What have you done to your car today?

Had a little time and finally got to finish this project.

Dug out my harbor freight trans jack that I used for the mustang.... This was super helpful in getting things lined up

Got it close then lowered the car down on it

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Bolting it in was pretty easy outside of the control arms... They needed some pry bar work to get things lined up

Got out my spray gun and my surface shield and gave everything a proper hosing down... Maybe it this one won't rust as bad
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My god does it drive soooo much nicer

Only issue is that the tc/abs lights are still on.... I didn't swap the sensors that were on the sub frame I got from the junkyard... Figure I'll drive it for a bit and see if they shut off

So back in action and it only cost $200, can't complain about that
 
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UtahJoe said:
Had a little the other and finally got to finish this project.

Dug out my harbor freight trans jack that I used for the mustang.... This was super help in getting things lined up

Got it close then lowered the car down on it

View attachment 259895

Bolting it in was pretty easy outside of the control arms... They needed some pry bar work for get lined up

Got out my spray gun and my surface shield and gave everything a proper hosing down... Maybe it this one won't rust as bad
View attachment 259896View attachment 259897View attachment 259898
My god does it drive soooo much nicer

Only issue is that the tc/abs lights are still on.... I didn't swap the sensors that were on the sub frame I got from the junkyard... Figure I'll drive it for a bit and see if they shut off

So back in action and it only cost $200, can't complain about that
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Impressive.

How are you with steering racks for a 2013 Santa Fe 🤣
 
iman29 said:
Impressive.

How are you with steering racks for a 2013 Santa Fe 🤣
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shrpshtr325 said:
i promise, the steering rack is a much smaller job than that.
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Actually, the thing that was really nice about this swap is that I didn't have to remove or replace any lines and all bolts were easy to get too..... I have done steering racks, some are buried and the lines suck to get on/off... Granted without my lift, this would have been a much bigger pain
 
Steering racks definitely seem to vary by car. On a MINI, it'd be a task as you would need to at least lower the front sub frame, if not drop it entirely. IIRC, the bolts that hold the rack are the same bolts that attach the rear LCA bushing brackets and they are long.

IMHO, plan on new outer tie-rod ends as well. Living here in the rust belt, the battle to swap old ones to a new rack just isn't worth it. I'd take a look at the hoses as well.

Check the specs for the P/S fluid. Some makes are really picky about the type of fluid used, unlike "eh... any ATF will work..." in older cars/trucks. It would really suck to wreck a new rack because the fluid was wrong. Don't ask me why one hydraulic fluid needs to be different... and don't get me started on different transmission fluids... but that may be the PTSD left over from 20+ years of working on R53 MINIs that use transmission fluid that was apparently distilled from effing unicorn tears at $50/qt...

And engine coolant... woe be you if you mix the wrong coolant types...
 
Ian F said:
And engine coolant... woe be you if you mix the wrong coolant types...
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For my 100k service I bought Anti-Freeze at the dealership. It wasn't expensive and figured it's the easiest way to NOT have an issue. It's so hard now knowing what to properly put in a car now as you can just turn your anti-freeze into a gel by a small contamination of the wrong stuff.

I did the same with the trans fluid as it was reasonably priced.
 
Santapez said:
For my 100k service I bought Anti-Freeze at the dealership. It wasn't expensive and figured it's the easiest way to NOT have an issue. It's so hard now knowing what to properly put in a car now as you can just turn your anti-freeze into a gel by a small contamination of the wrong stuff.

I did the same with the trans fluid as it was reasonably priced.
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Between my old TDI, the MINI/BMW and "green stuff" for the older cars - and then second bottles with 50:50 mix (distilled water only, of course), the coolant shelf in my garage was looking stupid... Oil was similar, although got better in later years as the VW and MINI both take M1 0-40 Euro formula. Although now I have 5-20 for the minivan.

There is enough oil in my garage that I really should have a flammable storage cabinet... except I don't really have room.
 
Back in January before I broke my collarbone, I had a lot of work done to my MINI. I drove it once again before the injury and the CEL came on... which was annoying, considering how much I had spent on the car...

Then the injury and I didn't touch the car for months...

I'm supposed to go to Carlisle next weekend and since none of my Triumphs are running yet, once again the MINI will need to serve as the backup LBC. Hopefully I can get it inspected this week...

When I started it (yes, after sitting for about 3.5 months - the wonders of modern EFI) I heard what I thought was an exhaust leak. Possible since I had the header replaced and it's not uncommon for the flange bolts to loosen up a bit after the first couple of heat cycles.

While it's been a while since I have done this work, it wasn't too bad...

Step 1, remove two 14mm bolts holding the heat shield to the head.

20250511_195246.jpg

Step 2, check all the little 10mm flange bolts. Extentions, a flex head ratchet help... and one required a swivel socket. A few of them did need a bit of tightening, but not too bad.
20250511_195221.jpg

Put everything back together and see if the sound changed... hmm... not really. Maybe I just forgot how loud this car is...

Got the code reader out to see what was causing the CEL. Bank 1, sensor 1 - O2 sensor... which had been replaced during the header replacement.

Cleared it and we'll see what happens when I take it to the inspection shop (hopefully) tomorrow.
 
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qclabrat said:
I'd love one of these but not sure how I'd get this off a rented pick up truck. Anyone have done this before?https://www.facebook.com/share/1FztmNHC9Y/
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Seems common among Porsche aficionados, the biggest issue with it would be the solid deck doesn't allow you access to the bottom of the car which in my opinion is the precise reason why you would want a lift...the older version appears to give you a little more access but I'd rather have two separate scissors/platforms, one on each side of the car, for maximum access. @UtahJoe what model is yours? I will have to get back to my Eclipse at some point...
 
serviceguy said:
Seems common among Porsche aficionados, the biggest issue with it would be the solid deck doesn't allow you access to the bottom of the car which in my opinion is the precise reason why you would want a lift...the older version appears to give you a little more access but I'd rather have two separate scissors/platforms, one on each side of the car, for maximum access. @UtahJoe what model is yours? I will have to get back to my Eclipse at some point...
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I have a quickjack which is exactly as you describe
 
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