Garage Day at Matt's Place

Matt's driveway was full of mostly Saturns.

With a BMW CCA driving school at NHIS around the corner, Matt and Justin needed to do some work on the cars to get them ready. So on Saturday, September 30th, we took over Matt's parents garage and got some work done on the cars. Matt extended an invitation to other SPOC NE members to show up and hang out, and soon there were five of us working on the various jobs.

Among the jobs on the day's agenda were:

• Thermostat replacement. This involves draining all of the coolant, removing the thermostat, and putting it all back together again.
• Brake rotor replacement. Matt's were warped after only 13k miles, which unfortunately is not unheard of on a Saturn - especially the way he drives. :)
• Brake bleeding. Required for the track, this is basically the process of changing the brake fluid. We replaced our stock fluid with ATE Super Blue racing fluid.
• Fixing the busted bleeder screw on Justin's right rear drum brake. The bleeding couldn't be done until this was fixed.

One of these pads is not like the other...

Bill showed up bright and early at 8:30, just as Matt was getting ready. They pushed his currently dormant SL2 onto the lawn, freeing up the two car garage for our two cars. Justin arrived closer to 9:30. We got the front of Matt's car up on stands, removed the front wheels, and then Justin removed the brake calipers, brackets, and then the rotors, showing them how it's done in the process. Much to our surprise, the inner pad on either side was just about worn out, while the outside pad had a good deal of wear left. Talk about abnormal wear! These obviously needed to be replaced, so Matt got a new set of pads when he picked up his turned rotors later that day. He and Bill reassembled the brakes, and apparently they actually work. :) The thermostat replacement on Justin's 95 SC2 was a little messy, with a bit of coolant spillage due to poor aim over the bucket when we drained it, but beyond that it was even easier than we thought. The instructions in the Chilton's book and that came with the new thermostat were perfectly accurate. It was plug 'n' play that works far better than Microsoft applications. While at the parts store, Justin got more coolant to replace what was spilled, and the cooling system works fine.

The longest and most difficult part of the day was dealing with the busted bleeder screw in Justin's right rear drum. There was no way to even get a drill in position to drill it out without removing either the wheel cylinder or the hub itself. We really didn't want to dismantle the entire brake, so we removed the four bolts that hold the hub on. Amazingly, the hub simply would not come off! Even some fairly firm whacks with a hammer wouldn't dislodge it. So the only thing for it was to remove the various springs and linkages that hold the pads on, then remove the wheel cylinder. Even then, we didn't make any progress on it with the drill. And at this point, we had to get something back together if the car was going to be driveable.

Does anyone know how this goes back together...?

Cris donated a wheel cylinder from his old drums to get Justin's car back together.

Cris to the rescue! He had the rear disc conversion done to his 95 SC2, and drove all the way home to Acton from North Attleboro and back to bring his old drums as donors. What a guy!!! Cris definitely gets the "Good Sport of the Day" award. After loosening the bleeder screw in his wheel cylinder, Justin replaced it with a brand new one. It turns out the new one was a little longer, and although it worked, while tightening it up, Justin accidentally snapped THAT one off, too! So Justin definitely gets the "Bonehead of the Day" award (and since he happens to be writing this page, he can get away with calling himself that). Cris donated his one last wheel cylinder. Justin wisely chose to keep the original bleeder screw in there. It bolted right on, but the job of reassembling the innards of the drum brake took the better part of the afternoon.

We can't believe that these are supposedly cheaper and easier for the automakers to produce (the reason why rear discs aren't available on any new Saturns). There are so many more moving parts, and it is so much more of a PAIN to work with!!! Between all of us, we got it back together, although Matt has sworn he's never working on drum brakes again. Justin is now extremely tempted to perform the rear disc conversion himself just for the additional ease of maintenance.

Matt tries to reassemble Justin's brakes.

Bill pumps Matt's brakes, and Justin opens and closes the bleeder screws - WITHOUT breaking them off this time!

With that job complete, a full brake bleeding on both cars was done. Justin had forgotten his vacuum bleeder (another reason why he's "Bonehead of the Day"), so we used the old fashioned technique of pumping the brake pedal. We got into the groove - Bill stomped on the brake when told to, Matt ensured that there was enough fluid in the reservoir, and Justin opened and closed the bleeder screws at the brakes themselves - WITHOUT snapping any off!!! This part went very smoothly and successfully. And it was very easy to tell when the new fluid had completely replaced the old. The old fluid was somewhat clear in color, while the ATE Super Blue is a vibrant Kool-Aid blue, kind of like the background color of this web page. So when the fluid coming out turned from clear to blue, we knew we were done.

Both Justin's and Matt's cars were once again intact by the end of the day. They were driveable, and both had significantly improved brakes. Despite complications, the first SPOC NE Garage Day was a success! Thanks to Matt for having us, and to Bill, Justin, Cris, and Flats (who showed off his '98 SC2 he just got days before) for hanging out. This definitely won't be the last such event... Flats' 98 SC2, and Cris' de-decaled 95 SC2.

Bill, Justin, and Flats strike a pose.