Fall/Winter/Spring Projects 2012/13 for Fiona RESOLVED

[RRoller123]

Nice progress! When does the ice break out up there?

[4uall]

My igloo usually melts around June, then my family and I make "The Great Trek" across the frozen tundra in search of whatever food we can find. this sometimes has us clubbing seals for their meat and of course their blubber oil to keep us warm at night and to scare off the polar bears.

[RRoller123]

I always wanted an igloo.... Don't let the Greens photograph you clubbing those poor cute little baby harp seals! You could end up like Mark Steyn, persecuted by your own government. Kinda like what is happening here...... I think we are maybe 10 degrees warmer on average here in Boston? The shift is dramatic. Just 50 miles south on the Cape, they are about 5-10 degrees warmer on average than Foxboro, and about 50 miles North in say Nashua, they are about 5-10 degrees colder on average.

[4uall]

I had to laugh out loud as I read this it started to snow outside my office window SOB! Looks like this weekend will be a "get her all back together weekend". Next weekend we will be in Montreal so it looks like Fiona will make her first trip over the Easter long weekend whoooo hooo

[RRoller123]

Ice out on Winnipesaukee is coming soon and it is a major source of rejoicing and much merriment!

[4uall]

I am not religious however, someone or something has it out for me today Woke up to -24*C Sucked it it after lunch and decided to tackle the tie rods. They went on with out a hitch, Seated them with regular 10mm nuts then applied the nylocs Then (after 3 nights of applying Deep Creep) I had purchased some flare wrenches and went after the passenger brake line until................................SNAP Taking a break, then maybe tackle the suspension. Not looking forward to replacing the passenger brake line. Any pointers on how or where to run it? Follow current path? Make my own etc?

[nibbes123]

Hey Jay too bad the line snapped. It should not be too hard to take out , just follow it behind the head to other side onto MC and make your own line.

[4uall]

Oh wait, there's more I am so frustrated with VICK"S http://www.vickauto.com/newstore/ right now Did I mention they have lost my business? When I did my drivers side I was able to make it work without compromising the integrity of the product or the safety of the vehicle So now I go to do the passnegar side and this is what I run into









So either your manufacturer was drunk on the drill press or they are using curved drill bits. What pisses me off the most is the complete lack of quality control with these parts yet, you promote the following on your website written by the owner.

When we fill your order it will often be the person who took your order that picks your part from the shelf and boxes it. In fact, it is our practice that everyone here participates in shipping. So not only does everyone here drive a special car like yours, but we know the part you need, whether it is a fan belt, a heater hose, a brake caliper or any of the thousands of other everyday parts we stock.

We at VAS appreciate your order- each and every one of them- and treat each order as the most important order we will ever have.

We are a company that buys directly from Europe in large quantities. In fact, in May alone we received over 12 palates with over 6,000 pounds in car parts. When we buy from Europe, you benefit. Not only do you win with lower prices, but you get better parts. How so? Similar to drop shippers, companies that can’t afford to import directly sometimes buy on the secondary market or try to sell a part designed for another car as if it were made for your car, sometimes with bad consequences. Because we at VAS import directly from first-tier manufacturers the parts you buy from us are better quality.

When we buy from Europe, you benefit. Not only do you win with lower prices, but you get better parts. How so? Similar to drop shippers, companies that can’t afford to import directly sometimes buy on the secondary market or try to sell a part designed for another car as if it were made for your car, sometimes with bad consequences

NO SHIT!! May be time for a re-write?

Now that it is out of my system, does anybody have any suggestions on how to correct? Perhaps drilling myself?

[RRoller123]

All I will say is.... All suppliers occassionally have problems with the quality of the materials that they sell, but what differentiates them is how they handle the problems that inevitably arise. And that is why AutoRicambi gets as much of my business as possible.

[nibbes123]

You are right RRoller 123, I too use Auto Ricambi and they are the best in resolving any problems you have also their products are great. I mainly deal with Ramzi and he is truly awesome to deal with.

Nick

[4uall]

I have been a fanboy of Autoricambi since almost day one of owning Fiona however, they were between shipments at the time I was looking for these. Never again, I will just be patient and wait next time So again, I ask should I just drill out the holes a little to get them to match?

[Ramzi]

Thanks for the kind words....

Csaba an I looked at the above mentioned control arms several years ago. Csaba, who's degree is in applied mechanical engineering, decided against these arms for several reasons - one of which was ball joints. Since these are Lada (and NOT Fiat) control arms, they use a Lada ball joint. You will likely have to get Lada ball joints to make things work...

If the supplier of the A Arms can't get you ball joints, let me know.... I think we maybe able get some if you need them.

[4uall]

Truth be told when I heard the rumours (shortly after buying these) I called and was told "don't worry they will fit, these are genuine Fiat parts", then when I called when having trouble with the drivers side I was told "sometimes you gotta work them a bit to make it all fit". Be that as it may I am pretty sure this time around it will take more than that I have given up trying with them so I will try again tonight and if I am not able to make any headway I will look into getting the LADA parts from you for my VAS genuine FIAT control arms LMFAO!

[4uall]

While I wait to have the A arms issue resolved I decided to move on to some other little things

Had to remove the coil and overflow container to get at the passenger brake line



The single front outlet goes to the rear; the left outlet of the pair goes to the left wheel and right one goes to the right. Left = driver's side. There should be grommets on each front inner fender for the front lines.



Looking to clean my overflow container




Another awesome result. Replaced/refurbished passenger brake caliper, seals etc



Another perfectly seated seal



Disconnected brake fluid reservoir to be able to remove the old brake line

[RRoller123]

How do you clean that bottle?? Mine is really crappy as well, lots of stains. It would be nice to make it look new without actually buying a new one!