Replacing Struts With Shit Tools Edition
>>2948294The sun set on me as I was trying to change the front struts on my car.The sway bar link wouldn't come off, then the strut-knucle bolts wouldn't either and I broke some socket adapters.There's barely any room to work with my big torque wrench/break bar.Hopefully I can get this shit all cleaned up tomorrow, and no one fucks with my car overnight. It's mostly put together, with the wheel on, but still. I don't have a driveway, so I did this at the community center.
move somewhere not run by the salt cartel.
>>2948306Then I need to worry about other, literal cartels. The salt fags are only around for 6 months. Not bad.
Been there OP in my younger, poorer days. Someday you won't be wrenching in an apartment complex parking lot and you'll have tools that aren't made of absolute chinesium, and better yet you'll have the godsend that is an impact wrench. In the meantime good luck and keep on keeping your dollars by not paying someone else to do this shit. Also a basic ass propane torch is your friend to heat up nuts so they come off easier when letting them soak overnight with penetrating lubricant doesn't work.
>>2948342cheers diy broan impact wrench would be a blessing. I have a drill, but then there are the drill bits and shit and idk if there's enough room to get a drill in here.I just finished side 1
>>2948370oh, and I was quoted $1700 to $2500 plus tax plus tips for this job.parts were $450some tools were $50then there is just timehuge savings for diy on this jobit's weird cus it's easy as fuck.just gotta pay $130 for a wheel alignment after this... does anyone know if that's mandatory??
>>2948294Is that a Mazda CX-7?
>>2948372You can do it yourself with Jack Stands, Cardboard Boxes under the tires, and String.Lots of examples on Youtube. Just make sure that when you do it, before cranking down on the adjustment Nut to get it to loosen, check if it's lefty loosey or righty loosey.
I got some gay ass swaybar links with no wrench snap. It's just a circle that'll spin when I tighten the bolt... jfc
>>2948383people who make those videos say it's just temporary, so they can drive it to the shop for a professional alignment
>>2948435just like egr blockoff plates for offroad testing purposes only
>>2948297do yourself a favor and get an impact wrench. trust me, I've been there.
>>2948444you are correct to not trust the person andvocating diy alignmentsyou live in the first world, if you think the car is gonna go 20 to 30k more miles, get a real alignment.hes right, you dont have to... but the cheap way to do this involves changing a lot of tires and consrantly obtaining tires with ~15 to 30% life left for free and just eating a set of tires every 10k miles.Judging you by your tools, get an alignment. It sucks, but otherwise you will eat the price of a set of tires and install costs. And still will need an alignment.sorry. ignments suck. it and windshield replacement are the the only things I pay anyone to do on a car.
>>2948452Do you have any recommendations?>>2948444I don't understand your comments (nice trips)>>2948455>it and windshield replacement are the the only things I pay anyone to do on a car.Really? Nothing else?>>2948379Elantra gt
>>2948457really really. im old tho. 36, and I've... done a lotta shit. always buy the tools, you are doin good work. keep goin, you got it
if the sway bar link is a bitch to undo on the other side, just cut it in the middle, a hand hacksaw will do, or any more expensive method. If you are replacing the whole thing, seized nuts be damned, cut it apart you're doing good work
>>2948459>>2948461thanks for the encouragement, diy brosI got a refund for these chinesium sway bar links. I couldn't tighten them due to them spinning, even WITH an allen key crammed in it. And there was no wrench snap on the spinning part.I ordered genuine Hyundai ones instead.The Car Jews fear the Diy Chads
>>2948297>no one fucks with my car overnightit's a Nissan Juke, you are safe
Could have rented a spring compression tool to save even more money on just struts.Hit everything with PB blaster before working a week before the job!
>>2948572>spring compression tool to save even more moneyi just did struts on mawmaws subbie. it was only like $25 more to buy complete assemblies vs components. im not going to fiddle around like a monkey trying to fuck a coconut with a big spring to save the price of a mcchocken sandwich the real rape was the price difference the local parts stores wanted. rockauto was like $83 ea and all the stores were $190-325ea. so we waited a week because thats a ridiculous difference. im fine paying +30% locally but not 3x
>>2948573>mawmaws subbieyour mom's Subaru?>i just did strutsdid you car sit at a weird height after? My frontend is noticably higher now
>>2948294Idk if yours is the same but I used long needle nose pliers to hold sway bar link in place.
>>2948294Replaced a leaky power steering cooler with a universal one. Might eventually add an oil cooler. You can see where the line is currently looped.
>>2948615Sitting higher is normal for a bit after doing struts, they will settle out when you drive or after a while sitting. If it's still higher after a drive then either you bought the wrong spring height, or your rears are fucked.
>>2948331you live in canada or mexico?
>>2948710Some aftermarket strut kits are sprung a bit heavier than stock but that's also harmless.
I finally started working on my own car 4 years ago when a shop quoted me $400 for a control arm, and I bought the pet and all the tools I needed for $400 instead. Never looked back and now I have a nice set of tools and have only been back to a real shop once.
>>2948750i spent a ton over the years on shit because nowhere to work on cars but i finally bought a house. gonna try to do my own brakes soon
>>2948294I was replacing disc brakes when I realize I don't want to struggle with cars anymore. >video: few gentle taps with rubber mallet to loosen the old disc>me: ended up turning steering wheel all the way left, hitting the disc with huge sledgehammer from the back, turning steering wheel all the way right, again hitting with sledgehammer, repeated 3 times until the corroded disc finally fell offno thanks, next time I paying few bucks to some dirty janny to do this shit
>>2949078how is that even frustrating or difficult?
>>2949078Put a smaller bolt through the caliper mount bracket hole and use a drill/impact to push the rotor off with it. t. rust belt brake wrencher
>>2949078Have you tried compressing the piston with a pry bar?
>>2949197do you wear a mask to avoid sniffing rust dust?I was worried about that when doing my struts.I could smell it and wd40 for hours afterwards
