Automotive

During COVID-19, are you wrenching or getting work done on your vehicle? Are you ordering Parts?

  • Last Updated:
  • Jan 29th, 2021 7:46 pm
Tags:
Newbie
Dec 24, 2007
60 posts
19 upvotes
Toronto
Out of all the parts I replaced, the struts made the biggest difference. Comparing the old strut to the new, when you push the rod on the new strut in, it would extend fairly quickly, pushing the rod on the worn strut and it would extend at a snails pace. The ride is completely different now, with the old struts taking even small road bumps, gave you a really choppy ride, as if the wheel was simply falling into the hole and then being hammered back up. Taking corners and braking are really predicable again, the car does not dip, dive, bounce, no excessive body roll etc.
I've had the car since new, I remember the stiff suspension from day one, but the handling, braking, cornering were all predictable and quiet. In the last couple of years it was less pleasant to drive.
Newbie
Dec 24, 2007
60 posts
19 upvotes
Toronto
All in I was around $1150 CN for parts, another $350 Cn duty, shipping and taxes. $1500 CN.

Again, struts made the biggest difference, if it wasn't for Covid I would not have done this work, I've been looking at new cars for the last couple of years. Only thing that works for me is the Lexus product as they still have engines that aren't 4 cyl with turbos, direct injection etc.
Much prefer the 2.4 cyl, ,without a turbo, or a small 6 cylinder. Not into direct injection as I don't want to bother with the carbon buildup and walnut blasting.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 6, 2010
15881 posts
10565 upvotes
Toronto
alanbrenton wrote: Play again, I assume, not Game Over? :)
Indeed. Paperwork on Saturday with delivery at the end of the month.
DIY difficulty scale:
0-joke
10-no joke
Deal Addict
Mar 2, 2017
3839 posts
7802 upvotes
Toronto/Markham
TSXkid1977 wrote: Recently completed a suspension rebuild on a 2009 Acura TSX (230K odometer)
Front suspension work completed – new struts, lower and upper control arms, outer tie rods, front ball joints, end links.
Rear suspension work completed – new struts and end links.
Misc. Work – new serpentine belt, touch up paint remove stone chips (prep, prime and paint)

The Good – all bolts came off without any issues, a couple of the end link bolts needed to be worked back and forth and sprayed with penetrating oil but mostly without issues. I spray the wheel wells and suspension components yearly prior to the winter and it appears to be working well. No rust issues, I was concerned taking on a major suspension rebuilt and removing 11-year-old fasteners. All hardware/bolts were able to be reused except the ones that are supplied new with the new components.




