Mirrorimg's build thread
- Thread starter mirrorimg
- Start date
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
Well I havent ordered anything yet. I am going to wait until my next paycheck as I had to spend money on other things. I still have yet to pull my headliner out to redo it, as well as put my dynamat and dynapad on the roof.
My upholstery seems to be pulling away more and more. I guess it would be from the high humidity, because I can push it back onto the door panel and it sticks, for a while until it gives again. I will get around to it eventually, before the big meet in richmond.
What I did do today was install my A/C belt. Its been getting hotter and hotter, and open windows may be nice, but not in a business suit. I had installed it over the weekend, but it slipped no matter how tight the tensioner was. I dont know how many people are aware of the labor involved in installing an A/C belt, but it goes a little something like this:
Jack up the car, put it on stands
Remove the plastic guard under the bumper
Unbolt the torque mount
Place jack and piece of wood (I used a flat 1/4" piece of aluminum) under the oil pan
Jack up the oil pan just slightly to take tension off of motor mount
Un bolt the motor mount and lower the engine some
Slip A/C belt over the now lowered torque mount, and install, and bolt the motor back up.
Yea, it sucks because it wraps around the driverside torque mount, and I have done this twice now in the past week. I will have some nice air on my way home from work tomorrow though
My P8R head is still sitting on my desk. I got some cam seals from the dealer when I picked up an oil filter. I am either going to order cams with my next paycheck, or a Skunk2 intake manifold and cam gears.
My upholstery seems to be pulling away more and more. I guess it would be from the high humidity, because I can push it back onto the door panel and it sticks, for a while until it gives again. I will get around to it eventually, before the big meet in richmond.
What I did do today was install my A/C belt. Its been getting hotter and hotter, and open windows may be nice, but not in a business suit. I had installed it over the weekend, but it slipped no matter how tight the tensioner was. I dont know how many people are aware of the labor involved in installing an A/C belt, but it goes a little something like this:
Jack up the car, put it on stands
Remove the plastic guard under the bumper
Unbolt the torque mount
Place jack and piece of wood (I used a flat 1/4" piece of aluminum) under the oil pan
Jack up the oil pan just slightly to take tension off of motor mount
Un bolt the motor mount and lower the engine some
Slip A/C belt over the now lowered torque mount, and install, and bolt the motor back up.
Yea, it sucks because it wraps around the driverside torque mount, and I have done this twice now in the past week. I will have some nice air on my way home from work tomorrow though
My P8R head is still sitting on my desk. I got some cam seals from the dealer when I picked up an oil filter. I am either going to order cams with my next paycheck, or a Skunk2 intake manifold and cam gears.
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
Been a little while without any updates.
My brother in law was working on my sisters Neon over the weekend, so he left his car next to mine during the day. I believe his color is DVP. His blades were replacements to some wheels he bent hitting a pothole. I do not agree with the color, but its better than his previous wheels, which were 17"s. (Its got pearl in it, and I believe theyre black, which points towards Nighthawk Black Pearl, but I dont know).
Ive got a couple things I have done, and one thing I am working on now. As I stated before, I have my P8R head resting in my room on my dresser. I picked up some 220-300-400 grit sandpaper to polish the intake ports, and after getting about 65% done with one, and 40% done with another, I determined that I HAVE to replace my broken rotary tool. I had a Nikota, that broke down on me one day, and havent had the need to replace it.
Well I determined now was the best time, as I am polishing my intake/maybe exhaust ports I didnt go out right away and buy the tools though, I first did the sound deadening on my roof. Pictures below.
I have to respray the headliner before putting it back in, as it is sagging.
Now for the good stuff. I went to Walmart, as that is the lowest price I found on the Dremel I wanted. I got a variable speed Dremel, which is the 300 model, as well as a kit of extra attachments and what-not.
Then I went to hacking away at my intake ports. SIKE. Im not crazy enough to start grinding away at a head I paid 160 for, and another 250 on machine work. I have my parts motor for the mad scientist testing
As you can see, she is pretty dirty.
Nothing a little dish soap and tire brush cant handle
So after getting her cleaned up, I cleared off my tool chest, and got to work. I tried one way, then settled on a different setup. At first it was elevated on my smaller chest, which is about 1.5-2ft high, on top of the main chest.
This wasnt suitable as I could not see down the port well, and had to prop my light up, which was an inconvenience. I settled with this.
So after a bit of grinding with my cutter bit...
And a bit more, along with a grinding wheel and some of the sand paper to smooth it out where the wheel couldnt reach.
I still have some more to do on that port, but overall I think it isnt a bad job. I am going to do all of the ports on this head before moving on to the P8R. I will post more pictures when I knock out all of the ports, and try to capture as much detail in them as I can.
My brother in law was working on my sisters Neon over the weekend, so he left his car next to mine during the day. I believe his color is DVP. His blades were replacements to some wheels he bent hitting a pothole. I do not agree with the color, but its better than his previous wheels, which were 17"s. (Its got pearl in it, and I believe theyre black, which points towards Nighthawk Black Pearl, but I dont know).
