Yep! Same issue and in the same direction - excessive toe out!

Right. therefore, the car must be on the ground, wheels and control arms torqued.

I think they go in opposite directions, but you would have to check. Measure the amount of threads showing before and after a twist.
Keep the steering wheel locked on center. The sleeves will move pretty easily with your hands. If you put sand under the front tires, they will move easier.
If you have room to push the car back and forth a few feet for and aft, you can get more accurate results.

Measuring on the tires will get it close enough to drive it to the shop for a full alignment.
If you want it accurate enough to skip the shop, set up the jigs on the wheels and some string to get them parallel with the back. See my thread for full details.


If you are insecure about it, just put your jackstands back under the frame (without touching it). Should it want to fall (by golly it shouldn't!), the stands will catch it.

 

I'm going to have to fill the PS reservoir and pump first. I understand that dry turning the steering without fluid is bad for the pump and gearbox. Good part is the car hasn't run since Aug so I can probably crank the engine enough to get the PS pump to circulate the fluid enough for a couple top ups or does the pump have to run for a couple of minutes? I remember what you and the CSM said about the near lock to lock turns.

I don't think I need sand, my garage floor was floated pretty smooth. I guess I could smear a little bit of oil on the floor under the tires to make it more slippery when I do this.

So,
1. key the car to release the wheel,
2. turn it till it's 'straight' where I want it
3.key out to lock the column
4. adjust the tie rod sleeves evenly (sort of?).

So if I understand this right, because the steering column is locked and so is the steering gearbox, there's no rotation there. All the movement happens with the tires/tie rods. Since I will be doing this on my own, can I hook the tape measure in one of the rear grooves and just measure to the corresponding groove on the opposite side? That would make it a lot easier especially since it would only involve sliding a bit side to side under the car.

I have a hard time understanding how moving both sets of sleeves the same amount will adjust the toe. I would think the sleeve on one side is going to have to move more than the other. Is this thinking flawed, because I've never done this before but it just seems logical.

Don't worry about the 'undercar' syndrome. It has passed. I'm confident the car is not going to fall apart and crush me.

 

Fill the pump and bleed the PS first. Cranking the engine will not spin the pump fast enough to move the fluid into the gearbox - engine has to start. As soon as it starts, stop it and refill. Repeat until it is staying full. Do NOT turn the wheels until it stays full while running, or bad things will happen. After then, turn the wheels back and forth and recheck.

After the steery wheel is centered and locked, adjust only the sleeves, which will pull each cooresponding side in or out. Now that I look closer, it looks like your right is toed more than the left, so that one will need more turns. Never mind the "turn them the same amount" thing...
Getting them to point straight ahead will be the challenge. String set up going from front to rear on one side can help, but remember the front track is about 1/2 wider at the front.

Hooking the tape measure in the tread will work for a "good enough to get to the shop" accuracy. Toe is +- 1/8", toe in preferred.

 

Thx Rob, that's a good confirmation and gives great "motivation" and confidence, so yup, I guess you win the great motivator award! For always being there when anyone needs help.


For now I'll be happy to get it 'close' to straight because it will be parked all winter. In your opinion, would it be worthwhile adjusting one side now while it's still in the air? Just makes life a little easier for adjustment when it comes down. I can't see a downside to that.

 

Thanks Allan...
I know I am not always around and I certainly do not know it all, I am more than happy to share my experience and what I do know and also what I have learned the hard way...

Yes, tweaking them while in the air cannot hurt. Put the tires on and do it, tape measure on the tread method.
After it is on the ground, remeasure and tweak them as needed. Who knows, it might work better this way! Find out for us...

So would the little guy who is praying be you?

 

I'll be durned! I just noticed that. Well no, that would be ALL of us who have been able to grow through shared knowledge! We are a TEAM here are we not??

 

I figured you would be praying that my advice of twisting those tie rod sleeves would not make the whole car fall apart...
Yes, of course I know what you mean.

Can't believe you guys are getting snow now. It was 82 down here...

