How DX Engineering Just Saved Me ~$200

[W3WN]

I have an oval DX Engineering "DX" sticker on the back bumper of my Subaru. Well, most of one, pretty much the "DX" portion only.

Well, my Outback was included in the recent recall & replacement of passenger-side airbags. I'd been pretty much ignoring it, because I'd have to leave the car in the shop for a day, and at first, the local dealers were not offering a loaner. Got a call last week from the dealership, reminding me of the recall, begging me to bring the car in... and yes, they were now providing a loaner.

Car went in Tuesday night. Service Manager, guy named Matt (who looked vaguely familiar), asked if I needed anything else done, I did mention that it was due for an oil change, and he offered $10 off since it would be there anyway. Be about $60 before tax (synthetic oil). Worth it; the local oil-change places charge $75 and up.

He calls late yesterday morning. Airbag and oil change done... but they also do a "multi-point" inspection, and it turns out my ball joints are bad, and there's concern that they could fail at any time. Repair cost? $550 parts and labor. Ouch. And payday isn't until Sunday.

And then he says... "Hey, is that a DX Engineering sticker on your rear bumper? Are you a ham?"

Turns out, he's KC3FCS. His dad, whom I've known for years, is KA3KSP; his uncle WO3X; and so on. So he says don't worry, he'll do the best he can for me on the cost.

Picked up the car last night. Net cost: Just under $395 for everything. And he apologized that he couldn't do any better!

Of course, I came prepared with a club newsletter, and we chatted for a bit. He often went to hamfests with his dad, which is why he seemed familiar. (Hey, never hurts to do a little positive promotion, right?)

So, no sticker... no savings.

Not that I'm going to go out and do something wild, like buy a new antenna or anything... :mrgreen:

(oh, almost forgot to mention... turned out the dealership called because they were a little low on service calls and trying to catch up & keep their guys busy. That they got $600 per replacement from Subaru for the labor? Purely coincidental)

[N8YX]

Ball joints aren't anything to mess with when they start wearing.

Which year Outback, Ron?

[W3WN]

2013.

I'm not sure if the loaner was a 2020 or a 2021; it only had about 60 miles on it. A lot to like about it (certainly much quieter than mine) but I wasn't enamored of that big touch screen in the middle of the dashboard... almost too big, not well designed, and most importantly, NO room anywhere to mount a radio!

[KG4CGC]

Hi Ron. Great news on the service discount.

With regard to mobile ops, get an older pick up. You can do whatever and it won't matter. Drill holes, route wiring, mounting choices.
Room galore too.

Pick up not your thing? No worries. Old Tahoe or whatever. Parts everywhere.

[N8YX]

'DSG got a 2021 - she loves it. We sent her '07 to PA with our nephew. At 250k, it uses about a quart of oil every 1k and he plans to drop a 3.0L-6cyl crate motor plus a 5-speed into the thing. Body is in excellent shape.

Agreed w/ Charles regarding mobile ops. I had a '90 full-sized Bronco w/ 351W and E4OD. Room for radios galore. Just wish later-model pickups kept the dash layout of the older stuff.

[K4PIH]

Tanks for the heads up on the Soob Ron, something I'll keep in mind for mine. Ditto on the old pickem up. Mine is a 2008 Honda Ridgeline and it has a pretty flat front floorboard, no tranny hump. Radio heaven.

[W3WN]

That seems to be the big problem with most vehicles built in the last 10 - 12 years. Between ergonomics, space maximization, and all the new LCD touch screens to control everything, there just doesn't seem to be any room for a rig. (Or a CD player, for those who still want to play their CD's. Those seem to have been universally eliminated by the 2018 model year)

Back in the late '80's, I had a 79 Chevy Van. Previous owner had put in paneling and a carpet in the back -- my friends called it the pimp mobile, sex machine and similar epithets (I called it the "Urban Assault Vehicle" and even had the bumper sticker on it), and had removed the AM/FM radio in favor of a CB, badly installed. Dealer kept it when I bought it; I had an AM/FM/tape deck I had had in a previous vehicle, installed that and an Alinco 599 (now the shack rig) in the hole in the dash. You just can't do that anymore, and not just because of the way the electronics are all integrated.

