I had to stand on my engine bay and put my legs into it, I don't weigh enough to tighten it down otherwise. I also like the pulley installer tools. They work well and don't cost much

I could see that. It helps to be a fat bastard sometimes.

Actually, I think I held the strut tower brace on the passengers side with my left hand and pushed on the torque wrench with my right. I got the needed 240 ft lbs that way without too much drama.

Both belts suggested by ATI were the perfect length (as I expected, but you will find guys who said they didn't fit their car properly). The radiator went in without any modifications and was truly a drop in. I should be driving it tonight.

I burped the cooling system over lunch today and drove it back to work. I'll check the levels when I leave and top off as needed. It wasn't leaking anything when I pulled into the parking lot, that's always a good sign.

Edit:

Took the car out for a drive tonight and had a chance to put some mileage on it. I did the harmonic balancer because it seemed like a good idea. I wasn't expecting much (or even anything) that I could notice without a dyno, so I don't think I have any kind of a "placebo effect"....because I wasn't expecting anything. But, the engine is "quieter" and gear shifts are smoother. Part of it seems to be from a faster decay of RPM during shifts and less rotating inertia to upset the car (to make a bumpy shift). In cruise at 60 mph on cruise control it just seems quieter. I can't explain it other than to say there seems to be a reduction in vibration overall. On the other hand, the stock balancer was pressed on but the bolt wasn't really tight, so it may not have been working very efficiently.

Your results may vary (but I expected to need a dyno to see any quantifiable change in things with the new damper).

A good balancer (ATI or TCI) will always show an increase on the dyno vs. a new or used O.E balancer. Always. When the rotating assy has been properly balanced and an ATI/TCI balancer is used, it will show even more. It may be 3 hp, it might be 20. But "0" vibration=more usable HP. Always. Your results may vary...

I only got the cheap SLP under Drive pulley / balancer ... but I'm glad I read this thread first as it had a slot for a key and didn't mention anything about filling it with silicone so I did the same thing you did fill the slot and put silicone under the washer, thanks !

~DaVe

Yea. I knew that...but I still didn't expect to actually notice it (I did it because I know ATI balancers are awesome....I've used a few....and because it's good for the engine and I didn't trust the cheaper under drive pulley options). Tooling along in 6th gear at low rpm where you could feel the engine lugging a little bit, you could feel each firing pulse (as a very low rumble), that seems to be gone now. It's a really odd thing to explain. The engine just just spins and makes "thrust". It's quiet and vibration free and just goes "Vroooom". The lighter rotating weight is noticeable during shifts, but not in a bad way. Less inertia to upset things on the shift so you don't get the "bump" when the clutch grabs....the rotating bits just slow down to match speed without drama. I'd install another one.



I wondered how much oil could get through there since it's so tight on the oil pump and all that. But ATI said to fill it up and seal the washer and the bolt to the washer. So I figured it couldn't hurt. Glad someone else could benefit from my ramblings....lol.

FYI I got my trans rebuilt this weekend. I did not have a problem with the tremec synchro like Kevin did. It shifts into all gears (on the floor by hand). I was hoping to get it all together and driven this weekend coming up but I have the front hubs and brakes to do and I have to figure out what to do with my exhaust. It never ends lol

The aftermarket synchro was really tight (3/4 synchro) and it was my issue. The Tremec synchro was a little tighter than the 1/2 synchro and we were probably a little gun shy about having to pull it apart a 3rd time. So we test fit the old hub and reused it since it wasn't quite as tight.

I do have spare hubs. I need them to mock up the Stoptech brake kit I bought and make sure it fits my wheels. Once I get that done, I can try to pull them out of the spindles (I've had some stick in the past). If not, I have a press down at Racerdads place. I can likely just squeeze the bolts until it decides to slide loose. If you can hold up a bit (and I can get them out without damage), I can make you a deal on them. I looked at my C4 spindles and the bearings are supposed to be the same, but they aren't threaded, they are held in with a bolt (from the front) and a nut on the back of the spindle. Seemed like it wasn't worth trying to sort that out. If I can get some bolts to attach the Stoptech brackets to the spare spindles I have, it shouldn't take much to mock up the brakes. If you haven't already ordered bearings. I'm working a ton of hours right now, so I'm a little slow getting things done, but I can try to get to that one evening this week.

