TECHNICAL FORUMS => Project Builds => Topic started by: MrMindless on April 14, 2014, 12:17:36 PM
Title: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 14, 2014, 12:17:36 PM
This unit has a new owner! (http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131114212351/elderscrolls/images/5/53/Wave_Smiley_Emoticon.gif)
I did a little prerunning and race prep, then ran it along with Smike and Matt at the first RCROCS race this past weekend.
I had 4 stunningly good laps including the fastest lap of the three of us, before on lap 5 of 5 the rear 4 link had an upper joint pull out and left me with a 3 legged 2 wheel drive car. Took out one coilover and the rear driveshaft when the axle shifted and went pinion-up. I winched up the hill I was climbing when it failed after applying nylon 4 link technique to good effect and finished the race, as the last rig to complete 5 laps for 51st place of 124 overall, and 18 of 29 in Long Wheel Base.
Several repairs and changes to be made before the next outing, starting with rear driveshaft and a coilover along with new upper links.
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 14, 2014, 12:21:19 PM
Title: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 14, 2014, 12:34:48 PM
Minor changes include new extinguishers and mounts - done, new ratchet type harnesses - driver side set arrived 2hr after race departure so not done yet.
More changes moving forward include Tires. TBD... Flipping the intake and putting the air filter under the dash Fuses in main power feeds Grand master battery disconnect New hood, and hinging the side panels over brakes and battery Moving orbital under the hood and the wheel closer to me New trans shifter with lockouts and neutral safety Move pivot points for tcase shifters down for more throw and leverage Remove tcase interlock pills for front wheel drive and mixed ranges Fix severe front diff cover leak Faster front winch Rewiring with circuit identification, waterproof switches Automate cooling fan control More idiot lights - for volts and temp; move to front cage post Shield over gauges In-cab storage for hockey bottles and glove box for first aid kit Improve rear suck down winch Front and rear line locks (to isolate damaged brake lines at the flip of a switch) Rear swaybar
Tapatalking in traffic
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: smichaelR22 on April 17, 2014, 12:07:52 PM
brand new tins and you ripped them already!
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 17, 2014, 12:30:30 PM
No idea where I did that. Decent dent behind it too. Doesn't look like log damage but it had to be prerunning, not racing. No pics that show, I don't think.
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 17, 2014, 05:19:56 PM
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 24, 2014, 10:43:39 PM
One replacement, and pair of spare coilovers ordered.
6 37" Toyo Open Country MTs ordered.
LubeLocker diff gaskets for front and rear. The rear isn't leaking yet - but neither is the front (anymore). Going to see if they hold up better than RTV. Smike says not, I'm hoping otherwise. We shall see since all three cars have terrible front diff leaks right now.
Full compliment of idiot lights and sensors to mount and install.
A real shifter, with NSS and gates. How best to configure those remains to be seen. Tcase shifters will hopefully get adjusted as well and if I'm really ambitious the 205 interlock pills will be ground or just removed.
A couple of electrical safety items are on their way as well (chiefly some big fat main fuses).
New belts for the driver side haven't been put in yet. If I like them another set should be made to happen.
And of course the rear upper link failure that took out the coilover needs to be addressed.
Two weeks to get it all put where it belongs! And to put injectors back in my tow rig, if they ever get here.
Hoping for a productive weekend while everyone is at Big Dogs! I made some headway on garage cleanup last weekend but I've got miles and miles yet to go...
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: Callelle on April 25, 2014, 05:18:45 AM
I've had my lubelocker in the 8.25 for 3 years and never had a drip from it, even after how many time's it's been removed (at least 20). I see them as well worth it since it's already paid for itself.
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 25, 2014, 07:02:54 AM
Mashing big heavy cast covers into things at race pace is a very different application than normal r&r. We'll see after a race or two!
Tapatalking in traffic
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 26, 2014, 03:04:52 PM
Trailer sprouted some work lights and a "shore power hookup" - aka dangling power strip cord.
Speakers need mounting :)
Belts work and feel good. Need the other side.