 

Unfortunately it's actually snowing right now in montreal...

Anyone know if BFG radials are any good in this stuff?? I need to drive my car a couple miles to get it home..

 

Believe it pardner! I can't believe you're rubbing it in that it's 82° down there. Now you know why we didn't order a lot of air conditioned cars up here.

I asked a couple of guys this question but have only got one tentative response on it from oldzy. For the PS fluid, can I substitute ATF? There was PS fluid at the part store, but it had a disclaimer that it was for GMXXXXXX as per the owners manual. So I didn't buy it because I don't know what that standard is. I did get 2 quarts of ATF because I think it can be used in the PS and it says "For GM cars 2006 and earlier". What say you??
They're ok Tony, but IIRC Quebec now has legislation that your car has to wear 4 winter tires during the winter month? The BFGs will get you home - they're an all season, just take it easy on the go juice and plan lots of stopping distance. Leave room in front of you. The BIGGEST ERROR drivers make when it first snows is not adjusting to driving conditions. Drive according to the conditions - not the speed limit.

 

Sounds good, yeah I have about a month before the law falls into place that i need to have my car off the road. No way with the amount of salt that we have around here plan on moving my car any farther than the end of my driveway this winter. One of the first pictures i have back from 1972 was this cutlass in front of my house in montreals first snow fall. I'm going to do my best to recreate that shot.

Some months ago, i had a rental for work out on the west coast. It was a mustang and i know it's light in the rear. But it was absolutely horrible in the winter. I'm hoping the 3000+ Pounds that my cutlass weighs will grip the road a bit better. Or in fact, i'm hoping i can get my suspension finished so i can bring it home before we get 6+ inches.

 

Tony, FWIW I remember the days when I used to drive my Cutlass in the winter. Back then we had those old bias 4 ply big knobby tires that howled worse than a stray cats concert. On snow pack and deeper snow it hauled a$$! On slippery stuff, you had a 3000lb+ projectile that was going to go the last direction you were pointed when you locked them up. The car was really decent for it's year if you remembered to use 'threashhold braking' techniques. It had wonderful heat and no problem starting. Hardly ever used the block heater.

Drive safe on the way home tonight. Watch out for the idiots who don't pay attention and could hurt you. Remember one thing about this hobby and your personal safety: You can replace your car, we can't replace you.

 

Ok, when all else fails I looked up the ATF info in the Owners manual. P69 (hmmmm) says use GM Power Steering Fluid or DEXRON® automatic transmission fluid. I'm good with that.

 

Definitely! Safety first! Luckily i took the bus to work on my cutlass today (still at my buddy's garage).

What is this threshhold braking you speak of? This is my first 4-wheel drum brake car...

I also noticed that my cutlass has a block heater installed (originally i thought it was some sending unit) but i followed it to a plug that was taped up in back of the headlamp assembly. Are these things factory installed??

I also was able to start my car recently when the temperature was down to -5 deg C last week. Fired up with 1 pump of the gas, Let go, set the choke to rich (i have a manual choke on my 1405) and BOOM, the car fired up in less than 2 seconds. I'm really impressed with my new carb.

 

Back in the day, you were the computer that controlled the braking pressure . Threshold braking is when you apply just enough pressure to engage the brakes without locking them up. It's a little tricky till you get really used to your car. It's really big use is winter/slippery driving conditions (read: snow and wet roads). When you start skidding the first thing you have to remember is to release and reapply brake pressure to prevent lockup so you can steer. Like modern day ABS, Threshhold braking allows better steering control, but increases stopping distance. Locking up the wheels on dry pavement doesn't always mean you'll avoid a collision either. 2 drawbacks - no steering; and flatspot your tires. Threshold braking 2 drawbacks - longer stopping distance; and you may not have the option to steer around the obstruction. You can sort it out from there. Bottom line? Drive smart.
No, they were dealer installed options. I have to laugh at that. When one of my frost plugs started leaking, the cheapest and fastest fix I could get was to install another block heater. So my car has 2 of them that never get used. If your cord doesn't work LMK and I'll send you one of them that I took out in September. Doesn't sound like you'll need it the way you describe the start up. My car will never be run in the winter so it's just eye candy on the option list.

