Working on the WRX

The WRX needs a front wheel bearing, but I'd been driving it to and from work because the clutch issues in the Camaro were even worse. Then, I get a check engine light in the WRX, and the code reader tells me P0031, Heater Control Circuit Low. An oxygen sensor. Joy.

So, I order one up on Amazon, and after reviewing some information online, I go to replace it this morning.

Oh, look, part of my fender liner is still there

I found the fender liner trim, removed one of the remaining snap connectors that held it in place and rotated it out of the way.

Hello, Mr. Oxygen Sensor!

So, it was actually impossible to get the oxygen sensor socket onto the sensor from this position. In fact, it seems the only way to get such a socket to work would be to remove the subframe or cut part of the fender well. Yeah, forget that.

One of the videos I'd looked at suggested using locking pliers (Vise Grips), but I don't have any, and I didn't want to dig through Pat's tools to find some. So, when Pat came home, I bought two pliers (a large one and a medium one). However, before I could try them out, Pat wanted to drop off the car at Induktion so that he could go fishing before any of the impending thunderstorms hit.

Since I had a wheel off and a set of new front brake pads, I did decide to just go ahead and replace them. The passenger side was certainly worn more than the driver side, and the back pad on the passenger side was worst of all. Strange.

I can't recommend this brake tool enough, though.

It compresses the pistons so easily. Anyone who does their own brakes should talk to Pat about getting one.

Once I get the WRX back, the next thing on the list is dropping the Green Terror off for some work. I put the new tires on it yesterday, but the clutch issue is really getting old. Among other things, I also need to change the oil in that car, and I'm worried that driving it up on the ramps will be a disaster if the clutch engages at the wrong time.

Oh, the joys of automobile ownership.

Rainy Saturday

It's raining like crazy outside, ruining any prospects for camping this weekend. Rain earlier in the week was insane, to the point that US-1 through Laurel was 6-8" deep (thankfully, I was driving the WRX, not the Camaro!!), and today's even worse. I just heard there are rescue boats being dispatched in Laurel to assist people trying to leave flooded apartments!

The catfish says, "I think there's more water out there than in here!"

Still, I'm getting stir crazy, and I'm evidently not the only one. Earlier in the week, Mom said she'd waxed the RV. I sent her a general itinerary last Sunday, and I've been compiling a list of things I need to bring with me for the trip. Pat's been psyched to take care of the spaz dog. I don't know who's been looking forward to the trip the most!

I am not planning to go in to work this coming week, but I think I'll be busy nonetheless. Both the Camaro and the WRX need significant work; the Camaro's clutch has been weird (engaging when pedal pressed in) and the WRX has a wheel bearing that is gone. I called to schedule the wheel bearing replacement two weeks ago, but the earliest IAG could see me was July 8th. With the Camaro's clutch being worse than the WRX's wheel bearing at that point, I kept driving the WRX, knowing that it was going to end up costing me a hub.

Well, driving to and from Rockville for new biology curriculum training on Thursday, the noises and vibrations were bad enough that I didn't think the car would make it home. I actually opted to drive the Camaro -- bad clutch and all -- on Friday, then called Induktion Motorsports to see if they could do it. The guy who answered the phone, Ed, was like, "Uh, you know we deal with European cars?" and I responded, "Yeah, but I also know that you have a guy who used to work at IAG, plus your former Matco Tools guy, Pat, suggested I try calling you." At that point, he scheduled me for Wednesday this coming week. Hopefully, I didn't destroy too much by continuing to drive it.

Speaking of the new biology curriculum training, I think it's needless to say that I was horribly bored being there. Considering I was a curriculum writer, curriculum reviewer, and even part of the phase I focus group, I knew the curriculum and NGSS and PBL lessons better than 95% of the people in that room. However, upon arriving and looking over the sign in sheet, I saw that many of my old colleagues from Watkins Mill would be there, including current B-CC teacher, Todd. I was so psyched, as were they when they saw me. We all had lunch together, and it was totally like old times. I miss a department that liked to do things just little things together, like talk and do lunch. I miss having people with similar interests to chat with, like Nate and Todd and hockey. It was so good to see them.

