(Part 3) Best products from r/Justrolledintotheshop

1.

Which wires specifically? In general, I was planning on going for heat-shrink solder terminal connectors and crimp connectors.

One of the reasons I posted this is because there are quite a few connectors and I am still not entirely 100% sure what I need. Obviously when screwing something in to a screw terminal block, the ring crimp connectors. But when joining wires, I would prefer to use the heat-shrink-solder type, but there are also butts and blades (heh).

I bought this set of terminals, figured I'd need them anyways: Assorted crimp terminals

I am probably going to buy this set of solder terminals: Fancy solder terminals

I am pretty good at soldering (though usually circuit boards, not automotive wires, hence not entirely knowing what to do.) I have easy access to a heat gun as well.

2.

Well, both - the breaker goes on the battery, and it sets the maximum amperage for the entire new fuse block and everything attached to it. The fuses go for each individual circuit. I want to use just one fuse for each circuit, instead of having several different circuits sitting on the same fuse, largely for my own desire for neatness and debug-ability. I could have one main fuse instead of the main breaker, but I figure that they will serve the same function and I may as well go for the re-usable option.

I was going to go for this breaker: Fat breaker

That said, I bought this fuse kit, which includes up to a 35A fuse, which will be more than enough. I also bought this fuse holder, in case I decide to use one main fuse instead of one main breaker. (I figured I'd need both of these anyways for some project, may as well get them even if I don't use them right now.)

Fuse Kit

In-line Fuse Holder

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In general, I think my system will basically look like this:

Battery 12V + Breaker = safe 12V

Save 12V + ignition 12V (do I need a fuse here?) + Relay = ignition-switched 12V

Ignition-hot 12V + Fuse Block + ATC/ATO Fuses = eight fused circuits

Fused circuits, obviously, feeding from above. I will probably add a 20A switch in line with high-power circuits, just in case, as an emergency switch.

Fused circuits will terminate at something like this Ground Bar.

 

What do you think of this proposed setup?

I do realize that it's kind of overkill for what I want.

But you can probably agree that overkill is better than your car burning down!

Snap on tools are considered pretty much the best of the best (Mac, Matco, and Cornwell are pretty much the same quality and price but a bit less common) and are priced like it ($600+ for a basic socket set is out of most people's price range). They are great tools but are hard to justify unless you rely on them for your livelihood.

If you want some good quality tools but aren't a professional mechanic or the like go with an "industrial brand" like Blu-point (from snap on), SK, Armstrong, Proto, or Williams. They aren't quite the same quality but are mostly made in the US and will last a lifetime for most people. They are still pretty expensive ($150 for a more complete socket set) but are generally worth it over the all the Chinese crap flooding the market in the last few years.

'99 Intrigue and '00 Century here.

Second gen W-body was a better car than the first gen. Very easy architecture to mess around with.

This is a VERY GOOD car for messing around with. Parts are very cheap and interchange with a huge variety of GM vehicles. You can get performance-grade parts out of the junkyard and build a very good handling car with a smooth ride for next to nothing.

Those factory trailing arms are some shit though. Replace them with the Dorman tubular ones, they are much better than stock and come with bushings.

If your brackets are rusted as in OP's photo, $14 fixes that

If you wanna talk W-body suspension:

The front control arm bushings are a shitty rubber design too and usually fail within 150k miles. Replace with Moog ball-and-socket design, part # K200787 ($23 on RockAuto). Rust is not horrible in my area so I re-used the original control arms, gave them a good coat of anti-rust paint though. Even if you just get new control arms (if you do, buy control arms with greaseable ball joints), I suggest pressing out the supplied bushings and replacing with the Moog part. Noticeable improvement in ride.

Hollow factory front sway bar on W-bodies tends to rust, and the crimped ends tend to crack. Replace with Dorman 927100 solid sway bar. DO NOT use the bushings and links that come with the sway bar, they are garbage and will start squeaking within 15,000 miles. Use Moog K700527 links (with polyurethane bushings and barrel nuts) and Moog K80815 sway bar bushings (polyurethane), lube with silicone grease before install.

Your car will ride like new after this (assuming the struts are in good shape). I know it sounds like a lot but we are talking around $200 for like-new ride, maybe $300 if you want brand new control arms.

The outer tie rod ends are also a weak point. Again, Moog makes a noticeably better one than the competitors.

