by "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
Published 05/04/2017 at 10:54
by "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
Published 05/04/2017 at 10:54
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STARS: 2
With the addition of a third vehicle that isn’t 56 years old, and the retreat of the glacier that was our driveway this winter, I’m freed up to do more work on our cars again, finally. It’s not that I can’t wrench in the winter, but a) it’s not exactly comfortable, b) sheet ice isn’t a good surface to lift a car from, and c) if anything went slightly wrong, my wife or I would be unable to get to work.
So of course, everything went swimmingly with the front brakes on my wife’s car last night; the old rotors came off without a hint of a fight, and the calipers were in fine shape, but it was still nice to know I had a buffer. It was a lovely 48 degrees out, with NO BUGS. Soon, the temps will be warmer but with that comes swarms of bitey little airborne nuisances that cause my face to be covered in black smudges from trying unsuccessfully to swat away insects without getting grease and/or brake dust all over myself. I also prefer cooler temps because I can wear long pants and long sleeves without sweating to death.
Front pads + rotors + wear sensor (all OEM brand) from oembimmerparts = $189.00 shipped. I spent 2 hours outside listening to baseball on the radio, having a beer, working with my hands, and saving a solid $200 in labor. It was a good night. As a bonus, my wife was quite pleased with the result on her way to work this morning.
I’ve been ticking small things off my list almost daily; with four cars to maintain now it’s a bit of a juggling act. This was the biggest item I’ve taken on so far this spring. The next biggest being an upgraded sway bar on the XC70 - easy but for the rusty bolts I encountered on that car.
Next up is brakes on the truck, that’s a bigger one. Otherwise it’s small potatoes like touching up rock chips, maybe spark plugs on my car.
What have you worked on lately? What’s next on your list?
"EL_ULY" (uly)
05/04/2017 at 11:02, STARS: 1
Within the next 3 months, front and rear pads, rotors and tires for Z4. The Volvo is at the moment perfect.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
05/04/2017 at 11:06, STARS: 1
The horn in my Sierra stopped working, and I NEED that! (almost every day, it seems, I’m sorry to say...) Had to find some wiring diagrams and poke around with my multimeter to isolate the issue before throwing parts at it. It turned out to be just some dirty contacts on the “slip ring” between the steering wheel and the column.
Next on my list is an alignment check on the Mustang. It feels right on, but I like to have it checked regularly, at least once a year.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
05/04/2017 at 11:06, STARS: 0
Reviving the boat after cleaning the carbs over the winter. New shocks, struts and strut mounts for my wife’s Saab. Repairing some gel-coat issues on the boat. New plugs in the bike. Sharpening my lawn mower. Bubble rust repair on the Saab. Finishing the new floor upstairs. Studying for the FE. Prepping the baby room..............
This list never seems to get shorter.
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
05/04/2017 at 11:08, STARS: 1
I recently chased down a rattle in my rear hatch next up is a window motor for my car, plugs for my wife’s and I’m going to refresh the rear axle for my rat rod.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:09, STARS: 0
Disc brakes are so easy, and so satisfying to replace. I love me some new brakes.
Right now, all three of our cars are “perfect” at least in terms of not needing anything outside of preventative maintenance. The truck is fine, too, I’m just eager to get rid of some old brake components. I think an oil change is next on my 325. But now that I’ve said it, I’m sure to have something come up, right?
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:14, STARS: 1
lol @ needing the horn. I’m lucky to live where I don’t usually have to honk at people. I still find excuses now and then, though. On tracking electrical issues, my go-to diagnostic tool is a Power Probe. It’s fantastic, but 12v only.
