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BlackMK4 posted:e: nevermind, meh, whatever. But is the TCT poo poo? I paid a $100 premium over an OEM one in order to avoid the OEM random failure again.
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Sep 1, 2021 19:29
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Some people have had problems, but you'll probably be fine. I bought a couple things from them and got burned on them all, so I am still salty. Billman TCT is the way to go, normally.
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Sep 1, 2021 20:20
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 Now have the correct tires facing the correct way with the correct color of steel wheels and also new rear lenses, for style.
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Sep 1, 2021 22:00
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STR posted:Dug into the rear defroster again. (all I can really do at this hour) Here's where we left off, with some minor crash damage (it'll buff out) in the C pillar, and a hint as to why the rear defrost doesn't work: So I robbed a grave at the junkyard to get the correct wire. BTW, this particular Crown Vic, despite being it up the pooper really hard... back doors still opened perfectly, no deformation of the C pillar either (though the glass was broken). Turns out the bolt holding the wire is supposed to be at the same angle as that seat belt bolt! And yes, the trunk lid is still attached to the car in this pic:  Nabbed a lens for my ticket light too. Couldn't get anything else I needed, as it was already gone, wrong year model, or damaged in the wreck. That wreckage is a 2011 - the major thing I need right now is an ABS pump for an 05-07 Panther WITHOUT traction control, and I'm pretty sure you could only opt out of traction control on those years on the P71 Crown Vics (pretty sure all Grand Marquis got them, and I know Town Cars had it). Rockauto sells remans (specifically ONLY for non-traction control models  ), but they're $500. Might break this one open and redo the solder joints myself; it was intermittent until I tried unplugging it and plugging it back in (and would throw a loss of communication code, instead of full on failure code), so I'm 99% sure it's a cracked solder joint.Bolt on mine was deformed to hell, finally got it out with an open ended wrench and a lot of swearing. Rear defroster now works. Had to trim the alignment tab off of the connector because my C pillar is so mangled. These started life as identical bolts, the unfucked one is out of that wrecked Vic in the above pic.  e: of course one of the new tires was nearly flat today... along with the right front. I know the 16" steelies are notorious for rusting on the bead sealing surface. Might be time to find a set of civilian 05+ wheels. Killed my tire inflator bringing them back up (it smoked and started throwing sparks when the 2nd tire was up to 30 PSI), guess I get to buy a beefier one. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 15:38 on Sep 2, 2021 |
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Sep 2, 2021 14:36
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This makes me very happy.
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Sep 3, 2021 01:04
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ThirstyBuck posted:That looks lovely and is going to sound even lovelier. I would love to find one for my E91 even with its pedestrian N52. Pedestrian? The N52 is probably one of the best non-M 6-Cylinders ever made. Manifold pressure injection, low pressure Vanos, double DISA, third gen Valvetronic....great engine and the last one with proper sound. Just don't wanna do valve stem seals on a Valvetronic unit. Sadly BMW stopped production of the M performance exhaust for the 6 cylinders so in Germany they are worth their weight in gold now.
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Sep 3, 2021 17:31
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STR posted:e: of course one of the new tires was nearly flat today... along with the right front. I know the 16" steelies are notorious for rusting on the bead sealing surface. Might be time to find a set of civilian 05+ wheels. Killed my tire inflator bringing them back up (it smoked and started throwing sparks when the 2nd tire was up to 30 PSI), guess I get to buy a beefier one. Your car should have had the 17” steel wheels with the round holes. 2005 was the last year for the 16s, I thought. Wonder if someone switched them around because they had better tires or whatever some time in the past. Of you were still local, I probably would have given you the two good tires I have, though they’re the wrong size (previous owner went one size up, 235 rather than 225, I believe it was.) They’re just sitting beside my shed, probably dry rotting. Freshly painted wheels, too, at least when I swapped on the Mustang wheels.
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Sep 3, 2021 19:30
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Got tired of the chrome headlight surrounds on the MINI and wanted to match the rear.  
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Sep 3, 2021 22:22
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Ready for work at Hot Topic now.
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Sep 3, 2021 23:10
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StormDrain posted:Ready for work at Hot Topic now. Better than chrome and rust. xrawrx Or whatever
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Sep 4, 2021 00:31
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Give it a little nose ring. And those checkered flag mirrors.
