Car Enthusiast Club [Now Motorcycle friendly!] - First thread to 150k! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[vetali]

12 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

car gurus i think just goes off sale prices so it's both. but also only their own listings so 

not many cars for sale around here. Though I refuse to use facebook so idk whats on their marketplace, they prob all on there.

If it was actual purchase prices I'd really worry. Car shortage is starting to hit us. We were getting 9 new hondas a week on average off the gravy truck. Now its 1-3. Facebook is mostly garbage on there. You search honda and you get those hondas.

[handymanshandle]

On 4/21/2021 at 9:57 PM, Bitter said:

I've heard nothing but trash about the 2.7 Chevy turbo in the trucks.

yeah no my 9-3 has taught me that Turbos are very so-so.
they can be nice but they can also suck.

I'd only get the 5.3 lmao

[handymanshandle]

oh boy I think I've struck a bit of a balance between price and features for the silverado but it's such an oddball spec lmao
I think most people would rather just lose some shit just to get badging that shows that they have a more expensive truck and a front end that says that too

I'd prefer the blind spot mirror to the blind spot monitor system but eh it is whatever but Chevy doesn't seem have that blind spot mirror in the driver mirror anymore

 

take a WT trim truck and tack on about $4,295 in options and $3,645 in packages and you basically have what the Custom more or less should've been (Plus you get the 5.3L V8!)

Interior:

Spoiler

Exterior:

Spoiler

$40,685 after discounts

[AlwaysFSX]

3 minutes ago, pinksnowbirdie said:

oh boy I think I've struck a bit of a balance between price and features for the silverado but it's such an oddball spec lmao
I think most people would rather just lose some shit just to get badging that shows that they have a more expensive truck and a front end that says that too

I'd prefer the blind spot mirror to the blind spot monitor system but eh it is whatever but Chevy doesn't seem have that blind spot mirror in the driver mirror anymore

 

take a WT trim truck and tack on about $4,295 in options and $3,645 in packages and you basically have what the Custom more or less should've been (Plus you get the 5.3L V8!)

Interior:

  Hide contents

Exterior:

  Hide contents

$40,685 after discounts

I like that spec at first glance, looks like something I'd get. Though I haaaaaaaateeeeeeeeeeeee Chevy's mirrors.

[handymanshandle]

9 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

I like that spec at first glance, looks like something I'd get. Though I haaaaaaaateeeeeeeeeeeee Chevy's mirrors.

the mirrors were fine to me, the blind spot mirror was so useful and I really liked having it in the truck I rented last weekend

[AlwaysFSX]

Just now, pinksnowbirdie said:

the mirrors were fine to me, the blind spot mirror was so useful and I really liked having it in the truck I rented last weekend

I'm used to larger mirrors and I don't want to give that up. I feel like the visibility with the Silverado mirrors could be way better.

[handymanshandle]

7 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

I'm used to larger mirrors and I don't want to give that up. I feel like the visibility with the Silverado mirrors could be way better.

ah yeah I can understand that lol

[handymanshandle]

on another note I got my saggy exhaust fixed. It's more so a temporary fix but it's better than it dragging!

[Oskar94a]

My A8 passed the inspection, took it for a 200km warm up drive after sitting all winter. It's fun and comfortable to drive.

 

 

 

[TVwazhere]

Lesson learned: I am not am mechanic who's acclimated to actual labor so I should only work on cars on Saturdays at the latest because boy I am sore.

 

TL;DR Ten hours to do control arms on the GF's Beetle, and I technically didnt finish. 

 

Bushings on the driver side arm failed inspection; It's $30 for the bushing but $60 for a whole new arm with the bushings already pressed, so I went with that. Took me forever to get one side off (the ball joints pin would not slide out of the knuckle) until my dad came so a real man could hit it () I also had issues with both tie rods spinning, to the point where we cut them off and bought new ones (which required grease fittings and I didnt have my grease gun, go figure.) Also could NOT get the passenger side CV axel out of the wheel hub. We didn't try any of the sliding or screw tools as it was getting late but we saw many videos where those didnt work anyways, and all it prevented us from installing was the passenger side ball joint which was okay at best. 