About to do the front diff gasket and then tear into the floor and console for shifter work. Then the bad link will come out and hopefully the new shocks will be here Monday to go along with link and driveshaft work.
Tapatalking in traffic
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 26, 2014, 11:11:49 PM
Front SOLID cover was cracked and soon to break from rock smashing. Outside was wet at the damage. Replaced with new from stock. For the record the diff was dead empty.
Bottom of diff cover has serious overhang even after the axle was plated by smike. The bottom bolt hole is stripped too. That's probably the diff leak root cause. Haven't decided what if anything I'm going to do anything about those items yet, or if I'll just let it ride.
Shifter gate and lockout mods took serious time but it's all like I think I want it to be. Boooo for hardened steel. Exhaust is extremely cozy to B&M-intended shift linkage mounting, so that got reengineered and snugged up under the pan lip. Cable and trans-side linkage are ready to go as paint dries. Center console changes needed to put the shifter where I was planning are non-trivial. Tcase sticks need to shift right, wiring bundle is in the way, some switches are tight too. The shifter may get slapped on top of the console for now, until rewiring reorganizes things. Ill determine that tomorrow but it's pretty likely. It's easier to tweak position from there and get a taste for where I really want it, too.
I don't think my welder reaches the trailer so I'll have to pull the car out for orbital moving, but I've got a very simple & easy plan there to put the wheel where it'll fit me better.
Passenger harness ordered today. It needs an opposite ratchet to work as and where desired so I guess I actually have a passenger harness right now on the driver side. Fits great, feels great, and I can't wait to race with tight belts.
Tires ETA Tuesday. Measured the BFGs at 37". So I'm not losing any tire to speak of. I think the nittos are 37.0 and toyos 36.85, unless it was the other way around. Side by side will be interesting - but I'm really not looking forward to that tire mounting party.
No shocks eta, hoping mon/tues. Still need to pull the bad link.
I'd like to get idiot lights all up and running ahead of the rewire too. I have all their sensors and have a perfect mounting plan. Lights eta Monday.
Tapatalking in traffic
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 27, 2014, 10:21:10 PM
I spent this afternoon looking over wiring, and then flipping the intake. It drove back in the trailer just now. Something seems a little unhappy even after 3 starts though. It stumbles on acceleration. If I unplug the MAF it's fine.
I modified the intake to clear the fuel rail crossover instead of flipping the rails around and changing the fuel line routing. I got creative with the vacuum lines that were present and both valve covers are connected - though where they connect to the intake is the reverse of before. The only extra part I needed was a longer vacuum line to the fuel pressure regulator. I also had to do some work on the wiring loom to reach the throttle body sensors, otherwise that was all pretty good.
I need to make my firewall hole a bit bigger to account for motor movement and improve ease of installation. The jood needs a little trimming if I don't have time to make a new one. The top of the air filter makes it damn near all the way to the dash. It's almost as surprising as how huge the huge empty hole at the front of the motor looks.
Transmission end of the new shifter is all set. I'm still shifting from my lap to move the car for now. Moving pivot points for tcase and making that shifter fit are next up. Much as I'd like to I don't think tearing into the tcase to get rid of interlocks is going to make my short list.
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: s0l0ithz on April 28, 2014, 01:01:28 PM
Going to happen before Sunday play day at back country 4x4?
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 28, 2014, 01:19:04 PM
I forgot that was coming up. I'd say it doesn't look great for that.
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: smichaelR22 on April 28, 2014, 03:23:28 PM
stick another trans cooler in that new hole you have up front to make that new transmission last more than a race or two.
you cracked a solid cover? it had new fluids both ends and sat in kitchen for 3 months after rebuild was done with no leaks. lube lockers suck will be 10x worse with even tiny bit loose bolts. i saw a truss design this weekend that i really liked to solve this problem. Id suggest running a tap and brake clean through all the bolts and red locktight them. i have just been too lazy to do it. dont expect to be hitting diffs this year as much as last. my rear and front were ok after the race, after Big Dogs, they are dumping.
