Spring car projects anyone?

[SwampSurvivor]

Jeep:
New Upper / Lower control arms
New Tracbar
Alignment - trying to set caster without getting vibrations
Replace Motor and Trans Mounts
Swap out the rear axle
Replace front brakes, rebuild rear 3rd world brakes
Mount / balance new tires (hand, of course)
Oil Change / Spark Plug change / trans fluid change

Focus:
Front brakes, bleed brakes.

 

[HangFire]

I'll pick up where I left off on the "all fluids changeout" project on the old Dakota. Last Fall I changed out clutch, brake, xfer case and P/S fluid (and engine oil of course). Next is both diffs, manual gearbox, and coolant.

I'll also continue the Dakota "change out all non-tire rubber" project. I just changed out all 4 bump stops and the front brake hoses. I have the rear brake hose, and I ordered the radiator, P/S and heater hose pairs, they are coming in soon. I'll combine the coolant changeout with the new hoses. I still need to assess the vacuum and emissions lines, but I'll get to that soon.

"Changed out" doesn't exactly describe removing the old bump stops. One rear stop rubber was missing entirely. The other came off in my hand with a tug, and one of the fronts I removed with my fingertips, bit by bit.

Yes, bad planning on the P/S fluid, this is what happened. I went to remove a hose to flush it, and it broke off. From above it looked fine, from below it was surface cracked like an ancient desert dry lake bed. At that point there wasn't much to do except finish the flush, put it back together carefully, and plan for the hose change. It was then that I decided an all-around rubber replacement was in order.

Rushing off to AAP was not an option because I don't like their Chinese hoses. This is not my daily driver, and it's not Fall hunting season, so I decided it could wait until Spring for new US made hoses purchased with good discounts.

Come Summer-time and good hot dry day, I plan to do the Kellsport FluidFilm NAS thing on it.

 

[silvercivicsi]

My youngest sister's TC needs the water pump and drive belt replaced so that is going to be done this weekend. Have all the parts, RTV, and a gallon of coolant ready to go. Also going to put in a new set of headlights I put together for her as a late b-day present. Nissan Murano bi-xenon projectors, Denso ballasts, LED "halos" and Philips 85122 bulbs. I think she'll like them, first time working with the LED's so hopefully they turn out ok.

The civic is getting its compliance bushings and motor mounts swapped. Still on the OEM rubber and switching over to polyurethane. A friend of mine has a press in his garage that he's going to let me use. Will probably bring my fiancee since she's friends with his wife and we'll just make a day of it. Have a BBQ or something. Also have a set of Lexus RX350-AFS projectors that I'm going to try and fit into the OEM headlights. Nothing wrong with the TSX projectors I'm using now but I'm curious as to how well the AFS system will work in a non-factory application. Also have a k20a2 being (extremely slowly) built up. I'll probably drop it in sometime next year...

My sister's elantra needs new springs/struts put in. At 130,000 miles currently the original is feeling quite mushy.

 

[Dyusik]

Finally got my butt in gear. Did an OC on a 2008(?) Sentra in the middle of all of it too. M1 5w30 with Honda A01 filter. Had to do it, I saw an orange cancer that I just had to get rid of. Told her to come back in 7500

As for the bike, dumped oil, will get on coolant soon. After I'll jack 'er up and take the triple-tree off to get the head bearing off. Or I'll tear into the valves first...who knows.

On the oil related topic, P1 thats on there(14610??), I believe is doing wonders, the magnetic plug has 1/4 if not less iron crud on it. I'm going to leave it on for another OCI and will cut it after the full 24mo run.


Thanks for the kickstart

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[slowdime]

Cavalier:
Good thorough detailing, including engine bay
drain and fill transmission
flush coolant, ps fluid, brake fluid
Replace pads/rotors/shoes/drums

Mazda 3:
Replace motor mounts
Replace ac compressor clutch
replace serpentine belt
replace upstream o2 sensor
Good wash and detail, same treatment as the cavalier
full brake job
new front bumper cover
girlfriends dad's friend has a body shop and may get it painted for a good price

 

[hypervish]

Going to put on 4 struts on the Lexus ES, It's about time considering it's on the originals at 217,000 miles.

And, going to replace the sway bar end links on the Lexus RX, which can also use replacing at 216,000 miles.

 

[callbay]

I've had a dune buggy that's a Meyers Manx with a 56 Volkswagen engine and chassis in the garage for a few years and I am going to finally get it street worthy. I hope to put on a front disc brake kit soon and it will be ready to roll!

 

[fdcg27]

Everything will get a good cleaning and mild detail to include wax.
Other than that, the BMW could use a power steering pump and the '02 Accord probably needs a tranny.
I owe an apology to the member who said that the automatics on this generation of Accord are junk.
They may not be junk, but they won't do 200K either.

 

[ls1mike]

I picked up a 2004 CTS-V with a rod knock...Next month(I hope if I have time) I will pull the motor and use the spare LS1 short block I have. Swap the heads, cam, throw in a new clutch and it is go time.

Just waiting out in the barn.

 

[ls1mike]

Oh and the Grand Prix got a new passenger side LCA, and is waiting on a steering rack...Remember when I lent it out to friend with the Subaru, well she managed to hit a curb pretty hard and mess up a bunch of stuff. No good deed goes unpunished. The rack was weeping a bit anyway.