Ive got a couple things I have done, and one thing I am working on now. As I stated before, I have my P8R head resting in my room on my dresser. I picked up some 220-300-400 grit sandpaper to polish the intake ports, and after getting about 65% done with one, and 40% done with another, I determined that I HAVE to replace my broken rotary tool. I had a Nikota, that broke down on me one day, and havent had the need to replace it.
Well I determined now was the best time, as I am polishing my intake/maybe exhaust ports
I didnt go out right away and buy the tools though, I first did the sound deadening on my roof. Pictures below.
I have to respray the headliner before putting it back in, as it is sagging.
Now for the good stuff. I went to Walmart, as that is the lowest price I found on the Dremel I wanted. I got a variable speed Dremel, which is the 300 model, as well as a kit of extra attachments and what-not.
Then I went to hacking away at my intake ports. SIKE. Im not crazy enough to start grinding away at a head I paid 160 for, and another 250 on machine work. I have my parts motor for the mad scientist testing
As you can see, she is pretty dirty.
Nothing a little dish soap and tire brush cant handle
So after getting her cleaned up, I cleared off my tool chest, and got to work. I tried one way, then settled on a different setup. At first it was elevated on my smaller chest, which is about 1.5-2ft high, on top of the main chest.
This wasnt suitable as I could not see down the port well, and had to prop my light up, which was an inconvenience. I settled with this.
So after a bit of grinding with my cutter bit...
And a bit more, along with a grinding wheel and some of the sand paper to smooth it out where the wheel couldnt reach.
I still have some more to do on that port, but overall I think it isnt a bad job. I am going to do all of the ports on this head before moving on to the P8R. I will post more pictures when I knock out all of the ports, and try to capture as much detail in them as I can.
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
The one im practicing on? Use it as a paper weight. Or maybe give it to my machine shop, and let the payment be them flow benching my P8R or something, I dont really know. I was originally going to give it to a member on here, who was making a coffee table out of motors, but he passed it up.
imcnblu
Resident G2 Guru of C-I
To help alleviate your combustion chamber vs. cylinder overlap problem, I have a bare B20 block I'll sell you for a reasonable price.
Its BARE, though. Just the block and main caps. It's not in the prettiest condition, and the cylinders could use a hone, but otherwise its in good condition.
B20B block, if I recall correctly.
Its BARE, though. Just the block and main caps. It's not in the prettiest condition, and the cylinders could use a hone, but otherwise its in good condition.
B20B block, if I recall correctly.
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
Thanks Jake, but I'm going to pass on that. I don't really want to go and build a new block, replacing the pistons, getting them pressed onto rods, and replacing bearings, as well as swapping everything from my block over.
If it was free I'm sure I could find some place to put it in the garage
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
Did some more bumping and grinding with the PR4 head. I did all of the intake ports from the opening to the valve guide. Im going to do the passage from the combustion chamber back to the area I stopped. This seems a but more tricky as I have to be careful of the valve seats. I certainly wont want to damage them on my P8R.
I will be working on that this weekend when I get time. Will update with new pictures when I have a complete port done.
I will be working on that this weekend when I get time. Will update with new pictures when I have a complete port done.
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
Havent really done anything this week. I put some money from my last paycheck aside for cams. I figure it will be better to buy everything at once, and possible save some on shipping instead of buying everything one at a time. When I have enough money for everything, I will reevaluate that to see where I can get the best deals from.
I did have a terrible coolant leak last Friday. I was on the way to a memorial service when I started over heating. I ended up turning off the car and coasting 1/4 of the way to make it there. I knew it was leaking because I could smell it burning. When I popped my hood I could see it dripping from around the IACV.
I took care of it on tuesday, and it turned out to be the line that runs from the IACV to the FITV. It had a little abrasion in it, and with the pressure in the system it was being forced out. I replaced that hose and ziptied my alternator wire to the wiring harness because it wasnt secured. I also got a longer hose for my evap canister to throttle body, because it was stretched pretty tightly. I also changed my overflow hose because that too was a bit snug. I feel as I got quite a bit done, although I would have rather not worried about it.
I did do some more porting on the PR4, and its roughed out at the moment. I wont be really polishing it to a finish, although I will probably smooth it out some more with a sanding wheel. I moved the P8R head into the garage and started on 3 ports. Im about 20% done on it. I still have the combustion chamber side to do, and also sand the ports to remove some of the valleys created from the carving bit.
Heres a couple pics of the PR4 head. Nothing on the P8R head though.
You can still see the casting line on the side of the ports. That will get grinded down when I get back around to this head. For now, the P8R will be getting my attention.
I did have a terrible coolant leak last Friday. I was on the way to a memorial service when I started over heating. I ended up turning off the car and coasting 1/4 of the way to make it there. I knew it was leaking because I could smell it burning. When I popped my hood I could see it dripping from around the IACV.
I took care of it on tuesday, and it turned out to be the line that runs from the IACV to the FITV. It had a little abrasion in it, and with the pressure in the system it was being forced out. I replaced that hose and ziptied my alternator wire to the wiring harness because it wasnt secured. I also got a longer hose for my evap canister to throttle body, because it was stretched pretty tightly. I also changed my overflow hose because that too was a bit snug. I feel as I got quite a bit done, although I would have rather not worried about it.