Big difference in how the car rides, overall, very satisfied. All parts purchased from Rock Auto, all suspension components by Beck Arnley BA, struts by KYB, Gates accessory belt
The not so good, after taking apart it appears the control arms still had some life, the lower control arm bushings were mostly good, the compliance bushing was showing some aggressive wear, probably could have gone another couple of years, the upper control arm bushings also weren’t bad, the ball joint was quite loose but not suspect to any of the noise. The lower ball joint was a culprit and there was a TSB for the replacement with Acura.
Great work, and your car looks amazing for the mileage and how little rust there is. What are you spraying it with? Do you go over all components? Let us know what your protocol is, interested in trying this.
RE Broker
Newbie
Dec 24, 2007
60 posts
19 upvotes
Toronto
Since purchasing the car new in 2009, The second day after taking ownership I had the car at a local undercoating company that does work for the Honda dealer. Back in 2009 I paid $400 + tax for the under coating and spraying inside of the doors and rockers.
In the years that followed I didn't do any additional rust proofing to the underside of the car, although I did monitor about 4 times a year every time I had the car up on ramps to do an oil change.
In the wheel well area, every fall, usually October I sprayed the wheel wells with water to knock off the dirt/mud/sand etc from all suspension components, as well I would wipe clean the fender lip with a rag while spraying to get the surface clean. I would let the car sit over night to dry. The next day while the wheels were off and I was servicing the brakes, I would place a bag over the rotors and give all the suspension components a spray with rust inhibitor. In the last few years it was the "Rust Check Coat and Protect" product, in previous years it could have been another product I don't recall, I'm not loyal to any brand as long as the oil will stay on for several months I'm good with that. Normally TSC has a sale in September for various rust products in a can $3.99/can and I will buy 3-4 cans. At this time also make sure to spray around the fender lips. Usually I'll dispense 3 cans in getting ready for the winter. I will keep one can to do touch up sprays in February. Again while the car is on the ramps I'll get the underside of the rockers as well. When I do my oil changes I keep a can of Rust Check (830ml) that you apply with a brush. While I'm under the car if I see an area that is showing surface rust I'll just wipe it on to keep it coated.
The photos attached you can see the rear wheel control arms are coated in dirt prior to the suspension work. I simply brushed everything with a wire brush to knock off the dirt. The fasteners and threads are all clean, the knuckle is clean underneath all the rust proofing and dirt. The control arm paint is still pure black with hints of rust at the welds. The castle nut for the lower ball joint is clean and the threads are untouched. The picture with the old struts and ball joints are also showing minimal corrosion after 11 years.
I do agree that undercoating starts to fail and dry out after some years. I'm guessing in my case it was around 8 to 9 years when I mostly noticed, although in the areas where the undercoating is failing if you continue to keep it coated you will buy yourself some time. Nothing is for ever keep it going for as long as reasonably possible then move on. :)
Images
  • IMG_1054.JPG
  • IMG_1081.JPG
  • IMG_1088.JPG
  • IMG_1089.JPG
  • IMG_1075.JPG
  • IMG_1111.JPG
Last edited by TSXkid1977 on Jun 11th, 2020 11:30 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Deal Addict
Sep 8, 2017
4695 posts
4968 upvotes
GTA
I do the same. I get mine rust-proofed at Krown every fall, and then touch it up with a Krown spray can as needed.
Deal Addict
Apr 5, 2017
1556 posts
1391 upvotes
Edmonton, AB
In last two months I sold my junk truck, Crosstrek, and CRV. Down to a $500 Chevy Epica (need to work on and get sold) and 97 Mustang GT. I should be selling the Stang for close to 5k some time soon. V8 sounds nice and its a cool ride, but only got it on a trade and not something I really care to keep around.

I picked up a couple ZXW Ford Focus wagons for $500 each. Both run and drive. One I need to work on more than the other, both need new rear struts. Hoping to make them cheap dailies with best hauling per dollar unless I found a cheap minivan, but these Focus' are much better on gas.