 

[addyguy]

I 'might' tackle the rust on the tailgate of the Tribute.

I have two complete rust-through holes at the top of the tailgate of my Tribute, right next to the hinges for the hatch glass.

I was just going to leave them, and see how bad they get, but it looks like getting rid of the truck is not an option for a while, so I might get some fiberglass cloth and resin and see if I can patch it up so the hinges don't rust off.

Besides that, I will be doing a thorough spring cleaning of the inside when it warms up, as I've neglected that for a while, and normal fluid and filter changes.

 

[silvercivicsi]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Oh and the Grand Prix got a new passenger side LCA, and is waiting on a steering rack...Remember when I lent it out to friend with the Subaru, well she managed to hit a curb pretty hard and mess up a bunch of stuff. No good deed goes unpunished. The rack was weeping a bit anyway.

Jeez, was she not paying attention or something? I've done my fair share of bouncing off rocks/curbs but I've never busted a steering rack.

 

[ls1mike]

I don't know, I wasn't in it. I believe it was a high curb, looks like the A-arm landed on it and pushed it up into axle.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted By: silvercivicsi
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Oh and the Grand Prix got a new passenger side LCA, and is waiting on a steering rack...Remember when I lent it out to friend with the Subaru, well she managed to hit a curb pretty hard and mess up a bunch of stuff. No good deed goes unpunished. The rack was weeping a bit anyway.

Jeez, was she not paying attention or something? I've done my fair share of bouncing off rocks/curbs but I've never busted a steering rack.

Or she isn't telling me the truth...Either way it is fixed now. Next is the V.

 

[smc733]

All cosmetic here, thankfully!

Now that I'm the owner of my own house with a garage and driveway, I plan on giving the Corolla a nice good interior and exterior cleaning and detailing after this long, long, salty Massachusetts winter. My all-weather floor mats are literally a sheet of crusted salt and brine, pretty gross. I bought a really nice "Outback Tuff" nozzle on Amazon, nothing like the cheaper wash nozzles I could find at Home Depot, this was $30 down from $150 (may still be), and it feels REALLY solid.

Next I want to do a good detailing under the hood, so much salt splash has gotten all over under the hood (can't help it with the awful roads I have to drive in the city every day). There's also some corrosion on the clips holding the battery in. I have wire brushed them clean before and repainted the clip, but it keeps corroding. Not sure what's going on there.

After that, I need to look into replacing the OEM wheel locks, which seem to have started to rust in under 2 years. I got them from a dealer, so I am a bit surprised at this. All 4 of them are rusting in the groves where the key fits. At least the OEM lugs are fine.

Finally, I've grown very tired of using my bluetooth headset every time I need to take a call, work or personal during my commute to & from every day. I'm going to install the Toyota BluLogic bluetooth, which plugs right in to the OEM stereo. After taking apart the center console to replace a light in the fan speed dial, I feel confident enough in doing this install. I just hate those plastic clips holding the trim together, I always feel like I'm one bit of torque on the wrong spot away from snapping them clean in half, even with a plastic removal tool.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: smc733

After that, I need to look into replacing the OEM wheel locks, which seem to have started to rust in under 2 years. I got them from a dealer, so I am a bit surprised at this. All 4 of them are rusting in the groves where the key fits. At least the OEM lugs are fine.


I suspect these are dealer installed locks... at least inquire at the dealer as to what they use and how to obtain them. Then look on amazon for a better price.

I assume you know where the key is, it might be with the four extra factory lugnuts. You might consider running those lugnuts in the winter at least. I'm not sure theives are all that hot for OE corolla rims.

 

[MCompact]

My plan is to clean/paint/rustproof the chassis and suspension components on my Wrangler; I figure it will take 2-3 days at least. Being retired, that is no big deal.

 

[smc733]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

I suspect these are dealer installed locks... at least inquire at the dealer as to what they use and how to obtain them. Then look on amazon for a better price.

I assume you know where the key is, it might be with the four extra factory lugnuts. You might consider running those lugnuts in the winter at least. I'm not sure theives are all that hot for OE corolla rims.


I bought them from the parts counter and installed them myself. I had bought the OEM 16" alloys off eBay two years ago to get rid of some annoying drifting issues I had with the 15" steelies (which they did help along with some Primacy MXV4s). In hindsight, the steelies probably would have been fine with the new tires, and a better choice for New England roads and climate, oh well.

Anyway, the locks are stamped McGard, and I remember them coming in an OEM package. Its odd that they're only rusting inside the lock and nowhere else, and all 4 have about the same amount of rust in them and the same distribution across the lock. I will see if I can post a picture. I suppose I could just replace them with lugs, not only are these not super desirable wheels, I live and work in pretty safe areas, so I'm never really anywhere where this kind of theft would occur.

 

[smc733]

 

[EuroGS]

Hmm..let's see.

For the Regal..Struts+mounts at all 4 corners, passenger side LCA,axle, and outer tie rod end, front brakes, and a few minor nick nack things like get the odometer to light up again as well as fix a few rattles.

Impala..nothing other than an oil change and a detail!

Saturn...Front brakes, oil change, and a new battery


I haven't decided if I want to go the easy(and cheaper) route of fixing the Saturn to DD that in my 60 mile round trip commute to work(and hate myself for driving this car)....or spend the money and fix my GS and at least be able to stay awake while driving.