Why the hell can't you keep a car for more than 6 months? I'm assuming that you don't pay for your cars because that shit's expensive.
Finally tackled my long-overdue engine mounts. Been putting it off because the V6 mounts are a bitch of a job. Picdump along with a commentary on the half-day rollercoaster that is DIYing a job Audi quoted nearly $1500 for. Fresh engine mounts from 034 Motorsports. They're only $95USD a pop, plus $50USD shipping (from the US!) The OEM mounts are filled with fluid which are inherently more pliable for a comfortable ride, but are prone to failing and leaking after a few years. These mounts are solid rubber and keep a firmer hold on the engine with a hopefully longer service life. The infamous top nut. Audi "kindly" left a scalloped out section above the nut so you can squeeze a socket or spanner in there, but the area around it is so tight that a small flexhead ratchet or stubby spanner are the only tools that can break the nut free, along with plenty of WD-40 and elbow grease (and cigarettes and swearing). I used the ratchet on the passenger side nut and the stubby on the driver side (RHD car). This image is of the driver side nut and was taken after the airbox and various bits of trim were removed, but before the heatshield, which needs to be removed completely on both sides. Coolant expansion tank had to be loosened and pushed out of the way for the passenger side. Spot the engine mount! Various sources on the internet (passatworld, audizine, audiworld) suggested that attacking the top nut from under the car was the easiest method, while claiming that it was basically impossible from the engine bay. That's clearly BS, because that's exactly what I did. From below, I could barely guide the spanner onto the nut, let alone get enough leverage to break it. But yes, this image illustrates quite nicely my home for the coming hours. Bottom nuts were a cakewalk. 13mm socket on an extension made short work of them. The engine mount brackets had to be pulled, which meant undoing three bolts each side. By no means am I scrawny at 1.8m and nearly 80kg, but one of the rearmost bolts totally kicked my ass. After more swearing, percussive maintenance on the bolt, and a liberal application of WD-40, I decided to jack up my ratchet (breaker bar was broken, cheater bar disappeared into a different dimension) into the bolt and gave it a kick. Sorted. But before the brackets could come off, the anti-roll bar had to go. Audi taking the piss as usual; the bar is mounted on the engine mount brackets, and seems to be about 30mm too long. The endlinks can either be loosened as far as possible or be pushed right out and cabletied to the hub for the bar to fit back in. :/ Old and new. Been a long time coming. Driver side mount is fubar. You can see what's left of the fluid in there, fittingly nicknamed 'barney blood'. Can you imagine the movement of the engine? This washer belongs somewhere pretty important. Ask me how I figured out where it belongs... Passenger side a little worse. Looks like the snub mount was taking the brunt of the forces from the engine which explains why the OEM one was pretty much ruined. Good thing I swapped the old rubber one for a sporty polyurethane number a few months earlier. Reassembly was smooth, wasn't left with any stray bolts or anything. Test drive went well too, definitely didn't break the speed limit on the winding roads near my house.
Well last Monday I caused a few hundred pounds worth of damage to my mums new 2011 Volvo V60 D5 after I hit a pot hole and caused a flat tyre and I was in shock because of what happened and the fact that I had thought I had damaged the suspension but I gave it a quick test after I got back from the garage and it tracked straight so no suspension damage phew....I think the roads in Edinburgh (where I live) are insanely sh*tty because of the amount of pot holes in them everywhere else in the UK has fantastic roads, not in Edinburgh it seems to have acquired ALL the UKs pot holes!
