What did you do to your mk7 today?

[dood.]

Also this past Saturday passed a Lambo on track. To be fair it was probably his first time on track. Still felt cool!

 

[DIB's]

Looks like time for a fresh set of front LCA's....

My fault, totally borked it up myself, curb stomping the front right into a 8" curb in a parking lot like an animal and putting a nice 3"ish slice in the tire but very luckily didn't waste the wheel.

The borking was soooooooo satisfactory I did it again, but long & slow this time, not bothering to fix anything for over a year as I slowly wasted a set of Conti ECS02..... Yeah, that's expensive.

Thought it was tie rod, but nooo, borked the LCA on that side. So, pair of new LCA's on order
Alas we're not doing this with baller $$$, so let's see if we can do a decent budget set of arms.....

Budget? BUDGET YOU SAY..... yep, off to RockAuto we go for a set of inexpensive arms
Pair of moog's for $47 each (shipped to me, faster than normal, $128 total)
MOOG RK623822 Complete Arm w/ Ball Joint
MOOG RK623823 Complete Arm w/ Ball Joint

Nor for the fun part, let's find some solid Audi bushings to stuff in the new arms, gonna google whore this out to the cheapest place that doesn't scare the credit card. Turns out FCP Euro has em for under $13 each currently (shipped to me normal speed, $37 total)
Lemforder 8N0407181B




So, in theory, this is gonna be about $165 for a pair of new LCA's with the RS3 solid bushings (have access to shop press & fittings for doing the deed)

Now to find a decent price for all the one time use hardware needed...

 

[hanb.1800]

Looks like time for a fresh set of front LCA's....

My fault, totally borked it up myself, curb stomping the front right into a 8" curb in a parking lot like an animal and putting a nice 3"ish slice in the tire but very luckily didn't waste the wheel.

The borking was soooooooo satisfactory I did it again, but long & slow this time, not bothering to fix anything for over a year as I slowly wasted a set of Conti ECS02..... Yeah, that's expensive.

Thought it was tie rod, but nooo, borked the LCA on that side. So, pair of new LCA's on order
Alas we're not doing this with baller $$$, so let's see if we can do a decent budget set of arms.....

Budget? BUDGET YOU SAY..... yep, off to RockAuto we go for a set of inexpensive arms
Pair of moog's for $47 each (shipped to me, faster than normal, $128 total)
MOOG RK623822 Complete Arm w/ Ball Joint
MOOG RK623823 Complete Arm w/ Ball Joint

Nor for the fun part, let's find some solid Audi bushings to stuff in the new arms, gonna google whore this out to the cheapest place that doesn't scare the credit card. Turns out FCP Euro has em for under $13 each currently (shipped to me normal speed, $37 total)
Lemforder 8N0407181B




So, in theory, this is gonna be about $165 for a pair of new LCA's with the RS3 solid bushings (have access to shop press & fittings for doing the deed)

Now to find a decent price for all the one time use hardware needed...

theres no better price than reusing the hardware and a $5 bottle of blue loctite

 

[DIB's]

Yeah, that could happen..... I have lots of blue loctite and I'm not afraid to use it, not to mention the price is right.
Honestly, I probably will initially even if it means getting aligned again later due to swapping in fresh hardware.

Kinda reaching the point tho where I've blown off replacing LOTS of single use hardware over the years, and have been lucky so far...

starting to feel karma looking over my shoulder & thinking it's 'bout time to pay the single use gods their tax before I get audited


FWIW, this is being paid for by the last of my funds for Koni SA's and that bucket has been plundered recently, spent on a set of tires, a battery and VagCom to code the battery. Time to sell leftover BMW parts I don't need anymore

 

[hanb.1800]

Yeah, that could happen..... I have lots of blue loctite and I'm not afraid to use it, not to mention the price is right.
Honestly, I probably will initially even if it means getting aligned again later due to swapping in fresh hardware.

