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Sadly, not a whole lot of updates to report. I hadn't been able to do much to the car lately since I let someone borrow my beater car and was using the TL as my DD for the last couple weeks. But I got my beater back the other day so I figured it was finally time to do get some work done. My birthday is coming up and I was going to get new wheels, but I decided it wasn't in the books this year since I have some other expenses, so maybe in the spring or if I come across a good deal I'll get some. I opted instead to get my front bumper repainted since I didn't want to install a brand new Aspec lip on a bumper with 100k miles. I also ordered OEM window visors that I've always loved, and am going to get my windows tinted. I love gifts from me to me, I always know just what to get myself
I removed the front bumper and stripped all the parts off of it, the foglights and housings, grill, etc etc. I originally was debating on getting some custom work done but don't think I have the time/money to get into it since winter is coming (Game of Thrones) So for now, I'll likely get the front bumper repainted and install my OEM type-S aspec lip. I chose to strip the bumper and remove all the parts and I will be dropping off the bumper to get painted. I chose to do it this way one because it will save me some labor, as the body shop won't have to deal with removing the parts or reassembling it. Most importantly though, this is basically the only way I will know that the bumper was stripped properly (no bs taping around things) and reassembled properly. My OCD just requires every bolt, screw, and bumper clip to be reinstalled in its place, no extra parts left over. I trust my body shop, but I don't trust anyone as much as I trust myself
I saw this on IG and was thinking of getting it done on my car. Top part of bumper is obviously stock, but this guy molded the lower foglight portion of a 4g 2012 TL bumper to his OEM one and installed 4G foglights and oem front lip onto it. I think it looks awesome and wanted to do something similar originally. But with the amount of parts I'd have to buy including the foglights, aspec, sourcing a used OEM 2012 bumper, etc etc I realized it would just be too much right now.
Here is what it looked like. The car has also been plastidipped blue AFAIK. The guy really did some amazing work I think.
Lol I think it looks really good, but part of me does think its a little too "pimp my ride" "Hey we added a 4g tl bumper to your 3g tl bumper so you could 4g while you 3g!!"
Its been a busy couple of weeks but I managed to get some work done on the car
First, as mentioned before I had removed the front bumper. I finally made time to visit the body shop and drop it off. After talking it over with my buddy at the body shop I decided to have the stock Type-S bumper repaired and repainted. It had a few scratches and scrapes that would need to be repaired considering the car has 100k miles and is all original.
I also opted to have the bumper plug holes completely filled and sanded smooth. this saves me some money from having to buy bumper plugs so I'll be going back to my RHO plate mount. I also plan on removing the headlights and sanding and polishing them down as soon as I can get my hands on some 3k grit sandpaper (couldn't find any at home depot or walmart) and will be adding my old HID kit to the fogs after I test it to make sure it still works.
I was pretty sick and off work for a few days, so I decided to take the car to get tinted FINALLY during all that downtime. I figured it would also give time for the tint to cure since I wouldn't be driving it. I ended up going with Suntek CXP ceramic tint, 50% front, 35% sides, and 18% on the rear window. These are basically the legal limits in VA, except the back window but I'm not too worried about it. Overall I think I got a great price with warranty and everything so I'm happy. The shop was really cool and did a great job on the two small windows in the back door (notorious 3g TL issue) and around the 3rd brake light! I have to install moleskin, but that will come hopefully in the next couple weeks when I remove the door panels.
Lastly, I finally got around to completing a mod that I've been wanting to do forever, the slave cylinder check valve delete. I had wanted to do this on my last car, but for some reason never did. After I realized how easy the slave cylinder was to get to and how easy the bleeding process was, I decided to give it a shot. It actually came out pretty easily and I was able to remove the check valve, reinstall, and complete the bleeding process with a friend's help. The car drives so much better! Last of my transmission mods will be solid bushings for the shifter, but I've got the three must haves already, check valve delete, GMSFM fluid, and CT Short shifter Even though the slave cylinder is fine, I decided to go ahead and order a new one, redo the delete, and install it hopefully this weekend. The original one has 100k miles and isn't leaking, but a new one for $70 can't hurt anything!
Don't hate me for this disgusting picture. It's only here to document progress on the car The car is FILTHY and I only drove it because I let a friend borrow my beater car for the day. She will likely come together this weekend with the new bumper, lip, window visors, and a wash & wax.
Last edited by quanaman; Oct 16, 2015 at 12:07 PM.
Here is after the Aspec kit was added. I threw on a new upper mesh grill and reinstalled my original chrome grill parts. I chose to keep my lower type-s grills behind the Aspec lip; they are normally removed when installing the front lip. I've had trash and leaves and other junk get stuck back in there previously so this should help prevent that, plus I like how it ties in with the upper grill as well. It requires a little bit of cutting (both on the aspec lip and the grills themselves), but it was a piece of cake :wink:
And here she is just waiting to go back on. Current hold up is that I'm waiting for a new HID relay harness to come in so I can throw in my Digital HID kit for my fogs as well Going to go with my original 5k bulbs for the fogs and leave the headlights stock for now. Maybe in the spring I will go ahead and update all my lights to 6k and get switchbacks as well as switchback side markers. But for now, I just want to get all my parts off the ground and on the car.
Last edited by quanaman; Oct 19, 2015 at 01:11 PM.
Nice job Quadrattttttt...
PS...if you go CBI low beam, I have a cheap ebay HID bulb that actually matches REALLY well. I even bought a back up set because when one goes...its a biatch to find another match!
Nice job Quadrattttttt...