So it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who gets an alignment when there’s nothing wrong. It’s a lot cheaper - and less maddening - than unevenly worn tires! I’ve got my kids trained such that when they hear a car going by making crazy tire noise like wah-wah-wah-wah-wah they say, “Daddy, sounds like THEY need an alignment” hahaha
"EL_ULY" (uly)
05/04/2017 at 11:15, STARS: 1
There is always something :]
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:17, STARS: 0
The list definitely doesn’t get shorter. It’s a matter of how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go, sometimes! I literally keep a list using an online tool called Producteev - I’ve used it for work, but found it was a great way to track vehicle maintenance, among other things. You can have projects with checklist items, then lists inside of those items, and notes within that - e.g. Vehicles > Truck > replace brake master cylinder > talk to Spence about finding used parts. You get the idea.
What kind of boat do you have? Mine’s still in storage, this shitty weather has it staying right there for now.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:19, STARS: 1
Nice! Chasing down rattles can be... maddening. Also satisfying, if you’re successful!
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
05/04/2017 at 11:27, STARS: 1
Yesterday, it was a car trying to merge right into my front bumper, without so much as a signal. Yeesh.
Yeah, those power probes look pretty cool. I’ve been casually looking at getting one, but I have a few tools on my list that I want to save up for and pick up first. In the meantime, I can get by with a multimeter and test light.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
05/04/2017 at 11:28, STARS: 0
1976 Lund Shellstar with a 70 Johnson. It is on its last legs without some serious effort put into it. It will survive a couple more seasons I think but that is it.
It fits in the garage, that is one feature that is a bit more difficult with newer boats.
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
05/04/2017 at 11:33, STARS: 1
Once I get rid of the Honda, it’s back to the Cougar. Next up, rear leafs and floor repair. Hopefully I can find some seats to toss in there, too.
As far as the cost of a brake job...the Honda recently had one...the shop charged the PO $241 parts, $108 in labor. I priced out the parts via part number, rotors and pads are both NAPA. $60 for the pads, $90 for both rotors...both are “premium” parts. So on top of the easy labor, the shop overcharged the guy almost $100 for the parts, too.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:38, STARS: 0
Oh that’s right, I remember now actually. Yeah, that will be hard to replace.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:40, STARS: 0
Shops must love simple brake jobs. I feel like, if I did this more often, I could get it down around 20 minutes a wheel. So if you add it all up with set up and clean up, it’s still only about an hour per axle. It took me 2 hours including all set up and clean up and I had to string up lights because it was dark.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:44, STARS: 1
A multimeter and test light are all you really need. The beauty of the power probe is the added ability to GIVE power or ground, when you find it’s not where you expect it to be. I’ve diagnosed a few trailer wiring issues with mine, along with countless boat wiring issues, and it’s a big time saver. But then, so are air-ratchets and cordless impact drivers and, and, and....
"mustangchris66" (mustangchirs66)
05/04/2017 at 11:47, STARS: 1
I’m planning a total rebuild of the front suspension on my 1966 Mustang and add a power rack and pinion steering. To finish off the project I plan on doing my own alignment. This is my spring/early summer project.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/04/2017 at 11:56, STARS: 0
Ooooh I would love to get at the suspension on my truck. At least some of the ancient bushings, or even just the shocks. Unfortunately not high on my list right now.
How big a job is the power steering add-on? Can you just get parts out of one that had power steering from the factory?
"mustangchris66" (mustangchirs66)
05/04/2017 at 14:38, STARS: 0
The suspension is the easy part. I got an all inclusive kit for the rack and pinion. It “bolts in” I fully expect to have to do some work but the kit was designed for a vintage Mustang.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
05/05/2017 at 09:48, STARS: 0
Wow, nice. It does look a bit complex, your use of quotes on “bolt-in” is probably spot on. But that will be a nice upgrade.
I’m very tempted just to at least replace the shocks in my truck, they look like... well, ancient because they probably are. They look like they’d be easy to replace, and they’re only like $30-40 each so it’s not a big investment. But then there are all the rest of the bushings that are completely shot...
"mustangchris66" (mustangchirs66)
05/05/2017 at 12:02, STARS: 1
I replaced the shocks on the Mustang with some high quality Bilstein shocks and the difference was shocking (pun not intended). The bushing and everything are not worn out though. The rebuild I’m doing now is an upgrade of all components to better quality and design.