A Kid with No Mechanical Experience's Progress Thread =/

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BodyByAAS

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Ok - So yesterday I was thinking - "Damn...I got so much Shiet to fix, I may as well have my own thread" Then Sapperfire said "You should just make a progress thread!!" Well... Why not.

So here it is... My name is Mike - I am a 25 year old guy from Miami. I like long walks on the beach, rock music, and I'm looking for someon... wait, sorry wrong Bio. Basically, I bought a Mark because ever since 98 when my friend at the times parents came home with a pearl white on graphite, I had always wanted.

I picked up this Green on Tan on ebay, from about 45 minutes away.. its got 2 owners, 136K, and was well maintained. I paid $2000 for it, and still think it was well worth the $$$. It had a few small rips, tears, scratches - but the previous owner replaced the air bags, rotors, brakes, tensioner, belt, serviced the tranny apparently and used premium gas/mobil 1 synthetic the whole time he had it (Since 30K)

I must admit, I beat on it a little when I got it.. Ok a lot, now I have a bunch of little issues, Most of whcih sound worse then they are cause I am mechanically a moron and havent held a ratchet for more then 15 minutes during my life.

So here it is, my mark, my problems, and my Progress!!

This is before any cleaning/detailing - that is up for this weekend after I finish the front end work.

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Yay you took my advise and started your own thread, now take more of my advise when I say
-psssst- your wheels are on backwards
 
I got the car lifted up on Jack Stands, Wheels off, and started removing the linkage ends. I think my rotors are rubbing the brake pads.. not by much, but when I spin there is a SLIGHT resistance - then again, maybe its not supposed to spin freely like a bike tire.

Anyways, So much damn brake dust down here.. After an hour my hands were so black they were banging out 2 of the Kardashian Sisters! :D

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I checked the front air bags.. Both looked good, pretty much everything looked good down there minus the ball joints and Sway bar end links. Both are getting replaced, got both sets for 40 + 15 shipping!!

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Im stuck trying to get the bottom bolts of the links off. The top ones barely came out without nailing the brake line... Little nervous about that. the bottoms, I just cant get out even with a hammer. The strut tower is in the way, so I keep missing and hammering the rotor :(

I wd-40'd the SHIET out of them, and let them sit overnight. Took the Gf's Altima to work :( Ghey. When I get home Ill tackle it again, and since the engine will be cold I'll do the spark plugs then as well. Im putting the valve cover gasket on hold until my Brother in law comes down before his cruise the first week of Sept. Im sure it'll hold a month. I told him what was up and asked for advice on how to do it, he mentioned what Jamie said about unbolting the master cylinder and moving it aside - so sicne hes so knowledgable Ill leave it to him :)
 
While I was under the car, I gave up on the bolts, and decided to pop the plug to the bellhousing (Which I now cant get back in...) and check for fluid, and yeah, there was some.. Not a ton, and not on the giant gear looking thing, just on the inside wall.

!??!
 
Brake pads will ride against the rotor, but the rotor should still float between them, you shouldn't have to struggle to roll the rotor, unless it's an axle wheel, there will be more resistance for you with the added weight

undo the bottom bolt of the caliper and roll the caliper up, pull the pads out and check for even wear, pads are designed to wear evenly across the car top/bottom left/right should all be about the same thickness, if you hold the pads together, and there is a diagonal wear pattern, the you have some issues, either your hardware is binding or a piston is seizing
if the pistons are binding in the caliper bore, the inner pad will be thinner than the outter pad, and vise versa for a hardware binding issue
in either case, you should always replace the disk brake hardware , clean the caliper guides with a non petroleum lubricant, check your hoses while in there, they tend to crack near the end fittings
 
ssmoparviii said:
The pads on all cars as it has been my experience rub just slightly on the rotors. Its does not rub enough to make them ware down.
Click to expand...

