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That's true. Did you use those examples because you have those on your G? I know you've mentioned especially now during winter your G is garaged a lot of the time.
Pretty much. OEM battery lasted 6-7 years. Replacement OEM (which is Interstate Batteries) lasted only 1 year (replace it pro-rated from the dealership). Lesson learned, I've been using a trickle charger on the G this winter. Also, my kid's car sat unused for long stretches of time. That car has a remote starter, and I've replaced its battery 3 times in the last 3 years. (Cheap batteries). We've taken to remotely starting the car every morning, regardless of use. And we're using it more.
Pretty much. OEM battery lasted 6-7 years. Replacement OEM lasted only 1 years (replace it pro-rated from the dealership). Lesson learned, I've been using a trickle charger on the G this winter. Also, my kid's car sat unused for long stretches of time. That car has a remote starter, and I've replaced its battery 3 times in the last 3 years. (Cheap batteries). This time around we're taking to remotely starting the car every morning, regardless of use. And we're using it more.
I'm sure you already know this, but just in case... Make sure you let the car run long enough to evaporate the condensation that forms in the exhaust when the pipes are cold. If you remote start every morning, but don't let it get the exhaust warmed up to a good temp, your exhaust will be primed to rust from the inside out relatively quickly.
I'm sure you already know this, but just in case... Make sure you let the car run long enough to evaporate the condensation that forms in the exhaust when the pipes are cold. If you remote start every morning, but don't let it get the exhaust warmed up to a good temp, your exhaust will be primed to rust from the inside out relatively quickly.
I did not know that. However, we just let the remote start cycle run to conclusion... 15 minutes, I think, and it shuts off automatically.
Plus, it's an entirely disposable 2013 Nissan Sentra. I hate that car. We inherited it from my MIL when she stopped driving. And while I'm not kidding about how much I dislike that POS, it does only have 41k miles on it, is mechanically sound, and most importantly it was totally free. So it is what it is.
The top right arm and bottom left arm are bent inwards.
I ordered a new one from Summit. $190. https://www.summitracing.com/dom/par...illocation=dom
Same clamshell style but a slightly different design. On mine, two of the arms pivot and two are welded so they can't move independently. The one I just bought seems to have four independent arms. We'll see if it's any better. I certainly hope so for almost $200.
I got the new spring compressor from Summit. It arrived in only 5 days, international shipping. Summit is awesome!
The slightly different design made it easier to attach it to the spring, but there were still issues.
Getting the second OEM spring off was easy (that's the one I was working on when I bent the previous tool). I thought, "Now I've got this beat!" Famous last words. Dealing with the Swift springs was much more difficult.
First attempt: I got the spring on the strut quite quickly. I was a happy boy! But I couldn't get the compressor off the spring!
The problem was in the design of the Swift spring with some tightly wound coils at the top. It's hard to explain the issue without writing a 1,000 word essay. Basically, I needed to compress four coils. I could get the tool on four coils (barely), but I couldn't get it off once it was on the strut. With only three coils in the bite, there wasn't enough compression to get the spring on the strut.
Second (and third and fourth...) attempt: I fiddled with the first Swift spring for about two hours, and eventually I got the spring on the strut and the tool off the spring! Happy boy again! I took photos of the process so I could repeat it on the second spring.
No such luck! I fiddled for four hours with the second spring. At one point, I decided to give up. I called two local shops to see if they could do it for me, but they were both too busy to fit me in for a few days.
I was about 8 mm shy of the compression I needed to get the nut on the shaft. So close! What could I do?
I modified the tool. All it took was grinding down one weld on each arm that was binding and stopping the tool from compressing further. With that, I was just able to get the nut started.
I don't know what the difference was between the two springs. I think I lucked out on the first one. There was a sweet spot that I hit on that one, and I couldn't repeat it for the second one.
Rust removed. Prepped with POR 15 Metal Prep
Painted with left over Eastwood 2K ceramic engine paint
Slammed into a traffic cone on the interstate. Solution: Well, gorilla-like tape, mostly behind the bumper cover. Running without a splash shield right now though, and not sure if I want to do that long term.
Nice fix. Looks great!
