Do it yourself they say...pff

M

mijo_latino

Active Member
Apr 16, 2004
179
1
29
Canton, Michigan
#1
Everyone always says do it yourself, You'll save money.... pfff

To bad not everyone has that mechanic mentality.
Today i installed only the front struts of my car. Unfortunately i took way too long on this project, just like all my other DIY.
I had to use a stinking propane torch to get the nuts out of the struts. Liquid wrench didn't do anything but make me waste time. Also whats up with the nut on top of the strut? I bent a flat head srew driver twisting that thing. Then i bent the strut itself(old one) where the screwdirver goes to get that bolt out. I ended up have to grind one of them off :mad: . Must be an easier way! It doesn't help that the car has 100,000+ miles on this suspension.

Oh and i tryed to use the internal spring compresser o the fronts, but the piece of junk compresser didn't even fit throught the hole at the bottom of the control arm. How fustrating all this is.... :bang:

other DIY and time taken
Sony radio+amp+sub - 6 hrs - solo
Interior paint pieces(6)-5 hrs - 2 peeps
magnaflow catback- 10 hrs. - 2 peeps
Pi intake- 2 days - solo
tokico shocks- 1 day so far...- solo
Steeda sport springs- pending the shocks, trying to do it at same time...

I guess i have saved a buck or 2.
 
#2
gosh. i'm pretty mechnically dumb and i've had many set backs but never that long...
cat back took 1 hour, in the dark with flash lights... I was lucky and a friend cut the stock one off though :p

Strut was definately a pain. It was easy to get out (Oddly it was easy, 5 years of MA winters). The bolts came off pretty easy. The top of the strut I couldn't get apart, had to have a shop take the old struts apart and put the new ones together. Other than that, struts take an hour or less. The springs were a PITA, couldn't get the new ones in for a while. Eventually pry barred them in.

Stereo deck probably took an hour but only because we couldnt' find a damn harness to fit the stock harness.

X pipe maybe 2 hours, in a parking lot.

LCA's 3 hours, a BIG learning experience. bolts wouldn't come out too
 
#3
I agree with ya, man...
I just added an air compressor, impact wrench, air ratchet, etc to my tool collection - but when I'm ready, I think I'll have the local tire shop do my springs and struts. Same with a mid-pipe...if Midas will do it for $60, why the heck do I want to kill myself trying to do this myself - too many horror stories out here already. Some people can breeze right thru this kinda work - more power to 'em - I wish I could.
I'll mess with this and that, but I don't want to get in over my head. I did this with Mustang #1 (a 73 mach 1), heads removed, sent to shop for reworking, heads reinstalled, car didn't start - car towed to Ford dealer. I told myself never again.
I did chg my plugs on the 02 today. (Big deal, I know...!)
 
#4
DIY is great IF and ONLY if you have all the right tools, and lots of patience. One major thing that I have learned, always anticipate problems. Average X-Pipe install probably takes all of about an hour, on my car, I had to cut the old bolts off (60,000 miles half in michigan winter) and a slew of other problems, I had a heck of a time, it probably took me like 4 hours. I was kinda pissed that it took so long, but that 4 hours includes 1 trip to the hardware store, and one trip to the neighbors house to borrow a tool. Anyway man, dont get too frustrated, it happens to everyone....
 
#6
MyEarsHurt said:
DIY is great IF and ONLY if you have all the right tools, and lots of patience. One major thing that I have learned, always anticipate problems.
Click to expand...
Good point. That's why I pick and choose what things I do myself. Sometimes it's worth the cash to pay someone and save the time and frustration of DIY. Suspension is one thing I choose not to mess with. I give you credit for attempting it.
 
#8
Can you list off the set of tools you have in your garage? I would like to know what you have so I can make any suggestions, if necessary.

Think of it like this. You are learning how to work on cars, by yourself, with little or no help. OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO TAKE FOREVER THAT WAY.

If you can find a local buddy to help you out, then it makes life so much easier.

Also, before you do ANY project, you need to search on www.corral.net and here for write-ups, install articles, and general threads about the piece you plan to install.

It will save you a lot of time, and tell you exactly what you need to do to remove/replace something.

Here is an example. The writeup for installing steeda sport springs on Stangnet, and the one from steeda are completely different. The Stangnet one says you need to disconnect your tie rod, and your swaybar from the lower control arm to lower the LCA enough to remove the spring.

The other article said that you could leave BOTH in, and the LCA would lower itself enough to get the spring out.


Unfortunately, leaving both connected would not let the LCA come down far enough to relieve the pressure in the spring (brothers 2003 GT). Once we disconnected the sway bar, the LCA came out just fine. The tie rod stayed on.

Because of this, and because the strut would not line back up in the factory CC plate, the drivers side spring took 2 hours to install. After the knowledge gained, the passenger side took 25 minutes (I timed it).

If you think working on a car is too much work, and things will always go easy, you need to get a better job & pay a mechanic to fuxor up your car. Even with the right tools, things do not always go easy. But once you have done them, the next time will be a piece of cake.
Scott
 
#10
Everyone hates it when you say DIY. I know things are hard to do but it's fun with a friend or two and some beer. We just dropped my car today, Springs, shocks/struts and CC plates. The trick with the front struts are to use a jack to support it and fiddle with it til it takes enough stress off of the nuts to pop them out. Also undo the tie rods to allow the A arm to drop down a little further. We took our time doing it, had all the tools (minus a spring compressor) took us about 4 1/2 hours. We had a few set backs that cost us a total of an hour or so. The rear was a breeze (about an hour). For all those that say I can drop a car in an hour, your full of it. My buddy and I are fairly mechanicaly inclined and even with no hitches, there is no way to do it in an hour. Key is, start early and plan it out. Make sure you have everything to do the job. We just used basic socket set (impact), hammer and a lever to help persuade the front springs out. It's not easy, but it's not rocket science (no pun Rusty). The sense of accomplishment after you DIY is just a great feeling.
 
