This is the Build Thread for ForcedFour Time Capsule. Reply below.

After the over 400 mile drive home, I parked the car in my driveway and went to bed after a grueling 22 hour day.

Yesterday, after moving the car to a more convenient spot in my driveway, I found a silver/metallic fluid that was underneath the car. It only showed itself after it started raining, so I honestly have no idea what it is. It's also snowing now, and we're almost in April so that's suuuuuuper convenient.

It doesn't look like gasoline, though? It doesn't look like any fluid that is supposed to be in a car. It's silver and metallic, not red, blue, yellow, or anything like that. It looks more like aluminum and grime from sitting in a garage for four years, and sitting outside for a few years before that.

Oil levels are honestly a little high, so I'll have to drain it later today or tomorrow and do an oil change. Should've done it when the weather was nicer, but whatever.

Any input would be appreciated, but I feel like it's not gonna be anything too major.

Okay after checking the fluids and around the car itself, I think it might be aluminum that sat for years, so the top layer of oxidization came off when the AC ran and dropped water onto it. It was also raining yesterday so that could be contributing.

Also, the auto seatbelt bracket/anchor in the rear is unbolted... I have literally no idea where it goes. There's a bolt and cut out piece of carpet that looks like it's where it goes, but it bends the belt in weird ways when being placed there. Gonna do more research and try to figure it out, but hopefully I don't have to remove the seats.

Below is the passenger side, but it's the same for the driver side.

Missing a bolt on my exhaust manifold. Soot is covering that part of the block. I'm hoping the manifold itself isn't warped in any way, but if it is I'll have to replace it. I spent all my money on the car, I forgot how maintenance heavy DSMs can be. It's also blowing white smoke out of the tailpipe, but I'm almost completely sure it's NOT a blown head gasket.

Once I have some downtime where I don't need to travel, I'll pull it apart and figure out what needs to be done. I might have just enough money to afford the parts I need, but I'm just praying that I don't uncover more once I start fixing stuff. If there's anything else I need to replace, I won't have enough for my insurance (which is stupid high since I'm 17 with a sports car)

Despite everything, I'm excited! I got this car knowing that I'd have to wrench on it and put money into it, just didn't know it'd be so soon. But I look forward to learning as much as I can about these things! This stuff is still pretty new to me.

opn0 said:

Also, the auto seatbelt bracket/anchor in the rear is unbolted... I have literally no idea where it goes. There's a bolt and cut out piece of carpet that looks like it's where it goes, but it bends the belt in weird ways when being placed there. Gonna do more research and try to figure it out, but hopefully I don't have to remove the seats.

Below is the passenger side, but it's the same for the driver side.

View attachment 787510

View attachment 787511

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You probably got there already but in case you haven’t…

The part in your first picture is the highlighted #8 in the below. It attaches to the highlighted #11.








The bolt hole you pictured is to anchor the slide rail, #3 in the Front Seat Removal and Installation page above.

Yeah I ended up figuring it out. I appreciate it, though! I still haven't actually done it, so the diagram is still incredibly helpful!

Thank you!

Just ordered the parts to fix the exhaust leak. Hopefully they come in soon. Not in a rush, but I want to get it done asap. The car is becoming worse to drive. It's on a speed density setup, so would the leak cause the ECU to have to hunt for idle? It jumps from 500 to 1500, and bounces around. I understand MAF, but MAP is completely new to me and I don't know what would or wouldn't affect idle.

I also have to stop by AutoZone or some place to get an adapter for the rear hatch struts. The kind I was given by the PO don't fit the 1G because the mounting point for the OEM strut isn't a ball joint. It's been such a pain trying to see what parts the PO gave me while holding the hatch up with either my head or a stick, but it has led to some good laughs.

Still have to remove the seats and fix the motorized seatbelt bracket, but I just haven't had the time. I'll have to dedicate an entire day to just fixing the things that I've noted about the car.

Hopefully some real updates coming soon!

Edit: Found transmission fluid just hanging around and pooling in various spots. One of the hose clamps is loose and causing the line to leak. Just need a new hose clamp but it's just frustrating that something else is leaking now.

The parts arrive Monday, so I ran over to AutoZone and grabbed some PB Blaster to soak the manifold studs in. I also started to remove the seats, but I don't have any photos of that yet. Half the bolts are rusted and seized so I also hosed it down with PB. Probably not good for my carpet, definitely not good for the smell, but whatever works.

Ran into a pretty cool dude while I was at AutoZone who was super stoked to see a 1G. He got back into his car and started revving out his Buick with a clown car's worth of people in the back. Hope I run into him again at some point.

I heard a hissing sound when I cold started the car and revved it a little the other day, so today I soaked the suspects in soapy water, but the sound wasn't there today and there was no bubbling soap. I'll keep an eye, and ear, out for it. A vacuum/boost leak would suuuuuuck. I'm not familiar with what the BISS is supposed to look like, because I hadn't heard of it until recently (I'm new to actually working on cars), but it looks fine? The screw is covered in shredded rubber, and it's actually filling the screw itself... so should I replace the o-ring?

I also replaced the old, rusted hose clamps that were causing the two lines connected to the transmission to leak. So that's cool.

