Camber slotting front Subaru struts

Moar camber! Tire camber is the leaning of the tire, and some people take this way, way too far.

Metro drum brake replacement

One of the persistent problems of the Metro, since we picked it up, is a pulsation in the brake pedal and braking force. I suspected the front rotors but a quick check for warping came up clear. I didn’t bother checking the drums in the back - I simply ended up with a set of new drums after noticing how cheap they were and needing to add a few dollars to an online parts order to get free shipping. On they go!

The rear of the car goes up on the jack, and the rear wheels come off. To free the drums we need to remove the little dust caps covering the axle nut. A sharp wood chisel works well to push the cap free.

From too cold to too hot: Metro radiator fan replacement

Remember how our Geo Metro was cooling the engine too much when we first picked it up? Recently, it decided that it wanted to go the other way and overheated in traffic. I immediately suspected the radiator fan, and sure enough I was right - but not in the way I thought I was right.

Replacing tire valve stems

In one of my recent posts, I explained how I change my own tires. You might notice, if you have your tires changed at a professional tire shop, that they tend to replace valve stems when they change the tires. I’ve been skipping over this step and it finally came around to bite me. After a particularly violent autocross lap I found this on my rear tire:

Repairing my laptop's power cord

Recently my computer’s power cord has started acting up. It has been exhibiting all the signs of a short circuit at the point that it flexes most, just at the end of the cord.

New inner tie rod for the Subaru

Soon after I purchased my Subaru, I noticed that the right side inner tie rod boot (aka bellows) was broken. I put a temporary repair on it, and promptly forgot about it. Well, 8 months later I started to hear a noise when while turning the steering wheel, and I was reminded of my “temporary” solution.

The front of the car is jacked up and put on jack stands, and the right side wheel is removed. You can see my super classy garbage-bag-and-duct-tape temporary fix.

Tire mounting at home - part 3: balancing

In the last two installments, I showed you how I dismount and mount tires on my homemade equipment. While that’s all fine and dandy, it’s of no use without balancing that newly installed tire, unless: a) you’re not planning on exceeding 80kph or b) you are trying to avoid the dentist by rattling all your teeth free from your head.