MDB's Ultimate Money Pit

[Mr Dangly Bitz]

So not much of an update, parts are slowly starting to trickle in.

Got my intercooler kit in, Pettit added a few goodies for the delay, they had to wait and get the new turblown intake elbow to fab up the last charge pipe connection. they threw in a billet oil filler cap and some other goodies which was nice. pretty beefy at 17x12x3.5

Also got the turblown cast aluminum intake elbow. looks like a solid piece.

Got bored and decided i wanted to go black with much of the engine bay, not really a polished or chrome person. So whipped out the rattle cans and sprayed the upper manifold, throttlebody and elbow all satin black

Goign to do the charge pipes and core end tanks next.

sakebomb ignition kit is in the mail. so that will be next. Going to mock up the core and see if i can fit this antigravity battery somewhere in the engine bay so i dont have to run cables all the way to the trunk.

 

[Mr Dangly Bitz]

well i think ive officially bitten off more than i can chew at this point.

some more parts have trickled in since the last update,

replacement oil filter pedestal with provisions for oil press and temp sensors
fuel pressure sensor for the new fuel rail
and finally the new harness.

Harness is scaring the shit out of me for some reason. mostly because i hate wiring, but more for the fact that it doesnt look like a 1 for 1 replacement. theres a fuse box in it and all kinds of other shit. ive read the wiring diagram 15 times and still am not comfortable.

 

[Mauro_Penguin]

Start plugging away my friend. Rip it off like a band aid.

The harness will start making more sense once you have a couple of sensors plugged in.

 

[Mr Dangly Bitz]

So.....made some decent progress this weekend, my hands and back are killing me...getting to old for this shit without a lift

Saturday was spent pulling the LIM, turbos and manifold.

Installed the new oil filter pedestal with pressure and temp sensors. needed a few more elbow and finger joints to get some of those nuts in.....

temperature probe conflicts with the banjo bolt that feeds the filter, so ill have to get an adaptor to get the sensor to fit.

LIM gasket was delaminating, so I ordered a new one of those, and the UIM gasket while i was at it, also got an FC filler neck to delete the AST

Replaced the oem fuel temp probe with a pressure sensor so the ecu can directly monitor FP and cut the car if something goes sideways.

Painted it so it doesnt look nearly as trashy.

Downpipe had one stud that refused to come out. Torches, sawzalls and hammers took care of that

Turbos came out pretty easy. lots of layers between the heat shielding an actuators to actually get them out. Thought they were in good shape until i flipped them over and saw the hotside. the cracks are DEEP

Sunday was spent on the electrical side

Pulled the last few sensors off the gearbox, loosened the ABS pump and had just enough room to pull the old harness out

New one went in from the inside so the wife helped with the whole push pull thing until it finally made it in.

With these now out of the way the only thing im waiting on is the turbo itself which is en route (wednesday supposedly). Once i get it ill take off the turbine side and send it, the downpipe and the manifold off to be cerakoted

Hopefully after that i can start putting things back ON the car instead of taking them off.

 

[Easter Bunny]

i hear you on getting old man, my left bicep still gives me the occasional twinge from some suspension work a month ago.......


i guess its better than being dead

 

[Mr Dangly Bitz]

i may have overdone it a bit....banana for scale

 

[Easter Bunny]

looks slow

 

[Mr Dangly Bitz]

Took some time yesterday to pull the turbine side of the turbo off and sent it, the manfold and downpipe out to get cerakoted

Started to dress the wiring harness. probably going to pull it and rerun a few lines but making some steady progress

Got a few new parts in from atkins rotary, new gaskets, filler cap with vent to delete the AST, exhaust studs etc so started to install those along with a McMaster carr order for some vacuum and coolant caps.

Knock sensors are next, still a few plugs im not sure where they go yet. Also trying to find a place to shoehorn the battery so i dont have to run lines all the way back to the trunk. Looking at the airbox location as a potential contender

 

[Mr Dangly Bitz]

Not much this weekend, still high on gasoline fumes

Installed the knock sensors and got them wired, got an ORB fitting and relocated the oil temp sensor in the pedestal as it was in conflict with the banjo bolt connetion

Massaged the harness around the engine bay, got the positive and negative terminals completed on the harness

Pulled the fuel hanger assembly, 6 of the 8 bolts stripped out and had to be drilled.....now i need to tap the tank so I drained it in preparation

Installed the new Walbro 460 pump in the hanger. ordered a stepper drill to install a new bulkhead electrial connector and some pinout tools to remove the old power supply via the existing 4 pin connector as it wont be used, need to keep it for fuel level sensor

Garage still wreaks of gasoline, leaving the doors open for a while

Hopefully the cerakoting is done this week, in the meantime its finally time for some permanent assembly. Going to reinstall and wire the LIM, UIM and TB sections, finish the AST delete and secure the harness somehow. Then install the resonated midpipe and wire up the fuel pump

Battery is the only variable at this point....and a tuna