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Just lowered my car after spending 3 weeks on the lift - amazing experience !
Earlier this evening I wrapped up a 3 week journey in which both a major maintenance and suspension work were performed. Overall it's been a very rewarding experience in which following items were addressed :
- oil + filter
- brake fluid
- front differential fluid
- rear differential
- PDK fluid
- upper control arm replacement
- lower forward bushing replacement
- sway bar bushings + link replacement
- Thermostat housing and spark plugs will be completed in December
The car was on a 2 post lift for about 3 weeks. I lost about a week due to a supplier sending me the wrong bushings, but on the other hand I didn't need the car and I enjoyed getting to know it a bit better. I would also like to thank everybody who assisted with advice and/or help during this journey, especially Ciaka and Dogwood come to mind.
Aside from the fun aspect, I might have saved quite some money. My parts bill was slightly below 2K$, but I can only imagine what the dealership cost might have been
Below some pictures taken through those 3 weeks. My shop is in a 2 car garage separated from the main house and is dedicated to motorcycle and car maintenance only. Earlier this year I installed a 2 post 8K lbs Atlas lift and gave the place a refresh with some paint and epoxy. This was my first big job in this new to me shop. Started with the suspension work, kept the car low on the lift Supporting the wheel carrier as the upper control arm is being replaced Upper control arm installed Pressing in lower forward bushing. &*@##%^ !!!!! Some of my new favorite tools : Mityvac and Endoscopic cam, lifesavers for this project Next we raise the car higher to take care of the fluids. For extra safety, I put two 2 ton hoists under the car. Might not have been necessary ,but felt so much better Earlier this evening I was able to lower the car. I had to keep it supported by the lift as the 2 front airstruts were being filled by the on-board compressor. Initially the car threw an error associated with the suspension, but after a while (as the airstruts were filled) it went away.
Overall seems to be a success and finally I can drive it again. First trip will be to the alignment shop.
Yves, Great great job gettin' it done and posting it up on here, that alone is no easy task given all the other stuff to juggle when your "not working." haha. That is a ridiculously perfect set up man.... The lift you got there is definitely a heavy duty one and looks great. Whenever you wanna learn how to drop the engine, let me know, I'd be more than happy to drive down to ya and show you.... Its surprisingly really easy when you drop it from the subframe.
But onto the recent items done on the car, holy crap, that is RAD!!! Do you notice a significant difference.. honestly? lol Its always a great feeling to see way more positive stories coming up on Money savings rather than having to take it to the dealership and get bent over. Soooo....... any mods in mind in the upcoming future after all the maintenance? lol
Thanks for the kind words !
Those wrong bushings being sent to me really screwed up my calendar since I now have to wait for an alignment till next Tuesday (Thanksgiving holidays). Not a real issue though since we woke up in whiteout conditions this morning. As it pertains to mods, I'm still on the fence since I don't know how long I will keep the car. This was my business commuter and the use of it has dramatically reduced since relocating the car to Central Oregon. Between my wife and I we have 5 cars and 4 motorcycles as a result of consolidating into 1 property. Not to speak of all the work associated with converting the former vacation property to main residence. So much work ahead my friend.
Looking forward to driving the car under normal conditions, might just have to keep it
The car drives like new. I do not know what made the biggest difference since I did not lower and test drive between the different steps (upper control arms, lower ones, sway bar,...), but I feel confident that I did the right thing by replacing all of them.
Doug (Dogwood) currently has his car on my lift, we are going through the same process for his car, with the added twist that he made some of his own bushings. Check his posts.
By the way - I've been sitting on a sway bar bushing DIY for a while now, will try to post it this week.
The car drives like new. I do not know what made the biggest difference since I did not lower and test drive between the different steps (upper control arms, lower ones, sway bar,...), but I feel confident that I did the right thing by replacing all of them.
Doug (Dogwood) currently has his car on my lift, we are going through the same process for his car, with the added twist that he made some of his own bushings. Check his posts.
By the way - I've been sitting on a sway bar bushing DIY for a while now, will try to post it this week.
That's awesome. The bushings are on my to do list as well... same as all the fluids and the thermostat. Would love to see your diy post! Great work man.
11-26-2019, 11:56 PM
