It hasnt been that hot again just yet. that one week it was in th 90s and it has droped down to 70 80s again and a lot of rain. but so far it looks like it might be working, only time will tell what it will do.... not enough time with it yet.



anyway here is the strut bar installed... it was super easy, looks good, and the seats are in their original positions.

 

I fianlly put the 380cc injectors back in and everything feels great now. i am going to be wary in the coming weeks to look for problems and any issue but so far with the new harness it works great. and everything feels smoother across the rev range. now i cant wait to get tuned...

Soooooo i picked up a sett of cabrio braces..... gonna need to drill and tap my frame for these though so just a little bit more work.



Also talking about getting things finally done i fixed the rust and painted the problem section i had under the tail lights. i got a spray can paint kit form a web site call paint scratch and the paint i got was a perfect match, i got three rattle cans of primer the paint and gloss. i just need to go over it with a rubbing compound to make it glossy and put some wax on it.

THE BEFORE..... it was actually much worse than this and had to remove everything there. and both sides were rusted.


to this.... and yes that is a broken tail light, my hand went right through it when i was putting it back in. i guess 12 year old plastic that has been weathered is very brittle. i have two brand new tail lights coming in as well as OEM mud guards.

 

Hey Greek,

Long time no chat/post. Had a question for you on tranny/clutch replacement. I'm rapidly approaching 100k miles - which in my mind means I'm probably going to be doing a clutch in the next 20-30k miles.

Questions on DIY -- how hard is it really? I have accomplished the following items: Power Steering Pump, AC Clutch Coil, Basic Oil Changes etc.

I have limited tools (no air power) but have most of the common tools -- but am willing to buy what I need if it isn't going to be more than the cost of labor itself ~$900. I won't have too much of a limitation on time but would like the car buttoned up and back on the ground within a weekend (Friday night to Sunday night).

My thoughts are I could put that $900-$1,000 towards another car and just work on this slowly.

How heavy is the subframe?
What comes down with it when you pull down the subframe?
How heavy is the transmission?
Any major watch outs or things that made you think -- hmm... I should have just hired someone?
Any issues lining the subframe back up when you put it up?
Is this something you think I could pull off on my own - meaning nobody to spot me / hand me things / pick the car off my crushed and mangled leg??

Thanks man -- hope all is well.

 

No special tools needed. i would really recommend that you get the car at a good height so use 4 jack stand and place them on the lift pads.

putting your car into service mode helps a ton, and disconnect everything before hand. and i mean everything from the trans/ trans area, if it can come off take it off.

the sub frame itself is not to bad if you have even a small hydrolic jack. put it in the center unbolt the sub frame and lower with the jack then drag it out.

put a nice plank of wood under the engine with another jack stand to support the engine.

unbolt the slave cylinder from the tranny don't need to disconnect the hard line , just push it out the way.

you may as well buy a new rear main seal for engine, and input shaft seal for the trans any fork bushings. a might as well, dont want to have to drop the trans again just to change a rubber seal.

maybe a get a few boot clamps if your break/slip off or something when you take the axles out.

use a hydrolic jack to lower the trans. lift it a hair then wiggle it out then lower with jack then drag it out. its probably only 80lbs?

be prepared for broken bolts. you never know.

when putting back together be very careful of the hard plastic vacuum line that it does not get pinched between the trans and the engine block.


it would be nice to have someone around just for saftey even if they cant do anything, they can call 911 or something..... but if you have no choice just triple check everything and use your better judgment.

i mean i did like 90% of the work myself but there was someone home if i needed a hand with something.

 

Thanks Gabe - I have someone home -- my wife who can barely lift out the garbage when its completely full...hmm... second thought I'll take a ripper down to Helix or someone nearby NYC to do the work. Unless you want to help me / earn a few bucks in the process. How long did this all take you? Think you could accomplish it in a day -- starting at 9 AM and finishing by 9 PM?

 

in a day.... i dont know, two sure, three most defiantly..... as for the difficulty its not hard just very very time consuming.

if you feel you must bring it to a shop go ahead. but its going to cost $$$$$ when i asked around i was quoted at 2500, then they called me back and say 3500... and i hung up on them but thats because i needed a new trans too.


as for time im sorry i have none :( :( :( i would be happy to help, if i could have.

 

well its been a while since i have been here. have done a few things.

i fixed those broken tail lights literally like next day. having new tails makes the car look so much better. (i just took this pic, weather is a bit crappy now)


this happend like 2000miles ago! heres to another 150,000miles



somehow my wheel cracked, thank god the nice people at tirerack or Kosei? have a nice defect guaranty, got a new one super fast. guess it helps i live 15min away from a distribution center.



i bought a playtpus plate relocater. i took off my europlate. the fuz is cracking down hard on a lot of stupid things recently. know 4 people in 24 hours that got pulled over and got **** for no front plate. i dont need any more excuse to get pulled over.






i also have something i find very exciting coming in soon, and i have more plans in for the future so stay tuned.


