[esm@logic.net ~]$ _

I'm going to roll up a bunch of updates into a single blog entry, because it's been a very long week.

I usually don't talk about work-related stuff much on the blog, other than major updates, but since this has been all over the news: Fermilab had their operating budget basically yanked out from under them during a weekend House session, and had been implementing rolling furloughs (basically, enforced leave without pay) for all staff. Recently, a few planets aligned, and funding was restored enough to eliminate the furloughs, but some of us already had that time scheduled: we were asked to project our furlough leave through the end of the fiscal year.

That's a long-winded way of saying that, over the last week, I've been taking my planned furlough leave, but using vacation for it instead. The reason? Catching up on backlogged work on the Eclipse. I'd planned on this week for a while, with the intention of getting up to work on it in the morning, and running all day; treat it like a job for a week, and see how much I could get done. Turns out, not as much as would have liked: about half of my planned work got done this week.

The engine, sans a couple of small items (I have no idea where the knock sensor went!), is now ready to go in. That entailed a bunch of small, tedious items that I didn't expect to take as long as they did: getting the new GM alternator rigged up, the ATI damper hub pressed on the crank, the timing belt installed, the oil pan modified to accept a -10AN drain line from the turbo, fabricating that actual drain line, fabricating a downpipe for the turbo, relocating everything to fit around the downpipe (the oil dipstick now has quite a few more bends than it used to), and generally getting the details right. I sent off my throttle body to Steve Monroe of Throttlebodys.com for boring out to 63mm. He turned that around in practically record time; it should be arriving Monday or Tuesday. I also fabricated a hacky little bracket for supporting the intake manifold, since the USDM manifold support bracket doesn't mate up to the JDM Cyclone intake manifold properly.

The other major piece of business I wanted to tackle was the rear suspension and driveline. The rear subframe (with the new solid diff bushings) is back in the car, along with the rear diff. For anyone curious: that is a tight fit; with the steel sleeves in the bushings, there is no tolerance for misalignment. After three months of waiting, the Road Race upper bearing plates arrived, along with a set of rear lower control arm bushings from Prothane. The upper bearing plates, however, had the standoffs machined incorrectly, and since they didn't actually arrive in my hands until Friday (thanks for sending that "signature required", guys), I'm currently waiting on replacements. But, the bushings have started to go in, and I'm definitely getting better at "non-destructive" removal of these sleeved bushings; the cheap Chinese press I bought from Harbor Freight is getting a good workout.

Thanks to a friend of mine, the snapring grooves for the Koni coilovers have been cut in the shocks, and except for the upper bearing plates, they're completely assembled and ready to go on the car. Meanwhile, I'm still pulling suspension components, putting them under the wire wheel for a while, giving them a rustproofing treatment, and replacing any needed bushings.

As a side-note: it's depressing to see how poorly the steel portions of the suspension have weathered Chicago's salt seasons. Most bolts are coming off in multiple pieces, and I'm taking notes for another large order of hard-to-find specialty items from Mitsubishi.

Things that still need to be done: now that the rear subframe is back in, I need to get the swaybar back in place temporarily to test fitment for the fuel cell frame (no, that's still not done), and get the damn thing welded in already. It looks like I'm going to have to cut a bit more out of the rear wall of the car to make it cell fit: a 15-gallon cell isn't exactly small. Once that's in, I expect the rest of the fuel system to actually go in fairly quickly: most of what's needed is stainless braided line manufacturing, and placement determination for the pumps, filters, regulator, Y-fitting, and lines.

The oil system is basically ready to go, I just need the engine in the car to confirm fitment. The one big remaining item there is whipping up a bracket for mounting the oil cooler, and the rest is just line routing. I have a feeling I'm going to end up having to get some slimmer radiator fans to clear a pair of -12AN lines running across the front of the car...

Last but not least is power: once the cell is in, I can fit up the battery box in the rear, and start running some very thick power cables the length of the car. That leads to a fair bit of basic electronics work that's needed: fuel pumps, any new sensors that need to be added, and working through the issues of running a 1g engine in a 2g.

That's basically where I'm at. I'm probably a couple of weeks away from having the engine in, and if I can keep up the momentum on the rest of the work, I'll hopefully be very close to a test firing at that point. That's my biggest concern: having a week to dedicate to this was unbelievably good for getting my head back into it again, and I'm worried that once I'm back to work and spending time on typical homeowner stuff, I'll ease up on getting things done. I'll need to make myself do "one thing" every night, even if it's a small thing, just to keep myself working toward the goal.

The goal being August 17: the annual DSM/Evo Shootout in Norwalk, Ohio. I have some serious reservations about making that date at this point, obviously, but I'm still going to try and get the car together for it, even if I don't actually race it. Being able to simply drive it there would be good enough for me.

After a quick trip to Lowes for a few strips of 1" strap steel, and a bunch of hammering and drilling, the bracket for the Accusump is basically done; I just need to weld in a couple of reinforcement pieces so it doesn't vibrate all over the place. No pictures yet, but it's bolting to the firewall and the back of the passenger side shock tower, right where the battery used to be. (I'm actually reusing the lower two attachment points for the battery support for the lower part of the bracket; the upper part is attached to the firewall on one side, and the left upper control arm bolt on the other, with a welded piece in between the top and bottom for rigidity). I'll need to pick up a 1/2" NPT to -12AN 90-degree hose end for the plumbing on it, plus some -4AN line and a couple of fittings so I can relocate the pressure gauge somewhere useful, and I'll probably want to rubber-mount it to the bracket. It looks like it'll clear the hood without any trouble at all, and there's tons of room all around for everything else. Progress!

A quick update on happenings with the Eclipse; where it's at, what needs to be done, and goals for the season.

Read more...

As a friendly word of warning to those who decide to replace their rear differential bushings on a 2g DSM: don't.

Where would you get such an idea anyway, you ask? Well, if you're like a friend of mine, you notice that your rear diff is barely still attached because after enough hard launches, the stock rubber bushings have turned to jelly. So, you get the bright idea of replacing the stock bushings with something a little more sturdy, like solid aluminum. After all, you only want to replace broken parts once, right? (In my case, I opted for a special run of bushings made by Theo Aftonomos, because they had a steel sleeve for the retaining bolt, but the bushings that Dan sells above ought to do the job beautifully too.)

There's three identically-sized bushings fixing the rear differential to the rear subframe: the two obvious rear ones pressed into the subframe itself, and one on the passenger side toward the front of the differential, pressed into a removable bracket that bolts to the differential.

The bushing in the bracket is simple to replace: just unbolt the bracket, unbolt the front of the diff, and put the whole bracket in a press to press the old one out and the new one in. In my case, in true lazy fashion, I pressed the old bushing out with the new bushing. Worked like a champ. :-)

The part of this little exercise that causes problems is the two rear bushings. In my case, working on them in the car was possible because I've removed the trunk floorpan to make room for the fuel cell. If you aren't so lucky, you'll end up having to remove the rear subframe from the car completely: diff, axles, suspension, anything bolted to the rear subframe has to go. Fun stuff, honest.

Next up is actually removing the bushings. After an hour or two with a hammer, I finally came to the conclusion that the bushings just weren't going to move on their own. So, out came the holesaw to cut the rubber portion out. The passenger-side bushing drilled right out (mmm, nothing less pleasant in the world than the smell of burning rubber), but the driver's side bushing was a little bit different: it was filled with some kind of liquid or lubricant. As soon as the holesaw hit that, black steaming tar sprayed everywhere. Listen to Norm, always wear safety glasses, even if you think you're just cutting into rubber. ;-)

Once the rubber was out, the outer metal sleeve had to be extracted. After spending a bit of time with a punch and hammer, I did what I usually do: got frustrated and pulled out the sawzall. After cutting a nice slit in the sleeve, the punch tapped them both right out without any arguing.

Next up: since you can't put the rear subframe in a press (either because it's still on the car, like in my case, or because it's a flimsy piece of junk, if you actually took it off the car), you get out the deadblow hammer and spend the next bit of your life pounding those little bastards in. (Or, rig up a means of using a bolt and washer to press them in.)

Viola, you now have the ability to completely destroy your rear differential on a good launch! :-) There's a few jobs I've done on this car that I've very clearly said "Never again!" after completing, and this is one of them. A smart person would give up on the stock rear subframe entirely, and build their own with rigidity and weight savings in mind, but I thought this would be the easier approach. I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong, and this is one of those times. ;-)

Bold claim, but I think I'm most of the way there, in terms of design. To be fair, none of this is my own doing; I'm building on the work of others, and just documenting it as I go. Here's a stream-of-consciousness version of what I have so far, in no particular order.

