build #62 - UPDATE 9/10/13 w/ great news

[SouthCaliVR4]

Oil will probably not be able to flush them out of the pan & yea, non ferrous so magnet no workie. You may want to bite the bullet & pull the pan to clean it all out otherwise what it may hurt will be the oil pump, doubt highly the bits can get past the filter. You could try something thinner to get them flushed out, like solvent. Dropping the pan is the only way to be sure, then shoot some brake clean down through with the pan off to get any more that may have stuck to the sides.

 

[SmoothCustomer]

I'm really striking out tonight. Don't worry though I have a million excuses ready to go.

 

[Whoodoo]

Quoting SouthCaliVR4:
You may want to bite the bullet & pull the pan to clean it all out



But the RTV and the freshness of it being on there and the pain in the ass of taking it off and the scraping and the...!

Fawk me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif

 

[SouthCaliVR4]

^^^ /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gifWe all have our days! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif For instance did you know it's real easy to connect the o2 sensors in a Nissan Pathfinder to the wrong banks when doing the valve covers, Found that out today /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Edit: Laughing guy was meant for "Smooth Customer" you snuck in while I was taking your thread off topic /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I feel your pain man, been there done that have a closet full of t-shirts /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

 

[dsmtalontsi95]

Quoting SmoothCustomer:
. Also, that hose goes on a little nipple that I BELIEVE is on the power steering pump. If I was in front of an engine I could tell you, but just look for a really small nipple near that location.


Yes thats for the power stearing.

 

[Whoodoo]

Well, I spent the last three hours dropping the pan, cleaning and putting it back on. And its a good thing I did.




Ok, now I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to do anything else /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

This project has taken waaaaay too long

 

[turbowop]

Regarding the half moon...why don't you just get a new one? They're cheap.

And that is definitely not a "hose" that connects to the power steering pump. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif It's a wire.

 

[jepherz]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif SC. Aluminum isn't magenetic either....

Great job on the headwork!

 

[SmoothCustomer]

Lol I know I said I was striking out all over in this thread. I didn't think about it at all. I was tired... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Whoodoo]

She runs! I started her up without all the accessories just to see if she'd run and, low and behold, she fired right up after a few extra cranks.

Tomorrow, if the weather holds out, I'll be getting the radiator back in, hooking up all the other pulleys and basically doing all the last little bits. Look for a write-up about the evo X front struts in the next week or so.

Pics will be here when she's whole again.

 

[Whoodoo]

I neglected to update this thread when she first started running, but I will do so now that she's been running well for a few weeks.

Here's what she looks like sitting all clean and happy out front.


Things weren't exactly as they should be when I got it first started. It took a couple tries to get the knock sensor in there, but it turns out the code I was getting was for that and not the CAS (duh!). I was taking her for a bit of a long trip a couple days ago and while cruising down the highway something made a HUGE clunk and hit the bottom of the car (i felt it in my butt) and so I pull over thinking the driveshaft has exploded. I couldn't see anything so I very cautiously drove home and got her up in the air to find out what went wrong. The only thing I could see was a missing exhaust hanger bolt. I guess I missed screwing one of them in and it must have bounced off the road and a U joint.

So, I just got a job so I'll have spending money and time on the weekends to throw a little more money into the car. So I expect this thread to be a little more consistent than in the past. Maybe it will get moved into the general discussion section too (wink moderators wink). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Edit: I forgot to give you guys the price break down. I cut as many corners as I felt was allowable to save money, but it still was about a grand for the whole thing.

gaskets
230.85
t-belt idler pulley
34.67
t-belt tensioner pulley
28.83
water pump
27.79
CV boots
44.7
axle seals
12.92
turbo rebuild
60
head
255.31
fluids
50
hardware
15
exhaust manifold
35
t-belt tools
62.34

shipping
38.58

total
896.59

I had to get some other things like thread repair and a few tools, so my actual cost was over 1k.

 

[trexn8]

Man that car looks nice and clean.

 

[Whoodoo]

Why thank you.

My little brother is back at college a few hours north and he's got access to a machine shop. Hence, I have access to a machine shop. I'm hoping make spacers and mill off part of some evo 9 front spring perches so I can get these evo 9 struts/springs on the car to match the rears. Too bad the evo X ones didn't work out, but I guess it was worth a shot.

As far as other news goes, I spent a few hours today with a hose and some soap getting her all clean after the road work just outside my neighborhood got dust EVERYWHERE. I was then going to drive to the beach just before sunset to get pictures of her in front of some mountains with a nice orange backdrop, but.... left the house without a memory card in the camera /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif. I guess those pictures will have to wait for another sunny day (if we ever get one).

 

[mitsuturbo]

I think we'll see the sun for a day or two in May.