If/when your old struts are shot (hint, if you're over 100k miles, they probably are), buy the ones spec'd for the Intrigue. Better handling, same cost. Get springs out of an Intrigue (front Intrigue springs were also used on Aurora, LeSabre, and Bonneville, rear Intrigue springs were also used on v8 Impala, v8 Grand Prix, and v8 Monte Carlo) in the junkyard. While you're in the junkyard, get a strut tower bar out of a Regal or Monte Carlo (some police Impalas might have them too?)

When the time comes for brakes, there are also "junkyard upgrades" available -- some work with 16" wheels, some require 17" wheels.

I don't know everything about cars, but I know a lot about W-body suspensions!

I love the GM w-body. It's a cheap platform, reliable, and easy to work on. Of course, I live south of the Mason-Dixon, so I don't have the rust issues they do up north.

Greetings, fellow 3800 owner! Those plastic intakes are a nightmare. You can try swapping an aluminum one from a Series III motor on there, but it will require a throttle body adapter for the TB to fit. I think you are better off just getting a good aftermarket replacement like this one. They are pretty easy to install and it should last a long time. That ATP intake seems to be more durable and better made than the Dorman one, I replaced my intake with a Dorman one 2 years ago but I can see it warping near the TB slightly already. What car is that 3800 in? What led up to you having to replace the ICM?

EDIT: I just realized the picture shows the OIL CAP. I thought it was the Radiator cap when I glanced at first. Oh well... I'll leave the post anyways, perhaps it helps someone with cooling issues. OP: I never dealt with that problem. Definitely looks like cross contamination with coolant. But if that's not the case, try looking into a few oil changes (perhaps with low viscosity oil), along with snake oils such as Seafoam and Marvel Mystery Oil. I had very good luck with them in the past. Best of luck.

Hey man, I had a nearly identical issue with my truck and fixed it without too many problems. This is assuming your head gasket is good and you aren't cross contaminating oil and coolant.

Basically it boils down to (te-heee) use of certain old antifreeze products known to cause this as well as products like "stop-leak" and similar. Those products and inadequate cooling system maintenance can cause this problem.

You will need a flush kit, along with a few bottles of cleaner. You can get both at Walmart cheaper than Amazon. Get also 5-6 gallons of distilled water.

Install the flush kit on the heater core hoses as described in the instructions. If you have trouble determining which is the hose going into the heater core, turn on the car (ensure heat is off) and touch both heater core hoses as it warms up. The one that stays cold is the outlet.

Flush the system with the garden hose as described in the instructions. The first few times you do it you will see a ton of crap coming out. Flush for a few minutes, then turn off the hose and let the water drain for a bit. Close the drain plug and flush cap, empty one bottle of cleaner in the radiator, top it off with distilled water, close fill cap. Drive the car for a few days.

Repeat the above process 5-6 times every few days until the flush water coming out is completely clean and you no longer see baby-shit accumulating under the radiator cap.

Once you have done a couple of rounds and the coolant water is reliably clean (no traces whatsoever of that crap), do a few rounds of distilled water only (to remove all traces of cleaning agent). Then go ahead and fill it up with good quality antifreeze compatible with what's recommended for that vehicle.

Keep in mind that antifreeze is needed for multiple reasons, including lubrication. Just because it's summer and you don't run the risk of coolant freeze, keep in mind that during the above process you will be running the water pump without lubrication. Since it seems like it's your daily driver, you should be able to do the whole process in the span of a couple of weeks without issue.

Good luck and report back with your findings.

I bought a set of these wrench organizers which worked fantastically for me since they're magnetic on the bottom. I also have one of these plier racks for my pliers drawer (takes a taller drawer to fit) but it holds everything in place really well. I also can't recommend enough the hansen socket trays as they work better than any other socket organizer i've seen so far. I also have something similar to this hand tool organizer that holds most of my screwdrivers and picks.

my toolbox is still in a state of flux so I can't really shadow my tools like /u/skiman13579 suggests, even though i'd love to.

organization will set you free.

Is that manufacturing shift in the works our is it hopeful thinking? Because everyone would love made in US quality, but nobody wants to pay made in US prices.

Don't get me wrong, I buy made in US when I can. New Ballance has a made in US line that isn't terribly expensive for athletic shoes. But if the prices come up to meet costs where I can get an even better German made tool for the same amount, then that's the quality I'll end up going with.

For instance, despite the high price this is one of the best all around bit sets I've ever had, and this is one of the most useful bit drivers I own. Pricey, yes, but worth every penny.

