400hp Build, Advice please!

[polarisman14]

Update, did a little working on the wiring harness for the megasquirt system today and straightened out some stuff with the MS unit itself. It has a built in MAP sensor but I was able to pop the vacuum line on and off of the board pretty easily...I would think that may happen under boost and cause an issue but there's no way to get a tie wrap gun in there. The only thing that may work is a small spring clamp so I'll see about getting one of those just for safety's sake. I also went through and re-soldered and shrink-tubed/taped a lot of the connections to make the harness look a little cleaner.

[polarisman14]

^Here's a picture of the aforementioned harness. I'm not totally done messing around with it yet but it's pretty close to being completed. Just need to figure out a couple more wires but all in all it's a pretty damn easy installation if you ask me. I also managed to install the passenger's and driver's side engine mounts, WHAT A PITA!!! If you can't get the engine bracket off which is near impossible to begin with then you have to lift the engine up and what a mess that was...But I digress. Picture:

 

http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/DSCN0490.jpg

 

The mock-up stages are over besides finishing up the charge piping for the turbo and making sure there is adequate clearance for the turbo which obviously can't happen until the turbo comes in. Should be in the next week or so.

Edited August 9, 2010 by polarisman14

[87starion_in_ma]

what did you use for injector resistors.

[polarisman14]

The gold thing in the bottom left of the picture is an injector controller, as megasquirt doesn't rely on the factory ECU for anything you don't have to run the same style or impedance of injector as the OEM stuff.

[87starion_in_ma]

The gold thing in the bottom left of the picture is an injector controller, as megasquirt doesn't rely on the factory ECU for anything you don't have to run the same style or impedance of injector as the OEM stuff.

 

where can i get one of those.

[polarisman14]

I honestly don't know--if you go to google and search for fuel injector controller or fuel injector driver you will probably find something. I bought the whole setup off of boosted88tsi from his drift truck.

[polarisman14]

Sweet. Car is at the shop ready to start working on it, I'm bringing the rest of my parts there tomorrow, and the new turbo is on its way here...Should be here Monday.

[polarisman14]

The car went into the shop yesterday. The only casualty was the right taillight as the atv hit it when we were trying to get it unhooked. Should've used more slack in the tow rope lol. It's okay though as it was the one that had the cloudy reverse light (that's how I rationalize it).

 

We worked on the car for a bit today, got it in the air and got it sprayed down with this penetrant called "Thrust." It worked awesome and we had zero issues taking any nuts/bolts out. We got the sway bars, radius arms, and control arms out, and the radius arm bushings and control arm bushings pushed in and ready to reinstall. Next step is to remove the struts and prep the strut housings for the coilover installation.

[polarisman14]

^^Got the oil drain flange and 5 bolt DP flange in the mail for the turbo right now. I will be going to the shop and will be there all day tomorrow (8-6 or so) and hope to get the rest of the suspension stuff taken care of along with the diff and transmission mounts. That way the next time I go there it'll be time to get the exhaust system mocked up completely, replace the brake lines, and tie up the odds and ends necessary to get the car started sometime within the next month. Unfortunately I can only work on the car once a week or so but with whole days like tomorrow I should be able to get plenty done.

[polarisman14]

Update:

 

Got quite a bit done today. I was able to get the old front struts removed, remove the replaceable struts, replace them, install the coilovers with adjustable pillow ball mounts, install the new anti sway bar, new end links, and put the lower control arms with new bushings back in. I was also able to put the radius arms back in with the new bushings on those and get them spaced equally so hopefully that'll be roughly in spec alignment-wise.

 

I also pulled the entire back end of the car apart. Unfortunately the hub bolts in the rear which are almost a foot in length would NOT come out and I'm running out of options besides using a torch...I just don't want to ruin any of it trying to replace a couple bushings that are probably fine anyway.

 

All things considered, not a bad day.

 

Also got the DP flange and oil drain flange in the mail today. Since the drain on the turbo is slightly larger than the flange I'll likely use the gasket as a template and dremel it out to square it off and make sure the turbo drains properly. I would rather not ruin a brand new $1,000+ turbo from a stupid draining issue.

[VICE]

I think torching those 18M x 240MM Bolts is about the ONLY way to get them out.. I took them to a shop to get done and everyone herre has had an issue to get them out JUST to replace those bushings but well worth the effort..

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hllfg0A_1bY/S95MZBinwjI/AAAAAAAABoA/5X5dAdT3C7Y/s800/GEDC1435.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hllfg0A_1bY/S-BHPGhsbsI/AAAAAAAABpw/-Hy0LyFqQVE/s800/GEDC1441.JPG

You can get new 18M x 240MM bolts for $24 a piece and nuts and washers from FASTENAL.com

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hllfg0A_1bY/S-BHHNyEOyI/AAAAAAAABpo/7MZSuYAZ_5o/s800/GEDC1443.JPG

They look real sweet from the back! Too bad I dont have another pic to show right now..

