The muffler on my car

[Altron]

The joint at the front of the triangle thing, with the rod that kinda goes towards the middle?

I got it through the hanger (well, through the part that didn't fall apart into tiny little flakes of rust when I touched it)

Edit - That actually looks like it would be the steering part. The rod in the middle of the triangle thing, then?

 

[Altron]

This one shows both, better. The three piece thing is steering, I asusme, and the one piece is the sway bar, right?

 

[Professur]

Yeah. That' bit of rubber makes all the difference in the stability of your steering. If the rubber has a good fit around the bar, your cornering is better. A sloppy fit makes a sloppy turn. But it's supposed to be able to rotate inside the rubber, and it looks dry from here.

 

[Altron]

So, is this like WD40, or do I need to find some real grease?

Also, I went to tire rack, did a search for P325/75R15s, not including special summer, winter, runflat, or truck tires, so like passenger all season, then looked at the good ~$80 ones, 'cuz you get what you pay for, and surprise surprise, the Goodyear Regatta 2 (my old tires) is right there.

 

[Altron]

Yeah. That' bit of rubber makes all the difference in the stability of your steering. If the rubber has a good fit around the bar, your cornering is better. A sloppy fit makes a sloppy turn. But it's supposed to be able to rotate inside the rubber, and it looks dry from here.

Thanks for the sex advice too...

 

[Professur]

Do yourself a favour. Take your can of WD40, and stick it in the glove compartment for when your spark plug leads get wet. Water Displacement 40 is one of those miracles of marketing. And about as useful as snakeoil. You want grease for the bushing. I want to say lithium grease, but I usually use Hi-temp bearing grease for everything and I'm not sure they're exactly the same.

 

[Altron]

So, where do I get grease?

 

[Professur]

McDonalds.

 

[Altron]

I'll look the next time I go to pep boys.

Or I'll ask the guy who is gonna replace the shocks (cuz' I'm pushing 40 hours for the third consecutive week), so tomarrow I should rake in about 300, enough prolly for the brakes and shocks, then two weeks from tomarrow I should rake in a good 550, enough for the tires and extra, in case 300 doesn't cover shocks.

 

[chcr]

Actually, I don't think those bushings look so bad. The make a specific grease for rubber automotive bushings (usually silicone and usually a spray). Please never use WD-40 as a lubricant. The long bolts (one for each side) and all eight bushings generally come as a kit and are reasonably inexpensive though, so if in doubt, replace them. It's not a stressed part of the suspension so replacing them is easy.

 

[Aunty Em]

I think I've got about half a can of lithium grease somewhere... probably at the back of the shed somewhere...

I only ever use WD-40 for leads and locks.

 

[Nixy]

I think my mom's car has Goodyears...I should go look...whatever they are they're sucky.

Speaking of money to be spent on cars...I'm considering having my car detailed. I dunno about the whole carpet shampooing thing though, I hear once you get them shampooed once they hold dirt a lot more. Maybe I'll do a spot cleaning on the carpet and have everything else cleaned. There's a place in the parking garage at work, it should be less than $100...I wasn't so careful for a little while (used to get in with my workboots on and such) so now I wanna get the mess I made cleaned up (I am now being more careful, no being in the car with my boots on).

 

[Professur]

That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. How can it hold more dirt? It's already gonna hold all the dirt you drag in, isn't it?

When the boot truck passes, ask him about overboots. They're a rubber cover that you wear over your boots, that slip on and off easily. Put a rubbermaid bin in the trunk and just chuck them in there.

 

[Altron]

Yeah, it's amazing how much dirt collects. I mean, I'm always pretty clean, and there are LEAVES in the back of my car. DEAD leaves. How the fuck did that happen?

It was really sunny, and I put my hand on the seat and a bunch of those little dust things that float around came up, so I'm thinking it's time for a vacuum. Oh, joy. It's a solid two hours to armor-all my car and vacuum it, and another hour to wash it.

I'm disappointed that my "sex advice" comment didn't make anyone laugh. I thought it was really funny.

 

[Nixy]

That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. How can it hold more dirt? It's already gonna hold all the dirt you drag in, isn't it?

When the boot truck passes, ask him about overboots. They're a rubber cover that you wear over your boots, that slip on and off easily. Put a rubbermaid bin in the trunk and just chuck them in there.

Hold more dirt in the sense that when it gets dirty after having been shampooed the dirt is then harder to get out than before...it doesn't repel dirt as well I guess...

I have a bin in the trunk for all my junk, that's where my workboots go when they come off (I don't wear them in the office anyway, it's usually a matter of changing them onsite instead of when I park at the office...I was just not wanting to stand outside for an extra 5min when it was hot...now I'm just gonna suck it up)

 

[Altron]

Just get floor mats.

Hell, I don't even think I have carpet in front of the driver's seat, it's just a big rubber mat. If I get mud all over it, I take it outside and hose it off, and it's good to go.

I also have a ~4'x8' piece of carpet in the back, which is removable/replaceable if I get it really messy.

 

[Luis G]

Just get floor mats.

Hell, I don't even think I have carpet in front of the driver's seat, it's just a big rubber mat. If I get mud all over it, I take it outside and hose it off, and it's good to go.

Yep, far easier to clean rubber than carpets.

 

[Nixy]

I have rubber mats...but the driver's side one didn't fit right and always slipped. I went at it with the scissors on the weekend and now it stays put pretty good.

 

[Aunty Em]

Hold more dirt in the sense that when it gets dirty after having been shampooed the dirt is then harder to get out than before...it doesn't repel dirt as well I guess...

I have a bin in the trunk for all my junk, that's where my workboots go when they come off (I don't wear them in the office anyway, it's usually a matter of changing them onsite instead of when I park at the office...I was just not wanting to stand outside for an extra 5min when it was hot...now I'm just gonna suck it up)

Are they scotch-guarded perhaps and shampooing destroys the finish? Just a thought...

I've got rubber mats in mine, saves a lot of hassle.

 

[Professur]

Yeah, but Em, don't forget, the interior of American cars isn't done up the same as the European ones. For instance, you'll never see a car in American with painted metal visible on the inside.

Nixy, seriously, you might want to consider either changing out the carpet for industrial matting. It's a heavy duty rubber/plastic floor cover that's used in most construction equipment. You're in the industry, you should have no trouble finding it. If you're gonna be tramping mud about as part of your job, it would easily pay for itself when it comes time to resell the car.