Three-day weekends are, to put it bluntly, better. You come back more refreshed, awake, and ready to face the coming week. But what do you do on those long weekends to unwind, kick back, and take your mind off work? You work on your car, of course. Yesterday, we asked you what you did with your car over the long weekend, and today we’re looking through your answers. Let’s see what you came up with.
I tried to buy a first-generation BMW X5... and failed horribly because the SUV was vastly different (worse) than the pictures in the ad.
And it was far more broken than stated. How do you allow ALL of the door handles to break?
This is extremely funny to me, because my dad had one of those first-gen X5s back when they were new. It also broke in random, batshit ways, including the door handles. Welcome to my childhood, Mercedes.
Changed the oil on my 2015 Explorer. Took 3 hours. Last oil change must have ended with an air wrench to the drain bolt. Ended up killing a 14mm socket to hammer on and break the bolt free.
Replacing my daughter’s boyfriend’s 2003 Ford Fusion’s belt tensioner. After installing the new one, the stub to pull the tensioner back broke off. Never seen that before. Now we’re in a mad race to get another one this morning and put this ugly baby to bed before the HOA police write me a ticket.
“Oh, torque spec? Yeah, three ugga-duggas oughta do ya. Y’know what, throw a fourth on there for good measure. That’s good’n’tight, there.”
Well, lets see. We added a small 2-pass cooler to the return on the power steering in one of my Volvo S70’s…. Because the system was getting warmer than we wanted on our electric. Pump… we took the pump off the accessory belt, and we installed an electric pump off a 2004 Mini Cooper in the back of the S70 next to the spare tire well. We did this to save 5~7hp load on the belt, along with moving weight to the rear which is very light… so part of the Saturday was fiddling with the system, and the other part was cleaning all the ATF off the driveway that missed the catch pan (which was a significant amount considering our lines run the length of the car… we also switched to a BMW fluid too which is a little lighter. That should help reduce heat too. Fortunately Mini’s design on the system was incredibly stupid in that it sat right next to their exhaust manifold, so the pump should be ok to get warm….
It actually tucked up pretty nicely and is higher than the body of the rest of the car, so hoping it will be fine when we go flying off the track. (Might throw a spare zip tie at it)
I always encourage throwing spare zip ties at the problem. In college, I use nothing but a spiderweb of zip ties to re-mount a rusted heat shield under a then-girlfriend’s car. As far as I know, they never failed.
I sat in the C8 of the NYS Fair. It was hella compact though.
I also sat in a GR86 there too (How do 6-foot-tall people get into those things? Even with the seat all the way down I still had like 2 inches of headroom at best!).
So, in other words, pretty much nothing.
Did spot my 2nd ever parking lot car show though! (A whole week after the first one lmao)
Like 5 minutes after arriving there, a F430 just straight up parked next to an old army truck in a show dominated by old school muscle too: and people flocked to that Ferrari.
After I left the nearby Target, an AMC Javelin had arrived with a Prowler that just so happened to park next to that F430. I kinda wish I stopped again just to take a picture of it, because that’ll probably never happen again.
Javelin, Prowler, and F430 would be a hell of a three-car garage. I know I’d take that, if offered to me.
Started restoring a speedometer assembly from a 1947 Willys “Stordor” van:
Before:
After vinegar bath, wire wheel, and wire brush (still need to do some touch-up of the flash rust):
After masking, priming, and painting:
Next up: the gauges.
Good on you!
Replaced wheel cylinders and bled brakes on my daughter’s old car which I posted on CL. Glued headliner up.
Replaced front brake pads on my 2012 Caravan. Deep clean of all four rims.
Replaced broken antenna on my new-to-me FB RX-7. Removed the front license plate bracket. Researched rear suspension mods because it bottoms out too easily. Drank four bottles of flavored water so I could use the bottles for premix.
Washed the Z28 and tucked back in the garage.
Started a hunt for replacement water pump for my Plymouth Champ. Seemes to be seizing on and off judging from belt burning odor.
Sprayed degreaser on all the new drips in the driveway.
Jockeyed all my cars in and out of driveway several times.
When you have enough cars, maintenance becomes a full-time job. Hopefully a labor of love, though, since you aren’t getting paid for it.
TRUCK STUFF.
But honest truck stuff. My parents are downsizing and I spent the whole weekend with my dad using my beater 4Runner (2010, 170k miles, bone stock but in good shape) doing trips to the hardware store and handywork at the new house, as well as moving all the fragile stuff he doesn’t trust the moving company with.
Related: Days spent doing moderate manual labor will give you the best goddam sleep in your life. Not just 30-60 minutes in the gym, an actual day’s worth of doing things.
When you get a truck, you automatically become the Guy Who Helps Everyone Move. It’s an unwritten law of the universe, one so strict it applies even to body-on-frame vehicles without an open bed.
Road trip, and a bit of car spotting. We drove to Enterprise Oregon which was 6 1/2 hours on mostly rural roads apart from a short piece of Interstate, this was the first stretch of Interstate I’ve driven on in over a year, since last summer’s trip. We saw some interesting stuff by the car repair shop cum used car dealer including a Jeep FC-170, a couple of 60s convertibles and a rat rod pickup.
Those little hole-in-the-wall shops often have the coolest cars out front. Who would you trust more with your classic — the quick lube, or the shop that’s been around since that car was new?
Fixed an oil leak on my wife’s Subaru, replaced the fuel injectors on my pickup and now I have to track down a misfire and a bank 1 rich condition and helped a friend get a replacement engine in thier Prius and started for the first time. Also pieced together the raspberry pi that will run the gauges on my MGB with megasquirt
I didn’t even think MGBs had enough electronics to benefit from a Megasquirt. It’s amazing how much modern technology can be slapped into old cars for a noticeable benefit.
Flew to London. Not exactly car related on the surface (especially from my girlfriend’s point of view) but the car spotting is Yankee geek nirvana. From manual transmission econoboxes to super cars to every Euro/Asian forbidden fruit. It’s mega.
For the Americans in the audience, this brand is pronounced poo-zho, and it’s neither a Mazdaspeed 3 nor a Hyundai Tiburon. In fact, it’s likely cooler than both.
The ZR2 pulled kayak transporter duty for the weekend.
In search of these guys:
Paint matching your car to your kayak is an expert-level off-road move. Color-matching your kayak to your car, however, is seen as tacky in many circles. It’s all about the order.
Installed an infant seat in my Wife’s car. I have a son now!
Really hoping my shock and strut set shows up for my 335i, I ordered it in February. The EDC version of the Bilstein set is apparently unobtainium of the highest order w/pandemic shortages etc.
I asked Jalopnik’s Own Andy Kalmowitz what else you say to new parents, beyond “congratulations,” and he came up blank. I’m told “Happy parenthood” isn’t really a thing.
I did an overdue detailing. Outside: wash, wax, Rain-x, restore the black plastic bits, silicone the rubber seals. Inside: Armor All, Invisible Glass, dusting, and vacuuming. Looks brand new.
Seems like your detail job really hit every bit of the exterior and interior. Would you say you’re detail-oriented?
I totaled by girlfriend’s Nissan Pathfinder while she slept in the passenger seat. Everyone is okay, but damn, now we have to buy a used car in this market. Ugh.
First off, glad everyone’s okay. Secondly, if only there were a site that could help you navigate these uncertain car-buying waters.
Not a damn thing. I let it lay in the garage while I got drunk at the barbecue. And I do not regret it for an instant.
Sometimes you don’t want to work on your car. You don’t want to crawl underneath, get all dirty, and bang your knuckles loosening stuck bolts. Sometimes, you just want to drink near a grill, and that’s okay.