 

Allan, YES on the Dexron. Manual recommends it clearly. Also, Chip at Power Steering Services said ONLY use Dexron III.

Tony - drive safe. Snow is not bad to drive in, but ice is. Easy on the gas - you do not want the back end passing you!

 

The stuff I bought is Dexron 111 backwards compatible to plain old Dexron! Yay!!!

Huh??? Are you kidding me? That way you get to look headfirst into the startled eyes of the jerk who's been following too close . Plus then you don't have to go to Dunkin or Tims for a donut - you already did one!

 

Allan and Rob,

Thanks guys! I'll make sure to watch out tonight.

I've never actually owned a car with power ABS brakes. Been driving a 1994 Sentra for 10 years now, been in the family since new. I'm definitely going to watch out, most of the drivers around dont use signals or have both headlamps working, so best bet is to probably drive later in the evening.

Do you guys have the pre-heater hose connected up to your air cleaners? I got a nice air cleaner from Scott a couple months ago and it's been serving me really well. Am wondering if i should hook up that temperature sensor and plunger so i could get hot air from my manifold on startup.

 

MMmmmmm.... Dunkin Donuts...
Too bad they are no longer in my area.............

Tony, my hot air intake has been disconnected since I got the car and has run well when cold. Of course our cold down here is nothing like yours.....

 

WHAT!

This is one thing i noticed about the west coast, not sure about your area Rob, but where in the heck do you get a good donut in the states??

In canada, you could drive across the country and be sure to cross a tim hortons/dunkin donuts at every rest area.

I've actually never been able to do a donut in my cutlass, was too scared me control-arms would come off Good thing i'm having them replaced.

I dont know if you guys have seen it, but it's a video from '71 of the 4-4-2 w-30 being tested on some TV show. The driver starts off the cutlass in reverse and then swings it around and pulls the gearbox into drive without having to stop the car. I was shocked!

 

Many Hortons around here. When I turn on my scanner, I pick up the drive-thru chatter on the one a block away. Watch what you say folks! Oh so funny what ppl say, even the ppl working there.

 

Yes I do. The OEM thermovacs are very finicky though and prone to failure. If you hook everything up and it works properly, the warm air off the exhaust manifold helps get the engine warmed up faster. When there is a change in vacuum as the car warms up, the thermovac releases vacuum holding the flapper closed and allows air from the engine bay to be drawn straight into the snorkel to the carb. If the thermo vacuum switch is not working properly all you are doing is creating a vacuum leak by hooking it up. Rob doesn't really need it because the climate in Texas is generally hot and doesn't play a factor in cold starts for Lady.
This is a pic of the part that fails (OEM's are light green)

 

Well Dunkins are in the Dallas area, but the closest one to me is about 45 minutes away with average traffic. Do not know of any other supurb place closer, so I rarely buy donuts anymore. Maybe I should call the police dept and find out where a good shop is...
And no, crispy creme does not impress me. Had them several times before. Nothing but hip-hype about them, just like the new in-out burger... Geez - all people like around here are new places...

Since Allan forgot his picture (), the often-failing part is the green sensor inside the air cleaner housing with the 2 vac hoses on it.
If you want to remove it, there is a slick easy way to get that clip off intact! Basically you take two small pieces of sturdy metal and bend all 4 of the hose retaining fingers back. This buckles the bottom of the clip and the retaining teeth are released. When this happens, just pull the clip and your metal pieces straight out!

 

I will have to test my thermal sensor before i remove it. I have yet to hook it up as Allan mentioned i'm afraid of creating a vacuum leak.

I only seem to have one manifold vacuum port on my 1405 Carb. I already have 2 accessories Teed into it. What's the rule of thumb for tapping off a vacuum source?? (I have it connected to my vacuum gauge inside the car as well as my distributor vacuum control switch).

