Did some more work on the diffuser today. Fiberglassed over the holes from the hood pins, and sprayed a coat of undercoating on for sound deadening. I've got some nice pieces of cardboard for fin templates on the leftover cf that I hope to get to this week.
Ordering 50mm rear adapter spacers for the new Enkei wheels. They are on, but sunk in the back and I can't handle it..lol
They are SO LIGHT.. the twists were so heavy in comparison. I can feel the reduction of weight in the wheels even in turning effort and the rear tires will spin if I'm not careful...

 

getting late and I need to get to bed.. I'll just leave these here.


planning to build the fins tomorrow

 

still working on the fins. I have 2 smaller ones finished and painted, they will be on the lateral portions. The medial fins will be longer and I haven't started them yet.


I bought a windshield washer reservoir and pump that showed up bad. Seller is working to send me another one then I'll move to the front end and pull the bumper to install it. Going to build in some extra mounting tabs to the bumper to line it up better. I hate that it is off under each light..gapped..etc. and it's been that way too long.


I'm also hearing a wop wop wop sound when driving. I'm almost certain that somehow my aluminum 1 pc driveshaft has gotten warped/bent slightly. I can see an indent rubbed in it, but not completely around at about the center of the shaft. I focus on it completely now when driving the car..it's driving me nuts. I need a stock 6mt driveshaft to install while I have it checked out and to rule out the driveshaft as the source of the sound.


always something

 

I'll put up a few pics from the other day to make me feel better. Lol

 

This sound has been bugging me non stop. So bad that when I got home from work this morning before 7am I dragged the jack out and checked all 4 wheel bearings for play. The sound is louder when I'm in a left sweeping turn and load up the right side, but there on the left turns too. The wheel bearings don't have any play, but the rear are new so what the h@ll.. ordered up both fronts on RockAuto for just over $100. Should have them this week and hopefully it isn't the driveshaft too.

 

The diffuser with some vertical sections really looks nice. Keep it up?

 

Checked the alignment lately? String box in your driveway is good enough to tell if it's out enough to make noise.

 

Yes, I've been keeping a close eye on the alignment. Tracks straight down the road, no cupping or feathering on the tread blocks. I'll run a string on it, but more and more I'm thinking the front bearings are at fault. It has been excessively noisy on the hwy trips lately, and I have a drone that vibrates thru the body of the car that I never had before. The new bearings are due here Friday, but if Rock Auto is true to past form, I may have them today.


In regard to the driveshaft.. I'm wondering if I may have scored it by turning the crank by hand. Bear with me here. I installed the AMS full aluminum pulleys set last year. Since then I have the aluminum 1 pc driveshaft, and now the 17# chromoly flywheel. I have decided that I want to reinstall the stock harmonic balancer, it just doesn't give me a good feeling revving the engine all the way out without some form of balancer on it now. And that is how I always drive the car, sooo... anyway.


I actually broke my 1/2" breaker bar on the crank bolt trying to remove it. The transmission was in gear, back tires blocked, and the handbrake pulled up tight. Still... the crank was turning, and I'm guessing that maybe the driveshaft was bowing as I was using a long extension on the breaker bar. I'm thinking this b/c the marks on the ds are not all the way around, and there is no dust or shavings. It looks like it was done slowly, pressing in on it, and there is barely a finger breadth of space above it where the handbrake cables mount.


Looks like I may be pulling the front bumper off and the front radiator support so I can use my impact gun and knock the crank bolt off. I have to install the windshield washer res anyway, and the front bumper needs additional mounting brackets. Plan your work.....


Stay Tuned

 

The 1/2" breaker probably broke because it was a cheap one One of the few snap-on tools I have at the shop is a 1/2" breaker because I broke my last one. Keep in mind that driveshaft is rated to handle all the torque of the motor which exceeds what you applied by hand at the crank.

Impact for the win to remove crank pulley bolts!

 

The breaker bar was a Kobalt. I just took it back to Lowe's and got another one. Yes Impact FTW, but it doesn't fit with the fan shroud, radiator and AC condenser in the way. So I tried the bar first. It worked twice before.
I hear you on the torque, but think about torque multiplication with the extension I was using..about 2 ft added on. My main point is..something..was turning, and it wasn't the wheels. The trans was locked into gear also. I don't know if the driveshaft would even deflect like that, but I don't think it's bent and the smooth groove is only part way around.
Bearings will be here tomorrow and I can get out of the "rumble" seat every time I drive.

 

Hrmm, well its not LIKELY but you might have been slipping the clutch, not sure how many lbs the stock one is good for but it's probably around 350#.

Edit: Actually considering you broke the breaker bar thats probably exactly what happened.

 

Not a stock clutch. Grip Stage 3 pressure plate, Dual Friction copper and ceramic disc, with about 700 miles into break in. Never slipped.
#confused

 

Yeah I don't know what it could have been then, that clutch should be good for like 500lbs and I highly doubt that much torque was applied to the crank pulley nut or it would probably have snapped off.

 

yah right? .. I'm just watching as the crank is turning, even though the transmission is in gear, the wheels are locked and blocked..but something was turning. super weird. I have no idea why it is stuck. I just had it off to replace the front main seal last month. That was before I had the lw flywheel though. Really should have put the stock balancer back on then.

 

Well that was productive. Swapped in the new front wheel bearings/hubs on Friday. The wopwopwop noise is totally gone. The driveshaft is not bent, although I still think it may have been bowing with the breaker bar to cause those marks...nothing else I can figure out.


The driver front bearing was so bad that it was difficult to turn by hand when I removed it. The passenger front was a little stiffer than the new one, but not crunchy like the other old one.


Driving the car the difference is so much that I had to change the amount of effort applying the brakes. The bearings were so bad that they actually were slowing the car.. now it coasts freely.


Amazing how much quieter the car is now, the front wheels used to practically roar on the hwy. The really amazing thing is, other than the noise, there was no other indicator of the bad bearings. There was no play at all in the front wheels and I couldn't tell a difference til the brake rotor was removed and I rotated the hub by hand. I was pretty sure they were bad though, considering the side loading in a sweeping turn would increase the sound and vibration in the car body.


Another major change is coming soon. I had my brother pick up some new headlights for me in GA. The seller says that they are 2006, and that will be awesome if they really are, but even if they are a clean set of 2003-04 I will still be winning for the price I got them. My 2003 headlights were clearcoated long ago and it has chipped and now is peeling in sheets. My night vision sucks as it is and has gotten worse lately with the lights. looking fwd to replacing them hopefully this week.


as always, Stay Tuned