 

[Whoodoo]

Lets hope the weather holds out for my tomorrow because I was able to get up to WWU and use their machines to get my Ksport camber plates working on the evo 8/9 front struts. The only difference between the evo X front and evo 8/9 is the shoulder right below the top threads. *Also, the evo X strut is about an inch taller than the 8/9.

evo X:


evo8/9:


So, in order to get enough threads for the top nut to grab, I had to make new lower bushings with a smaller ID to fit over the lower shoulder and take off some steel from the spring perch. If its not raining, there should be evo suspension all round by days end tomorrow.

*After reading through this again, I forgot to add this very important little tidbit of info.

 

[Whoodoo]

I'm pissed. I got taken for a ride by a flat brimmed evo doucher. He said his suspension was all good, not blown, used only with stock springs. Ok, I'll give him the stock springs bit because they definitely had been on the struts for a long time (they were really dirty), but if you think 'not blown' means every mediocre bump in the road causes a loud *thud* on rebound, then you've smoked too much.

One of the struts is ok, but the other is a pile of S. Also, it may settle a bit more, but even with a little less than 1 1/4 coil cut, the front still sits a bit higher than the rear.

I know every car is different, but I thought all of you on stock cut evo springs were getting too low with 1 coil and would have preferred less. Maybe the camber plates I'm using sit a bit taller, but I just compared them with the evos and the difference is negligible - less than 1/4 inch taller at most.

WTF?

So, for suspension round 3, I'm thinking about getting koni inserts and moving the spring perch down so I get the ride height I want, but still maintain full shock travel. I did a quick shock travel check by putting a zip tie around the strut shaft and after driving through a fairly bumpy part of the neighborhood, I'd probly be hitting the bump stops. This also leads me to believe that even the strut that doesn't sound bad is on its way out because it was traveling pretty far.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

As for some pictures of what I am working with, here's why I don't just use the evo 8/9 springs and top perch with the evo X struts I have...


As you can see, they are nearly identical (X on the left 8/9 on the right), except for the X strut being an inch or so taller.

As for other differences, the lower perches are pretty much the same. The X has a hump on the inside to locate the spring and the 8/9 has a lip on the outside.


As I had mentioned above, the shoulder just below the top threads is 2mm bigger on the X than the 8/9. (X is below 8/9: 17mm and 15mm respectively)


So, I made some new bushings for the bottom with a smaller ID. I could reuse the top ones because its the same 12mmx1.25 thread.


This isn't the best shot, but here's all the different pieces that go on top. Once again the X spring perch is on the left.


Here's some better pics of the spring perches. X first


And 8/9


And finally, the reason why the lower bushing needs a shoulder on it is so the spherical bearing has room to pivot for camber changes.

 

[Whoodoo]

Well, after doing lots of hm's and ha's, I finally decided to just cut my losses and deal with the front suspension being taller than I want it. The evo X struts feel much better damped than the evo 8 ones, so I am now using evo X front struts with evo 8 springs and top spring perches and Ksport camber plates. In order to avoid the situation where cutting a whole coil off the top or bottom of the spring causes it to not stay seated in it's perch, I cut just under 1/2 coil from the top and bottom. This works out pretty well and I'm very satisfied with the way it feels.

Using the evo 8 springs is no big deal because they are the same rate as the evo X spring, they just made a bit differently. Getting the top spring perch onto the evo X strut required making the hole in the middle 2mm bigger, but a little dremelling and that was that.

I've been over this again and again in my head and there is no way to make the evo x strut let the car sit lower. It will always be higher than the evo 9 strut because the strut itself is about an inch taller. As pictured above, the bottom spring perches are about the same height, but because the top of the strut is higher, you need to have a spring with a higher resting height to make up for the space. In order to make the car sit lower than an evo 9 strut would allow means you would need to have a spring with a shorter resting length than the distance between the spring perches. This means there would always have to be a load on the strut in order for the spring to stay put. However, the minute the wheel came of the ground, out the spring would come.

Oh well /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Maybe I'll get some of those anti butt-sag spacers the subie guys use to get the rears back up to stock eight with the evo 8 struts.

Edit: I did not use these springs in the end. Cutting 1/2 from the top and bottom worked alright, but made the top of the spring not quite sit right in it's perch. Instead, I ended up using 8/9 springs with 3/4 coils cut from the bottom. This gave almost exactly the same result with the benefit of having the whole dead coil on top to keep it seated.

 

[Whoodoo]

Well, a couple days ago the galant saw the broad side of another vehicle. Damage doesn't look too bad, there are no leaks, and it still drives ok. I'll probably be looking around for all the parts needing replacement and from what I can see I'll be needing to get the following bits and pieces:

Hood
Fender
Headlight
Bumper
Bumper support
Foglight

Pics:

Bummer, but everyone was ok and I think its all body damage, nothing that can't be fixed.

 

[GSX_TC]

Ouch! Sorry to hear that man. Your ok right?

 

[jcgalntvr4-244]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif