The Long Awaited: The Myth, The Legend, The Douchebaggery

[RawrImAMonster]

If you're on lowering springs, they could have failed you for that. They failed mine because the spring had play when suspension was at full droop. Its stupid as hell because the fronts are a strut and can not possibly come out and I don't really know anything i would be doing with a M3 that would get the rear at full droop while driving it and even then, they wiggle. Not like as soon as you get near full droop, the springs say f*** it and just shoot out of the pockets.

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Sounds like you all have been to some tough inspection shops. The closest anyone has ever gotten to looking at anything suspension related or even anything under my car has been pulling a wheel off to check brake pads.

[CaptainHenreh]

If you're on lowering springs, they could have failed you for that. They failed mine because the spring had play when suspension was at full droop. Its stupid as hell because the fronts are a strut and can not possibly come out and I don't really know anything i would be doing with a M3 that would get the rear at full droop while driving it and even then, they wiggle. Not like as soon as you get near full droop, the springs say f*** it and just shoot out of the pockets.

Sullivan, seriously, what State Trooper's daughter did you get caught in the back seat with to make someone play hardball with you like this. Unless you scraped getting put onto the lift I cannot imagine any inspector being that big of a cock.

[V1GiLaNtE]

If you're on lowering springs, they could have failed you for that. They failed mine because the spring had play when suspension was at full droop. Its stupid as hell because the fronts are a strut and can not possibly come out and I don't really know anything i would be doing with a M3 that would get the rear at full droop while driving it and even then, they wiggle. Not like as soon as you get near full droop, the springs say f*** it and just shoot out of the pockets.

Sullivan, seriously, what State Trooper's daughter did you get caught in the back seat with to make someone play hardball with you like this. Unless you scraped getting put onto the lift I cannot imagine any inspector being that big of a cock.

^^ Seriously.. What Rex said. I don't anyone has said a single thing about suspension on the Jeep and it's lifted...

My largest inspection annoyance came from the power to the drivers master window switch being glitchy and the drivers side window went down but then lost power and wouldn't go up.. They called and said I would have to fix it to pass.

My response?

"Slam the door harder"

Freshy inspection sticker not 10 minutes later...

[SlimKlim]

Passed!

Im heading to my shop after lunch to check the alignment because things feel screwy, and I'm gonna get them to help me straighten out the catback because its hitting the bumper.

I'd also like to roll the fenders today if I can. I'm going to stop by RRT and see if I can sweet talk my way into borrowing a roller or getting some shop time, if not, does anyone know anyone with one I could borrow?

[Sully]

If you're on lowering springs, they could have failed you for that. They failed mine because the spring had play when suspension was at full droop. Its stupid as hell because the fronts are a strut and can not possibly come out and I don't really know anything i would be doing with a M3 that would get the rear at full droop while driving it and even then, they wiggle. Not like as soon as you get near full droop, the springs say f*** it and just shoot out of the pockets.

Sullivan, seriously, what State Trooper's daughter did you get caught in the back seat with to make someone play hardball with you like this. Unless you scraped getting put onto the lift I cannot imagine any inspector being that big of a cock.

Jenkins was the original shop that failed it which pissed me off. Then the shop I used to work at were being assholes because it was failed by Jenkins and no matter how much I explained the front spring couldn't move inside the strut assembly. They would not pass it. Really rubbed me the wrong way considering I used to work there. Oh well, my dad pulled the insurance program he had there which brought them millions each year. Not because of that, the shop refused to reinvest causing shitty cycle times and work.

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[BLINGMW]

Do't bother arguing with them, they can fail you for just about any suspension modification, especially if it alters the ride height.

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You just have to find a shop that doesn't care.

[Sully]

The problem was that my normal slap a sticker on it guy was out on leave. I was arguing more for the sake of "I used to work here, you really won't pass it even after I put mustang springs in the rear so it would be fixed". That is when they first told me the front springs move too, which they didnt, I tested it myself after they told me that.

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[SlimKlim]

Keep it down in the peanut gallery. :roll:

Took it into the shop yesterday and attempted to give it an alignment. The toe on the right rear was cocked way in, causing the rear of the wheel to rub against the fender pretty badly. We straightened it out and then I worked a bit more room in the fender using the tried and true heat-gun-and-roll-cage-bar method.



We tried to align the front but the steering rack is fucked, when you adjust toe on one side it pulls the other in, and the steering still has a dead spot in the middle and the effort to turn is starting to feel uneven. The PS pump is also whining like crazy even when you aren't turning.

It definitely needs a new rack, hoses and a reservoir, but I'm wondering if I should also do the pump at the same time? I've got a good hookup for pretty cheap and awesome labor right now, so if the parts aren't too expensive I might just pay to get it knocked out in a couple weeks.

I took it up to C&C this morning, mostly for the peaceful early morning drive. Peaceful. 8)

[SlimKlim]

Ok, so 5 months after confirming that my steering rack was completely destroyed, Jim Khoury popped up on facebook with an entire assembly out of his recently-departed E36 racecar. He offered me an insanely good deal for a nearly brand new rack, lines, reservoir, filter, aftermarket cooler and pump. He also threw in control arms, tie rods, hubs, and wheel speed sensors because he couldnt be bothered to break them apart.

See? Procrastination does pay off! This also continues my long standing tradition of using cheap take-off parts from race cars that have been in fairly serious accidents. :thumbup: Nondescript hunk of race car:



I quickly understood why Jim hadn't bothered to separate the parts, I was able to break the driver's side tie rods on, but the passengers side was torqued with the force of a thousand suns. The car hit the wall with the right-rear first, so I wonder if all that weight shifting in that direction had something to do with it.



Space heaters FTW.

I popped the reservoir-to-pump line off and drained the fluid from the old system, disconnected the tie rods, steering column, reservoir bracket, pump and finally the rack itself. Getting the old one out really wasn't that bad.



Getting the new one back in, with the dead weight of the passenger's side control arm/tie rod/hub that I couldn't break free pulling the whole thing in the wrong direction, was a complete bear.

I've got the new pump in place and the rack loosely bolted in. Next time I get out there I need to straighten the rack out, connect the steering column and tie rods, tighten down the rack, pump and reservoir, add fluid and reassemble. If the alignment isn't too whacked out I might take it for a drive this weekend. :thumbup:

I also rolled the fenders last weekend, it's still really, really close, but it will hit the bumper before the fender now when I jack up the opposite corner to compress that side, so I guess that's about as good as it's gonna get.



This *should* resolve all the driving issues the car was having. Sure the motor needs some gaskets, the subframe bushings are probably nearing the end, and I'm day dreaming about more suspension doo-dads to dial in the ideal setup, but all of those things can wait.

I'll probably address some of the minor interior issues before the weather warms up, touch up the peeling paint on the front bumper and try to get it to some autocrosses this year. :thumbup:

[xvxax]

I told you about finally fixing my PS leaks a few months ago. I used these on all the low pressure connections on my e36 and it's the first leak-free setup I've had. They're awesome.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-hose-clamps/=q6f3z0">http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-hose-clamps/=q6f3z0</a><!-- m -->

I followed this, but used those clamps.

Previously I had hoses and hose clamps on all those lines but I am using a BMW hose for the banjo bolt side now, like in this write up. It leaks less that way.
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[SlimKlim]

Which style of clamps did you use? There are a few in that link.

The nice thing about having this entire assembly to swap in is I'm not touching a single clamp or banjo bolt. Presumably it wasn't leaking in Jim's car, so I should be alright, but if I run into issues I'll swap all the clamps out to something better.

I also need to figure out the placement of the aftermarket oil cooler he has on there. It looks like it'll slide right between the A/C condenser and radiator, but that has the delicate rubber hoses poking out into the airstream under the radiator and with my luck I'll catch a rock with them. I can try to snake the lines in from the side (don't remember if it's plastic or what there) or I can try to find another location.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Or just dont worry about the power steering cooler? Almost no one runs them, including I. He just ran it because RRT convinced him to spend money.

[SlimKlim]

Because I'd rather find a place to zip tie in than rerun the lines. :dunno:

If it turns into a pain in the ass I can just snip the line and connect it directly to the rack, but if I can stick it somewhere without too much trouble I might as well, its not like a little generic (somewhat battered) oil cooler like that is worth anything.

[xvxax]

I used these and they are awesome. I can't find my receipt so double check the diameter.
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[SlimKlim]

Cool, I'll keep them in mind if I end up needing to redo anything.

[SlimKlim]

Wrapped up the steering rack swap on Saturday afternoon.

The oil cooler found a new home in the bumper grill, hidden-ish behind the license plate. I've only driven it around the block but the steering feels so much better. Almost like I went from a totally fucked up rack to a more-or-less brand new one or something. It tracks straight, but needs an alignment to get the steering wheel back on center.

I was going to do that this week, HOWEVER, people won't stop offering me prices on parts that are too freaking good to pass up. My friend is sending me a set of 96+ top hats I can install reversed to get about -3* camber in the front. Which is good for corners and stuff, however it's going to require a wheel spacer so the inside top of the tire doesn't go crashing into the inner fender on tight turns.

So I'm holding off on getting it aligned until those show up and I can get them installed. While I wait for the parts to show up, I might as well throw another spacer in the rear spring perch and get the fatass tire a little further away from the bumper, fix the stupid EU-spec cutoffs on my headlights, polish the pits out of the glass lenses, fix up some of the sagging suede on the interior panels, and attempt to mitigate the disaster of paint flaking on the front bumper. Might as well rummage around in my box of tricks and see what new parts I have that I've forgotten to install as well.

I CAN'T STOP.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Go go go! You have until the MM Spring Car Show to get it all done

[SlimKlim]

I nagged a friend who's much better at math than I to help figure out my front fender clearance, just to confirm that a 12.5mm spacer really is the best option. Assuming I currently have front camber of -1.5*, and the swapped top hats will result in -3*, it will move the upper lip of my tire back 8.5mm on top of the 15.8mm I currently have, less the 12.5mm spacer should result in ~12mm of wiggle room between the tire and fender lip. Prolly not gonna want to go tearing ass into any steep driveways with the front wheels turned, but it should be mostly fine.

I ordered the spacers and a set of spring pads from ECS last night, hopefully CJ has taken the top hats to the post office, and now I'm jotting down random things I want to try and fix while the car is still down. I'm trying to convince Lauren that spending a day wrapping interior panels would be a fun, couple-bonding activity for the weekend. Not making a ton of headway though.

Speaking of which, Jake turned up this photo of Lauren and I in the car from almost 4 years ago. Might even be the first photo of us together. Just ignore Steve Plante in the back giving us the finger.

[Ken]

hahahah, that picture is awesome.

[Jake]

hahahah, that picture is awesome.

Get ready bud, I have a few of you, too. Might find time to make a #TBT post next Thursday.