Hi all,
Outlay #1: A few weeks ago, there was a discussion here about the sound of a decaying harmonic balancer, and the increased chance of them acting up/slipping when weather has been very cold. My '96 965 seemed to fit that scenario to a T: a squeal from the front on cold start that would wind up or down with the throttle, but then go away after driving for a minute or two.
Brought it to mechanic with that descriptin, and the mention of the harmonic balancer; he said that that was fine, belts seem fine too, but that the oil was a bit low. Had the oil changed (and the transmission fluid) and the squeal is still there, easily noticeable, but a bit quieter.
Outlay #2: At the same time, had the front strut cartridges and rear shocks replaced; ride is better, handling and braking better, but it still makes that creepy goooshing sound from the front (like a forced sloshing in a rubber sleeve) near a pothole or even going slowly over a speedbump. I had assumed that the strut work would take care of that. Now I'm wondering if I only had about half of the requisite parts switched out.
Any thoughts?
Also wondering what a strut cartridge is, as I looked at the FCGroton site to compare prices for the parts i was getting. Went with OEM stuff, but in the model year and part group, i didn't find anything called a strut cartridge: is this a group of parts collectively, or does it have other more specific names. That's a roundabout way of asking, what did I have done here?
Other than that, it's just the usual complaints about my kids pulling off trim pieces, and bringing them to me to ask what they're for. (How does a six year old remove an interior door panel anyway?)

Thanks all.