Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

do those ball joints on a hoist mate, they are an absolute arsehole to get out.  And yes they can make the rear end horrible when they are flogged out.

adjustable traction arms only help manage bump steer. the upper control arm controls camber but the traction rod changes the angle of the hub under bump. there is little point changing it unless you're also going to do the full bump steer measurements and adjustments

Ended doing the ball joints on jack stands because I didn't want to inconvenience my mate. The HICAS ball joints were actually easier to change than the camber arms because of the stupid eccentric washers on the stock camber bolts. 

Old ball joints were beyond stuffed
A31C531E-6C7D-433D-B890-CCAE7748BF9F_zps

Cut the old ones flush in order to be able to press the joints out
0FE0A57D-1FC5-4892-BCC1-F945B0078640_zps

Using a ball joint press with no attachments I managed to press the joints  out using my battery impact gun. After doing 1 and a half of them the 5 AH battery died lol
45E017B2-989C-4812-B1C5-662BA96C4C27_zps

3F937F76-9277-4265-87AA-A66DC6CB9E1D_zps

New ball joint in
36D10CD9-82BA-4C7A-8A14-A2A700F9F240_zps

I couldn't separate the ball joint and the arm so I cut it straight off with the angle grinder - It's getting scrapped anyway 
4EF04D00-B206-4955-8E2B-581EF6901EF3_zps

Farewell HICAS!!!!
B2F78B7B-EDAB-4811-8126-3522301EDABA_zps

Lastly I installed the camber arms, as mentioned these were a massive pain in the ass. I spent more time on these than the HICAS ball joints. 
1B34B44F-30FA-4806-97E8-76B55A1D013D_zps

Did a quick DIY alignment with rope and jack stands then took the car out and it feels completely different. By far the biggest improvement following the coilovers. I'll book an alignment in for the next few days and get some new tires while I'm at it. Ive also ordered some Camber lockout washers and bolts from GKTECH because the ones I struggled with aren't in the best condition anymore ;)

Bonus video!

 

  • Like 1
17 hours ago, jmknights93 said:

Camber arms look pretty cool ;)

When are you going for a proper alignment?

Thanks Josh, I appreciate you organising them for me! 

Not sure when It will get an alignment, hopefully in the next few days. Do you have any recommendations on shops to do the alignment? I won't be going to the place we all went to last time unless I want to get jacked up again. 

Camber lockout kit arrived from GKTECH the other day and I installed it when I got home in about 30 minutes. 
The bolts that were on the car were definitely stuffed. 

Booked my car in to get a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4s fitted as well as a full alignment. The whole time I have had this car I've been buying cheapies and only ever had one alignment so this should make a massive difference in conjunction with the coilovers, adjustable arms, hicas lockout and camber lockout.

The main result I am looking for is some progressiveness and stability in the rain especially being that we are nearing the end of summer (not to say that we won't still have dry days). During wet days my car aqua planes a lot and slides a lot which doesn't instill much confidence at all. 

I'll probably end up posting a detailed review once I have had them on for a while. 

 

  • Like 1

Tyres and alignment are done - Car feels like a completely different car. 
No more bullshit tram lining and tracking and so much grip. I did have to raise it on all corners but man it feels so good. 

The aligner was very experienced and the staff took extra care with my car 

I would definitely recommend Jax in Penrith 

  • Like 2
  • 2 weeks later...

Been driving the car around for 10 days now without any issues except a little scrub on the front when I hit bumps because the guards aren't rolled at all. I'll look at getting a roller over the next few days to do it or pay someone if i can't be bothered. 

  • Like 1
  • 1 month later...

I'm on holidays from work at the moment so I'm using the time to catch up on things that I have been neglecting with my car. I pulled the intercooler off today and bought some acetone to clean out the core as well as some good polish to clean up the pipe work and end tanks.

Pulling everything apart
IMG_9426_zpsuza53ylz.jpg
IMG_9423_zpsi67pmn54.jpg

8L Acetone - Didn't even use a whole 4L 
IMG_9430_zps0bh8okgx.jpg

Before
IMG_9438_zpsthilxomb.jpg

During
IMG_9440_zpsyef7s4go.jpg

 After
IMG_9441_zpsdqdqgrms.jpg

I found that if you use superfine steel wool then polish again it comes up nicely.

I've also been getting some kms up on the tires and have done around 4000 so far. These are still by far the best that I have ever had. A last note is that I am tossing up between doing a few things in the coming months with my car - Paint or diff. Not sure where to really start though 

  • Like 2
On 4/11/2017 at 3:12 PM, jmknights93 said:

Looking good my friend!! Pipe work looks like new.

Hoping to have mine out of the shed very soon.

 

 

Bring it out of the shed and on a cruise with me!

