JLarson's build thread

[JARblue]

Originally Posted by JLarson

I tracked most of my costs through Excel so they're fairly accurate.

I did that. That was a stupid decision

[JLarson]

Originally Posted by JARblue

I did that. That was a stupid decision

Lol. For me it was part of a cost/benefits analysis. Since I planned a lot in advance, I was also determining whether or not it was worth it to mod this platform extensively, or just go to another vehicle.

Hard to find a 500+ whp car for what I paid for this one though. Even if I blow an engine or two, I'd still come out ahead.

[ZontheRocks]

Originally Posted by JLarson

Hard to find a 500+ whp car for what I paid for this one though. Especially with adding in maintenance costs.

FTFY

There are plenty of $20-$25k AMG Mercs out there with fat V8s, possibly supercharged. But then maintenance on a larger engine (fluids, spark plugs, etc.) and the cost $$ of all the electrical do-dads that may fail....

[JLarson]

Originally Posted by ZontheRocks

FTFY

There are plenty of $20-$25k AMG Mercs out there with fat V8s, possibly supercharged. But then maintenance on a larger engine (fluids, spark plugs, etc.) and the cost $$ of all the electrical do-dads that may fail....

Good note. I should also add that one of the benefits here was me doing it myself. Learning was a powerful motivator. That's a benefit with a real synergistic appeal - the more I mod, the more maintenance tasks I'm capable of.

[ZontheRocks]

Originally Posted by JLarson

Good note. I should also add that one of the benefits here was me doing it myself. Learning was a powerful motivator. That's a benefit with a real synergistic appeal - the more I mod, the more maintenance tasks I'm capable of.

I agree.

Let me just add that I have no problem with a Gear Head that has a great passion and has the financial means to pay for installs. If $10,000 felt like $100 to me, I'd be dropping my car off all day.

[JLarson]

Originally Posted by ZontheRocks

I agree.

Let me just add that I have no problem with a Gear Head that has a great passion and has the financial means to pay for installs. If $10,000 felt like $100 to me, I'd be dropping my car off all day.

Absolutely. At a certain point, you have to determine if you have more money than time. I'm not quite there yet

[JLarson]

This weekend was close enough to 3k miles on the kit since the install that I decided to tackle routine maintenance. Oil change, drop turbo, clean filter, reinstall filter, reinstall turbo. Additionally, the oil leak at my thermostatic plate has continued, albeit very slowly and I wanted to clean that up.

-The oil leak was occurring where the threaded ports extrude from the plate for the AN fittings. The gaskets used for those ports are such that as you tighten the ports, they tear the gaskets. I replaced the gaskets with a set from a Mocal plate - the gasket is inset in a metal ring, preventing clamping from tearing the gasket. Easy fix, cleaned up the issue. I'll keep an eye on it, but so far so good.
-Dropping the turbo to clean the filter is time consuming. I knew that going in, but this was a good reminder. For those who have more money than time (and who are able to remove their engine mounts ) I'd recommend you get the BP filter relocation kit.
-The filter was pretty dirty. Considering it was only 3k miles I was a bit surprised at just how dirty. There was a little bit of heat damage on one end of the filter, just a small amount of bubbling, but this reinforces what others (Solidus) have stated. The location of the filter does mean it is subjected to radiant heating from the passengers side header.
-Greasing the turbo was pretty straightforward. Insert tube of grease into grease gun (included with kit). Remove cap. Pressurize grease gun. Trigger enough grease through the gun to ensure it's working. Fasten to zerk fitting (which hopefully you've left exposed). No mess, no cleanup.
-Replace turbo gasket with new, add filter to turbo, lift turbo back into place with minimal cursing, bolt in place.
-Spent way too much time trying to reconnect exhaust piping to turbo. This is a huge pain in the butt with the turbo blanket in the way. I said several adult words at that point. Another pair of hands would be a big help at this point, mostly with trying to balance the pipe, align it between turbo and the rest of the exhaust (lying on my back, grabbing the pipe with my knees) and clamp the v-band around the flanges with enough pressure that the threaded bolt extrudes (right hand) while trying to thread the nut on (right hand).

Reassemble and enjoy. Back to work today, ran like a top.