Thank you! So I just removed everything, the dash lid and the center console lid; fortunately they both had a separate section underneath that could be unscrewed where I was able to tuck away the excess fabric. I cleaned it really well with 99% isopropyl alcohol (this discolored the vinyl or whatever it was, so if you intend on taking it off and going back to stock I would advise to maybe just use dish soap). I found the fabric I wanted - Pendleton wool which is a high quality wool from the Pacific Northwest if you haven't heard of it. Since it is constantly exposed to sun, I would advise going with a higher quality fabric in hopes it would minimize fading quickly. After cleaning the area, I used Elmers Craftbond Adhesive but if I do it again I would use something stronger like a 3M product... maybe even 3M Headliner and Fabric Adhesive. Spray that over the large surface area where you will be applying the fabric, you have a little time before it sets so spray and apply your fabric but get it centered and positioned where you want rather quickly --- this is the time you will also want to stretch it out to avoid ripples in the fabric. Finally I used a hot glue gun but any craft Adhesive would work to secure the fabric corners and edges that were tucked away under the cosmetic area -- again I was able to unscrew a plastic piece where I applied the hot glue/adhesive to secure the fabric better. I cut away the excess fabric and screwed it all together which also helped make the fabric taut. Be generous with the initial aerosol fabric adhesive on the cosmetic side - depending on how thick the fabric is you might want to be careful to not soak a thin fabric with it. I used enough that I could slightly feel the adhesive through the wool but it didn't affect anything. The corners were tough, but I let the spray adhesive dry and it allowed me to pull on it to make it a lot more taut which got the ripples out as well as letting me square the edges and apply the hot glue. Sorry for making this super long - I might be making it sound difficult, but it actually was really easy to do. Shit now that I think about it, I used some forum walk through to do it - I'll try to find it and post an edit with it.

Edit: fixed links and added walk through I found on a Subaru forum, he used seat fabric from an STI but go to any fabric store and pick out your own! You could probably also add a foam layer in between to pad your elbow - I'm sure you could also find that at a fabric store or even Amazon. My next project is actually to go to my wood elf father in law and make a modified center console lid and then wrap that with Pendleton wool, I want to add a cup holder and a few other things - maybe an area to stash my CB and some camping gear.

I have 3 of those, they come in varying widths. Cool story: my wife brought one home for me from work (elderly care facility) and said one of her residents heard I worked on cars and he wanted me to have it. I had one already of a different width and loved it. I asked her why the resident had one. "Oh, he owns the company that makes them." Sure as shit they are made by Innovative Tools International in Cedar Rapids, Iowa!

They are the best thing in the world for steel surfaces but you can shave aluminum with them pretty easy so I use razor blades in holders for that.

Edit to add:

I also have one of these http://www.amazon.com/Bahco-Premium-Ergonomic-Carbide-Scraper/dp/B000288LOW

They are great for oil pan corners where it's impossible to get any other scraper.

Sure, I have this one. I like the fact that it's all metal because these things produce a lot of vacuum. You just take the dipstick out and feed the plastic tube down the dipstick tube. It goes all the way into the bottom of the oil pan/sump and gets pretty much every drop of oil out. Just a piece of advice - it goes a lot quicker when the oil is warm so it's less viscous. Also, if your dipstick tube is wide enough, you can use a larger diameter plastic tube to speed it up a lot more.

I think this craftsman one is a little more well made. I picked it up after stripping my plastic filter socket. It's like $12.99 if you get it from Sears

https://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Oil-Filter-Wrench-Auto-Adjustable/dp/B003Y22RDO

They sell them at marine supply stores. Or hand pumped ones.

http://www.amazon.com/America-5060-Topsider-Multi-Purpose-Removing/dp/B001445IZ8/ref=pd_sim_263_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41v-eR72mKL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR128%2C160_&refRID=1H3FNK6WKY9HV1FF6S9W

My friend that works at a (really good) local shop has used this style for years. I have used it when I did an oil change or three for him when when I was bored and hanging out at his shop

http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Oil-Filter-Wrench-Auto-Adjustable/dp/B003Y22RDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396473414&sr=8-1&keywords=B003Y22RDO

It works VERY well on a range of filter sizes.
Edit - dangit now that I look at that link carefully, it is that style but probably a different brand

Time to go buy a TopSider.

A few years back the oil change place stripped the threads on my drain plug. I did something similar to OP and used this. It was slightly more of a pain but not much.