I'm inclined to replace some front suspension parts with one arm in a sling this weekend... The SHLBGS said she'd be right there beside me to help turn a wrench if I needed her to. She's not what I like to call "automotive inclined", but damn she can refill a tea glass like it's nobody's business when I'm on a creeper under a vehicle. If you read here and you are one of the folks I don't talk to on the phone or text, I've got a labral tear and torn supraspinatus tendon in my shoulder from the wreck. 2 bulged discs in my neck and back as well. I'm taking it easy you could say, but shit like this won't fix itself and I work for a living and need my wheels.
Here's my dilemma...
I can replace both assemblies with what are called quick-strut assemblies or I can go the individual part route.
I have a spring compression tool to remove the spring from the strut if I find out that it's the upper spring seat insert (#7) that slides into the upper strut mount (#8) that is defective. Yeah it'd probably be a PITA to even jack with the spring removal, but from a financial standpoint, it'd probably be worth it to save a few bucks. I'm also a convenience enthusiast, which means I'd really like the least amount of resistance to get it back to OEM standards. The #7 and #8 parts, are my prime suspects at the moment. Apparently, the rubber is completely gone inside the mount, which is making the end of the strut rod rub against the mount, metal to metal. It sounds like a hard chirp and es no bueno por caca. This is on a 2.5T Volvo S60 (read that as Mustang and Camaro dream killer) that is near and dear to my heart, so I must get it fixed. There are little boys in Mustangs and Camaros out there in the world that must feel the agony of defeat every once in a while. This car will flat out run like a fucking nitro chainsaw on the highway.
So my knuckle busting grease monkey brethren, given the amount of effort it takes to remove a spring even with two good arms, is it even worth me fooling with it to replace the parts individually or should I just fork over the $236.00 to skip all the foreplay and get right to the happy ending?
11 comments:
what will it cost to repair your shoulder when you hurt it trying to pull this off yourself, and how many more days off work will it cause? that's how i decide.
Damn you RR! Showing up here with all of your common sense talk... I kid. Good point you have there amigo. Definitely noted.
You're my boy Phil! I figured you'd show up sooner or later and tell it like it is. You never let me down friend.
Buy the completed items. That way if something fucks up, it's warranty work. Screw up one part on your own assembly, you bought the whole thing.
lemme tell ya, I feel your pain my man.
I fucked up my lower back as a young man and had to have a disc and a half removed, they hacked a chunk of bone out of my pelvis and broke it into little pieces and then packed them in around two vertabrae. It took two years for it to fuse together and has never been quite right because I was way too active. I have a pinched nerve on the right side that makes it feel like someone has thapped me on the right nut all the time and sometimes it feels like someone is pouring ice water down the outside of my leg.
In spite of all that fun I have been a mechanic my whole adult life and have worked on just about everything except aircraft and nuclear stuff.
Lol.
I have also always been pretty much broke so I can understand wanting to repair things as cheaply as possible but there is a time where there is just no point in fucking around with shit, especially stuff that is safety related such as front end parts.
Not that I am not as guilty as Hell for reusing stuff that should have gone straight in the shit can.
Ya do what ya gotta do when ya have to.
In this case what I told you is my professional opinion and I would have said the same thing to anyone else in your situation.
R.R was spot on with his advice also.
Fucking around with heavy duty springs when you are not 100% to begin with is an invitation for disaster.
I have seen what happens when one of those bastards comes loose under tension and it ain't pretty.
Best of luck to ya and when you get it done go out and embarrass the shit out of some jackass Mustang boy for me.
Foreplay is overrataed
lol, not common sense, but i experience doing dumb things :)
What are ya gonna save...Maybe a hunnerd bucks? Maybe?
How much time even if you WEREN't hurtin?
I just had tho have both lower and upper ball joints along with a upper control arm replaced last Tuesday on my '04 Jeep Liberty. The bill hurt like hell($468.00 total). I had this done by a professional shop even though I have a garage with a transmission jack, engine stand, a cherry picker, and a godly amount of tools I probably used a time or two.
When it comes to any kind of suspension work other than replacing brake pads/shoes, please have it done by a reputable shop. It is not worth saving a few bucks when you will have to pay the medical bills because something went wrong.
I'm with riverrider, brother.
Quick strut and break for tea.
Greg Swiston
Greg's My mechanic Inc.
1325 E. New York
Aurora, Il 60505
630-898-9778
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