...previous owner had tried to use the AM/FM antenna (on the front right wheel well) for the CB, with a splitter of some sort. Removed the splitter, put that back on the radio. Had a 2/440 antenna with a 5/8" mount, installed that on the other wheel well using a Chevy punch out, ran the coax right back to the rig. Worked very well. (Back of the van? A CB whip cut down to 10 meters, and 40 & 15 meter hamsticks, all in parallel, feeding a TS-120S mounted on the side of the driver's seat. Had a LOT of fun with that setup as well, before the engine gave up the ghost).

Anyway, if I can find a decent rig with a detachable head & a long enough connecting cable, I'm considering mounting just the head on the dash, leaving the body of the rig in the back. Just can't afford a new rig right now, and there are no hamfests. But I'll figure something out.

[KA2PTE]

I put in my first order to DX engineering a month back, they wanted "verification" which is I guess me calling them to confirm I am who I am.
I declined, and told them to cancel the order, which they did. Through the grape vine I have heard many times, that the same guy who owns Summit Racing owns DX eng...and I guess its true. They kept my work address on file I used for the shipping address and sent a Summit Racing catalog to it which I didnt ask for. Thats like spam email - I knew something was not right about making a customer "confirm" their identity for the order. Is there I guess a huge NSA database they access and compare the recorded phone call to a catalog of other recordings to confirm you are who you say you are? Anyhow, I ordered the stuff from Wireman, small mom and pop outfit, rather do business with those kinds of places as they are harder hit with the pandemic most cases.

[KG4CGC]

Wireman? He's up the road a patch from me. Never been there but I've viewed the address from Google Maps and yeah, real life mom & pop outfit.
Been wanting to outfit the truck for some mountain top type ops. 2001 Dakota quad cab. 3.9 V6 and about 216,000 miles. There's an accessible high spot near me, Sassafras Mountain. 3500 feet and in the clear. Other than that, when the weather warms up the Blue Ridge Parkway is calling.
10m has been really hopping but I also want to add a 2m/440 ant just to test the range with the Icom 207.

[kb2vxa]

Cor blimey! The luck of the Jewish with a DX Engineering sticker. This never got me a discount anything.

17433

[KG4CGC]

Well, I managed to blow out the rear diff in the truck.

[WZ7U]

Managed?

[KG4CGC]

Managed?

Turned into the neighborhood and it seized up right before it sounded like a metal bin full of nuts and bolts being shot into each other upon piles of broken magnets.
Managed to get it home.

[WZ7U]

Damn man. That is an assembly usually unforgiving. You're lucky you hobbled it home.

High mileage, loss of lube, burnouts at every stop sign? What killed it?

[KG4CGC]

Damn man. That is an assembly usually unforgiving. You're lucky you hobbled it home.

High mileage, loss of lube, burnouts at every stop sign? What killed it?

High mileage, loss of lube, burnouts at every stop sign.

[WZ7U]

Ah, RHPAW.
Like my brother is fond of saying, "they're cheap".

Rode hard, put away wet is never cheap and I wanna smack Mr. Disposable Income every time he says that. Never offers to pay either, bastard....

Sorry about the rant. I feel better now.

So, rebuild rear end or make truck yard art? I say rebuild, hands down. Yard art is so overrated. Hope this isn't your daily driver you're talking about...

[KG4CGC]

Garbage scow, hardware store getter.

[WZ7U]

So, are you saying it hauls garbage, or should be hauled away as garbage?

Don't tell Commander Scott I said that...

[kb2vxa]

Age and lube, not necessarily loss of. When I bought the VXAmobile I was puzzled by a whine on acceleration I never heard with any other car. I pulled out the manual and discovered the gearbox and rear end, I mean front end it being front wheel drive filled with, get this, automatic transmission fluid! WTF??? This buggy had a manual gearbox! Alright, got nothing to lose, I drained both of the browned watery liquid and filled them with 120W gear oil. The whine disappeared and shifting went from slammy to slushy, home made words, home made fix, it's all good. Now Charles, you can take that for what it's worth, and the rest of you just may avoid our barman's exploding pumpkin.