First up: wheels and tires. That's been taken care of already: 17x9+27 wheels with plenty of caliper clearance (mmm, 14" rotors, if I want them), and Falken Azenis RT-615 255/40/17s. Not the best tire you can buy, but best I'd ever consider driving on the street and taking to an autocross or HPDE. This piece comes in around $1400.

Next, sway bars. I went with the RMDSM front and rear bars, which ought to balance the car fairly well. These came with a nice set of poly mounts. New, this was a $300 set, but I got a deal on a set of used bars. In the front, I've created a pair of adjustable end-links; if they work out well, I'll probably do something similar in the rear. (There's really no magic there; a couple of rod-ends and a threaded rod from McMaster-Carr, and some simple rubber boots to protect the spherical bearings in the rod ends.)

Third, alignment adjustment. Up front, the SPC replacement upper control arms with camber and caster adjustment via the adjustable ball joint and eccentric anchor bolts. In the rear, some simple spacer washers and longer bolts for the upper rear control arm ought to the trick. I'll probably be spending just shy of $500 on this.

Okay, that's the easy and obvious stuff out of the way. Next up: shocks, springs, and their associated mounting hardware. For shocks, it's hard to beat Koni Sports ("Yellows"), so I'll be using the 8041-1207 up front, and 8041-1208 in the rear, with .062" snap-ring grooves cut into them about five inches down from the top of the shock body. Those grooves are for the Koni 1038.41.04.20 80-series circlip on which the Koni 80.0000.1 42mm-ID kit will be installed (25mm upper spring perch, lower perch with locking set screw, and threaded sleeve). Mounted on the perches will be a pair of Hypercoil 8" springs (rates to-be-determined, but I'm leaning toward 600/300, since that's what Dennis Grant settled on after doing quite a bit of testing with this particular setup), supported by a pair of Hypercoil zero-rate helper springs and a Torrington (nee Timkin?) thrust needle roller bearing (NTA-3648, with the TRA-3648 race) to keep the springs in place and make adjustment a simple affair. Above the upper perch go an upper bearing plate and spacers from RRE. Finishing the whole thing off, a Koni 72.34.48.000.0 25mm linear soft bumpstop. So far, this piece of the puzzle looks like it'll run just shy of about $2000.

After that, there's a few other bits and pieces that can be addressed; any rubber bushings can be replaced with poly or spherical bearings where appropriate, and a little time on the alignment rack would probably be worthwhile. :-)

I think that's the major pieces of what I'm looking at doing (eventually). So, for the low-low price of just under $4000, you'll have a 2g DSM that handles like it should have from the factory. ;-) I believe I mentioned once before that I have a history of going overkill on things like this, didn't I?

So, not a lot to report since getting the engine in my hands; I picked up a rather large order of random parts from JNZ Tuning (formerly the brains behind Conicelli Mitsubishi and their incredible deals on OEM parts), and have started mocking things up. With the front case, alternator, power steering pump, exhaust manifold, and turbo in place, I've started hacking up the tubing I picked up from ATP Turbo: a 120-degree and 90-degree bend for the downpipe, along with the 2.75" to 3" v-band transition piece that I got from Forced Performance. I need to swing past Harbor Freight tomorrow and pick up an exhaust expander, to open up the inner portion of the 120-degree bend a bit; once I cut it down for the first bend coming out of the turbo, I discovered that the bend narrowed just a bit too much at main radius. Whoops.

We also finally got around to painting the Cyclone intake manifold, with an "aluminum" color (yeah, I'm that creative). We still need to do the plenum and the valve cover; the painting has been kind of an "as we have time" project.

Also recently arrived: my new wheels! Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 17x9" wheels with a +27mm offset. They're hubcentric, weigh in around 24lbs each, and came over from England for the few of us who decided we wanted them. I finally decided on tires for them too, which should be arriving this week: Falken Azenis RT-615s, in a 255/40/17 size. It should be interesting seeing how the fenders will have to be mangled to make this work effectively (the inside clearance should be fine, but they're going to protrude pretty far). I also ordered up a set of bling-bling Kics Project R26 two-piece lug nuts, because dat's how I roll, yo. ;-) (Truth be told, I liked the 2-piece design better than most of the other lugs I looked at.) After gathering a few opinions, it looks like I'm going to replace the OEM lugs with the ARP Evo wheel studs instead of the Kyo-Ei/Kyokugen ones that RRE sells, since I've already found two first-hand accounts of wheels and cars getting separated due to Kyo stud failure.

Still to do: order up a few remaining parts for the engine (mostly related to timing; pullies, tensioner, belt, etc., but I also need a water pipe, the water neck, and some other weird miscellaneous stuff), and finish the assembly, then get the engine, transmission, and transfer case back in the car so I can start mocking up the line runs for the oil accumulator, relocated oil filter, and fuel feed/return. I also need to get the main hoop and tabs for the fuel cell ordered, cut, welded, and installed, then hang the pumps, filters, and check valves. After that, there's a ton of electrical work to do: pumps, fuel level sender, boost controller, gauges, and the wideband. Somewhere in all of that, I still need to figure out how I'm going to mount the oil and power steering coolers, and what cooler core sizes I can get away with. Then, the interior has to go back in. ;-)

I got a call yesterday from Mitch asking if I was doing anything this weekend. I said no, so he said I was coming by the shop to pick up my engine. :-) And so, after two years, I can finally post this picture for all my friends who kept nagging me about where my damn engine was. :-)

The amount of work left is almost overwhelming. The engine itself needs a bit more attention; specifically, a front case, water pump, a few gaskets, the cam seals, and a few other bits and pieces. Mitch gave me one of the 2.4L oil pans without a return fitting allowance, and I'm going to see about welding on a steel AN bung for a perfect return line attachment point. I also have to get the valve cover and block painted; I think Erica's going to be taking that on, since I can't be trusted with a paint can. Otherwise, I have a complete 4g64 6-bolt 2.4L engine, with custom 9:1 Wiseco pistons, Oliver billet rods, and a well-worked Engintecs head with dual valve springs, oversized valves, Forced Performance FP3 cams, and a ton of porting and shaping of the intake and exhaust ports. Mitch also took the time to dial in my Venom cam gears properly for me, and sent me on my way with my oh-so-pimp ATI "super damper", Evo III exhaust manifold (which he was apparently busy finishing the porting on this morning), and the rest of the parts for my Cyclone intake manifold, along with miscellaneous gaskets, nuts, screws, and such.

I have a ton of work to do now.

So, since I seem to have a bit of Google juice, I'll use a bit of it to shed light on as much information as I can find about a fellow who recently ripped me off to the tune of $575.

There was a post on DSMSource.com (previously DSMtrader.com) advertising a "complete 2g part-out" by the user "TurboAWD92GSX". A Buschur Racing coil-on-plug system and AEM CDI were listed for sale. I contacted the user via private message on the forum, and received an email from him from awdgsxownsu@earthlink.net claiming that the COP and CDI togther would be $550. I replied, asking for a Paypal address to send the money to, and he sent another email stating that the price with paypal fees would be $575, and that payment should be sent to mk4ownu@hotmail.com. Payment was sent on July 25, and that's when communication with him stopped. The PayPal account is registered to one "Cheryl Andrade", whom Google seems to think lives in Hayward, California, at phone number (510) 581-8869, and who appears to have been a coordinator for Hayward CA Chapter 29 of the Experimental Aircraft Association, was a member of the Young Eagles, and attended Thurgood Marshall College.

Further investigation revealed quite a bit, including a lovely picture of the thief, and plenty of examples of Manny Alves (whose name I finally had to go with the handle) ripping off Supra and DSM owners.

Other links of interest include several profiles for him, on DSMtalk, DSMtuners, DSMSource, and, of course, his DSMSource trader profile, along with several eBay profiles. SupraForums members listed old contact information for him (cell phone of 858-232-8943, and home phone of 858-536-1408), and apparenly a few folks have made the trip to his home just to recover owed money or parts.

As I collect more information about this, I'll keep storing it here.

Manny Alves, Manuel Alves, or Cheryl Andrade, this blog entry is all about you. Hopefully, Google will see fit to give it the attention you so richly deserve.

