Replaced struts but . . .brake shield broke--and still oil leak.

[DeniseNJ]

I got the tires off--woo hoo. Lubed wheel hub and loosened nuts and drove up and down drive way, then sat on my butt and kicked the tires and they came off.  Then it took all day, ALL DAY, to remove the old struts. The bottom bolts were 22mm and the sway bar link was not coming off no matter what.  Had to put the wheels back on and go AutoZone. When I got back, I cut links off with my angle grinder. Cut my finger too. Bandage and electrical tape to keep the pressure on and kept at it. Next day, putting everything back together just took half the day, a few hours, maybe 4 or 6 hours. I put everything back but didn't have grease for link joints, so I ordered that and will do that today, without un-installing, hopefully. Right? Please tell me I won't need to remove them to grease them.

But the backing plates on the disc brakes were like paper plates.  Actually, one just came apart when I touched it. They are both totally corroded with rust.  They ARE rust. I basically peeled one off. And since the brake parts, calipers and such, look like one giant orange rusted barnacle, any screw I try to unscrew will probably just break off. But I did my due diligence and found out that those little tin plates are about 40 bucks a piece!  And will take a mountain of men and machinery to replace. So I'm peeling off the other one, vacuuming up the pieces and calling it good.

My transmission pan plug is still slightly dripping. Going to tighten it down even more. And I seem to have a common oil leak from the cover to the timing chain tensioner. I bought a new gasket for it.  Do I have to drain the oil to remove the timing chain tensioner or can I just unscrew it and pull it out? I'm guessing I have to drain the oil but I hope not.

[acepedro45]

Did you install a new crush washer on that transmission drain pan when you did the transmission drain and fill earlier? Could you possibly have two washers stuck on there accidentally? I would be careful about overtightening.

I don't know about the oil and your timing chain. Others?

[DeniseNJ]

Did you install a new crush washer on that transmission drain pan when you did the transmission drain and fill earlier? Could you possibly have two washers stuck on there accidentally? I would be careful about overtightening.

I don't know about the oil and your timing chain. Others?

I replaced the washer with the new crush washer that came with the new transmission filter. That's why I'm confused as to why it would be leaking.  Haven't gotten under there to tighten as I've been working on a few other things. I put AT205 in the oil tank yesterday so I'm going to check to see if there's still an oil leak.

I broke off and vacuumed up all the pieces of brake shield. And the struts are so so nice. And I cleaned the radiator grill to see if that made the AC colder. Not sure yet.

Next thing I want to do it put a rack on top. And a new radio.

[zolotiyeruki]

Congrats on getting the job done.  I'm about to do the same angle-grinder approach with my own sway bar links.  Shocks can be a royal pain to replace, even if you get the pre-assembled ones.

[JLee]

Did you install a new crush washer on that transmission drain pan when you did the transmission drain and fill earlier? Could you possibly have two washers stuck on there accidentally? I would be careful about overtightening.

I don't know about the oil and your timing chain. Others?

I replaced the washer with the new crush washer that came with the new transmission filter. That's why I'm confused as to why it would be leaking.  Haven't gotten under there to tighten as I've been working on a few other things. I put AT205 in the oil tank yesterday so I'm going to check to see if there's still an oil leak.

I broke off and vacuumed up all the pieces of brake shield. And the struts are so so nice. And I cleaned the radiator grill to see if that made the AC colder. Not sure yet.

Next thing I want to do it put a rack on top. And a new radio.

If your AC isn't cold enough it's probably low on refrigerant. The proper way to fix it would be to add UV dye to the system, find and repair the leak, and then recharge. The "usually works for me" way is to just add a can of refrigerant when the AC stops working well - it may buy you a few months anyway.

The sway bar end links should be pre-greased, but in any event you shouldn't have to remove them as long as you can access the boots.

ATF is an excellent penetrating lubricant btw. Obviously keep it off of brake pad/rotor surfaces, but if you put some ATF on all the bolts that you will need to remove to change your brakes, it should work its way in / wick through the threads at least somewhat and make your life easier. I use these with ATF to put small amounts exactly where I want it to go.

[DeniseNJ]

So now my husband needs new rear rotors on his brakes which are like 30 bucks a piece. I could do all 4 rotors and brake pads for less than $200 with quality parts from Rock Auto. Just the two rear will cost $700 at the garage.  But he still would rather go to a garage than to let me do it.

I didn't argue. I figure if I do them and anything goes wrong, I'm the first one they'll suspect. (I've been watching a lot of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" since reading the latest JLColins blog post.)

[JLee]

So now my husband needs new rear rotors on his brakes which are like 30 bucks a piece. I could do all 4 rotors and brake pads for less than $200 with quality parts from Rock Auto. Just the two rear will cost $700 at the garage.  But he still would rather go to a garage than to let me do it.

I didn't argue. I figure if I do them and anything goes wrong, I'm the first one they'll suspect. (I've been watching a lot of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" since reading the latest JLColins blog post.)

Oof, that's a bummer!