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Current battles include some persistent exhaust leaks. I found one, fixed it, only to find two more. I think replacing the exhaust header and gasket fixed that. That involved a pair of broken studs, both of which involved drilling and re-tapping in the cylinder head. This sort of work has turned me into something of an ersatz machinist.
The aftermarket header is shiny! I would have ideally gone for an OEM header, but those are discontinued, of course. With the aftermarket ones I had to do some research, instead of drilling down to the absolute cheapest one and clicking "buy". As it turns out, most of them aren't legal for highway use.
There was a broken bolt on the rear suspension. That was not going to pass inspection. I tried to drill that out, but the bolt was rusted solid inside the bushing. Getting the bushing out required cutting it out with a reciprocating saw. Power tools made that mercifully easier and faster than sawing by hand.
The front brakes were completely replaced. It was necessary. I was noticing lately that when stepping on the brake pedal, there was a notable pull to one side. Also, when loosening brake bleeder valves, a gentle tug should be enough. Instead, when I tried to salvage them from the old calipers, they broke completely off. I guess that was a sign.
The air conditioning might be a lost cause. Or not? I might be able to get away with just getting a compressor from the junkyard and a few support bits on the cheap. Then the air in the lines will need pumped out before adding freon, otherwise it'll make for a very weak and inefficient system. Getting to the compressor involves unbolting the power steering pump. Well, at least I've made that future task easy for myself. Plus the freon has since all leaked out already.
Typically, when having a mechanic fix the air conditioning, their course of action is to replace the compressor, condenser, receiver/dryer, expansion valve, and whatever else. As the parts are also either new or rebuilt, the cost will easily go above a thousand dollars. The other parts get replaced because when the compressor fails, it usually burps chunks into the lines, and all hell breaks loose from there. In Ai's case, the compressor is leaking freon but it does work marginally. So that's a hopeful sign.
Item GET: An 11-foot hose that's designed for attaching to the tailpipe and routing exhaust outside. The one I got fits Ai, since I figure she's going to be getting the most work in the near future. Unfortunately it won't fit Nozomi, as her tailpipe is a much different size. Oh well, if this works, I'll just get another hose.
So yeah, that's what's going on.
The aftermarket header is shiny! I would have ideally gone for an OEM header, but those are discontinued, of course. With the aftermarket ones I had to do some research, instead of drilling down to the absolute cheapest one and clicking "buy". As it turns out, most of them aren't legal for highway use.
There was a broken bolt on the rear suspension. That was not going to pass inspection. I tried to drill that out, but the bolt was rusted solid inside the bushing. Getting the bushing out required cutting it out with a reciprocating saw. Power tools made that mercifully easier and faster than sawing by hand.
The front brakes were completely replaced. It was necessary. I was noticing lately that when stepping on the brake pedal, there was a notable pull to one side. Also, when loosening brake bleeder valves, a gentle tug should be enough. Instead, when I tried to salvage them from the old calipers, they broke completely off. I guess that was a sign.
The air conditioning might be a lost cause. Or not? I might be able to get away with just getting a compressor from the junkyard and a few support bits on the cheap. Then the air in the lines will need pumped out before adding freon, otherwise it'll make for a very weak and inefficient system. Getting to the compressor involves unbolting the power steering pump. Well, at least I've made that future task easy for myself. Plus the freon has since all leaked out already.
Typically, when having a mechanic fix the air conditioning, their course of action is to replace the compressor, condenser, receiver/dryer, expansion valve, and whatever else. As the parts are also either new or rebuilt, the cost will easily go above a thousand dollars. The other parts get replaced because when the compressor fails, it usually burps chunks into the lines, and all hell breaks loose from there. In Ai's case, the compressor is leaking freon but it does work marginally. So that's a hopeful sign.
Item GET: An 11-foot hose that's designed for attaching to the tailpipe and routing exhaust outside. The one I got fits Ai, since I figure she's going to be getting the most work in the near future. Unfortunately it won't fit Nozomi, as her tailpipe is a much different size. Oh well, if this works, I'll just get another hose.
So yeah, that's what's going on.
