Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

^^^speaking of, I'm at Rust Check getting the CX-5 sprayed.  The owner operates a wand wash, too, and he gives the car a good clean before application, so it's going to come back to me clean.

[Firm]

Took the Jag out with Firm Jr. for a ride to the local cruise-in show....Had a little lineup of British stuff (mine, a Spitfire, MGB, F-type, Vantage) amongst a sea of American stuff.



Also drove the Firebird around a bit...Trying to put some kms on it before the end of the season. Yes, it's on the grass here...temporary as I jockied the cars around.

[TheHire]

Parking on the grass is going to do wonders for our neighborhood's property values 

[Firm]

Lol, have you looked around? The fact that I make an effort to keep a nice lawn is a standout around here....people too busy paying their 7 figure mortgages to worry about yard maintenance 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Just found some 17" Mazda 5 Take-offs on Kijiji for $200.  They will do very nicely as winter wheels for the CX-5.  Steelies would have cost me just as much - more when you factor in taxes.

[tortoise]

Nice score!

I had those on my Mazda5 and always thought they looked great.  Sort of a Lambo knock-off.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Steelies would have cost me just as much - more when you factor in taxes.

I take that back - just looking on the Costco website, and steelies are $89.99ea, and would have cost $380 after tax. 

Not only did I get a much nicer set of alloys, but I saved $180, too.  I just picked them up.  They're pretty clean, and look well taken care of.  Certainly in better shape than the 16's I picked up for the Mazda3 last fall.  Speaking of, I've got a set of 16" Mazda Alloys wrapped in 1 year old Blizzaks that I still need to sell.  Just waiting for the winter tire craze to start - I'm thinking I'll list them in October.

[ktm525]

Just found some 17" Mazda 5 Take-offs on Kijiji for $200.  They will do very nicely as winter wheels for the CX-5.  Steelies would have cost me just as much - more when you factor in taxes.

Good work. OE wheels are much better quality than the disposable alloys usually on offer for winter wheels.

[Dante]

Replaced the wiper arms on the BMW today. Driver side came out relatively easy but for the passenger side, after I tried everything I could, including wiper arm puller, I had to throw in the towel and take it in to a nearby shop to get it out. Didn't want to risk breaking the stud or the linkage.

New wiper arms are in now and looking good (hated to look all the time at the original rusty ones- they were on the "to-do" list from day one).

Tomorrow I should pick up new side markers and put them in (the original ones are looking tired and yellow-ish).

Oh, and fixed the broken strut mount bolt over the weekend. The guy at the shop said no need to replace the entire strut mount if the only issue is a broken bolt - he gave me one from a used part he had in the shop and installed it for almost free ($20). 
He saved me hundreds of $$$.

Mechanical and cosmetic refresh on the BMW is almost complete with just over a week till one year anniversary.

[blur911]

Good call. Life is too short to deal with corroded suspension parts. That's angle grinder, torch and swearing country.

I hate working under anything that's seen Ontario's salty winters.   Ridiculous difference looking under my older Miata or 911 vs Subaru or Cayenne winter driven vehicles.
I'll get some pictures when I can.

Brakes with about 50k and 4 or 5 years.



The control arm....they were both like this. 
Probably was a good idea not to load up the family and also tow a trailer halfway across Canada with it.

[PJungnitsch]

Yeesh. Almost makes our freezing winters worth it here in AB

[Firm]

That's nasty, that control arm is properly dangerous. Those brake had to have been making a ton of noise and judder though.

[ktm525]

Wowzers. How is the rest of the frame/subframe /anything with Fe+ holding up?

[blur911]

That's nasty, that control arm is properly dangerous. Those brake had to have been making a ton of noise and judder though.

Yup, shaking and juddering.   Hadn't driven it since May when I put the Miata on the road, just moved it around the back yard.

[blur911]

Wowzers. How is the rest of the frame/subframe /anything with Fe+ holding up?

The rest looks pretty solid, but the bushings are starting to loosen up in places.
I just want to get the rear wheels straight now.   

At some point it'll be too hard/expensive to keep on the road.  Since we were practically gifted our Outback the Cayenne hasn't been needed much....unless I need to tow.
I should get rid of it and the truck and get a Highlander or similar....maybe.

[blur911]

Thoughts on towing with an Outback?
I just looked it up and our 2005 with 4cyl has a 2700lb rating, our 2003 with H6 was 2400lbs.

Our trailer is an enclosed 14 foot, 6.5 high, single axle. I've only towed it with the Cayenne, which apart from drinking more fuel, barely feels it back there at lower speeds.  I mean, you can tell, but just push the gas a little harder.

[Firm]

Might be alright. Single axle though so you're likely going to have quite a bit of tongue weight, if anything, that's going to be your issue. Don't you have one of those Isuzu Equators to tow with?

[blur911]

Might be alright. Single axle though so you're likely going to have quite a bit of tongue weight, if anything, that's going to be your issue. Don't you have one of those Isuzu Equators to tow with?

Suzuki Equator, and yeah, wife didn't think it was comfy enough to haul us and three dogs.

Tongue weight might be an issue with the Subaru and my trailer.   I also don't have a hitch on it...yet.

[blur911]

I just checked for parts, for a total of almost $1k I can buy front control arms with bushings and a ball joint, rear track/toe links with bushings, plus all the bolts and eccentrics. 
Just got to put it all in and get it aligned...easy peasy 

[blur911]

Got the Cayenne aligned and didn't need any more parts.   Yay

Sometimes if  you can't get a bolt out or turned you have to replace the bushing, sometimes that means replacing the part the bushing is in.