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Thread: TSG's Unified Fleet Thread

  1. #1701
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    Awesome - thanks!

    I spent probably four hours yesterday searching for something I *thought* would be common - a right angle 3/8" NPT to 5/8" hose aluminum adapter. 3/8" NPT to 5/8" hose in general seems like an obvious match from and ID/OD perspective, but nobody who makes hose fittings apparently agrees. After hours I finally found what I was looking for - in Australia!

    https://www.aeroflowperformance.com/

    These guys offer an actual, complete collection of hose fittings unlike domestics like Earl's, Russell's, etc. Shipping was a reasonable $16 too... but I didn't want to wait for shipping from half way around the world, so I kept looking.

    Finally, by luck, I found this:



    5/8" hose barbs and a 3/8" NPT port - one piece, perfect! I don't know what it's for. Rockauto says it's an AC fitting that fits no cars. Whatever! I wish it was aluminum instead of steel, but beggars can't be choosers and I think it'll neatly fix my challenge for a measly $11.

    Ordered that and some Gates "universal" molded hoses in U and L shapes and I think I'm set. Looks like the next couple days I'm hosed (work, rain) but with any luck it goes back together on Sunday.

  2. #1702
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    Took two months, but finally new exhaust manifolds for the Fiero!



    Started working on the second heat shield last night and should be able to finish that today or tomorrow. It's a bit slower going since I don't have a pattern to follow - hopefully it turns out as nice as the other one.

    I think it's in my best interest to paint these manifolds. They are remarkably close approximations of the OE - though much sturdier and better-flowing - but I just don't need a smog hassle. I think painting them black or maybe grey will prevent any second looks. I was initially thinking about powder coating, but spending $150 on them just doesn't seem worthwhile so it'll probably just be header paint.

    Edit: Crap - just realized I didn't measure the flange thickness... I might need new hardware. I guess I'm in no hurry - got the XR to finish this weekend and the water pump on the Aero next. It's a damn lot of work, but at least it all saved itself for spring.

  3. #1703
    mAdminstrator Random's Avatar
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    Spray paint them black and throw them in the dirt. aka The LeMons Plan.
    Whoomah!

  4. #1704
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    I seriously considered just leaving them outside this weekend.

    It's just.... they were $500! That's big money for me as far as car parts go. I have grown comfortable with $150-ish purchases, but $500 feels like a lot of money. I feel like I need to protect it!

  5. #1705
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    The downside of having so many damned car projects at once is that I have so many damned car projects at once. The upside is that even when it's end-of-the-world stormy outside, I still have something productive to do.

    Last night I modified the housing for a factory speedo into an adapter for the Speedhut one. A hacksaw and some sandpaper and a... fair... amount of time and I have a package that will just drop into the existing cluster. Ace!

    Made a new wiring harness for a Saab 9000 speed sensor and made an adapter to plug the Speedhut speedo and Dakota Digital converter right into the factory harness (thank you Newark.com!). I think it's good to go.




  6. #1706
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    Sunny Sunday = put the XR back together!

    First up, install a phenolic spacer:



    It's 1/4" thick meaty piece of mystery material! It's kind of an annoying fit - I could not get it placed without removing the valve cover, as the big ol' Felpro Permadry gasket got in the way. I think I have the only non-leaky 2.3t out there, and I'll be real upset if this activity results in a leak. Grrr.

    I bought some Permatex "Permashield," which I've read is a clone of Hylomar Universal Blue with a cheaper solvent. It might be, but at $9 for 2oz vs $30 for 2oz, I'll live with it! I used a foam brush to spread it all over the spacer, then "glued" one intake manifold gasket to each side. I hacked off the heads of a couple long M8 bolts to use as dowels to get everything lined up and install was pretty darned painless.

    I also used the Permashield on the gaskets between the two manifolds, which is *heavily* modified to accommodate the serious porting of the manifolds -



    (Ignore the ragged cuts, I did some modifications post-removal to use it as a template.)

    There is not much left of that gasket and I've always been concerned about it leaking - maybe the crazy blue liquid urethane will help.

    I got it all back together and found the fuel system connection to the rail leaking like a sieve. I'm am guessing the 30 year old quick-disconnect finally gave up the ghost. They apparently don't make replacements anymore so that kinda sucks... I'm hoping that Ford's new style of quick-disconnect is compatible with the steel line. It'd actually be really great if it was, as the push-button release is a lot more convenient than the old screwdriver-it-out duckbill clip! Will find out today!