So, it's been a month since my last update, and there's very little to report given how busy life has seemed to be in the interim. On the fuel side of things, after trimming the fuel level sensor and test-fitting the whole assembly in the tank, it didn't fit. I was about half a centimetre too far to the outside on the fuel level sensor position, and as a result that lid was rendered pretty much useless. So, I ordered up an aluminum replacement; the price wasn't much more than the steel plate I had before, and it's quite a bit lighter (and should be easier to cut, since I still need to get the same holes drilled in this one too). And this time, I'll be a little more careful with my cutting; lesson learned.

The front RMDSM sway bar is temporarily on the car for fitment, and it looks pretty good so far. The original bar didn't come off without a cutting wheel to the end links, so rather than paying the cost for OEM replacements, I made my own adjustable end links from a pair of rod ends and an aluminum threaded tube from McMaster-Carr. Looks spiffy, and with the spherical bearing boots that I ordered as well, they should remain in decent shape for their life on the car. I'll be doing something similar in the rear, since it looks like those end links won't be coming off without a fight either.

Other weird news: a friend of mine is negotiating with Rimstock to see if he can import a few sets of their Pro Race 1.2 wheels for him, me, and a couple of other folks on DSMtuners. They're exceptionally nice wheels, and not because they look spiffy (I'm still rather so-so on the looks, actually). First, they're fairly light, coming in at around 9kg (which is a little beefier than some on the market but on par). Second, they have an enormous amount of rear clearance; clearing pretty much any brake package won't be a problem for these wheels (which is good, because Mitch is now talking about putting together a Wilwood-based brake setup, which he'll probably convince me to get in on). Third, and rather importantly for the guy who gets accused of pouring unlimited funds into a project that still doesn't run: they'll probably come in at under $200 a wheel, which is actually cheaper than the wheels I was originally considering, which won't have nearly the same inside clearance that the Team Dynamics wheels have. Tack on another $120/tire for the Kumho Ecsta MX tires that I want (which weigh in at an additional 24.6lbs each, ouch), and I might be able to pull off wheels and tires for around the $1200 I'd budgeted for this.

I still need to get all the metal for the fuel cell cage cut and welded, and there's a bit more interior left remove as well (specifically, all the sound deadening material, and the ECU so I don't fry it when I'm in there welding). As much as I'd love to do a cage this season, I just don't see it happening.

The ATL fuel cell I bought is pretty spiffy, but not quite perfect. Specifically, I want to run -10AN line from the cell to the pumps, but the cell only has -8AN outlet ports natively. So, holesaws to the rescue; I widened the openings for the outlet fittings, and added openings for the -8AN return line and the fuel level sensor, then added a light touch of paint over the exposed metal (shame to have to ruin such a nice powdercoating job...). The end result is a pretty decent setup; -10AN feed lines look ridiculously large, by the way. Next up: trim the fuel level sensor to fit, and finish the cell assembly.

As a side-note, I decided to relocate the fuel filters; rather than have a single filter where the two pump outputs converge, I've decided to filter the fuel in front of each pump, so as to avoid any crap that might cause issues for them. The downside is that I now have a second filter to keep an eye on (and the associated cost; -10AN filters aren't cheap), but the upshot is that I now have twice the filtering capacity in the system, and that restriction is in the low-pressure portion of the system rather than the pumps having to fight with the filter along with 70-80psi of fuel pressure. The whole filter, pump, and check valve assembly is going to be a bit unweildly; I might locate the filters just outside the trunk area (tucked between the rear wall and the bumper) to get them away from the rest of the assembly and to make inspection/replacement easier.

The driver's seat is finally out, which proved to be somewhat interesting to remove without any power available; the trick is basically unbolting the power seat mechanism, removing the drive shaft/gear, and manually sliding the seat where you need it so you can reach the attachment bolts. The carpet came out next, and I can't believe how much sound deadener is glued all over the place; that ought to be a few pounds saved after it all comes out. I also pulled the remote opener for the trunk lid and the gas door; there's no tank, so it's not like I'll be opening the gas door very often, and the trunk was purely a security issue (it's incredibly easy to fish something between the glass and the chassis to grab the pull-handle for the hatch on a DSM).

The metal for the fuel cell cage has been ordered, and should be here on Friday; I also have even more fittings on the way, for plumbing the fuel lines to the pumps. I have a bit more carving to do on the rear floorpan and some minor trimming around the existing opening before I can really get started on that part, but for the most part the prep work for the fuel system is done.

Which leads me to...oil delivery. I have most of the major components already, but there's some plumbing questions I've bounced off of the only guy I know who could probably draw out the oil passages in the 4g63 block and head in his sleep. My current thinking is that the accusump will plumb off of the return line on the oil cooler, giving the benefit of both clean and cool oil, and the oil filter relocation will just be a standalone thing; the other option is to hang the accusump off of the filter relocation return line, which saves the cost of a check valve (the filter and oil pump do a good job of filling that purpose), but subjects the accumulator to uncooled oil fresh from the pan (but filtered).

And, at some point, I really need to get around to wiring in some of the electronics I have waiting to go on the car; specifically, the boost controller, turbo timer, and new gauges. Most of that can wait, though; what I really need now is the engine, for test-fitting a few things. But, that's still delayed, waiting on pistons the last I'd heard. I really don't think this is going to be done by this year's shootout. :-P

So it's not quite as bad as I thought. I've mocked up the catback, removed the now-useless fuel-filler line, and pulled off an exhaust hangar that isn't needed with my catback (how did I miss that before?), and suddenly things are fitting a lot better. The taillights are off, and the bolts on the rear fascia are soaking in PB Blaster, so hopefully that will come off uneventfully this weekend, and I can see how much of the rear sheetmetal "wall" behind the bumper I can cut out to give the cell a bit more room back there. Regardless, I'm not going to be able to go quite as low with it as I'd hoped; after getting the exhaust mocked up, it's pretty obvious that the rear canister is in the way, so at best I'll be lining the top of the fuel cell up with the main floorpan of the trunk area. Not the most perfect arrangement (because I still need to put a bulkhead over it to be legal for tech, which will interfere with usable storage back there), but it'll have to do.

I think I have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to mount the fuel pumps now, and it's a bit different than originally planned. Instead of mounting them east/west under the rear seat area (where the stock tank used to be), I think I'm going to hang them from the fuel cell frame, one on each side. That simplifies the feed lines pretty dramatically, and the merging of the two pump outlets becomes pretty trivial too. That will start to come together visually once I start to get the frame welded in.

Two cut-off wheels later, the rear floorpan is out of the car, and as with everything on this project, there's a couple of small problems. First, the rear sway bar and exhaust hangar sit a bit farther back than originally anticipated, so the tank might have to either sit a bit farther back, or a bit higher, than I'd prefer. I probably wouldn't have this problem if I had gone with the 13 gallon fuel cell, but I'm just not willing to sacrifice that much fuel capacity; I would have gone with a 20 gallon tank if I had thought it could fit.

Next up: finish trimming the floorpan and rear wall a bit more, get the rear fascia and taillights off the car, and figure out the cell mounting position. From that, I can map out the lines and pump mounting; first indications are that I'll end up mounting the pumps horizontally where the original tank used to be, and the lines will probably end up running through the fake aluminum floorpan I'm planning on bolting in where the old steel pan used to be (around the fuel cell). I also ought to get the aluminum hard lines attached to the main floorpan with their fittings, and get the AccuSump mounted up where I want it. Once the engine is here, I can get the final line run done. Hmm, I should probably mock something up in the oil cooler location to get some idea of how much space I have to play with, too.

Still needed: at least one fuel pressure sensor with remote gauge and a 5-bar MAP sensor of some kind, for logging.

Way ahead of schedule, the new fuel cell arrived from ATL, instead of the two to three week backorder that I'd been expecting. I'd like to give a tip of the hat to OG Racing; Steve over there has done a fantastic job of keeping me appraised of the status of my order. First, there was a possible delay for the fuel cell, which he told me about immediately (ATL was supposed to be backordered 2-3 weeks because of the start-of-season purchasing) and gave me the option of cancelling the order if I wanted. I was fine with the delay, and lo and behold, the order arrived today...all of it, including the cell. When I checked the rest of the order, though, it turned out that I'd received the wrong battery kill switch. I contacted Steve, and he quickly made it right; they're going to express order the right switch, which should be in next week, and they'll be sending it out to me as soon as it comes in with a return tag for the incorrect one. No messing around with cross-shipping it back to them; they checked, they confirmed it was their mistake, and were happy to make it right. We need more online businesses like this, and I'll be glad to send my business their way in the future.