 

All in all I'm sad it took me so long and I'm also sad I wasn't able to get it completed before my GF had to go to work today (which I didn't know she did until 5pm last night because she usually doesn't work Mondays) She told me I looked very dejected all day

[Bitter]

Use a pry bar to pull the tierod down into the knuckle to help hold it from spinning. Need a beefy pry bar though.

 

 

Washed and waxed my Mazda and repaired some cracks in the glass. Tomorrow the weather is good enough to drive my Celica so I'll take it out to work and back to get it done road time.

[bcredeur97]

4 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

Lesson learned: I am not am mechanic who's acclimated to actual labor so I should only work on cars on Saturdays at the latest because boy I am sore.

 

TL;DR Ten hours to do control arms on the GF's Beetle, and I technically didnt finish. 

 

Bushings on the driver side arm failed inspection; It's $30 for the bushing but $60 for a whole new arm with the bushings already pressed, so I went with that. Took me forever to get one side off (the ball joints pin would not slide out of the knuckle) until my dad came so a real man could hit it () I also had issues with both tie rods spinning, to the point where we cut them off and bought new ones (which required grease fittings and I didnt have my grease gun, go figure.) Also could NOT get the passenger side CV axel out of the wheel hub. We didn't try any of the sliding or screw tools as it was getting late but we saw many videos where those didnt work anyways, and all it prevented us from installing was the passenger side ball joint which was okay at best. 

 

All in all I'm sad it took me so long and I'm also sad I wasn't able to get it completed before my GF had to go to work today (which I didn't know she did until 5pm last night because she usually doesn't work Mondays) She told me I looked very dejected all day

I’ve learned from doing suspension work at home that if I’m gonna do it, then might as well do every single piece that connects to whatever I’m trying to replace because things will be stuck or I will break them in my impatience to get things off xD 

 

maybe if it’s new I can get away with it but I never work on new things lol

 

this is especially true of anything that is a ball joint. Haha 

 

also it’s why I’m very reluctant to work on anyone’s cars outside of my family because I pretty much have to have a plan B for when the car isn’t done in time 

[TVwazhere]

27 minutes ago, Bitter said:

Use a pry bar to pull the tierod down into the knuckle to help hold it from spinning. Need a beefy pry bar though.

 

Prybar was one method we tried to keep it from spinning. Admitedly it wasnt super long but it didnt really help too much. I believe there was a hex head on the bottom of both but after 125 k miles they were unusable. 

27 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

I’ve learned from doing suspension work at home that if I’m gonna do it, then might as well do every single piece that connects to whatever I’m trying to replace because things will be stuck or I will break them in my impatience to get things off xD 

 

maybe if it’s new I can get away with it but I never work on new things lol

 

this is especially true of anything that is a ball joint. Haha 

 

also it’s why I’m very reluctant to work on anyone’s cars outside of my family because I pretty much have to have a plan B for when the car isn’t done in time 

If I had started Saturday like I had anticipated I actually would have had the necessary time. But we took a day to just enjoy doing things.\

 

Apparently the VW place nearby will do the labor for $212 so thats nice. I still have a power steering pump, cooler and an emergency brake to fix though before it can pass inspection

[That_Random_Guy]

Restored some pedals in prep for the manual swap

 

[Bitter]

9 minutes ago, That_Random_Guy said:

Restored some pedals in prep for the manual swap

 

New bushings on the shaft for the brake and clutch? They egg out over time and can make the clutch pedal feel sticky or notchy which is no fun.

[vetali]

11 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

Lesson learned: I am not am mechanic who's acclimated to actual labor so I should only work on cars on Saturdays at the latest because boy I am sore.

 

TL;DR Ten hours to do control arms on the GF's Beetle, and I technically didnt finish. 