Yes, the hubs are the same other than the lack of threaded mounting holes. I swapped hubs from my C4 to my 4th gen several times. I just got longer bolts and put nuts on them to make it work on the 4th gen.

Just let me know. I am not in that big of a hurry. Thanks Kevin

Cool. I'll try to get some bolts in the next couple evenings and see if I can get things mocked up and then pull the bearings.

I forgot all about this. It's been a bit of an adventure around here recently. I've actually had thoughts of selling the car at this point. I'm not sure what I'd buy next, but I'm sorta in the mood for a new adventure.

You had to daily it for a week so now you're bored!

I see that lol no problem I will get new ones for now

I still have spare bearings. Let me see if I can get to the garage tomorrow. I don't think I have anything too exciting going on.

There have been some changes to the car recently....

I had an older version of the UMI rear swaybar that was a little too tight with the coil overs mounted "spring down". The bar design was changed when the coil overs came out. And I had been talking to Ryan about spring rates and the changes they have been making. The discussion turned to doing some spring rate and swaybar testing on the convertible. Ultimately, I filled it up with fuel and dropped it off with the UMI team so they could play with it while I was on vacation. Normally I don't leave cars with shops, but considering the company it was in...I had no worries about leaving it with the UMI guys.

It has a new rear sway bar and new spring rates on the front and rear, we raised the ride height a little bit and swapped on the 2 point SFCs (we don't have the nicest roads in Ohio and I have to deal with a couple particularly bad parking lots and HUGE speed bumps regularly...and I had the car too low to clear easily). It had a bent spindle so new (new to me/used) spindles went on since it was going to be apart and the Stoptech brakes went on with the spindles. The UMI crew is a dedicated group of gearheads that truly love this stuff. They went above and beyond. They even washed the car. I felt bad about that...because I've been a bit slow to wash the car myself.

The car is better balanced. It rides very well, even with the increased spring rate. The car feels good and I think it's likely a faster autocross car than my previous 2002 Z28 that I used to run years ago. The car was good before, but now it's great. My wife drove it and she was pleased with the ride and handling and that it's still easy to drive. It's not nervous or snappy, the brakes aren't grabby. It just goes....quickly. Sadly, I've now accidentally assembled a hell of a track car....without a roof. Oops.

I hope I'm allowed to share this next part. I don't think I'm letting out any company secrets.

Ryan also gave me a personal tour of the UMI facility. I'm truly impressed. I didn't realize exactly what they manufacture in house....which is basically "everything". They cnc bend tubing, they use cnc lathes and mills to turn the pivot parts of the roto-joints, they machine delrin, they manufacture their own tube ends to thread rod ends into steel tubing to make control arms and such. Powdercoating is done in house as well. This isn't a couple guys welding up stuff in their basement (I think we all knew that), but seeing the scope of the UMI operation and the equipment they have on hand...impressive is an understatement. I met the other engineers on staff (they have more than one) and some other members of the UMI team. I told my wife "If this telecom job ever falls apart, I'm going to work for Ryan and team UMI". Now I'm starting to mean it. What a great facility and a great group of people. Ryan has built a truly impressive company and he knows that a company is based on people. He treats his people extremely well and I just can't say enough good things about my visit to the toy shop at UMI and the great people I met while I was there. And the in house design and manufacturing capabilities are truly impressive and far beyond anything I had imagined.

Heh, there's a shop near me, that I've said similar things about to my wife. The flying monkeys come through here every once in a while, grabbing random (truly-random, it seems) people, pulling out all their stuffing and throwing them on the street before flying away. If/when my number comes up, I'm seriously thinking about retiring from IT....

Hey, that last picture looks like they're pre-fitting that car for the 'hovercraft' mod you had done on your truck recently.

I think it's more like the end of Back to the Future 3 when the Delorean hovers, folds the wheels and blasts off.

At the end of BTTF3, the DeLorean is crushed by the modern train, then Doc shows up in his time traveling train that he built in the past.