My plan for locating a tank or two in the stock location died the moment the stock fuel tank hit the floor. The service manual doesn't really do a good job of representing scale to the reader, and I got tripped up by that; the stock tank is incredibly shallow (but wide), and doesn't get much deeper at the saddlebags. They've relied on the oddball shape of the tank for the volume of fuel that fits in there. So, out with plan A, and on with plan B: we're carving the rear spare tire well out of the car, and I'll be putting an ATL 15-gallon aluminum fuel cell back there that I ordered from OG Racing, along with a nifty battery kill switch with a detatchable handle. I have all the fittings needed to mock up the pumps now, so once the cell is here, I can start mounting everything to determine line routing.

If anyone's curious, I've thrown a gallery together with pictures of the build-up progress so far, the parts I'm using, and the parts I bought with the best intentions of using but ended up selling or otherwise finding a new home for.

So, after much debating with both myself and others, I've dropped the idea of using the stock tank and fuel siphoning setup. Along the way, I've learned an incredible amount about how the original system works, and I'm pretty thoroughly convinced that it is incompatable with a high-flow fuel system. *sigh* So, the Supra pump is going to eventually make it's way to the Laser, and two Bosch 0-580-254-044 fuel pumps are on their way from Jay Racing as a substitute. The reason for two pumps? I'm going to replace the 950 cc/min injectors I was planning on using originally with 1600 cc/min injectors, and most of my fuel lines are bumping up a size to -10AN, all in preparation for what I might do with the car next season. As the car sits now, the fuel tank is almost out of the car (just need to disconnect the filler line; as a point of note, it would probably be a lot easier to remove the tank if you dropped the rear subframe first, instead of trying to leave it in like I did), and the current plan is to see if one or two cells can fit nicely in the stock location. If they can, I'll go that route, since it both allows me to use the stock filler port, and keeps the weight of the fuel as close to the ground and the center of the car as possible.

I've also been pulling out interior pieces in the back of the car, along with the stock 6-disc CD changer, to make room for the battery relocation; I'll be running the battery about as far to the rear of the car as you can get, all the way to the passenger side, mounted in (probably) a Moroso battery box (so I can remain NHRA-legal). I'll also need to rig up a rear-mounted battery cut-off switch, which I think I can squeeze behind the license plate bracket so people don't mess with my car day-to-day. ;-)

Still to be done: get a BUNCH of parts ordered, mock up the FMIC, and get some dimensional measurements for the oil cooler location. I should also get the Accusump mounted up as well, just to knock that off the list. It's going to be another long weekend... :-)

Since the Laser is running again, the Eclipse has finally made it's way back into the garage. Some fun things I've noticed already: first, the brake rotors are now so corroded that the car is practically impossible to move. Second, the rear hatch struts are completely shot; one isn't strong enough to hold anything, and the other is seized. Third, I forgot just how much work I have left to do on this damn thing.

So, today's progress: the front bumper is back off the car, and I hacked out the old rubber bushings and sleeves from the engine mounts and replaced them with polyurethane replacements. A tip for those doing this: if you can hack out the center of the old rubber bearing somehow (press it out, torch it, etc), it's pretty easy to cut the bearing sleeve out with a hacksaw (assemble the hacksaw with the blade on the inside of the mount, and you have plenty of range-of-motion). Also, lubricate the hell out of the new bearings, and they'll pop right in.

Next up: I have a plan for redoing the fuel system such that I have a working OEM-style return setup. Basically, I'm going to drill out the original hard lines in the sending unit that fed the feed and return lines, and replace them with a couple of bulkhead fittings. For the return fitting, I'm going to attach an AN cap to the end of the bulkhead fitting, with a hole drilled in the middle to allow some, but not all, of the fuel to return there. Outside the tank, the bulkhead fitting will connect to a tee that runs a line to the other saddlebag as well, and I'll do the same thing over there, but without the drilled cap. I'll need to experiment a bit with hole sizes to see what it'll take to equalize the flow between the two sides of the tank, but I think this will work nicely. The end goal is a -8AN feed line (fed by a Denso "Supra" pump), and a -6AN return line that works like stock. The factory had a good reason for setting it up this way, and I intend to keep it like that until I go to a fuel cell.

Also on the to-do list: mock up the monsterously huge/cool front-mount intercooler, and trim the front fascia for it. I also need to work out the power steering and oil cooler mounting locations and line routing, as well as decide where the oil accumulator is going to go; if it goes where the battery currently lives, I'll need to pick up a battery box and rear shutoff switch, and rewire the battery in the trunk. I also need to pick up a scattershield before the tranny goes back on.

Oh, and wiring. Tons of goddamn wiring. :-P I have two gauges (a Steward-Warner 30inHg/40psi boost gauge and an AEM wideband O₂ sensor) to wire up, and I still need to track down a bezel for them. I also need to get the HKS EVC EZ-II boost controller on the bench and see if I can read the boost output from it; if I can, I should be able to get it working as a loggable boost metering source for DSMLink. If I can't, I'll need to pick up a 3.3 or 4-bar map sensor for logging as well. I can't wait to see how much custom wiring I'm going to end up doing once the engine is here.

Oh yeah, a quick update on the engine. It's currently in someone else's car. ;-) Greg Collier, the winner of NASA's Super Unlimited class for the last two years running, was going to have Mitch build his engine, but there was a small problem: he needed it in about three weeks, which is a crazy turnaround time given that Mitch didn't have a spare 2.4L core lying around that was already align honed and prepped. So, he asked if he could use the block he'd already prepped for me; Greg's a cool guy, and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, so it's not like I could say no. Greg also got screwed on getting his turbo wastegate, so I shipped him mine while he placed an order for a replacement one to be shipped directly to me when they finally get back in stock. Long story short, Greg's up and running with the new engine and wastegate; he's going to be running at Mid-Ohio in September for the NASA Championships, so I think a few of us are going to head out for the weekend to see him win a few races. :-)

Anyway, I should have an engine in my hands in a week or two at this point; there's just a couple of minor things holding it up (specifically, there appears to be a minor quality control problem with the connecting rods that we were planning on going with; if that doesn't get cleared up properly, we'll probably end up going with another brand), and we're waiting on a new set of custom pistons (since Greg has mine).

Whew, long update. But, that's where things are at with "Project Cash Money DSM" (as Kris has started calling it), in case anyone reading this was curious. Ugh, I don't think I even want to see what the pricetag on this whole thing is going to end up being...

Progress is being made. The intercooler is here, and the used turbo I bought needed to have the elbow cut off of it and a normal straight down extension welded on to mate up properly. The old fuel feed, return, and vent lines are finally sitting on the garage floor, along with the last of the emissions-related hardware. I've pulled the power steering cooler lines in preparation for adding a good aftermarket cooler and better plumbing, and I'll probably measure things up for the installation of the oil cooler tonight. The DV/DT intake pipe is also done, so I might be able to test-fit that up and see if there will be clearance along that frame member for the AccuSump; otherwise, I'll have to find a home for it on the firewall somehow.

The magnitude of this project is finally starting to dawn on me, while I make little stabs of progress on the chassis; if I'd had any clue that I'd be putting this much time and sweat into this when I started last year, I don't know if I'd have done it. But I'm so close to starting the process of reassembling everything that the anticipation is definitely keeping me going. :-)

With the help of Erica and Kris, I finally managed to get the old 7-bolt engine and transmission out of the Eclipse. I've pulled away the tranny, clutch, and flywheel, and the clutch looks plenty usable. The Fidanza flywheel will probably need a new friction surface, but that's for the next owner to concern himself with; I already have a brand spanking new 6-bolt Fidanza flywheel ready to go on the new engine.

Real progress is underway at this point on the Eclipse. I've been quiet about it mainly because not much has been happening; the shortblock is pretty much ready, Mitch is working on the head right now, and I'm in the process of pulling the old 7-bolt engine and tranny.

Some specs on the new setup, since I don't think I've talked about it here before: we went with a 6-bolt 2.4L g4cs block (with oil squirters for cooling, as Mitsubishi intended in their turbo applications), Oliver billet I-beam rods, and Wiseco custom 9:1 pistons. The ported 1g head is going to host COMP 101300 cams, oversized stainless valves, dual springs with titanium retainers, and new revised lifters, with the usual valve job, new stem seals, honed bronze guides, etc.

