JLarson's build thread

[Hotrodz]

Originally Posted by JLarson

We had a great time with you too man!
In your experience, what sets FI apart as the top tier kit?

The number one thing in my opinion that sets FI apart from the rest is craftmenship and fitment. All are spot on and time proven.

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[Rusty]

If you don't want remove the lth. Look into TopGunz full sc kit.

[Hotrodz]

Originally Posted by Rusty

If you don't want remove the lth. Look into TopGunz full sc kit.

Agreed! You can easily hit 500whp or more and stay daily drivable!

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[JLarson]

Originally Posted by Rusty

If you don't want remove the lth. Look into TopGunz full sc kit.

Yeah that was my first choice. Not just for that reason. If I go ahead with this build, it'll be my first vehicle with forced induction. From all the reading I've done, the SC will be an easier install, and easier to maintain. Every step I've taken with learning my vehicle has been aimed at progressive growth. Since I didn't grow up doing this stuff or knowing people who did, my knowledge of trouble shooting is limited at first to my ability to research through forums and google - so I want something that gives me those first steps, a good add to my power, and does it as a reasonable cost. The money isn't really an obstacle either, except money earning me interest does a lot more than money in my car.

But I can't drive a high interest generating account

[JLarson]

Unrelated to my vehicle - bathroom build is progressing!
Old bathroom was an eyesore. Removed the fixtures, poured self leveling compound across the old floor to bring it up to the level of the hardwoods I installed previously. Toilet flange was a mess...

[JLarson]

Floor tile went down easily. Pretty similar to what I installed in my kitchen. Sanded the glaze off the wall tile, glued bead board over top.

[JLarson]

The problem with this kind of remodeling construction instead of truly gutting the room is nothing in this room is actually square, by default. I had to buy a small protractor just to work out my trim angles (84° by 45° cut in one corner). Also, modern plumbing that's up to code comes out of the wall. This was old-school, came out of the floor. It made modifying the vanity a pain in the peniz. For trim, I took large molding and ripped it down to cap over the edge of the bead board.

[JLarson]

It's been tiling the shower stall which has truly been grueling. My wife picked just about the smallest tiles possible for this task... I think I'm going to make her do some of the work so she realizes when I say it's unpleasantly time consuming, she understands. Took me about 5 hours to get it level and do a half dozen rows. That does factor in mix time for the masonry and setup, etc.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by JLarson

Unrelated to my vehicle - bathroom build is progressing!
Old bathroom was an eyesore. Removed the fixtures, poured self leveling compound across the old floor to bring it up to the level of the hardwoods I installed previously. Toilet flange was a mess...

When I redid the bathroom. The toilet's metal flange was completely gone. And the wood around it was shot too. Had to replace both. I feel your pain.

[JLarson]

Update 6/18 - Clutch is done. That was a hell of a job on jack stands. I'm going to copy some of the text from the DIY on the forum with a few comments, in the hopes that if someone else does this job it'll help. As with all tasks like this, the first time around has a huge amount of wasted time where you're figuring out how to get it done.

First, thanks to Djtodd for the DIY! I certainly wouldn't have attempted this without it.

-I went in to replace my clutch because I was starting to experience slippage when I'd hammer the accelerator.
-A forum member had shipped me the flywheel and pressure plate from the Z1 clutch setup from his part out with 0 miles on them so I figured Z1 was a good choice for this.
-I picked up the mid-weight flywheel, after reading reviews that their lightweight fw has extreme chatter. Not much difference in weight, I'll give more feedback on sound when I finish getting my exhaust on.

First portion, removal, was pretty smooth. I've done numerous exhausts, so starting first thing Saturday morning, I removed mine and the driveshaft, heat shield, and shifter, had all of that done around 10 am. No tricks necessary here.

Started on the transmission itself at that point. DIY mentions removal of the wiring from the outside of the transmission. I spent way too much time on this. Something I did here that proved to be incorrect was putting my transmission jack in place as described in the DIY. I should've waited.

I'd recommend removing the transmission mount to let the transmission drop down slightly to give yourself better access to the wiring/clips. Passengers side is easy, drivers side has 2 connectors and 1 pin in a god awful spot - without it being dropped it's tough to reach and you'll waste an hour+ like I did. It's also easier just to unbolt most of the little brackets from the transmission itself than it is to unclip the wires.

