Monday, August 14, 2006

Waiting for brakes

(1 hour yesterday, 8 hours total)
Didn't get much done on the car this weekend. I don't want to put the rear end in until I replace the axles, so that needs to wait for the brake kit. And there's not a lot I can do at the front end until I get the SN95 spindles, also in the brake kit.

So I spent some time sorting through some of the back-ordered parts that I have received, trying to match them into the boxes they belong to. I also prepped my e-brake handle for the rear disc brakes by removing the auto-adjuster, and pulled the brake pedal out to send it out for shortening.

In other automotive news, I replaced the expansion valve and receiver/dryer in the minivan. That was pretty easy once I figured out that I needed to remove the front bumper to access the refrigerant lines on top of the r/d. The shop wanted almost $500 for this job, including about $75 each for the valve and r/d. Here's my cost breakdown:

Expansion valve: $20.
Receiver/dryer: $15.
O-ring set: $5.
Vacuum pump (venturi type): $25.
Assorted fittings/valves to hook up vacuum pump: $15
Evacuate system (Tunex): $20.
New refrigerant: $20.

That's $120 including tooling. Total time was maybe 3 hours. And now I have a vacuum pump, some assorted fittings, and a nice ball valve, too.

No comments: