I got high over the weekend.... 56K run the other way

[DrewQ45]

Got my lazy butt around to giving the old girl some badly needed TLC this past weekend. ATL weather had been up and down along with my schedule and I never could find a good time.

If you’re wondering about the title of my thread… I did get high as a kite. I was laying on my back trying to clean some grime caused by a bad hose clamp on the power steering hose and started liberally spraying brake cleaner while under the car. Even through the garage door was half open, the fumes hit me like a ton of bricks. Forget crack and “Heron” (as said in the South)... Brake cleaner is the $hit!!! I managed to drag my azz from under the car and stumble out the garage knocking down a few rakes and spades before I finally got to fresh air. Of course, the beers didn’t help either but I didn’t count on Gunk AND Beer. Good thing I’m always using jack-stands cause I flopped outa there like fish on deck. That’s some scary $hit!

Let’s see….Engine oil change, transmission drain, Fan replacement, new belts and a new thermostat. Not too shabby considering I did most of the work late Saturday night while my daughters slept. Boring as they may be, I even managed to snap a few shots along the way for all you complainers who wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t whore them out. Bastds!

Here’s Bud, my eager assistant… always hanging around and giving bad advice. I kept having to put the Craftsman down and hanging out with him for a bit.



Here Bud and I are standing back staring at the Q and wondering if we should just close the hood and go watch a game. Bud and his five friends were a bad influence. Thank God I prevailed!



Finally got down to business with the transmission drain. With passenger side jacked up, the Q drains enough fluid to fill a 1 gallon container to the brim + a cup full. Probably could have done more as there was still a small but steady drain. I got tired of waiting and wanted to get the fluids over with. While slow-draining, I lowered the car to all four wheels and the flow ceased immediately so jacking up passenger side is definitely the way to go. I plan do this every other oil change or so to keep fluid nice and crisp. I also have a Fumoto drain valve for the engine oil which allows oil drain at the flip of a switch. Sorry…got lazy…no pic of the F valve in action. Too bad, maybe next time….



While draining the transmission I also found that one of the exhaust hangers was badly torn with the tear going halfway through the rubber. (I’m glad this wasn’t sex!!!)… Not quite sure if this is a cause or effect of the vibrations but I know I still need a driveshaft and this must be contributing to the vibes. Ordered a set from Scottsdale… 12 bucks each side. I’m just changing the rubber and using the old brackets. Always some shhh man!!!



Why I like K&N oil filters! I like being on top!

Bad filler neck causing a very slight coolant loss… notice the spray pattern. Happens once every month or so when the weather gets warm. Finally ordered one from Joe today. It’s been sprayin for years...guess even the Q needs to let off some steam now and then.



Top view of the B&M transmission cooler sandwiched in the middle. Three plastic zip clamps secures it to the radiator. Word to the wise… I think my last transmission was helped along to it’s demise because all but one of the plastic clamps gave way leaving the cooler hanging away from the radiator for the most part. Less contact with the radiator meant less heat transfer and the cooler did not benefit from the fan cooling down the radiator. As you all know, heat kills a transmission faster than the brake cleaner killed my brain cells.….I stuck a vacuum nozzle down there and got all the leaves and crap out. That’s a new radiator you see there.



Crack Kills! An idea of how bad the fan was…those cracks are on the inside and they start from the outside! I got a decent fan from a junked Q and swopped it out.



New T-stat. Wiggle valve on top!!!



A green river flows in the valley….Lots of crap flowing in the valley come to think of it. That valley is nasty! Years ago, when I was running Toyota red antifreeze, I peered between the legs of the spider with a flashlight and was shocked to see a sticky goo with the exactly the color and consistency of clotting blood. I eventually discovered that an under-plenum hose (the long part of the “Y”) had a slight drip. I never changed it and the leak stopped on it’s own, or so I like to tell myself. Can’t see any new drips though. Even with the spraying from the bad filler neck, I never have to refill more than a half a cup of coolant every few months sans the over-flow bottle.



Scrape scrape…I cleaned mating surfaces with gasoline after removing excess old sealant.

Used Permatex blue RTV. Not used to working with it so it took me two attempts. On the first go-around I slopped it on like mayonnaise and had to wipe it all off lest risk the excess being circulated by coolant and clogging something. Trick is to coat the side that’s off the engine, mate up, then finger tightening the nuts until the sealant starts to squeeze out from the edge, let it sit for about an hour but not too dry, then torque fully. First pic is a view from top.



Stupid thing I did…After loosening the belt tensioners I forgot to loosen the damn pulley bolts I was frustrated as hell trying to realize why the tensioner’s wouldn’t move. Between a six pack, Gunk crack and being sleepy as hell, I almost got busy with the hammer before I realized.

Ah well... all's well that ends well.

…Drew…
Modified by DrewQ45 at 11:10 PM 4/10/2006

[maxnix]

I would bet your passenger side exhaust hanger is contributing to your vibration problem.

Antifreeze in the valley usually leads to KS failure.
Modified by maxnix at 9:57 AM 11/16/2006

[DrewQ45]

I owuld bet your passenger side exhaust hanger is contributing to your vibration problem.

Antifreeze in the valley usually leads to KS failure.

No new antifreeze in the valley... just the dried up crap. The green stuff you see was from the work I was doing and I stuck an old rag in there to dry it up. That's the driver's side btw.

[DrewQ45]

Exorcised fan clutch. Works fine. Make me an offer if you need one.

[heywier427]

this is a great reading post!! thank you. the only thing that bothers me is the picture of that tiny a$$ jack unger the car!!! i know i know theyre cheap and they work...but god they just scare me!!! but i guess buddy bud makes things exciting!!

[Q_SHIP]

the only thing that bothers me is the picture of that tiny a$$ jack unger the car!!! i know i know theyre cheap and they work...but god they just scare me!!!

Me to, I have sen those things colapse before under a lighter car than the Q.

[CrimsonQ]

Hey man update your sig pic!! didnt know ya had new wheels.

[Falkdesigns]

Glad to see you drink the good stuff! Bud and I are great friends too - I've tried so many beers I could never name them all, but for a day to day beer, Bud's my choice.

Nice all that work you did, sounds like a pleasant evening to me.

[DrewQ45]

this is a great reading post!! thank you. the only thing that bothers me is the picture of that tiny a$$ jack unger the car!!! i know i know theyre cheap and they work...but god they just scare me!!! but i guess buddy bud makes things exciting!!

Thanks!

What's really dangerous is the scissor jack, especially the one that came with the car. The little floor jack actually performs pretty well. Trick is to make sure you keep it filled with jack oil. I wouldn't mind something bigger but my garage is so full of crap it would get in the way. I just use it to lift the car onto the jacks stands and never depend on it alone.

Falk... please have a six pack cooling in back whenever you hand me the keys.

Crimson, I got the wheels about a month ago...I'm going to change my signature soon. These are forged lightweight motoforge wheels. A few pics...