 

Bushings on the driver side arm failed inspection; It's $30 for the bushing but $60 for a whole new arm with the bushings already pressed, so I went with that. Took me forever to get one side off (the ball joints pin would not slide out of the knuckle) until my dad came so a real man could hit it () I also had issues with both tie rods spinning, to the point where we cut them off and bought new ones (which required grease fittings and I didnt have my grease gun, go figure.) Also could NOT get the passenger side CV axel out of the wheel hub. We didn't try any of the sliding or screw tools as it was getting late but we saw many videos where those didnt work anyways, and all it prevented us from installing was the passenger side ball joint which was okay at best. 

 

All in all I'm sad it took me so long and I'm also sad I wasn't able to get it completed before my GF had to go to work today (which I didn't know she did until 5pm last night because she usually doesn't work Mondays) She told me I looked very dejected all day

For the tie rods that spin I have a huge pair of channel locks that I just clamp the tie rod back in the knuckle and zap zap. Sway bar links can be a pisser though, same with stuck CV axles.

 

Working on this old odyssey from the east. What a rust bucket. Spent like 3-5 minutes on each exhaust bolt with heating, pounding a socket on, and praying. When usually I just zap zap them off. Mount bolt pulled threads so I gotta deal with that once the subframe is out.

[Bitter]

Some tricks for getting the nut down before the tierod spins..

Lube lube lube and then more lube. Clean the threads with a wire wheel on a die grinder. If it's a nylock nut tell it to fuck off with some heat and just burn the plastic out of it. Usually any of those three does the trick. If it does spin, yeah channel locks but I've found my 4foot 1/2 inch pry bar can put a lot more force on it one handed than channel locks. I have small hands, it's a blessing and a curse.

[bcredeur97]

28 minutes ago, Bitter said:

Some tricks for getting the nut down before the tierod spins..

Lube lube lube and then more lube. Clean the threads with a wire wheel on a die grinder. If it's a nylock nut tell it to fuck off with some heat and just burn the plastic out of it. Usually any of those three does the trick. If it does spin, yeah channel locks but I've found my 4foot 1/2 inch pry bar can put a lot more force on it one handed than channel locks. I have small hands, it's a blessing and a curse.

Why hasn’t the human race designed a ball joint that can’t spin yet? 

[Bitter]

37 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

Why hasn’t the human race designed a ball joint that can’t spin yet? 

It would have to be keyed in some way, machining a properly tapered key on a stud to match a keyway in the hole would be hard. The reason the stud and hole are tapered is to spread load and pinch together. They're actually like a degree off so the knuckle stretches and clamps a little. And they kind of do...those ball joints that have a pinch slot and round ring cut into the stud with the bolt that goes through. They just get rusty and won't pull down, there's ways of getting them down too.

[OldFord76]

This old F100 my Grandpa restored. May be mine in the next few years. Its always fun to see people look at it when we drive by. He put new seat cover, painted and removed a lot of rust, and just made it look better. Not in the best condition ever, but I love it. 

[Bitter]

Finally a nice enough day to drive it to work and get it filthy while it's parked.

 

Left my usual silver sunshades at home in the other car...these will do.

[XGoodGuyFitz]

Just now, Bitter said:

Finally a nice enough day to drive it to work and get it filthy while it's parked.

 

Left my usual silver sunshades at home in the other car...these will do.

When you realise you put them on the wrong way. 

[Bitter]

33 minutes ago, XGoodGuyFitz said:

When you realise you put them on the wrong way. 

They're too short/wide the right way so they don't fit and fall down. They were only $1 on closeout.

[XGoodGuyFitz]

1 minute ago, Bitter said:

They're too short/wide the right way so they don't fit and fall down. They were only $1 on closeout.

ah i see. 

[TVwazhere]

5 hours ago, RGBoy said:

This old F100 my Grandpa restored. May be mine in the next few years. Its always fun to see people look at it when we drive by. He put new seat cover, painted and removed a lot of rust, and just made it look better. Not in the best condition ever, but I love it. 

I'm not really a truck kinda guy, but I'd get an old truck like this if I had the change and money, for sure.