i tried that and it seems to work for now. ive already spent a few hundred on getting the suspension on the car back in order. ive been getting a crash course in auto repair over the past few weeks. ive already had to replace all the ball joints, cv axles, egr valve, and changed the manual trans fluid. ive also got an antenna mast, driver door window regulator and a few other items on order to fix some stuff that ive been putting off.

thanks for the replies btw!