Sapperfire said:
Brake pads will ride against the rotor, but the rotor should still float between them, you shouldn't have to struggle to roll the rotor, unless it's an axle wheel, there will be more resistance for you with the added weight

undo the bottom bolt of the caliper and roll the caliper up, pull the pads out and check for even wear, pads are designed to wear evenly across the car top/bottom left/right should all be about the same thickness, if you hold the pads together, and there is a diagonal wear pattern, the you have some issues, either your hardware is binding or a piston is seizing
if the pistons are binding in the caliper bore, the inner pad will be thinner than the outter pad, and vise versa for a hardware binding issue
in either case, you should always replace the disk brake hardware , clean the caliper guides with a non petroleum lubricant, check your hoses while in there, they tend to crack near the end fittings
Click to expand...


I guess its just normal, and it seemed like it was more then it was cause the wheel was off, so I was spinning just he rotor, it would turn fairly easily by hand, but when I let go it stopped, didnt spin freely.

BTW Sapp.. still trying to get the :q:q:q:qing link out - saw the video you posted, but the ones on the mark are much less.. accessible!
 
Are you talking about the sway bar links? I just rebuild the front end on my 93 and I found it was easiest to get it out when I jacked the suspension up a little bit. It made it line up better.
 
ssmoparviii said:
Are you talking about the sway bar links? I just rebuild the front end on my 93 and I found it was easiest to get it out when I jacked the suspension up a little bit. It made it line up better.
Click to expand...

Thats not a bad idea, I may ahve to do that for the ball joints anyways!

Thanks! :D
 
Oh and I forgot to say... I would have been working on my front end all day if it was not for air tools. Strut rod bolt was a PITA to get off when pulling the lower control arm.
 
Love the color combo. Looks just like my first Mark. :(


Make sure to get the wheels back on the correct sides and good luck.




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Tonight I'll make round 2 of getting the :q:q:q:qing sway bar linkage out - i hope jacking the front end up helps =/
 
I remember doing my front end links. Blech. I had to hammer that end link over and over, and suddenly it popped free.
 
i used a little heat from my heat gun heat up the area around the end link stud and then give it a smack with the hammer and it should come out
 
i think I used a pickle fork to get it and then realized that wasnt working so i pulled on it hard and they popped free.
 
i wedged a 1inch wrench in there and pryed it apart. I thought i snapped the wrench, but no...SUCCESS!!!
 
I finished the linkage swap at 2:30AM last night - I was already in bed, ready to pass out when Sapperfire made me realize I cant swap the ball joint without having it pressed in.... FAHHKK!!!!

I threw on some clothes and got completely filthy & greasy again... I had just taken a 30 min shower to turn my hands gray instead of the tar black they were.

I think someone forgot to mention to disconnect the brake lines, cause this was an absolute bitch with them in the way. Even after PB blasting the shiet out of the nuts/bolts the link wouldnt clear the line, I had to put some pressure on it (thank god they are built ford tough LOL) and getting them back in was an even bigger mission cause you cant get the angle right. The ball didnt move as freely as I would have liked it I had to force it to change direction and get the bolt as just the right angle... meanwhile, it was only 85 and 100% humidity at 3AM, so another shirt was drenched.. Literally I could wring it out!

This was causing all my noise Im pretty sure as the ride to work was silent today :)

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I get them in, toss on the nuts, wheels, and drop the car.

SUCCESS!!

I guess all went well cause I didnt die during my 15 mile heavy traffic drive to work over construction and raised manhole covers :) Felt like the car handled a little stiffer, but that might be in my head =/

I owe all my success to this bottle.. it honestly fahks WD-40 in the ASZ!!!! If you dont have any, get some.. It made every piece of metal it touched look brand new. My entire front end looks factory now! (But I did smell it burning off while driving =/ well worth the fumes tho :) - Beware, has ingredient known to cause cancer in California LOL

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Yes, we all use PB Blaster here.


So you are in good shape to replace them again in a couple months when they break again.

OE brand sucks.
 
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