Michigan Rotary Club

Generation Specific => 2nd Generation Specific => 2nd Generation Build Thread => : awfc3s October 24, 2010, 09:36:55 AM

: My TII...
: awfc3s October 24, 2010, 09:36:55 AM
So after a long couple of days of hard work on the car with Will, we found a ton of stuff wrong with the car.

*Boost leak
*EVAP leak
*Missing bolts and nuts around turbo area
*Cracked fuel line (which lead to a fuel leak right after discovery)
*Throttle position was off
*Fixed idle
*Adjusted timing
*Missing twin scroll turbo actuator (jackass who owned the engine before me removed it)
*Small coolant leak at radiator

Amongst the bad we did manage to remove all of the A/C components, P/S, and De-power the rack. I had a dual alt pulley lying around but wouldn't fit because it was designed for a bigger alt shaft, so Will made a bearing/spacer to fit inside of this thing, and with a few other slight modifications it worked absolutely perfect.

So now she boosts way faster, idles way lower and runs like a champ.

Now I just need to check compression and mess with a few other things.

Clutch is next, on it's way out so time to upgrade. Gonna pull the whole engine and brighten up that engine bay as well as clean the engine itself.

I can't thank Will enough for helping me out, letting me use his garage, tools, feeding me, letting me touch the 20B.
: Re: My TII...
: ~Groll69~ October 24, 2010, 07:43:14 PM
glad you are making great progress
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s November 09, 2010, 07:28:35 PM
So here's what I got done with the car lately... Installed new catch can (slightly modified SRT-4 Neon can lol, all I had) and relocated the battery behind the drivers seat...

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3050.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3049.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3051.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3048.jpg)

I know, I know, I need to clean the engine bay (Will) :)
: Re: My TII...
: toplessFC3Sman November 10, 2010, 12:33:11 PM
Jeez thats a tiny battery!  Hope the car doesn't live outside during the winter & is expected to start in the morning

Glad you got her running well
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s November 10, 2010, 12:48:47 PM
The car is gonna be stored indoors over the winter. So no worries there  ;D
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 14, 2011, 05:11:29 PM
Alright so here's a small update... Tomorrow (Saturday) I will be pulling the engine out of the car to put in a new 6 puck clutch with aluminum flywheel and counterweight, gonna clean up the bay and the block. Also, depending on time, I will try to get my DTSS elims done. I really want to take everything apart and clean everything. I'd really like to powdercoat  some suspension components or at least paint them (not that you'll really see them but whatever) Would like to install powdercoated fuel rails and do some other cool stuff like roll my fenders so I can have the alignment I want for drifting this year. Also need to do some brake work. 4 pistons need to be stopping better than whats going on with mine right now. Really debating on totally gutting the interior and just going full on drift machine with this bad boy but I do like driving it to places during the summer.

Anyways pics will be posted after tomorrow and whatever gets done.
: Re: My TII...
: ~Groll69~ January 18, 2011, 07:57:14 AM
I am extremly sorry i wasn't able to make it out there.  Charity was going to shoot me f i left her at the store as planned.  We had a lot of dresses we had to showcase at the bridal show, which did go really well.  I hope the hoist has worked out well.  Maybe there is something else i can do to help you out.
: Re: My TII...
: ITSWILL January 18, 2011, 10:10:12 AM
Progress...

(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m617/WPhilippin/IMAG0325.jpg)
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 18, 2011, 01:39:36 PM
Ok so with the help of Will and his dog... The engine bay is looking really, really nice. I'm not embarrassed to open the hood anymore. Engine looks almost like it did when it rolled off of the showroom floor (kinda). New clutch is in. decided to go with An ACT aluminum flywheel with counterweight, Racing Beat 6 puck clutch disc, and an ACT pressure plate. Hope this thing really grabs when I need it to. Right now I am trying to figure out how I want to run wires and cables. Considering mounting the coils inside of the car as well as a few other things.

So here's what is done so far...
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3052.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3053.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3055.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3057.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3059.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3060.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3061.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3062.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3063.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3065.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3066.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3067.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3068.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3069.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3070.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3071.jpg)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3073.jpg)

This guy really wasn't that much help...
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/100_3064.jpg)
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 18, 2011, 01:44:33 PM
Yesterday was just one of those days where you know you shouldn't have worked on the car...

