seattlejester

This is going to be a long one.... I have sold the R180. As much as it would have been nice to run with a real LSD, I don't think it would have been very happy at the power levels I would have thrown at it. I have a few more ideas for getting an LSD into the rear, but that will be for another day. A Z-owner from canada stopped by to pick it up. Waiting on some specific updates that affect my application on the coilovers before pulling the trigger on those. Decided to spend some money on solving my shifting problem. After a while the transmission would not like to engage gears. I pulled the shifter to find the shifter bushing was deformed and to my surprise the PO had upgraded the rubber ball socket to a poly socket. I figured I would order a new poly shifter bushing for the deformed one and at the same time decided to spring for a short shifter and relocator. The relocator has skyrocketed in price unfortunately, and at about $270 to move the shifter back 1.125 inches it was a tough pill to swallow . After painstakingly removing the bolts I realized the tailshaft had to come off to install the relocator, so that will go in my "later" pile. The short shifter went in without a hitch, it does take a bit more effort (for fifth I have to brace in my seat and really put some weight to move it over), but the shifts or so mechanical it is amazing. Coupled with the new poly bushing car seems to really enjoy dropping into gear. My first big tip for today, make sure you know where you leave future project parts. I just ordered two more AN fittings as I am not 100% sure where I left the originals I ordered. There goes 30$ down the drain. I now have a shelf cleaned off with the sole purpose of placing future project parts. Make sure you label or at least make a note of where you place "things to be used later." So new AN fittings and a fuel filter is on the way, I've decided I want to remove the ugly trap door setup I have at the moment. Will have to figure out another way to seal the opening to protect from dirt and water once I remove the flap and extension, any suggestions is appreciated. Second big tip, inspect your car. On a trip to a friend's house the car started clicking really loudly on top of the clinking. Turns out the rear brake line was now rubbing on the axle and had eaten through the rubber protective layer over the braided steel. A little adjustment and that is now out of the way, and a future line is on the books to order. While filling the radiator with antifreeze as we approach freezing weather over here, I noticed something quite alarming. A group of wires seemed to be quite singed. As you can see some wires were even exposed. So I cut out the singed portion and an inch more to each side and removed the piece. Cut new wires to length. Stripped them. And using this handy dandy little helper. Put everything back together. Had to run out to grab a lighter so I'll finish that tomorrow. While I'm at it it seems like it may be a good time to go over the headlight wiring and such. So more updates on that soon.

Had my car up on some rhino ramps today and even with 4+ gallons in the tank, the fuel sender was reading 0. Fuel cell is sumped so it always has a bit of fuel so not terribly worried, but I was wondering what people are using nowadays with the new E10 fuels to baffle the fuel or at least stop it from sloshing too much. A couple of things I have found: Fuel cell foam Wiffle balls PVC pipe with holes drilled in it 1 Quart oil bottles with holes drilled/cut in it Just curious to see what the community is using.

Wow that's a pretty neat place for your car to end up. Kind of saddening to see some of the work undone. Hopefully they plan on reusing the chassis.

Hmm, I thought that was a wives tale/common car myth? To not to change tranny fluid if you haven't for a while. I mean everyone has anecdotes, but it always seemed to be the transmission was on it's way out and then they finally did the fluid change to push it over the edge. I've changed fluid on all my trannies, never had a problem, if anything it usually tells me their healthy if they don't cough up any bits in the magnetic drain plug.

Hmm that's a new one as far as I have heard. Maybe they had a slue of customers who would bring in known problematic transmissions, ask for the fluid change, and then blame them for the failure saying they failed to do something. I mean I once saw a firestone manager charge someone 900$ for an alternator replacement. I googled the how to video and the part, and it was less then 4 minutes long for the video and less then 150$ for the alternator. The things they do and the reasoning behind it I have a hard time understanding.

