Last week I experienced some crazy ass car trouble, all from a tire rotation. You see, I finally decided to rotate the tires on the beater Hyundai. Now this is my cheap to purchase, cheap to maintain, look dead sexy while driving car. Unfortunately, rather than rotating the tires every 5,000 miles or so, like the manual recommends, I let it go almost 15,000 miles. Yeah, I know. Let the flaming begin!
This past weekend I finally decided to get off my butt, go out into the sweltering summer heat of my garage, and do the dang rotation. Yes…because I’m too cheap to pay the $20 a local shop will charge. Well, that and I wanted to time myself and see if I could knock it out in under 30 minutes – mission accomplished by the way. BOOYAAA!
Anyways, after 30 minutes of summer sweating glory, I completed the rotation and patted myself on the back, thinking “You just saved $20 Shaun… good damn job”. Meanwhile, the Mrs. decided to take the Hyundai to pick up my son. Upon returning she made a passing comment to me that the car didn’t feel or sound right while driving. I decided to take it for a spin.
Holy hell! She wasn’t kidding, something definitely wasn’t right. Every bump felt like a sledgehammer right in the culo. There was absolutely no give in the suspension. I’m pretty sure my spine compressed and I’m probably an inch shorter after that drive.
This past weekend I finally decided to get off my butt, go out into the sweltering summer heat of my garage, and do the dang rotation. Yes…because I’m too cheap to pay the $20 a local shop will charge. Well, that and I wanted to time myself and see if I could knock it out in under 30 minutes – mission accomplished by the way. BOOYAAA!
Anyways, after 30 minutes of summer sweating glory, I completed the rotation and patted myself on the back, thinking “You just saved $20 Shaun… good damn job”. Meanwhile, the Mrs. decided to take the Hyundai to pick up my son. Upon returning she made a passing comment to me that the car didn’t feel or sound right while driving. I decided to take it for a spin.
Holy hell! She wasn’t kidding, something definitely wasn’t right. Every bump felt like a sledgehammer right in the culo. There was absolutely no give in the suspension. I’m pretty sure my spine compressed and I’m probably an inch shorter after that drive.
There was definitely something mechanically wrong with the car. If you’ve ever been in the situation of having something wrong with your car, but not knowing what it is. It can be extremely frustrating. How do you fix it if you don’t know what’s wrong with it? Now many people don’t even bother and just take it to an auto shop for diagnosis and repair. While this is a viable option, it’s also the most expensive. Local shops around here charge $100 per hour in labor cost alone.
Other people just avoid needing repairs all together, trading in and buying new cars every few years. That way they never own the cars long enough to have any repair work needed. Another ridiculous option not worth mentioning. Oh wait, I just did...dang it!
So what’s the alternative?
Other people just avoid needing repairs all together, trading in and buying new cars every few years. That way they never own the cars long enough to have any repair work needed. Another ridiculous option not worth mentioning. Oh wait, I just did...dang it!
So what’s the alternative?
LEARN TO DO BASIC AUTO REPAIR WORK YOURSELF!! Yes, I just used all caps, like I'm yelling at you. Really, I just want to sound intense.
It’s really not as scary as it sounds, and let’s be clear, I’m not talking about rebuilding a engine in your kitchen, War of the Worlds style. I talking about general engine, belts, brakes, gaskets, or suspension work. Most of which can generally be done with a normal socket set and torque wrench.
I generally do all of the work myself on my vehicles, and these are skills I’ll retain forever. My general approach to diagnosis and repair is detailed below. It’s never failed me.
It’s really not as scary as it sounds, and let’s be clear, I’m not talking about rebuilding a engine in your kitchen, War of the Worlds style. I talking about general engine, belts, brakes, gaskets, or suspension work. Most of which can generally be done with a normal socket set and torque wrench.
I generally do all of the work myself on my vehicles, and these are skills I’ll retain forever. My general approach to diagnosis and repair is detailed below. It’s never failed me.
THE YBI GUIDE TO AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR INDEPENDENCE (catchy right!)
STEP 1.
Figure out what’s wrong with the wretched car. This can be the most difficult part of the job. I generally take the following approach. I’ll first do a quick visual inspection of the area where you think the problem may be originating. If it’s electrical, obviously this won’t work. However, if it’s a mechanical issue, many times you can see problems that will lead you to the culprit.
In my case, recognizing that it was riding much rougher than it had in the past, I suspected a shock/strut issue in the front end. Therefore, I went around the car, bouncing it up and down at each corner to see how the struts responded. Maybe it’d work, maybe it wouldn’t. Couldn’t hurt right! When I got to the front drivers side, I went to press down on the car and it wouldn’t budge. There was absolutely no movement out of the shock. And just like that, the problem was diagnosed: a seized strut.
However, more often than not, it’s not that easy to diagnose the problem. If there is nothing visual, I recommend going to good ole’ Google. I would have searched “2005 Accent riding stiff,” or “2005 Accent rides rough over bumps”. In either case, both searches led me to forums where people were discussing similar issues and the struts were brought up multiple times.
As a last resort, and yes I’ve done it, I’ll go into a local auto shop. I’ll describe the symptoms and most of the time they’ll say, “It’s probably this combobulator, or this thing-a-ma-bob.” While I don’t intend on getting the work done there, it never hurts to get a point in the right direction. Again, I’ve only done it a couple times. Don’t make a habit of going into the shop for help, but never hiring them to do it. They won’t like that much.
