Brian_B

A few things on my plate.

1st. About a month ago I got dinged by some old lady on my front driver quarter panel. The body shop told me they couldnt do an alignment because my tie rods were frozen. So my first question is....how much, is that a DIY job for a novice?
Any input regarding those tie rods would be great.

2nd. When I got the car back from the dealership the other day, my Check Engine light was all of a sudden on, and it apparently is an O2 sensor (the dealership informed me) readout (before cat). Is this a simple procedure? The part seems expensive, but is BOSCH OE the only way to go here? What is reccomended? I would like to do this myself if possible.

3rd. Is there a way to replace those damned cup-holders? Has anyone done anything that replaces the factory setup, but in the factory space? That would be a dream.

4. My far is feeling bouncy recently, and along with the alignment I am just feeling worried about the suspension. What should i be looking for to test the suspension? Are there any ways to test at home if the suspension is in need of therapy.

5. Although my car seems to stop fine, and does not squeek, how do i check if the brakes are ready? Is there a way to gauge them outside of just feel? It feels like it has been long enough and that a brake job is needed.

Thanks guys. I know its alot, but I would rather compile it all in one post than serial-post.

Brian_B

Oh, and while i was replacing the dome light, and using the front light to see, both went out.

I've had to replace a few fuses, such as the console power adapter, the mirror fuse etc, but where are the fuses for the dome and front dome lights?

Brian_B

Is anyone able to help with some of my questions?

lexified14

the tie rods are doable, but could be a ***** to do in frozen weather. You could get them at your local parts store. The ***** part about them is extracting them from the hub, you could hammer em out, or get a puller.

The o2 sensor is not too bad to do, get under the car and have a lot of wd40 or something to loosen the sensor from the exhaust. Unbolt, unplug, bolt and plug the new one and your good.

The cupholders best thing you can do is relube em and that's probably it, unless you figure out some custom way of doing something else.

then, the brakes, you could visually inspect for even wear on the pads, seeing if the rotors are scratched or warped, depending on this judge on if it needs new ones.

The suspension, you could also visually inspect, see if the dust boots are still there, see if the shocks a leaking fluid, etc. Does it make any weird noises? clunks, ect. these are clues for suspension wear.

smokesgtp

If the light was off when you brought it to them and it was on when you picked it up i would make a scene personally. How many miles are on the car and how has it been maintained if you know?

Brian_B

the car has 152k. It has been maintained. Recently, the car (since that accident) has had it rough. Well, you could say, i just feel like she needs some TLC and am very critical. I feel like she needs some new parts and some updating/maintenance.

Is it hard to do the tie rods?

Furthermore, I was in Autozone today, just pricing 02 sensors, and they had bosch ones for much less than the denso's. One of the guys that worked their said that most people go for the bosche's, usually for price, but that he had heard 0 complaints. That is tempting considing they run about 70 bucks(before Cat sensor) compared to the 130 for the denso's. My only problem is, when checking out the 02 sensor there was some wire splicing involved and such, and i was not exactly prepared for that (not that i cant do that ). I expected a connector piece attached that i would be clicking in, not cutting wires. Can anyone give me some pointers on this?



1998 Es300