Does that include setup and getting you out the door? I helped a friend do a plug and play megasquirt for another car and that still took over an hour (new plug for temp sensor, vacuum line routing, basic setup). Granted if they have done these installs several times before, have the base tune files on hand, and their wiring guy doesn't drag his feet it could be done pretty well at 4 hours.

^Pretty much what I have heard. At best it eventually stops holding, at worse it disintegrates and throws pieces into the diff. Even the local parts seller who used to sell and install these seems to have stopped. I mean I would have a AAA card and be wary if you plan on running it, but to answer the question, yes the axles will spin with the clearance, they should no longer spin once you pry the retaining tabs off. If they do, then you have a problem. You should not have ground the PG unit, the side gears are larger and can take more machining then the PG unit can. Just be careful.

Don't know anyone who uses it or still uses it. I know some people who have dicked around with them, but everyone eventually always finds another way. Some people have had a little luck with the unit following specific mods, such as chamfering the holes containing the springs and it does take quite the effort to fit (grinding gears, hammering, etc). I was curious about it, but the fact you would have to disassemble the diff, grind the gears, hammer it in made it not really worth the effort considering it would be less labor to install a real LSD or even easier to replace the diff. The way it is designed did not instill a lot of confidence either. It basically forces the side gears apart and forces the spinning wheel to transfer some power to the non spinning wheel, but it applies torsional strain to a spring which isn't the best option, and the way the blocks don't slip requires friction from the spring pushing the blocks away and jamming it against the side gear which cannot make your bearings very happy. Then again the r200 isn't by any means rare, at least not yet, so for 50$ and your labor it would give you some form of limited slip. Long answer short, I wouldn't expect to get years of usage out of it.

Newzed does have a point, the spark plug gap being too close is most likely not the culprit. I mean if you do it too close there might not be enough time for the arc to light the fuel mixture, but you sound like you are in the ball park so that is really unlikely. Still would like the timing info, especially if you have played with the spark plugs, it really is possible to have mistakenly swapped the plug order or have bumped the distributor out of place and have changed your timing. It wouldn't hurt to pop the spark plugs out and put them in order, label them and snap a picture, that would be another very useful piece of information. Without those facts, I might go out on a branch and say it sounds like a lean condition (this could be confirmed with that picture I mentioned above, down to the cylinder/s) If you are lean, under light load you would be popping, once you hit wot though the ecu should dump quite a bit more, that may be modern thinking though, not too familiar with the efi system that comes factory. Would have to do a bit of digging to confirm. Suspicions lie with the ecu/afm/fuel pressure/regulator if all of them are white. If only select ones are, then I would suspect maybe the individual injectors or clogged fuel lines/filter. My personal problem with this was a wonky fuel pump relay that liked to flicker on and off and would make me pop under load or long throttle trips. I know it may sound redundant, but without some hard facts it is hard to determine where we stand. Like do you get full fuel pressure? What is the pressure reading, does the pressure drop when you rev the engine? How's the fuel filter? Bottom line, get us that picture and maybe a picture of the spark plug wires, it may seem silly, but it is pretty easy to make an error if you are not familiar. Keep it up man, just remember, we need them facts and pictures.

Just before you get yelled out, gentle reminder to the capital letter rule. Have you checked your timing how many degrees btdc are you? Have you made sure the order of the plugs (1-5-3-6-2-4 iirc)? Is the popping under load or when you are off the throttle?

Glad to see you got it sorted, seems like it could have been dangerous if you kept driving. Pleased about my haphazard guessing results

Gosh, coilovers would make my life so much easier when working on the car. And I wouldn't have to worry about the springs popping out during a downhill or up hill turn. Kind of thinking the same way regarding the diff, most likely will not survive a power bump, but I am getting a little tired of the welded diff. Decisions decisions, thanks for your guys' thoughts!

