Bought a CR-V

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Check out my post on FB about the manual tire changer.

Are you talking about something like this?
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I've seen those, I just can't imagine they do a good job holding the wheel... But, I've done 31" off road tires myself with two spoons, so nbd, right?
 
That's the one.
So the top part is threaded. The red metal sleeve unscrews, that little bracket at the top is for tightening it down with the included tire tool.
The little x-brace right above the plate comes off.
So you put the rim on with the little metal spike through a lug hole to keep the rim from spinning (that part isn't the greatest design).
Then you put the xbrace on, then the red sleeve screws down on the xbrace to clamp the wheel.

It's not the greatest, and if you manhandle the bead breaker foot you can bend those arms pretty easily, but if you are some what careful with your tools it should last you years and years. Lube is pretty important when doing tires manually, although big side wall 13's or truck tires you can usually just pop right on with the leftover factory oils.
 
Yeah, so, I did the math, and I paid a small independently owned tire shop $72 cash to mount and balance all five.

Now the rear diff is quiet.
 
Sweet deal, $15-20 is about the going rate for a mount and balance around me.
You can get better rates if they are off the car already.
Sounds like you made out well, and excellent news about the rear diff.
I always heard you needed to replace all 4 on an AWD vehicle, and I always did, but interesting to confirm it can actually make a difference.
Seems logical.
 
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I took my wife and daughter out for a drive this afternoon, and got some more miles on it. Then, once I got home, I swapped out the transmission fluid again. And woof. Smelled just as bad as the first time.

But, the torque converter lockup issue seems to be going away, and it doesn't hang in gear nearly as long, so it's making an improvement. Two more changes to go!

The cam plug sealed up well too, now I just have to clean all that oil off the block and transmission.
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It rides nice now with matching tires, handles pretty well too. If I could just figure out which bushings are shot, that'd be nice.

I think it needs shocks too. :/

Cooling system is fine, it never got above 188f while driving around, and it's 75f outside. The AC works great, but the idler pulley chirps, and one of the belts squeals to high heaven (probably power steering) whenever I start it, so I'll tackle those belts all at once with the idler.
 
There is a method to disconnect some lines to fill as it drains to ensure 100% new fluid, using fewer quarts, but it requires an assistant, and some skill.
There is a video on youtube about it. I imagine you could probably pull it off pretty easily with the wifey around.
 
Nah, I'll do this. I've tried that method before on a dodge, and it's not fun. I've already got the fluid, and if that method were what Honda wanted, they'd have saved the labor by doing that. I really don't want to pull another engine/transmission this year if I mess it up, lol.

I'm kinda irritated by the lack of instrumentation in this vehicle... So, I'm thinking I'll go "blast from the past" and connect my old Scangauge II, maybe 3d print a holder or something for it.

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Shipped off that scangauge, it's got some screen issues.

I replaced the bolts holding the tail lights, there were none in the bottom two holes, so this should be an improvement. Put stainless steel bolts in after repairing the threads in the sheet metal.

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And, my new un-worn keys arrived! The keyfob/remote cleaned up nicely with a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol, so I'm gonna keep it.

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Just gotta get 'em cut sometime... That'll be fun/interesting.
 
I cleaned the bumpers, and did some ceramic coating to them. They look really nice now.

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Here's in the process of doing it:
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Steps to do this:
Wash panel.
Use alcohol and a brush or microfiber towel and scrub panel.
Let dry.
Wipe on ceramic coating.
Done.

Had I thought it was going to be this dramatic, I would have setup a tripod and taken a timelapse video of the process. It's pretty remarkable. According to Youtube University, this should survive like a billion washes, but this car will be lucky if I wash it more than 5 times in the next 5 years, so it'll do just fine.

I'm really quite interested to see how it ages in the sun.


Additionally, I'll have a new Scangauge 2 by the weekend, along with a new UltraGauge, so I'll see which one is better for what I want. I realized I actually like having a vacuum/boost gauge when driving, because it's easy to reduce fuel consumption that way, and I still am not sure if there's a code gonna pop up somewhere.
 
I used Gyeon Rim ceramic coating on the wheels and brake calipers of my ZL1. Even with the ridiculous amount of heat from tracking the car the brake dust, rubber, track grime, etc. rinsed right off with a pressure washer. Ceramic coating is great stuff!
 
Looks really good. What product did you use? I'll do the same on my wife's CX-9.
 
the newer ultragauge does a bit more than the older one... love my old one but would like to upgrade someday :)
 
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This is what I used. It rained today, and it doesn't look as good, but I read that the plastics "soak" this in, and often times need multiple applications. So when it dries up I'll have another go at it.

All of the Chinese ceramic coatings are probably the same, but something more expensive may or may not be the same. So ymmv. I'll write more of my experiences with it as time goes on. I'm very impressed. The plan is to buff all the paint, get some shine, and then Ceramic Coat the whole car. I got a paint thickness gauge finally, so I guess I'll see how reasonable just a polish is going to be.

My buddy with the spotless, perfect, stock 95 Si rode in it today. He was highly impressed with how clean it is, and how nice it rides.
 
I went over the plastic with ceramic coating again, this time letting it actually soak in. I could tell the spots where I laid it on thick and the spots where I just lightly wiped, because the rain yesterday kinda wore it off. So far, I've put about 50ml on the plastic. So, without further adieu:

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The UltraGauge 1.2 arrived today, so I got that thing installed. I think it doesn't look too out of place, we'll see how bad it is at night.
 
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