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#860/1000 diary

383mazda

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Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
My brother and were using a speed bleeder sucking fluid from the S/C bleeder - it's tough to get a wrench on that thing to do it the "traditional way" you're talking about. I'll toss it on a lift this sat, drop the support to free up room and try it again...

In the mean time, here's the fork (was shooting in the blind, forgive the angle)


Inside the car, clutch pedal is maxed out on upper limit:


And here's the rod adjustment. I can still move the S/C by hand:


From what I've read, I should have passed the bleeder valve by now and shouldn't be able to push S/C rod...
 
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GSTwithPSI

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Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
The fork is positioned too far toward the drive side of the car. Is the starter plate installed? You should be able to see it pinched between the trans and the block.

Edit: FWIW, I have a 2600 in 1837 right now. The fork sits in the center of the window, pivot ball is not shimmed.

Take a look at this thread: click
 
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turbowop

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Apr 29, 2001
Messages
11,971
Location
Yakima, WA
Quoting 383mazda:


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I hit one snag though. While taking the gauge cluster trim off I broke my odometer peg. The sun had gone down and my flash light had just fallen under the dash and I didn't even notice it catching when I yanked on the trim. There must be a technique I haven't figured out. I'm guessing no simple way to replace that huh?



That peg just unscrews from the cluster. You can probably open it up and unscrew what's left of it. Then grab a new peg from a junkyard to replace it.
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Here's a better shot of the fork:


And what might be the starter plate??
 

MellowVR4

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Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
1,662
Location
Milwaukee, Wi
Starter plate is the plate in the pic that's between the engine and trans..
 

383mazda

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Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Got on the lift today - i bled the clutch some more and did get a few bubbles on the 15th pump or so.

Anyway, after it was bled, clutch fork had almost 0.5" of travel when the clutch was pressed (and I count still depress S/C by hand after bleeding):


On the bright side though, I got my horns working /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Or rather horn working... Turns out both were bad, so for now I have the theft alarm horn hooked up down in the bumper. Any recommendation on good replacement horns?

Also, I may have found my battery drain. 30A ignition switch was the only thing pulling current other than the clock fuse:


Could someone verify if this is normal or not? I appreciate the help guys! Tomorrow I go to get "Evo Genesis" inspected and tagged (as my coworkers call it, lol).
 

GSTwithPSI

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Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
The other pics you posted look a lot better. Looks like the fork is still positioned toward the driver side, but just a little.

Do you have access to a vacuum bleeder? They make the job so much easier with the bleeder screw positioned so wonky. I found with the vacuum bleeder, it allows you to close the bleeder before air can suck back in through the opening. With the bleeder positioned so stupid, do you think air is getting sucked back in before you can get it closed?
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Tackled the alternator over the weekend (old one was charging at 12.8V)

What a nightmare, lol. 2 hours in my brother and I had the car on the lift, the radiator out, the power steering moved out of the way and the subframe pulled, lol, and it still put up a fight!

Oooh, oil everywhere...


It's a good thing we pulled the subframe, it was only then that we caught a bolt missing from the front motor mount. The front one has 2 bolts connecting the mount to the sub frame mount - one vertical and one horizontal, I'm missing the horizontal one (with the accompanying nut of course).

So far it's been 2 steps forward and one step back with this car, lol. But I'm getting a lot done. Left on the to-do list is:
SS brake lines
New fluids (coolant, oil, trans, transfer and diff)
Motor mount bolt
Rebuild drive shaft
Timing belt / water pump (with new belts)
Then tracking down the battery drain
Boost gauge (trying to find a good "stock looking" location for it)

Clutch is dragging at 6,000 rpm, but it seems to be grabbing further from the floor now, or I'm just used to driving it?? I got to keep fiddling with that as well. I've got a buddy with an old (unused) Shep tranny built for his 1g he'll sell me. I think I'd like to get the EVOIII 5th gear swap for better highway mileage. Anyone know a reputable tranny builder in the DFW area? Swapping that will give me a chance to check flywheel and probably swap to a south bend 2100 clutch - ACT2600 is overkill for my plans so far, and it seems a lot of people have hydrolic clutch headaches with them...