-----------

Finished polishing and reassembling the car today. I did a boost leak test and found a bunch which I would have never thought of. Fixed most of the leaks with the exception of 1 which is the BOV flange until I blew off the intake pipe at around 10PSI because the soapy water had seeped around the hose and clamp. Not sure why the BOV is leaking so bad but I'll need to work out another way of sealing it. Took it out for a test drive and it was boosting higher than normal so I turned the AVCR down a bit. Overall happy with the results, car runs nicely now too. 

IMG_9503_zps7ibeen0x.jpg
 

I also changed the silicone joiners and the hose clamps on the FMIC because the old ones were shit and bugging me for ages

  • Like 1
On 4/13/2017 at 8:22 AM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

good job man, looking at your build is motivating me to fix up my shit box

Thanks Johnny! You're the one who motivated me to get the HICAS done so its good to hear I can repay the favor!

21 hours ago, jmknights93 said:

Do you still have the neighbours who you used to annoy when revving your car lol?

What are you talkinabeet ;)

  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/14/2017 at 9:04 AM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

I just wasted quite a bit of money since reading your thread LOL.

Hahaha now you have me interested - What did you get?

--------------------------

Update: Bit the bullet and bought a Haltech Wideband with gauge the other day and got cracking with the install. A couple things I had to do was find another way of routing the wideband wires because they would have been too short to run around the drivers side and down so I poked a hole with a coat hanger then screw driver through the main loom grommet - I also had to depin the deuschte connector to get the wires through the firewall. 

Once I fed that through I and filed a near perfect hole in the back of the glove box so I could run the wires for the controller, USB for the ECU and the CAN cable for the controller. Then I ran the gauge wiring up and terminated it with a nice 4 wire connector from Jaycar. I put the wideband where my boost gauge was and the boost gauge where the oil temp was. 

I'm interested to know if anyone has any ideas for a multiple gauge setup that is easy to read and access. I was wondering if a tablet that is mounted in the glovebox or has a mounted infront of the existing gauges with the haltech software displaying stats would be a good alternative to multiple gauges in shitty looking holders - My last thought was to get a racepack dash but Jesus they are expensive and red hot if a cop spots it. 

Gauge fitted
IMG_9770_zpsisjnpnri.jpg

Controller located nicely in the glovebox (excuse the thongs!. I'll affix it semi-permanently when I have done the free air calibration but since I recently got a 3D printer I would like to see if I can make a nice mount for it with a section to hold the USB cable for data logging and tuning 
IMG_9773_zpshelbnbdg.jpg

 

  • Like 1

Looking nice! Are you still using the same gauge bracket setup? I remember that was a massive pain in the ass lol.

I have some HKS gauges that came with a nice alloy bracket to suit the factory R32 GTR gauge din.
Would something like this help you?

SPaQNHD.jpg

UlgaKXj.jpg

  • Like 1
On 4/24/2017 at 9:11 AM, jmknights93 said:

Looking nice! Are you still using the same gauge bracket setup? I remember that was a massive pain in the ass lol.

I have some HKS gauges that came with a nice alloy bracket to suit the factory R32 GTR gauge din.
Would something like this help you?

SPaQNHD.jpg

UlgaKXj.jpg

Thats sick! Sell the holder to me or at least let me measure it so I can 3D print them, please?

------------------

Update, got the wideband finished today, went  to performance exhaust center in Northmead and they sorted it out in under an hour. I'm also going to have them redo the whole exhaust with good mufflers and cat in either Stainless complete or mild steel with stainless muffler - The blokes at the shop ensured me they could make a high flow system that is quieter than my current system and also confirmed that my current cat is 200 cpsi. Further to this they pointed out some quick and easy improvements. 

Didn't get a chance to take many photos but I depinned the connector for the wideband again today and slid on some heat proof hose sleeve as the wires run beside the dump pipe. Ideally I would like to get more of the sleeve and do even more of the wires but how it is for now us fine.  

IMG_9846_zpsl8yb9jdb.jpg
IMG_9840_zpswicp1ztt.jpg

You can see there is some braided sleeve over a portion of the wires that is away from heat. The remainder of the wire is done in heat sleeve.

More to come as I start ordering new parts in the coming weeks. 

 

