then 3000 and 5000, then a heavy coat of 2k uv resitant clearcoat and then a light coat, first one i did like this was on my current daily and has 5 years without yellowing out, so 10/10 for me
>>26535350
I hate compounds as they always seem to leavea nasty yellow coat when paired with a clearcoat, usually this results in coats that only last 1 year at most without yellowing out
--- 26543740
>>26536757
First off, check air pressure on tyres, add as needed, charge battery before attempting to turn it on, then add fresh gas to the old one so it won't struggle, then put the key on to the second position so the gas pump can fill the line beforehand for a bit before attempting to turn it on, then turn on and let it idle for 5 to 10 mins, make sure nothing seems off, go do a light drive, then go back, replace coolant, oil and oil filter, air filter, sparks if needed
>T. Flipped many "ran when parked" shitboxes
--- 26543830
Don't know where to ask. I'm replacing the rear brake pads on my 2012 Dodge Avenger. I managed to replace the driver side pads, but the passenger side caliper bolts are fucking glued on by rust. What do I do to get it off? Do I just call a mechanic and get them to unscrew it?
--- 26543907
Changed my rear tires today, all I had time to do. Have to drive a few miles tomorrow. May or may not have time to do the front tires. Thing is, the rear tires match themself, but are taller and wider than the unchanged front tires. Can I drive this? Tried googling but this gives me results on mismatched tires on the same axle, not my case.
--- 26543969
R107

-New shocks 
-New subframe mounts front/rear(nightmare)
-Euro headlights
-New wheel

its cool cuckchan blocked my ip range despite me making like 2 posts ever
--- 26543972
>>26543969
--- 26544050
tube lower/upper control arms are on, finished doing rust prevention on the passenger side, taking the fender off the drivers side to weld up the rust and do rust prevention on the drivers side, put rack boots on and put on tierods.
it's really coming down to shitdick comp dragging their feet on handing me my cam I ordered in december.
--- 26544288
You guys ever used cheapo Amazon suction cups to fix this type of shit? Opinions on them?
--- 26544304
>>26544288
even a good suction cup won't help this
--- 26544351
>>26544304
Welp, hammer and a tack then
--- 26544401
>>26541691
>ideally just leave it at standard ride height
I don't really know what this is desu...
--- 26544404
>>26524296
How did you straighten it?
--- 26544408
>>26544288
rubber mallet
--- 26544427
gonna start up my car after doing bottom end work for the first time boys, wish me lucm