After that I imagine it'll stay stock until tax season, lol. Then the decision will be paint or horse power? Choices choices...
 

transparentdsm

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
3,690
Location
Cherry Hill, NJ
for the gauge there aren't many options from dealers, but on facebook there is ortiz custom pods and they can make a gauge holder for any area. i had them make me a 2 gauge holder around the gauge cluster. you can ask them to make it for any place.


if you happen to come across any evo 3 5th gears grab me one or two or three. ive been looking for years and aside from buying an entire evo 3 transmission from japan there almost impossible to find.

as for decisions on power or paint, make the car what you want it to be then paint. the way i see it is why paint the car and make it look all sexy if your still going to be leaning over to fiddle with engine sh*t all the time?? thats just my opinion though.

cars starting to come along. good work.
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Just heard from TNZ, they said EVO 5th gears are no longer available... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif But they do still offer the taller 1st gear and shaft from the Evo.

On a brighter note though, my alternator swap seemed to fix my battery drain, it sat two full days and still had 12.4V and started right up (I know I know, quite the accomplishment). Before the alt swap 2 days of rest drained it to around 7 volts...
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
This weekend I knocked out a few more things.

Stainless steel brake lines all around (red ones for an additional 5hp of course). Stockers were very worn, but they all came apart very easily with no fussing! Brakes feel more sensitive / precise now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

(Very tight bends on the rear caliper line, making them 1 inch longer would have been great)




While I did the fronts I also replaced the shock tower mounts and added in the shock tube dust boots:



(Attempt #3, still can't pics to rotate 90°??)

In the last pic you'll notice the wheel well cover missing, I was also trying to track down an oil leak - front cover and oil filter housing were covered in oil / sludge. Cleaned it all off, did and oil change and only noticed a little oil dripping down the sandwich plate from the filter side, so I snugged the filter down a little more and that seemed to stop it.

I also replaced the front motor mount bolt that fits in horizontally - it was missing when I got the car. That has helped the shifting smooth out a little, I still feel the knob move when on/off the gas. Maybe that bolt being omitted has worn out the motor mounts? Looks like some new bushings are on the to buy list <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I also made the HUGE mistake of hooking up a boost gauge before I'm done bringing it all back to stock. Gauge only showed 7~8 lbs at WOT (gauge showed 1 before being plugged in, so not super confident in its accuracy). Anyway, now my manual boost controller is screaming at me from the tool box to be installed every time I walk into the garage <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" /> . Going to do fuel pump hot wire kit before boost gets turned up.
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Tackled both my rear quarter panel windows "wind noise" issue the other day. Man, what a fun job that was. It wasn't hard at all, just took a long time to clean all the old tar off...

Before:








After:


With new sealant applied right at the edge


No gaps = no more noise!


Now driving down the highway at 75 all I hear is my back seat squeaking... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif

BTW, here's the window sealant I finally found at a body shop (no dice at any local auto parts store)

 

GSXftw

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
111
Location
medford, OR
Hi, Keep up the good work! For my contributions, I will say that first off, the EVO III 5th gear wont work in an early (90-early 91 MY) trans.
click
So the first thing you wanna do is run the numbers on the bellhousing, see if you can get an idea of the manufacture year, the final clue is the shift rail/fork design, but youre not gonna know until youre there inside the trans so first BH. Since GVR4 has the weaker 1st gear, I would just shop for a 92-94 dsm trans with EVO III 5th gear if you can. I was lucky enough to snag one up right when they got discontinued, if I see any come up Ill let you know.
For the shifting issues, I ran into the same thing. What you need to do is an extended slave rod. The rod doesnt give you more throw, it simply changes your starting point of the fork, which yours is too far towards the slave for sure. A chevy pushrod and a bench grinder do the trick or they do sell them. A dragging clutch is hard on everything in the trans so throw in that slave rod asap.
You should be able to safely run 15 psi on stock everything provided its all working properly, a wideband should go in for safety though.
Good luck lemme know if you have any ?s
 
Last edited:

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Thanks for advise! I had figured the only other thing effecting shifting other than a messed up clutch install (which probably would have broke by now) is a longer rod. i don't know if the bracket the rod threads into on the clutch pedal is factory or not, I was going to weld a female union / long bolt to the end of it so I have more adjustment, I think a Chevy rod sounds easier though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Will let you know once fixed!
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Spring is in the air! And that means storm season in Texas - good opportunity to work on my wipers...

Before:

Nasty and beat - you can tell these have just say in the sun forever


I've spray painted wipers on other cars with limited success; they usually end up chipping and rusting again within a few months. I started prepping these and there were just too many places I couldn't get to with my sand paper (if only I had a sand blaster) - if I couldn't get all the rust or old paint off, I knew the rattle can solution would be a band-aid at best. Since I'm no longer on a starving student budget, I figured I could take the baller rout and get them POWDER COATED /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif Neon green for street cred /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worthy.gif

Just kidding - flat black. I would have done gloss but that would have been twice the price and wait time /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I got the trim coated while I was at it since it was looking old too.


