P2B
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They must have been omitted from Canadian spec cars. After all, why would you want the handbrake to work in winter?All of the car's I have had came stock with springs on the stock calipers.

They must have been omitted from Canadian spec cars. After all, why would you want the handbrake to work in winter?All of the car's I have had came stock with springs on the stock calipers.
Oh weird I always forget about Canadian spec cars and some of the well weirdnessThey must have been omitted from Canadian spec cars. After all, why would you want the handbrake to work in winter?![]()
I was wondering if that may have been the case. I'm not sure though. I will say that after 23 years of life they don't work that good anyway so your not missing out on much.They must have been omitted from Canadian spec cars. After all, why would you want the handbrake to work in winter?![]()
I retrofitted all our cars years ago. I think they help, but I still need to clean and lube the shafts every other year and replace the cables every 4-5 years. Tried the "heavy duty" cables, no better so not worth the extra cost.I was wondering if that may have been the case. I'm not sure though. I will say that after 23 years of life they don't work that good anyway so your not missing out on much.
I can get cables on rockauto for sub 10$ so even if I replace them every 3 years I'm saving money. On my last car I never replaced them a 2nd time.I retrofitted all our cars years ago. I think they help, but I still need to clean and lube the shafts every other year and replace the cables every 4-5 years. Tried the "heavy duty" cables, no better so not worth the extra cost.
OK...but for this job, replacing the bearing is part of the exercise, so these are coming out. The OE mounts, and even the track density 034 don't seem to be captured by the shoulder nut( I have pulled 4 off over it so far). The PowerFlex mounts, aside from being the next best thing to converting the mount to concrete, are quite thoroughly captured by the nut.Idea is you keep the car on the ground and remove the upper strut nut to take the cap off. Then you can remove the lower flanged strut nut (what keeps it together) and replace it with a non-shouldered nut. Weight of the car prevents anything else from moving. Jack the car up, and you can finagle the old mount out & new one in. Lower car, swap back to the shouldered nut, and reinstall cap & nut.
What a deal, from a p&p?Pucked up a couple euro ligjt switched for $8. =) Any other parts worth grabbing?
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Wheel bearings or strut bearings? Strut bearings are a wheels on jobYeah...no way that was happening with the wheels on...PF black strut mounts installed, along with new bearings. Not so bad at all.
Douglas
I clicked your cse.google.com link and it failed to open anything.It has been discussed.
Programmable Search Engine
cse.google.com
You have to type in what you want to searchI clicked your cse.google.com link and it failed to open anything.
I have this if it helps you at allOn the topic of wheels, has anyone got experience or a source thread or site for info on what the max offset is for rims on mk4s with stock brake setups?
I am looking for a wider than stock wheel set up. I see OEM rims are usually 6" wide, I would like a little bit of poke, but not interested in effing around with spacers.
If you want poke, you need a lower offset than stock.On the topic of wheels, has anyone got experience or a source thread or site for info on what the max offset is for rims on mk4s with stock brake setups?
I am looking for a wider than stock wheel set up. I see OEM rims are usually 6" wide, I would like a little bit of poke, but not interested in effing around with spacers.
I find my long beaches have a nice little poke as well but those are still a stock rimI clicked your cse.google.com link and it failed to open anything.
I cannot see the price reasoning. Even if the struts were $100 each, it still takes all of ten minutes to swap them out. I think they were like "she doesn't want the hatch to hit her head so let's make a cool $500 off it. She'll pay."I agree with you, but I can see the price reasoning. Amazon/Autozone struts are not the same as dealer - I have had a couple teeth chipped by those bastard struts from the parts store. OEM can be >$100 each. Second the stupid amount of regulation has cause dealers to charge over $300/hr shop rates (even thou tech may only make $10-15/hr). And for the greedy part they over inflate the shop charges on average.
All that said I would do it for myself, but not for anyone else. Had people come back a few days later and blame me for scratched paint and something else now doesn't work. Paint repair is $$$ and everyone joins the "ever since" club.
/soapbox
Sorry, I got off track. It's nice you helped her out.
Jason
Long Beaches are 17 x 7 ET 38 - same offset as stock 15sI find my long beaches have a nice little poke as well but those are still a stock rim
Subtracting 1mm of offset adds 1mm of poke. Adding 2mm of width adds 1mm of poke.Thank you, so if I understand correctly ET <35 equals more poke?
A little more poke means you’re going to be possible creating more rock chips on a car that is prone to rust. But a wide offset is pretty sweet.Subtracting 1mm of offset adds 1mm of poke. Adding 2mm of width adds 1mm of poke.
On the labor time there seems to be a minimum time for a RO. I don't agree because of the large $$$ but it is same issue in many industries that it takes a minimum amount to even work on a project to make it profitable. Does not matter if its a print job for advertiser, or natural gas line to your house. Some small operations take a hit to build the customer base (like handy man, indy auto repair, etc.), but bigger established companies have a minimum to make it worth their time.I cannot see the price reasoning. Even if the struts were $100 each, it still takes all of ten minutes to swap them out. I think they were like "she doesn't want the hatch to hit her head so let's make a cool $500 off it. She'll pay."
I could see them charging a full hours labor for the reasons you mention. Let's say $150. And they'll charge retail on the oe struts--$100 a pop (of course they pay less). That's $350. Not almost $600.On the labor time there seems to be a minimum time for a RO. I don't agree because of the large $$$ but it is same issue in many industries that it takes a minimum amount to even work on a project to make it profitable. Does not matter if its a print job for advertiser, or natural gas line to your house. Some small operations take a hit to build the customer base (like handy man, indy auto repair, etc.), but bigger established companies have a minimum to make it worth their time.
10 minute repair - time to talk to customer to get their concerns understood, write a legal document (RO), follow procedure with checking for recalls and services, install set cover/floor mat/steering wheel condom and park the car, dispatch the work to correct technician, pull car into shop, confirm cause of concern and inspect for any other immediate issues, look up correct part and price, look up correct repair procedure and confirm labor time, present this estimate to customer, clean and wash car and drive back around to staging area for customer to pickup.
There is a service writer who most likely took more than 10 minutes between writing up the customer RO, presenting the estimated repairs, and checking them out, a porter who put in the protection covers and parked the car, a technician who looked at the car, a porter or tech who took the car to be washed, detail who washed/vacuum the car, porter who parked the car for the customer to pick up, a cashier who checked the customer out.
VS an independent shop or home mechanic that performed all those operations them selves and only counted the time hanging the part.
This is a case of do the simply stuff your self and let the shop do the more involved or complicated stuff.
Jason
PS: dirty little secret - shops big and small "blow out" repairs they don't really want to do for whatever the reason. Maybe that's what happened here?
We always kinda gave away the time on quick stuff like that. Easy way to make a quick buck and keep a customer happy, possibly bring more work in the shop. That shop must really have not wanted to change those struts, or they were worried about breaking something and didn't want to do it. Imo.I could see them charging a full hours labor for the reasons you mention. Let's say $150. And they'll charge retail on the oe struts--$100 a pop (of course they pay less). That's $350. Not almost $600.