Once the longblock is done, I'll be picking up a Forced Performance 3052 turbo. Some would probably argue that the 3052 is terribly undersized for this application, and I'd agree...if all I was doing was drag racing. But because I autocross the car and plan on driving it on a regular basis, the 3052 is probably the best compromise between quick spool-up and power.

Along with this comes fuel and intercooling. Fuel will be supplied by Denso fuel pump originally sold with Toyota MKIV Supras through -8AN feed and return lines, to a Victory Performance fuel rail with four 950cc/min injectors from Fuel Injector Clinic, all regulated by a Paxton fuel pressure regulator, and controlled with DSMLink. Cooling will probably be handled by a DV/DT intercooler, and supplemented later with water injection.

Somewhere along the line, I'll need a bunch of fabrication done for exhaust and a roll cage, and since Erica's Laser currently has all my gauges, I'll need a few new gauges as well (at a minimum, wideband O2, EGT, and boost). Boost is managed by an HKS EVC II electronic boost controller, and I'll still be running the old ACT 2600 clutch with a new 6-bolt Fidanza aluminum flywheel. The rest of the setup is pretty much the same.

One thing I haven't accounted for yet is the wheels and tires; right now, the Eclipse is sitting on the Laser's old 16" rims on four completely different tires. I'm considering going with 5Zigen FN01R-C 17x9+35 rims, with Kumho Ecsta 255/40/17 tires, which ought to fit perfectly with a bit of fender rolling, but they're not cheap. I also ought to be looking at suspension upgrades, but I don't think the money is going to be there this year to do anything other that polyurethane bushings and possibly sway bars.

It finally happened. On the way home from the last autocross event (actually, about two miles from the event site), the Eclipse developed a condition known fondly to DSM owners as crankwalk. Just to make a record of what happened: there were no obvious signs leading up to this. I had just completed a rather spirited day of autocross (beating my previous best time by almost a full second, although to be fair, that previous time was in the Laser), with none of the usual "indicators", such as the car dying at idle with the clutch depressed, or hard left turns causing the clutch pedal to remain on the floor. On the drive home, I made a left turn, and heard a loud ticking from the engine bay when I released the clutch. The ticking turned out to be RPM-dependant, increasing and decreasing with engine speed. About a quarter of a mile down the road, the car stalled, at which point I pulled into a parking lot and noticed that my CEL (check-engine light) was on. I tried to turn over the car, but it wouldn't fire. I pulled up DSMlink to see what error code had been thrown, and it was a "crankshaft sensor malfunction", which means the ticking noise was actually my crank angle sensor being ground into dust because of the excessive crankshaft endplay. This was confirmed later (after one very expensive tow home on a flatbed) by holding a prybar against the crank pulley, and having Erica press the clutch; you could see the crank move visibly.

Next steps: I'm speaking with Mitch Rusu over at Engintecs about building up a 2.4L g4cs/g64b as a replacement. I can probably sell off a good number of the components off the crankwalked 2.0L 4g63 block, along with the complete head, front case (which is practically new), water pump, oil filter housing, etc., which should make a dent in the cost. I'll probably keep the pistons for Erica's Laser (which would take her from 7.8:1 compression up to 8.5:1), and we'll probably scavenge other useful components from the Eclipse for her car as necessary, since the Eclipse will probably be down until next spring.

Guess it's a good thing we checked the online schedule before driving out to Route 66; they didn't have a test 'n tune scheduled for last night. Got the remainder of the MCCC treatment done, ran a can of engine flush through it, and changed the oil and plugs. After about 10-15 minutes, the awful crap stopped spewing out of the exhaust, and it purred like a fresh engine. I'll probably change the oil again in a thousand miles or so, just to make sure I got all of the MCCC out, and probably run another can of engine flush through just to be on the safe side.

I had a chance to test out the clutch-cut feature of DSMlink, and it works as advertised: hit the gas, run out to redline, and shift without releasing the gas. The pop-pop-pop of the 6000 RPM rev limiter scared the hell out of me the first time, but it didn't take very long to get used to the idea of driving the car differently. It was definitely worth the effort of trying to get my fat meathooks up under the dash and soldering the necessary clutch-cut wire in there.

Finally got under the dash and soldered in the clutch-cut wire that comes with DSMlink, which enables NLTS ("No Lift To Shift"): a lowered rev limit between shifts while in motion, which means I don't have to let up the gas at any time during a run. Combined with the stutterbox (which lowers the rev limit to a pre-determined RPM during launch, allowing you to build boost off the line and have a more predictable launch), I'm hoping I can improve my quarter-mile times somewhat, and maybe make use of it at autocross.

I've installed the new master and slave clutch cylinders (thanks, Mitch!), and pedal stiffness is back to where I'd expect it to be. I may need to make a few minor position adjustments, but there's no signs of "ghost pedal" anymore, and the engagement feels a lot more crisp.

I'm currently in the middle of a complete MCCC treatment; I've run a can and a half of Mopar Combustion Chamber Cleaner through the PCV valve into the intake manifold, and I left another can and a half to soak in the cylinders last night. I'll clear it out tonight, run a can of engine flush through the car, then change both the oil and the plugs. At that point, I should hopefully be about as ready as I can be for the track tonight, assuming the weather holds up.

And it appears I was premature in my belief that the DSMlink client was working correctly on my Linux laptop. RXTX (under both the Sun and IBM JVMs) appears to cause DSMlink's client to hang under a patched-to-current Erica's Windows 2000 laptop.

After a couple of test drives, I'm pretty convinced the original hesitation problem with the Eclipse is solved; the car behaves perfectly normal now. I have a small problem with the shifter now, however; it feels like the cables are binding up, or something is resisting against the shifter going into a particular gear. I suspect I may have bumped or otherwise offended the shift cables while down there messing around with the charcoal canister and the fuel filter, which I'll need to investigate further soon.

DSMlink is now happily running on my Linux laptop after building RXTX; DSMlink requires an implementation of javax.comm, which doesn't exist except on Solaris and Windows with Sun's Java implementation, and doesn't exist at all from what I can tell with IBM's. RXTX implements that functionality on a number of UNIX platforms, including Linux, which means DSMlink now works beautifully using IBM's JVM on my Linux laptop. (I'd run it on Erica's windows laptop, but it doesn't have a serial port, and I didn't have a USB-to-serial converter handy.)

The next steps will be to swap the wheels from the Laser back to the Eclipse, pick up the master and slave cylinders that Mitch over at Engintecs ordered for me, get them installed along with the new stainless steel clutch line from RRE (I have their 1g version on there right now, which they'd sent me by accident, but I plan to put the 1g line on the Laser, so I picked up the 2g version as well), and get the car to the track for a bit of proper tuning.

The Eclipse started last night. I finally finished reassembling everything, double-checked my work, and turned the car over...and nothing. Bah, forgot to plug the fuel pump back in. Okay, turn it over, and...nothing. What's that sound? Sounds like...fluid spilling? Oh crap. I shut the car off, got out, and could smell the gasoline that had just dumped all over the floor. Grr, I apparently forgot to tighten down (DOH!) the inlet of the fuel filter. Took care of that, did some minor clean-up, turned the car over, and now it sounds like a lawnmower that the owner forgot to fill with oil. Whoops, forgot to reverse the plug wire order (DSMlink is based on a 1995 DSM ECU, and the firing order of that ECU is the reverse of my original 1999 ECU). Swap the wires, turn the car over, and...VROOM. Idled perfectly.

There's a couple of rough edges I need to take care of tonight. Specifically, I have a massive leak in my turbo intake pipe (which I have partially capped off now, but I'll finish off with JB-Weld tonight), I need to trim down a couple of hastily-installed vacuum hoses, the strut bar needs to be reattached, and I need to get my hands on a boost gauge, since my gauge is in the Laser now, and I'm in no hurry to take it out again. But these are mostly little things; the car is pretty much ready to go at this point, which means I need to spend a whole lot of time working with DSMlink and tuning the car.

The new axles are in. Install was pretty straightforward, no big surprises. Now I'm back to grinding out the inlet of the intake manifold to match up with the new (to me) 1g throttle body and gasket; once that's done, I'll reassemble everything that's been torn apart and try to fire her up. The work done so far is installation of a 1g throttle body, new battery, new axles, new ECU, new fuel filter, all the emissions-related vacuum lines pulled, charcoal canister removed, and the fuel pressure and EVAP solenoids disconnected. Once the car is running again, I'll give it a full MCCC treatment, and see if the misfire/hesitation problem still persists. If it does, the next step is to order up a set of FIC 950cc injectors to see if that fixes it. Along the way, I'll probably do a compression test, just to make sure that I don't have a more serious problem.

