What have you done to your car today?

[Swagger897]

Changed the coolant in my car (yeah I know, not as glamourous at the stuff you guys are doing), I have no idea how long the previous stuff had been in there but it looked more water than antifreeze Pretty easy job, just turn the bleed valve, drain and refill. I was surprised at how little it needed, only about 2 litres.

Might want to check again after you run it if it took that little...

 

[Robin]

Might want to check again after you run it if it took that little...

Yeah I ran the engine on the drive with the coolant cap off and squeezed the pipes to get rid on any air pockets, it went down a bit so added some more. When I go out next I will check it again to see if it needs anymore but being a small engine I think that's roughly all she'll take!

 

[Swagger897]

Yeah I ran the engine on the drive with the coolant cap off and squeezed the pipes to get rid on any air pockets, it went down a bit so added some more. When I go out next I will check it again to see if it needs anymore but being a small engine I think that's roughly all she'll take!

When I had to replace the radiator in my car, there was so much damn coolant, and once I ordered the part and installed it again I completely forgot how much it needed. Ended up buying another 5 quarts of it and keeping it in my trunk and filling it back up, but now it's fine. 3.0L engine.

 

[Robin]

When I had to replace the radiator in my car, there was so much damn coolant, and once I ordered the part and installed it again I completely forgot how much it needed. Ended up buying another 5 quarts of it and keeping it in my trunk and filling it back up, but now it's fine. 3.0L engine.

Mine's a 1.2, I guess that's why it's uses so little.

The manual says nothing about how much coolant it takes which was weird but it's currently at the 'KALT' line (lots of stuff written in German under there!).

 

[Swagger897]

Waiting, and waiting, and a little bit more of some waiting for my tires to get rotated and balanced.

 

[Fat Tyre]

I was having coolant leakage problems, it was coming from the core heater hose. Took it to the mechanics, replaced the hose and after a few months it started leaking again from the same spot (actually where the clamp meets the core heater metal pipe. Took it back to the shop and they replaced the hose again at no extra cost although the warranty had expired. It's a Saab 9-3, I feel like setting it on fire, I hope it's fully fixed now. Aside from that I haven't done anything exciting to the car. I wish I knew more about cars to fix things on my own.

 

[Adamgp]

Had to take it in for a fart test so I can renew my license plates by the end of the month.

 

[CyborgGT]

Would've spent the money to fix the windshield, myself, but hey, that's just my opinion.

I think I put like $7k into my MINI before I ever bothered with the windshield.

Mine's pitted to hell and terrible in sunlight, I should really get a new one... but, you know, mods n' stuff... I've been pricing out a full header-back exhaust lately, lol, wondering if I really want to go after that at this time.

Ricer mod, I know... I got a spare valve cover from the junkyard a while back. Wrinkle paint sounds hard to make look good so just sprayed it a flat ceramic red, it's out in the garage drying as I type this. VHT ceramic high-heat paint oversprays like I've never seen before! And it doesn't look like it does on the cap, I'm kinda disappointed.

Gonna pick up a flush coil cover like this at some point:

 

[Davis]

Mine's pitted to hell and terrible in sunlight, I should really get a new one... but, you know, mods n' stuff... I've been pricing out a full header-back exhaust lately, lol, wondering if I really want to go after that at this time.

Ricer mod, I know... I got a spare valve cover from the junkyard a while back. Wrinkle paint sounds hard to make look good so just sprayed it a flat ceramic red, it's out in the garage drying as I type this. VHT ceramic high-heat paint oversprays like I've never seen before! And it doesn't look like it does on the cap, I'm kinda disappointed.

Gonna pick up a flush coil cover like this at some point:

I used that same high heat VHT on mine and aside from the overspray and tendency to never dry I'm happy with mine

 

[LM7325]

This was yesterday but still feel like posting. I have been dealing with back pain issues for about a month. So I have not been doing things I normally do. My truck was due for an oil change, so I went to a local quick-lube establishment. I went ahead and had the deluxe package done. Yesterday I noticed a wet spot under my truck at work. At first I figured it had to be from another car. Then I saw a drip. It hurts to bend over but I had to see what this drip was. Well I ended up laying on the ground under my truck staring up at a wet oil filter. I put my hand on it, the filter turned with no effort. I hand tightened it the best I could. So I have been driving around for 4 days with a barely snugged up oil filter. Oil level looks ok maybe 1/2 quart off full thank goodness. I contacted the place to inform them of what happened.
My back is going to have to heal faster is all I can say right now about it.

 

[CyborgGT]

New rear sway bar end links. Seeing if Moogs will last longer with my Eibach bars than the Ingalls did, at two years...

Mugen coilovers are next, since my stock dampers feel like they're starting to get bouncy and my suspension otherwise pops and crashes over bumps, but since I kinda suck at saving up cash, we'll see how long this takes...

 

[CarreraGT]

Designed a set of custom resonance tubes to eliminate drone in the M3. Now all I've got to do is build them...

 

[Swagger897]

New rear sway bar end links. Seeing if Moogs will last longer with my Eibach bars than the Ingalls did, at two years...

Mugen coilovers are next, since my stock dampers feel like they're starting to get bouncy and my suspension otherwise pops and crashes over bumps, but since I kinda suck at saving up cash, we'll see how long this takes...

So that's gonna make you go Nascar fast I assume?