I broke some exhaust bolts, broke the wire off of the condenser on the slave cylinder, lost my oil feed line bolt, started to strip one of the start bolt holes...

 >:( >:( >:(
: Re: My TII...
: ~Groll69~ January 18, 2011, 02:07:01 PM
sounds like it.  I have broken my share of rx-7 bolts.  Not the best way to finish the project.  I think you needed Will's dog for moral support lol
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 18, 2011, 02:07:50 PM
Lol. Hey Rich do you happen to have any of the oil feed bolts lying around??
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 18, 2011, 02:09:24 PM
Oh and I know, it's not perfect but it's a hell of a lot better than what it was.
: Re: My TII...
: ~Groll69~ January 19, 2011, 08:05:53 AM
I am sure i do have a couple of oil feed bolts laying around.
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 19, 2011, 09:19:13 AM
I'm also considering painting the frame rails in the bay so that the wire loom blends in as well as other black parts.
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 19, 2011, 06:37:24 PM
Alright so today got some stuff done.. A much better day than on Monday. Starter holes were not stripped and got the right bolt in there. Exhaust is mounted and I found my oil feed line bolt. Coils are mounted back in stock location :( for now. Biggest issue is to figure out what I want to do with the wires until I go MS. I can make the passenger side look really decent while the drivers side looks all mangled because of all the stuff that's over there. When I go MS I think I wanna mount all of the relays and fuses inside of the car so that way the only wires really running to the front will be for the headlights. I'm going to also bundle up the throttle cable and run it behind the UIM instead of going all the way around the block. Not sure if it will survive the heat though coming off of the back of the block/trans cause it will be almost right on top of it.

Let's see what I get done tomorrow. Hopefully I can paint the rails and get the wire harness back on then the rest should fall into place.
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s January 20, 2011, 06:15:59 PM
Today's session started out very promising. I got my boost controller mounted, frame rail painted (red), A/C box inside car removed and a few other little mods. Then disaster struck!! I was getting ready to put the harness back on, or at least mock it to see how I wanted to run it, and I was moving the coolant line that sits on top of the block when all of a sudden the hose clamp that was on it went flying into the air and fell perfectly into the LIM!!! Now here is where I start freaking out and swearing my balls off. I quickly shined a light in there, nowhere to be found. I then grabbed another hose clamp and a magnet to see if the screw was magnetic. On that one it was but the one stuck in the LIM was NOT! So now I'm pissed cause I have to remove the LIM and the exhaust/turbo. Finally after 30 mins of cursing and finding the right sockets I got everything off. I looked inside of the front port and there it was, just teetering on the brink of totally destruction and devastation. Reached in there with a small flat head (thinking of the game Operation at this point) and got it out. Big time relief. So after that I said screw it, I'm done for the night. Won't get to work on it for the next couple days so hopefully Monday will be good to me.

Peace. 
: Re: My TII...
: toplessFC3Sman January 21, 2011, 06:21:51 AM
Yea... time to bunch up some shop towels and stuff them in the LIM, or take some tape and cover those holes.  Glad it didn't fall into the keg though!

Since you've already got the battery inside the car, then moving the fuses there too makes a lot of sense.  You should have the main fuse or a breaker as close as possible to the battery so that if something rubs through the insulation on one of the wires, it'll be there to trip & keep the car from going up in flames.  Even if you mount the fuses behind the dash somewhere, you really should have a nice beefy fuse or breaker on the battery itself; make sure it's a slow-blow fuse & sized so that you can have the headlights, HVAC & starter motor all going at once, since even if you don't, whenever you start there's initially a much bigger current spike than the starter is nominally rated for, just to get it going.