In my case, recognizing that it was riding much rougher than it had in the past, I suspected a shock/strut issue in the front end. Therefore, I went around the car, bouncing it up and down at each corner to see how the struts responded. Maybe it’d work, maybe it wouldn’t. Couldn’t hurt right! When I got to the front drivers side, I went to press down on the car and it wouldn’t budge. There was absolutely no movement out of the shock. And just like that, the problem was diagnosed: a seized strut.
However, more often than not, it’s not that easy to diagnose the problem. If there is nothing visual, I recommend going to good ole’ Google. I would have searched “2005 Accent riding stiff,” or “2005 Accent rides rough over bumps”. In either case, both searches led me to forums where people were discussing similar issues and the struts were brought up multiple times.
As a last resort, and yes I’ve done it, I’ll go into a local auto shop. I’ll describe the symptoms and most of the time they’ll say, “It’s probably this combobulator, or this thing-a-ma-bob.” While I don’t intend on getting the work done there, it never hurts to get a point in the right direction. Again, I’ve only done it a couple times. Don’t make a habit of going into the shop for help, but never hiring them to do it. They won’t like that much.
STEP 2.
Determine the level of difficulty in the repair, and whether you have the necessary tools.
Many people advice getting a Chilton’s or Haynes manual. While they’re very cheap compared to the $100+ dollar official shop repair manuals, you’re pretty much getting what you pay for. One book may cover 10 years of your car, during which time they may have switched manufacturing designs three times and had 4 different price point models. In my opinion, they’re junk!
If you plan on owning the car for a long time, I really recommend buying an official mechanics service/repair manual. These are manuals dedicated to your specific year and model, and are what shop mechanics would use. A printed 1,000 page manual may run you $100, but they’re by far the best. Many times there are digital versions floating around the internet that you can purchase for much cheaper as well.
Either way, I also recommend doing an online search for the repair as well. YouTube is full of videos of people doing auto repair work. I found a video of someone doing the exact repair I needed to do. Hells Yeah!
Many people advice getting a Chilton’s or Haynes manual. While they’re very cheap compared to the $100+ dollar official shop repair manuals, you’re pretty much getting what you pay for. One book may cover 10 years of your car, during which time they may have switched manufacturing designs three times and had 4 different price point models. In my opinion, they’re junk!
If you plan on owning the car for a long time, I really recommend buying an official mechanics service/repair manual. These are manuals dedicated to your specific year and model, and are what shop mechanics would use. A printed 1,000 page manual may run you $100, but they’re by far the best. Many times there are digital versions floating around the internet that you can purchase for much cheaper as well.
Either way, I also recommend doing an online search for the repair as well. YouTube is full of videos of people doing auto repair work. I found a video of someone doing the exact repair I needed to do. Hells Yeah!
STEP 3.
Like any purchase, I absolutely urge you to shop around. The same part can vary from $50 to $150 depending on the seller. If you have to get the car repaired immediately, you’ll be limited to what you can get locally. However, if you can let the car sit for a couple days, you’ve got the online options as well. I almost always find better deals online.
I purchased two struts from Advanced Auto, got free shipping, and 20% off. You’ll notice I said two struts. The research I did in step one taught me that with suspension components, you generally want to replace both sides of the car, otherwise the remaining components can have uneven pressures/forces and prematurely fail.
I purchased two struts from Advanced Auto, got free shipping, and 20% off. You’ll notice I said two struts. The research I did in step one taught me that with suspension components, you generally want to replace both sides of the car, otherwise the remaining components can have uneven pressures/forces and prematurely fail.
STEP 4.
GET BUSY!!! I recommend a healthy dose of patience. When you’re working on a car, things will go wrong. You won’t be able to get a bolt off. A screw will strip. Your hand will slip and you’ll knuckle punch an intake manifold. A jack will collapse and kill you.
In all seriousness, don’t ever work on a car that’s only supported by a jack. Always use jack stands. I am arguably over cautious and usually leave the jack in place, while also using jack stands, and removing and sliding a tire under the frame. I’d rather use three different safety methods that get crushed by a car.
Try to talk a friend into helping you. Beers go a long way in convincing someone that they really need to help you. Or at least, that they need to sit, drink, and provide moral support while you do all the work. Plus, everything is more fun with friends.
In all seriousness, don’t ever work on a car that’s only supported by a jack. Always use jack stands. I am arguably over cautious and usually leave the jack in place, while also using jack stands, and removing and sliding a tire under the frame. I’d rather use three different safety methods that get crushed by a car.
Try to talk a friend into helping you. Beers go a long way in convincing someone that they really need to help you. Or at least, that they need to sit, drink, and provide moral support while you do all the work. Plus, everything is more fun with friends.
So here are some pictures of the fun I experienced on my car. By the way, I’d never replaced struts before, and I was surprised out how easy it was. Although I did replace the whole strut/spring assembly. I didn’t have to worry about a spring compressor going this route.
Unfortunately you can't see the tire shoved under the front of the car. Like I said, don't ever trust the jack alone.
 Its seriously just those two nuts and one screw you see there to take the bottom of the strut loose. Took literally 5 minutes to remove them.. |  Yes, the pic was taken 5 minutes later. |
Once the bolts came out it took a bit of finagling to get the arm out of the housing.
Once the bottom bolts were loose. The three nuts under the hood holding the strut from the top could be removed.
 The strut tilts and drops right out, no problem. Just don't pinch the brake or ABS lines. |  Just look how pretty the new strut slid right in. Once you've got it in position, screw the top three nuts down to hold it, then slide the bottom into place and run those bolts. Easy Peasy! |
Finally, don't hulk tighten your lug nuts. I've never understood why people crank those things tight enough to snap a bolt. Just torque them to the spec in the owners manual, nothing more.
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