archaphil

iTrader: (1)

good info, I was actually going to buy a 3 jaw puller set this weekend for this. I may call my local parts hoarder and see if he has a haft shaft laying around and just say screw it. I have a spare set of 5 lug hubs as well hahaha.. I am a hoarder myself. sigh.


Goodies!




The only thing about the ball in a cup subframe bushing I can see, is that It should be greased up big time prior to install. I imagine if it wasn't, over time it would make a horrendous squeak or poping sound.


In lighter news, drove my red car to work today. Hoping to be a very productive weekend in the garage!

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

productive weekend:

Pressure washed and am about 90% completed with the underside cleaning

Picked up all my paint for the rear end and the undercoating for the chassis

Burned/pressed out subframe and differential bushings (those were easy)




Here is where I screwed up and probably need another trailing arm.... FFS. So I picked up the spherical trailing arm bushings.... It was much more straight forward on the second trailing arm... but I pressed them in wrong on the first one crushing the bearing and completely screwing up the collar......

So for future reference: Press the 3 pieces together before pressing it into the arm. Also, take it to a shop with at least a 20 ton press. probably 30 honestly.... its going to take around 40 to get this thing out now, and I have serious doubts that it will come out unscathed.

I emailed PBM to see if they can do anything for me, seeing as I have spent $2k with them this year and have not seen so much as a sticker. Rock auto send me 3 magnets with $20 purchase... I dig the products, but the customer service is a bit sketchy with PBM. Granted they deal with cheap *** drift kids all day so I can't really blame them.

This sucks though. I had planned on these bearings being quick and allow me to get everything painted yesterday.... nope. The way she goes boys....

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

minor update: pbm is hooking me up with another trailing arm bearing set after buying a DTSS eliminator bushing. I explained that I was a dumbass and Dan was willing to work with me. PBM has pretty good customer service after all, and I will make a thread in the "good business" section on the forum here at some point.

I will make another video at some point this week.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

Big Time Progress!

All starting to come back around.



EDIT: SON OF A BITCH! I do not know why, but video uploaded sideways upright and all dickered.

Apologies boys, beg my pard. I will try and take a new one and see wtf is going on with my potato camera.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

Hopefully this time the upload isn't sideways....

EDIT: apparently anything over 720p it goes dickered... I have no idea. Sorry admins.....

clokker

iTrader: (2)

The vid is much better viewed right way up.

To be accurate, I recommended the Rustoleum bedliner, not the rubberized undercoat (which I've never used).
It does look great though and I hope it works well for you.

I'm sure all the roadkill you run over will appreciate the "pandariffic" undercarriage paint scheme, be interesting to see what it looks like as time passes.

Very encouraging progress, keep it up.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

I have not been down to the garage yet this morning to check it out. I did crank the heater and suspect my electric bill will be double this month.

I even clear coated those trailing arms Road kill will wash right off. I do not expect them to last forever by any stretch of the imagination. But if they hold up till I can afford to build my turbo setup, then I will be tickled peach.

Morning coffee and an omelet is great way to start the day.

As for the undercoat, you did say bed liner didn't you? oh well, there is like 4 coats under there and its like a thick matte black when it comes out, if that makes sense. It is paintable apparently, or if it doesn't hold up from being so low to the ground, I can roll on the bed liner.

At any rate, it will cut down on chances to rust significantly, especially those pesky S4 wheel wells.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

No doubt, and the thick rubber coat may be a better sound dampener than the bedliner.

The Z hasn't moved since bedliner application, so I have no info on it's day to day durability...we can compare results in a year or so and see.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

But not without a casualty:


gonna take some time off from this thing, at least I say that now.... but I am itching to see if it fires up after its slumber.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Those adjuster bolts can be a bitch.
Right after I bought my '91 I took her for an alignment and saw two guys with a six foot cheater bar trying to break it free.
They failed.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

I broke it free fine, its the "putting it back together" that kicked my ***. I am in lazy drinking mode atm, so I will google the hardware in the morning. I have to believe that someone sells this **** still.

I know a guy that works at an alignment shop that works on the side for a small fee to setup import suspension, so I am lucky there.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

minor update:

Dealer still stocks that bolt with the backside washer. They do not however, still carry the front side washer that would be on the nut side of the mounting point. I can dremel my current one to remedy this at least. $20ish I believe it set me back.

Also picked up the keg to water pump housing gasket, so I can start re-assembling the coolant system and finally send these injectors off to raven-works.

SOOOO close to starting it. Keeping hopes low though, just in case the coolant seals rotted along with that nasty coolant.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

High hopes with low expectations is the mindset to have.

