The Project Pad

Thats really cool Phil, Maybe someday I can join the fun. BTW, I laughed really hard when you took out those cones.

Thanks Dan. I got way too greedy with that first run and was a bit aggressive, and quite unsmooth.
I was about .1 second slower than an evo 9 that was there that I believe had about 100 horsepower on me and I had about 200 pounds on him. So kinda stoked about that.

Nice runs! Some pretty good driving for your first time out! I used to auto-x with SCCV (of vermont) all the way through high school, used to love beating up on other kids in STI's, EVO's, 'Type R's' and the like in my practically bone stock 175k mile BEAT 1.6l Miata, you gotta learn how to handle the rock

Dang, just watched the videos and WOO That looks like fun! I laughed at that cone part too. LOL

hey Phil, you still live in Nevada? i THOUGHT i saw a 5000, coulda been a 100 on the I-15 here in Utah couple days back that looked A LOT like yours.

Haha nope. Still in Reno.

So. I think my clutch master just failed. Push it to the floor and after holding it for 2 seconds it acts as if I'm letting the pedal up. I can hear the sound of what sounds like air or something when I push the pedal down. It stays down when Pushed.
Bad?

I had an autocross event this weekend but that seems to be out of the picture. Dammit.

Yea that sounds like a bad master. The worse part is that they are a pain to get to under the dash in the pedal cluster and trying to change it out without getting fluid on the carpet. If I remember right, I think I rebuilt mine in the 5ktq with a $10 kit, but that was a few years back.

So as we went to replace the clutch master today I realized that whoever packaged this box put a urs4 MC in it. The outlet for the line to the slave is at a 90 degree angle and the 5000 needs a straight outlet at the bottom. Box was labeled right. Just packaged wrong. Thanks Boge.

In other news. Might dyno this thing locally pretty soon.

Anybody have any tips on removing the OEM clutch MC? Terrible design. The inlet from the brake reservoir blocks access to the top allen bolt. I've seen Audi do some stupid stuff but this definitely tops most of it. A ball ended allen slips and a normal allen won't fit in properly. Driving me insane gah.

Autohausaz managed to send me a urs4 clutch MC so that took forever to get resolved.

Feels so good to be driving my own car again. Good lord that was a pain.
Next on the list. Steering wheel, and racing seats. And a turbo in there somewhere.

Rub it in why don't ya? Glad you're on the road again!

All things considered it should have been done a month ago. But I had serious problems with getting that thing out. I fully regret not replacing it back when I was doing the engine swap. Sheesh.

So I've got a weird oil leak coming from the oil filter area. everything in that area is getting COVERED. Not sure exactly where it's coming from but It almost looks like the headgasket. I also seem to have a lot of oil residue coming from the VC gasket. Like excessive crankcase pressure is just pushing it right out. Or it's not torqued down properly.
Also started leaking a ton of water from my coolant reservoir as soon as I got home tonight. It was all blowing out because the cap was a little bit loose I believe. Trying to figure out if that was from me forgetting to tighten it or if I managed to blow something. Like a headgasket.
Crap.

Alright. I've got an oil leak from the passenger side somewhere. Appears to be near the oil filter housing. It's flowing down the side of the block/head and onto the alternator and dripping off. I need to figure it out before it toasts my alternator, it's already starting to make my lights go from bright to dim randomly. It almost appears to be coming from the valve cover gasket, but that's brand new and the bolts are torqued to factory spec.
Any pointers on where to start?

So from everything I can tell I believe it's leaking oil from where the head and block meet near cylinder 1. Possible? After cleaning everything up last night with some rags and brake cleaner and then coming back this morning the only place that has new oil residue is right where they meet. And it dripped back down to the alternator. Again.


Joy.

EDIT: Or maybe cam seal? it almost looks like it's coming from the front of the valve cover. Time to get a new VC gasket and cam seal and pray it works! I need to work on the v8! not this thing!

I had the same issue on my car. I'm not sure what it was since I tore it down around that time, but I was thinking cam seal as well. Mine was a very slow leak though, so I didn't care much... If you just did the vc gasket, I'd defintely venture to guess that could be it.

Sounds like a cam seal. Are you usinv the 2 piece vc gasket or 3 piece

I have never seen a leaking head gasket leak out the exterior of the motor. They are usually just cam cover issues.

That's good. I like to hear that.

Just got the A/C working the other day thanks to the guys at Kspeed. Only issue is it gets darn warm. VEMS temp reading goes from 87C ish on the highway to 96Cish, still blows cold when that hot. That's a big jump considering its highway driving. City driving it gets about just as hot but the A/C blows warm which is no fun.
I need to work on keeping this thing cool. Any suggestions? I need to look into the fan circuitry cause I think the first speed might not be coming on so that won't help. Gonna also try to pickup some Thin Alu sheet metal to make some better ducting to this radiator.

Does anybody have any experience with hood venting...?

Also. Did another scca autocross again today. That was a blast. Going again tomorrow.
Getting the cam seal and VC gasket replaced hopefully wednesday.
Other than that. Nothing too interesting.

The fan should turn on when you run the AC, so something is wrong there. Without the fan running while the ac is on the heat from the condenser is heating up the radiator, that's why your engine temp is going up so much and why your AC doesn't get cool when driving around town. You either need to fix the issue so the fan is on while the AC is on, or add a fan to the front of the condenser that you can switch on when you use the AC.

Also, did you have it filled with R12 or R134? If you use 134 in a system designed for R12 then you may need to add an extra fan anyway. Condensers for R12 have larger and fewer tubes that the refrigerant runs through because R12 sheds heat more efficiently and at lower pressure than 134 does which equates to less heat and cooler AC temps. Ducting may help but you need to get the fan issue sorted first.

I had the system converted. I replaced a good amount of O rings and swapped fittings. Still works so it hasn't all leaked out as of yet. I should have replaced every single one but I started to get impatient. I got a new orifice tube but neglected to install it as well. Low speed fan shouldn't have an affect on highway driving temperatures though? Or maybe I'm just looking at it too much. It works on the highway so not too much of a complaint I guess.

Autoxed again yesterday. Didn't take any videos, great track and had a ton of fun. Managed to throw an alternator belt in the afternoon. Twice. Gonna go to to FLAPS and see what they have for a belt.
I need some better tires. Bad.

So not sure what I changed but the low speed fan is coming on now and sitting in traffic with the A/C running it'll sit at about 91C according to VEMS. Idle valve doesn't seem to be working at all. Believe the valve is actually bad but not totally certain. Changes in VEMStune do nothing to the engine idle so I'll have to inspect further. Also have a boost leak I believe seeing as I can only hit 11 PSI according to my gauge. Couldn't find it at any connections or intake pipes so I think it's in the intercooler somewhere. Need to get an Air compressor so I can check the intake tract.

Rambling aside I start a new job on Monday the 16th where I'll be making a lot more money so I'll be doing a new intercooler and injectors very soon and then a billet k26 or something of the like very soon after.

Regarding camber plates, I've been considering getting some GC camber plates and welding them in seeing as other camber plate options are either poor or non existant yet. My alignment is still way out of wack so I'm starting to get annoyed with a crooked steering wheel.

Anyways. Got some stuff to get done by BBQ. I'll get around to it sooner or later...

Glad to see an update here and congrats on the new job too! Looking foreword to pre/BBQ updates and pictures, and I bet that 20v would love a holset