Yesterday was rough though. I woke up in tears from a dream that I'd figured out was a dream, where dad was digging out the area where the koi pond is. In the dream, I was walking underneath the cherry tree towards where he was when I suddenly thought, "This has to be a dream," and suddenly, everything shifted, and while it continued, I just knew it was all a dream. And in the middle of the dream, I'd turned around to look at something, and when I turned back, dad was gone. That's when I woke up and just started crying. I must've caused Pat to wake up, because he just handed Hoosier Bear to me and hugged me tight, not saying anything.

As if that wasn't bad enough, yesterday was also the one year anniversary of Jim Feinberg's passing.

It's not a margarita, but Jim also respected others' beverage choices.

So, after going over to the local craft store for some photo albums, I just spent all afternoon putting my extensive postcard collection into said albums. I started off with postcards my dad gave me from his Air Force days, when he was in Colorado and then in Destin, Florida. Then I transitioned to postcards he brought back for me from some business trips to Grand Rapids and Pittsburgh. Following that are postcards from his parents and then from our old neighbors, Ike and Betty Saylor, and a postcard mom sent the rest of us from a trip to Florida she took when showing rabbits. Most of the rest of the cards are categorized by trip, including the family trip to Walt Disney World (including South of the Border, Sea World Orlando and the Kennedy Space Center) and the trip to Toronto (including Corning Glass Center, Buffalo and Niagara). I put over 400 postcards into those albums, and I have this nagging feeling that I have more postcards somewhere, but I don't know where they are.

Hopefully, tomorrow's weather is better, and I can start to get some stuff done on the cars, like oil changes and brake pads and stuff. And I want to go to Hershey some time next week, so I need to look at what day would be best for that, too.

Install : B&M Shifter

Well, since I didn't get it as a holiday present, I broke down and bought myself a B&M short shifter (thanks, FBC!) to put in the black Camaro. Yeah, first Strano springs, now a short shifter... maybe I will start tracking this car after all.

So, I decided to do this tonight just because I knew I'd be committed to driving this car for the next two weeks while the WRX is at the Washington Auto Show. I thought I remembered it being pretty easy from when I did it with the green car. Well, there are a few console differences with the '97 that make it kind of a PITA.

STEP ONE

Get the ball off! Seriously, for me, this is one of the most difficult parts. It took some effort, but it finally came loose.

STEP TWO

Take the shifter boot off. This is easy, unless you've had someone break into your car and somehow manage to break the plastic retaining ring, which you've subsequently fixed with SuperGlue, so you're afraid that it's going to break again. Anyway, I managed to take it off without breaking it.

STEP THREE

Remove the console. The directions tell you that there are two bolts up front and two in the rear. This is only true for the '93-'96 cars. The '97 has a different console, and so let me tell you how to remove it. You need to take out the coin holder that's in the armrest area, and you'll see two bolts. They are 7mm. Remove them, and then you can pop out the part of the console that's around the shifter. Be careful, as the extra power outlet is still connected, though it's easy enough to pop the connector off. You can now remove this center piece. You might also want to remove the 10mm bolts that are inside the armrest area (2 of them), the one bolt that is underneath the ashtray (also 10mm) and the two 10mm bolts on either side of the front of the console. You don't have to actually take the entire thing off after removing those bolts, but it's helpful to be able to shift it around.

Note that the instructions that are included also tell you to remove the parking brake lever. You don't really need to do this.

STEP FOUR

There are seven 7mm bolts that hold the rubber boot down, and you'll need to take them out and hang on to them, and the boot, since you'll be reusing them all. Before you attack the little bolts, you might want to take the actual shifter off. It has two 13mm bolts holding it on. If you don't remove it now, you'll have to remove it later to get the rubber boot off the shifter, and it's easier to do it now while you have more leverage. It also makes it easier to reach the four 13mm bolts to the shifter itself, since you can pull the rubber boot off.

STEP FIVE

Remove the four 13mm bolts that hold the shifter on. Supposedly, the stock RTV is supposed to make it difficult to get the shifter off. Now, the black Camaro has 208K on it and the green Camaro had nearly 400K on it when I did this, and both of them, the shifter came right off. If you are doing this with a lower mileage car, maybe it's still pretty adhered. Anyway, once you have the shifter off, make sure the plastic bushing didn't come off with it (both of mine stayed put), then put it aside. It's now time for the new shifter.

