When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Won't rust, strong steel, looks good if you take care of down there
No argument from me about SS nuts & bolts. But my TBW tray is black, so I just bought a bag of black replacement bolts. I think it was $10 or something.
It's been a year, and my OCI is coming up, so it will be interesting to eyeball the undertray in a few weeks and see how its held up.
This will also be my first OC with the quick-release drain plug.
Chased down my rough road/transition surface clunk.
TL;DR: Front swaybar links came loose.
These are Whiteline front sway bar links / shock mount bolts, with Hotchkis sway bars. The Hotchkis bar is thick enough that there's no extra thread through the nut... On close exam, it looks like the threads are fully engaged, but just. Both sides loosened up from 45 ft/lbs, so I put blue loctite on them to see if they hold. I don't see that the stud length on the OEM link is any different, and the OEM nut is the same height as the replacement - I thought I had several threads showing on the stock links though. This might not be tenable - not sure if Whiteline makes different links (I got the proper ones for the car) with longer lower half studs, or if I'll have to pony up for the SPLs.
I had a passenger side headlight go out on my '13x sedan. I have a feeling they were OEM anyway and its probably time. I had a lot of good info from other spots in this forum about lights/temps and settled on a 6k HID. I replaced both so they match and I cant tell much difference besides maybe a "little" bit brighter white over OEM. While doing light stuff, I replaced parking lights with LED as well as replaced the turn signals with LED. The parking lights are nothing to write home about, but I tested RockAuto LED (Phillips brand) turn signals vs. a brand from Amazon and Phillips (RockAuto) didn't stand a chance. SiriusLED from Amazon lit up my garage brighter than the ceiling LED lights. I am currently looking to see if they have better parking LED lights for me as well as backup lights.
Chased down my rough road/transition surface clunk.
TL;DR: Front swaybar links came loose.
These are Whiteline front sway bar links / shock mount bolts, with Hotchkis sway bars. The Hotchkis bar is thick enough that there's no extra thread through the nut... On close exam, it looks like the threads are fully engaged, but just. Both sides loosened up from 45 ft/lbs, so I put blue loctite on them to see if they hold. I don't see that the stud length on the OEM link is any different, and the OEM nut is the same height as the replacement - I thought I had several threads showing on the stock links though. This might not be tenable - not sure if Whiteline makes different links (I got the proper ones for the car) with longer lower half studs, or if I'll have to pony up for the SPLs.
I had this same problem several times with the SPL end links on my G, especially in the front. I even tried using blue loctite on them and they still eventually worked their way loose. I ended up replacing the nuts with Grade 8 Stover style locking nuts and never had them come loose again.