DId you consider plastic welding?
I just replaced the battery in my G this week, 3 years and 2 weeks since I put the last one in. 3-4 years is typical here with our winters and a remote start system installed. Replaced the battery in my fiancees Yaris last night after it quit this week too, that one lasted 5 years though. Interestingly enough a 2008 Yaris hatchback with a 1.5L engine uses the same battery as the G does, I use a group 24 battery in my G though which is a bit larger and what comes stock in the M37/M56. It still fits, but you have to make sure the cables are sitting just right for the battery cover to be able to close still. I've also given 4 people a boost to start as we haven't seen anything warmer than -20 this last week here.
My daughter who drives the 2011 goes to med school five hours away and had the oil change light come on last week. I was planning to do that and a few other things while she was here for Christmas but her visit got cut short since she got Covid and had to go back to quarantine.
I don’t trust any if the quick lube places or really any other shops, either. So what is dad to do...? Told her to take it to a dealer. At least the chance of getting oil change right might be better than at a quick lube. Expensive, yes, but what ever. She took it to the express service this morning and boy what fun ensued from that!
They only found about 5K worth of stuff needing “immediate attention”: 120 for cabin filter, 200 for alignment, 1400 for plugs and valve cover gaskets etc. erc. And last but not least: 2700+ for rear subframe replacement. A few other smaller things there too, but I’m sure ya’ll get the drift. Gotta love’em! Thanks for the info. Now I know what to have on the list next time she comes home.
...5K worth of stuff needing “immediate attention”: 120 for cabin filter, 200 for alignment, 1400 for plugs and valve cover gaskets etc. erc. And last but not least: 2700+ for rear subframe replacement. A few other smaller things there too, but I’m sure ya’ll get the drift. Gotta love’em! Thanks for the info. Now I know what to have on the list next time she comes home.
Tsuintx: If you decide to fix the diff bushing, check out Motorvate's fix with epoxy:
I had a busy day.
"De-rusted" and painted more of the undercarriage:
Took the Z1 Motorsports CAI out. I wasn't happy with the way the silicone hoses were squished/kinked as they pass through the rad shroud. So I enlarged the holes. I had already enlarged them somewhat, but not enough. Now the hoses fit through with no resistance or compression.
Finished installing the front struts with Swift springs:
Only the front sway bar left to do. I would have done it today, but it needed a paint touch-up. It's drying overnight.
And I just realized I forgot to install the new strut tower brace when I reinstalled the struts! No biggie. That's a 10 minute job for tomorrow.
I was really keen to get the G back on the road tomorrow to try out the new springs and sway bars. Sadly, it's snowing.
It will be a day or two until the roads are ready for spirited driving.
Last edited by canuckcoupe; 02-13-2021 at 11:12 PM.
Googled a bit about the subframe stuff yesterday and saw that. Will investigate a bit more later on.
Also... About the spark plugs... Pretty sure the PO changed them. He kept a diary of all the stuff he did and it’s in the glove box. Need to actually have my daughter check it out.
EDIT: Yes, plugs were changed 100639 miles 3.5 years ago. Now it has just over 140K, so yeah... Love them stealerships.
Amazing what Purple Power, a rag, 303 to finish and some elbow grease do. Too bad I didn’t take a before picture, but I can assure you that you couldn’t really even tell the color of the car off the strut towers.
Inspired by tsuintx, I detailed my engine bay:
Polished the headlights while I was in the mood:
I used a Meguiar's kit I've had on my shelf for about 10 years. The last time I used it, the results were not very durable (maybe 4 months). I think I can do better.
I used a Meguiar's kit I've had on my shelf for about 10 years. The last time I used it, the results were not very durable (maybe 4 months). I think I can do better.
None of the kits seem to last very long. The best results I've seen are to sand them lightly with increasingly fine sandpaper ending in a wetsand, polish and finally a clearcoat. I'd personally do at least 2 layers of clear. I need to do this on my sedan as well.
I used a polishing kit on my sister's sentra when I did her oil change and it didn't even get all of the patina off. But it did at least get her headlights to be around 70% when they were probably 30-40%...
02-12-2021, 02:39 PM