Still on the hunt for gems on Kijiji/Marketplace. I can't stop looking. There has to be a diamond in the rough. There's too much junk. I thought I hit the jackpot twice, but I'm a sucker for "too good to be true", on the other hand people who say that tend to be quitters/don't even bother. Two occasions now I stuck my neck out to go get me something nice. A 6.0 Powerstroke F350 with straight pipe exhaust had me bouncing off the walls, after checking it out, I found out it was all lies and the thing wouldn't even start - I even reported the ad for being so deceiving and it got taken down. Next up was a Saab 9-7X with an LS 5.3L engine in it which was the main selling point for me, along with 138,000 original KM's and a nice interior for being a variation of GM Trailblazer/Envoy. You can get the 6.0L in these and it's pretty much a Trailblazer SS with more luxury to it. This one I looked at was looking like a definite buy as an LS motor and decent tranny with 138k on it was worth the $3000 asking price - until I heard the crazy ticking that is fairly common in these earlier LS/5.3's. I had a Sierra 1500 5.3L for a couple months that had the same nasty tick. My heart sank listening to it in the Saab, walked away after that.
Deal Addict
Mar 2, 2017
3839 posts
7802 upvotes
Toronto/Markham
TSXkid1977 wrote: Since purchasing the car new in 2009, The second day after taking ownership I had the car at a local undercoating company that does work for the Honda dealer. Back in 2009 I paid $400 + tax for the under coating and spraying inside of the doors and rockers.
In the years that followed I didn't do any additional rust proofing to the underside of the car, although I did monitor about 4 times a year every time I had the car up on ramps to do an oil change.
In the wheel well area, every fall, usually October I sprayed the wheel wells with water to knock off the dirt/mud/sand etc from all suspension components, as well I would wipe clean the fender lip with a rag while spraying to get the surface clean. I would let the car sit over night to dry. The next day while the wheels were off and I was servicing the brakes, I would place a bag over the rotors and give all the suspension components a spray with rust inhibitor. In the last few years it was the "Rust Check Coat and Protect" product, in previous years it could have been another product I don't recall, I'm not loyal to any brand as long as the oil will stay on for several months I'm good with that. Normally TSC has a sale in September for various rust products in a can $3.99/can and I will buy 3-4 cans. At this time also make sure to spray around the fender lips. Usually I'll dispense 3 cans in getting ready for the winter. I will keep one can to do touch up sprays in February. Again while the car is on the ramps I'll get the underside of the rockers as well. When I do my oil changes I keep a can of Rust Check (830ml) that you apply with a brush. While I'm under the car if I see an area that is showing surface rust I'll just wipe it on to keep it coated.
The photos attached you can see the rear wheel control arms are coated in dirt prior to the suspension work. I simply brushed everything with a wire brush to knock off the dirt. The fasteners and threads are all clean, the knuckle is clean underneath all the rust proofing and dirt. The control arm paint is still pure black with hints of rust at the welds. The castle nut for the lower ball joint is clean and the threads are untouched. The picture with the old struts and ball joints are also showing minimal corrosion after 11 years.
I do agree that undercoating starts to fail and dry out after some years. I'm guessing in my case it was around 8 to 9 years when I mostly noticed, although in the areas where the undercoating is failing if you continue to keep it coated you will buy yourself some time. Nothing is for ever keep it going for as long as reasonably possible then move on. :)
That's amazing, kudos for keeping the undercarriage of a honda so clean. It's no easy task.

I used to take all my cars to Reg's in Scarborough for rustproofing on a 2 year interval. Worked well, but I noticed with my German cars it didn't seem to make a difference as they didn't rust anywhere near as bad as my Hondas/Toyotas. Looking at my wife's Toyota I am thinking I need to get back in some sort of rustproofing regiment.

Do you park your car in the garage over the winter or do you keep it outside? If it's garage parked, is it above 0 in there or below?

What store is TSC with the sale on rustproofing? I've used the Krown rust inhibitor spray, decent stuff for bolts/connections/etc, I am wondering if there is something thicker that would stick on for longer for the under carriage.
RE Broker
Newbie
Dec 24, 2007
60 posts
19 upvotes
Toronto
RichmondCA wrote: That's amazing, kudos for keeping the undercarriage of a honda so clean. It's no easy task.

I used to take all my cars to Reg's in Scarborough for rustproofing on a 2 year interval. Worked well, but I noticed with my German cars it didn't seem to make a difference as they didn't rust anywhere near as bad as my Hondas/Toyotas. Looking at my wife's Toyota I am thinking I need to get back in some sort of rustproofing regiment.

Do you park your car in the garage over the winter or do you keep it outside? If it's garage parked, is it above 0 in there or below?

What store is TSC with the sale on rustproofing? I've used the Krown rust inhibitor spray, decent stuff for bolts/connections/etc, I am wondering if there is something thicker that would stick on for longer for the under carriage.


Yes, I park the car in the garage at home and outdoors at work. I would say the garage temps are above freezing 90% of the time. It's only in late January /February when the outdoor temps drop to -25 deg C that it can be below zero inside of the garage.

Agreed with the German cars for being better at fighting corrosion, in the 90's my parents drove German cars and the paint, metals, various coatings for the undercarriage were definitely better. I suspect that may still be the case.