Edited August 21, 2010 by VICE

[polarisman14]

^^Thanks for the pictures, definitely a good visual and it looks like we are doing pretty much the same stuff on our builds, I caught a glimpse of the stainless brake lines, I've got those too. I didn't think to check fastenal or mcmaster-carr and I wish I had because I paid 75 or so for those bolts from Stedebani. On the upside though they are VERY nice pieces and I believe they are grade 10 or something...VERY hard pieces. I'll definitely be using anti-seize on them should I ever have to remove them again.

 

My question is, if you do torch them how does that help them come out? I was able to get the nut off without a problem but even with an impact gun or me hanging my 200lb weight off the ground and bouncing on the bolt I couldn't get the driver's side one to budge at all. On the passenger side all I did was turn the bolt an eighth of a turn and pop the axle out of the differential 3/4 of an inch...Hopefully I didn't mess up something inside there in that process.

 

Either way it should come out next time, we do have access to a full-sized torch but ran short on time and we didn't check to see how full the gas was anyway. My only other idea is to cut it out with a sawzall as we do have a 12 ton bushing press to use once we get the control arms out. I JUST WANT THIS STUFF DONE!!!

[polarisman14]

I'd like to call what I did today at the shop "nogress." It's when you make no progress whatsoever.

 

Everything fought me today.

 

First, I found out that they had used non-stock header bolts. I had to tap and clean 8 threads there first off. Then, I couldn't find the right bolts for the manifold so I bought the next size up (lowe's didn't have m9 but they did have m10) and I had to tap and clean those 4. If nothing else they'll be stronger bolts.

 

After that, I tried to test-fit the turbo in there and of course the factory heat shield was too far away from the things it was shielding and the wrong shape all over the place so I took a mallet to that once off the car. That, of course, fixed some problems and created others so I decided that I would leave it off and deal with it later in hopes of getting my goals accomplished today (mock up manifold w/turbo, get charge piping finished/marked, possibly get exhaust on).

 

Lastly, after that whole fiasco, I figured out that I need more silicone couplers than I currently have and don't need NEARLY the amount of charge piping that I have.

 

I got the exhaust very roughly test-fitted on the car and figured out that getting the downpipe located and locating the muffler on the rear end of the car are going to be gigantic pains in the tail, albeit possible still. That, along with hopefully getting the rear suspension the rest of the way apart tomorrow, is on my to-do list.

Edited August 26, 2010 by polarisman14

[BOOSTED88tsi]

vaccuum line never popped off on me. Even flowing 28 psi through a holset

[polarisman14]

Ah, much better day yesterday.

 

Got the whole exhaust fitted perfectly on the car, taught myself how to tack weld, tack welded the system in place, removed it (ready to go to a friend who TIG welds professionally) and got a few other odds and ends taken care of.

 

I also got my braille battery and mount in the mail so I'm looking forward to installing that when the time comes.

[polarisman14]

^^As an add-on to those other posts, I did manage to get the ECU and battery box located quite nicely. I'll have Rob tack the ECU directly to the battery box in a couple places so that it's still easily removeable but won't go anywhere. There's just the right amount of space in there to make it all play nice together.

 

I also managed to get the transmission and rear differential mounts in by myself with the aid of the lift and a 3 foot long section of 4x6 hardwood to hold stuff up when I lowered the car down. It wasn't easy, but it's done. I also found out where the torque tube bushings go--not intuitive like you'd think (where the torque tube bolts to the crossmember) but on either end of the crossmember there are large rubber bushings to isolate transmission and driveline movement from the passenger compartment of the car. Only issue is that is the place I'm holding the car up by right now so I'll have to figure something else out when the time comes to replace those.

 

In other news, the hub bolts are a huge pain and won't come out even with a ball-peen weighted hammer or a torch. I figured out that because the hub bolts (which are about 10" long and hold the outside of the rear control arm to the hub itself) are isolated from the smacking of the hammer with the bushings so every time I hit them it just moves whatever distance the rubber feels like giving and then goes right back in.

 

I'll have to unbolt the axle from the hub and take the e-brake cable along with the inner bolts holding the lower control arms to the suspension crossmember off. Then the whole assembly comes off the car, and I can use the 12-ton bushing press we have access to to (hopefully) push those bolts through.

 

After that, it's child's play. This is because the hub will separate from the control arm and I'll be able to push the new bushings in and slide the brand new machined grade-10 bolt through the assembly (after a liberal coating of anti-seize just in case) and bolt it all back together.