My brakes are connected directly to my manifold.

 

Oh and Rob, thought you might enjoy this. Its thursday, and so it's donut day, and i just bought some.

 

Another T should be fine. The rule is don't cause a leak or add a leaky item to it.

Damn you!
Now I have the cravings big time.
And you KNEW choco-covered is my favorite!!
Too bad you cannot email me one (box) physically...

 

??? the pic shows on my puter??? Neat trick to remove the sensor though. I have 3 other air cleaners I can practice this with. I do need to replace mine as it is not functioning. right now it is just blocked off.

Here's a better shot I stole off the web showing location and what the bottom tubes that Rob was telling you how to get out. Replacement parts aren't green unfortunately, but they are only $11.00 and if they work, I don't care:


Tony, I'll have one of the choco caramel drizzles! chomp! mmmm goood! Rob, they're deeelishis. I have a Tim Hortons just 3 minutes from home

 

Recon one could remove the white plastic and replace it with the original greenies?
That color difference would keep me up at night........

 

Tony - THANK YOU for your donut magic! My craving has been fulfilled!!

How?
I went to the food market on the way home for milk and pumpkin ice cream.
I checked the bakery clearance rack like I always do and there - low and behold - with golden rays emitting from all directions - were two half dozen boxes of choco-covered, cream filled donuts!!
I have never seen these on that rack before, despite the hundred or so checks throughout the years. Maybe a box of glazed, but never these.

Of course since these did not have holes, they were not donuts, per say - just danishes. Regardless, I got them home and pigged out.

YUM......

 

I'm going to try taking one of the broken ones apart to see if the 'shell' can be fit around a repro one. If I put the lid on the Air cleaner, the brightness won't show and you'll be able to sleep like a baby.


Onward with the build - first the tie rods
Today it took my little garage stove about 2 hours to get the garage temp up to 45°. (thats 10°C). First thing on the agenda was to try and get the steering parallel. Took a little doing but finally ended up with the front and rear toe being even. I think it was 45 3/4", can't remember now but I'm going to have to redo it anyway. After this was all said and done, it seemed to me that the adjuster sleeves were somewhat hard to turn. Needed some anti seize to lube it (should have done that when assembling, but didn't). So I marked the end of the tie rod by wrapping the threads with tape so I had a reference. Then I undid the outer tie rod from the lower ball joint, backed it out and coated it with anti seize. Much easier to turn back in. Repeated this process with all the threads on the remaining inner and outer tie rods.

Stabilizer - mounts and links
Stabilizer mounts and links were next! I have the links in loosely. Coat the self tappers with anti seize and start them into the bushing bracket. (yes I remembered to take out the bushings and put the slot to the front) This goes really fast with an air ratchet. Side by side till it snugged up. Looks perfect - almost no excessive bulge and the slot has disappeared. Put my 9/16 on the top of the link, and air ratchet on the bottom. 10 seconds per side to snug down the stab links. Double checked just to make sure it's all good.

Ball joints and steering linkage
Now, torque all the ball joints. Check the CSM for all the proper specs. The pitman to center link and idler to center link were a problem until my buddy Dale came over. Took one look at it and asked if I wanted an extension. "Sure" I said, figuring I could hook his to my 14" extension. No need. He comes back with a 2 1/2 foot 3/8 extension. "That should make it easy" he says. Yuuuuup!!! I could now work from on top. Even the pitman connection was easy with this thing. 35 ft/lbs later the torque wrench went 'clik'. Can you believe my luck? Both fittings the castle nut was lined up perfect for the cotter pin.

So now all the ball joints and steering link connections are torqued and pinned. Haven't done the sleeves up yet because I'll just be undoing them again anyway.

Getting read to start engine
Re-connect: spark plugs, rad overflow (yes you need to or the coolant will puke when you start the car - go ahead ask me how I know this) grounds, battery.