TSC (Tractor Supply Company) https://www.tractorsupply.com

Tractor Supply Company is an American retail chain of stores that offers products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden and various maintenance. We have these stores out our way, London/Cambridge/Guelph/Kitchener Waterloo - the same items can be purchased at Canadian Tire, although I've never seen the various cans of rust inhibitors on sale there.

Canadian tire now sells the Rust Check Coat and Protect 830ml cans of rust inhibitor, I keep a can on hand when I go under the car, I pour some in a plastic dish, If I see areas that are showing rust I brush the inhibitor over them. The other thing I do and didn't mention is the steel rims for the winter tires, When I take them off after the winter, I use a paint brush and brush transmission oil around the tire bead and basically give the whole rim a quick coat. They sit this way all summer. After 11 years they still look new. During the winter in January, when the car is parked inside and the rims are dry, I'll quickly reapply a thin layer around the bead and any areas showing any rust. The rims always look new and shiny, there there are some minor rust spots but I've never had a leak at the bead due to corrosion. I've been doing this for 30 years and haven't had to replace a rim. Transmission fluid has some good corrosion inhibitors and are great for this application.
Newbie
User avatar
Dec 12, 2011
32 posts
27 upvotes
Peterborough, ON
Over the past week on the Jeep WK, I was able to extract and change 10 L of oil with the use of a Mityvac fluid extractor; made the oil change so much simpler.


I ordered a turbo inlet gasket and a diesel fuel filtre, which will be installed next week.
IMG-20200612-WA0002.jpeg


I ordered a Fumoto drain valve for the Jeep and my mother's 5th Gen 4Runner, they will eventually arrived and be installed.
Stronger than reason, stronger than lies, the only truth I know, is the look in your eyes.
Deal Addict
Mar 2, 2017
3839 posts
7802 upvotes
Toronto/Markham
TSXkid1977 wrote: Yes, I park the car in the garage at home and outdoors at work. I would say the garage temps are above freezing 90% of the time. It's only in late January /February when the outdoor temps drop to -25 deg C that it can be below zero inside of the garage.

Agreed with the German cars for being better at fighting corrosion, in the 90's my parents drove German cars and the paint, metals, various coatings for the undercarriage were definitely better. I suspect that may still be the case.


TSC (Tractor Supply Company) https://www.tractorsupply.com

Tractor Supply Company is an American retail chain of stores that offers products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden and various maintenance. We have these stores out our way, London/Cambridge/Guelph/Kitchener Waterloo - the same items can be purchased at Canadian Tire, although I've never seen the various cans of rust inhibitors on sale there.

Canadian tire now sells the Rust Check Coat and Protect 830ml cans of rust inhibitor, I keep a can on hand when I go under the car, I pour some in a plastic dish, If I see areas that are showing rust I brush the inhibitor over them. The other thing I do and didn't mention is the steel rims for the winter tires, When I take them off after the winter, I use a paint brush and brush transmission oil around the tire bead and basically give the whole rim a quick coat. They sit this way all summer. After 11 years they still look new. During the winter in January, when the car is parked inside and the rims are dry, I'll quickly reapply a thin layer around the bead and any areas showing any rust. The rims always look new and shiny, there there are some minor rust spots but I've never had a leak at the bead due to corrosion. I've been doing this for 30 years and haven't had to replace a rim. Transmission fluid has some good corrosion inhibitors and are great for this application.

Thanks for the info. I found some of this stuff in my garage, between this and some bicycle chain wax i am going to spray these on and see how they hold up. The Canadian tire rust inhibitor is great, i have some, but it drips and seems to wash off. The thicker sprays like chain wax seem to stick on and stay longer.

Image
RE Broker
Newbie
Dec 24, 2007
60 posts
19 upvotes
Toronto
RichmondCA wrote: Thanks for the info. I found some of this stuff in my garage, between this and some bicycle chain wax i am going to spray these on and see how they hold up. The Canadian tire rust inhibitor is great, i have some, but it drips and seems to wash off. The thicker sprays like chain wax seem to stick on and stay longer.

