ponyponer

No. I wouldn't take any of my vehicles to the shop for an alignment let alone an oil change.

josmoe5000

Same thing happened to my drain plug. I'm doing it myself for now on.

JasperGT

I installed the springs and the CAI (which everyone should do aside from the warranty issue) myself. The shifter and the gears I had a Ford only performance shop do. The shifter because I was lazy/see below, and the gears because I don't feel comfortable doing them myself plus I heard that doing it is a pain and getting no whine can be quite difficult. The exhaust was taken to a shop when the clamps that were included did not fully seal the exhaust.

I like to do as much as I feel comfortable doing or am allowed to do. I live in an apartment complex and they don't allow automotive work to be done on the site. I did the springs anyway as well as the exhaust (kinda) and the CAI. I am by far the most mechanically inclined person in my family, but that is not saying much.

I plan on doing all my own suspension work when that time comes, but again if I don't feel comfortable doing the work, I won't and I will pass the work onto someone else that I trust to do the work correctly. Luckily I don't live to far away from some good shops and it isn't a problem.

For example, BMR suggests that their LCA relolation bracket be welded in place if the car drag races. I don't feel comfortable welding and I don't have a welding kit so I am going to take it to a shop. Note: if the equipment manufacture recommends that the piece gets welded, I am going to have it welded. End of story. Better safe than sorry.

Hope this helps everyone see where I am coming from.

deekum1627

i do almost everything myself i havent takein my car to any shop yet i really only need a shop to put gear in for me

Norm Peterson

Thanks for the explanation. Really. And I'll admit to being pleasantly surprised.

I used to live in an apartment, as did most of my friends at the time. Don't remember if there were any prohibitions concerning automotive repair work, but I don't think so at most places. Then again, I doubt that anybody in the rental offices would have expected tenants to be pulling engines, replacing transmissions, gas-welding exhaust systems and sheetmetal, or prepping for paint. Lots of other people did oil and coolant changes and simple bolt-on stuff like carburetor swaps, water pumps, alternators, etc. Times have probably changed.

I'll give you the gear install. Plenty of folks are nervous about doing that, and it was quite a while before I attempted it. You need lots of patience, and a willingness to do repeated measurements. This one is not a 'measure once, go ahead and cut' kind of job at all.

I wholeheartedly agree with welding in the relo brackets. Wouldn't do it any other way myself. Something about if your suspension should develop an extra hinge, you then have a mechanism, which isn't a good thing for directional control.

Welding (MIG/wire welding in particular) isn't all that difficult given a little practice and being pointed in the right direction by people who are already experienced with it. Though I strongly suggest that one's first "real" welds be done on something like exhaust rather than something as mission-critical as suspension linkage.


Norm