Some things to note if you choose this rout. Obviously you have to take the "spoiler" off of the driver's side wiper, along with the plastic mount that it screws to (both had these for some reason?)

The way powder works it's able to get into all of the tight spots when done right. Unlike spray paint, powder can flow / blow around obstacles and will wait to find bare metal to stick to. When set up right you can hold the powder gun still and coat a soda can evenly all around. Obviously with spray paint, you could only coat half the can, and it wouldn't be an even coat either - check out the covered and uncovered parts of the hinge, these spots would have been left bare is spray painted:


HOWEVER - make sure they are coated in the folded / bent position (above right). Mine were left flat, and there are two small areas where there is metal-to-metal contact. In these areas the powder does pool around and glue shut, when bent after curing (bottom right) the "glue" breaks and leaves small bare spots - easy touch up though... If these had been coated bent they would have been perfect and ready to install without any work!


Next it getting my wiper sprayers working. I have everything needed to hook them up - install pics to come /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
Man, time for some updates...

I haven't fooled with Galant much the past few months due to the timing belt being unknown and shifting issues...

Now that weather is a chilly mid 80's time to tackle some maintenance



Let's see, from right to left:
Shep trans (stage 1 I believe)
drive shaft carrier bearings, yokes and shims
Engine gasket set
Timing belt kit
Rebuilt Throttle Body (by Steve M at throttlebodys.com)
Balance shaft delete kit
Water pump
Evo III manifold and stud kit (I also have a 2g, not sure which to install and which to sell...)
Non ABS brakes lines and prop valve
Subframe bushings
Fuel pump "hot wire" kit
And laying across the back of the table is a non cruise throttle cable

Saturday I got motor and tranny yanked out - was an 8 hour job by myself without instructions, lol (well I did rewatch Tom's galant videos about ten times)

How I left it sat night.


So, onto the shifting issues - who can diagnose this clutch? Was told is was brand new and broken in properly by PO, since I've owned the car (almost a year) I've put about 2000 light miles on it - maybe 3 hard launches total, lol. It doesn't slip at all, and when I do drive it's mostly on the highway, and I'm very easy on it - even then there's always a "warm" clutch smell when I get out.

Flywheel:



Pressure plate:



Step distance is 0.625 on this "new flywheel." A little much huh? But you'd think being out of spec on the top end wouldn't allow for clutch drag and grinding gears (gear lockout at anything over 6,000 and shifting fast).



Here's a shot of the trans, I'll have to research if that fork and TO bearing can swap over - maybe the were wrong this whole time? PO did say he replaced them with new clutch...




Anyway, I've got serial numbers off the clutch and will call ACT to see how old they are. I'm pretty sure it's the big 2600 kit - was a pain to drive (heavy pedal). If they can't work with my on anything and clutch isn't salvageable I'll probably get a lighter duty South Bend Clutch - I've had good experience with them (plus everywhere I read about mitsubishi's and ACT clutches I find more issues than success stories???)
 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
I'm starting to think the deep step depth was the problem - the throw out bearing wear ring is off center:

 

383mazda

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
61
Location
Gainesville, TEXAS
It's been slow goings... The deeper I go the more stuff I find I need to replace, lol.

I chipped a big chunk of my balancer pulley lip off... It wouldn't budge by hand (didn't expect it to) so I shot it with some PB blaster and gave it a little tap with a mallet on the back side and it literally jumped off the crank snout like it was trying to escape! I tried to intercept, fumbled, and of course it hit the engine stand. Oh well, I guess at 114k miles I might as well replace it...

Also going to replace timing cover - BOTH sides had huge wear from belts (PS belt from outside and timing belt on inside)??? Not sure how that happened, unless first guy to replace timing belt just sucked at reinstalling things. It was missing two cover bolts too...

61EBFDC4-99AF-40E1-85E6-B0805CF2CB9D_zpsqqalglf6.jpg


I did manage to get to my balance shafts though, check out what I found when I popped the oil pan off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif !!!



I'm surprised I still had oil pressure - I wonder how much longer I had...



I followed Jafro's YouTube video instructions and the BS delete kit install was a breeze (although I have no idea how some guys do this with the motor in the car!!)
 
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