I was discussing this on a Z forum with a member who has almost completed swapping a power steering rack from a Subaru into his 240, a job that required sourcing inner tie rods from a completely different car and mating them to outers from yet another model.
All in all, a very impressive feat of investigative parts sourcing and assembly.

After congratulating him on his work (us junkyard engineers stick together!) I asked what the plan was if he didn't like the outcome and it turns out he'd never considered that.

The realization that all your skill, creativity and experience can make things different but that doesn't necessarily mean better, is the final lesson we must learn.

So, embrace your (potential) failures, you special snowflake.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

!!! haha !!! I now need to clean my desk of spat coke everywhere.

I fully agree. I do not need this car to get around, and it is welcome to have an extended period of time in my garage broken. Once it is back together 100%, I can ditch my other FC as I will no longer need it as a reference to put the new one back together properly.

Then I will focus on rebuilding that tasty S5 Tii swap collecting dust under my work bench...

clokker

iTrader: (2)

If it makes you feel any better, we've done all this work on the Z without ever confirming the state of the engine.
It ran- albeit horribly- the day we bought it and we subsequently found a rocker just laying in the valley but I blithely continued dressing the engine as if we had no worries.

This was such a ignorant and silly attitude to adopt that I decided to embrace it fully and simply assume- with no supporting evidence- that the motor will be fine.

It will be such an absolute miracle if she cranks up and runs that I'm really in "all or nothing" mode...I hope it either fires right up or explodes first time we start it.
Either outcome would be amusing.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

Welp, I need help. I am having a bitch of a time getting the sub/diff assembly back into the car.

I feel it is because I have been slaving all day underneath the thing on a creeper and am tired that this is not going well. I am taking a break to upload my frustration.










That does make me feel slightly better. Granted, I do not care if this engine dies shortly after I turn the key for the first time in over 20 years. I will certainly be sad and take a moment ( beers ) to mourn my wasted time. But at the end of the day, this is the hobby we chose to entertain us when not at work. Yeah it sucks, but it is what it is.

At least your engine is piston driven and has a higher success rate of actually running for any decent amount of time.


EDIT: Apparently It does not want to embed the video tonight. I promise it is there, in the link.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

I Did some thinking while staring at the sub-frame assembly, and is there any reason I cannot install the differential first by itself, then life the sub-frame up to it? just has to slide the metal mount up into the 2 bolts coming off the solid Diff mount.

I will search this a bit, but this would make my life MUCH easier by myself.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I put the whole assembly- diff and all- in by myself and thought it was easy...surprisingly so.
You're only lining up four studs, are you using two floorjacks?

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

That is my next plan of attack. These solid mounts are the PITA. Machined to pretty much "it has to be in the exact spot" to get it back up there. I had 3 of the studs aligned and in place, then could not get the last one.

But yea, 2 jacks is definitely next run at this.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Maybe try gluing the rolly top halves of the front bushings onto the studs with grease and then raise the subframe up.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

this and 2 jacks + patience = I owe you a bowl of good green stuff if you are even in MN.

PBM stuff is actually remarkably well machined as far as tolerance and such. Just requires the proper tools for installation. These are items that a certainly tough for a backyard mechanic and or someone who has few tools. I have plenty of mechanical experience and a good deal of tools. But If I had a car hoist and a proper transmission jack this would have been no big deal.

Check it out:

clokker

iTrader: (2)

"Time is money" is a concept antithetical to your project (or mine, or any home builder), so stop using it.

All of the attention to detail and care lavished on minutia is impossible if money becomes the primary factor.
"Time is money" makes sense for GM but you don't want GM level of quality, you want better.

I figure that for every hour I spend actually "hands on" the car I spend 3-5 hours thinking/dreaming...imagining the process.
You probably spent way more time thinking about the subframe install than it took to do- was that wasted time?
Or money?

GM would say yes.

You aren't building a car, you're working on an art project and "industry speak/think" is an impediment to the process.

The whole undercarriage looks quite spiffy, congratulations.
I still think you'll regret the white suspension finish but I guess we'll see how that goes...

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

the ability to wipe off my hand prints from the clear coat disagrees! haha.

You are right though, I am a creature of habit and a process analyst at work so that phrase is etched into my brain all the time. All day long I analyze ways to do something faster for the same cost.

Putting in a rock auto order this morning for new brake hardware as the old stuff is in rough shape.

88fc3sT2

iTrader: (1)

Send out the damn injectors already

archaphil

iTrader: (1)