I'm in the process of replacing my axles, since the loud thumping I heard coming from the CV joints a few months back didn't sound healthy. I ended up ordering a set from Raxles, and the resulting product looks exceptionally good. The CVs are obviously brand new, and the boots look and feel a heckuva lot tougher than the OEM ones. Marty over at Raxles was fantastic to work with; very quick to turn around a quote on the new axles, and they shipped the same day I ordered.

As nice as it was to get the new ones, I had forgotten what a PITA it was to get the passenger-side axle off the car; the little circlip on the end of the transmission-side shaft means you need to leverage the CV from the bottom with a prybar of some kind, while someone else rotates the wheel and taps the top of the CV with a bit of force (angling away from the tranny to counter the upward force from the prybar). We got it off, but that's not something I'm looking forward to doing again any time soon.

In an attempt to treat the problem, I first stopped by a local "Parts City Auto" to have the engine code(s) pulled; misfire in cylinder #4, and a "P1600", which I later learned is the Mitsubishi code for "you unplugged the battery". I replaced the plugs afterward, and they were white; a sure sign of heavy knock and a lean condition, which my A/F gauge readings supported. Thinking boost leak, I then assembled a boost leak tester from a 2" Fernco elbow coupler, a 1.5" PVC end cap, and a cheap little 5-gallon air tank from Menards, and a $0.99 tire valve stem from Pep Boys. The tester turned up an obvious leak in one of the silicone couplers holding my lower intercooler pipe, which I replaced with a piece of straight radiator tubing from NAPA; more durable, black, and a MUCH tighter fit. A followup test revealed a small leak, but I ran out of time in the day to track it down. I'll probably try a test with smoke next, to see if that makes a difference.

I've also run a bottle of Chevron Pro-Gard Fuel Injector Cleaner through, which doesn't seem to have helped; I was hoping it was simply a clogged injector. I have a new fuel filter ready to go on as soon as I get a chance, to see if that might be causing a shortage of fuel to the injectors. The next step will probably be giving the injectors a thorough cleaning to see if it's just one injector giving me grief, followed by an MCCC treatment. I've also got a 1g throttle body that I'm planning on installing, which I'm installing new o-rings in; that should eliminate any leaks from one potential trouble spot.

If, after clearing up any additional boost leaks and replacing most of the major places for crud build-up in the fuel system, the car is still not running correctly, I'll be running a compression test before I start replacing more expensive items (new injectors, etc), to make sure I'm not throwing good money away; I don't suspect there's a problem, but I want to be sure, and we need to run a compression test on Erica's 1g anyway, so we'll do both at once.

In more positive news, I managed to pick up a used-for-a-week adjustable wastegate actuator made by Forced Performance a while back, and finally got around to installing it. The stock wastegate actuator has a tendancy to blow open at higher RPMs, which means you lose boost very rapidly after about 5000 RPMs. The adjustable actuator lets you dial it in with more precision, and it comes pre-set to hold 17psi as far as the turbo can do it. Installation was a breeze; two 10mm bolts and a little clip for the arm are all that hold it in place, and the new one is a direct fit. The results were impressive: it really does what FP claims. I haven't had a chance to do a proper run with it because of misfiring, but at wide-open throttle it pulls like a banshee at 5000 RPMs now. Bottom-end spool-up seems to be affected, but the misfiring is makes it difficult to test that.

The misfiring that I've had a problem with suddenly got much worse today. The car made it in to work without any issues at all, but when I tried to start it to go home, the battery came disconnected (this has happened in the past; a quick re-seating of the negative terminal usually corrects it, and I have an optima battery waiting to go in as soon as I pick up some replacement terminals). After starting the car, I could hear it running incredibly rough, as though it was missing on one cylinder. This cleared up after the car warmed up, but when cruising at highway speeds, it would start up again after a few seconds. By clutching and dropping the engine back to idle, then accellerating again, it would clear up for a few seconds, then repeat the cycle. The problem only manifests itself under cruising conditions; if the car remains under hard accelleration, the car is fine. Time to start diagnosis.

Installed a set of new Accel 8mm blue plug wires, along with a fresh set of BPR7ES plugs, in the hopes of taking care of what can only be described as a "sputtering" problem; in humid conditions (rain, or melting snow), the car will run fine for a few minutes, and then develop (usually while sitting at a light) a sputtering, like the car is running too rich and can't burn off the fuel. The condition really only seems to affect idle; accellerating seems to (mostly) clear it up, and it goes away after about 10 minutes. The "check engine" light will light up when it first starts happening, and will usually clear itself in a day or two.

Overall, I think I like the wires. The appearance is nice, the silicone covering appeared pretty durable, and the price I got from Summit Racing was comparable to the pricing on the 7mm NGK wires that a lot of people end up going with. Fitment isn't even close to OEM; these wires are bigger, and they will not fit in the stock wire holsters under the spark plug wire cover. However, they come with a set of clips that you can use to keep the wires separated and routed cleanly. I found them to be a wee bit long, but that's a much easier thing to deal with than them being too short.

Unfortunately, this didn't fix the problem. Since I don't have a datalogger, and haven't had the presence of mind to drop by a local auto shop to have the code pulled when it's active, I don't know what the actual code being thrown is. I'm still suspecting a misfire, but it's possible that I've developed a boost leak. When the temperature gets a little warmer, I'll investigate further.

I purchased a set of brass bushings to replace the worn rubber ones that normally adorn the transmission-end of my shifter cables, and got them installed in about 15 minutes; it would have gone quicker, but I had to remove the intake pipe to get at them. End result: slightly more notchy feel to shifting, and combined with the B&M short shifter and Symborski shifter-plate bushings, the shifter throw is probably about as precise as it can be. Purchased from Don Greenwood (dgreen on DSMtuners).

I headed up to Union Grove, WI for a day of "Fun Racing" at Great Lakes Dragaway, and netted some impressive gains. My best run of the day was 14.037 at 95.45 mph, with a best 60' time of 1.816, and a top trap speed of 96.93 mph; that's nearly eight tenths off my previous best 1/4-mile time. Lessons learned: heat is deadly to my current setup; I need to come up with something to combat the 90F temps we get regularly mid-season down here. Also, 60' is king; my best runs of the day were also my best launches of the day, so anything that helps the launch and 1-2 shift is a good thing. I may try to get back up there sometime before they close for the winter, just to try and break into the 13's (which was my goal for this year).

Mitsubishi finished with the car by mid-day. Turns out that there was nothing at all wrong with the crank sensor or plate, and the ticking was from contact with the timing belt cover. The leak was in fact from behind the front case, as suspected, but when the RPMs were brought up, oil started gushing from the rear of the oil pan as well. Note to self: use more RTV next time. They also repaired a couple of stripped threads and bolts, and generally cleaned things up.

So, a quick run-down of everything that was done is in order. The timing belt, v-belts, tensioner, tensioner pulley, oil filter, and gaskets were obtained locally from Max Madsen Mitsubishi, and despite the negative experiences of others with their parts desk, so far I've had very few problems (although the prices require some negotiation before they're reasonable). The tensioner tool was made by my better half from 5/16" bar stock (threaded as 8mmx1.25, then a couple of nuts at the top locked together to make it useful). I picked up the Unorthodox Ultra SS pulley set from Horsepower Freaks. When it turned out the front case was cracked, and when the alternator was damaged (doh!), I ordered both up from Conicelli, and to get the crank bolt off so I could remove the timing and balance belt sprockets, I ordered a crank wrench from Dejon Tool. I ended up back at Max Madsen after the whole thing was done, to have them clean up a bit that I wasn't able to do before the weather (and my neighbors' willingness to put up with the jack stands) went south.

So, now that it's drivable again: the alternator replacement seems to have rectified some of the low-idle headlight dimming I was getting before; while it didn't bother me, it's nice to see an improvement. The balance shaft removal was almost completely unnoticable; you'd never know it had been done unless you were really listening for it. There is a very faint high-frequency vibration, but it's more hum than movement; I can barely feel it in the cabin, but I suspect that it would be very noticable with less flexible motor mounts (mine are still stock). Because of how long it's been since I drove it, my "butt dyno" is a little off, so I can't really say if there was a noticable performance improvement. I'm hoping to get up to GLD in Wisconsin this weekend (normally, I'd head over to Rt. 66, but they're closed for the season) for a test-n-tune day, to see what I can dial in for a best time before the year is over.

