The Bahan Wrecking Crew was out in force last night as we went to town on the Cavalier. Sadly, it turned out to be the Grand AM that gave us the most trouble. Even after being bashed into oblivion, the Cavalier still showed us some love allowing us to work on her peacefully – even if it was to strip her valuables – ie. the four new tires we just replaced within the last 9 months.
The Grand AM tires were actually stuck to the axle … rusted right on. It took calling my encyclopedia of mechanical repairs – my Uncle – to get hooked into the “trick”. Essentially, the tires were so stuck that (with all lug nuts off) we could not push – pull – or pry the tire off. Even bashing it with a hammer would not break it loose – so we took things to the next level. Loosened the lugs 1/2 to 1 full turn – enough to give a little wiggle but not enough to let the wheel actually go into a sever wobble or break free – then we took her for a spin. A quick drive in the parking lot broke free the front two tires, but the rears required a large parking lot – more speed – and a whole lot more fun!
[Now, this can cause SERIOUS damage to your wheels, axles, steering, and overall health – so take it easy – and remember I am not responsible for your poor judgement. You should really check with a trusted mechanic before trying this stunt]
But … after a total of 5 hours we have all four tires switched with a standard tire rotation (fronts to rear … rears to opposite front). We looked at exchanging the battery – but don’t know which is older yet, we do know ours in only about 1 year old. Other than that, don’t think there is much we can take as the car needs to be operational when they tow it away. Any thoughts of things we should snag?
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In my case, I forgot to grab the $65 high performance air filter from under the hood. Had only had it for about 6 months too.