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Sep 4, 2021 01:07
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Abarth - Neuspeed torque arm insert. Had to drop the front of the exhaust to get enough clearance to install it, but it did make an immediate difference in shifting feel and smoothness, as well as throttle response. Amazing what a piece of polyurethane can do. 
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Sep 4, 2021 14:57
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i've been putting in work on the $300 vo' and have a pile of new parts waiting to be installed, but now i got it in me that i should paint p much everything i can before-hand so things don't rust to hell as quickly as they would otherwise. i ended up running out of black high-temp paint while painting but, luckily, i stumbled across a couple cans of the same high temp paint in racing beige that the PO left in the garage:
stone soup fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Sep 4, 2021 |
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Sep 4, 2021 16:30
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stone soup posted:racing beige This phrase hurts my head.
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Sep 4, 2021 18:33
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Finally got around to swapping out the very tired looking stock halogens with some LED bulbs. Big difference, it seems like.
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Sep 5, 2021 03:39
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Slapped a lovely Dorman inner fender in a lovely Escape that belongs in a junkyard Absolutely atrocious fit, fender got squished in shipping and needed a ton of massaging.  just hose it down with woolwax and call it a day
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Sep 5, 2021 03:47
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I sold my ride today! 2018 Si, bought May 2018 at MSRP and sold today for roughly $500 less (obviously excluding taxes and all that poo poo) at Carmax of all places. They matched the quotes I received from Vroom and Carvana and not having to wait around for several weeks pushed me over the edge to sell to them.   So long, I'll miss the Rallye Red paint more than the car itself.
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Sep 5, 2021 03:49
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I added kilmat and noico sound deadening and heat insulation over the entirety of my car. It loving sucked but there os an improvement in road noise and how quick my car cools down. Did not enjoy, do not recommend.
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Sep 5, 2021 04:21
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First wash in about six months Looks pretty good if you don't look too close Also discovered half the bolts where the front section of the air intake is supposed to attach are missing which causes it to rattle against the radiator support. Can't really blame the PO though, probably happened when the front end got resprayed just before I bought it.
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Sep 5, 2021 05:53
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A couple of years ago I grabbed from the wreckers a higher spec radio/centre screen for my 2012 Ford Focus, so it would have a colour screen instead of monochrome and looks a little better. Although the buttons for the higher spec radio I think don't look as good as the lower spec one. Anyway one of the lingering issues with putting the higher spec radio in it is that it has GPS/navigation in it, however since the car wasn't spec'd with it when it was built. I believe the stock location for the GPS antenna is in the same place as the radio antenna. Since that requires removing the headlining and pillar trims I discounted that as a solution. Over the past few months the radio keeps bringing up an error saying it can't see the car properly due to the lack of a GPS antenna, happening at either start up or randomly. Picked up a cheap eBay GPS antenna with the correct connection for where it connects up to the screen and installed it today. Works perfectly. Thankfully the radio unit does have the navigation SD card with it that works fine. For a laugh I wanted to see what Ford wanted for the latest SD card and it was AU$120!
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Sep 5, 2021 09:11
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I replaced the parking brake cables on the corolla since they were frozen up. All the stupid 6mm hardware broke, so the little retainer things for the cables went back in with self-drilling screws: I also made a skid plate for the fuel lines and brake lines I had to replace, i guess i didn't take pics, but i used self-drillers to attach sheet metal directly to the bottom of the car. Worked mint, definitely saved the lines at the rallycross. The rallycross did, however, open up a hole in the rocker panel. This car appears to be wrapped.... reynolds wrapped. 
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Sep 5, 2021 14:57
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Ordered some better ATE brakes for my car, because apparently every loving mechanic in my area charges MINIMUM 2x retail price of the most expensive parts, while giving me the worst no name parts. Just found a small shop in my neighborhood, which is also the first mechanic that had no problem accepting my own parts (which literally come with seals, holograms and verifiable serial numbers). Excited for that, as I kinda want to have someone to do things I don't want to do. Will let them do the brake fluid for me.