    Then an oil change and, fingers cross, nothing further til I choose to work on it!

  7. #1707
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    Forgot another interesting thing -

    About three weeks ago the Jaguar completely betrayed me. On the way home from work I pulled up to a stop sign, and just as I touched the gas pedal to turn onto a very busy street, I got red and amber warning lights, TCS and ASC not available messages, and FAILSAFE OPERATION warnings all at once. The throttle stopped doing ANYTHING. I literally had to idle across four lanes of traffic. My first thought was "400hp should creep very nicely," but as it turns out it's just like any other car. Stupid automatics! Anywho, once safely across the road I turned off the car, waited a few seconds, then turned it back on. Same thing. I turned it off, removed the key, waited about 30 seconds, turned it back on, and it was like nothing happened. The rest of my drive consisted of two miles of neighborhood roads so I decided to chance it - no further issues.

    When I got home I plugged in the Autel MD802 (realizing instantly how much more useful the Tech2 is!) and it showed a P1229, throttle motor malfunction. I switched to live data, and most everything seemed more or less okay. I turned the car off to erase the code, just to see how quickly it would come back. When I restarted it, the idle went insane. It sat at a rock-solid 600rpm, then shot up to 1000rpm for a bit, then back down, rinse and repeat every 30-60 seconds. I turned it off, popped the hood, removed the intake pipe, then turned it back on but didn't start it. With the hood up, I could hear the throttle body motor going berserk. Under hood, the throttle plate was vibrating at a somewhat slow pace, but vibrating and not just moving around - OPEN CLOSE OPEN CLOSE OPEN CLOSE. Turned it off, unplugged the connectors, and that's when I found it: The TPS sensor was only held in by one screw, and thus free to move around a fair amount. Adjusting the TPS causes the throttle plate to move around or stop, but under all circumstances the motor made quite a buzzing. FAIL.

    I read everything I could about this throttle bodies, but I guess they are a closely-guarded Jaguar secret. Based on extrapolated information and educated guesses I reattached the TPS, but could not get it into what I think specification is. I got it as close as I could, but starting the car I got another FAILSAFE and P1229. I threw in the towel on that.

    Ya'll may recall a couple years ago I bought a 2003 XJ Sport for parts. I have been trying unsuccessfully for two years to sell the throttle body from that car and I was *really* happy I failed... with slight modification I bolted it on the XJR. Sending my TB out for a rebuild would have cost $400, buying used about the same, buying new a staggering $1800. OUCH. $800 XJ Sport - $1000 engine + free spare throttle body = PROFIT.

    On Saturday I took the XJR out for the first post-surgery drive and my take away is that its throttle body had probably been failing for a long time. It's always been very strong but never really felt fast compared to the similar P:W CTS-V. I blamed the small displacement V8 and supercharger lag... I mean, it was never a problem. Well, it feels real fast now. With slightly damp streets it'll light up the rear tires very readily, and laying into It at 40mph netted a little kick to the side and a traction control warning. It's still not as brutal as the CTS-V was, but now it very much feels like I think 400hp should!
    Last edited by thesameguy; April 10th, 2017 at 10:01 AM.

  8. #1708
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    XR back together, no more crappy Dorman tee:



    Got the Fiero manifolds all prepped and painted:



    VHT Flame-Proof Primer with several coats of VHT Flame-Proof satin black with a coupler coats of VHT Flame-Proof satin clear. THESE THINGS BETTER BE FLAME PROOF!

    I also finished (I hope) the front and rear replacement heat shields:



    We'll see how this Australian heat shield works out... it does feel similar to what I've found on German cars, so there's that.

    I still have a tiny amount of cleanup on the brackets, but it's just cosmetic. Functionally they are (did I mention hopefully?) dialed in.

    With the end of the Fiero project within sight, I placed the order for the Trionic 5 conversion parts I can't make or junkyard. It's a one month lead so I've got til May to finish the XR, the Fiero, and do a water pump on the Aero. Easy!
    Last edited by thesameguy; April 10th, 2017 at 02:43 PM.

  9. #1709
    Bad Taste novicius's Avatar
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  10. #1710
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    Quote Originally Posted by thesameguy View Post
    Australian heat shield
    There-I-Fixed-It.jpg


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