STEP SIX

Make sure you've removed any remnants of the old RTV and applied new RTV to the transmission where the shifter is going. Put the new shifter on and line up the holes.

Choose which washers you want to use. I have the "A" washers here, as I'm putting it in the stock position. The "B" washers angle it towards the rear. Then slide the new bolts in. They are hex, and use the number 6 allen wrench key.

After tightening the bolts down, try the shifter out to make sure you like the washers you've chosen.

STEP SEVEN

Slide the rubber boot thing over the shifter, then squeeze the retaining ring so that it goes over the rubber and down around the bottom of it. You won't need pliers to squeeze it, fingers work just fine.

STEP EIGHT

Put the stock rubber boot and the 7mm bolts back into place then put the console back together.

Put your shift knob of choice on (I just stayed with the stock shift knob), and you're done!

Falling Down The Mountain...

...end up kissing dirt.

So goes a song by one of my favorite bands of all time.

Being good or even dominating during the regular season means nothing when it comes to taking the big prize home. What's worse is being told over and over again, "You'll do it this year," after having been unsuccessful the previous one, and after failing, "Next year it'll be yours."

I know. I've been there. And I, for one, got sick of the set up.

People who engage in a sport are, by nature, competitive as hell. That's half the reason to participate, to work out that competitive nature. My sport is autocross, a time trial involving driving a temporary course as fast as I can, without knocking over the course markers. Cars are classed based on modifications and perceived handling/horsepower advantages.

For many years, I ran that green Camaro Z28 in FS at the National Championships, which were held in Topeka, Kansas until this past September. I started off running ladies class, with tons of expectations to win, and when I didn't even earn a trophy those first two years at Nationals, I started running open class, against the guys. Seems odd, yeah, but my mentality was that I'd push myself even harder, and wouldn't choke at Nationals as I'd done my first two attempts. Plus, to me, it would mean more to earn an open class trophy than to win a ladies-only championship.

From 1999 to 2002, I improved steadily each and every year, coming closer to my goal of an open class National Championships trophy. In 2002, I even finally managed to earn some trophies during the season in open class, starting with the Ft. Myers ProSolo where I snagged the final trophy in FS, driving my trusty green Z28. I held that medal the entire fifteen hour ride home to Maryland. I also earned a trophy driving a stock-classed Corvette in a street-prepared class, pissing off a fellow competitor along the way when he told me that I "couldn't" drive a stock car in a street prepared class (which you can) and I responded, "Do you have a problem getting beat by a stock car or by a girl?"
the AS Corvette being run in BSP; I got the third and final trophy spot
Finally, in 2003, after a solid year in ProSolo and at a few National Tours, I found myself within the trophies after the first day of the National Championships. Alas, I fell to two out on the second day, finishing 0.149 behind the final trophy spot. My friends told me, "Next year, you'll do it," and I believed them.

Come 2004, after another solid year of competition, I again was in the trophies after the first day, though this time, I was running someone else's Camaro Z28 1LE. However, after staying out a bit too late, and not really getting a chance to walk the north course as well as I should have, I again fell out of the trophies -- a heartbreaking 0.068 out of trophies, to finish 8th in F Stock. "You will do it next year," everyone told me. I sucked it up, and nodded.

The rain of 2005 made a bad situation worse. I'd allegedly coned my first run, then it started to rain. This wasn't the first time this had happened to me during the 2005 season, and it hurt like hell to have it happen again. The only reason I even showed up for the second day of competition is because I had a codriver and he was in the trophies. He finished in the final trophy spot, while I languished in the bottom third that year. However, I did beat him over four events to win the 2005 Southeast Division championship. Did it ease the pain? No.

I didn't consciously realize it, but 2006 would be my final attempt at an open class trophy in F Stock. The 2005 Mustang was thought to be a dominant chassis to the established third and fourth generation Camaros, and an even better version -- the Shelby GT -- was coming for 2007. The 2006 Solo National Championships would be the final hurrah for my 1996 Camaro Z28 1LE that was my darling, my baby, my little green terror. As had been the case for two of the past three years, I was right there heading into the second day of competition. On my last run on the second day, I distinctly remember getting the time slip from the course worker at the end of the course, and her saying, "Awesome run!! 52s?!" And I just stared at the 52.9 that I'd just run, realized it wasn't enough for a trophy, and burst into tears.