Crap. Was it 2? Maybe the original? Doc comes to get them and says something about not needing roads as the car hovers. lol.

I've had a lot of flying cars in my life recently.

Also, the front wheels got ARP studs because the brakes made the front wheel studs too short (thicker aluminum hat and a small spacer). The rear will get ARP studs as well, I just have to get time to install them.

Sounds like the car is ready for Circleville!

That is the ending of the first one, setting the stage for the second movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flge_rw6RG0

Interestingly, the actress that played Jennifer (his gf) couldn't come back for the sequels, so they replaced her and re-shot the ending of the first movie as the opening for the second.

It's getting close. I'm going to have to skip this weekend though, I have a couple houses to go see. There's just not enough time to get everything done these days.



I'm not sure that I ever noticed that. I might have at the time, but I sure don't remember it. Interesting. I have the 3 DVD set at home, I always liked the movies.

I finally got it aligned on Wednesday. The tech was an older gentleman (looked a little like Bernie Sanders). He started out grumpy about the whole thing. When I said I likely wanted max negative camber he answered "Why in the world would you want THAT?". But by the end, we were good buddies. I took the alignment tool for the Camaro with me and he did his best not to use it. Once we were "stuck", I had him let me grab it out of the car and we wrapped it up nice and easy. Turns out he's an old car guy too....but that's not unexpected.

Oddly the one side had -2 degrees of camber the other was -.8 degrees. I replaced the spindles because this car didn't "track" quite right as we did the castor sweeps on the alignment rack. This time they seemed to track better, but it makes me wonder if the K member is off center. They did put a fresh engine in this car, so it might make sense.

Ultimately, we settled on -1.3 camber (it's a street car) and 4.9 castor with 0 toe. It feels much better. I like the higher spring rates, the car is more balanced and less tail happy (even with more rear bar) and I think it was a move in the right direction. The front springs went from 600 in lb to 850 in lb and the rears went from 200 in lb to 250 in lb. The 19mm rear bar came off and the UMI 22mm hollow rear bar and the billet bar brackets went back on. It doesn't drag, it doesn't bottom out, it's balanced, my wife is just fine with the way it rides and I ultimately think this is a quicker autocross car than my original 2002 Camaro that I ran years ago (if I added some more negative camber).

I'm not really sure where to go from here. I need some wheels. I don't want to autocross on wheels that have been powdercoated (I had them done by a professional wheel shop and they say I won't have issues, but I'd rather not risk it). And when the car got to UMI, they found 13 PSI in most of the tires. That's pretty embarrassing, but I mention it because it's a good reminder. Check your pressures. Most of my wheels (on my other vehicles) held air all winter and were fine. I assumed these did the same. I wasn't racing or driving the car particularly hard. So I didn't think much of it. When Roger at UMI said "I found the tires down to 13 psi when I checked them"...I felt pretty dumb. But it had been a year since I checked them last, or at least 8 months. That has resulted in a soft spot in one of the front tires. So, now I need to replace the tires anyway and I'd like to grab a set of forgestar wheels. But I'm house shopping right now, so that may have to wait.

Today I swapped front brake pads. I removed the Pagid Orange pads (almost a full set of them, very little use) because they were squeaky in town and I had to keep rebedding them. I liked the pads, but I think I'll save them for autocross or something more serious. I installed the Stoptech Street performance pads that I bought out of the FRRAX classifieds. They are listed as the OEM pads for the Stoptech kit. I went out to bed them tonight and made stops from 60-20 (back to back), 80-30, etc. And the pads started working well, even quite well....but I never managed to get the brakes hot enough to smell pads. That's unusual in my experience. I could get Carbotech XP10's to smell like hot brake pads by the time I was done bedding them, but not these (either set of pads). I'm starting to think the Stoptech rotors do a better job of cooling down than I expected. Either way, I have brakes for "days".

I also swapped out the rear wheel studs. I have a 4 channel ABS car and it's been a while since anybody has covered this process here. So I took a few pics.

Remove the caliper (15mm socket and 16mm open end wrench), caliper bracket (15MM socket) and rotor (pointy object to break the rotor retainers on the studs and a rubber hammer to get them loose).

