LA Road Trip, Wheel Bearings, and Alignments!

[sperry]

I'm thinking about making a trip to LA either this weekend (2/14-2/15) or at the end of the month (2/28-2/29) to check out ESX's new shop.

Anyone interested in doing the whole Subaru caravan thing with me?

[JC]

It's april? Sweet, I'll be 21 soon. :P I'm flying back on the 21st for a week. Too bad you aren't going that weekend, i'd go.

[STIwish]

I dont own a Subaru, or I would :roll:

[BOO]

I'm thinking about making a trip to LA either this weekend (2/14-2/15) or at the end of the month (2/28-2/29) to check out ESX's new shop.

Anyone interested in doing the whole Subaru caravan thing with me?

Too Soon Junior !!.. lol :lol: :lol:
I might be able to if it is sometime in March (Maybe early to middle)
Let me know

[ArthurS]

I'll be driving to Vegas this weekend or it would sound fun. I just took a trip to Pasadena about a 3 weeks ago. I-5 is a awsome road with traffic that travels at 80 mph the whole time.

[ArthurS]

It's april? Sweet, I'll be 21 soon. :P I'm flying back on the 21st for a week. Too bad you aren't going that weekend, i'd go.

w00t! 8)

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Take off! You horked my post, eh!

[MattR]

Scott, are you still thinking of going to la?

[sperry]

Scott, are you still thinking of going to la?

Pending wheel bearing repairs...

Speaking of wheel bearings... everything's nice and quiet today, so go figure. I talked to Indy Auto, and they want like $325 per bearing... and it's almost all labor charges cuz pulling and replacing bearings is like a 3+ hour job. Friggen killing me. Basically, I'd get just the one replaced, and do the others as they break, since that's retarded expensive, and I'm broke right now, esp. considering the $1000 I'm gonna owe on my taxes in April. :x

[MattR]

Wow! Thats more than I expected, but if it takes that much labor, then wow. Bummer

[sperry]

Wow! Thats more than I expected, but if it takes that much labor, then wow. Bummer

I wonder if they'd knock the price down if we were running their logo at AutoX? ;)

[MikeSTI]

Wow! Thats more than I expected, but if it takes that much labor, then wow. Bummer

I wonder if they'd knock the price down if we were running their logo at AutoX? ;)
would you really want to run a logo of a shop that you feel is expensive?

[sperry]

Wow! Thats more than I expected, but if it takes that much labor, then wow. Bummer

I wonder if they'd knock the price down if we were running their logo at AutoX? ;)
would you really want to run a logo of a shop that you feel is expensive?

Considering they're the only shop in Reno I'd trust my car too, sure. Hell, I'm gonna end up paying them to do the work either way, it'd just be nice to get a cheaper labor rate or something for promoting their shop.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

How complicated is the bearing swap procedure, could it be done yourself?

[sperry]

How complicated is the bearing swap procedure, could it be done yourself?

I looked into it... it requires a few expensive specialized tools (like extractors and presses), tons of time, and lots of little parts, like lock nuts and the like that can't be reused, so they must be replaced. Since I can't find a definitive list of all the parts and a good "hot to", and since I don't have the 6 hours per corner to do the work, I'm unfortunately gonna have to leave it to the pros. :( The shame of it is that if you have the tools, time and experience, I don't think it's really that expensive parts wise.

At least at Indy, I know they'll do it right, and they even make sure to step up and use the better synthetic grease when they pack the bearings since they know Subaru puts the cheap shit in there at the factory. These are the same guys that rebuilt my CV joints on my front axles with the better grease in there too.

Indy Auto: you get what you pay for... and the guys that work there are cool to boot!

[MikeSTI]

How complicated is the bearing swap procedure, could it be done yourself?
of course that was my next question?

[MikeSTI]

Indy Auto: you get what you pay for... and the guys that work there are cool to boot!
thats all that matters is that you feel you got what you paid for......How are they with 4 wheel alignments? anybuddy use them for that?

[sperry]

Indy Auto: you get what you pay for... and the guys that work there are cool to boot!
thats all that matters is that you feel you got what you paid for......How are they with 4 wheel alignments? anybuddy use them for that?

I dont' think they do alignments.

Matt and I have found that there's a bad ass Japanese guy over at Big-O near Matt's house that really knows his isht. He aligned Matt's STi and my WRX *very* well. I guess he used to have his own shop and did the alignments for all the Ferrari Challenge guys that would make the run up the grade. Matt knows him from his old shop.

Plus that place has a very high-tech and kickass alignment rig... it's easily a $20,000 computer controlled alignment rack, if not more.

[MikeSTI]

so does he work at Big-O? or near Big-O......how much?

[sperry]

so does he work at Big-O? or near Big-O......how much?

He works at Big-O and they charge $70 for a 4-wheel alignment.

[MattR]

Yeah Big-O at Mae anne in West Reno is the best...Pat is the guys name, he used to run Unlimited motorsports and does great alignment work, he knows imports very well. Seriously, my car is better now than it was stock.

[MikeSTI]

:lol: thanks guys I will have to check it out......Love how the Subject title changed :P

[MattR]

:lol: thanks guys I will have to check it out......Love how the Subject title changed :P

Hahaha! Sweet.