Power Steering
Now, fill the steering reservoir with that nice new DEXRON ATF to the cold mark. Cranked the engine for 3 bursts of 5-7 seconds to get some oil flow. The car has been sitting for almost 3 months. Pedal to the metal, hold, gently release. Crank for 3 seconds and she burst into life! Nice steady fast idle - man she sounded health! NO NOISE from the PS pump! Ran for 5 seconds and shut it down. Added some ATF to the PS reservoir and repeat process. This time the reservoir level stayed full.

So now I figured it's time to 'burp' the system. Engine running at fast idle, I turned the wheel to full left - the steering seemed normal, but the pump was a little noisy. Then the steering burped and the steering effort went down to almost nothing - that scared me. I even looked to see if a hose had burst but nothing had. I did this 4 times as the CSM says. But there still seems to be some pressure on the system. Don't know how many times you have to do this to get the all air out. BTW, you can really see the pressure line flex when the steering is being used.

Pointed the wheels close to straight ahead and shut down the engine and checked for any leaks - none found. Then I noticed something really nice. My steering wheel was pointing almost exactly straight ahead, and so were the wheels!! I know there's some tweaking needed but that's a positive thing.



Even though it looks a little bit off, it's close to parallel. I'll use my tape to adjust toe in again tommorrow. FWIW, I am buying a complete set of brake lines off oldzy to replace the ones I painted. I figured I "might as well". It will probably be easy to do when the engine comes out for rebuild.


As you can see, I decided that it would be way smarter for me to even label the spark plugs. No chance of screwing that up.


Almost a perfect match!
With the steering straight ahead, here's how the wheel is positioned. It's out by just a smidge but I should be able to correct that with the tie rod sleeves. BTW, that's original documented mileage on the car - 120415 that is! This year it's travelled a whopping 392 miles. I actually keep a log of the yearly mileage.

I have 1/2 of the rallye pac in, just need the gage cluster on the left to be installed. I actually have an adapter that plugs into the main harness and feeds direct to the rallye pac - so I don't have to do any pin relocation. I believe this harness also truncates the green idiot light test feed wire. Don't worry about the crappy looking turn signal - the column is coming out in the spring and a new tilt unit with NOS cruise control parts is going in.


Ground level : TO DO
Still have to torque the CA nuts and grease all the fittings. Rob, did you grease yours before or after it came down? Should I grease a little before it comes down and finish it when it's on the ground?

 

November 18, 2011
A date that goes into the annuls of history. The reconstructed Hindenburg flew by over top of our house today!! What You're calling BS? Good call. But today was memorable for a number of reasons.

The steering is finished and lubed
Got the toe in adjusted so that the front / back are now equal. All the grease fittings have service grease in them now. Used up a little over 1/2 a tube of grease. The ball joints took the most, then the idler. The center link to idler and pitman took almost nothing. Cleaned all excess from the nipples and boots.

The suspension works!
Prior to storing for the winter, I raised the car enough to get it off the jackstands and gently lowered it. There was a small sigh of relief from the newly rebuilt front end as it settled into place. I swear that the car had a smile on it's grill. Not used to be sitting up on stands like that for so long. Also, from what I've read leaving a car up on jackstands like that puts unecesary strains on it. Didn't get around to torquing the CA's but I put a sticky on the steering wheel to do that in the spring. Not taking chances on forgetting....

The garage is cleaned up
Took about 2 hours to clean up all the accumulated junk and box the garbage. Then out came the shop vac and the entire floor was vacuumed. No surprises found - like loose bolts, nuts etc. I can't believe how much space I've been hogging the last 3 1/2 months...