.

 

Wow. What a read haha. I powered through all twenty pages in the last two hours. Congrats on the awesome build. Your posts are great and quite entertaining. I have a 2005 r53 at just over 103,000 miles. I have only had it for 6 months or so but so far only an 02 sensor. Your build has definitely scared me into taking some more preemptive measures to keep her running solid. Keep it up. Best of luck with the next 150,000 miles!

 

Looks like they came for US. Thanks for the order and the all the pics in this thread. Lost of good info.

 

Hey Greek

Love the work you have done so far. Funny how our cars are the same, same colour, same ABS/DSC/TPMS light error.


Any case, are you happy with the headers? on my previous R53 I had the RMW street header and the quality was great.

 

Any updates?

 

May i ask where you got the spray can paint? I have the exact same problem at the taillight area (Left side also) and my car's color is dark silver too.

Thanks

 

Husam,

I have been getting my paint from here...

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/tou...paint/buypaint

Yes, the do have Spray Cans available for about $20.00

Of the six or seven colors I have gotten from them they have all been perfect matches.

Motor on!

 

Are you installing Nut Inserts for your cabrio braces?



Easy to do and just the ticket...

Motor on!

 

Holy guacamole, thread revival batman.


YES tons of updates but as of late i got kind of lazy with the pictures. and stuff like that....... ill find the time to take pics and stuff. there is a list of things that happened

im actually on vacation right now so when i get back ill make sure to do a proper update.

Yes they are from you guys... and i have yet to install them LOL

read above, i was planning on just drilling and taping the frame where they will be mounted. but i will check out inserts. prob a better option


you have a wheel speed sensor problem.

they are of decent quality. good welds, was a pain in the *** to install. assuming the issue with all headers. sounds is great, i had to weld in a after market cat. the system as a whole i think sounds awesome. still need to get you guys a video of that.

when i get back from vaca ill find where i got the paint from but the color was perfect, really spot on.

 

OK guys know its been a very long time since i have been on here. gonna do a thread revival...

Some thing i have done. and haven't logged in the thread...

- rally lights.
- removed the custom suede interior i had done.
- ATI +2% crank damper
- RMW 500WHP axles.
- new front hubs/wheel bearings
- set of BFG G-Force Sport Comp-2
- probably a few other things that aren't coming to mind.

....soon to come up.

Full engine rebuild.
- which may include a cam depends on state of OE cam and if injectors can spare the extra fuel.
- an of course a custom tune.

i am at 180K miles i have super low compression. its the rings... did a dry and wet compression test. and for good measure a leak down... and its the rings. and its leaking oil from the valve cover.


looking at putting in.
- ACT flywheel
- ACT Clutch kit
- Quaife LSD
- front engine mount. (which i have never done for some reason)
- send header out to get ceramic coated.
- fix leaking power steering lines
- other odds and ends...

also going to do plastidip the car. in a nice pearl color.

so stay tuned. for a whole new adventure.
:popc orn:: popcorn:

 

Plastidip? U wot m8?

 

so lets do some catch up with some pics. had to dig to find these... Should note this was done around spring of 2015






the new tires from a long while back lol
BFG G-Force Sport Comp-2 215/45/17



had to get an alignment cuz i had worn out brand new snow tires in a month, i did a quick string alignment to get it as close as possible so i dont ware my new tire out quickly. think did a good job they didnt have to fix much... the toe was really bad before i did the string alignment.


and the RMW 500whp axles... i never took pics of them so i grabed a pic of RMW facebook page.




i dont even have to wash my own car. i get friends to do it for me isnt that right tab32?

 

How much did the axle cost?

 

i believe they were 750... got them a year ago so cant remember.

anyway first part came in. having taken out the stock flywheel before holy crap is thing light. 13lbs vs 29lbs

 

Nice, those are super bright. Thanks for the update.

 

Thanks, yea the rally lights are nice and bright. only issue i have had with them so far is the lenses on the fogs(outer ones) have cracked, i am assuming from temperature change. they get hot, really fast, and its pretty cold in CT during the winter. i use them the most. Use the center driving lamps if needed. but otherwise still work great.

 

Well this is just great... i now have bulb out... but more probable is the ballast. turn on my headlights and the passenger side low beam flickers and turns off. have not looked at it yet. ill do that tomorrow. hoping its just the bulb. bulbs and ballast are the original 14 year old equipment though. so im not expecting much lol.

 

sorry i took so long i forgot...

http://www.paintscratch.com/

this is where i got my color match paint from

 

well at least its not a ballast that went dead. but xenon bulbs are still expensive and rather annoying i have one working low beam now...