The Official Cars Discount / Thrift & DIY Questions and Bragging Thread.

[bahlsdheep]



Thoughts on struts after 50k?  Living in pothole country (midwest) I've put on 50k on my ride (2010 Murano)  I know I've got brakes that probably should get done (city driving) and so I was hoping to tighten up the suspension at least in the front.  Brakes are a piece of cake (I've done more than my share of brake jobs) but I've only swapped struts once and replaced the whole assembly when I did (no spring compressor).  Should I just wait until I really notice something?  Maybe another 25k miles or so?

Are they leaking? If not, I'd just let it go till you notice anything -- handling, noise, or odd tire wear issues specifically. If you're going to change them out, I personally wouldn't bother with getting a spring compressor, just try to find strut assemblies without springs and take everything including your originals to a shop to have them switch over (i.e., you re-and-re the struts and all they do is swap springs for you).

 

[Thrift Vader]

Are they leaking? If not, I'd just let it go till you notice anything -- handling, noise, or odd tire wear issues specifically. If you're going to change them out, I personally wouldn't bother with getting a spring compressor, just try to find strut assemblies without springs and take everything including your originals to a shop to have them switch over (i.e., you re-and-re the struts and all they do is swap springs for you).

Good call.

in my experience, an immediate improvement is to swap out all the bushes in the suspension. the rubbers wear faster than strut seals. on bumpy roads, like in places that snow, with ice being anything but smooth? you can opt for higher quality replacement struts. and do as @bahlsdheep suggested. although, uprated springs in conjunction with new struts and bushes will surpass factory specifications. and enhance your driving experience.

 

[Thrift Vader]

well, something big has been brewing over the last week or 2. my boss had me practicing on old panels from the trash, like this one..


and after a few, i said "you know, this is kind of a waste, i could be practicing on my car. have you seen the state it's in??"
he says, "actually, that's an awesome idea!"

so we agreed that if i pay $800 to cover costs. i can restore my car at work. #winning
and in the last few days, between customer jobs. this happened....



updates soon. as i get more into the big stuff.

 

[Orgetorix]

Buying cars with rebuilt titles: always a bad idea? Or can they be fine?

 

[Cj52racers]



Buying cars with rebuilt titles: always a bad idea? Or can they be fine?

With a pre purchase inspection, I would have no problem buying a rebuilt title. To get a title on a rebuilt car is quite the process. They can't just slap that label on it and sell the car. It is worth paying the hundred or two to get a pre purchase inspection as it is with all cars, but I wouldn't have many reservations about buying a rebuilt title.

Awesome stuff thrift vader!

 

[bahlsdheep]



Buying cars with rebuilt titles: always a bad idea? Or can they be fine?

I'd say it's situation specific. Vehicles can be written off for serious or innocuous reasons, it all depends. It also depends on what you want to do with the thing, if it's an average car and you just want to DD it and then sell it after a 1 or 2 years, you will probably take a decent size hit on it; however, if its something cool or collectible, and you plan on keeping it for a while then the loss isn't so bad and probably outweighed by the enjoyment and lower price of entry. Is there a specific car in mind for you question?

 

[Orgetorix]



Is there a specific car in mind for you question?

Not exactly. I'll be in the market for a used minivan or some such for the family soon, and see a lot of rebuilt ones on Craigslist.

 

[bahlsdheep]



Not exactly. I'll be in the market for a used minivan or some such for the family soon, and see a lot of rebuilt ones on Craigslist.

Yeah, I'd say that if you go that route then, have whatever you buy inspected very closely by a mechanic you trust. As mentioned above, these do usually have to pass state inspections in order to be given rebuilt status, but I'd want to be very sure there was no frame or structural damage that wasn't repaired to perfect factory spec -- especially for a family hauler. If you can get a history of the damage and repair history that would be a big plus.

 

[Cj52racers]



Yeah, I'd say that if you go that route then, have whatever you buy inspected very closely by a mechanic you trust. As mentioned above, these do usually have to pass state inspections in order to be given rebuilt status, but I'd want to be very sure there was no frame or structural damage that wasn't repaired to perfect factory spec -- especially for a family hauler. If you can get a history of the damage and repair history that would be a big plus.

Yup. I did forget to mention, it does vary from state to state on how stringent retitling a car is. Indiana is pretty difficult, but I'm not sure on other states, though I know they all have a process.

With a PPI though, you take a little worry out of the equation. Same with a full car history report. Any matter of things could cause a rebuilt title designation. Could have been a horrible accident, could have just been hail damage.

 

[Thrift Vader]

from what i see at work, cars can be repaired badly, or perfectly. in some cases better than factory. like if somebody mounted a curb, and effed up the suspension, broke the headlights,bumper, and a fender? those are all bolt ons, and can be aligned correctly. or were rear ended? some structural, but not a safety problem if repaired well. so as others have said. take a car guy, or mechanic you trust. or? get me on pm live while you are looking at it. or before and after.

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I'm thinking about going to a local pick and pull for parts my car, my wife's car and maybe even for parts to buy and resell. I do not have a lot of tools, but I have too many too many to take everything.

Anybody have experience doing this? I want to get a toolbox together that I can carry (i.e. Handheld) with me. Any thoughts on what tools would work for most jobs?

I'm thinking socket/ratchet set, screwdrivers a couple adjustable wrenches and a hammer.

Won't this cover most items?

Any other tips? Specific things to buy to resell? I'm fairly handy, but by no means a mechanic.

 

[jcman311]

I've done this a few times and I think part of the trick of doing it is to bring all the tools you think you will need and something smaller to carry them with. Go and walk around and see what you are going to pull and then go back to your car and grab what you will need out of the larger collection and put it in the smaller toolbox. What you listed is basically what you will need. Dont forget penetrating spray and breaker bars, vise grips, etc. Maybe a cordless cutting implement such as a angle grinder or sawzall. Remember if it doesnt move and it should you need wd40 and a big f'ing hammer.

A neat trick I learned is to bring a 18 volt (or similar) cordless battery and some leads to help move anything electric that might be in your way. This helped me get a control module once that was buried under an electric seat. It could also work for windows, wipers, etc that may need to be energized to move.

 

[Cj52racers]

I would make sure to have a dremel. Can grind away rust on screws or cut them out if need be on some things. Kind of a jack of all trades.

 

[GreenFrog]

Jacked my car up and got to my wheel sensor. It was very clean, much to my dismay. Didn't clean much of anything off and it unsurprisingly didn't fix ****. So I just ordered a new wheel sensor online.

Gotta wait for that to come in and hopefully that will fix my issue. If that doesn't, it looks like it's my DSC module that's fucked, which will be

That said, it was loads of fun jacking the car up, getting to the sensor, and all that jazz.

 

[jcman311]

Did you try swapping sides? Wont hurt to try.