Three foot pipe works wonders! 

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 02/03/2018 at 10:53 • Filed to: None

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It helps when you have the right tool for the job and so for my wheel bearing job, I went to home Depot and picked up a 36x1 inch pipe to slip over my 18 inch breaker bar. It made quick work of the axel nut and had my wheel bearings removed in no time. I had to also buy some drill bits to clear the indent for the nut but again having the right tool made it easy peasy. Sure I had to spend a bunch of money on tools to complete this job but at least I finally have a torque wrench now, a nice chisel, a big ass pipe, some drill bits, and plenty of high temperature grease. Although I think the brake part grease I had could have worked, I figured I’d play it safe and use the right stuff. There was like no grease left when I removed the bearing so no wonder it was screaming at me on the highway. Now it is all fixed up and quiet. It seems to ride better as well! I still have to do the drivers side shortly but I was starving. I will get to that today.

Overall it was a pretty easy job. Still have my massive oil leak to deal with but that’s manageable still seeing as I drove across the country with that problem. I will continue to fight it but now at least I can drive the car again without worrying about a wheel falling off.

Additionally, I worked on a simple fix in the Subaru. Basically it is known as “fixing the bobble head problem” where the stock STI seat springs are way too loose and cause the Driver to bounce around independent of the suspension. At first I thought my suspension was just shot until I researched it a bit and learned it’s all about the seat!

So I picked up these giant 250 pound zip ties and strapped the springs together to make them a bit more taught. I haven’t tested it out yet since it wasn’t immediately apparent on all roads anyways. It feels a little less bouncy just sitting in the garage but we shall see if it could use some adjustment. It’s especially annoying at freeway speeds on the 101 and 405, both seem to achieve the perfect resonance that makes me wish for traffic just to make it stop. It sometimes feels like a shock has broken and the car has gone nuts so it’s more than minor on those occasions. The only real solution I’ve seen is aftermarket seats but I quite like the stockers for comfort. A slight improvement will make a world of difference!

Montalvo > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 02/03/2018 at 11:16

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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Montalvo 02/03/2018 at 11:24

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I really could use a torch! Although more importantly I’d like to have air tools and a nice compressor. There is nothing I have been unable to get apart with air tools, liquid wrench, and stripped bolt tools. But I never have air tools at home so it becomes a last resort.

vicali > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 02/03/2018 at 11:42

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When I did struts on the Impreza it maxed out my impact wrench.. it would just pound the bolts round. Ended up with a pipe on a breaker and slow pressure - basically all my weight on the end 4 ft away.. slowly they all came out.

MM54 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 02/03/2018 at 13:07

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If your jack has a hollow handle, that works well, too. When my 2' pipe isn’t enough (or won’t fit, it’s not all that big around) for whatever needs torque, the jack handle comes into play.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > MM54 02/03/2018 at 13:15

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My jack handle is only like a 1/2 inch or less in ID so nothing fits in there, not even my smaller ratchets. Maybe a 1/4 inch ratchet would but I ain’t using that for high torque anything lol. I made sure to find the widest pipe I could. This one was like $15 and I’m sure it will find good use. I could use a better floor jack though anyways. This one is nice and portable but is a harbor freight cheapo one. A nice hefty low profile one would be excellent for home use and probably include a bigger handle.

MM54 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 02/03/2018 at 13:33

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Ah, yeah a trolley jack style handle wouldn’t do much good. A nice piece of black pipe like that is good to have around in any case - and like you said, it’s a pretty cheap tool.

If you get the larger harbor freight jacks, the handles work pretty well (I have two of their 3 ton, which I insist is not their rating, but rather what they weigh).

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 02/03/2018 at 20:34

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I probably have every tool you’ll ever need and I don’t mind helping. I have a portable air compressor too. I have electric tools but I think air tools are more useful for things like stuck axle nuts.

On the subject of breaker bars, I got the biggest bar any tool company has, but I mainly got it because it’s ridiculous. I also have a breaker bar that is actually taller than most people. That was actually bought as a novelty because it was so cheap; I’ve only used it once.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > His Stigness 02/04/2018 at 00:41

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I just love being able to do work at home, it’s what I’ve always wanted. Being able to just stop working and go make a sandwich or go pee is the best. It’s nice to have all the best tools and such at another place, but it’s so much better to just do it at any hour while at home. Haha I’m sure I’ll get stuck on something though at some point, sometimes I can have all the tools in the world and just not have the skill to figure it out. Usually that results in beat it with a fucking hammer or start drilling holes in stuff though. Anyways, thanks I’ll definitely be reaching out when I get super stuck. First thing I probably should do is order some paint though now that nothing is really broken.

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 02/04/2018 at 18:00

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You’re preaching to the choir on that one. A few years ago I brought both my toolboxes home and had them here for about six months, and it was glorious. During that time I decided to the timing belt on my TDI, and it was so nice being able to do it in the comfort of my own home. Sure, it would have been easier on a lift at work, but it was so nice being able to just walk out into the garage and working at a relaxed pace. While I could have done the job in a day at work, I took the weekend because I could.

While I’ve since had to take my boxes back to work, I’m bringing one back home because I finally bought a behemoth of a box. While it won’t be filled with all of my tools, it will be nice to have a real toolbox back at home so I can organize things, and also have a work surface out in the garage.