Is the battery sealed?  If not, you need to worry about the water/acid coming out onto your carpet, and hydrogen out-gassing.  There are all sorts of guidelines for mounting different types of batteries in the passenger compartment safely.  Also, running a nice thick grounding wire from the frame where the battery is grounded up to the long top bolt that holds the starter on (stock location for battery grounding) will save you a lot of headaches later on, especially if you go MS.  Ground offsets are the biggest source of frustration with otherwise-working installs.  Make use of dielectric grease too to keep your grounds & other connections from rusting & building up resistance!  If you can, try to mount the battery a little bit more securely there too; that mounting definitely wouldn't pass the really basic auto-x inspections, let alone anything more rigorous.  Plus, it'll keep it from falling & shorting on the frame or seat frame there.

The engine bay is looking great!  Keep up the good work!
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s March 03, 2011, 02:30:56 PM
Time to update... Yesterday (wednesday) Finished up the engine bay and moved on to the rear suspension. Boy was that fun. It was a nightmare getting the axle nuts off (without proper tooling). Managed to get them off and the majority of the hub assembly. Although I do need a puller to get them off. Screw that hold on the rotors on the pass side are stripped so need to figure out what I'm gonna do there. anyways once the DTSS bushings are done then I will be one step closer to being finished for this season. Yay.

Prepare for MEGATORQUE!!

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/IMG_20110302_202632.jpg)
: Re: My TII...
: ~Groll69~ March 03, 2011, 08:57:48 PM
Andrew and his God Pose!!!!!!!
: Re: My TII...
: toplessFC3Sman March 04, 2011, 03:56:38 AM
I needed to do the same thing when swapping the NA driveshafts for TII ones; stand on the end of a piece of pipe on a breaker bar & bounce.  Besides the flywheel nut, they've been the hardest to get off.
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s March 14, 2011, 04:27:44 PM
Polished UIM...
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/IMG_20110302_172524.jpg)

Finished engine bay, all clean :-)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/IMG_20110302_183301.jpg)

Tearing the rear suspension apart for all the new upgrades!!
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/adubspyder/IMG_20110302_194651.jpg)
: Re: My TII...
: toplessFC3Sman March 14, 2011, 07:16:38 PM
Lookin good!  What all are you doing to the rear end again?  I need to drop the rear subframe this summer & take care of a bunch of stuff too.
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s March 14, 2011, 07:26:49 PM
I'm installing the DTSS eliminators, new adjustable sway bar end links and re-installing my tein coilovers. This project has kind of been on hiatus because I've been waiting for all of my parts to get here. as of tomorrow afternoon they will be so suspension will be done hopefully this week. only a few things left on the list...

New battery
Roll cage
5 point harness
race approved helmet

after that I will be content for this season.
: Re: My TII...
: Chad D. March 15, 2011, 06:39:44 AM
looking good!
: Re: My TII...
: ~Groll69~ March 15, 2011, 09:54:28 AM
Looking real sharp
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s April 04, 2011, 03:12:34 PM
Alright so I got my Snell rated helmet, odyssey battery and Racing Beat DTSS all done. Picking up cage this Saturday down at Jegs...

Anyways I wanted to let you all know how much of a F*ing PAIN IN THE ASSSSSSS installing the DTSS eliminators are!!!

Pressing the busings out and new ones in not really a big deal... it's getting the wheel hubs back on after doing so! First there are so many G.D. bushings on these things and they all move! So in order to get everything to line up you have to make sure all of the bushings on the hub are pushed outward so the inside is completely flush (the bushings on the carrier move around and they will laugh at you) If you get directions with yours Do Not listen to them because they way they tell you to reinstall them and what goes in first does not line up with the rest of the bushings.

Now when you finally get to this point what you are going to do first is not smash your thumb with a 5lb sledge hammer like I did... First you start the threads on the DTSS bolt, Do Not tighten all the way, just enough so that it is out of the way of the bottom carrier bolt to slide in. Next you are going to line up the bottom carrier bushing, to do this only stick the blot through half way (weird I know, but works) then beat it with a hammer (not deadblow) the bushing on the other side may come out if this happens start over from the second step. If this proceeds to keep happening then I suggest lining up the bottom carrier with some sort of punch and stick the bolt in that way. (worked on one side but not the other for me, go figure). Once you get the bottom bolt through, the top bolt should line right up. I know there are probably a million different ways to do, this some easier than others. All I know is this is what I went through to get mine on lol.