The timing belt was due at 60,000 miles, and I'm now 9555 over that. So, two months ago (8/29/2003) I started the process of replacing the timing belt, and while I was in there, eliminating the silent shafts (also called balance shafts) and all the associated hardware (sprocket, belt, pulley, etc). Since I'm working in the parking lot of my apartment complex, the work schedule was dictated by the weather and the mood of my neighbors (I have quite possibly the coolest neighbors in existance, and only after a month and a half did one of the newer residents complain about the car being on jackstands). So, work went VERY slowly.

A few words of advice for the weekend mechanic wanting to take on this job: leave the front balance shaft in the car. Yes, it's more "complete" to take it out. No, you do not want to try and do it; it took an incredible amount of effort and, eventually, a hacksaw to get the front shaft out. That, in turn, made extracting the front balance shaft bearings extremely difficult, since you need the front shaft (turned backwards) to beat out the inner bearing. The only really required removal is the rear shaft, which came out easily with the front case/oil pump.

This project steamrolled into quite a few additional changes; every weekend, I'd find something else either broken or not to my satisfaction. In the end, the car has received a new front case/oil pump, water pump, timing belt tensioner, timing belt tensioner pulley, alternator, timing belt, accessory belts, and all the related gaskets. And, to add a little horsepower and bling, an aluminum pulley set from Unorthodox Racing. Don't forget the usual oil change (10W30 Mobil1 and an OEM 3000GT oil filter), and because I had to pull the driver-side axle to get a little breathing room, I had to replace the transmission fluid as well (Pennzoil Synchromesh; same stuff as the GM version, but cheaper).

On Sunday (11/02/2003), after a morning of working in the rain, I finally completed putting the whole affair back together. I turned it over and...nothing. Oops, forgot to press the clutch. Depress the clutch, turn the key, and after a sluggish couple of attempts (the battery had been sapped pretty badly from the downtime), it turned over. A couple of blips to the gas, and it settled into a dead perfect idle. Except, of course, for the oil and coolant leaking from behind the front case, and the VERY LOUD ticking noise that the plate between the crank sprockets was making from contact with the sensor (no, it's not crankwalk; the plate was slightly bent during the whole process, and I'm suspecting I never got it straightened).

So, after all of that, the car is currently parked at the local Mitsubishi dealership, since they're one of the few places I trust to work on the timing belt and associated parts. I suspect the leak is just a matter of torquing a few bolts down properly, but the weather has sucked any joy I was getting out of this project away; it's just too cold and wet to do the work in a parking lot anymore. I'll update when it's back on the road.

As an interesting data point: when I said "dead perfect idle", I meant it; the removal of the balance shafts appears to have made no difference whatsoever to the vibrations felt in the vehicle, and oil pressure was damn near perfect (despite the leak). Overall, I'm exceptionally happy with the result, and I'll be even happier when I can finally go for a drive after Mitsu corrects my errors.

My air/fuel gauge has been behaving poorly for quite some time; it will randomly read "full rich" (ie. it's reading a 1V signal) for extended periods of time, without any fluctuation. Suspecting a bad O2 sensor, I replaced it today with a Denso unit from Pro Street. Readings are now correct, although the sensor appears to need to "warm up" or initialize in some manner before it reads correctly; it will read 1V for a few minutes after starting the car, then do the usual "blink-blink" dance. Initial "seat of the pants" testing suggest that the car is pulling a little harder now, which is both surprising, and purely subjective.

More details on my autocross page.

Took a road trip from Chicago to "the middle of nowhere" in Saskatchewan, Canada, with an extended drive back through Ontario and Wisconsin; only two issues came up with the car during the trip. First, my negative battery terminal had a bit of corrosion on it, which resulted in a bit of panic at 2:00 AM trying to start the car at a Minnesota gas station; easily fixed on the spot, and I now own a terminal cleaner. The second issue was the car occasionally idling at a very low RPM; my guess is that this was due to the ECU "re-learning" it's ideal idle speed after resetting it when the battery was disconnected, combined with the lighter-than-factory flywheel.

Oil change; about 1500 miles overdue, and judging by the consistancy of the oil that came out, I definitely waited too long this time. I noticed something very disturbing somewhere along the line: one of the shops that touched my car since the last oil change put a Mobil 1 filter on the car. It's entirely possible that the oil change place I had do it last time (it was cold out, and I was lazy) didn't even use the Mitsubishi oil filter I supplied, which would explain the crazy amounts of lifter tick I've been getting since the last change (I was attributing it to the oil, never thinking that I'd have to check to make sure I got the oil filter I gave them). I noticed the switcheroo when the downpipe went on. With a new load of Mobil 1 10w30 and an OEM oil filter, a quickie test drive didn't display any signs of that annoying tick, so we'll see how it goes on my upcoming 3000-mile road trip.

This was my third event of the year, once again hosted by the Joliet Sports Car Club. This is my first event with the new clutch and flywheel, and not only did they hold up wonderfully, the flywheel made a huge drivability difference; maneuvers that were giving me problems at the bottom end of second gear now proved to be the easiest, and fastest, parts of the course. At the time, I was planning on another drag day, so I filled the car with half a tank of pure 100 octane unleaded; I'm not sure if that provided any kind of help at all. I set a new personal best for this course, coming in at 55.73 seconds, which netted second place in C class. If you're curious about my runs, the changes between each run, and the times I posted, I've set up a page that tracks that stuff in more detail.

I had a chance to get out to a local track today, and got an impressive seven runs in; because the temperature and humidity levels were so high, nobody wanted to hit the track. The environmental conditions obviously had an impact, too, because my times compared to the last time I was at the track, despite the modifications I've made since then, were disappointing. My 60' times were improved by two-tenths, due in large part to the new clutch and flywheel, but my quarter-mile times only improved by a tenth of a second. The major differences between this run and the last were that I was running a 3/4 tank of 93 octane fuel (with a gallon of Toluene mixed in) rather than a quarter tank of 100 octane, my plugs were foul this time around (which have now been replaced), and my car was a bit lighter (I removed the spare tire and jack before going to the track). The next time out, I'll be sure to bring something to help with the heat (a can of compressed air to blow upside-down on the intercooler, for example) and I'll fill with 100 octane. I've put scans of my timeslips online if you're curious.

I'm trying a mix of one gallon of toluene to a full tank of 93 octane pump fuel, to see if there is any appreciable performance difference. Without a logger, this is all going to be "seat of the pants" testing, but we'll see how it goes. Realistically, this is more a test to prove to myself that it's a non-harmful mixture than anything else. There's more information available from the folks at gnttype.org, if you're interested in this kind of thing.

I've been adjusting the clutch pedal pressure position all week (tip: carry a 12mm wrench with you for a week after installing a new clutch, for on-the-fly pedal adjustments). I've finally adjusted everything to a "perfect" position (ie. about where it was at before). There's been a few problems with inconsistant pedal pressure, so I bled the clutch one last time to get any remaining gunk and air out of the lines, and took the opportunity to replace the rubber clutch line and hydrolic reservior with the new braided stainless steel clutch line from RRE. Install was pretty easy, after I broke down and bought a 10mm flare wrench from the local Sears; don't try and break those fittings apart with a normal wrench, you'll just destroy them. As promised by Mike@RRE, the 1g clutch line that they sent me by mistake worked just fine; it just required a little bending of the lower hard line. After the line replacement and bleed, pedal pressure is now perfectly consistant.

After getting a good 300 in-town miles on the new clutch, I decided to open the car up a bit. Launching with this clutch is absolutely amazing; it just grabs, and doesn't let go, period. The flywheel will take a lot of getting used to; I'd already noticed that I needed to rev a bit higher when going from a stop, and that the car had a tendancy to "rev down" faster between shifts, but it's far more noticable when properly launching and shifting in a race situation. I'm now launching at 5000 RPMs at a minimum, and I'm going to have to start powershifting all the way through now, not just the two-three and three-four shifts (the engine revs down too damn fast on the one-two shift now). As with all things, practice makes perfect; I'll just need a little more wheel time. Overall, I'm incredibly happy with the upgrade.

I'm skipping the week's play-by-play of this little swap. The biggest obstacle ended up being getting the transaxle back in the car; if you're stuck doing this, try lowering the engine a bit, mating up the transaxle, and raising it back up until the upper transaxle mount lines up the way you want it, then bolt the sucker down. Also, I'd suggest having a clear plan for organizing all the bolts you pull from the car as you do this; you don't want to try and remember which bolt went where when you start putting it all back together.

