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Tech / General EngineIs your car making a strange sound or won't start? Thinking of adding power with a new combination? Need other technical information or engine specific advice? Don't see another board for your problem? Post it here!
had an odd Monday off and didn't want to waste it. I got my founders performance caster plates on. not a difficult job. took about 40 minutes. most of that time was adjusting the stupid jack to get everything where I wanted it. im taking shakes to lunch and then im getting back under the hood to fit the QA1 3 point strut tower brace.
I was able to get out and install the QA1 3 point strut tower brace. the instructions are very short. I think 4 steps? they are good and clear though. had no fit issues. hood shut fine with no adjustments needed. im surprised that the car is noticeably stiffer in turn. all turns not just spirited ones. very pleased with look and feel. I recommend to all thirdgenners
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I was able to get out and install the QA1 3 point strut tower brace. the instructions are very short. I think 4 steps? they are good and clear though. had no fit issues. hood shut fine with no adjustments needed. im surprised that the car is noticeably stiffer in turn. all turns not just spirited ones. very pleased with look and feel. I recommend to all thirdgenners
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I'm slowly working on removing my exhaust manifolds because my senile father decided to "help out" by removing my air tubes. He cut them and left them like that, so now I have raw exhaust coming from under the hood. I need to remove the manifolds in order to actually remove the air tubes and put plugs in place. ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!
I'm slowly working on removing my exhaust manifolds because my senile father decided to "help out" by removing my air tubes. He cut them and left them like that, so now I have raw exhaust coming from under the hood. I need to remove the manifolds in order to actually remove the air tubes and put plugs in place. ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Man those can be tough too! Ive got a set here already off a car I thought of using on my 350 build and it was a pain to get the smog tubes loose even on those! Good luck.
17x8 4-3/4" backspacing American Racing VN215 Torq Thrust II
245/45r17 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
I think it actually rides better than the year old Cooper Cobra 235/60r15 and 255/60r15 setup. Definitely feels more stable and planted. Still need to play with tire pressures, currently at 32 front and 30 rear.
Received my UMI strut mounts but didn't install them yet, thinking I'll have them in by the weekend. Really want to see what kind of difference they make from relatively new OEM mounts with the Konis.
the "click" of death coming from my driver front wheel in a turn is getting so much worse. I think its the tie rod end. I received my steering kit yesterday. my brother is coming in a week or so and wants me to wait to install it until he is here. I hope it makes it. at first it only clicked when I turned all the way to the right, then it started clicking when I turned less than full turns. now its clicking when I turn anything over half. its loud to. im not enjoying this at all, not only is it loud and trashy but its clear its getting worse and starting to worry me. lsat thing I need is for it to fall apart on me.
Having re thought my original post here , I'd like to strongly encourage you to stop driving it till it's fixed , the life you save just may be your own .....
Last edited by OrangeBird; 11-08-2018 at 12:48 PM.
Having re thought my original post here , I'd like to strongly encourage you to stop driving it till it's fixed , the life you save just may be your own .....
I have the steering kit. got it in the mail yesterday. it will be installed this weekend. that should clear it up.
Installed my UMI strut mounts. Hard to say if there's any change in NVH honestly, but there are some crappy roads I haven't tried yet. Need to do an alignment still, but for now I just maxed out caster and did my best to set camber to between -0.5 and -1.0. Pulls to the right just a hair like before, but I also need to re-center the rear axle.
Edit:
Drove it through the crappy road nearby that I semi-regularly drive though and I still don't think there's much NVH difference from the 1 year old stock replacement KYB mounts. I had the windows up, radio off, AC off, and I think there's a bit more noise over bumps, but it's not harsher IMO. I think tire quality/age and proper air pressure have way more of an impact.
