So it's been forever since I updated this, but I've been documenting some progress I've made. Had some free time and decided to add it all here finally. A little while after I got my exhaust I ordered a new fog light from JP Parts. My passenger one had some gross corrosion in the lens and ate away the chrome so the light output wasn't very good. It was also held together with clear tape after I replaced the bulb and found the lens mounts were broken. I also ordered a replacement bumper marker since mine was cracked by the previous owner and always bothered me.
Then 4th of July weekend I got some tint and added some window visors. Loved how it changed the look of the car and definitely helped keep the car cooler during the summer heat.
Went to a local monthly car meet and parked up next to Boston's P5. Makes my car look super 4x4, but happy to have another P5 in the local scene.
I then decided to tackle my broken stud on the rear left of the car. I ordered a replacement wheel bearing and hub assembly off Rockauto. Super easy install and was happy to finally be able to have all 5 lugs on that wheel. The part I used was Timken 512270, I know Timken is a super trusted brand and I think OEM for a lot of vehicles. I also did the rear brake pads and rotors since the pads were super low. Centric premium rotors and wagner thermoquiet pads.
A little while later I found my rear left parking brake cable was seizing so I ordered a replacement and threw it on. Used a Wagner BC141718. I also ordered the right side, but don't have a picture of that. Found it seized due to the boot splitting and letting water in.
I went back up to Shenandoah in late October and took some more pics. Tried to edit one, but I have skill when it comes to that haha
I ordered a new rear bumper from JP Parts as I had gotten tired of my dented one. I can't find the picture after the install, but here's the bumper I removed and during the install.
I also did an oil change at this time. I upgraded to the 626 filter, here's a side by side comparison. Decent size larger for the same price! I've just been using the Castrol Edge full synthetic we use at work, have had no issues with it and free is always good (thumb).
I started to have an intermittent starting issue which would require me to wiggle my negative connector on the battery. Upon closer inspection I found the terminal connector had cracked and was almost fully split. I cut it off and installed a universal replacement. Have had no issues since and helped clean the battery up. The positive side is still the stock connector, but I'll probably change that soon. Help clean things up.
Then right around christmas the car developed an abnormal noise while driving. Brought it into work and found the front left wheel bearing and gone poop. I had ignored it for a few weeks so it got super bad. Once I found out what it was and how bad it had become I ordered a new one. However, we got a big snow in so I parked it for a week and drove my other car since it definitely was not safe to drive the P5. It also worked out that it didn't see any salty roads (2thumbs). I don't have any pics of the install cause it was such a PITA. Everything was seized and took way longer than it should have. Pretty sure I spent a solid 6 hours on it, but eventually got it all back together.
A few months later I discovered my front left caliper was seizing. I had already replaced this caliper a year and a half before. I didn't want to just throw on another crappy caliper so I decided to upgrade to the Mazda 6 front calipers. I sourced some used ones from a local used parts store. I cleaned them up and painted them gloss black. I got some Centric premium rotors and decided to spend some extra money and get some EBC Greenstuff pads.
Not sure if I got the wrong year calipers or what, but after installing the new brakes I found the calipers didn't fully fit the rotors. The pad had full contact on the rotor, but there was a gap between the caliper and rotor hat. I haven't addressed this yet, but have had no issues with the brakes. The upgraded brakes really made a difference. The braking felt so much better and responsive. Only downside was the pads dust way more, which make keeping the white wheels clean quite a chore. Worth it to me though.
I also got tired of the solid red center caps so I changed them up to a custom 5 emblem. Took the 5 from a Kia Spectra5 and painted black around it. Love how it came out.
I bought some VHT niteshade one day and decided to paint the bumper sidemarkers to get rid of the gross orange. I scuffed them up with a sanding black and threw on 4 or 5 coats. I think they came out pretty well. I really dig how it changed the front a little.
Took the car to a local wall mural for a little impromptu photoshoot, thought they came out pretty decent.
We're just about caught up. Thanks to all those sticking along. A few weeks ago I was going around 70 on the highway and hit something in the road. I didn't get a full look at it, but it seemed like an alternator of all things. Anyways, I was unable to fully void it so unfortunately my front left wheel to the hit. I managed to make it back home to assess the damage. I didn't pop the tire, but it bent the wheel like a champ and caused a gash in the tire.
Luckily I had bought new tires a few months before from Discount Tire which came with a 5 year warranty. They luckily just built a store down the road from me so I took the wheel to them and they said they would warrant the tire for me. I searched online for a new wheel, but they discontinued the wheel in white. I could only buy in silver or black. I didn't feel like rolling with one mismatched wheel or having to pay for it to be powder coated. I spent some time searching for new wheels, but couldn't find anything I liked without having to pay way more than I wanted. The dealership I work for uses a local company that repairs wheels. I took the wheel over to them to see what they could do. They said they would do their best to fix it, so I gave them a shot. At this time I was borrowing a pair of wheels from a co-worker so I could get to work. They were 18x8.5s, way too big for my taste, but definitely changed the look of the rear (I put the 17s up front).
The rim repair shop did an awesome job on the wheel and got it near perfect. It took a tad more weight than normal, but nothing I couldn't live with. My replacement tire came in so I put it on the wheel and put that wheel on the rear right. Been driving like that since and have had no issue thankfully.
Finally, yesterday I went to my local Pick n Pull and found a black P5 was in the yard. It was pretty beat up, but had a mint hood ripe for the picking. I nabbed it up and installed it in the parking lot. It was the only large area of rust on my car and had quite a few dings and dents on it so it felt great to get rid of it. Snapped a pic of the new front end. Looks much better, but as you can see I'm still rocking the mismatched fogs (notcool) Been super lazy about it. I thought I had some laying around, but when I was prepping for H20i I couldn't find it. I ordered some more tonight so will install that when it comes in.
(blarf)
much better! (thumb)
Not sure what future plans are. I bought a new car, an 04 Jetta TDI so my money has been going in to that, but I might do some more stuff to the P5. We will see. Thanks for looking!