Kinda reaching the point tho where I've blown off replacing LOTS of single use hardware over the years, and have been lucky so far...

starting to feel karma looking over my shoulder & thinking it's 'bout time to pay the single use gods their tax before I get audited


FWIW, this is being paid for by the last of my funds for Koni SA's and that bucket has been plundered recently, spent on a set of tires, a battery and VagCom to code the battery. Time to sell leftover BMW parts I don't need anymore

If you decide to buy new hardware, vwoempartsonline.com is the place.

 

[DIB's]

Poking around now, comparing kits with listed part numbers -vs- what I actually need-
For example I won't need the 6 nuts for the ball joints (pre-installed on the new LCA's)

That said, I'm DSG so guess I'll need the dog bone bolts too- wasn't aware they come out so the engine can tilt enough to move the DSG out of the way

Last I read about LSC replacement hardware I though was saying it's about $90 for the full set, but I'm finding a fair bit lower. For example, just looking at ECS cause they're easy reference material for some stuff-
LCA kit, four long bolts, two big nuts, 6 little nuts for ball joints, enough for both sides, is under $39
Dog Bone bolt kit is listed for $8

Not a monster fan of ECS, wonder what FCP is getting for the stuff I need....

 

[DIB's]

Well that wasn't too painful...
Fresh set of LCA & dog bone mount single use hardware ended up being $28

heck, worth it just to learn that tilting the engine to get the DSG out of the way is a requirement for doing the LCA's!!

Guess it's time to start watching some vids now, study up on the job

 

[EpicTech]

Well after two weeks of sitting in the driveway and driving the Atlas instead, I got a new battery in the GTI and drove it to work this morning. It is still so weird to me at how different the GTI is vs a normal car. I came up to the first stoplight and, forgetting what I was in, pressed the brake to slow down. I nearly planted my chin on the steering wheel lol.

 

[messrock]

Well after two weeks of sitting in the driveway and driving the Atlas instead, I got a new battery in the GTI and drove it to work this morning. It is still so weird to me at how different the GTI is vs a normal car. I came up to the first stoplight and, forgetting what I was in, pressed the brake to slow down. I nearly planted my chin on the steering wheel lol.

Wife always gives me shit about how I drive her Atlas when it comes to braking. Feels like I need to start a 1/4 mile before the stop sign compared to stopping thebGTI

 

[EpicTech]

Wife always gives me shit about how I drive her Atlas when it comes to braking. Feels like I need to start a 1/4 mile before the stop sign compared to stopping thebGTI

Yep, mine will start talking about the stop sign/light 1/4 mile before I get there, and alerts me to anyone in front of me that taps their brakes. I tell her "yes I can see it" and she replies "well you are not braking yet." Lol.

 

[messrock]

Yep, mine will start talking about the stop sign/light 1/4 mile before I get there, and alerts me to anyone in front of me that taps their brakes. I tell her "yes I can see it" and she replies "well you are not braking yet." Lol.

Does she reach across to hold you in the seat when you “brake too hard” too?

 

[EpicTech]

Does she reach across to hold you in the seat when you “brake too hard” too?

Oh yes of course !

 

[Diggs24]

 

[StealthGTI]

Yesterday marked my GTI's 9th birthday. I know there are older Mk7 here, but I'm this one's original owner. The car has just over 256,750 miles or 413,200 km. I've shared a video on my YT channel, StealthGTI.

November 11, 2016

 

[BMAN]

Yesterday marked my GTI's 9th birthday. I know there are older Mk7 here, but I'm this one's original owner. The car has just over 256,750 miles or 413,200 km. I've shared a video on my YT channel, StealthGTI.

November 11, 2016

Hey Scott, too funny I just finished watching your videos on YouTube. I just discovered it a few days ago. I’ve been catching up on them. It’s amazing what you have done with that car I see you’re located in Virginia. What shop does the work? They seem to be excellent in all your repairs.