I did research just now, and I found out that a lot of ppl damage their thrust bearing while replacing the front main seal because of improper installation. This doesn't sound like something I wanna get involved with unless I find out that it's leaking once I tear it apart, I will check it first like i'd originally planned, thanks

 

A digital camera is your friend. Charge up the battery and take lots of pictures. Stock up on Advil and bandaids. Best advice is get someone else to do it for you a la Tom Sawyer ;-)

 

Just do what you really needed to do replace all hoses underneath upper plenum check the coolant hoses going to the turbo while your there there are two of them, pay attention to the smell also, does it smell like a fuel? (Now thats another explanation) Check the coolant hose going towards throttle body.

If your idle is higher than normal get ready to be patient as you will hunt this down, plain and simple you have vacuum leak so go slow.

Dude its spring time, drive her like you stole her and enjoy. Then simply learn her, whats her attitude, is she cranky? Hard start on cold or hot, overheat, smokes a lot (lol) that last part didnt sound right haha.
I call mine my bitch cause it is what she is but she gave me the pleasure everytime I ride her hahaha.

That oil leak is probably from Turbo oil metal hose return line just on top of the oil pan. There is a copper gasket connecting both of this I thought mine was front seal until I crack her open. You will never know until that time you open her up.

 

What color hoses are you all using?

 

I actually don't have any oil leaks because I fixed all of them but you know how it goes, when everything is taken apart, you find other things wrong with the car that you thought were fine, that's why I wanna make sure the front main seal is bone dry before I put things back together. If not, it's getting replaced.

Here's a list of all the things i'm gonna be doing:

Baker Precision blue silicone vacuum hoses
Viton check valves from Dale Clark
Beck Arnley Air filter
Tripower Dual gauge dash pod
NGK platinum spark plugs
Bosch spark plug wires
Dayco Alternator and P/S belts
New OEM Shimahide Water Pump and gasket
GlowShift Water temp gauge
GlowShift Boost gauge
Stainless Steel OMP lines
FC thermoswitch
Fuel Pulsation Damper
Low mileage rats nest solenoid valves (x8)
Denso OEM style Oxygen sensor
Miscellaneous OEM Hose clamps
Miscellaneous OEM hoses
Miscellaneous OEM gaskets
OEM restrictor pills (x2)
2000 degree heat tape
Redline synthetic 75W90 gear oil
Self fusing high temp silicone tape
4mm washers and SS socket head cap screws for solenoid rack
1/8'' to 1/4'' hose adapters in high temp plastic
OEM thermostat and gasket
Fuel injector cleaning flow testing and balancing
OEM fuel injector grommets
Heat Shrink
High temp engine paint
"T" hose adapter for temp gauge sensor
Check front main seal

I almost got everything I need, just a few more little things

 

So I assume the 1/4'' MPT male to 3/8'' barb fitting will fit on the Throttle body coolant hose pretty snug?

 

Yep, the 3/8" barb fitting is just right for the OEM upper t-body coolant hose that runs along the firewall. I used a couple regular hose clamps as well just to make sure it doesn't leak.

 

I have been trying to source a place that sells Viton vacuum hose. Does anyone know of a place?

 

I finally got everything I need for the project, I thought id take a pic of all the parts. Last thing I need to do is save some money in my account so I can have my fuel injectors cleaned and balanced during the job. I'm gonna be starting this next week.

 

Another thing that I have been thinking about, is I was wondering whether or not I will need a boost controller. I'd rather not buy one if possible, because then i'll be tempted to spend money to increase the power/boost which is addicting and not somthing I wanna get into right now. I have a stock precat, a high flow metallic substrate maincat, a stock exhaust and a stock intake.

 

IMO, an EBC is a must for all FD's, stock or not.

 

It's job s like this where I will would always just pull the engine and check everything. For one, I hate bending over the fenders to work on projects like this (hurts my lower back). To me it's just so much easier putting the engine on a table and going at it. You can easily do things like re-seal the oil pan, clean the engine, replace the clutch ect. Anyways, since your using a used rats nest solenoids, ALWAYS, ALWAYS pressure check them with a boost and vacuum gauge. Testing with 12v for on/off isn't good enough. You have to make they hold the recommended pressures other wise you would have waisted your time.

 

Looks like fun!

BTW, for the future, you don't need to buy the 50/50 premix of Prestone. Buy one jug of regular full strength Prestone and a 1 gallon jug of distilled water. Ends up being about half the price for the exact same thing. Distilled water is less than a dollar a gallon.

One worthwhile thing to do with the vacuum diagram - take a copy of it on a thumb drive or CD to Kinko's. Have them print it on 11x17" paper and laminate it. Did that a few years ago, costs like $6 out the door and you have a great oil-proof reference to use for a long time to come. I also put a grommet on the top of mine so I can hang it on the wall.

Dale

 

How do I pressure test the solenoid valves?

 

get ride of them all , go non seq,lol

 

Just started the job today, and I found this connector disconnected and its not plugged into anything and it's been like that for a long time, does anybody know what its for??

 

EGR plug for CA cars only. In non-CA cars it just sits there doing nothing.

 

When I checked my carfax it said that my car was first sold in Colorado, then it went to Florida which is where I bought the car, then from there, now its in California because I had it shipped here, so I can safely assume that this is not a California car which means I dont have to worry about that loose connector?

 

Is this true, because I mixed mine up.

 

This might sound like a really stupid question, but when I removed the alternator and P/S belt, I turned the crank pulley by hand. Does the crank pulley need to be positioned in a specific location for timing purposes, or does turning the crank pulley not affect anything?

 

I thought you were just doing vacuum lines?

 

No... as long as you didn't remove the main pulley assembly you are ok.

If that connector is color blue then it is the EGR.

are you running a power FC?

 

Not really, well thats the main point of the job but im doing other things while im here like: Water pump, fc thermoswitch, spark plugs+wires, 02 sensor, tranny flush, Front main seal ONLY if its leaking or starting to leak, fuel injector cleaning, and a surprise popped up yesterday as some of you may already know... ill also be doing my throw out bearing, pilot bearing and rear main seal.

 

Ok I have 2 questions... When I was removing the solenoid rack today, a small black sensor I believe broke apart. It plugs into the rear of the water pump housing. It appears to be a harness pigtail for something, does anybody know what this is?



next question, underneath the extension manifold inside the rats next I found this sensor here, but that's not really the problem, the problem is that this sensor has some kind of plug on it which is covering a vacuum hose nipple? The plug has the symbol for Mitsubishi which is quite odd, Is this plug stock, is it supposed to be there?

 

Hard to tell from your picture, but it's probably a connector for a non-stock Thermoswitch (like a Miata Thermoswitch)

It's stock. It's one of the turbo control solenoids.