When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Yes there is a TPMS recalibration, it's really easy to do yourself but I recommend a dial air pressure gauge because these pressure's need to be set EXACTLY for it to work.
So I had to wait a little bit before I updated because I was waiting on parts. I received my adjustable rear camber arms and I couldn't find a decent or affordable front bumper skin so I ordered one on Amazon. The damn thing came in cracked but other than that it fit perfect. In the mean time I've been looking for fenders that are a reasonable price. My local LKQ had a sale on thanksgiving weekend for 40% off everything. I got the only good fenders they had on the lot but they were dark blue. Got them both for $60 bucks total! Well the other day a white and a really nice silver sedan came in so I planned to exchange the blue fenders for the white ones.. Well they were really bad. They looked ok in the pics but not worth the effort since they were all banged up. The silver ones however were perfect!! One tiny dent and 100% complete. Add to that the silver car had BEAUTIFUL factory HID headlights that have clearly been restored and clear coated.
Not thinking too clearly I hastily bought the headlights as well and as a bonus there was a complete first aid kit in the back. They never charge me for the first aid kits so I have about 10 of them now The problem is the headlights came off of an 03. Wont work on my 05. So I guess I'll just sell them.
So today I got the rear camber arms in, got the headlights out, got the other fender off and now I'm just waiting for the replacement front bumper cover. In the meantime I'm going to probably buy some after market headlights and sell the ones I pulled. Getting closer.
Last edited by JoMamma_Smurf; Dec 8, 2019 at 11:59 AM.
Sort of an update. Due to the holidays and my ongoing divorce bullshit I haven't had a lot of time or money to put into fixing my beloved G. Luckily I have another car to drive in the meantime. BUT my replacement bumper cover was perfect and along with the fenders are out being painted. I was going to try and do the prep and painting myself but QX1 (Glacier white) is too damn difficult and too damn expensive to learn with so I purchased the paint and a pro is doing the prepping and painting. I should have them back in a couple days. Still sorting out the headlights.
Very small update. I got my fenders and bumper painted! Got a killer deal on the painting and they turned out great!!
The brackets for the front corner lights were banged up and rusty. I drilled out the rivets, straitened them out, cleaned the rust with a wire brush and painted them. This time instead of installing them with rivets like they did from the factory, I used machine screws with teflon lock nuts. I figure it will be easier if I ever need to take them off in the future.
I should be putting everything back together today. I'll post an update soon.
The good: I have the car back on the road. It drives great, no shakes, no warning lights, no issues. Needs an alignment of course since major suspension work was done.
The bad: The new paint does not match correctly to most of the car. This is 100% my fault. My painter requested the fuel door from the car to color match. I didn't have that on hand but gave him a piece of the trim that had obviously been repainted at some point because it matches PERFECTLY to the parts he painted. The rest of the car needs to be painted anyway so a complete repaint to match is in the future. I honestly like the new shade. the pearl in it looks amazing in the sun. The color difference looks way more drastic in the last pic probably due to lighting and my **** phone camera.
Headlights and fenders on.
End result.
All in all this shows that you can do these kinds of major repairs on your own with basic mechanical knowledge. This car was totaled by all counts (especially after the tow truck driver ripped off the front bumper and mangled the fender even worse). But with determination and sourcing your parts correctly you can do this kind of work for a very reasonable price.
Cost breakdown:
Entire R/F suspension from junkyard $65.00
New adjustable lower rear stay arms from Amazon $50.00
2 Used rims from a junkyard with cheap-ish tires $350.00
2 front fenders from junkyard $40.00
2 used headlights FREE from a local G friend!
Cost of painting total $416.00
Total costs: $1060
The biggest cost here were the wheels/tires and paintwork. I could have saved some money in these spots but I wanted the paint to look nice and I love the factory rims on the Sport. It's a bummer that the color isn't exactly right, especially in the pics but the entire car needs to be painted so I'm happy with the result so far.
Last edited by JoMamma_Smurf; Feb 17, 2020 at 10:13 PM.
The problem is the headlights came off of an 03. Wont work on my 05. So I guess I'll just sell them.
