Car repairs

16 days ago by SqueakySpider to c/rant

My old ('02) car pulls hard to the left and my mechanic has come back with 4000 in repairs that are worth doing before aligning it. Struts, cv boots, the alignment, and more.

The car has not been taken care of until I bought it, the body work is very rough. There's additional costs if I wanted to do work piecemeal - since they'd need to align multiple times with work spread out. So I just need to save to pay it in full. And this car takes premium fuel. At least I drive very few miles overall. But I'm in car hell USA and while my bike is capable for a lot, the car is a necessity for the future. Getting a less expensive and better condition vehicle could work. Still I hope by investing in repairs I can still save money compared to people with a car payment and massive loans. I own it outright after buying privately. Anyway fuck paying 4000 for this shit. I wish I could DIY it but I don't know jack and I don't have parts or even a garage to stay out of the elements.

Rhaedas 3 points 16 days ago

Body work isn't high on the list, but you don't mention the engine or transmission. If those are still solid and the mileage is low enough, then investing in the framework is worth it vs. some of the risk with a newer car (that sounds crazy, buying something new shouldn't have risk, but here we are).

You can do a rough alignment yourself with a few basic tools and a Youtube video, at least to reduce the pull to the side and making tire wear less. I actually corrected an actual alignment shop I paid because I could feel it was off, and the even tire wear over the years has shown I was right.

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SqueakySpider 2 points 16 days ago

CEL because the previous owner removed the EVAP/carbon canister (what a stupid choice) but engine seems fine otherwise. Transmission is fine though I've heard bad things about the 2002 Subaru transmissions and longevity. 170K miles but that's just typical for my area and is "low" for the age....

I did think of diy aligning it (what tools?). It'd be nice to save even a couple hundred from the total bill. I know one or two people who may help. When it comes to doing my own struts, I have no clue. I can swap a headlight assembly or radio, do an oil change, but not experienced past that.

Edit This Link seems easy enough, definitely accessible tools.

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Rhaedas 4 points 16 days ago

Yep, two wrenches will do it for just aligning the existing. Two so you can break and tighten the nut without twisting the rod. Just make sure you fully understand which way you need to move it, like the article says each car varied (well, it's more where the tie rod is, front or back of the wheel). And move it only a little, it doesn't take very much to make a big difference. A quarter of a turn in or out might be all you need.

However, check the tie rods conditions themselves at the ball joint by the tire. If that's bad, that's certainly your problem, as that introduces lots of movement that shouldn't be there. Replacing it also isn't that hard, but to avoid a full alignment needed you have to try and match the new with the old in length as close s you can, and then are going to have to find where the old one was before the ball joint got bad. So a bit of trial and error and measuring there, more than if you just adjust the old. But it's doable. You're already ahead of a lot of people by knowing how to change your own oil.

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SqueakySpider 1 point 16 days ago

I checked out diy struts too via YouTube, and honestly those don't look bad either. It was maybe 10 bolts on and off, plus double checking the torque spec and getting alignment afterwards. Probably would save me a ton of money.

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Rhaedas 2 points 16 days ago

Even if you had to buy some tools it would save vs. the time and labor costs. If you can manage it. If you're doing it in a parking lot, then you're a bit more limited. But I replaced even the lower arms of my car (almost 300k now) a while back, and I only had to buy a large torque wrench to make sure it was on well. But I had a covering parting spot and some time... so, it depends.

Always buy the full assembled of parts, not just bushings or other joints.

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BCsven 3 points 16 days ago

Maybe checkout other used cars. $4k is a lot to pay out for an '02...unless you really love it.

We had a '15 that needed a bunch of work about $4k actually, we found an '04 that was in amazing mechanical condition and mint interior. So we now have an older car that is in better shape with no outlay of cash

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