What have you done to your car today?

I had the water pump and drive belt replaced. This may solve the problem of the "bucking Ute".:D You see, when the water pump leaked, it dribbled onto the crank angle sensor occasionally, which probably cut power to the fuel pump as a result. So hopefully no more bucking!:D I've also noticed though, my car is starting to feel and sound a bit wheezy, could this be a carbon build up? I can get carbon blaster at work and have it done if you guys think it might help.
 
Picking up the STi tomorrow, can't wait!
I didn't realize the same personality could handle two types of cars that are so different. You've gone from mad oversteer to slow cars that feel really fast and now you've got a fast car that feels really slow. That'll take some getting used to. It might not feel like it, but the STi is so much more capable in every area than any of your other cars. And with the right tires it'll trudge through snow and dirt like a Tahoe.
 
We have been working on Heathers secret mustang project and we will be releasing pictures and information this weekend or by next monday 8/11/08. I will post a new thread when we release the information and pics. :sly:
 
Changing the springs atm done the front, taking a break right now recuperating some energy, its really back breaking work! Im going to finish with the rear hopefully within 3hrs. Really happy with the front now, the rear ride height looks like a 4x4 now!!


Took the car for a quick spin and the front feels really planted and stable, Im not sure if its in my head because I know but I could feel the rear roll a lot more than the front round the few corners I went around.

If the rear works out smoothly I would have saved over £100 in labour at a garage :D
 
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I ran the car for a good 10 minutes and the transmission turned out to be full, despite leaking. I'm thinking it may stop itself, but if not I bought some No Leak as a last resort.
 
The springs are for a civic.
Well.....I failed : ( The bottom strut bolt would NOT come off, ended up breaking part of my socket set. I even tried got creative with a spanner, G clamp and car jack but in the end the spanner started to bend so Ive called it a day and Ill have to drive the car around looking like this for now

:indiff:

Front looks good though...



Heres the little rig I made which didnt work


Any ideas on how to take that bolt off? I whacked it a few times with a hammer too to loosen it up but obviously didnt work
 
Trying to get the bolt end off will be a lot harder. Can you reach the nut? Once the nut is off the bolt will come out a lot easier.
If you cant get it out, use a cutting disk or grinder to cut the bolt head off. Just go slow so you dont melt your strut bushing. After that you can just buy a new bolt to put back in.
 
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Soz its not a nut and bolt, just a rusty long bolt. Problem also is where it is, I cant get any leverage.
Oh dang in that case that will be a lot more difficult. Can you get any WD-40 on the end where the threads are at?
If you have a hollow tube you can try to use that as a breaker bar on the end of a wrench or ratchet.
The problem is that the weight of the car is on that bolt unless you have it hanging freely. I mean the car needs to be jacked up and the strut haging free. That will take the pressure off the strut bolt. THen it should come out easier. You dont want the weight of the car on that bolt.
 
Not actually knowing much about working on cars, but abit about assemblies in general, I'd agree with CB69. WD40 and take any forces off it.
 
The rear was on axle stands so if there was any pressure it was probably the springs pushing down on the bolt, in that case I could try putting the spring compressor on so there would be no force on the bolt. I also drowned the bolt in WD40:lol: seriously though im sure mechanics have this problem all the time with rusty stiff bolts there must be a way to take it off without breaking it?!
 
I don't believe the bolts on an EP from West London are that rusty. I'd use a cheater bar. Rust isn't usually the issue with these bolts, they are just tightened heavily. Seriously, if that wrench is all you're using, no wonder it's not coming off.

Me and a mate changed the oil and oilfilter today. He's got a lift, that helps.
 
Not actually knowing much about working on cars, but abit about assemblies in general, I'd agree with CB69. WD40 and take any forces off it.
WD40 doesn't penetrate into seized bolts very well. You need to buy a lubricant that specifically says "penetrating lubricant". It made to find its way down into the tiniest little gaps and eat away at rust to weaken it a bit.

Then try holding the wrench on the bolt with your hand and then hitting the end of the wrench with the hammer. You need to break the rust (thus those air guns called impact wrenches), not just torque it. You'll have a much better chance of getting it off if you jolt it really hard.
 
If I had had paypal I would have started betting people money; you need to torque that mothaphuka out. Use a cheater bar and it'll be out; no need for a hammer, air tools or especially any "penetrating lubricants". Damn, that sounds gay :D
 
I dont see why even the cheapest of tires will make your car pull to either side. That sounds much more like an alignment problem or less likely a simple wheel balance problem.
Well, the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's are now mounted. :) Indeed the dealership was full of crap about the the tyres causing the car to pull to the right. At the garage they checked they alignment and the car was more misaligned than my borderline personality. ;) :P But the garage corrected that very nicely. Anyway, grip for the rear and front wheels has been restored, and it runs nice and straight. 👍
 
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Winded down the coils some more and dialled out the stance today.

mer.jpg
 
Wow ride must be pretty shakey! How long will the rear tyres last with camber like that? The inside of my friends tyres went within 3months the metal wires were showing before we noticed! But that was the fronts and it was FWD....
 
Mine's also fwd. Not showing signs of thread wear yet, uneven or not. Got 300 miles on the tyres. It's multi-link in the rear so it cambers quite naturally, plus without the camber I couldn't have had the wheels I'm having. Got the EP lowered in the rear yet?

I take it you like them Fred ;)
 
Today... Today...

Filled it with Premium, took it to dad's, and put the front in the air. Disassembled the front right caliper to diagnose a new noise (Almost squealer-esque, but not constant, and it goes away when I'm on the brakes). Nothing amiss there, unfortunately. Noted a small split starting in the CV boot, which I patched with super glue - It's not a spot that flexes, so I'll see if it holds. Also took a few minutes to clean up the wheel and suspension from the bit of grease that was slung around. I slid under the car, and confirmed that my transfer case is indeed leaking - It's a known issue on AWD DSM's. I topped off the oil, and went home. Still makes the odd noise, I'll check the rear caliper next chance I have.

Last weekend I spent about... 20 hours stripping and painting the stock wheels. Made a mess of the dead, old tires. I'll be ordering new ones this week so I can take the Azenis out of daily use.
 
Tinkered with the S-10 today. The temperature gauge wasn't working but I managed to splice some wires and sort of jury rig it so it worked again. Replaced a couple of sensors as well since the truck was throwing codes. I also put some Vent Shades on it since my dad complained about it getting hot in there when he drove it to work and installed a new ball on the bumper to pull our boat with. The truck is still sort of rough but it does what it's supposed to do.

I'm thinking about doing an H4 headlamp conversion on it and adding some additional driving lights for when we take it camping and go off the beating path.
 
I'd never actually followed the links of your S-10 before Joey but it looks pretty good 👍 The lights look cool.
 
I'd never actually followed the links of your S-10 before Joey but it looks pretty good 👍 The lights look cool.

Thank but that's my old Blazer, I sold that back in November. Me and my dad have a 1996 S-10 now that we use for odd jobs. My dad also drives the S-10 to work occasionally since it's easier on fuel then his van.

This is the truck we have now:
P7022925.jpg
 
Disassembled the front right caliper to diagnose a new noise (Almost squealer-esque, but not constant, and it goes away when I'm on the brakes).

The exact same thing happens to me on the front left only, how much life have your pads got? Some brake pads have metal tounges that eventually touch the disk and make a squeaking noise when the pads need changing soon, Im pretty sure thats what mine is because when I changed the front springs I saw the pads only have 2-3mm of life left!
 
Changed the oil today, put in some Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 (been wanting to use it for a while now) and a Purolator PureONE oil filter. Good to go for a while now :)
 
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