 

I'm hoping to get the rear of the car apart Thursday evening and maybe even back together. If I do, the car will be a rolling chassis again and I can concentrate on the wiring and tying up all loose ends in the engine compartment.

[StarquestRescue]

Some guys cut the bolts and take them out in three pieces. A guy ruined a control are a while back using a press.

[polarisman14]

Good idea. I'll see what I can do, I won't push the press too far.

[polarisman14]

^^Well, here's a quick update. I wasn't able to get the control arm to move AT ALL. I'll just have to cut my losses, forget about replacing those couple of bushings, and put it back on the car. I did, however, manage to get the control arm and hub assembly off the car to replace the inner control arm bushings so it wasn't a total waste of time. I also figured out that something in my e-brake system and/or rear caliper is FUBAR to the point where I can't push the piston back into the caliper to accommodate the new brake pads I have. On the upside, I got the suspension back in and everything looks great in there (especially the GC coilovers and Mookeeh struts).

 

I also dropped the tack-welded pieces off to the friend of mine that can TIG really well and he's finished the exhaust stuff already and will finish the charge piping and other aluminum welding Monday.

 

It's time to put this project into high gear to finish it...I just learned today that the lift the car is currently on in the garage I'm using is on craigslist. It's gonna be a LOT more difficult to finish the car without the lift so my only hope is that it sells slower than molasses. I can't get in there this upcoming weekend but after that I'll have some time to work on it.

 

To make it a rolling chassis that I don't have to put in the air anymore, I just have to get the RR suspension/bushings taken care of, the exhaust back on, the oil pan back on, rear anti-sway bar back on, torque tube bushings (the outer ones holding the subframe to the car) removed and replaced...And I think that's it.

 

I've also gotta put all of the charge piping in along with getting the MS and O2 sensor/boost gauge/E-boost2 wiring completed, fabricating some sort of blockoff plate for the hole in the intake side of the head, installing the IM and fuel system lines...Blah!

 

If I had one weekend to finish the car I probably could but working on it a few hours at a time is MUCH harder and slower.

[Technology]

Go get a brake caliper tool from the parts store. It's a cube with a 3/8" ratchet drive on it. The rear calipers spin back in. turn the piston clockwise and it will go back in. I had a hard time figuring that one out back in the day.

[VICE]

Go get a brake caliper tool from the parts store. It's a cube with a 3/8" ratchet drive on it. The rear calipers spin back in. turn the piston clockwise and it will go back in. I had a hard time figuring that one out back in the day.

 

Yeah it sucked for my first time too.. And the tool wears out after a few uses, at least mine has stripped down a little..

[polarisman14]

^^Thanks for the heads up guys. I'm just used to using a C clamp and pushing it back in that way.

[polarisman14]

Update, I decided that neither side of the rear control arm/hub assembly will be getting the long bolts. It's too much work and after maxing out the 12-ton bushing press trying to get one side out I'm going to cut my losses, repair the damaged threads on the bolts (too many hits with the hammer...) and sell the bolts. I'll be offering the bolts and the stedebani black 85 durometer bushings that go along these bolts for 75 shipped.

 

Anyway, I managed to get the RR control arm off the car after much fighting and cussing with the E-brake cable and the STUPID pin and cotter pin that it's assembled with. It was mangled all to hell from the previous owner and the dust shield on this side was also missing and/or in a state of severe disrepair. I'm glad to report that once the inner bushings are replaced tomorrow and the control arm is reinstalled, the rear of the car will be back together and the car will be a rolling chassis again. Then it's on to the torque tube bushings which we'll hopefully get to tomorrow as well.

 

I'm getting my welded parts back...I think it was a nice arrangement. I'm giving the guy a 24 pack of octoberfest along with 40 bucks in exchange for welding my downpipe, WG flange, exhaust, charge piping, oil return bung, and tabs to mount the MS computer. Good deal, right?

[mstieg]

Have you considered buying another set of control arms from a parted out car? Then you could put in your new bolts and great bushings...I've got the whole kit in, and it handles crazy better. Not sure how much diff. you'll see not getting those 4 in there vs. not. Just a thought.

 

Also, we pressed out most, but some we had to burn the rubber out, then bang the rest once that clearance was there with the rubber melted away. Just another thought. (it's nasty smelly but does the job).

[polarisman14]

^^Yeah, the issue with mine isn't the bushings though, the bolt is fused to the hub and WILL NOT come off. I'm not too concerned about those 4 bushings as they looked to be in decent shape in the first place and are pretty thin--they don't allow much movement to begin with so swapping them won't make an earth-shattering difference. I have considered getting parts for it but we're losing the lift my car is on so I am on a very cramped time schedule now.