That's much more helpful. Whirring noise makes me think rotating object which makes me think drive shaft u joints, half shafts u joints, wheel bearings, or diff internals, depending on the noise. If there is a clunk when you engage the gear and start to move then that points towards the diff mount being worn as you think, most likely the diff mount/strap are showing it's age. I suspect it clunks less when you put it in reverse, most likely the front diff mount/strap is quite worn. If the noise is at the peak of the bump it may be rubber isolators, a loose gland nut, or as you suggest the loose diff moving around. I would not be surprised if... Diff mount and strap has to be replaced Clutch fluid needs to be bled, maybe clutch line, slave, and master may need to be replaced Transmission fluid flush and refill Rubber engine and transmission mounts changed U joints need to be replaced for drive shaft and half shafts Wheel bearings need replacement Rear suspension bushings need to be replaced Bad news is that it could be quite a few parts that need replacement Good news is that the parts are pretty easily available, pretty easy to source, and mostly easy to install. Quite interested to hear how close or far off the mark I am, keep us informed, and good luck sir.

The symptoms coincide with so many problems. It almost feels as though you are trying to be as vague as possible. Not much merit in our guessing if you have turned it over to a good shop, it would just be our un-informed guess vs their deduced theory. I'm willing to play though. Given the statements you gave as my clue... Lots of noise - no clue, you have the windows open? Hard to diagnose that one more specifics needed Noise over bumps - still kind of no clue, like a clunking noise gets louder? If so worn bushings, loose bolts, loose nuts, broken suspension arms/driveline mounting components Loss of traction going over bumps - worn tires would be the obvious guess, more subtle would be maybe the loose driveline/suspension component shifting all of a sudden or being pushed into place during load, sure it is traction and not the clutch slipping? Not smooth upshift when banging through the gears - I mean you probably shouldn't be pushing the car if it feels wounded, is it grinding? Is it jerky? This could be worn/deteriorated shift bushing, shift socket, worn syncros, low fluid, bad clutch engagement, air in the clutch line Sounds from rear when clutch engaged - once again quite vague, a grinding, a whirring, a clunking, during movement, during idle, during sitting? Not sure how the clutch being engaged would affect a moving noise other then the drive shaft being under some load or putting power towards the rear. Possibly worn driveshaft u-joint? Car won't go into gear, clutch basically lost weight - guessing you don't mean diet, so the return pressure dropped. Means you lost your springs on the clutch/pressure plate, popped a clutch line, leaking clutch slave, leaking clutch master, clutch finally worn out, clutch pedal out of travel. Would be interesting to see what the shop says, if you want to direct my guesses towards a more accurate solution if you could elaborate it would make it a little more fair I think.

Ok so I need help. I am at a stand still. First off, fixed the clinking noise, it was a bent shield on the tailshaft of the transmission rubbing the driveshaft under load. A little love with a crow bar and screw driver and the annoying clinking noise is gone. Transmission seems to just be vibrating from a worn mount. Planning on ordering new mount along with some parts to make the shifter a little more friendly (shifter relocator, poly shifter bushing, short shifter) as well as a replacement starter motor. So as it turns out I do not need to budget for a full rebuild of the transmission or a clutch swap quite yet. That means I have a bit of money I would like to spend. 3 choices I have thus far, each one has merit, and each will be done in time, it is just a matter of what do I do now. I think I can only swing for 1 choice financially, obviously the more expensive option pushing my budget more. Option 1: Replace diff Info: I have an R180 from a subaru wrx sti. In very good condition, would need to order conversion flanges, bushings for the R180 mustache bar, and studs for the back cover, diff fluid, and rear gasket. Merit: less noise during turns, easier to turn the steering wheel, probably a bit more predictable or gradual as it lets loose. Downfall: still running stock half shafts, won't have the welded so much less likely that I will go to the local drift event, power limit of 275ft lb of torque according to posts by johnc Price ~600$ (adaptor flange, fluid, gasket, bushings, studs) Option 2: Replace seats Info: I have some cheap ebay seats, would like to get better ones, sparco R100 come to mind. I also purchased some new belts which would necessitate removing the seats anyways would be best to do them at the same time. Merit: new safer seats, get to run my new easier to put on belts, more bolstering Downfall: Interior still most likely leaks at the door seals, car is still a work in progress, ruining the seats would be much more costly Price ~800$ (seats, rails, sliders) Option 3: Coilovers Info: I have spare struts that can be cut and welded to receive the BC coil over kit. BC coil over kit will be bolt in from the car's perspective so I can re use my front strut brace etc. Merit: Get away from the poly camber tops which johnc has pointed out can fail, will not have to reseat springs each time the car is unloaded, will make it easier to get off the ground due to anti droop. Will decrease the movement arc of suspension so potentially some gain in having predictable suspension geometry, independent ride height adjustment is a boon as well. Also gives me a chance to replace the rear wheel bearings and put in an inspected axle shaft. Downfall: I don't have the facility to make or purchase the other adjustable suspension bits (tie rods, LCA's etc) Price ~1600$ (coilovers, new bearings, seals) Thoughts appreciated. Really can't decide. As mentioned all will be done eventually just a matter of what I should do now.

