Doing the brakes when you're old...
- Thread starter shooter357
- Start date
- :
- 2014 Mazda CX-5 GT AWD w/Tech
Chuckling at all the above comments as I'm in somewhat the same boat - I turn 70 next month. Last month, with great effort as usual, I swapped out my Blizzak DM-V2 snow tires for my summer Michelin Sport Pilot 4 A/S tires. I always wash and wax the tires/wheels that I take off before I store them in the rack I made in my garage so that they are nice a clean when I reinstall them. Lots of moving them around and those things seem to get heavier every year! 
Anyway, as I was changing the right rear tire, I noticed that the mount for the rear shock had a crack in it which I did not like to see. Recalling on here that only the Mazda OEM shocks come with new mounts, I immediately ordered a new pair from Mazda Parts Direct. Today I had my local trusted mechanic install them. He's got a lift, lots of tools to fight 135K miles/11 years of Minnesota winters' corrosion and he's younger! Based on the standard labor time, he quoted me $210 to which I said "fine". When I got a call later to say the job was finished he said it was an extremely hard job that took him 2-1/2 times longer than expected. But, he said, "I quoted you a price and we'll stick to it, but man that was a b****!" So for me today, this was definitely money well spent! Oh, and by the way, he'll be doing my next brake job this fall when it's needed.
Anyway, as I was changing the right rear tire, I noticed that the mount for the rear shock had a crack in it which I did not like to see. Recalling on here that only the Mazda OEM shocks come with new mounts, I immediately ordered a new pair from Mazda Parts Direct. Today I had my local trusted mechanic install them. He's got a lift, lots of tools to fight 135K miles/11 years of Minnesota winters' corrosion and he's younger! Based on the standard labor time, he quoted me $210 to which I said "fine". When I got a call later to say the job was finished he said it was an extremely hard job that took him 2-1/2 times longer than expected. But, he said, "I quoted you a price and we'll stick to it, but man that was a b****!" So for me today, this was definitely money well spent! Oh, and by the way, he'll be doing my next brake job this fall when it's needed. Similar threads
