I had them on the old SPG and I liked them as well. I feel like they are an old tire now, which is why I am leaning towards the BFG. Rain performance ultimately isn't all that important - although TR found it to be competent in the wet.
Bah - the S04s went on special it looks like... I don't think I want such a high treadwear, but that's a fine tire and dirt cheap right now!
Nearly went for the S04s, but did the BFGs anyway. They shipped today from NV, so should have them shortly.
Annoyingly, the hose coupler I ordered out of SoCal shipped on Monday via USPS and still isn't here. In fact, it's nowhere. It left Industry yesterday and then got blackholed. I assume it's gone. Going to very irked if this effing piece of aluminum ends up holding me up after being so decisive about the wheels & tires.
In theory, my TireRack shipment is out for delivery right now. Man, I love ordering stuff from Reno!
Got hosed - UPS decided my "please leave package" note was insufficient, so I somehow need to work out having someone at the house to receive my rolling stock. #irked
I did get my little aloominium tube, though, and after an hour in the garage this morning I am two battery lugs and some coolant away from starting the XR. There are some very minor loose ends to tie up, such as making connectors for the new fans and reinstalling the headlights, but I actually think this car is finally going to transition from "project" to "runner" again. Probably not til closer to Christmas (needs an alignment and a smog check), but please oh please before the actual, official three year mark.
I have this deep fear that I have overlooked something but I went back over every bolt and hose clamp I touched and all seems well. I think my only possible failures would be leaks - boost leaks (LOTS of pieces...) or maybe an oil leak from my AN hoses. Hoping that isn't the case, but I fucked with everything that can leak during this operation including rebuilding the steering rack so there are lots of opportunities. Here's to hoping...
Very near completion now -
... but calling it done for the day.
I have a tiny amount of wiring, need that new bypass/diverter valve, and I'm gonna want those headlights. However, it held power steering fluid, oil, and coolant for several hours without incident so I decided to go for it...
Cranked it off and on for a little while with the fuel pump disconnected to get oil around the engine and build pressure... plugged the fuel pump relay back in and it started right up, same as always.
RAD.
You will notice it's a TAD dusty. Furry, really. I let it fully warm up and revved the engine a bit, no leaks. Not quite the same as summertime at 6000rpm, but I'll take it.
Ordering the diverter valve in a bit, and will tackle the remaining minute details in a couple weeks.
That's awesome. Damn, that's a lot of stuff under the hood. And I thought the main belt was really loose until I realized it was actually two belts with text printed on them
Your license plates. GIVE THEM TO ME
plates | pints | plaid on YT: https://www.youtube.com/@platespintsplaid
When I was taking that video I caught that effect with the belts too. I do think I should replace them as I have no idea how old they are. Of course, the timing belt is nine years old, so maybe whatever. I'll probably just wait until something breaks... at least for now. I just want to get it back on the road.
The engine compartment is really busy, but it's a '70s era motor updated for fuel injection, turbo, and intercooler. Lots of stuff more or less bolted on to an engine and stuck in a compartment designed before much consideration was given to packaging, I do feel good about the minimal amount of simplification accomplished during this operation... a lot of coolant hoses and metal piping got done away with, so at least that's something. I do keep thinking about reducing the size of the intake pipes from 2.5" to 2" to, hopefully, improve engine response and de-clutter. Just not sure I'd actually win anything. Maybe down the road.
Edit: The goofy blue vacuum hose just laying there goes away, BTW, it was just a quick & dirty git 'er runnin' placement. Those hose is for the diverter valve and boost controller.
On a somewhat related note (and so I don't forget about this again), I do want to get some of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Oetiker-Single.../dp/B00AMAOU7M
Part of the XR's curse is a million little coolant hoses running around the engine externally, cluttering things up. From the factory, there are a dozen crazy molded hoses to do this, but all those hoses for the XR are NLA. In my hose reduction/future serviceability mission I replaced all of these molded hoses with generic poly Ts and bulk 5/8" silicone hose, but the result includes about 12 annoying, tiny little hose clamps. I'd like to take a play from VAG and semi-permanently clamp that shit together. The silicone hose should be largely invulnerable to failure, so I'll fix the sub-assemblies together and then use traditional worm gear clamps at the extremities. Should make it nicer looking.