#13
The original springs can be tricky to remove. I always disassemble the spring compression tool and reassemble it inside the spring, plus I now use a 2 inch spacer just to get enough threads to pull the original (longer) springs out. Learned from four different spring replacements. Just like I learned on the rear to use the scissor jack to gently push the axle back forward into place so I could bolt the LCAs in. Good luck...the harder of the two, the fronts, is done.
 
#14
Speaking of DIY. My catback is coming in Tommorow and I plan to take my stock catback off today. This way it will save me some time tommorow in doing it. I figure I can jack both sides of the car up and place on two ramps ( like the MW write-up says ) is this the best way to jack the back of the car up enough for me to cut the old pipes off and all? This will be my first time doing any DIY work so I am trying to get as much planning in before I start this afternoon.
 
#15
These days it is really hard to find shops that do quality work. Seems most shops have to get cars in and out just to make ends meet, doesn't usually lead to quality work. I typically take the money I would spend on labor and use it to purchase the proper tools necessary to do the job and tackle it myself. I am about to purchase a compressor and air tools to do my springs, struts, shocks, LCA and CC plates. For me it is really satisfying to do it myself. I took advantage of my warranty when it was in force but, now that it is up I would sooner do things myself. I do know my limitations even with the proper tools so there are still things I visit the dealer for like my recent trip to have new tires mounted/balanced and an alignment done. The labor charge on that one wouldn't cover the tools necessary for the job. Those darn Hunter road force balancing machines are just a bit out of reach. I am still working on the wife though for the 4 post lift :D
 
#16
2Stock said:
Speaking of DIY. My catback is coming in Tommorow and I plan to take my stock catback off today. This way it will save me some time tommorow in doing it. I figure I can jack both sides of the car up and place on two ramps ( like the MW write-up says ) is this the best way to jack the back of the car up enough for me to cut the old pipes off and all? This will be my first time doing any DIY work so I am trying to get as much planning in before I start this afternoon.
Click to expand...
I would feel better using jack stands, but as long as you are using 2"x6" and not 2"x4" you should be ok as long as you don't stack more than 3. I suppose you could stack more but I wouldn't. Just have a good sawzall with a few extra blades just in case you snap one or two. I managed to snap one cutting my pipe out and didn't have an extra blade :nonono: The cat back is a bit harder to do than a mid pipe and a bit more time consuming. Have an extra set of hands, some sockets, liquid thread lock and your good to go.
 
#17
I did ALL of my mods by myself except for gears... Here's all the list:

1. LT headers + X pipe + cat-back: 3 days (2 peeps)
2. Springs/shocks/struts/LCA: approx 1 day (solo)
3. Light bar: 9 hours (solo)
4. Tri-ax: 45-min (solo)
5. Plenum/TB: 1 hour (solo)
6. U/D Pullies: 45 min (solo)

Like everyone else said, you need the right tool to do the right job.

If you take the most mechnical incline person in the world to install new struts for you, but you don't have the right tool. The dude would have the hardest time to install the struts as you do.

So, bottom line is, you're a tool if you don't have the right tools for the right job.

People at the shop is a human being just like you and me, BUT the only difference is that they have the tools needed to do the job right. If you have their tools, you won't have any problem at all whether you're a dumbass or the smartest person alive.
 
#18
CottonBurnerz said:
I did ALL of my mods by myself except for gears... Here's all the list:

1. LT headers + X pipe + cat-back: 3 days (2 peeps)
2. Springs/shocks/struts/LCA: approx 1 day (solo)
3. Light bar: 9 hours (solo)
4. Tri-ax: 45-min (solo)
5. Plenum/TB: 1 hour (solo)
6. U/D Pullies: 45 min (solo)

Like everyone else said, you need the right tool to do the right job.

If you take the most mechnical incline person in the world to install new struts for you, but you don't have the right tool. The dude would have the hardest time to install the struts as you do.

So, bottom line is, you're a tool if you don't have the right tools for the right job.

People at the shop is a human being just like you and me, BUT the only difference is that they have the tools needed to do the job right. If you have their tools, you won't have any problem at all whether you're a dumbass or the smartest person alive.
Click to expand...

Did you have any issues installing your Plenum and TB? Mine will be arriveing this week (Accufab) and I keep hearing about people throwing a MIL after install.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
SOLD For Sale: 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra Modified
Replies
13
Views
1K
Fox Body Mustangs For Sale (1979-93)
Mindseye007
Mindseye007
Boydster
SOLD SOLD!!!! 1993 Notchback Roadracer For Sale. She's a beast!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Fox Body Mustangs For Sale (1979-93)
Boydster
Boydster
KRUISR
Progress Thread Low Mile 89 GT Restomod - Building Subframe Connectors
Replies
50
Views
2K
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
KRUISR
KRUISR
5
What's it Worth? 1990 Notchback 5.0
Replies
4
Views
2K
What is it Worth?!?!?
50notch90
5
nicholase
Progress Thread Nicholase "lights out" build- TKX install
Replies
540
Views
31K
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
limp
limp
Top Bottom
Back
Forums
Menu