Remove the ABS wheel speed sensor (you need a 10mm socket) by unplugging the sensor and removing the bolt in the brake backing plate and pull the sensor out. It's magnetic and will stick to things. It's also likely covered in metal shavings. Use a towel to grab those and "pinch" them off of the sensor.

Line up the old studs and drive them out of the hub towards the hole from the abs sensor you removed. (I used a spare lug nut screwed about half way on and an air chisel, the lug nut keeps the chisel head from skipping off of the stud, then you just unscrew the nut and pull the old stud out. A hammer works too).

The ARP wheel studs have a larger head on them than the stock studs. They won't clear the reluctor ring on the axle for the ABS. You need to grind the corner of the head of the stud down slightly to clear the ABS ring. DO NOT FORCE the stud in place, you can damage the ABS reluctor. (See pics).

Insert the new ARP (or other brand) stud through the hole for the ABS sensor, aim the flat spot in line with the ABS reluctor and pull it through the axle flange.

Stack a bunch of grade 8 washers and lubricate them and the wheel stud with oil (or WD40 actually works pretty well). Use a spare lug nut (pick up 3-5 of them at your local parts store, you'll throw them in the trash when you're done) and an impact gun to wind the lug down against the washers and pull the stud in until it's seated completely in the axle flange. When the impact gun slows down, you're getting close. Don't overstress the studs (pulling the axles and pressing the studs in is the proper way to do this job, this is the "alternate approach", use at your own risk).

Unscrew the nut (which is likely now stuck to the top washer) with your impact gun, remove the washers and start the next stud.

When you complete all 5, spray the studs with brake clean and remove any traces of oil.

Reassemble brakes and reinstall the ABS sensor (don't forget to plug it in).

Enjoy your new wheel studs.

The pictures show the view through the stud hole and out through the ABS sensor hole.
Installing the stud.
The washer setup as I used it.
The stud after it's pulled in.
The nut and washer (you will throw them away when you're done, they're junk as you can see).

Kevin

They do make a wheel stud installer that works very well!!! I did it like you for years till I grabbed this off the tool truck. keep up the updates!!!!!!

Not sure I've ever seen one. I'll have to check that out.

The car didn't get driven much this year. House shopping took up most of our time and we just didn't get out to enjoy it much. We did have a lot of fun when we had the chance to drive it though.

I parked it a month or so ago before they started salting the roads around here. I meant to clean it up and wash and wax it, but that didn't happen (again). However, it's tucked in the garage to sit out the winter. Tonight I decided to start it and let it warm up a bit (just to circulate oil). Just as it reached operating temp, the power steering pump started to whine. I shut it off and found my power steering fluid under the car. I'm not sure where it's coming from at this time, but I'm hoping it's the pressure hose.

I've been trying to fix anything that might cause reliability issues with this car and I guess the rubber parts of the power steering system are next. I emailed Turn One about rebuilding my pump and I'm tracking down new hoses for the system. I already added a new C&R PS cooler last winter so that part is done. I'm hoping it's not the rack, but I feel like I may as well have it rebuilt while I'm at it. I don't want to deal with any issues if I want to take this on a road trip, so I guess I have a new winter project to go along with the rear diff cover leak that I have to fix.

I guess I'm lucky that it died in the garage and not out on the road somewhere, not really sure how that happened.

Hmmm, that is kind of strange. Usually something like that would happen when the car is being driven, at least.

Looks to be further up front than the rack. But that could just be the picture angle.

I agree and I don't see or feel much fluid on the cooler lines (though one fitting was a little wet). Hoping it's just the pressure hose. At this point I wonder if I shouldn't just rebuild everything, though the rack only has 64k miles on it (but it's had years for the rubber to dry out).

That’s kind of a crapshoot. Perfectly good rack goes out and comes back with a schetchy rebuild. Maybe find and/or get a rebuilt spare, but if the car has enjoyed mostly street use, i’d Not poke that skunk with a stick.

The pump and hoses are different, and more commodity-based. I find racks more car-specific, and the replacements being more generic. No guarantee you’d get your original back. But that’s just me.

