Last weekend, I installed my new turbo inlet hose, and left off with an issue with my power steering. When I got home from work on Monday, I poked around, and sure enough, the fluid was cavitating like no one's business. Looking around on the Internet, I found a video of someone with the same problem who explained a simple fix.
As it turns out, this is KatieO's "Rumblewagon," and the fix was as explained to her and her husband by JJ at IAG. When JJ saw that I'd posted this video, asking if anyone else knew anything about the issue, he responded to call the shop. I called on Tuesday and was told to replace the spring type clamps on the power steering "suction hose" with screw type clamps (not that I didn't want to do that anyway!), and if that didn't do the trick, then do the O-ring.
I decided to do the O-ring, the clamps and just plain replace the hose. For one, the old hose was pretty stiff, no longer flexible. I'm sure that the power steering problem was caused when some pressure was applied to the hose during the inlet install. Due to its inflexibility and the type of clamp on it, the seal at the power steering pump lost integrity. The new hose with new clamps solved that issue, and the new O-ring was just insurance; the old O-ring was pretty inflexible too.
As an added bonus, I have all new synthetic ATF fluid in the power steering. Yes, I made an awesome mess in the garage.
During the power steering fix, the UPS guy stopped by with a little box from Mishimoto that included a new coupler I'd ordered. That was a pretty easy install, and makes the inlet look better than the cheapy coupler I'd picked up from Autozone.
While I was messing around, I installed another goody that I picked up Friday, and that is the Perrin master cylinder brace. I looked at these previously, but at the time, they weren't legal in Street Prepared, and I didn't have the room to put it in anyway with the external reservoirs that were part of the AST 5200 struts I was using.
A pretty easy install
This was a pretty easy install -- just remove the 10mm bolts holding the fuel line bracket, pop out the clip holding some vacuum lines against the fender, jack the car up for room to get to the fender well, and then bolt it in. Just make sure you have the appropriate allen wrenches for the Perrin-supplied bolts. Oh, and I should note that it helps to have small hands to maneuver around amidst all the hoses. ;)
So, hopefully the weather holds tomorrow so I can go to Hershey for the Susquehanna SCCA event!
So, a few weeks ago, I responded to a post on NASIOC about the need for a hawkeye WRX as a test vehicle. I'd seen it when it was first posted, and it kept getting bumped, so finally, I just sent a private message. Shockingly, almost a month after the initial post, they were unable to get a reliable person to response... until me.
I took the car up on a Thursday night with my friend Casey in his BRZ tagging along to bring me home. We got a mini-tour of the Mishimoto facility, including their dyno and testing shop, and I was told that my car was being used to test fit a front mount intercooler that had been developed for a different year car. They wanted to see if it would fit without modification on the '06-07, and it turns out that it doesn't. :( The drive-by-wire system has a sensor in a place where a hose/fitting needs to be, so the '06-'07 kit will need to be different.
As a thank you for letting them use my car, Mishimoto gave me a new induction hose, and I finally tried to install it this weekend. I should have just included it in the list of things to install when I drop the car off at IAG next...
A shiny new silicone induction hose!
The weather was nice this weekend, so I figured it was as good a time as any to install the induction hose. It didn't seem like that big of a deal when I looked at the Perrin one that was in there. Unhook a few connections, yank it out, shove the new one in, and done, right?
It seemed so easy that one beer would cover it.
Boy, was I wrong. A silicone hose doesn't like to deform, for one. And the induction hose is really jammed into a tight space for two. Oh, and just for good measure, the hose going from the induction hose to the intercooler had a stupid compression-type hose clamp on upside fucking down so that even my hose clamp pliers couldn't get to it. I was extremely unamused by this.
So, starting beer number two, I finally had rotated the offending hose clamp enough with a screwdriver applied on one side that I could get a pair of needle-nosed pliers on it and loosen it. I was able to removed the Perrin hose and I figured the Mishimoto would be an easy insert.
Still wrong.
The beginning of the blood sacrifice
After fighting with the new hose, and having Pat help me, I was no closer to having it properly installed by the time the sun went down. I'd wanted to go to Hershey in the morning to attend the PCA autocross there and get at least a little time under my belt before my first big event of the season (El Toro ProSolo, in Greg McCance's car), but it was not to be. I threw everything in the passenger seat in case it rained or something overnight, and gave up.
The turbo mocks me.
After a good night's sleep and a nice lunch at DuClaw, I was back at it. Before attempt 2.0, however, I reviewed the install video.
The only difference I saw in the video versus what I was doing was the removal of the intercooler. So, I got the 12mm socket out and pulled it off.
It gave me a little more room to work, but my hands are pretty small so it didn't seem to be that big of a deal to me. Still, things seemed to progress a lot more quickly with it out.... well, that and with a few more tools.
Matco's RTG1MB hook pick was extremely useful in getting the hose onto the turbo
The official install video lists some tools, but I'd add the blunt end hook pick to them, plus hose clamp pliers (for those nasty compression clamps), fingernail cutters (which you should use before you start -- I only broke two nails before I just cut the rest), bandages (my knuckles were torn up this morning, so I had several on to protect myself this afternoon) and beer (as my friend Curt says, it serves as a great anti-septic!).
Even though it was a good 20 degrees cooler today (45 versus yesterday's 65 degree Fahrenheit), I was able to get the hose in place fairly easily (I'd left it inside by a heater vent while at DuClaw), and with the hook pick, it went onto the turbo quickly. Next up was the intercooler hose, which, again, was fairly easy -- this one, moreso than anything else, benefitted from the intercooler being off. Then I made sure all the fittings on the new hose were on, and reattached the intercooler.
Replace all clamps with screw-type clamps when you can.
All I had left to do was find a coupler that would connect the new hose to my Cobb intake, and I'd be done. I ended up just going to the local Autozone and after conferring with one of the guys there (yes, I have an Autozone with competent people that work there!), I settled on a temporary fix.
I'll replace it soon enough!
So, I started the car up, and there were no codes or weird sounds. I drove it around the block, and the power steering felt heavy, so I popped the hood and checked everything again. I didn't seen anything that stood out, but I made doubly sure one of the hoses from the Crawford AOS was properly hooked up, and drove it around the block again. Same problem, and when I parked it this time, I saw a puddle of fluid in the driveway from earlier. Hrm. Not sure where that came from, since I don't think I disconnected anything with the power steering system, but I'll look at it again in the daylight.
So, the Mishimoto site shows the install as a "4 out of 5" on their difficulty scale. I think I'm going to go with a "3 out of 5" on the bandages scale.
It's not that it's a difficult install, per se, it's just that it's a PITA. You're trying to work in an extremely cramped area, and if it's cool out, none of the hoses want to cooperate. Trying to get the hoses to connect to their appropriate areas isn't easy either, between the tight working area and the cold temperatures. If you start with the engine up to operating temperature, and have the new hose at standard room temperature before install, it will go better. Also, take the intercooler off; every little bit of space you can get to work with is good.
Needless to say, my patience with things like this is why I tend to have a shop do work for me, as I said in my ESP interview for SoloMatters. :) I'll be having the ancillary and radiator hoses installed by IAG while I'm at the El Toro ProSolo driving Greg McCance's unicorn. No offense to Fred and Evan, but they get paid to do this, and I don't! :)
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!
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