My new storage system is in place
After a trip to Princess Auto (30 minutes away in West Ed) I arrived back home with 60lbs of car dolly's. These suckers are nice. Powder coated in black, and 18 inches wide. 4 iron cast wheels with slight domes that allow for easy rolling (Kind of like an english wheel used to form sheet metal) Took about an hour to put those suckers together, even using an air ratchet. Too bad it's so cold out (-21°C) or I'd try to surf them down the driveway

First I needed to warm up the garage to make it a workable place to be. Even with bundling up with layers, it got cold quick especially my feet. So out came the old coleman stove and propane heaters. Took about 1/2 hour and the garage was a balmy 10°C (that's about 50 F).


remember this shot, because you can see the Cutlass is way over the center line of the garage and my makeshift storage shelf (plywood screwed to 2 horses) taking up most of the space. The stove is sitting on the OSB I put under my wifes car to catch any oil drops. (No it doesn't leak that bad, the boards are 12 years old and also have junk from the road on them too)

So, here's the home mechanics answer to storage - portability! These are sooo versatile. Each box has 2 dollys that require assembly. Good solid quality.


Once assembled and fitted to the car, they look like this


The really nice thing is I can move the car all by myself now. Just have to be carefull about how far you move at one time. Kind of like measure twice, cut once? Push a little - have a look. Repeat as needed. If you have someone to help who hasn't been drinking it makes the job go faster This let me really optimize my space on the side of the car. In past years I couldn't get the back end any closer than 20 'inches from the wall. Have a look now


There's tons of room now. To give you an idea of how much, look at the floor. That long 'line' you see is the center line zip strip. Its 10' from the foundation wall. I'm taking the engine stand and golf clubs out to the shed Sunday. That will give even more room for the snowblower stored behind the car. My wife was soooo shocked and happy to see this space when she got home at 9:30. I saw her coming and opened the garage door. She stopped, got out and checked to make sure she wasn't dreaming. There's more than enough room for her now. That space is 11'X24' and her car is only 6'X14'. Happy wife...happy life.


While this may be the end of this episode, I hear the dark side calling once again. I have some projects planned for the winter. 1. Figure out how to install my Fusick repro grills in the new stone shield. 2. Thread my cruise control stalk through my new tilt steering column. 3. Get my W35 deck spoiler ready for paint. 4. XLS spreadsheet / gantz chart for installation of power options / dash modifications. A plan is a good thing to have.

 

Breaking MAW News.

Tony is looking at RA, maybe ordering front steering components.... Could it be...

Stupid question, tie rods, do i need two outer, and one inner? I'm looking at the CSM and it seems that the outer has a different part number than the inner?

 

RA will have lower prices for sure; as long as you can get shipping from only one warehouse.
re: tie rods? Yes they are different Tony, so you would need 2 inners and 2 outers. They also have reverse threads to each other for when the sleeve is used to adjust them. Get the good ones and also get the sleeves - it makes adjustment much easier. You could recondition and reuse your old sleeves, but if they have the same corrosion your frame does, I'd just go new.

If you're looking at tie rods? Also get the center link and idler arm unless yours are in good shape and can just be cleaned up. My idler arm boot was missing for some reason. If you're planning to replace everything? Use a pickle fork to remove the nasty stuff - don't waste your time using a hammer to break the connections.

 

Honestly, i'm considering just replacing Everything.. I plan on installing the control arms myself, but need to get an alignment done after at my dad's local mechanic.

The last thing i want to hear is "So Tony, your tie rod's are no good and you need steering parts replaced at 75 bucks a piece" Prices are through the roof in montreal...

I'd rather have a box full of steering parts in my trunk for 100 bucks from rock auto then run up a tab for 400 just for parts at a repair place. And besides, knowing me i'm going to want to replace these parts anyway. The only part i was thinking of keeping was the pitman arm. Do those go bad?

 

Attaboy Tony!
In for a penny, in for a pound - a wink's as good as a nod to a blind bat I always say . Since you're doing all this, the front sway bar and bushings need to be done too. Can't remember if you did that already. If you get all the parts, you can take out the old steering and make comparisons to the new stuff as you build it.

re: the pitman arm? No, you don't want to take it off the steering gearbox. Just separate the ball joint connector to the centerlink and that's as far as you need it to go.

If you want to take off the power steering pump, steering gearbox, shaft, rag joint and clean them up? This is the best time to do it while you have the control arms off the car. The steering stuff isn't that hard to do. Check your PS hoses. If they look good, I know this sounds nuts but if they look good and they're not leaking? Just clean em and leave them. When I cut my pressure line last year to see what condition it was in? It was perfect. Kicking myself now for doing that. Called Gregg's today and asked ballpark to build replacement OEM style. They said about 80+. So I'll just order the ones from ILT and use them.