I stared at the bleeder valve, soft line to hard line hookup also for way too long, trying to figure out what I was looking at. Eventually unbolted it. I'd prepared for the clutch fluid draining by picking up some vacuum caps, then wrapped with a plastic bag and zip tie as described in the DIY to minimize leakage.

As others have mentioned, you do not need to remove the crank shaft positioning sensor. Bolts around the transmission housing from the trans side are mostly easy with the exception of the top passenger side - I couldn't see this one until the trans was dropped down a bit (lowered the transmission jack). The 4 bolts and cover plate from the engine side are tricky to get to but only because it's a tight fit. They aren't torqued like crazy, so as long as you can get a small socket or wrench on them, you'll have no trouble. Slid everything out! Woo!

Lowered the trans on the jack. Didn't have it centered. Trans tipped forward, dumped a bunch of fluid on my garage floor, and squished my thumb. Ouch - bummer. I was stupid, that's the price I pay. Center your trans jack, and strap trans in place before lowering.

I did this on jack stands, so I had no clearance to pull the housing out from under the car. I moved it down the trans tunnel to give myself room, and tackled the pressure plate + flywheel removal. Item on the tool list that's not in the DIY - you'll need a T55 torx bit for the flywheel bolts. Ideally in 1/2 inch, so that you can use an impact gun on them to break them loose. Unfortunately, autozone carried only 3/8ths. As I attempted to break the bolts loose, the flywheel would rotate. So I had my brother-in-law lock the flywheel holder tool in place and hold while I applied my socket to break them loose. It did work, it just wasn't ideal.

Removed the bushing with a bushing puller I rented from AutoZone. Ignore the tricks with bread and grease unless you're desperate. Bushing puller did exactly what it was made to do.

Excellent! Everything removed! Time to put the new stuff in. Bushing was easy. Went to install the flywheel; 3 of the Torx bits have thread damage. Hmm. Fiddle around for a while. Eventually find the correct die, recut threads, install. Wasted a lot of time on this. Got it installed, torqued to spec. Rest of the clutch portion was easy. Switched to transmission housing. Installed ZSpeed HD CSC. Ran the new lines. Centered the housing on the transmission jack, moved it up into place - couldn't get it to slide home. Tried for 2 hours, finally gave up. By this time I was pretty thoroughly soaked with brake fluid, covered in grease, and other car-related ejaculate. I used my "phone a friend" ability.

My buddy, a legitimate mechanic - not the shade tree variety like myself - showed up, wiggled the trans, and it slides into place. Wish I could say I had some pointers here but no. It was aligned, just took a fresh set of hands to get it done. Buttoned everything back up. Installed fresh master cylinder. Bled clutch per Zspeed procedure until pressure returned. I had a few things to handle for the rest of the day, so exhaust will go back on tonight, but everything else is done!

My hands are destroyed, but my spirit is unbroken (although tired)!

[Spooler]

Getting the tranny to slide back in is always the worst part. Wiggle and a Jiggle is your friend as you found out. Sometimes they slide right in, sometimes they are a pain in the butt.

[JLarson]

Everything is reinstalled, car is off of jack stands. Will not shift into gear. I believe I've improperly bled the clutch, so tonight that's my project. I'll enlist my wife to work the pedal. Hopefully that's my issue.

[JLarson]

Also learned how to drain and refill my transmission housing! Redline MT-85, and used this pump here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Surprisingly good product for sub-10 dollars. Took me only a couple minutes to fill the transmission casing.

Regardless of the fact that this project has been way more work than I anticipated (and I anticipated a lot) it's certainly been informative.

[Rusty]

That's the same pump I got from Habor Freight for $6.00.

When working on cars. Sometimes thing don't go your way. Then you have to figure out on what you need to do.

[JLarson]

Originally Posted by Rusty

That's the same pump I got from Habor Freight for $6.00.

When working on cars. Sometimes thing don't go your way. Then you have to figure out on what you need to do.

I feel ripped off At least I didn't have to go anywhere to buy it, Amazon delivered it to my door same day.