What did you do to your ride today

lol I feel your pain. I'm about 30 minutes south from the Wisconsin border but when I travel up there...I'm blessed to come back home alive lol.

 

The shittiest part is when I try to work on anything underneath the car. Fucking rusted bolts everywhere.

 

Yeah the fasteners are the worst. The car frame and body are fine, but the subframes and everything that bolts to them is what rusts to shit

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lol that is the worst part. Sigh. Sometimes I wonder what working on your car with nice weather feels like....

 

My MS3 actually originally came up from Florida via an auction in Chicago; if I was smarter (and had funds) at the time, I'd have done all the suspension work before the car faced as many Wisconsin winters as it has now, haha.

 

Removed purplish tint the PO had on the back two windows and got a pro tint job. 35% up front 18% rear and hatch.




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Now you gotta strip that side molding. Smoked side markers would look extra good on it, too, in conjunction with the tint and painted/dipped wheels.

But hey, I may be biased about those 'mods' given I've done exactly that to mine.

 

Is it weird that I like the side moldings?

I'll see myself out.


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Received throwout bearing, pilot bearing, flywheel bolts (6), and rear main seal (just in case). South Bend Stage 3 Endurance clutch scheduled to arrive tomorrow! I thought about the awesomeness of my impending new wtq capacity as I sprayed meth flames all over town

 

Pitched my beat up stock knob and replaced it with this.


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So you drove your baby

I do like my Cobb knobb

 

Well, let's start with the smoked side markers, then. We'll get you there!

 

I used Meguiar's headlight restoration kit and was very impressed with how well it did. Excellent product.

 

I was installing a cat back. Then this happened. I was so close to freedom before it rounded off.

 

Fffuuuuuuuu, I hate suspension and exhaust bolts. Vice grips?

 

I can't get enough leverage with vise grips because the nut is still tight as shit, and can't get a 13 to fit (it's a 14mm bolt).

I also don't want to sawzall the whole pipe because I like to hoard my stock parts.

Since I'm tired of crawling around on the freezing garage floor, my shoulders are sore and bruised from fighting with it yesterday, and I don't want to mess with the bolt on the other side of the flange, I'm probably going to take it to a muffler shop and see what they charge to install the cbe. If it's too much for what I feel willing to pay, I'll see if they can just remove the nuts on the z pipe and put new ones on. Or let me drive back without a muffler. lololol.


I used to like wrenching, and still do. But all my experience comes from bicycles and motorcycles. This speed 3 is the first car I've really worked on (besides oil and brakes) and I've not had a pleasant experience installing a single part on it so far. Maybe I'm not as mechanically inclined as I thought, or maybe motorcycles are just so much better. So much more room, and typically only ridden on warm dry days.

I can't help but feel like a loser if I buy parts and pay someone else to do the install. I feel like installing the parts yourself or with some friends is the right of passage. But maybe nobody cares and when it comes time for me to lower it, I just let a shop install the springs/struts and try to feel no shame.

 

I can definitely empathize with the shoulder pain from cranking on that shit on a cold, concrete garage floor.

When I installed my RP, we ended up snapping that exact same bolt (unless I'm confused about which section of exhaust we're looking at in your photo) and had to drill it out since there weren't enough threads exposed to try a vice grip on. I wonder if you'll have to cut it off and go the same route, or if shop could get it out in one piece.

Hope you get it figured out without too much additional work or shop expense.

 

This bolt is on the z pipe that goes over the axle. I know what you're talking about though. When I did my racepipe thankfully I didn't snap any bolts. I did break one of the welded nuts off the cat, but that ended up making removing the cat easier.

However.............. I did manage to slip on the wrench, jam my thumb on the sharp edge of the heat shield, and cut myself to the bone/fracture the bone. So that was also a fun exhaust experience.

 

I had to use a dremel to cut a bolt when doing my race pipe. Definitely a pain.

 

If everyone else could DIY install parts on their cars and do the maintenance, then there wouldn't be a need for mechanics or auto shops. After I snapped a throttle body bolt when doing the coolant bypass tig install, which resulted in having my car towed to Mazda because I couldn't find a way to remove the stuck bolt (space was too tight), I figured I would saved a lot more money if I had a shop install it in the first place.

I try to do the easy installs myself (intake, tmic), but for the other more complicated stuff, I take it to a shop. Anything that needs to be installed under the car, or is suspension or brake related, I'll have a shop install it. If it makes you feel any better, just think of paying a shop to install your parts, as putting food on the table for the mechanic's family.