Yesterday was my birthday so today I decided to give myself a present and work on some of the things on the car.

The first thing that I want to work on is finish the exhaust Hangers. I replaced the inner ones last time so this time I need to replace the outer ones. There are 2 of them per side. So 4 total. They had just come in on Thursday, so that’s the perfect thing.

When I got under the car this is what I saw, the ripped hanger on the driver side of the car. That explains the lower exhaust on the driver side. So let’s replace these.

To do this we need a socket, a wrench, a jack and some finesse, haha. The first attempt to take them off, I put the jack under the exhaust and lifted it up to let the tension off of the exhaust. At first I tried to use a drill with a socket and a flexible extension to get to the nut that is above the muffler (on the inside). See the contraption below:

Little did I know the nut is actually welded on and the bolt is the only piece that moves. Well, I guess lets try the bolt.

The reason I did not want to go that way is because there is not much room between the hanger and the heat shield. Unfortunately I do not have the proper wrench, so I had to improvise. I had to use vise grips to slowly loosen the bolt. This took a really long time and was very difficult as the hanger was pushed forward by the bolt. After that I loosened the 2 bolts attaching the hanger to the frame using a drill with an extension, I could take the hanger off.

Now taking the new hanger I repeat the procedure backwards first attaching it to the muffler and then to the frame. This way it’s easier to align the bolt that attaches it to the muffler. When done the new hanger is installed:

Now what I did next was the same thing but for the outside hanger on the driver side. This was much easier as there is much more room to work with here behind the wheel. Now with both the hangers replaced the exhaust looks on the right height as the other one! Sweet! Take a look below. They are almost exactly the same compared to what it was before.

Now that one side was done it was time to do the other. I did slightly different on the other side and I think it paid dividends. Instead of doing the hangers one by one, this is the procedure I went through:

1. Using a drill and extension loosen both hangers from the frame (4 bolts) while the jack is holding up the exhaust system.
2. Lower the Exhaust until there is no force on the bolts holding the exhaust to the hangers.
3. Unscrew the bolts that attach the hangers to the exhaust.
4. Remove both hangers together and replace
5. Attach the bolts to the muffler first for both.
6. Now lifting the exhaust slowly position the hangers with the frame bolts.
7. Once positioned properly lift the exhaust until the hangers are against the mount and use the drill with extension to screw on and tighten the nuts

The second method is literally 4 times faster. I think that also I figured out how to easily get to the hangers as well but in any case. Method 2 is much faster. Results are just as good:

So that’s now done. But there is one more thing that I have been wanting to do to the car for a while now and that is to wash it!

To do this, I needed to get several things like:

1. Power washer – https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-1-600-PSI-1-2-GPM-Electric-Pressure-Washer-RY141612/301004462
2. Car shampoo – https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s-G7148-Gold-Class-Car-Wash-Shampoo-and-Conditioner-48-oz/23554631
3. Sponge – https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/atocf/10032758-P
4. Foam Cannon – https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/atocf/12103060-P
5. Wheel brush – similar to: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/autocraft-car-washing-wheel-detail-brush-double-loop-gentle-bristles-soft-anti-slip-handle-scratch-free-ac198/6140097-P?searchTerm=wheel+brush
6. Tonneau/convertible top cleaner – https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/303pr/11149613-P
7. Plastic restorer (for headlights and rear window) – https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/mguir/7110122-P
8. Ceramic Wet Wax – https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/turtl/12101435-P

With all of this I started by setting up the pressure washer and rinsed the car. It was pretty dirty. Also this is the first time washing it so I wanted to see if there will be any leaks in the top, and elsewhere. Rinsing the car, so far no leaks. Now time to set up that foam cannon on the left and fill it up with shampoo. It says 1oz per gallon, but after trying that and not seeing much foam.

I had to increase the concentration (by eye) and now we are talking! Super white all over. Anyways. I let the shampoo sit on the car and in the meantime I applied the tonneau cleaner to the wet roof and used a brush similar to the wheel one to massage it into the cover. I could see the grey water coming out. I think the roof hasn’t been washed in a while… I let that sit for 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime after foaming it up well I used the wash mitt to scrub the shampoo to get rid of any dirt and other stuck on grime from the body. Once that was done it was time to rinse again. Now I rinsed the whole car, body and convertible roof. I noticed that there was a little leaking now that I was washing the roof from the driver side and passenger side windows from the very top. Just a couple of drops per minute but still leaking. I guess the rubber there is old. Here is the rinsed car:

Only a couple of steps left. First to dry it a little bit (still leaving some water). Then to put on the ceramic wet wax and see he results. After taking some microfiber towels and putting the wet wax onto all the panels, the look is completely different, the car shines! It was starting to get late but here is the car after the wax. A little hard to see the difference but trust me in person its very evident. I think you can actually see it in the pictures too!

Niiiiice! Last thing that I wanted to do was the headlights and the rear window. For that I got the plastic restorer, hopefully its clear in the pictures the before and after (for the rear window). Basically applying the cream on the lights and inside and outside of the window (yes I had to was the inside too) and rubbing it in. Here is a comparison of the previous and current window. Sorry the lighting is different but here it is:

I think its clear, at least for now, that its more clear (the window I mean). That was it. That actually took much longer than I thought but the result was absolutely worth it! Lets see how long this all lasts with the wax and the plastic restorer. In the meantime enjoy the final picture of the completely washed car (sorry it was night already):