What I did to my car today is nothing special. Just drove It to the supermarket, then got home and got the rear wheel off, because the drum brakes are scraping to something... and yeah, It's a Mercedes A-Class. Wish I had a reset button just like in BeamNG
I came up with a long list of stuff that I need to do to the MG and the Focus: MG Stuff: Exhaust needs replacing (too loud) Fan upgrade (7 blade plastic rather than the 3 blade metal one) New air filters (the pancakes are starting to rust) Carburettor tuning (one piston stuck) New distributor (mechanical one is starting to rust) Drive shaft has slight play Fix the gearbox oil leak Investigate synchromesh problems Both sills need replacing Both doors need replacing Rear valance needs replacing Rear drivers side wing needs replacing Passenger side C pillar has a big rust hole Lots of chrome needs replacing or re chroming Unseize part of the hand break Fix the servo grounding problem Fit the braided break hoses I've bought Passenger seat stitching has come undone (Fat person went through the seat) Replace oily carpets (Oil gauge leaked everywhere) Secure the auxiliary switches (Fuel cut off and distributor kill switches are hanging free) Add bump stops all round (They all have fallen off) Replace the rear shackle bushes (They've disappeared) Fix clutch slave leak Refit the anti roll bar (Previous owner installed it upside down) Fix the wheel wobble at speeds over 30MPH(One kingpin is slightly bent) Full bare metal respray! Focus stuff: Patch small paint scuffs Replace windscreen Remove small dent in passenger door Add AUX in to the audio system Give it a good clean
Can be done on the CD changer interface if I recall. But I just shoved a replacement headunit in mine instead
Got my big bore kit, ported/polished, lapped valves, took off old top end, installed new top end, etc. My back hurts. Tomorrow I'll change the oil and start tuning the carb. In the future I'll get a bigger carb and maybe get a big valve head.
posture, posture is important, as is how you lift anything weighing more than a few kilos. it's the first thing they drill into you in any manual handling related job in the UK
No, you dont, but the common one is whether you bend your back to lift a box or whether you squat down like you're taking a dump while keeping your back straight. Lift with the legs, not with the back.
Not really today, more like the past 7 days, but never got around to nor remembered to post this. Rear caliper was stuck and wore through a pair of pads just put on in April, so we replaced everything. Caliper was bad, bracket was rusted and didn't want it to cause another caliber to go bad, 1 pad was gone and the rotor was worn down and grinded. Taking the wheel off: All the old stuff. Worn brake pad: (yes we had to drive it and couldn't change it right away, so it got pretty worn) Broken E-Brake: (ignore my finger trying not to get the phone dirty) Old caliper: All shiny and new : After that I used it to pull this thing out of the weeds, my next project. After that I installed a couple of these in the front doors to replace the 2 blown front speakers: http://www.bossaudio.com/auto/car-audio-sound-system-auto-stereo-speaker-boss-audio-ch6530/ Got them for just $13 on Amazon with a gift card and they sound great, I am very happy. Then tonight I was gonna replace the blower and resister for the cab's vent system, but had to go get a water tank and haul water in the bed of the truck for the 1st time ever, and didn't get the new blower in...yet.
Got a new cat-back exhausted fitted! Which means some chrome exhaust tip eye candy. Plus, these little grille colours.
Mom asked me what I wanted for christmas. After some thinking, I realised that I wanted my car to be better looking. So I said that I wanted to have my car reconditioned, which means: Getting it professionally polished Cleaning the interior Filling the scratches in the paint Fixing the dents on the passenger doors, rear drivers side corner and a dent just above the drivers door (stupid previous owner is to thank for all of this) That would be a great gift
Yesterday I took my truck to have some routine maintenance done on it. An oil change and a thermostat turned into $820 in repairs and tires. So, here's what was done: Oil Change Thermostat 4 new cheap Chinese tires 2 wheel bearings An alignment (the toe on the front driver's side was out 4.4 degrees, among the toe on the passenger's side and the ridiculous track ready camber it had) Still needs: A battery An air filter Brake system flush Brakes in general Shocks Detailed/washed
Not my vehicle as such but fixed a mates broken front left indicator on his aprilia rs125. Rear indicator was fine, front not working, swap left and right bulbs, still not working. Pull fairings, found the wire had snapped off the back of the disconnect plugs, checked electrical connection with multimeter and found the wires are getting no power so likely dead elsewhere. crudely ran a set of wires from back indicator instead, huzzah working. Closer to the summer so we aren't out working in the rain we may pull and refurb the harness
I finally got some better pictures of my '13 Abarth 500. I also found out it has an exhaust leak at the turbo.
I woke up to the terrifying sound of my baby's alarm (A Ford Expedition; I love it so much its not normal anymore) and realized that some ****** HIT IT AND RAN. Quarter panel and door damage on the driver's side. What's even worse is the fact that the paint color isn't exactly common. Merry Christmas to me
