My car is back on the road after months of being on jackstands! I did all the work myself, most recent jobs done:

fast reacting intake temp sensor
resealed oil pan, added moroso stud kit and Garfinkle oil pan brace
new turbo oil line gaskets
polyurethane puck engine mounts
ACT Prolite (8.5lb ?) flywheel
ACT SS Clutch kit
New throwout bearing, pilot bearing and seal, shift fork, shift select spindle
New rear main seal and rear stationary gear o-ring
re-torqued all engine tension bolts
SMB 3.5" bent tip catback

things to do:

-replace broken shifter rubber boot and trans tunnel rubber boot/cover
-finish water injection system installation
-tuning

somehow I lost my safety lugnut key socket, how do I get a new matching one?????? help?

also, the speedometer (I think) sensor is leaking a black goo that looks like tar, similar to what the knock sensor also leaks, it still works but should I replace it or epoxy it or something?

 

Nice work! How does it drive now?

 

Do you plan to keep using the OEM wheel locks? You'll have to take it to a dealership so they can match up the pattern. There are about 5 different OEM lock patterns. What I would recommend is using a 12pt socket hammered on to take them off. Toss them in the trash and get a good set of aftermarket lugnuts. The OEM wheel locks only keep the owners from taking the wheels off; they won't stop any real thief.

 

Wheel nuts, alarms, immobilisers, wheel clubs etc will all only deter a thief from trying. Anyone who is deadset on stealing a car will find a way though.

Nice work on the car, I recently did a clutch swap myself

 

What is the current contact info for Garfinkle?

 

well the oil pan is still leaking.... I didn't drop the subframe this time so when I do it again I will. I even dimpled the pan but I thing it took me too long to assemble everything and the sealant started curing.

I also think it's leaking from the omp, the filter pedestal and the front main... or maybe I'm paranoid and mistake dirt for oil!

 

the right stuff and a pan brace is the way to go next time

 

I used The Right Stuff for Imports, Moroso Stud Kit and a Garfinkle oil pan brace along with dimpling the pan flange... still leaked

I want to try hondabond ht, it takes longer to cure.

 

I used Hondabond with Garfinkle's brace with no issues. But I was told the key with HB is to let it cure completely. I let mine set for a couple of days.
If you have the subframe dropped and even suspect a leak from the OMP, I'd spend the $5 or $6 for the 'O' ring and copper crush washers for the lines just to be sure. It's a pain to access any other time.

I'm still waffling on the issue of a lightened flywheel so curious...how do you like it?

 

Hm, you must be doing something wrong, we do this on all motors and they typically don't leak at all. We don't dimple the fan flange however.

Did you verify the oil pan flange was nice and straight? Oftentimes I think it's worthwhile to order a new unmolested oil pan to give you a fighting shot at a leak free engine.

 

Yep, as usual mahjik hit the nail on the head. I accidentally drove off with my wheel lock key on the last lugnut I torqued needless to say it flew off somewhere just outside my neighborhood. Ended up just buying 4 shitty 12pt sockets that were just barely too small to fit over the lock nut's cylinder shape. Then just hammer on with a mini sledge. Learned my lesson with that one.

 

I'm doing many of the same things that you just finished, except I completely removed the front subframe and I'm using a brand new oil pan, also with the Moroso stud kit and Garfinkle oil pan brace. My OMP is leaking too and I bought a new copper gasket for it. Hopefully I'm done with everything before Sevenstock, but I'm not sure because I'm doing a whole bunch of stuff.... gonna have to bust my *** this next week!

 

You can contact him directly here: garfinklemw@gmail.com

 

I verified that the flange was straight but I think I know what happened... I had trouble fitting the pan brace, the fit is so perfect that the slightest misalignment causes it to not fit so I actually had the pan move the sealant around while trying to fit the brace and it took me some time to figure it out and I think the sealant started to harden as well... It was also more difficult since I didn't drop the subframe.

so word of advise: TEST FIT EVERYTHING BEFORE USING THE SEALANT

 

Well, it needs a little more revs to drive from a stop and also it needs more revs to cruise. I used to be able to cruise around town at low speeds at 1800rpm or above now it needs to be about 2300 and up or it lugs so I can't use 5th gear unless going over 55mph.

It does rev quicker, feels more powerful but it could be that I had a worn slipping clutch as well... It feels easier to rev match because if it's not perfect it'll revmatch itself quicker if that makes any sense... There's also a lot less engine braking when downshifting, I love it, it feels more like a motorcycle revving up and down.