I can send the rack to Turn One for a rebuild. I can also order an AC Delco reman rack for $156 and a $75 core. It claims 2 turns lock to lock.

I need to get it up in the air and see what's leaking...

I had a fitting start leaking after driving maybe 25 miles after installing a cooler... hopefully it's something easy

Yea, I did the new cooler last winter and I put several thousand miles on it over the summer. It's really odd that it waited until I warmed it up one day to decide to puke all over the place. Just seems odd that it let go at idle just as the coolant came up to operating temp. I'll know more this week once we get under it.

I have a new AC Delco pressure hose and I have replacement return hose in the garage. I'll see what I find under the car and see if that's all I need to replace. It's certainly an odd failure. In good news, it didn't let go at redline and spray oil all over the hot exhaust, etc. Might be the first time I've been lucky like that.

Last night my friend Bill came down and we drove it up on ramps and looked for the leak. It was only leaking slightly during the start and trip up the ramps (I did fill it with fluid before starting it). But it was leaking from a cooler fitting. The fitting seemed to spin on the 6AN barbed adapter hose end, but when we took it off it was tight and difficult to remove. I suspect the hose had a crack internally that allowed the fluid to leak once it warmed up a bit? But I'm not sure. We replaced the whole section of hose with bulk PS hose and clamped it all back together.

I have a new pressure hose, but the other cooler line is a barbed fitting on one end and the other has the hose crimped (like an AC line) to the metal end that attaches to the rack. I can't find that hose. I'm starting to think that 6AN fittings are the best way out.

Does anybody know what size fittings I need for the pump and both sides of the rack to use 6AN hose?

I was going to replace all the factory rubber hoses. I have the pressure hose at home, still sealed in the bag. I bought a new AC Delco hose. And we replaced the rubber return line from the PS cooler to reservoir with bulk power steering hose (it doesn't seem that a replacement hose is available). However, I can't find much about the other cooler line, it runs from the rack to the cooler. The one I found had bad reviews saying they had to bend it to get it even close to fitting. And it wasn't a factory crimp looking setup, it seemed to just have a clamp on the rubber line. Hmm....

So, I gave up and did what I always do....industrial strength problem solving.

I just ordered a Turn One pump with AN fittings on both sides. I ordered the AN fittings for the rack. Then I stopped by Jegs for 10' of teflon lined AN line and an assortment of fittings.

I'm going to replace all the lines in the car with braided, teflon lined hose and AN fittings. That should fix my hose issues for the foreseeable future.

And look dang nice doing so! I love the overkill approach!

That reminds me. There was a problem getting one of the lines on the B-body cars. One of the guys worked with Gates to get a replacement made, since the Delco part was gone from inventory. I need to get to the parts house and get a couple for my inventory.

I tend to kill flies with hammers (actually, I shot one at 100 yards with a Steyr 308, but that's another story). I really wanted to stay with stock looking lines and such. I have taken this car about as far as I planned to take it. Or that was my plan.

Once the PS is done, I'll have to think long and hard about welding a 4 point roll bar in it. I'm really torn on that. I'd like to be able to go play with it at times, but I don't really want to start cutting on it.

My other thought is to take it down to Jeff at Carolina Auto Masters and have his guys throw a cam in it and have him tune it. I don't want to deal with headers or lose the cats, I just want to add 40-60 hp if possible. That may not be realistic with stock manifolds and a perfectly streetable cam, but I may shoot for that and see where I land. I'm too lazy to do a cam these days. It seemed like a good excuse to drag it down to visit Jeff and Julie and see some of the area.

Ya know, hooker (blackheart line of parts) makes a beautiful set of mid-length headers and catted y that has incredible ground clearance. They might help you hit those power goals... (just throwing some fuel on the fire)

Got a parts list for all the AN stuff? I’d like to see what you did when you are done. I’ve gone through a lot of effort to standardize fitting sizes in my car and the PS system is one of the last I need to take care of.

Heh, yeah, I shot a bumble bee with a 12 gauge. >BOOM< he was gone.