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Sep 5, 2021 15:23
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Doing some housekeeping on the car yesterday it dawned on me I had never pulled the Country Squire's spare fully out of the car. It always looked fine, if not deflated, so I took it all the way out for a change to find that maybe I should have looked a bit sooner: Despite the tire having so little miles on it it still had the little tire hairs and the sticker residue on it, it was the original tire from when the car was purchased and was in there for a reason:  This part was facing down in the cavity so I never noticed:  Realizing how stupid I was to have put that off so long I went down to the tire shop and put in for a whole new set AND spare. The tires I had were from 2014 and were cracking quite a bit around the tread. Luckily a semi local chain shop had Cooper TrendSetters in stock.   I've now got the correct size and style of tires for the car, and it turns out that those tires I had before were causing my alignment issue I was trying to suss out as well. The Exxon tiger tail was on there just to see if it would stay on while driving to shows but it's off now because I'm sure it won't last long flopping around. Luxrage fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Sep 5, 2021 |
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Sep 5, 2021 16:13
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Combat Theory posted:Pedestrian? The N52 is probably one of the best non-M 6-Cylinders ever made. Manifold pressure injection, low pressure Vanos, double DISA, third gen Valvetronic....great engine and the last one with proper sound. Just don't wanna do valve stem seals on a Valvetronic unit. Sure. And I bought it for all of those reasons, hydraulic steering ect. I have the 234hp 328i USA no DISA so putting your foot down is kind of a big yawn. So to be more specific, it's pedestrian acceleration from what is otherwise a sophisticated NA inline 6. I was admiring your exhaust as the BMW Performance exhaust on the N52 sounds lovely but I haven't been able to find one locally and the are NLA from BMW. I do have a 3 stage/double DISA intake on my bench, I just haven't had the time to put it on. E: Did you get the exhaust installed? I think I speak for everyone when I say I want to hear it. ThirstyBuck fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Sep 5, 2021 |
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Sep 5, 2021 16:57
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Cleaned the seats in my Panda. The sunroof drips and they both looked like the dirty one to begin with! I'm a bit concerned about sitting on them and making them dirty again now! 
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Sep 6, 2021 10:45
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ThirstyBuck posted:Sure. And I bought it for all of those reasons, hydraulic steering ect. I have the 234hp 328i USA no DISA so putting your foot down is kind of a big yawn. So to be more specific, it's pedestrian acceleration from what is otherwise a sophisticated NA inline 6. I will install it myself but the scissor lift I ordered is delayed so I just say hello to the exhaust every time I open the garage for now. No worries there will be sound+videos.
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Sep 6, 2021 17:07
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Got rid of the stupid smoked tail lights on the BRZ, found a set of Tom's v1 DOT reds. Made some BMW ABS sensor brackets for the Miata Rear was just 1/4" aluminum and a washer to be within the 1.0-1.5mm gap.  Front was more of a pain. Ended up making a jig to get the right hole location. Sketched up both ABS sensors in Fusion 360, overlaid them. Added a sensor location nub, hole for original bolt to locate, and hole to center punch / pilot drill. Clearance is like 0.9-1mm flat, but a handful of other people have run this sensor in the stock sensor hole so.... I guess it'll be fine?     Front is now BMW hubs and BMW ABS sensors 🤔 Going to just swap to billet Miatahubs once I kill another BMW wheel bearing though. Rear is already Miatahubs. BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 20:19
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On the Abarth, adjusted the wastegate actuator rod length. OEM is supposed to be a nominal 13mm of thread showing behind the jam nut and mine was at 14mm. Lots of them were misadjusted from the factory apparently. Go figure, Fiat… The difference in before and after is extremely noticeable. Before, the car would spike up to 20psi and then falter to 12 and up and down a little under hard acceleration. Now it hits the high boost number and just stays. Should have taken a pic but it’s pretty boring under the turbo heat shield.
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Sep 7, 2021 20:47
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Suburban Dad posted:
But it's perfect for a Volvo, yes? Ferdinand the Bull posted:I added kilmat and noico sound deadening and heat insulation over the entirety of my car. It loving sucked but there os an improvement in road noise and how quick my car cools down. Did not enjoy, do not recommend. I'm going to have to do that to my RX-7. If nothing else, the original firewall insulation (rubber sheet and that "pile of random string" stuff) was pretty marginal when I took it out. Adding a bit more to the floor than the factory asphalt pads, too. All I've done is bolt a few more parts on the '79 RX-7, and measure for an aftermarket condenser.   I do have a new radiator for it, though:   It's taller because it's for a higher-spec EFI version. My model originally put the oil cooler under the radiator. The later version with a bigger engine and EFI moved it out in front, and made the radiator longer to fill the space. I'm installing the later model engine and injection, so...