I attempted to fix my click of death tonight. ive had the steering rebuild kit for a couple of days. I believed it was the driver side outer tierod end making the noise. the result of my tie rod replacement was not a success. I ordered the part from 1A auto. I have never ordered from them before. I pulled off my original complete tie rod. I took two measurements that the service manual suggested. I assembled the new ends in the new sleeve. everything was going well all the measurements of the new tie rod was right on. I felt like this was going to be a 20 minute per side job and I was stoked about that. I slid the inner tie rod into its place and loosely installed the nut. I pushed the outer tie rod into the steering knuckle and it didn't fit. I thought maybe it was something I was doing wrong. a buddy of mine who works at a parts store said that he thought it had to be pressed in. so I drove all the way to orileys and borrowed a press. as you know these aren't supposed to be pressed in and I broke the tie rod end. I took out the other outer tie rod end and compared it to the original very closely. the stem that goes through the steering knuckle on the replacement part is shorter. the original tie rods were in such bad shape that I decided to use the new inner tie rod end and the original outer tie rod end. I thought I would be able to easily replace the outer when I got the right part. however the thread diameter of the new parts are different than the original. so I wasn't able to mix the parts. I was pretty upset at this point. two hours into a 20 minute job with little hope of a good conclusion. I was forced to reinstall the original tie rods while I search for the correct parts. im a glass half full kind of guy. I always try to see the good. so here is the good. I drove the car after I put it back together and the click is better. so I feel confident that replacing the tie rods will correct this click. looking at pics online the acdelco part looks exactly like the original as does the part classic industries carries. I ordered 1 acdeco outer tie rod ( that's all they had) and will probably have to get the rest from classic industries. don't order from 1a auto. save yourself the trouble.
I just cant seem to win on this tierod. I got the acdelco outer end in and I verified that it will fit. I assumed I was going to breeze through the rest of the installation. the acdelco outer tierod end isn't left had thread. at least im having issues getting it to thread on. it appears the inner (non acdelco) and the outer (acdelco) are both right hand thread. if that's the case im stuck. it was my understanding that all tie rods had a left hand thread and a right hand thread so they could be adjusted. im going to try and fit the acdelco end into the original sleeve and see what that gets me.
I went back out and burned a few brain cells trying to figure out what the deal is with my dual right hand thread tie rod ends. I took the original out and the inner is the left hand thread. I ended up only changing the outer tie rod end which was the one clicking. so for now the car doesn't sound like its going to fall apart when I turn. im going to have to get the correct parts before I can complete the steering rebuild but at least. none of this makes sense. why would they make both ends right hand thread?
driving down the street today and all of the sudden I lost power. came right back and I was able to start the car and be on my way. turned out to be a loose battery cable. duh.
I spoke with classic industries today. I have the tierod fiasco well in hand now. the oe tirods used a left hand and a right hand thread but all the after market went to a right had right hand. so replacing isn't an issue as long as you replace inner and outer at the same time. I have the new sleeves on the way. should be issue solved. stupid details.
with my tie rod issue all but solved just waiting on a part I moved on to the wunderbar installation. it went smooth. the only surprise was how heavy the anti sway bar is. that thing is hefty. I measured the anti sway bar as well so I can order the end links and rubber bushings. its larger than I thought. I forgot to take a pic while I had the car jacked up so I just held my hand under there and this is what I got. took it for a drive. each part is adding to the stiffness. feeling much better. im looking forward to subframe connectors
. I hope they are as good as everyone says.
with my tie rod issue all but solved just waiting on a part I moved on to the wunderbar installation. it went smooth. the only surprise was how heavy the anti sway bar is. that thing is hefty. I measured the anti sway bar as well so I can order the end links and rubber bushings. its larger than I thought. I forgot to take a pic while I had the car jacked up so I just held my hand under there and this is what I got. took it for a drive. each part is adding to the stiffness. feeling much better. im looking forward to subframe connectors
. I hope they are as good as everyone says.
Oh they are...just make sure you have them welded. What kind of springs you got there?
the springs are voitland 1 inch drop springs from founders performance.
How do you like them? Did it make the ride fell harsh compared to the stock springs? I am going to lower the car in the future and have done a bunch of research and these seem like the best overall choice.
How do you like them? Did it make the ride fell harsh compared to the stock springs? I am going to lower the car in the future and have done a bunch of research and these seem like the best overall choice.
I like them. the ride and stance are much improved and they were cheaper than the eibach I was looking at
So far today, I walked by it really quickly, avoiding eye contact and pretending I didn't see it... Gotta take care of business before I can focus on El Birdo Del Dirto.
got the wheel cylinder and pads on. it was clearly leaking. pretty nasty in there. all good now though. I need to bleed them but I can knock that out in a few minutes with the help of my lovely assistant shakes.
We are having a ridiculously beautiful day today, so I got a few things done on the car.
My son and I replaced the hood struts, and removed the passenger door panel. I am in the process of replacing the outer window sweeps, and didn't like the warp I saw in the panels. I found an upholstery shop that is going to replace the chipboard cores for me.