Now I just need it to get warm so I can test them out and tell you if it was worth the hassle to do  ;)
: Re: My TII...
: toplessFC3Sman April 06, 2011, 03:32:11 AM
Wow, sounds like you had quite the fight with the hubs!  Now, if I remember right, don't the DTSS eliminators deflect in order to produce the toe-in at high lateral loading?  So, without them, when the suspension is loaded with lateral forces, they'd just be shoving that little drop-link inwards/forwards, giving you more toe out with nothing to bring it back in?  Will you be running a bit of static toe-in to counteract this, or maybe replace that drop-link with something that can't pivot?

Is the cage going to be bolted in or welded?
: Re: My TII...
: ~Groll69~ April 06, 2011, 08:22:24 AM
Here I thought you would make this easy work!!!!!  Remember remove thumb first before striking part with hammer.  I can atest to the pain such blows cuase.  lol 
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s April 06, 2011, 02:33:45 PM
Topless ^^ Without the bushings you get toe-in. Replacing them with solid Delrin bushings eliminates all toe movement from the rear. With the lateral force created on the new bushings the hubs will now stay in place because of them being solid with solid metal sleeve inserts. There would be no need to run toe-out, the wheels will be sitting at stock location and will not move from that location even with the amount of force put on the outside wheel in a hard turn. Racing beat has a great description of the bushings on their site
http://www.racingbeat.com/RX7-1986-1992/Suspension/14050.html

And the cage is going to be welded in.

Rich^^ ya i kinda realized (after bashing my thumb in of course) that I should have moved it lol.
: Re: My TII...
: toplessFC3Sman April 06, 2011, 07:24:22 PM
Replacing the DTSS bushings just stops the bushing deflection's component in the DTSS's action.  Racing Beat's explanation isn't untrue, they just don't tell the whole story, and how that bushing contributes to the rear suspension's motion (at least when the car is stock).

The DTSS was designed to provide some toe-out at lower lateral accelerations (up to .5ish G's), and then provide toe-in for more stable (aka more understeering) cornering on the limit.  It did this by having the bushing reacting roughly linearly to the side force, and since it is  positioned ahead of the mounts that the floating hub pivots around, as it reacts to a side force (assuming its the outside wheel in a corner), the bushing deflection provides some toe-in.  The suspension geometry of a semi-trailing arm naturally provides some toe-out as the suspension deflects, which is not linear with side force & is determined by the effective spring rate, the amount the car rolls (and thus anti-roll bars, cg height & suspension's roll center => ride height) at that wheel. 

The interaction of these two effects, DTSS bushing making toe-in and suspension geometry making toe-out, combine to form the initial toe-out followed by terminal toe-in reaction of the DTSS system.  If you replace the bushing with one that doesn't deform, you'll never get the toe-in, instead getting a car that increases its toe-out and oversteer-iness the harder you corner as the rear suspension deflects (even if the static toe on an alignment machine is set to 0).  To combat this, you need to set the static toe slightly inwards.  To mitigate the amount that the toe changes when cornering, you need to keep the wheel from deflecting as much, so anything that you'd do to combat body roll (roll bars, stiffer springs etc) will help.  Generally lowering the car will increase the roll since you move the suspension's roll center further away from the CG, although I haven't gotten around to analyzing the FC's rear suspension far enough to really say the effect for certain.
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s April 06, 2011, 07:34:12 PM
I don't know the whole story behind the DTSS elims yet without driving the car. Im pretty sure with the elims, my Tein 10 kg/mm coilovers + roll cage are going to seriously help for what I need the car to do. The car is so stiff right now even with my solid mounted diff the rear is going to slide very easily.
: Re: My TII...
: awfc3s April 06, 2011, 07:40:07 PM
I do understand what you are saying though by the DTSS eliminating the toe-out i need to run static toe-in to counteract the lateral forces of the car. If I were trying to keep the rear end from coming out then yes I would do this but I am not trying to achieve that (well not right now). The car is pretty uch set up for drift right now but with a few adjustments (alignment) I can turn the car into a track car very easily.