  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Jdm DC2R is also nice for a FF car compared to the regular hatches of the time.
    • Now that the break-in period for both clutch and transmission is nearly over I'd like to give some tips before I forget about everything that happened, also for anyone searching up how to do this job in the future: You will need at least 6 ton jack stands at full extension. I would go as far as to say maybe consider 12 ton jack stands because the height of the transmission + the Harbor Freight hydraulic platform-style transmission jack was enough that it was an absolute PITA getting the transmission out from under the car and back in. The top edge of the bellhousing wants to contact the subframe and oil pan and if you're doing this on the floor forget about trying to lift this transmission off the ground and onto a transmission jack from under the car. Also do not try to use a scissor jack transmission lift. You have to rotate the damn thing in-place on the transmission jack which is hard enough with an adjustable platform and a transmission cradle that will mostly keep the transmission from rolling off the jack but on a scissor lift with a tiny non-adjustable platform? Forget it. Use penetrating oil on the driveshaft bolts. I highly recommend getting a thin 6 point combination (box end + open end) wrench for both the rear driveshaft and front driveshaft and a wrench extension. These bolts are on tight with very little space to work with and those two things together made a massive difference. Even a high torque impact wrench is just the wrong tool for the job here and didn't do what I needed it to do. If your starter bolts aren't seized in place for whatever reason you can in fact snake in a 3/8 inch ratchet + 6 point standard chrome socket up in there and "just" remove the bolts for the starter. Or at least I could. It is entirely by feel, you can barely fit it in, you can barely turn the stupid ratchet, but it is possible. Pull the front pipe/downpipe before you attempt to remove the transmission. In theory you don't have to, in practice just do it.  When pulling the transmission on the way out you don't have to undo all the bolts holding the rear driveshaft to the chassis like the center support bearing and the rear tunnel reinforcement bar but putting the transmission back in I highly recommend doing this because it will let you raise the transmission without constantly dealing with the driveshaft interfering in one way or another. I undid the bottom of the engine mount but I honestly don't know that it helped anything. If you do this make sure you put a towel on the back of the valve cover to keep the engine from smashing all the pipes on the firewall. Once the transmission has been pulled back far enough to clear the dowels you need to twist it in place clockwise if you're sitting behind the transmission. This will rotate the starter down towards the ground. The starter bump seems like it might clear if you twist the transmission the other way but it definitely won't. I have scraped the shit out of my transmission tunnel trying so learn from my mistake. You will need a center punch and an appropriate size drill bit and screw to pull the rear main seal. Then use vice grips and preferably a slide hammer attachment for those vice grips to yank the seal out. Do not let the drill or screw contact any part of the crank and clean the engine carefully after removing the seal to avoid getting metal fragments into the engine. I used a Slide Hammer and Bearing Puller Set, 5 Piece from Harbor Freight to pull the old pilot bearing. The "wet paper towel" trick sucked and just got dirty clutch water everywhere. Buy the tool or borrow it from a friend and save yourself the pain. It comes right out. Mine was very worn compared to the new one and it was starting to show cracks. Soak it in engine oil for a day in case yours has lost all of the oil to the plastic bag it comes in. You may be tempted to get the Nismo aftermarket pilot bearing but local mechanics have told me that they fail prematurely and if they do fail they do far more damage than a failed OEM pilot bushing. I mentioned this before but the Super Coppermix Twin clutch friction disks are in fact directional. The subtle coning of the fingers in both cases should be facing towards the center of the hub. So the coning on the rearmost disk closest to the pressure plate should go towards the engine, and the one closest to the flywheel should be flipped the other way. Otherwise when you torque down the pressure plate it will be warped and if you attempt to drive it like this it will make a very nasty grinding noise. Also, there is in fact an orientation to the washers for the pressure plate if you don't want to damage the anodizing. Rounded side of the washer faces the pressure plate. The flat side faces the bolt head. Pulling the transmission from the transfer case you need to be extremely careful with the shift cover plate. This part is discontinued. Try your best to avoid damaging the mating surfaces or breaking the pry points. I used a dead blow rubber hammer after removing the bolts to smack it sideways to slide it off the RTV the previous mechanic applied. I recommend using gasket dressing on the OEM paper gasket to try and keep the ATF from leaking out of that surface which seems to be a perpetual problem. Undoing the shifter rod end is an absolute PITA. Get a set of roll pin punches. Those are mandatory for this. Also I strongly, strongly recommend getting a palm nailer that will fit your roll pin punch. Also, put a clean (emphasis on clean) towel wrapped around the back end of the roll pin to keep it from shooting into the transfer case so you can spend a good hour or two with a magnet on a stick getting it out. Do not damage the shifter rod end either because those are discontinued as well. Do not use aftermarket flywheel bolts. Or if you do, make sure they are exactly the same dimensions as OEM before you go to install them. I have seen people mention that they got the wrong bolts and it meant having to do the job again. High torque impact wrench makes removal easy. I used some combination of a pry bar and flathead screwdriver to keep the flywheel from turning but consider just buying a proper flywheel lock instead. Just buy the OS Giken clutch alignment tool from RHDJapan. I hated the plastic alignment tool and you will never be confident this thing will work as intended. Don't forget to install the Nismo provided clutch fork boot. Otherwise it will make unearthly noises when you press the clutch pedal as it says on the little installation sheet in Japanese. Also, on both initial disassembly and assembly you must follow torque sequence for the pressure plate bolts. For some reason the Nismo directions tell you to put in the smaller 3 bolts last. I would not do this. Fully insert and thread those bolts to the end first, then tighten the other larger pressure plate bolts according to torque sequence. Then at the end you can also torque these 3 smaller bolts. Doing it the other way can cause these bolts to bind and the whole thing won't fit as it should. Hope this helps someone out there.
    • Every one has seemed to of have missed . . . . . . . The Mazda Cosmo . . . . . . what a MACHINE ! !
×
×
  • Create New...