I did do some more porting on the PR4, and its roughed out at the moment. I wont be really polishing it to a finish, although I will probably smooth it out some more with a sanding wheel. I moved the P8R head into the garage and started on 3 ports. Im about 20% done on it. I still have the combustion chamber side to do, and also sand the ports to remove some of the valleys created from the carving bit.
Heres a couple pics of the PR4 head. Nothing on the P8R head though.
You can still see the casting line on the side of the ports. That will get grinded down when I get back around to this head. For now, the P8R will be getting my attention.
FAC3L3SS
from teh darkside
I grabbed an eerily similar dremel myself from the local Mart yesterday. I've got a spare head being dropped in next week, and I never even thought of polishing it up a little bit. Good read here. Might have to tackle this project and postpone the headswap another 2 weeks or so so that I can do it right.
Pics of your sister's Neon or it didn't happen.
Pics of your sister's Neon or it didn't happen.
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
My sisters neon was not at my house, so I didnt even see it being worked on. Nothing special, its just a champagne auto 2001 neon.
I did knock out some things on my car so far this weekend. I re-installed my headliner, and it didnt like going in so well. The dynapad I put in at the rear pushed the liner far enough away that the tabs wouldnt stay in and continuously popped out. I cut some away, but the areas that has it creates bumps in the headliner visible through my rear view mirror. I figure if I leave it like that, the headliner will mold into that shape and I will never get the bumps out, so more cutting will ensue tomorrow.
I also did a bit of an alignment. I strung up some string and took some measurements.
I made sure the string was centered in the wheel. Same distance from the wheel front and back. I then measured from the edges of the wheel to determine where my Toe sat. My measurements are based off of the distance the wheel sits from the string, and will be different for any one else who does this. The passenger side was WAY off. Its a bit blurry, but my measurements (driver side on the left) were about even on both edges of the wheel. The passenger side gave me a larger distance on the front of the wheel, and therefore smaller on the rear (Toe in).
I loosened the tie rod end, and started turning the inner tie rod until I was even on both edges of the wheel. My steering wheel is now way off, and I plan on correcting that tomorrow. (either by redoing the alignment, or popping the steering wheel off and rotating it a bit)
I also replaced my spark plugs, cleaned my wheels, re-glued my drivers door panel, and bent back my dust shield that was rubbing on my brake rotor when I turned. Hopefully that doesnt happen any more.
mirrorimg
Well-Known Member
Today was certainly a day that I would have preferred to have done other things.
I expected to simply wash my car, clay it, wax it, detail the inside. I also needed to straighten up my steering wheel/re-check my alignment. Unfortunately, that wasnt the case. I have been smelling a burning smell for the past few days, and on my trip to the mall today I pinpointed the location of the smell. My rear driver side caliper.
When I got home I jacked up the car, and the wheel was very difficult to turn. My guess was a stuck caliper pin. After pulling the caliper off, my suspicion was confirmed. I ran off to the store to get some new pads, and some lube for the pins. The pads I got, after getting home and opening the box, had been a previous return. The pads were rubber-banded together, and had some imperfections. Specifically a crack that made it look like a chunk of the pad would fall off.
Went back and returned them, but that was the last pair they had of that brand/type. So I had to spend a couple extra dollars on the next one. The install was a smoothly as it could have been. I cleaneg up the guide, lubed it and the pin up (the boots were not damaged, so I reused them).
I figured, I have a set of pads, so I may as well do the other side. Wrong answer... The boot on the piston was shot, and I mean completely torn up. I called the store up, and they didnt have any in stock, so I called a couple others (that were open). Still no luck, so I had the original place I called order me a couple, and wont get them until tomorrow after work. Bummer, but this wont hold me back from the meet next weekend!
I expected to simply wash my car, clay it, wax it, detail the inside. I also needed to straighten up my steering wheel/re-check my alignment. Unfortunately, that wasnt the case. I have been smelling a burning smell for the past few days, and on my trip to the mall today I pinpointed the location of the smell. My rear driver side caliper.
When I got home I jacked up the car, and the wheel was very difficult to turn. My guess was a stuck caliper pin. After pulling the caliper off, my suspicion was confirmed. I ran off to the store to get some new pads, and some lube for the pins. The pads I got, after getting home and opening the box, had been a previous return. The pads were rubber-banded together, and had some imperfections. Specifically a crack that made it look like a chunk of the pad would fall off.
Went back and returned them, but that was the last pair they had of that brand/type. So I had to spend a couple extra dollars on the next one. The install was a smoothly as it could have been. I cleaneg up the guide, lubed it and the pin up (the boots were not damaged, so I reused them).
I figured, I have a set of pads, so I may as well do the other side. Wrong answer... The boot on the piston was shot, and I mean completely torn up. I called the store up, and they didnt have any in stock, so I called a couple others (that were open). Still no luck, so I had the original place I called order me a couple, and wont get them until tomorrow after work. Bummer, but this wont hold me back from the meet next weekend!
