Conquest History - April 27, 2010

I'd been having some squealing from the brakes along with slight sluggishness and reduction of fuel economy, so I took Sabrina to Euro Nutz for a check-up. The news was worse than expected, and worse still when it came time to order parts. A front brake caliper seized and chewed up the rotor so I'm having to replace both sets. The front wheel bearings also needed tightening. But the worst revelation was a gaping rip in the silicone coupler right before the turbocharger. I can only hope it wasn't that way for long before it was discovered, and that air was being primarily blown out rather than sucked in. I tend to believe this since there was no apparent indication of leaning out; if anything the engine was running rich. Which of course is a much preferable scenario to the opposite. Additionally, the OEM steering wheel was replaced with a smaller aftermarket part (very nice), and the distributor cap and rotor and spark plugs were replaced. Now I'm just waiting on the steeply overpriced new parts to arrive in order to finish this phase of repairs. After that will come the long overdue exhaust system installation, followed by body work (assuming there's any credit remaining).