PS...if you go CBI low beam, I have a cheap ebay HID bulb that actually matches REALLY well. I even bought a back up set because when one goes...its a biatch to find another match!
I may take you up on that! I think I have a set laying around also from one of my last cars that I never installed, I figure I should give it a try one day eventually. I know how hard it can be to get a good 6k match, so I was thinking I might try to order the fog bulbs and headlight bulb from the same company when I do get around to it...but even then its hit or miss
Originally Posted by Steven Bell
It's 78 and sunny here in KC, buddy. Come on over!
Jealous! It seems like we jumped right into fall, its hitting low 40s here, today and yesterday were the first days above 65 in Oct. It seems like I always get really into my mods this time of year, right when it gets too cold to do anything
Honestly I have been thinking of going to a more white and less blue bulb. I tried to install the HID kit the other day but for some reason it wasn't working even though I tested each bulb and ballast separately against each other and it all worked. I decided to say fk it and put in regular bulbs in the fogs for now so I could finally put the car together this weekend. Looking forward to spring, I think I'll probably just go ahead and bite the bullet and get some decent led fogs, led DRLs, and an upgraded headlight bulb. I've always heard good things about the CBIs!
Originally Posted by mtiaz
Liking the look of the Type-S lip with the grilles inside
Thanks! I'm not the first to have done it but I really think they look better in there. You just have to from the area of the grilles that goes around the fog light! I'll post better installed pics soon
Originally Posted by robowarrio
Awesome work Q!! Looks really awesome!! Where'd you get the tint from??? I"m guessing you went to a shop in Fairfax by the mall perhaps??
Thank you! You're right, I ended up going to TintFX in Fairfax. They were really nice and professional, and I went with a quality tint this time around to help with heat. They don't have 136 5star reviews on Yelp for nothing!
FINALLY got the car back together this weekend and did a couple small things in the process.
First, got the window visors installed. As always, I fucking love them. Self explanatory, but beautiful nonetheless.
Next, I had noticed my power steering pump being a little noisy lately with the colder weather. Having seen this problem before I knew it was just the power steering pump o-ring. My car has had the power steering hose recall done, but was making the noise anyway. I figured the dealer probably neglected to actually change that particular ring although it should be replaced with the recall. The same thing happened with my last TL, (this exact same) dealership was supposed to change the o ring during the recall but hadn't. Lazy technicians just throw them away. When I removed the hose I could tell instantly it had not been replaced. For reference, the original o-ring is BLACK and the upgraded replacement part is ORANGE.
I decided I may as well rebuild the whole pump, and thanks to J's DIY ( ) I looked up the instructions and bought all the o-rings. I also decided to flush the fluid and replace the reservoir for a fresh new one. All in all it took me about an hour and a half and only $35 in parts! She's quiet and running on all new clean oem ps fluid now! The old shit was nasty
Lastly here's a quick shot I snapped on a speed bump. No scrapes, think I've found my ideal ride height.... But I'll probably go lower :
Last edited by quanaman; Oct 26, 2015 at 04:41 PM.
Thank you! You're right, I ended up going to TintFX in Fairfax. They were really nice and professional, and I went with a quality tint this time around to help with heat. They don't have 136 5star reviews on Yelp for nothing!
Yeah they are very professional, I've taken at least 4-5 cars to them for tint. Pricey but well worth it. We need to meet up one day man! haha
LMAO Q...
found my ideal ride height...but I'll probably go lower.
I raised an eighth of an inch and I swear, in my mind I feel like I'm stock height just because I'm not maxed out. It's a sickness!
Car looks effin awesome too, btw...
I'm having ps leaks now...but it's the high pressure hose...fkkkk
Last edited by Steven Bell; Oct 29, 2015 at 07:05 PM.
Reason: Merge Posts
Yeah they are very professional, I've taken at least 4-5 cars to them for tint. Pricey but well worth it. We need to meet up one day man! haha
Yes sir! I have had 4-5 cars tinted so far in my lifetime, and each one at a different place. Each one also has its own horror story
My new spot is definitely TintFX. I've had cheap tint jobs but I'm done playing games---not with this car, All high quality everything. Still need to install moleskin to prevent it from getting scratched, I've been pretty careful about rolling my windows down
Originally Posted by rockstar143
LMAO Q...
found my ideal ride height...but I'll probably go lower.
I raised an eighth of an inch and I swear, in my mind I feel like I'm stock height just because I'm not maxed out. It's a sickness!
Originally Posted by rockstar143
Car looks effin awesome too, btw...
I'm having ps leaks now...but it's the high pressure hose...fkkkk
Haha, I still have the itch to go lower. Being that I don't "have" to daily my car, I probably could go as low as I want. There are no speedbumps or issues on my ride to work-plus I try to only drive the TL about 3 days out of the week. I really am itching for some rims though. As soon as I get some I like, I'm going to max out my teins for once
Sucks about the leak, I think I saw your post about fixing it with the hose clamps. Looks like it should hold! I still am hearing a little bit of a whine from my pump, but nowhere near as bad as it was. I'm thinking there is some air still in the system. I tightened the fuck out of the bolts so I doubt its from any of the o-rings I replaced.
Thanks for getting us to the new page 
this saves me some money from having to buy bumper plugs so I'll be going back to my RHO plate mount. I also plan on removing the headlights and sanding and polishing them down as soon as I can get my hands on some 3k grit sandpaper (couldn't find any at home depot or walmart) and will be adding my old HID kit to the fogs after I test it to make sure it still works.
It seems like I always get really into my mods this time of year, right when it gets too cold to do anything 