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Sep 7, 2021 22:03
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Darchangel posted:Your car should have had the 17” steel wheels with the round holes. 2005 was the last year for the 16s, I thought. Wonder if someone switched them around because they had better tires or whatever some time in the past. Of you were still local, I probably would have given you the two good tires I have, though they’re the wrong size (previous owner went one size up, 235 rather than 225, I believe it was.) They’re just sitting beside my shed, probably dry rotting. Freshly painted wheels, too, at least when I swapped on the Mustang wheels. Yup... it has the 16s with oval holes, but the proper 17 for a spare (with a brand new Yokohama tire on it - receipt in the glove box shows the PO forked over $180 for the tire w/mounting/balancing  and it's the proper tire size @ 235/55R17). I never did ask him if the spare wheel came with it or if he had to track one down; I'd imagine the guy he bought it from probably threw it in for an extra $ripoff$ amount. I'm not sure which year model the hubcaps are from, but they do fit the 16s and 17 just fine (they seem to be metal, not plastic).I mean, they're roughly the same overall diameter anyway (0.1" difference), and slightly lower rolling resistance since they're narrower. PO got scammed bad on the car, IMO. He only had it two years, barely drove it at all, told me he paid over $7000 for it (I shot out a $2500 lowball offer against his $3000 ask and he immediately accepted, but I knew I'd be putting tires on it and probably an ABS module, plus the AC blower was dead at the time). This thing sat for 3 years before the BHPH seller he got it from "rescued" it and fixed it. It really should have a salvage title based on the repaired damage I've found, but whoever fixed it honestly did a good job aside from not even trying to blend the paint. Can't even find any overspray. Nothing on Carfax or Autocheck, of course - Autocheck doesn't even show it as ever being a fleet or police car.  PO told me the guy strictly sold P71s and whatever Charger replaced them; I know it's been hit pretty hard at some point, guessing the guy that sold it to the PO just cobbled together a set of wheels that were straight after fixing the body. At least mechanically it seems pretty solid; you can barely hear the PS pump, which just blows my mind on a Ford. The only mechanical issue I can think of right now is the belt idler squeaks a little (and I keep putting off replacing it) and the ABS controller is dead. All of the fluids look pretty fresh (even the brake fluid; the transmission fluid looks, smells, and tastes brand new). PO drove it to NY and back a couple of times, on the Mileshit tires it had. There's a receipt from a Midas in upstate NY to diagnose "violent shaking in the front, feels like a wheel is about to fall off". On paper, they said the intermediate shaft was bad. Uh... the front right tire had thrown a large chunk of tread missing and belts showing, I don't know how the gently caress they missed that. I didn't even notice the missing tread until I got home with it; it drives silky smooth now that it has round tires. I do hear a squeaking from the steering under the dash, so maybe it does need the intermediate shaft, but it's not binding. Probably just shoot some lithium grease into the rag joints for now. I do want to replace the cooling system hoses preemptively, same with the oil cooler hoses. The evap purge hose is in bad shape too, but not throwing a code yet. Nothing is leaking, but since this is now the household road trip car (cruise control!), I need to make sure nothing catastrophic happens. The engine bay gets hot enough that all of the split-loom on the harnesses is pretty much gone, I'm shocked the hoses seem to be as good as they are (they're OEM hoses too; don't know if original or replaced by SAPD when the intake manifold was done). e: for content, did what everybody with a P71 does and got the $30 "van" center console from Walmart. It fits like it was made for the car. Excuse the messy seat. Or don't. I don't care. 
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 13:37 on Sep 8, 2021 |
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Sep 8, 2021 13:04
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Take a close look at the coolant hoses. They may be fine. Ford didn’t use silicone hoses these years, but they did use a better quality (EPDM?) rubber. I just keep an eye on mine. Original from 2005 as far as I can tell.
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Sep 8, 2021 19:17
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Miata top is replaced and functional. Fluids topped off and tire pressure checked. Insurance back to primary vehicle: Let's drove this bitch.
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Sep 8, 2021 21:22
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Another mini-project on the Abarth - AOS cleaning and resealing. Intake duct and AOS removed, and oil wiped off the valve cover. The AOS o-ring is due for replacement every 30k or so  AOS and old o-ring, it was completely flat on the outside and allowing a little bit of oil to weep.  All buttoned back up. 
