GTcarz - Automotive forums for cars & trucks.

Well, Ive spent the last week repairing my "new" Teg for a certification and I feel like I have been hazed and am now officially a member of the elite order of Integra owners or at the very least Ive earned the right to be a pledge.
After a thorough inspection I was told I needed to replace both front lower balljoints, a lower control arm bushing, fix a hole in the trunk, fix the washerfluid pump, put 4 new tires on it and get an alignment.
Not to mention that during the process of replacing the running gear parts, I destroyed a tie rod end and a inner control arm bushing which I then had to replace!
I think I may need to spruce up on my investigation skills before I go car shopping again, but I suppose it could have been worse. I do have a 95% rust free car that really just needs a splash of paint, some fat rims and a little de-ricing after my week of de-hydration and knuckle trauma. So I suppose that the glass is currently half full...

I learned a few things and forgot a few too, but It was a mostly positive experience. There are 10 things I gleaned from this experience that Id like to pass on to fellow driveway mechanics and they are as follows.

#1 Never underestimate the value of the loaner tool program at most big name parts stores. Most importantly a good fork set and if you haven't got a big deadblow hammer anymore because of your sister's ex-boyfriends thieving ass you can always improvise using a slide in hitch with a 2 1/2" ball on it.

#2 Never get discouraged if you can't get what you need from an Acura dealer because Honda might have it instead and the parts girls at Honda were far more attractive than Jeff and Phil at Acura.

#3 Pain will make heat exhaustion seem less important.

#4 Never get discouraged if you can't break it free with your arms,you can always use your feet. Im not sure if we have any Robin Hood: Men in Tights fans out there, but it took "great strength of feet".

#5 Original bushings are forged and permanently welded to the lower controls arms by the flames of hell and the ball joints pressed by satan himself.

#6 Sandals feel good in the heat but provide little toe protection when a brake disc is dropped on them

#7 Never underestimate the strength of a good/bad "rust weld". Especially if you happen to have issue with anger managment and or a short temper and a limited vocabulary when angry. You may actually want to warn the neighbours to keep there kids inside if they don't want them talking like sailors. Imusually really good about swearing around other folks but sometimes its an instant reaction to intense pain...It just is...

#8 Never forget that when tools crack, knuckles usually do too. When Nuts crack, knuckles usually do too. When you crack, try to save the knuckles you'll need them later.

#9 The Haynes manual makes a good fan when you realize its easier to wing it than to look through the damn thing just to find half of what you need.

#10 Be happy youve got your acura and take solace in the fact that youve earned your right to be proud of it with your own blood sweat and tears

Now, these may seem like common sense things to a lot of you. But to me, it was a long, sunburned adventure involving no less than 3 broken wrenches, a broken ratchet, 10 litres of drinking water, 8 trips to parts stores and junkyards, numerous handfulls of cigarettes and the befriending of one 50-something indian mechanic who was my saviour in the home stretch.
Not to mention that I begged, stole and/or borrowed every nickle I could get my hands on and considering Im currently on hiatus from a non-existent career and planning on pursuing the glamorous high paying lifestyle of an art school student in the near future. The fact I maintained my sanity was a feat in and of itself.

I enjoyed my first adventure into my car though about half way through I was a little perturbed that I had things almost completely dis-assembled and couldn't afford to do anything extra to my car after I was finished paying for everything else I needed. But I know that all the bolts I broke loose after 14 years of hibernation and oxidization will be easier to persuade next time around, and it makes it all a little easier to deal with. Im looking forward to the rest of the challenges this car has to offer, though I do hope that next time around I don't have to do it all by myself.