When that was done, we washed the car thoroughly for its winter hibernation. I had been waiting for the right day to get this done, but our weather has been terrible for weeks.
We are having a ridiculously beautiful day today, so I got a few things done on the car.
My son and I replaced the hood struts, and removed the passenger door panel. I am in the process of replacing the outer window sweeps, and didn't like the warp I saw in the panels. I found an upholstery shop that is going to replace the chipboard cores for me.
When that was done, we washed the car thoroughly for its winter hibernation. I had been waiting for the right day to get this done, but our weather has been terrible for weeks.
Good, productive day.
I need a day like that... we’ve had rain almost every day for over almost two months. Basement flooded, dirty cars, etc..
I think tomorrow will be sunny and 50 so that might be my last chance to wash/wax/ and oil change the IROC before winter..
I love the black/red combo.. I’m looking for one of those
I got the missing pieces of the tie rods in the mail last night. this time I assembled them while I sat my fat warm butt in front of the tv. now that im sure they fit I can install them. I also ordered new control arm bushings. the bushings like almost everything else on my front suspension are trash. they make noise. im not looking forward to pulling all that off but im hoping this will be the last time I have to remove all of it. I have the tierods and centerlink ready to go in as well. so here we go round 4
Carbon fiber sticker wrap. Technology racing 1(wish.com) is where I got this from if anyone cares. Its a thin vinyl sticker wrap thats very sticky but rips easily if your not carerful cause it has texture. Today im going to take the gauges out of the dash and wrap that aluminum plate. The shifter boot(surprising great fit and holes aligned damn near perfect)I found here https://www.ebay.com/p/Shift-Boot-Re...1203119&chn=ps
Last edited by JohnnyIroc; 12-06-2018 at 06:53 AM.
Finally started installing some new carpet! The original flooring was just disgusting. Tried cleaning it some time ago with a heated carpet cleaner, but it seemed futile. The seats are all back in -- just have to finish putting the rear half of the interior panels back in. It got dark and I was way too beat to keep going and I wanted to wash a couple of panels while they were out. Trying to move the new carpet around was like trying to handle a 100lb sack of potatoes... so glad that part's over.
Interior is grey but I wanted to go darker so I went with ACC Essex Charcoal with mass backing. The carpet is not quite the shade of grey/charcoal I was hoping for, but I'll work with it. I'm thinking about painting all the plastic charcoal now. I already used a charcoal carpet kit on them from Third Gen Ranch, so the larger areas are already taken care of. Also considering something different like wrapping the panels in microsuede/alcantara or something. Would probably fix a bunch of little squeaks and creaks at the same time.
Im so confused and annoyed about life right now. I finally got the tie rods installed. I was hoping it was the fix for my click of death when I turn. it sort of did. however the over all out come is worse. now when I turn its the only time the car doesn't click. its clicks when im going straight. the tie rods are installed correctly, torqued, and greased. the only installation mistake that might have been made is that I torqued everything while it was on jack stands. maybe it is supposed to be done on the ground and is binding. if that's the case why is it only doing it on the same side that it was clicking on before? hell maybe its wheel bearing? I though they made more of a grinding than a clicking. im annoyed.
Im so confused and annoyed about life right now. I finally got the tie rods installed. I was hoping it was the fix for my click of death when I turn. it sort of did. however the over all out come is worse. now when I turn its the only time the car doesn't click. its clicks when im going straight. the tie rods are installed correctly, torqued, and greased. the only installation mistake that might have been made is that I torqued everything while it was on jack stands. maybe it is supposed to be done on the ground and is binding. if that's the case why is it only doing it on the same side that it was clicking on before? hell maybe its wheel bearing? I though they made more of a grinding than a clicking. im annoyed.
Did you try spinning the wheel by hand with the front end off the ground? Does it still click?
It sounds to me like something is binding or rubbing. Are you sure your wheels are the right size? I seem to recall you saying you put a different size wheel on your car.
Can you try a stock size wheel to see if the noise changes?
Just a few thoughts. I know how frustrated you feel right now. Been there and done that...
Im so confused and annoyed about life right now. I finally got the tie rods installed. I was hoping it was the fix for my click of death when I turn. it sort of did. however the over all out come is worse. now when I turn its the only time the car doesn't click. its clicks when im going straight. the tie rods are installed correctly, torqued, and greased. the only installation mistake that might have been made is that I torqued everything while it was on jack stands. maybe it is supposed to be done on the ground and is binding. if that's the case why is it only doing it on the same side that it was clicking on before? hell maybe its wheel bearing? I though they made more of a grinding than a clicking. im annoyed.