Looking forward to your continued build. I'm experiencing time warp on my puter. I think the hard drive is starting to go. My pet snail moves faster than this thing. If I have to replace the HD? It will be less hassle just to buy a new 400.00 puter.

 

Hey Al,

Is it a laptop computer? If so then the hard drive is probably a BREEZE to install. I'm no good with computers (unfortunately i work in software), but you can order a nice hard drive off Dell.ca, they offer really fast shipping at competative prices to future shop, check them out.

My sway bar is the only attractive piece of suspension that i own You've got a good memory, I blasted it last fall, installed new bushings and those funny looking blue connectors that stick up from the control arm (wow i sound technical at 7:54am..).

I need to take my car in for a mechanical inspection before i can drive it on the road. (Thank god no emmissions after a car is 25+ years old) I want to give the mechanic no doubt in his mind that the car is in good working order. And dirty suspension parts won't help..

 

Nope, it's a desktop. Probably still easy enough to swap out. But I also have to download all my files first. Then buy the drive - they're waaay pricey. Just starting to come back down. They went sky high last year when rotten weather hit the philipines and Japan - caused a backlog of orders that created high priced parts. Don't know if it has IDE or SATA HD connectors. Probably IDE because it's about 7 years old. Then I have to reinstall that crappy VISTA OS??? Don't know if it's worth it. All the other web sites seem to work good, just CO takes forever to load and work on. That's why I haven't been on here much lately.

 

Cool!

I havn't had a desktop in years, they always send us away for work, so we need something portable.

You wouldn't believe the amount of hard drives i've burnt through in the past two years. I'm sure it's not too bad to replace a desktop drive either. You just need to create a backup on an external disk before you do the migration.

In other news, I JUST GOT MY REAR UPPER SHOCK BOLTS OUT. Those puppies didn't come out without a fight...

I had to use a cutoff wheel on the lower bolts, they were hammered and i didn't want to fire up the compressor to ever try an impact socket.

Needless to say, it sounds like i'm working hard when i fire up the grinder

 

Wierd though, it's only CO that locks up and is slow. How's it working for you? I've heard back from one other guy that it's slow and locking up on him too.

re: rear shocks. YAY!!! But, you know the drill; let's see the pics of that work.... Need to see what you've been up to.

 

Pics to come soon! I'm grinding the HECK out of my rear frame and putting a coat of chassis paint on it before i put the gas tank back in.

CO actually works great for me. (Don't tell any engineers this) But i've been on the Macintosh platform for years

Since i use IBM at work all day, i tend to not want to see the machine when i get home

How is your wife's car strut assembly going? What brand did you use?

I'm looking at 4 strut assemblies for my Sentra, right now it's between ACDELCO and Monroe, which are better? I'm kinda leaning towards monroe because they have a 60 dollar rebate right now on RA if you buy 4 assemblies. It would cost 180 dollars + tax and tip, Not bad?

My struts are still OEM in the sentry, never changed and i just ran over 100K miles... They're squeaking so bad it's about time..,

 

Monroe Premium. Just got the front assemblies. RA definitely has better pricing and you can take advantage of that drop point.

I should have put the struts in by now, but I've been waiting for better weather. You likely heard about our blizzard on Thurs? We got over 30cm in my area. Same heavy wet $hit that hits you guys all the time. Used the snowblower till it ran out of gas. 2 1/2 hours and 7 driveways later....
I did get her brakes done though. Took off the rotors. Front side looked good. Back side was completely trashed. Might have to overhaul the caliper and install new pad springs. Anyway, it was turn them for 15 each or buy new for 25. Hmmm. Off to NAPA and brought em home. Something wierd though, her car uses 14mm socket on the caliper mounts and 5/8 on the calipers. ??? Anyway it's all good for now.