Final result: ACT 2600 and Fidanza flywheel installed. I now have about 200 break-in miles on the clutch, and after a few pedal adjustments, I'm finally getting the hang of driving it. This is a dramatic change over stock; the engine revs (and decellerates) much faster thanks to the aluminum flywheel, and the clutch has a much stiffer feel to it. I haven't noticed any of the slipping that originally prompted me to do the clutch upgrade, with the added bonus of this clutch grabbing a lot harder than the old one; I'd definitely consider this upgrade a success.

That "extra leverage" (ie. steel pipe) worked like a champ. The last two bolts on the rear transaxle mount came right off, and I'm ready to drop the transmission at this point. After looking at the jack I was planning on using to lower the transaxle, I decided against it, and ran to another local supply store to grab a transmission jack adapter for my existing jack, to make sure I pull it down evenly (and more importantly, can put the sucker back up there).

Total time invested so far: 12 hours.

A new pry bar from the store was necessary to dislodge the CV; if you're ever doing this and can't get the CV free, a bit of light tapping by another person on the top of the green head (where the boot attaches) of the driveshaft while you pry between it and the transaxle is all you need. After three hours (!) of prying, two minutes of tapping (while continuing to pry) popped it right out.

The day was finished with the transmission two bolts away from removal; the bolts on the rear transaxle mounts wouldn't budge, and it looked like rain was on the way, so I soaked them in Liquid Wrench, and went to a local hardware store for a 18" piece of steel pipe to help provide a bit of extra leverage on the wrench. The car is now on jackstands, with a bottle jack supporting the engine, and a floor jack under the transaxle. No timing belt work done yet.

Total time invested so far: 11 hours.

Still working on the transmission. The tear-down is complete up to the inner CV joint; none of the prying tools available to me have been able to dislodge it so far. No timing belt work done as yet. The transfer case is off the car now.

Total time invested so far: 7 hours.

I've finally collected together all the parts I need for a fairly major maintenance weekend: an ACT 2600 clutch with street disc, a Fidanza aluminum flywheel, a Unorthodox Ultra SS underdrive pulley set, a Road Race Engineering braided stainless steel clutch line and balance shaft eliminator kit, and a whole mess of parts from the local Mitsubishi dealer for a complete timing belt change. I started the process today, pulling out most of the miscellaneous crap in between me and the transmission; I'm hoping to get the clutch/flywheel swap and the timing belt done tomorrow, so I can start the break-in period on Monday (I have an autocross event on June 8, so I'd like to have a little time to "get on it" to get used to the way it drives after all of this is done). For the curious, I'm following a number of VFAQs for this particular round of work, in addition to the shop manuals.

After a little visual inspection, it turns out that the stainless clutch line from RRE is actually for a 90-94 DSM (1g). After emailing Mike@RRE, he quickly offered to make it right, by giving me a quick introduction to how I could use the 1g line to do the same thing the 2g line does (eliminate the clutch reservoir), and offering to either give me a $20 credit if I went with the line I have now, or to just send me the correct line. Fantastic answer; I'd love to see more DSM vendors behave in such a responsible manner. Add to that the fact that he responded on a Saturday, when they're closed, and I'm impressed. I haven't decided whether I'll just use this line, or have him send the right one; I'll probably decide when I get everything apart tomorrow when I've got a little more elbow room to work with everything.

Total time invested so far: 3 hours.

Entered the second autocross event of the year hosted by the Joliet Sports Car Club. It was the same track as last time, and I improved my best time by nearly a second, coming in at 57.19 seconds (which bumped me into C class; I pegged a cone in my final run, so my time netted me second-to-last place in the class). I picked up a new HJC CL-14 helmet prior to this event, so no more loaner helmets for me; nice helmet, it's a full-face helmet with visor, and has a comfortable fit.

After a month and a half of waiting, the downpipe and cat I ordered from RnR Racing finally arrived. The downpipe was a very nice 3" stainless steel unit, which replaced both the oxygen sensor housing and the downpipe. After a bit of street and highway driving, there's an obvious improvement in low-end pull, and acceleration is much more consistant. Mating the cat up to my existing HKS catback required a bit of fabrication (the HKS unit necks down to 2.5" at the second O2 sensor), and I'll likely want to open up everything to 3" when I'm producing a bit more power. The clutch slippage is almost unbearable at this point; wide-open throttle runs cause the RPMs to skyrocket, requiring a more subtle feathering of the throttle at first before "mashing the gas". I'm hoping that the low-end improvements give me a boost at the autocross event this weekend.

During/after the installation, I noticed that my radio was displaying the word "code" instead of the time, and that my power windows weren't working. The ABS light was on solid while I was driving, and flashed consistantly when I was stopped at a light. The car was operating "correctly"; I didn't notice any problems at all. When I got it home, I learned a few things after a little quick searching: the shop that installed the downpipe followed good procedure and disconnected the battery before work which meant that the radio needed it's security code reentered (which I didn't have), and somewhere along the line (probably when they reconnected the battery) my alternator fuse blew, which I didn't track down until the low-battery light started to flicker, which is what prevented the power windows from working and the ABS light weirdness. A trip to Pep Boys and $4 later, and the car was back in working order. The next day, I removed the faceplate around the radio, and copied down the serial number off of the top of radio. I then dropped by the local Mitsubishi dealership, gave them the serial number, and received the security code for my radio. Note to anyone this happens to: if you enter the code incorrectly three times, the unit refuses to let you enter any more codes; to try again, you have to turn the car to the ON position, and leave it alone for an hour, at which point the radio will reset and let you try again. Also, I could have just called in the serial number, but I was driving past there anyway.

Entered in my first autocross event, hosted by the Joliet Sports Car Club, an independant club which hosts six to eight auto-x events each year. Unlike the SCCA, they have no rules regarding vehicles or modifications; classes are determined per-event, based on run times, and are labelled A (fastest) through E (slowest, usually newcomers). I managed to pull off a time worthy of D class, and placed 1st with a best time of 58.09 seconds (I started out at 61+ seconds, so I'm happy with the degree of improvement through the day; my final class run was over a second faster than my previous best for the day). I heartily recommend the experience to anyone; you'll learn more about your car and it's handling characteristics in one day than you'll ever learn from day-to-day and 1/4-mile track driving.

I picked up a used Hahn Racecraft lower intercooler pipe off of DSMtrader, and after a little elbow grease to clean up a little surface rust, and some paint, it's now on the car. I was expecting little or no difference in performance, and it met my expectations, with one exception: I seem to have a little less boost spike than I had before intallation (previously, I would usually spike anywhere from 18-20 psi, and then drop and hold at 17 psi). For the record, the pipe has an inside diameter of 2", and mates up to the T-25 and the stock intercooler perfectly.

After a lot of cursing and battered knuckles trying to break free the stock cat-back exhaust, I finally gave up and took the car to a local Merlin shop for them to have their way with the bolts on the cat and the second O2 sensor. They did a fine job, everything was mounted up just as I would have done it, so it was worth it to save my knuckles from another night of abuse. The unit starts out at 2.5" at the catalytic converter, expanding to 3" at the resonator, and staying there the whole way back to the 4" tip; I already plan to replace the 2.5" piece of pipe with a full 3" piece (about 8-10" of straight stainless steel piping), welding in the O2 bung and hangars where they should be and attaching a 3" flange for the cat that will be coming from RnR Racing (along with an O2-eliminator downpipe). The muffler is wrapped in carbon fiber with a distinctive "blued" ring around the tip of the exhaust, and has an incredible deep resonating sound; it's a loud unit on the road (especially between 2500 and 3500 RPMs), but completely quiet except for a low grumble at idle. In terms of performance, it feels like it's pulling harder in the upper RPM range, which is the reverse of what I expected (I thought I'd see a lot more low-end torque as a result of the air flowing out faster). I suspect I'll see more dramatic increases from the downpipe. All in all, this was an excellent upgrade, and definitely an attention-grabber (for better or for worse).

After talking with a few people locally who have been using a simple open-element filter on the PCV valve on the valve cover, and haven't noticed any oil blowing off into the engine compartment, I've swapped out my fuel filter catch can with a simple open-element air filter (called "The Intimidator", yeesh) from Pep Boys, and capped off the nipple on the intake piping that the PCV originally connected to.