Good news and bad news

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
02/17/2019 at 23:28 • Filed to: project golf ball

The good news is I already had the parts. The bad news is changing the front brake flex hoses on the Civic was a pain . I’d say they needed to be done though. I’ll do the rears sometime this week.

Had to wait until tomorrow to do finish the tie rod ends because Moog neglected to include a zerk fitting with one of the two and I didn’t feel like going to the hardware store. Also even after greasing the one that did it still creaks really bad. Maybe I did it wrong? I’m going to try packing the boot before I put the next one on and see if that helps.

Oddly it wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked and probably could have lasted for a while longer.

DISCUSSION (15)

Urambo Tauro > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/17/2019 at 23:39

Maybe you just need more grease? I once made the mistake of only putting a few pumps of grease into new ball-joints, and they creaked like crazy until I got back underneath there and gave ’em a few more pumps.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Urambo Tauro
02/17/2019 at 23:43

Good point. It started to leak out, but yeah I’ll try again before I pull it off . Maybe once it is off jack stands and the angles are more normal ? The internet seemed to suggest putting grease in the boot before mounting could help. Or at the very least shouldn’t hurt haha.

Berang > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/18/2019 at 00:16

What was the original size again?

Sovande > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/18/2019 at 07:02

I love doing suspension work on old worn out cars. I’m looking forward to getting under the wagon I bought and changing out everything.

I do not like doing brakes though.

MM54 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/18/2019 at 08:39

Looks like both the brake line and the tie rod was well due for replacement.

I keep a big box of assorted grease zerks on hand, comes in handy in times like these and was fairly cheap. I’d also recommend a big assortment of cotter pins for similar reasons.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > MM54
02/18/2019 at 09:09

Haha that is the plan. My biggest life saver has been the copper washer assortment. The brake lines are banjo fittings on one side so without that I would have been stuck.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Berang
02/18/2019 at 09:12

175/70r13

MM54 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/18/2019 at 09:15

I should look into a big box of crush washers, I just have a few laying around as leftovers from v arious jobs...

66P1800inpieces > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/18/2019 at 09:23

Do Moog and other aftermarket companies include zerk fittings as a gimmick to make their products seem better or do they help with longevity? Maybe on pickups or something that carries more weight had has some slop. It has been a while since I have seen fittings on O EM level parts and they last 150k or more miles. I try to stick to OEM parts, or on my older car (99.5 Golf) OEM stamped with branded VW for electronics, and OEM parts basically the same as dealer but with no stamp, or something of similar quality like L emforder but not Me yle. It’s to much of a pain to make those fit. Then again I did a cheapo A/C fix this summer and used a Nissins compressor. It was super inexpensive, but seemed well built, fit perfect, and works great. The Behr condenser was another story and had me cursing a bit. Had to re bend some of the connectors and mounts to get it to sit right.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > 66P1800inpieces
02/18/2019 at 09:55

I like the idea of having the zerks. They recommend giving them a couple pumps of grease every oil change. The idea appears to be you gradually flush out the old grease and any contaminants that sneak in. I’ve never done this style before, so TBD.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/18/2019 at 13:14

Hmm. How old is the Civic?

I don’t look forward to doing this on mine (2001).

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > BaconSandwich is tasty.
02/18/2019 at 13:40

Little bit older than that. It is a 1986. Flex hoses are never fun, but they fail in such weird ways I’ve go into the habit of doing them as new (to me) car maintenance.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/19/2019 at 20:36

Those still hold brake fluid? I am planning to replace the ones on my 85 Jag when it gets warmer. Mine look completely fine but I’ve been worried about blowing one unexpectedly. Guess I shouldn’t worry quite as much.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > MiniGTI - now with XJ6
02/19/2019 at 21:07

Haha my understanding is flex hoses usually fail internally (block or one-way) before they do externally. They’re super weird like that. These started cracking after a couple days at full flex. Still, clearly they were due!

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
02/20/2019 at 00:38

My Jag pulls left a little under hard braking so I’m definitely planning on new hoses and either rebuilding or getting rebuilt calipers.