I started wearing a Firbit in 2016.
In June of this year I earned the Russian Railway badge.
5,772 miles or the distance od the Trans-Siberian Railway.
No wonder my feet hurt.

 

I put the Blizzaks on my daughter's SS yesterday.

I used the red rims and Blizzaks that were on my daughter's previous car, "OldBlue". It's good that 16" steel wheels fit on a non-brembo SS.

OldBlue, do these rims look familiar:


Steve

 

Drove it to Costco, which is an hour away, mostly on the interstate. I continue to be impressed with this car. The ride on the highway is solid, smooth, and comfortable.

Topped off the gas with premium (93) while I was at it, and got 27.5 on my first tank.

 

I've got the Sahara badge (2983 lifetime miles) and 7 high tops since joining in 2018.

 

Yes, those rims look very familiar! And the caps and lug nut covers.

 

Today, we drove up to the market in St Catharines, picked up bacon, cheese and bread. Then a nice smooth drive to Beamsville for some baking supplies and Hungarian cheese purses for desert this evening. I finally made arrangements to warranty return the Moog parts from this past summer’s repairs . And now it’s nap time!

 

My son and I just finished changing both left and right control arms on my SS.

We set a new personal record - 38 minutes from start to finish to do both sides.

It was pretty easy (both cradle bolts came out without problems) and this time we did it without removing anything else (except for the tires). Four bolts on each side and it was done. Sometimes things work out well without problems (Ok, rarely work out without problems is more like it).

Steve

 

Awesome, and lotsa penetrating oil helped! The rear bolt came out nice , using a 21 mm socket on a 25 inch breaker bar with a piece of pipe for leverage? Nice and smooth application of torque so the cage nut doesn’t break loose and start spinning? Good job!

Have you tried your 17” 2LT rims on your Brembo equipped SS see if those fit ? I’ve read in the Cobalt site that they do, but verification on this site could be very helpful.

Today , some errands this morning, then a walk in Wainfleet, then lunch in Wellandport, and an afternoon cruise then dinner at friends house back here in Welland. I might get a wash and detail in for the weather cooperates.

 

This SS came from the Cincinnati Ohio area and had far less rust than one from Western New York (where I live) would have. The rear bolts had very little rust. The driver side bolt was definitely not torqued to 72lb-ft + 180 degrees. Maybe only 72 lb-ft. I put a lot of anti-seize on the bolts when reinstalling. When reinstalling the bolts, it's hard to believe the cage holds up to the amount of torque put on those bolts!

I learned my lesson not to use an impact wrench on the bolts after breaking a few cage bolts. Slow and smooth with a breaker bar is best. The problem is usually the part of the bolt sticking up past the nut which gets rusted and corroded. This means the bolt starts backing out of the nut until the rusty part starts going into the nut, at which point is starts getting hard to turn again and this is when the nut breaks the cage. The passenger side has far easier access to the cage/nut than the driver side. The steering rack and brake lines block access to the driver side.

I can try the 17" rims on my Brembo SS. The SS is up on the lift now awaiting a local shop installation of 18" Blizzaks ($$) on the factory rims. When I get the 18" rims from you then I will use those for the summer tires.

 

Taking care of some of some odds and ends on my new-to-me HHR.

Went to Harbor Freight and picked up a Mityvac brake bleeder, then to Napa for some DOT-3 brake fluid, so that I can bleed the clutch/brake system. The clutch engages closer to the floor than I am used to. That, and the fact that the fluid probably has never been changed in this 13 year old car with only 47,000 miles, seem like good reasons to change it.

Also stopped by the repair shop and had my battery checked. Looks like I'll be getting a new one this afternoon. Much better to find out now than when the temperature drops and I really need it!