Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[jman72]

Yeah, that's a very pretty S2K

Gave the Firebird a proper detail; wash, clay bar, Zymol cleaner and Auto Glym HD wax. Also swapped over to summers, then washed and waxed the winters for storage.
Car has held up really well considering it's made it through it's 19th winter and lives outdoors all the time:

Dude, that is a SWEET bird 

Great job on the detailing and rust prevention regimen too

[5 Wheel Drive]

Got the Miata out 2 weeks ago...woohoo!  Last weekend got my new rims and tires put on.  I'll post a good pic of it with the new rims when I get around to taking a good picture of it.

Last weekend got the summer tire changeover done on the 3 and the Forester.  Cleaned up the winter wheels and put them away.  Took out the winter floor mats, washed them and put them away too.

Yesterday I took the garden hose to the underside of both of them as well.  Got up in behind the bumpers, up into all the nook and crannies.  Lots of dirt and crap got rinsed away.  Glad I did it on the street and not on the driveway, I made a mess.  The streetsweepers haven't come through our neighborhood yet anyway...

[quadzilla]

Finally vacuumed the inside of the car today, holy crap what a mess it was. Still need to switch to summer tires but after seeing the forecast this week no reason to hurry.

[Brig]

Bought some new summer shoes for the Santa Fe.  Costco online was the best deal I found for Michelin Latitude Tour.  $152/tire with rebate, before installation and taxes.

[ArticSteve]

It doesn't really matter.  A Grp 3 based oil can easily out perform a Grp 4 based on the additive pack.

So goes the endless oil debate.  I'm a Groupie 4 guy and don't subscribe to the idea that there is no practical difference between Group 3 and Group 4 oils all things being equal.  Additionally, don't see my Group 4 turning dark within 2K km, EVER.  Would never run an engine 25K-30K km without change on a motor regardless of any analysis and certainly wouldn't buy the vehicle after treatment like that. 

[Trainman]

Washed and did the tire change-over on the Forester.  With temps in the low-mid 20's, and no more trips over the Coq, no need to wear out the winters.  Also washed the SO's RAV.

[Gurgie]

Got the 951 out of storage on Thursday afternoon, change the fuel pressure regulator that evening and drove it to work on Friday, ran like a charm.  Yesterday I got around to changing the oil, so now it will be good for the summer... whenever that actually arrives 

[Bubba]

Winter tire change-over, oil and filter change.

[Fobroader]

Brought the S2000 out of the garage for the first time since November and gave it the first wash of the season.  With the snow and sh!t road conditions I still won't drive it, so back in the garage it went.  It will get the full detail hopefully in the next two weeks or so if the weather cooperates. 

GAWDDAMMMMM.....now thats a sexy piece of kit!!!

[Bubba]

Brought the S2000 out of the garage for the first time since November and gave it the first wash of the season.  With the snow and sh!t road conditions I still won't drive it, so back in the garage it went.  It will get the full detail hopefully in the next two weeks or so if the weather cooperates. 

If I ever visit NB during its one month of summer, can we go for a drive?   

Gorgeous. 

[KD]

Looks even better in the flesh...

[HeliDriver]

Fack me. Took that flat tire in to have it fixed for the fourth time, but it's been so butchered by hacks that it's now beyond repair.

$280 for a new tire, plus the $90 I've already spent to have it "fixed" three times. 

[Solstice2006]

Solstice, if I had to choose between a clean house and a clean car I'd choose a clean house everytime. I try to keep indoor house projects to a minimum for spring/summer so I can play withthe cars. Mrs. Firm does most of the day-to-day cleaning, but I help out when I can or when something is bugging me. Last night I spent 2 hours vacuuming the entire place and making sure to get the baseboard and all that properly (she tends to neglect that...)

I am sure your keep your house is clean.  When I read your post, it reminded of how much time I spent cleaning the house that day.  I do most of the cleaning and cooking.  Wife does the laundry, and spends as much time with the kids as she can.  Which is what I want, as I don't have the type of job, that allows her to work less.  She is working 4 night shifts this week.  (Not a normal schedule, but she wanted 2 weekend offs in a row, last weekend my son turned 1, next weekend my niece turns 4). 

[Firm]

I didn't write it well, but I was trying to applaud you for spending the day on house cleaning, IMO that stuff is so important for the sanity and well being of a family.

[Solstice2006]

I didn't write it well, but I was trying to applaud you for spending the day on house cleaning, IMO that stuff is so important for the sanity and well being of a family.

lol, I was worried that you thought that I insulted you, cleaning the cars, with the house in shambles!   

[X-Traction]

Waxed the black Escape.  Even if you hate cars, especially black cars, a freshly waxed black car is pretty satisfying.

[Triple Bob]

Just changed the oil, and did the rest of the inspections for the 45K service.  I love changing the oil, it's so cathartic.  And for anyone with an ounce of mechanical sympathy, it's so rewarding.

Took pics and got the filter from the dealer for the receipt.  Not bad for $30 and an hour of my time.

 

[Solstice2006]

Just changed the oil, and did the rest of the inspections for the 45K service.  I love changing the oil, it's so cathartic.  And for anyone with an ounce of mechanical sympathy, it's so rewarding.

Took pics and got the filter from the dealer for the receipt.  Not bad for $30 and an hour of my time.

 

For warranty purposes?  Do you need pics?

[Firm]

This might be long....but damn is it weird and annoying.

On the weekend I had noticed water *under* the rubber mat on the front passenger side of the 96 Firebird....Being a GM guy I am no stranger to these kind of leaks so I pulled up the trim, carpeting and underdash to start the process. Spraying with the hose I had noticed some water getting in through a grommet in the firewall where I'd run my power wire for my amp - sweet, easy fix, or so I thought. I siliconed the grommet, re-tested with the hose and called it a done deal.

Experience tells me though that these things are never that easy, so I left the carpet and everything pulled back so I could monitor...Car sat in the driveway in the downpours on Monday and guess what, I found another puddle in the floor last night. I dried it up and strategically placed paper all around the wet area in hopes of tracking down where the water was running in from.

Today I get home, car is sitting in the driveway and it's raining pretty good again. I get in the other side and guess what - there's a puddle, but the paper perimeter around the puddle is dry! I know it's not coming from above either because the rubber mat was always dry. I get my flashlight and stick my head down there to have a really good look. After I few minutes I see that the water is actually dripping from the wiring harness...but after carefully investigating, the water is coming from the INSIDE of the harness. Basically, this piece of harness consists of about a dozen wires all wrapped up in electrical tape. They come from the pcm in the engine compartment, through a firewall grommet and then into the dash area...water from the wiper cowl drips off onto the wires in the engine bay, it penetrates a gap in the electrical tape and runs a good 2 feet inside the harness tape to the lowest point, which happens to be in the car, and then seeps back through the electrical tape and onto the floor.

Should be a reasonably easy fix on the weekend, but I've never seen anything like this before....Talk about obscure. I also cannot believe how many different interior water leaks I've dealt with in the last 5-ish years...the Sonoma alone has had at least 5 separate leaks, the 96 bird has had 3 (including this one) and my grandmother's 2000 Buick Century has had 2.......I guess I deserve this for buying so many old GMs of shoddy build quality, but this last leak is really getting ridiculous.

[Snowman]

yikes