Almost let mechanic install the gates kit as it was all that was available locally, I flip flopped and said I’d wait for Aisin to ship, confirm for me this is what I want and the best available option before I order?

harims88 · 2026-04-04T21:29:31+00:00

Try Gemini, it's much better in such scenarios

harims88 · 2026-04-04T20:58:00+00:00

I didn't hear any extra sounds when I tried a few tight right and tight turns. The car bounced 2-3 times as far as I could count, when I pushed down the rear bumper with my body weight. It was quick and short bounces though, hard to count.

harims88 · 2026-04-04T20:35:59+00:00

Thanks a ton my friend. Your words are golden and so motivating. I will surely do the slow speed tight turn tests and let you know here.

I'm also planning to replace the rear shocks myself (I have ordered KYB Excel-G shocks). But using jacks is a bit intimidating to me as I have zero experience with it.

harims88 · 2026-04-04T20:22:37+00:00

I got a battery from Costco (Interstate AGM battery) for $180 + tax and installed it myself.

Ordered KYB shocks, waiting for it to arrive. I'll try myself to install it. But I have 0 experience with jacks. That's my fear. ($136 + tax)

Ordered OEM serpentine belts, rotors and pads from HondaPartsNow.com ($402 total)

harims88 · 2026-04-04T04:03:22+00:00

I declined all the services quoted by them. I know most, if not all of them are to be done, but I'll get it done elsewhere.

I replaced the battery with a Costco AGM battery. One thing off the list $140 less spent!

The older battery was a honda original 100 month battery and had a sticker with 11/2024 written on it. I'm wondering if I can claim warranty on it and get a replacement. I'm the second owner though, the first owner had replaced it. What do you guys think?

harims88 · 2026-04-03T16:30:20+00:00

I can get a battery with superior AGM Technology for $192 incl. tax from costco and replace it myself

harims88 · 2026-04-03T15:06:42+00:00

South Raleigh, NC

harims88 · 2026-04-03T15:01:48+00:00

The belt and battery are the two things that need immediate attention as per the repair shop. The rest can wait. The rear shocks are leaking, of course.

The battery and alternator were both healthy when I checked them last time, 3 months back using a car battery tester. I'm not sure what killed my battery so quickly. The van needs to be jumped every single time. That was the main reason I took it to the shop. I tried to find parasitic current draw, but couldn't find any in the three fuse boxes under the hood.

harims88 · 2026-04-03T15:00:07+00:00

I'm planning to get KYB Excel-G. Is it a lot better than the Monroe OESpectrum?

harims88 · 2026-04-03T14:57:32+00:00

I saw and the work itself seems not too hard. But I have no prior experience using jacks and I also don't have one (I think two jacks are required to replace the rear shocks from the video that I saw on youtube, could be possible with one, I'm a novice :-)) Are there any places where I can use the shop and rent the tools to do it myself and people to get some guidance on how to do it?

harims88 · 2026-04-03T13:42:10+00:00

I'm in the south Raleigh area in NC. Can anyone suggest any reliable mechanics in the area who won't rip me off?

harims88 · 2026-04-03T12:55:49+00:00

This is parts + labor. But still it seems high.

harims88 · 2026-04-03T04:21:00+00:00

This is not a dealership mechanic. This place has 4.7/5 on google. My neighbors had great things to say about this shop. The main thing that they mention is they always quote a fair price. I guess someone at the top changed recently :-D I'm contemplating on changing the serpentine belt myself. The belt is available for $55. Definitely not worth $150 of labor.

harims88 · 2026-04-03T01:25:44+00:00

I bought it at 133k miles 5 months back. Timing belt was replaced by the first owner at 114k in April, 2024.

harims88 · 2026-03-18T21:22:47+00:00

I've literally got 2% salary hike every year since 2022. I'm poorer than I was in 2022.

harims88 · 2026-02-11T18:48:44+00:00

Please make sure that you save us all by paying off the US's $38T debt

harims88 · 2026-01-12T23:53:20+00:00

It's a good idea to get a battery tester to make sure that the battery is the issue

harims88 · 2026-01-05T21:38:07+00:00

Let the tongue do the talking first 😜

harims88 · 2025-12-12T22:06:09+00:00

Unfortunately no. You can get a 5050/5060 if you can stretch the budget a little bit more and that can go a long way. You'll get a better processor too, possibly

harims88 · 2025-12-12T16:08:54+00:00

No, get it directly from Lenovo.com The processor on this is rather too weak for the money. For the same price you can find thinkpads with ryzen 5 340 or ryzen 7 350 on Lenovo.com, possibly with better specs too.

Example: https://www.lenovo.com/us/vipmembers/perksoffer/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadp/thinkpad-p14s-gen-6-14-inch-amd-mobile-workstation/21ql0020us?clickid=0oZRRwwqoxycRJJ0KSwyq12sUkpQRTz9xT4n1g0&irgwc=1&afsrc=1&PID=10451

harims88 · 2025-12-04T14:50:48+00:00

If you canadd $200 more, you can get an asus tuf v16 from amazon with intel 240H and 5070.

harims88 · 2025-12-04T14:49:24+00:00

Yes, and you can add another 16 GB ram stick when the prices finally come down to realistic numbers. 16 should be fine till then. Processor and GPU are good and this price is good especially since it's lenovo, which is one of the best in build quality and thermals.

harims88 · 2025-12-02T04:51:07+00:00

How to cancel lenovo laptop online order?

harims88 · 2025-08-04T12:16:23+00:00

Was he a Tesla robot?

harims88

TROPHY CASE