Monroe used to be a good brand. I wonder if they still are or have been bought by someone who cheaped out & still uses the name that people remember as making good products. This has happened with many a brand.

For your Mom's daily driver I'm sure they will be fine. I'm swapped out many sets of struts & using a spring compressor isn't dangerous if you are careful. Buying the complete strut is the way I'd go. An impact is a nice tool, but you can get by without one.

Although this is a great excuse to buy one.

 

You and I are like minded Ash lol. Take on projects to get more tools! haha.

I've used the spring compressor when I had my EK civic hatch. assembled my Koni yellows and h&r springs. While do-able...a drop in replacement just saves time.

 

yah spring compressors are safe if used properly.

 

I've always taken the opportunity when working on a car to buy a new tool or two if possible. I also try & make my replacement parts an upgrade if available. For mom's daily those replacement monroe's make a lot of sense.

I have a friend who is very scared of those compressors. He refers to the act of compressing the spring as diffusing the bombs. LOL

 

new tools are aways fun.


alright, got home, washed the GTI, had pizza and.. apparently fell asleep. lol dogdamn.. was supposed to stream a movie now too late.

so my wife said she'll take the GTI.. but i have to promise one thing. i must not get upset when she scratches the car

.. she says when not if

 

happy friday! time to kick it down a notch today.

weather is looking all right for tomorrow, hope to work on my cars, at least do the oil change on the STI for sure. i may wait to do the R’s oil change till next week or when rain washes off the salt on the roads cause i already washed its undercarriage for the season.

have a good weekend!

 

alright, got home did a few house chores and now relaxing in my music room.
noticed quite a bit of road salt in some areas during the commute today. cant wait for rain to wash it all away.

might stop by the dealers tomorrow after working on my cars.

 

first on the list check psi on my STI and R. followed by oil change on the STI today.
going to skip the R’s oil change until next weekend when i do the GTI ‘s oil change as i have this special bolt on funnel and don’t feel like washing it twice.

 

Did another 300+ miles of back roads yesterday. We are pretty much done laying out this years edition of Eric's Riverrun.

I'm just vegging out today. Did a bit of yard work in the flower beds, but living in a condo means they are small. My perennial gardens at my old house took much more work, but they were worth the effort & beautiful. Seems that the new owners thought it was too much work too. They've let everything just go to seed. :-( Oh well their money was the right color so I shouldn't worry about how they let the place go to pot.

Going to fire up the grill this evening & char some meat. :-)

Ken let me know how that funnel works when you use it.

Have a grand day folks.

 

dang 300miles sounds like fun! nice work on the gardening... sounds like an all-win day with BBQ ending, ash!

this is the one i bought, will give it shot as soon as the roads are salt free.
https://www.shopdap.com/vw-audi-special-oil-funnel.html

so finished the STI oil change his pm as weather was kinda iffy this am. i still cant keep the dogdamn oil filter in my hand while unscrewing it. it's horizontally positioned as how the GK's oil filter is mounted and the housing gets all doused in old oil while unscrewing it and super slick. i dropped it in my drain pan making a splash yet again. wtf. lol this is strike 2 for me... happened to me last year too. haha

i luv the Golf's oil change. no cover to remove, no drips, no nothing. so easy to do im actually looking forward to it.

 

i place card boards circles (from tirerack) under the car while doing the change so it's a contained mess.. i guess. tossed the cardboard.

 

Ken I bought an oil drip pan at Advanced Auto Parts, but I'm sure most parts stores will have them. I slide it under the car before I start draining. Any spills land on it & are easily cleaned up later.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

nice, i should get one too.

 

pulling out my STI for a nice sunday am motoring in a bit.

today not much going on will QD the car after the drive and pretty much relax in my music room the rest of the day.

have a good sunday everyone!

 

Tired!

Drove almost to Alabama yesterday for a wedding with the family. Wedding and reception were great and the venue was in a beautiful setting...up a gravel/dirt road. Didn't know that or I may have elected to not take the Lincoln. It got filthy! Thank goodness for the AWD and good suspension. It handled the washboard gravel roads better than most trucks I've owned, but man it got dirty!

My great friend who's daughter got married chose not to mention the road to me. I think he just had too much going on to think about it, but he showed up in a rented mini-van. His two M package Beemers were home safe.

Stayed at a Quality Inn last night. I think that's the last time. I've quit many hotel brands and I think I'm going to quit that one now. Sticking with Hilton and Marriott hotel chains from now on unless anyone has better ideas?

Hit a do it yourself car wash first thing in the morning to get the dirt and BLOOD off of the Lincoln. Yes, it was that kind of hotel.

 

yah gravel roads definitely suck. hope you get your car cleaned up real nice gafit.

alright another monday is here hoping for some rain this week before the weekend so that i can do the R’s oil change and take her out for a drive. also want to clean up the GTI ‘s engine bay and undercarriage too for the season.

have a good monday everyone!

 

oh yah, yesterday ended up being a pretty busy pm for me as one of my lamp fixtures in the garage decided to burn out needing a new ballast. turned into a go to home depot buy a few things including new lamp return to home depot for doa lamp, etc. the lights are fixed though.

and made a nifty extension cord reel guide using rc bearings making extending and reeling in the cord a breeze when i use it on the driveway.

 

Kenchan - love how the wife knows that something WILL definitely happen to the GTI in her possession. Whether its caused by her or someone else. I'd be peeved if I gave the GF the car and something happened....but not nearly as peeved if it happened when the car was 'mine'. The minute ownership changes...the amount I care drops over time haha.

Definitely love those oil filters that are at the top of the engine bay. SO much easier and cleaner. Think I have an oil change to do this weekend. Or at least buy the oil.

ASH - Yeah yard work is tiring but ultimately worth it. About 90% done with the firepit area and then it'll be ready for concrete. Need to buy a sledgehammer to drive the stakes more into our hard ground to ensure the frames are stable....my little claw hammer just doesn't haven enough weight to it lol.

GAFIT - man sucks about the gravel/fire road. Yeah I like the Hiltons/Marriotts.

Happy Monday everyone!

 

shinjari, so true!

 

Washed both the Hyundai and Civic this weekend. Really liking this Optimum Waterless wash and wax.

Drove up to Orange county (100 miles one way) for a friends baby shower. Civic got a nice 37ish MPG on the trip cruising around 70-75.