Throwing cash at my baby

[Gnuman]

Well you know what they say about the shoemakers kids and all, right? With nearly 230,000 miles on her, I have done next to nothing to Emily other than oil changes (OK, two clutches, timing belt, reseal, and HG's so I could have a peek at the cyl walls). Other than that, everything I did was an upgrade. I went from steel to alloy wheels, upgraded the seats, upgraded the radio (by getting an older one), added a hitch, roof rack, and spoiler, as well as putting in a sunroof. After all that, what could possably be needed?

 

I just replaced the exaust header and O2 sensor, because the old header broke. As I was putting that on, I checked out the front end. . .

and had to order both ball-joints, both outer tie-rod ends, both inner tie-rod ends, and a wheel berring. Well, the 100,000 miles that I put on it were not exactly easy miles. . . Carying engines, towing cars, filling the car up with tools so I can tear down someone elses engine to fix it. . .

 

Well, even after I spent all that money on repair parts that were worn (the inner tie rods were worn enough to move the wheel, but the outer ones were OK. I just wanted to be sure there were no problems down the line) I still felt that Emily deserved a reward for how well she had served me all those miles. so I got her these. $600 for a set of 5 with new tires. I'll probably get a new center diff as well, when I get more cash. After that, all I need is driving lights and maybe paint and body work.

[3Pin]

looks really nice Gnuman.

[The Dude]

First, thanks for all the great information that you have provided for posters on this board. Maybe I'm a pragmatist, or maybe I'm just cheap, but I like the stock steel wheels. Steel is much stronger and crack resistant than alloy. Steel rusts, but alloy wheels seem to have many more problems with leaks due to metal corrosion. There is no "special handling" fee when a tire is put on a steel rim. And finally, no one is going to steal my plain steel wheels. I'm pretty confident that all four wheels will be there when I get back from a business trip.

[OB99W]

[...]Steel rusts, but alloy wheels seem to have many more problems with leaks due to metal corrosion.[...]

Too true; only one of the four alloy wheeels on my car doesn't leak. That's after dismounting, removing corrosion, sealing/remounting/rebalancing the other three a couple of times. (I'd really like to know what "magic" keeps the remaining one from being like the others. :-\ ) I'm in the "rust belt", but steel wheels hold air here. I've learned to keep the tire chuck handy, just wish I didn't have to.

 

Of course, salt corrosion probably isn't a big issue in California, unless you're driving on a beach.

[Gnuman]

True, Emily does not have much if any rust (I have not found any), while I recently did a repair of another 92 Legacy wagon from upstate NY. Identical car except that there was almost nothing left of the body on that one. . .

 

I had just bought a tire from a dealer (emergency repair, and my center diff was already toast) that he could not keep air in for love or money. I got pissed off and went to my usual tire dealer and saw the deal on a set of 4 tires and wheels. I had been wanting spoked wheels for a while (I like the look), so I jumped on a set of 5. The tires are a maint item, and the wheels are an upgrade. The front end parts are because the front end was rattling badly (turns out to be mostly the old wheels kept throwing weights), and a check found all those parts worn. This is also something I was expecting, so I had been stockpiling the parts. When the exaust went and I found everything worn, I decided to finish the job so I can get an alignment. It will be a while before I get the AGX struts I want, so it will be worthwhile to do so. As for someone taking off with them, I need a key to get into the lugnuts as they are a special tight clearance type. This reduces the likelyhood of someone randomly taking off with my wheels. Also, I live in a bit safer neighborhood than that anyway. . .