Winter Project Thread '08-'09

[Darius]

Firstly, 56K you don't have a snowball's chance.

Here's what I've been up to this winter. Things have finally culminated minus a PS issue that I've narrowed down to a faulty pump that I bought from a guy in AUS...to be continued. Other than that everything else has has worked out well.

I am still having coilpack misfiring issues, but I haven't gotten a chance to tackle that until this afternoon. Again, ...to be continued.

So this year I wanted to upgrade the braking system and PCV system and it snowballed a bit.

I installed a Z32 master cylinder, Z32 aluminum calipers with Project Mu NS pads up front, rebuilt S14 rear calipers with Hawk HPS pads in the rear, new SS lines all around, Summit line lock, and new hard lines to tie it all together. Still don't have the line lock wired in, but it will be cake. Chased brake fitting leaks all around, but finally found that Loctite sealed the 1/8"NPT threads the best.



With the new Z32 brakes, the FR500s no longer cleared so I bought a set of silver Work XD-9s. I am going to have a center cap fabricated for them because the Work cap is fugly. I transferred the Dunlop Direzza Z1s to the front and bought new MT drag radials 265/40/18 for the rear. They're tall! The wheel offset is also very aggressive in the rear (+18) so I rolled and pulled the fenders about an inch with HYBRIDRB's help.



I replaced all of the wheel studs with longer Peak Performance studs and new lug nuts. I did this because the FR500s were too thick at the flange and I bought the studs before I realized the wheels wouldn't clear the brakes.

For the PCV system, I replaced the ugly rubber hoses with baller SS braided line and fittings. I also reconfigured it a little bit and am venting it in the fender well about 1-foot in front of the tire. And no its not spraying oil all over the tire causing me to wreck. I also made some isolators for the valve cover hardware and replaced it with something shiny I'll make you a set for $20. l0nestar had me make him some black ones and they turned out nice



The TopHat/Core transmission mount is a flimsy POS so I had a custom one fabricated to replace it. I can also have these made up for about $50-60 each but I need more interest before dropping $1000 on an order out of my own pocket. This thing #1) fits perfectly and #2) is stiffer than hell.



If you've been paying attention to the forum lately, the "RB--->A/C" thread shows some of the pics of the AC adapter blocks that I've had fabricated. They fit awesome and I just need to get hose ends and hose ordered to make up a kit. If you're interested, the price will be around $150-175 to start. The wiring is simple and up to you to do.



Here are a couple of overview shots after I got a chance to wash it:

My favorite!

Me and my pup Harvey

The show-garage after a good reorganizing session

Gat-damned leaky PS pump that entrains air and doesn't work worth a $hit. Can you tell I've spent a week on this thing and still haven't fixed it? Hopefully I don't have to get paypal to get some money back.

[Cjmartz2k]

Ballin. I love the build, and all the attention to detail. I'm probably going to have to get with you in a few months about some a/c lines. What compressor are you using? Also, what PS pump are you using/do you need? They are easy as s*** to get here if you need something to get you on the road with the quickness.

Also, are those M/T ET street radials?

[Darius]

I need an R33 power steering pump that doesn't leak. How much to get one shipped over to me? Thanks for the help, I appreciate it. E-mail me at [email protected].

The adapter blocks I have are for the RB25 compressor because that's the only one I have hose ends for. I could have different ones drawn up too if you need it. My plan for the lines is to run the low pressure line along the bottom of the crossmember to keep it away from the manifold and downpipe and not have to try and squeeze it between the block and firewall.

[krayton]

love it, so clean. keep it up. never gut and cage.

... i miss my old car so much

[gawdzilla]

new setup is looking good! what are the widths and offsets of your wheels? front/rear? i know you said +18 rear offset. just cirous cuz i was thinking about some 17x10+18 rpf1's some time ago

FWIW i've fit a s14 ka24de PS pump onto mine, so i know it fits with minimal bracket/bolt work. since everyone's looking for r33 ps pumps, maybe give that a shot especially if you have your original KA pump lying around and sell some bolt up kit hardware. i bought an "RB ps pump" only to find out it was visibly identical to the KA pump.

it took me about 20 minutes of puzzling to get it to fit. then it turned out the ka pump was bad so i ended up scoring an rb25 ps pump later
Modified by gawdzilla at 3:13 PM 4/19/2009

[eh?]

What messy garage.J/kYou're a clean freak, a freak of nature.

[meet07]

how sticky are those mt radials??? Ill be ordering some mt street slicks in about a month or 2.

car is so fresh and so clean, clean.....

[truckskinjoe]

Darius, you have done a fantastic job. What a nice clean build. I hope our end result is anywhere near as sharp as your car.

[gmac708]

very nice. Lots of good details. Great job

[Darius]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

gawdzilla - the wheels are 18x9+20 and 18x10+18. The fronts fit perfectly flush with the stock fenders and do not require rolling. The rears required a roll and a pretty aggressive pull. On the passenger side, the gas fill area reinforces the fender so much that it is difficult to pull the fender past a certain point because it just doesn't want to go.