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Sep 9, 2021 14:04
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What is AOS
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Sep 9, 2021 19:23
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No. 6 posted:What is AOS Air/oil separator.
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Sep 9, 2021 19:32
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I'm a lazy pile of poo poo that doesn't like to take pictures, and its not really a cosmetic thing anyway: Finally got around to lubing the brake caliper slide pins on my Corolla. I usually do that twice a year, whenever I put on, or remove my snow tires but I never bothered doing it in the spring. Also because I'm lazy. Did it today finally. The rears were pretty good, and probably didn't even need it, but I did them anyway. The fronts, were kinda sticky but not terribly so. I could still twist and pull them out by hand, but they definitely needed grease. Almost ran out of lube which would have sucked having to go to Canadian Tire to pick some up, but I could have at least taken a work truck. Then I sat backwards and upside down in the driver's seat and hung my head over the edge to get under the dash to figure out why my clutch pedal is so squeaky and came to zero conclusions as to why. Decided the best course of action was to spray the various moving parts with dry graphite spray and pray. Thus far it seems to have helped, but not completely eliminated the squeaking.
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Sep 18, 2021 20:37
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One more capability added: Oil changes    11,000 mile intervals are a bit much for the 7.3 psd filter despite it going through 3 gallons of oil in that interval. (it holds 3 gal) Tensioned belts, retorqued valve covers. Cleaned up all the oil leaks on the undercarriage and in the intake valley. attempt 230 to slow timing cover leaks with more ultra gray. Good for the PA jaunt then westward.
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Sep 19, 2021 15:51
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Imperador do Brasil posted:Abarth - Neuspeed torque arm insert. Had to drop the front of the exhaust to get enough clearance to install it, but it did make an immediate difference in shifting feel and smoothness, as well as throttle response. Amazing what a piece of polyurethane can do. I just had one of these installed along with a new clutch and flywheel. I had to have the clutch done as the original flywheel literally was falling off the motor at 40k miles. All of the bolts backed out and one got caught and sheered off. I'll never buy FCA again. Now that it's back together I honestly can't tell if the difference I feel is from the insert or the new solid, lightened flywheel.
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Sep 19, 2021 22:27
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No. 6 posted:I just had one of these installed along with a new clutch and flywheel. I had to have the clutch done as the original flywheel literally was falling off the motor at 40k miles. All of the bolts backed out and one got caught and sheered off. I'll never buy FCA again. The flywheel and torque arm insert differences shouldn’t feel the same; the light flywheel is good for faster gain and loss in revs, and the torque arm insert just reduces the slop in the drivetrain and shifting really. That said, I’m not sure the Abarth is a forever car for me, but I do love driving that little hilarious shoe. I don’t always have good luck with Chrysler either…
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Sep 20, 2021 01:08
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Darchangel posted:Take a close look at the coolant hoses. They may be fine. Ford didn’t use silicone hoses these years, but they did use a better quality (EPDM?) rubber. I just keep an eye on mine. Original from 2005 as far as I can tell. Weirdly, the only hose under the hood that doesn't look brand new is the evap purge hose - it's basically a grease stain at this point (it flakes apart if you breathe on it, and your hands get this weird rubbery smear on them if they get within an inch), and the quick connect is broken at the purge solenoid, but if I glare at it just right, I don't get any evap codes. I'm starting to get a random rough idle + CEL, CEL goes back off the next time I drive it. I'm assuming it's a dying coil, but my OBD2 dongle isn't donging anymore. All of the other hoses either look brand new (cooling system stuff is all OEM AFAIK, but looks new) or replaced with bulk hose (oil cooler, trans cooler). I'm afraid to touch the hose from the intake to the heater core, even though it has the Dorman manifold. I'm still wondering why it got a Dorman intake when the coolant crossover issue was fixed on the OEM intake; maybe just a "replace stock intake manifold when you see one" policy? Supposedly the Dorman manifold actually costs you a little bit of power vs the stock manifold; at least the p/n on the intake is for the later models (so hopefully modeled after a PI version, not the NPI). Radiator looks original, and I get the slightest whiff of coolant around the front of the car, but the surge tank is still dead on the full mark, with no signs of leakage .
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Sep 20, 2021 09:18
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