Slightly confused still, were you planning on going without?

Same strategy as above, rule out, isolate, conquer. Right now you have not nailed anything down per say. You know a situation that causes the problem. Once again, lay facts on the table, we can't really help you, if you the one asking for help is making assumptions. We need facts to help isolate any problem. So if the car runs in the beginning, then that means you meet the requirements to start. If it stalls out then that means you are loosing one of those requirements. Air, fuel, spark, compression We lost a week of posts, but I believe you said you acquired a new fuel pump, regulator, and filter? If you have fresh gas and fuel pressure when this happens, then fuel supply is not the issue. It could be a problem with the injector or cold start injector, so there is one place to look. Another thing to check is that you have everything plumbed correctly. Tank -> pre pump filter -> pump -> filter -> rail -> regulator -> tank Air, you said you have no vacuum leaks, new hoses? or just a general glance? The factory vacuum system is pretty complicated. Something that gives us a little more confidence would be great. A quick squirt with some non-chlorine brake clean would indicate any vacuum leaks, I believe ether would work as well (you would be looking for a rise in rpm) Compression, compression test simple as that, no compression and even if you throw all the air and fuel and spark at it it won't do any good, unlikely situation as without compression it would most likely not want to start. If compression test reads low there are somethings we can try. Now to the most likely culprit, spark. Have you confirmed strong spark? I suspect that either the plugs are fouled, or that your coil is overheating/failing. As the car warms up check how hot the coil gets, get us some multimeter readings from the battery. If you have insufficient charge the engine will eventually stalls as it cannot generate a strong enough spark to light the fuel mixture, which could lead to fouled plugs which only makes the problem worse. Report back with some findings and we can go from there .

I did the 2x3 0.083 frame rail connectors, you do end up in the cabin if you try to maintain the rocker height. I have seems some people run 1x3 .083 to get around that problem. In the front I used 2.5x2.5 .120 to replace the front portion of the frame rail that had rotted away, I will have to echo that .120 really is quite thick, had to use a lot of amperage to get good penetration, and welding that onto the thin sheet metal was not a fun task. I think .065 might be a little bit on the thin side, but as long as you didn't crush the tubes and used posts where applicable it should be just fine, I think .065 is that's the thickness of the tube that is holding up my fuel cell, structurally sound, but I'm not sure it would handle a twisting load from the chassis directly for long periods of time.

That is very very clean. Any chance of an exhaust video? I think the internet can use another one .

Hmm which coil overs are you running? We'll have to see, coil overs are a lot of money, and while convenient for me, it would also be quite a bit to spend. Like my suspension is annoying, but still functional and safe, while my seats, I'm not sure I would trust all that much.

Welcome back sir, I remember seeing this car during my search for more info, it really is a great engine. Looking forward to the new motor!