And I'll look into the KA pump option as well. It would be nice to have a direct replacement.

eh? - haha yes I'm a neat freak! That pic was taken after two nights of cleaning up after this project. It is that much easier when there is plenty of storage for tools and chemicals.

meet - the MT radials are much stickier than the worn out falken's that I was running last season. I haven't gotten a chance to abuse them yet since I still have to replace my coil system. With what limited power I have right now, I haven't gotten them to slip

[Neejay]

Nice! I'm glad to finally see some pictures of your car. Looks very clean!

Question about your PCV catch-can setup though: What are you doing for suction?

[Darius]

No suction, and don't turn this into another f**king catch can thread! We have 5 too many of those already.

[Neejay]

I wasn't, I was just checking to see if I couldn't see another hose or fitting. I wasn't going to comment on your answer either way.

[cdorhout]

Stop putting all of your money in the car, and go buy yourself a decent pair of jeans.
Modified by cdorhout at 9:34 AM 4/20/2009

[cdorhout]

Oh, and that roll looks good in the sunlight too!LOL at you being a neat freak, ummm......

[Darius]

I'm wearing them over to your house tonight just to piss you off. And don't deny that you think my kneecaps are super hawt!

[l0nestar]

Heck, I thought I replied to you earlier! Apparently not! hah!

Did you ever get your PS straightened out? Was I right about the 'frothing' from air being induced on the main suction line? Sorry I never called you back :-\

[Darius]

Well let's get with the program Ryan! haha I sent your stuff yesterday btw. Didn't get a tracking number from our secretary, but I am guessing that it will be there by Thursday. And you can paypal me any time

I still haven't solved the PS problem yet, but I am tackling it tonight. My new pump is leaking from the front seal around the pulley shaft so I'm pulling both pumps apart and swapping the o-rings tonight. With that, I'll retighten the -AN fittings too. But if they're not leaking any fluid now, I doubt that they're the problem.

[gawdzilla]

man, i am looking at similar wheels, just in a 17. should fit identical to your 18x10+18 though. that is looking pretty flared out. my fenders are rolled but not pulled. i don't run my car super low though...

any chance you can try throwing that 18x10+18 into the front and take a few pics? i'm curious as to that fitment as well.

[Sil240]

Goood Shyt!!!!

I love when you have extra time!!!!

Looks Awesome

[Darius]

man, i am looking at similar wheels, just in a 17. should fit identical to your 18x10+18 though. that is looking pretty flared out. my fenders are rolled but not pulled. i don't run my car super low though...

any chance you can try throwing that 18x10+18 into the front and take a few pics? i'm curious as to that fitment as well.

haha I could swap the wheels for a little photo session, but it might be a while.

Thanks for the compliments Sil240. Hopefully the PS pump "rebuild" does the trick. The front seal took a major dump on the last one...

[l0nestar]

Well let's get with the program Ryan! haha I sent your stuff yesterday btw. Didn't get a tracking number from our secretary, but I am guessing that it will be there by Thursday. And you can paypal me any time

I still haven't solved the PS problem yet, but I am tackling it tonight. My new pump is leaking from the front seal around the pulley shaft so I'm pulling both pumps apart and swapping the o-rings tonight. With that, I'll retighten the -AN fittings too. But if they're not leaking any fluid now, I doubt that they're the problem.

Crap! This is what I get for being sucked into AcuraWorld... I miss stuff like this. I'll check my mail tonight.. Maybe a new o-ring?? As long as the AN fittings are sealing on the flare, you should be good.

[Shocker]

Car is looking great Matt! Nice jeans too, could use some grease on them tho.

[s14_sport]

hey where'd you get those power steering lines made up...I need those.

[Darius]

I made them all. There is a writeup floating around the RB forum on what is needed for the high-pressure line. The low pressure stuff is pretty basic but takes some planning and coordination.

I drilled/tapped the pump suction to convert it to -AN and bought a reservoir to be able to run -AN from that. Note: the stock pump can only be drilled to 1/4" NPT. 3/8" NPT will cut into the discharge port of the pump. Trust me. I already ruined one pump that way and it cost me $100 to replace.

[lucky7]

i just pulled the belt on my PS pump the other day. the screaching noise is unbearable, so i just said to hell with it. i need to build some muscles anyways.

im ready to go now, just got the insurance faxed over to me. i WAS gonna take the car to school tonite.. looked out the window and its raining.

[s14_sport]

Thanks for the tip on the P/S pump...I'm definately doing that as I'm sick of my current loop, and its screeching like lucky7's pump is now and I'm going to have to get a new pump anyway. So might as well do the mod to it then.

[Darius]

After taking the PS pumps apart, there's really no need to replace them. The internals don't fail, it is the o-rings that wear out and allow air to be sucked into the pump and allow fluid to leak out. If you measured up the o-rings, you could buy replacements from McMaster-Carr.

[lucky7]

interesting. the thing has been leaking, but it doesnt appear to have any actual leaks. it has been confusing me for the past year. i havnt worried about it until it started screeching. lol, what a PITA. if its not one thing, its something else.

[s14_sport]

wow...good to know.

this is my second pump and thank god i didnt throw out my first one. I'll open up that one and use it as the guinea pig.