Stock manifolds can support about 500 HP, so depending on what’s upstream and downstream, you should be able to do that.

Uh huh....I've looked at the Blackheart stuff. My wife wants me to keep the car quiet and I'm trying....though I really liked the Hooker kit that was on my 2001 SS (she thought it was too loud).



Here's what I ordered. I'll let you know if it all works.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Russell/799/632620/10002/-1

http://www.jegs.com/i/Russell/799/620421/10002/-1

http://www.jegs.com/i/Russell/799/620401/10002/-1

https://www.turnone-steering.com/products/9...ant=28874765635 (with billet pulley, with AN fittings)

https://www.turnone-steering.com/collection...ressure-fitting

https://www.turnone-steering.com/collection...adapter-fitting

I didn't order this, but it converts the return on the PS pump (I did, but it should be included with the pump that I bought since the reservoir isn't included).

https://www.turnone-steering.com/collection...adapter-fitting

And I already have one of these (though I have to double check the diameter, I don't believe it's 1 3/4).

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cir-41-5...ASABEgLqbPD_BwE

That PS cooler uses 6 an fittings.

If you don't go that way, the factory cooler looked like it had NPT inputs. I'm assuming (but I haven't tried) you can change them over to an NPT to 6AN adapter.

I ordered a 90 degree fitting for the PS pressure hose and I need straight fittings for the PS cooler. I ordered straight and 90 degree fittings for the rack until I can figure out what fits.

I'll document the swap with pics once the parts arrive in case it helps someone else.

Thanks for the parts list. I have Alan’s big B&M cooler on my car so I’d love for everything to be nice and simple -6. I’ll have to call turn one, I wasn’t aware of the -6 option when I bought my pump a couple years ago.

Tell them you're on FRRAX.com when you talk to them.

When Garrett (Pilot is his username here) did his turn one pump in about 2004, he did AN lines. So I know the option has been around a while. Then he came to his first autocross (after doing the lines without my help) and blew a line apart. So I stuffed him in my old 2002 Z28 (SM car) and told the ESP guys "It's his first event and his car broke, so he's going to get seat time in mine. I don't think you have anything to worry about, but if he beats you, we'll go with you to protest the car, it's not ESP legal."

So, while I'm making winter plans. I noticed that Stoptech makes replacement one piece rotors for the rear (and front, but I don't need those) of these cars. They are a "pillar vented" design like the front rotors and typical Porsche rotors, etc. My car still has what appear to be the original OEM rotors from the day it left the factory. So, I ordered a set of rear Stoptech rotors ($103/ea at tire rack, then I found a kit at Jegs with pads and braided lines for $269, but I already ordered the other set. I'm not one to swap braided lines onto cars, but these are $103 rotors, $60 pads, $48 brake lines for $269 and I have 15 year old hoses on this car). That should be a good quality rotor for the car. The good and bad news is that they are slotted (or drilled, but I didn't buy the drilled set). I don't love slotted rotors, though Stoptech makes a good quality one. The good part is they will match the front rotors in the current brake kit (not that I'm one to care much about such things).

I've also been talking to Ryan at UMI and I may be doing one of their new Watts links on this car. I've always wanted to play with one of those.

If they managed to make one that fit a fabricated 9" I would switch.

What size axle tubes do you have? Have you looked at the UMI version? It's a little different than some of the others and the axle brackets would have to fit the housing (I have a welder ). If/when I get one to the house, I'll let you know in case you want to come poke at it before it's under the car.

Still running a stock rear for now. It just seems that the UMI piece doesn't offer anything that makes it worth switching to somebody that already has a Fays2. However, if it can be adapted to work with a Fab9 (and assuming I can't just do the same thing with the Fays) then it would be worth making the change when the time comes. Would love to run a MWC 9 but I want no part of their Watts link. I would also have to figure out torque arm mounting, but that is likely easier to resolve.

More goodies arrived via UPS today. Here's the turn 1 bits that just came in. The pump has a cover on the 6AN port. The 6AN return fitting for the reservoir is in a bag (and I'd have to remove it to see it) and the other fittings are for the steering rack.

Stoptech rear rotors (non floating).