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 28, 2014, 03:34:31 PM
Good plan on the loctite. I don't think I diffed hard enough to break it, I'd remember that, and I don't remember even touching diffs. Cumulative damage from years of smashing I'm sure. It was clearly cracked from inside, but from outside it was just a tiny wet spot. I didn't take a pic.
I don't think there's enough meat to go up a hole size in the bottom bolt but I might try anyway. It probably needs to be welded shut and red redrilled. That sounds terrible.
Tapatalking in traffic
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: smichaelR22 on April 29, 2014, 03:12:18 PM
my rear diff had 3/4 of a quart in it, pulled and reasealed. didnt look at the front, it isnt leaking any more..... haha
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on April 30, 2014, 09:16:35 AM
New tires came in and look GREAT.
swapping vacuum lines around made it run right as rain, I was definitely fighting the PCV system.
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: etk300ex on May 01, 2014, 07:20:07 AM
Saw 572 front diff take a full throttle tires in the air to head-on hit on a massive pointy rock. Cracking one must be serous! Haha
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on May 01, 2014, 07:31:03 AM
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on May 04, 2014, 01:13:36 AM
Can't thank smike enough for help.
Link fixed Bad bushings in front uppers replaced (owe Matt (2) roughstuff BUSH) Driveshaft fixed (owe Matt (1) 1350) Coil straightened PCM mounted Orbital moved Hood trimmed and installed Shifter mounted Intake flip fully finished Bad injector lower o-rings replaced 5 tired dis/mounted
Needs zip tie check Passenger harness Tools and tire strapped down Full fluids check Secure tcase shifter pivot Tin installed
Prefer Rear brake pads (lookup or pn?) Paint squirted Replace switches Fan controller Fix lower bolt in front diff Loctite front diff bolts Tcase shifter pivots
That's all I can think of for the short list
Tapatalking in traffic
Title: Re: 571, Take II
Post by: MrMindless on July 31, 2014, 10:05:49 AM
It's been a while since I've posted an update here.
I roasted a trans in the May 10th RCROCS race after two laps. It was getting soft, and I called it before it had no more go. It stayed in the car for a couple local short trips but definitely wasn't right. The transmission temp gauge was non-op so I have no idea just how bad it was. I decided to head to AOAA over the 4th of July so with Smike's help we pulled the motor again, got it rebuilt and I wrapped up the install along with an additional trans cooler and some fresh gauges and after hustling through the week and departing a day late, I made it down to Shamokin, where after 6-8 hours of run time over 2 days, reverse physically broke.
I chopped up the floor instead of taking the motor out again. I was seriously considering replacing the TH350 with a 700R4 to get some better gearing but after Smike Troy and I stared at it in my garage for a little while on Monday night before Saturday's race, I decided it was much too much work to push the transfer case back ~6" and adjust mounting and driveshafts accordingly. Instead of rushing a local rebuild again, I bought a TCI Super Street Fighter from Jeg's along with another new torque convertor and had it Thursday. I'd pulled an all nighter getting the floor ready to go back in wednesday night, and took Friday off from work to get it buttoned up. Installing a new water pump and replacing a squeaking alternator added to my list of musts before going racing, and of course nothing came easy with the water pump install. I'm currently running no thermostat because the water neck didn't fit the new water pump correctly...
I had to stop on my way down to Line Mountain for a 15 minute nap, and that was the sleep I raced on, but I made it to the track and put down some fast lap times! I did have some electrical issues on lap 1 from the additional fan I'd added with the second trans cooler which kept me off the podium. I was also having some serious shock fade at the end of the 25 mile race, so that's something to be dealt with as well.
My short list of big projects is to get a functional winch again, and to rewire the car to avoid and ease the troubleshooting of any future electrical issues. I've also got to straighten a mangled bumper from the race - but after decent finishes, Smike and I both wheeled AOAA for a few hours on our way home from Line Mountain without having to turn any wrenches on the cars.
I've got new bushings on order to replace those I wasted in the race (that being: most of them), a new trans dipstick to get rid of a kink so I can actually read fluid level, and a kickdown cable for the trans to maybe let it actually work as a fully automatic automatic - or at least help it keep the line pressure it needs to live a long happy life...
