The good stuff.
As you can see in the picture below, things are starting to happen with the car. Since I promised to post an update on the status of the project, here is a list of things that have been done to or replaced on the car since the original pictures were posted. With the exception of mounting and balancing the wheels, all work has been done by Jason and me at the Auto Craft shop here on post. So, without further ado....
Oil change with filter(twice)
New power steering fluid (twice)
New air filter
New hood release cable
New thermostat
New radiator
New auxiliary cooling fan resistor
New fan temperature switch
Removed the A/C compressor and most associated plumbing
New lower oil pan gasket (including R&R of the upper oil pan bolts with Loctite)
Installed Bilstein sport shocks
Installed billet aluminum/polyurethane rear shock mounts
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1 15" wheels (13.7 lbs!!) with Kumho Ecsta SPT tires
I think that's it. During the shock installation, we damaged the tie rod ends and the ball joints. They were all very worn anyway, so those parts, along with the control arms, will be replaced over the winter. We're still waiting for our H&R race springs to come in. Apparently they're on backorder everywhere and we have no indication of when we'll have them. The car runs strong and the handling is significantly better with the new shocks/shock mounts.
The next big maintenance item to do is the clutch. The current one (original? 183K miles) slips a lot and may not live through the autocross tomorrow. It won't die in vain. Jason should be able to come away from tomorrow's festivities with a trophy if all goes well.
Just a note on automotive fluids. Lots of cars now have "lifetime" fluids. This is mostly to save the manufacturers/dealerships money on the free scheduled maintenance that most of them offer now. If you've never had your power steering fluid changed and your car has more than 50k miles on it, you should have it changed next time you have your car serviced. We've already changed it twice on this car in the last couple of months. I have absolutely no idea how long the stuff we took out had been in there, but after replacing it with fresh fluid (nice red ATF in our car) it was black again in a just three months. There was a noticeable difference in the steering feel with fresh fluid. I plan on changing it again next time we have the car in the shop. Your brake fluid should also be changed regularly. Every two years MAX. That stuff absorbs water and gets brown and chunky in your calipers if you leave it in there too long. Your transmission and differential also need attention every 30K miles or so. Check your manuals, keep up with scheduled maintenance and use quality fluids.
Oil change with filter(twice)
New power steering fluid (twice)
New air filter
New hood release cable
New thermostat
New radiator
New auxiliary cooling fan resistor
New fan temperature switch
Removed the A/C compressor and most associated plumbing
New lower oil pan gasket (including R&R of the upper oil pan bolts with Loctite)
Installed Bilstein sport shocks
Installed billet aluminum/polyurethane rear shock mounts
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1 15" wheels (13.7 lbs!!) with Kumho Ecsta SPT tires
I think that's it. During the shock installation, we damaged the tie rod ends and the ball joints. They were all very worn anyway, so those parts, along with the control arms, will be replaced over the winter. We're still waiting for our H&R race springs to come in. Apparently they're on backorder everywhere and we have no indication of when we'll have them. The car runs strong and the handling is significantly better with the new shocks/shock mounts.
The next big maintenance item to do is the clutch. The current one (original? 183K miles) slips a lot and may not live through the autocross tomorrow. It won't die in vain. Jason should be able to come away from tomorrow's festivities with a trophy if all goes well.
Just a note on automotive fluids. Lots of cars now have "lifetime" fluids. This is mostly to save the manufacturers/dealerships money on the free scheduled maintenance that most of them offer now. If you've never had your power steering fluid changed and your car has more than 50k miles on it, you should have it changed next time you have your car serviced. We've already changed it twice on this car in the last couple of months. I have absolutely no idea how long the stuff we took out had been in there, but after replacing it with fresh fluid (nice red ATF in our car) it was black again in a just three months. There was a noticeable difference in the steering feel with fresh fluid. I plan on changing it again next time we have the car in the shop. Your brake fluid should also be changed regularly. Every two years MAX. That stuff absorbs water and gets brown and chunky in your calipers if you leave it in there too long. Your transmission and differential also need attention every 30K miles or so. Check your manuals, keep up with scheduled maintenance and use quality fluids.
posted by David | 10:30
2 Comments:
Dude...you should so totally be working at Discount Auto Parts!
Unfortunately, we have to buy most of our parts on the interweb. If there were a local parts supplier that would let me work there part-time and give me a good discount it would probably be worth it. Come visit next year and I'll give you a ride.
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