Image

Thank you for the idea. I have one area behind the front wheels that collects dirt/salt etc. Acura failed in that there is no way to drain the water from this area. I did a repair about 3 years ago, cleaned, primed, painted, and then applied some rust inhibitor. I just checked this year and it's starting to get some surface rust again. Not bad for 3 years. I think the product you suggest will hold up better as it won't wash out, also it may displace the dirt that tends to collect there.
Deal Addict
Sep 8, 2017
4695 posts
4968 upvotes
GTA
Kenster1991 wrote: Over the past week on the Jeep WK, I was able to extract and change 10 L of oil with the use of a Mityvac fluid extractor; made the oil change so much simpler.

I ordered a turbo inlet gasket and a diesel fuel filtre, which will be installed next week.
Diesel Jeep. Awesome. I love that the new Wranglers have a diesel option too.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 21, 2018
9652 posts
10924 upvotes
Vancouver
I finally got time to do the valve cover gasket replacement on my BMW 6-cyl. Remember the good old days when replacing a valve cover gasket meant undoing a handful of bolts, pop the aluminum valve cover off, replace the $10 gasket, done in 15 minutes? Now, not so much. First there's a lot of crap in the way now - about 10 steps to get to the point where you can unbolt the valve cover and pop it out. But careful! It's plastic - which means not only does it warp in normal use, leading to the gasket leaks in the first place, but it cracks easily if you apply too much force in removing it. If you think the replacement gasket is overpriced in Canada, you should see the cost of the valve cover. And replacing the valve cover without kinking the gaskets (3 of them, 2 around the spark plug wells) is no easy job for one person. You could really use a 2nd pair of hands to manage the back corner where there's a bunch of cables in the way and you need to wrangle it into place without displacing the gasket or damaging a cable. Kudos to the guy who posted the tip about tying the gasket in place with dental floss through the bolt holes, which pulls out easily once it is in place. As always with modern BMWs, the hard part of any maintenance job is not to break the plastic parts when removing or re-installing. I watched several videos, and it was apparent that many people had missing or broken parts on their engines where they had done this operation a couple of times.
Images
  • valve cover without sparkplug gaskets.jpg
  • VC2.jpg
  • vc3.jpg
Deal Addict
User avatar
Feb 12, 2006
1131 posts
927 upvotes
Scote64 wrote: I finally got time to do the valve cover gasket replacement on my BMW 6-cyl. Remember the good old days when replacing a valve cover gasket meant undoing a handful of bolts, pop the aluminum valve cover off, replace the $10 gasket, done in 15 minutes? Now, not so much. First there's a lot of crap in the way now - about 10 steps to get to the point where you can unbolt the valve cover and pop it out. But careful! It's plastic - which means not only does it warp in normal use, leading to the gasket leaks in the first place, but it cracks easily if you apply too much force in removing it. If you think the replacement gasket is overpriced in Canada, you should see the cost of the valve cover. And replacing the valve cover without kinking the gaskets (3 of them, 2 around the spark plug wells) is no easy job for one person. You could really use a 2nd pair of hands to manage the back corner where there's a bunch of cables in the way and you need to wrangle it into place without displacing the gasket or damaging a cable. Kudos to the guy who posted the tip about tying the gasket in place with dental floss through the bolt holes, which pulls out easily once it is in place. As always with modern BMWs, the hard part of any maintenance job is not to break the plastic parts when removing or re-installing. I watched several videos, and it was apparent that many people had missing or broken parts on their engines where they had done this operation a couple of times.
These are notorious for failing - I have a 335i n54 straight 6 twin turbo with a bunch of issues like this (leaky Valve cover, leaky oil filter housing, leaky oil cooler gasket, oil pan gasket leak, water pump and coolant reservoir leaks) - pretty much anything that had a gasket or was surrounded in plastic has failed.

