JLarson's build thread

[JLarson]

9/22/2018 - In Which Our Heroes Go For A Cruise

Next phase (after cleanup) was test drive, and Rusty toured me around some of the fine and winding roads of western PA, ending in the Ohio Pyle park. Very pretty area, and apparently ideal for whitewater rafting! Back to his place, said goodbyes and thank yous to both Rusty and Chris for their hospitality, and then it was back to my side of the state.

I'm overall quite pleased with the modifications. The change in gear oil has resulted in quieter and smoother shifting, and the bushings (in conjunction with the metal subframe bushing collars and poly transmission mount) make for a more solid feel which is very apparent both in a launch and during 1-2 and 2-3 shifts. A lot of drivetrain slop is gone, and my acceleration has improved. I'd like to compare the feel of the poly bushing to a solid bushing at some point, just curious how much of a difference that would make. This concludes my update for now, though I'll be adding some pictures shortly.

[Rusty]

Here's my collection of pictures.

[Rusty]

And more.

[Rusty]

And one more.

[JLarson]

Well it's been a while since I've updated this, having gotten through most of the desired mods on my list already. This weekend kicked off another round, mostly small stuff.

1) I'd been experiencing a judder from my front rotors during high speed braking for the past year or so, finally decided to take care of that and decided to do brakes at the same time, so I picked up a package from StopTech.

2) I've experienced the axle nut click for a while now, and since I was going to be in there anyway, that was an obvious choice.

3) I had picked up stainless steel brake lines from z1 more than a year ago, and they've been collecting dust in my garage. This was a good time to add them in.

4) Finally, it's time for a brake fluid flush!

I got a late start, around noon. I've got to get better power run to my garage since I constantly trip the breaker there, and I set up the QJ in my driveway instead, near ample power access.

[JLarson]

Things started off smoothly. I had nothing frozen up; my caliper bolts came loose easily, and my rotors required only moderate persuasion with a dead blow hammer. I was naturally suspicious (see picture of me looking suspicious).

Removing the axle nut was interesting only in that it requires a 32mm socket, which I did not have. My wife was very fortunately shopping for groceries near an Autozone, so a quick text message solved that problem (my hardware angel delivered swiftly).

You can see the deformed cap sitting on the axle nut. This was quick and easy to replace. Lubed up with fresh grease, maneuvered the new one in place, bent the cotter pin appropriately, done.

Edited: here's the link to the DIY. FIXED: Rear axle click clunk noise

[JLarson]

I'd already freed the calipers by the time my wife arrived with the socket, so I was ready to release my brake pads quickly and easily!

Brake pads, why for you no come out?!?! The frigging pins in the calipers were so warped and covered with brake dust and corrosion that it was a multi hour process to get them loose. It was complicated a little bit further by the learning curve -took me a few minutes to figure out that I actually needed to take those pins out to release the brake pads. So that's something I know now.

What I ended up doing was removing the cotter pin, pushing a drill bit through the bottom while unscrewing from the top, then once one end came free, gripping with needle nose pliers and pulling. Is there an easier way to do this or a better trick? It worked, but it was a very tedious process. This part should not have (but did) take me multiple hours, and it's not my first brake job.

Getting the fresh pins, plates, and brake pads in place was comparably easy. No pictures, you all know what that looks like I'm sure.