Misc

So for the first time I paid for car work. My MINI's front lower control arm bushings have been failing since I bought the car 4.5 years ago, and it finally was so bad it failed inspection. I bit the billet and paid to have it done. The pricing was slightly higher than previous quotes but I accepted it for the trade off of convenience of same day turnaround.

The car feels MUCH more planted in corners and steering is heavier in a good way. Previously, the steering was vague and wushu washy in corners (ESP in bumps). It was definitely worth the cost, and I'd fully recommend it for anyone with an aging MINI. I also fixed my cigarette lighter socket (wasn't working because contacts were bent) and added a small extension that has 3 more lighter sockets and a USB socket.

In other news, I bought a small "portable" ac unit for my bedroom. The lack of attic fan coupled with vaulted ceilings keeps my bedroom toasty while lower levels freeze. 

Here are a few pics. Initial impressions are good. I figure I can carry it to the garage too.

Installation was simple and straight forward. The unit came with all the items needed. I added duct tape around joints to keep the exhaust/hot air in the hose. I'll write a better review once I've used it more.  The only con i've noticed so far is that it is a little noisy.

Sti

Changes the cabin air filter. Old one was ewww

Replacement was a good price on amazon. MINI is next up.

Plasti dip

Testing out a stripe with plasti dip

Coilovers

Adjusted the rear coilovers on my MINI. They were stuck after a couple years of all season driving so I had to use a breaker bar aka aluminum jack handle for more leverage and wd-40

New Subie

Brother got a new subie.  All stock for now.  Here are some pictures.  I really like the satin white pearl!

o-rings

With the recent cold weather in Northern VA area, my power steering on the STI has started to get insanely loud.  The steering still works and is smooth, and there was no signs of leakage.

I googled power steering whine and searched on iwsti and nasioc.  Apparently, there is a quick fix people recommend that involves changing out one o-ring before spending a lot of money to switch out the power steering pump.  Since I only had the noise for 2 quick drives (total of 20 miles max), I figured I would give it a shot.

I ordered 10mm x 14mm x 2mm rubber o-rings from advance autoparts, per the specs on nasioc and this youtube video I watched of someone changing their o-ring.  About a week later (and three trips where advance did NOT have the o-rings in despite telling me they were ready for pickup), I got the o-rings and gave it a shot.  WRONG size! I went back to advance and bought a variety pack.  I managed to get 2 sizes that were very close and took the smaller one and jammed it in.

During my trip to advance auto, my power steering fluid leaked enough to get onto the header and now the car was a little low.  Luckily, I had checked the fluid level so I caught it before the reservoir was empty.  I went back to advance and got some ATF Dexron III and topped it off.  After driving it around a little bit, the whine is gone! All that is left is to keep an eye out for leaks and to check it on a few more cold starts to verify the noise is gone.  If this works, I spent under $20 to fix it! (that includes 2 variety packages of o-rings, 4 of the o-ring I originally ordered, and a bottle of dexron III ATF).

splash guards