Meanwhile, my car has a slow oil leak, where there's about 3-5 drops of oil under the pan every day. Nuts are tight, but I'm not sure about gaskets... Hope it doesn't cost me too much..

 

[CyborgGT]

So that's gonna make you go Nascar fast I assume?

Lolwut?

It's a thread about doing things to your car. I did something to my car by replacing some clunky links. Photos are better than words, so I put something up.

 

[Swagger897]

Lolwut?

It's a thread about doing things to your car. I did something to my car by replacing some clunky links. Photos are better than words, so I put something up.

It's a joke

 

[Danoff]

Eliminated an oil leak.

Required removing the airbox, intake, radiator fan, belts, alternator, power steering reservoir, power steering pump, tensioner pulley, alternator pulley, oil filter housing and upper vanos line. Got it done though.

 

[Grayfox]

Bought 12mmx3mmx1000mm aluminium bar, the other day for this.
I need to make some extenders to move it more forwards so the seat retractor is clear of the setup.
Might paint the bar black later as well.

 

[XJ40]

Both front wings replaced. I'm really surprised at how clean the inner arches are. Next job is pads and discs all round

 

[CarreraGT]

 

[CyborgGT]

^ Should be ordering suspension of my own next weekend, I'm so excited!

Now that it's warm out again, I got back to the project I started in the fall, which is polishing my H22's Accord Type-R/Euro-R intake manifold. Got a decent amount done at 180 grit before running out of sanding discs (they keep fraying at the edges because of all the tight spaces). It's so tedious, but I am so enjoying this!

 

[ilikewaffles11]

New wheels! They're my dads but they weren't being used so he let me throw them on, has a nice set of Sumitomos on it which grip really well.

Yesterday I put a new valve cover gasket, distributor rotor and o-ring on it, also put a new fog light bulb in. After I put the distributor all together, I went to start it and it wouldn't turn over. So I figured I just had the rotor in wrong or something, took it all back apart, and realized I just forgot to plug a sensor back in.. Put it all back together, start it again and now it runs like complete crap.. Forgot to plug a different sensor in...

 

[CyborgGT]

Well, it was delayed a bit after I helped my roomate replace a dead alternator, but they're finally on the way!!!

 

[WrxScooby]

Cleared the headlights.
These are them after a pressure wash and wipe down.




After 3m Headlight restoration and a few hours.

 

[XJ40]

Pads and discs all round with handbrake shoes just in case. Along with wear sensors, just in case...
Now to find time to fit it all!

 

[XJ40]

From this

To this

Back ones next, then MOT

 

[Crash]

Replaced the starter motor copper contacts and magnetic plunger on the 4Runner as it wouldn't start and it was not the battery that has gone bad. It now starts and runs again.

 

[CarreraGT]

Coilovers have arrived! M3 will be up on the stands all weekend and hopefully sitting (and handling) a lot nicer come Monday

 

[CyborgGT]

I started installing mine tonight. First corner install was going so smoothly... and then the little 10mm nut holding the VSS wire to the strut snapped on reinstallation. Gotta drill that out... and now the tie rod nut isn't wanting to go back on. Hopefully a tap & die kit will clean it up enough, since the threads don't look too out of whack. But I started on corner #2 in the meantime... and one of the lower stut nuts is seized. I want to cry, something ALWAYS has to hang me up whenever I work on a car.

/ / /

PM (or actually really early AM) edit:

Rears are done. Fronts may or may not need replacement tie rods; I'll see if a tap and die will clean things up. Front right still has a seized bolt, but it's nighttime and I dont want to wake up the neighbors with the impact. Got the VSS bolt out though, it was sticking out just enough to get vice grips on it and spin it out.

/ / /

Day 2 edit:

Figured out how to get the tie rod nuts on. The old ball-&-sockets are still tight, so I can hold off replacing them for a while. So I'm held up by this one front-right corner. One of the lower strut nuts is still fighting me, and the corners of it are threatening to round off...

/ / /

Day 2 PM edit:

All should be well now. Ran to the hardware store tonight for replacement bolt/washers/nut. Going to cut off the old one in the morning. I don't see any other problems coming up, there's not much else to do. Yay.

 

[CyborgGT]

Even after a couple relief cuts, the nut was still fighting hard. Got it off after a while of going at it with more heat and the impact though.

Shiny new nut+bolt.

While the car was still on stands I finally replaced the shifter cable bracket/cover on the bottom of the transmission I'd been meaning to get around to. It came broken with the new-to-me transmission I swapped in a while back.

I think I need an alignment. I KNOW I need wheel spacers. Took it for a test drive and god damn this thing grips! Hit a few roundabouts and some other tight curves I know in my town, and I can feel the limit of the front tires is higher - I didn't find it where I used to, at least. I thought the sway bars were a great improvement, and this is even greater. The ride's a bit stiffer, but in a good way. A bit of bounce, but the suspension's recovery after potholes and the like is much improved. The ride height could stand to be another inch lower if only for looks, but it's not bad for a daily. I realize this is only day one, so it'll settle a bit further down. I have a very steep driveway and didn't bottom out; large speed bumps aren't an issue either. Overall I am extremely happy with these.

Not photographed, but I put the rear wing back on afterwards as well.

 

[Punknoodle]

Lots of stuff (my thread for details) but in short, bit of race prep on this cold and wet weekend...