Need more info, "won't work" is not very descriptive, only fronts or rears, which side etc. Does the brake actuate the rear signals? By new, do you mean new to you or new in box? You are correct this has been brought up several times. To the point I suspect it is most likely your front signals. First to make it clear, the hazards are on a separate circuit, so the fact they function does not really bode anything for the turn signals per say. I know it seems strange, but working hazards just show that your bulbs and your power supply are adequate. Still a good choice to use new bulbs and replace any questionable fuses to put that out of the equation. Make sure you have a multimeter or at least a test light for the next part. Depending on your answer to the questions above faults fall into a few categories. Most likely the bulb holder is not transmitting power, the design is not the best. Test by unplugging turn signal and checking voltage. Either remove the plastic and re-solder the wire onto the holder, or acquire a replacement bulb holder. The design is similar to an easily available part from an american make, you will have to search to find it as I cannot recall exactly the part number. If you are not getting power to the bulb work your way back, at this point it will most likely be the switching mechanism. The contact on the switch mechanism is worn or burned, need to clean contacts by taking it apart and investigate the switching mechanism for any obvious mechanical fault. I have found sometimes the rocker tab on the inside needs to be re-bent and the contacts cleaned. If that is not the case work your way to the power wire for the switching mechanism. If that is not getting power, work your way to the fuse box. If that is not getting power work your way to where it connects to the battery. There you go, pretty much the methodology for finding any fault. Unfortunately I am going to be an ass and I am going to have to berate you a bit, I'll be gentle compared to some others though. Sometimes the search functions are difficult to use, on here it's not bad. If you have problems with internal search bar just search on google and use hybridz in the search bar along with your terms. In fact the moment I read the phrase "I searched but..." the next thing I do before proceeding is to put the problem into google. Part of the solution that I suggest actually is gone through in detail with pictures on the first non sponsored post. http://fiddlingwithzcars.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/turn-signal-repair/ The reason we ask users to search is not because we want to see anyone suffer, the reason is that at least on our forum people spend quite a bit of time discussing things and solving things and putting it in easily legible format, it would be a shame to not take advantage of it. You have the entire internet at your disposal, use it /berating

Wanted to take the down pipe off to wrap so I figured I would put up some exhaust related things. Downpipe Wrapped Exhaust Exit location Believe it or not, the exhaust is actually mounted in the shot above. The DEI titanium wrap was real easy to use, followed their video on youtube and had it wrapped in a couple minutes very securely. The exhaust shop did a great job with tucking the exhaust tip in the back. It does rattle a bit as it pretty much touches the chassis where the tip is, but it is completely stealthy, the entire exhaust sits above the frame rail to boot even with the massive R154 transmission sharing the same space. Even idling, there's no hint of exhaust fumes. Exhaust vid Completely different from previous engine and exhaust Kind of makes me miss the old engine.

Only problem with the RTZ mount is that depending on the place you buy it from and your year it may need slight modification (grinding off tabs in trans tunnel, drilling extra hole etc etc). Other then that I think it works great, and you can run another poly step bushing on the bottom mount to sandwich. I was told solid mounting the front and not solid mounting the rear is a big no-no.

Welding is really fun, especially if you can get pretty consistently good at it. We started with a 4 foot pipe and 1 u-bend and a few hours later we had an exhaust, friend's dad popped out to the garage and quite literally said "holy shit" which was about a nice a complement as I could hope to expect. I believe new knocking sound is the exhaust hitting the chassis again. The exhaust shop cut up my exhaust to fit the v-band and their mount and in the process I think they moved one of the bends a bit too close to the chassis. Will need a visit from the hammer fairy I think. Local speed shop is having a sale right now on sparco seats, and I am hard pressed to prevent myself from buying a couple R100s to go along with me new to my schroth harnesses. Either that or I can start saving for coil overs. Decisions decisions.