So you need a good laugh at the expense of a fellow .org member, eh? This is a good place to start.

Hello everyone, my name is Kyle. I am 22 years old, and have no mechanical ability whatsoever. Lately I have begun my quest for automotive knowledge. These endeavours include: cleaning the throttle body, replacing the knock sensor, O2 sensors, changing the oil, etc.

Recently I decided that I would like to attempt to lower my car....without the assistance of my local grease monkey. I cruised the boards looking for step by step instructions on installing springs, and found PLENTY of information.

The next step in my quest involved getting my springs. I ordered my Maxspeeds, they arrived, I wrapped them in spiral wrap, and let them marinate in my hot, sticky garage air for a week before I got around to doing someting about it.

Attempt 1: Jacked up car, removed wheel. Applied penetrating oil to bolts. Attempted to use 18" breaker bar to loosen lower bolts on steering knuckle.
Result: Broken ego.

Yesterday I went to my grease monkey and had him put the car up on a lift to loosen and re-tighten stubborn bolts. Cost: $15

Attempt 2(yesterday): Jacked up car, removed wheels Used said breaker bar and two foot cheater bar to loosen steering knuckle botls. Wallah! Removed strut without issue, and had my little brother compress the spring while I worked on the other side. (child labor = good)

The other side: The upper of the two steering knuckle bolts came off after breaking one 1/2" to 3/8" adaptor, and one 3/8" ratchet. The lower of the two bolts proceeded to snap two more adaptors and two more ratchets. All of this fun, and the second bolt didn't budge. I did however see SPARKS fly out of the ratchet when the internals finally gave out. My left arm is twice the size of my right arm now, due to the fact that when the ratchet broke my arm damn near broke itself when it hit the inside of the wheel well. At this point Sears was closed, so I couldn't make my fourth trip of the evening. I tightened up the bolts, reinstalled the front drivers side strut(which is now the only lowered quadrant of the car) and put the car down.

Since this is my only car I drove it to work this morning (3 miles) and will be driving to Sears over my lunch break to buy the correct tools for doing this job...which involves nothing but 1/2" drive tools.

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Cliff Notes
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1. Installing springs is not hard IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS.
2. I didn't have the right tools.
3. 3/8" drive ratchets/sockets are NOT the right tools.
4. People at Sears hate me.
5. I don't think my trusty mechanic actually loosened the bolts in question.
6. I broke 3 1/2" to 3/8" adaptors and 3 3/8" drive ratchets.

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Cliff Notes for Cliff Notes
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1. I'm an idiot. (and cheap)

 

hahaha . thats a pretty good story . dont be discouraged though. Chris91se , myself and DeRaNged. were lowing a car for a fellow max member, and broke many many tools. and it also took us about 7 hours to do the work... yeah ... it didnt take nearly as long on mine , but some cars are just stubborn.

 

you must have been using those made in china ratchets that come in those kits that walmart sells.

 

Craftsman, hence the three trips to Sears.

 

sheesh. good thing they have lifetime warranty.

 

it'll all be worth it once your done...there's more satisfaction in doing your own mods...IMHO...good luck w/it

 

sounds like FUN

 

Well, I was about thirteen seconds away from taking it somewhere and having it done after all that drama. But I got up this morning, and realized that I'm not gonna pay some jacka$$ 200 bucks to do something that I can do for 185 dollars in tools and ten hours. (But seriously I think it could be easy with the right tools)

Secondly, this is damn near the funniest thing I've read all day:
and if you don't have one for next month, try this thread...I think this is the second time I've referenced this thread in a week, but it's hilarious.



Clicky

 

Isn't going through a process like that half the fun though? Think how boring things would be if they went fine always on teh first try. Nobody would have any amusing anecdotes to relay

Which craftsman set did you have, the ~168pc one?

 

It's all about Trial and Error. Glad it worked out. Every time I try to work on my car My Mom tells me to take it to the dealership and My Dad tries to take over the Job. 22 and still at Home during the summers.

 

Good thing, I've broken 3 Craftsman ratches in the last year...

 

i broke a snap on screw driver before- it cost me 70 bucks!!!! Good thing they replaced with with a cooler one

 

Well, I hope you learned at least that if you have large, stubborn bolts to break loose, you use an impact wrench or a breaker bar, not a ratchet. Penetrating oil helps, too.

All of us who are experts at working on cars got our experience one mistake at a time, just like what is happening to you, so don't feel bad.

 

I too just started working on my car. I've been scared to touch it because I always though myself as mechanically deficient. Well after spending hours on this forum I've been able tackle a lot of things that I neglected in the past because I was to cheap to pay some mechanic.

So far I've done TB cleaning (my 1st one), changed Coolant temp sensor, knock sensor, gauge cluster, stereo/speaker, oil, ATF, front brake pads, fuel filter and brake fluid.

kudos to all for your help.

 

Everything I've tackled myself has been a great learning experience! To have fundamental knowledge of how things ACTUALLY work, instead of just thinking you know is wonderful. When it comes to little issues like figuring out where a creak, rattle, or something of the sort is coming from, it definitely helps having an understanding of how stuff works.


I have/had an older set that was my dad's, and I'm guesing it's about that many pieces. After I broke the old ones, they replaced them wit their newer models, and I like those a lot better(they're easier to use.

 

Well, my only breaker bar is a 1/2" drive, and my socket was 3/8", so I was using an adaptor. The adaptor snapped off, so I used the 3/8" ratchet, then [I]it[/] snapped. It was vicious, vicious cycle.
Today during lunch I bought a 19mm socket w 1/2" drive.....and exchanged my trunkload of tools.