Originally Posted by DaveyDug
Did you try spinning the wheel by hand with the front end off the ground? Does it still click?
It sounds to me like something is binding or rubbing. Are you sure your wheels are the right size? I seem to recall you saying you put a different size wheel on your car.
Can you try a stock size wheel to see if the noise changes?
Just a few thoughts. I know how frustrated you feel right now. Been there and done that...
I agree, get the front end off the ground and spin the wheels and see if you hear anything aside from the normal pad noise. Maybe even try braking while it's clicking to see if it changes.
I think I missed this detail, but is the clicking a constant clicking, like synchronized with wheel speed in some way? I was originally under the impression that the click was just a single click or two when turning the steering wheel so I figured your new steering linkage would fix it.
This is a wild stab in the dark, but I'm leaning towards wheel bearing and/or brake too. When replacing the tie rods, I'm guessing it changed the toe alignment a bit which would slightly change the way the wheel bearings are loaded in a straight line vs. in a turn which is why you still have the same problem but under a slightly different condition. Assuming it's a constant clicking anyway.
I went back out tonight and replaced the center link. I didn't think this would fix the issue but I had the part and might as well install it. I still don't understand how the center link is a wear part. it feels like a solid steel bar with threaded rods coming out of the ends. when I was installing it I found the idler arm was swinging freely with no resistance at all. I thought it was supposed to be fairly solid and hard to turn. I thought maybe I had found my issue. even if it wasn't THE issue it was an issue. I had an idler arm that came in my 1a auto kit. the kit was pretty bad as far as fit went. I wasn't able to use either the inner or outer tie rods which is why I bought the kit in the first place. I hoped that the idler arm would be the part that fit. it wasn't. the 1a auto idler arm wasn't shaped correctly. it was off just enough I couldn't get it to line up as the o.e part did. while I had the o.e part in my hand I found that it was two pieces that screw together. I had no idea. I put it in my vice and screwed in in tight and greased it. reinstall went well since it already fit. the click is NOT fixed. im going to order an idler and pitman arm from classic industries. their parts have fit very well so far. if the last two steering part don't stop the click I will do wheel bearings next. here is what I know. what ever is causing the click is affected by the work ive done. every time I do some work to the steering components the click changes in some way. either becoming very light or less frequent for a short time then coming back at full volume. I was planning to replace and update all the suspension and steering anyway so im not upset that ive done all of that. however im not happy that my car makes an embarrassing noise when I cut the wheel in a parking lot.
ordered acdelco idler arm, timkin wheel bearings. should be here in a few days. today I got home from work. I pulled the door handle and nothing. the inner door handle no longer opens the door. it feels like whatever it was attached to has come unhooked. had to reach out the window and use outer handle to open door. annoying
Got finally done with the suspension work and alignment today. Now just messing with the shocks stiffness trying to get it close for Sunday's day at the track.
Worked on killing more squeaks/rattles today. The big ones are all gone now. Just have some random little plastic ticking noises to fix, but they're petty quiet. The big help for my car was running a strip of clear UHMW anti-squeak tape along the sill plates where they were contacting the door panel. Would be neat if these cars were like NA Miatas where the door has a cup thing on it and the door jamb has a block that goes into when closed to help make it all more rigid.
Took the door panels off for the millionth time now. Had to re-rivet the passenger window regulator because the rivets had all come loose for some reason. Also went looking for some inexplicable rattles in that door and found some chunks of rock hard stuff that probably used to be seam sealer or for anti-rattle. They were trapped in the upper part of the door between the skin and some doubler that runs front to rear. Had to reach in from the front and rear access holes and pull on it so they could fall out. Finally doesn't sound like it's full of marbles when closing the door!
Also installed some lower window stops in both doors because they would go too low and rattle and mess up the outer window scraper. I got mine from McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/9546k95 - Don't really need the long stud though, I only got them because I didn't know how tall the stop had to be and it turns out they're perfect as-is. The #10 screw size was also perfect for the hole left by the rivet from the original non-existent stop. Got the old rivet out by going at it with a cutoff wheel on a Dremel until it fell off because I was not removing the glass just for that. Much nicer.
11-04-2018, 11:29 PM