I also switched out my fuel Injectors to index 12. Most, of not all of these items I’ve done myself.

It totally sucks but nothing drives like it! I’ve also done a ton of tunes / mods to the car which has it pushing 550hp - JB4/MHD backend tune, Stage 2 intercooler, downpipes, dual intake cones, BOV, New motor engine mounts, etc etc. (It’s my track car and not a DD at the moment).

For an 11 year old car, it has maintained quite nicely and if you do the work yourself, you can save a bunch of money. BMW has not changed much on their inline 6 engines for the last 6-8 years so it isn’t always worth it to get a brand new one.
Member
User avatar
Feb 1, 2019
323 posts
133 upvotes
Alberta
Jigsaw wrote: I agree 100%. I have a 2011 Camry that's parked outside most of its life, the headlights look brand new without any hazing whatsoever. I had PPF applied on them when new and it's paying handsome dividends.
Agreed. Mine came w/PPF from Subaru (paid extra) 3yrs ago I had some work done on car, dude removed PPF on front bumper area/lights didn't apply new film - it's 20% hazy. My lesson learned: besides looking over car after body work verify they replaced PPF. I've heard good results w/3M Kit & Sylvannia, yea 3M is expensive in Canada Sylvania only in Walmart (price varies btwn $22 -32) so I bought Meguiar's on sale $27 few weeks ago. I'll return it buy sandpaper w/polishing compound since I have to decontaminate.
Deal Addict
Jan 17, 2009
4533 posts
5071 upvotes
Toronto, Ontario
Ordered myself a Milwaukee M12 1/2" Stubby Impact Wrench to help with taking on/off the wheels. It's good for ~250ft/lbs torque so hopefully that's enough to get the wheels off my golf (spec is about ~90something).. I've got a 24" breaker bar in case it struggles, but honestly if it can't get them off the majority of the time I'll probably return it. I was looking at the Ryobi as well, but it had a similar torque rating and I liked the form factor of the stubby. It's my first "modern" battery tool so I'm not part of either ecosystem.

Anyone have any personal experiences between the two? or specifically with the stubby for stuff besides/including wheels?
Member
Sep 8, 2012
202 posts
253 upvotes
Toronto
I can't speak to the M12 Stubby but I use an M18 which is rated to 220ft/lbs and it doesn't have any problems with my wheels torqued to 104ft/lbs. It did struggle a bit once when Active Green and Ross had used their impact gun to drive lug bolts on my mother's BMW but I was also unable to move them with a large 1/2" breaker bar either, eventually the M18 did get them off after much impacting.

The Milwaukee M18 and M12 kit is really good stuff, I mostly have the M18 tools with only an M12 ratchet at the moment but may see about getting 3/8" impacts from the M12 line and build out that collection.
Member
User avatar
Feb 1, 2019
323 posts
133 upvotes
Alberta
After reading all the posts got lots of helpful info....Thank y'all!!

After Clay & decon, what is a good afforable polish & wax for blue WRX? I need to do all this before I PPF my ride. My car is parked o/s and I have the worst neighbor - their overgrown fir tree branches keeps falling off, I trimmed their tree back in Spring ( as they're too busy drinking, POT-up chilling) in their New Costco pop-up tent (whatever it's called), it's been windy/rainy/dusty. Sorry I'm annoyedSmiling Face With Horns
Deal Fanatic
Dec 12, 2009
6145 posts
3614 upvotes
Toronto
I spent the better part of the weekend getting about 95% of a backup camera installed in my truck tailgate. Most of the time was putzing about modifying parts or custom fabricating brackets. Plus a little research online.

I had to use an after market tailgate handle designed for a different model year that was designed for a different camera. The 5% remaining is to get a T50 torx to remove 2 bolts from the hinge assembly. Then I can make a couple of brackets to use to zip tie the wires into place so they don't get pinched by the bidirectional hinge. Final step will be to put the covers back in place.

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)