I drove back to my grid spot, and sat in the car, crying. Everyone knew why. No one dared approach me until I'd let it all come out. Did I drive my best? I thought so at the time. Did I do everything I could? Again, I thought so at the time. We'd put my front sway bar on Jerry's car and did back-to-back testing. His car was set up exactly like my green one, and we codrove for maximum tire warmth, since Heartland Park was a terrible site for cold tires. But I just didn't drive fast enough.

Why do I bring this pain up? Because I'm tired of seeing so many people who have no competitive background whatsoever rag on the Washington Capitals for their first round playoff loss. If anyone thinks that those guys aren't being their own harshest critics, that they aren't feeling like they've let down themselves as well as their fans, then those people don't know the meaning of the word "competitive".

Did the players play their hardest? They thought so. There was cases where it didn't exactly look like much effort was being put forth, yes. Where a player wasn't making his presence exactly known, yes. But, as an amateur athlete, even I know that my best may not actually be the best I could have done, and I am damned sure that those professional athletes have done that kind of self-reflection on what happened during those seven games and don't need a ton of couch-jockeys telling them what they allegedly did wrong.

in a daze...

Wow. Could the difference between Thursday night against the Kings and Saturday night against the Panthers be any greater?

I mean, I know the six of us had hit the Caps on Tap bar tour on Saturday (seven bars in three hours, this time) after spending time at the auto show earlier, but it didn't take much to see that the attitude was different, and more than anything else, the penalty kill was on Saturday night.

Thank our lucky stars it was, too. I'm still not convinced Shaone Morrisonn's hit deserved the major status and game misconduct he was awarded, but that's what was doled out, and that's what the Caps had to kill. And "kill" they did. Wow. Green with the short-handed, empty-netter. Laich without an injury. We stood nearly the entire time. And it was a thing of beauty.

Maybe the penalty killers have had their time in the shadows. Maybe now, they will shine.

In the meantime, I am still shocked over all the people who actually were taking pictures of my car, or taking pictures with my car. I mean... it's just a stock WRX, for crying out loud. With magnetics... not even real vinyl on it!

I met a ton of people during the three days (Thursday, and then part of Saturday and part of Sunday) that I was present, and it was fun to talk to some of them. To the parents who can't (or won't) control their kids, and let them run wild so that those of us in the area had to ask them (or yell at them, in some cases) to get out of the formula cars.... you really should have invested that entrance fee in a babysitter. Some of those parents are lucky they didn't end up paying for an accidentally discharged fire system, which would have made a baby sitter seem cheap.

The auto show, as usual, didn't appeal much to me personally, even though I had an exhibitor's pass this time. Yeah, GM had a ZR1 and two concept Camaros there, as well as a concept Solstice roadster, and I was like, "yawn." The only car I deigned to sit in was the Saturn Sky, and that was only for a moment. Pat did sit in a Pontiac G8; I didn't know he had been thinking about a G8 or used GTO for a daily driver.

Probably the only cars I was mildly interested in, besides the Sky Redline, were the Ford GT (only 'cause I'd driven that one), and the Fiskers were kinda cool too. The Subaru rep was a douche towards me, and if that had been my only or one of a few instances of interacting with Subaru salesmen or representatives, that would have totally turned me off of their cars. The guy could give me zero information on the STI, much less when a new model would come out. He was very standoffish after I answered his, "Are you with a dealer?" question with a, "No" (he'd seen my exhibitor pass on Thursday, and I guess he thought I was one of the dealers at first). After that, he acted like he didn't want to talk to me at all. I got more decent conversation from Gordon over at the AMG Mercedes display, who was more than eager to talk to me about performance Mercedes.

I just hope that next year, if Ian lets me bring one of my cars back, it will be a real ESP car. No, the car just had ESP magnetics on it this time around. We'll see what 2009 brings for the Camaro and the Subaru. The Camaro's buildday is just around the corner, after all....