I don't plan on running the car seriously until the exhaust parts come in. The idle is going ballistic and I'm losing an absurd amount of fuel while idling, so I'm just gonna play it safe. If the idle is still going nuts after fixing the exhaust leak, I'll go back with a fine tooth comb and look for a vacuum leak again. I'll also take a look at ECMLink and see what the tune and AFR is looking like. It's definitely running a bit rich in low RPMs. If I'm braking lightly, there will occasionally be an RPM surge to 1.5k and it'll break the tires loose.

I hope to have some more exciting updates soon. But this is it for now. Just focusing on getting the car running correctly. But now I'm actually DOING it instead of TALKING about it.

I don’t see the ground strap on your throttle body, which is necessary for the idle switch to properly function. For reference: ground strap.

19Eclipse90 said:

I don’t see the ground strap on your throttle body, which is necessary for the idle switch to properly function. For reference: ground strap.

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Dude you are saving my life over here. I appreciate you!

Do I need to buy a dedicated ground strap, or will a piece of wire be fine for the time being?

A piece of wire should be fine. You can verify with ECMLink that it is functioning after adding the wire.

19Eclipse90 said:

A piece of wire should be fine. You can verify with ECMLink that it is functioning after adding the wire.

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Awesome. I'll get started on that tomorrow!

Really, thank you! I've always loved cars, but I've never owned something I've had to wrench on like this, so this is a whole new world for me.

You’re in the right place if you have questions. And sounds like you’ve got the right mindset to get it working!

Unimportant to the build/resto, but my (now ex) girlfriend gave this to me as an early birthday present and it made my week

Parts arrived!

Now I just gotta wait for a nice day.

I love the zotz candy FP includes. I bought a whole ass bag one time before I was diabetic.

But yeah, good stuff!

CrackedDSM said:

I love the zotz candy FP includes. I bought a whole ass bag one time before I was diabetic.

But yeah, good stuff!

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It definitely put a smile on my face! I've yet to try the candy, so I'm excited to see how it tastes . I'm also sorry to hear about that, man.

I want to throw the parts on asap, but the weather is shitty and I somehow tweaked my back yesterday.

opn0 said:

It definitely put a smile on my face! I've yet to try the candy, so I'm excited to see how it tastes . I'm also sorry to hear about that, man.

I want to throw the parts on asap, but the weather is shitty and I somehow tweaked my back yesterday.

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Hopefully it's not a spoiler, but it's fizzy candy. The outside will be good and as it breaks down, the fizzy insides will hit and foam. So good.

And nah don't be sorry. It wasn't a hard lifestyle change tbh, I just cut out sugary drinks and sugary desserts except very rarely and usually only before bed.

I have a bone to pick with whoever put a bolt underneath the headers of this exhaust manifold.

I don't have any way to get it off because we barely have any tools in this house. I got 3/4 off from the turbo to manifold, but this last one is driving me up a wall.

I don't have photos of the bolts off because I was in a rush and didn't think to take any photos, but this is the bolt I'm talk about.

Literally how do I get this off with basic tools.

Any and all advice/input is ridiculously appreciated. The new manifold needs to be on before Saturday. I know I didn't have to replace the entire manifold, but I chose to. I'd be removing it anyways to throw the new gasket on, so I figured I'd replace it while I was there. That way, I know the condition of the parts I put in; no mysteries there.

opn0 said:

I have a bone to pick with whoever put a bolt underneath the headers of this exhaust manifold.

I don't have any way to get it off because we barely have any tools in this house. I got 3/4 off from the turbo to manifold, but this last one is driving me up a wall.

I don't have photos of the bolts off because I was in a rush and didn't think to take any photos, but this is the bolt I'm talk about.

Literally how do I get this off with basic tools.

Any and all advice/input is ridiculously appreciated. The new manifold needs to be on before Saturday. I know I didn't have to replace the entire manifold, but I chose to. I'd be removing it anyways to throw the new gasket on, so I figured I'd replace it while I was there. That way, I know the condition of the parts I put in; no mysteries there.

View attachment 789098

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Can you get a box-end wrench on it to crack it loose then use an open-end wrench the rest of the way? You'll have to loosen and remove the other 3, and somehow separate the manifold from the turbo, either manifold up or turbo down, to get that bolt out.

This looks easier than dealing with the OEM stud and fire ring.

dwb said:

Can you get a box-end wrench on it to crack it loose then use an open-end wrench the rest of the way? You'll have to loosen and remove the other 3, and somehow separate the manifold from the turbo, either manifold up or turbo down, to get that bolt out.

This looks easier than dealing with the OEM stud and fire ring.

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I'll see if I can. I don't have a ton of clearance with the radiator, so I might have to pull it. The fan is probably coming out, if nothing else.

Unfortunately, I'm a scrawny 17 year old haha. So even if I can get the box-end on it, I might be physically incapable of cracking it loose. We'll see, though!

Thanks for the insight!

It's all about leverage. If you don't have a pipe that will fit over the wrench, you can lock two wrenches together like this:


Sometimes a dead blow from a hammer will do the trick on a single wrench. Penetrating oil is also a good idea on exhaust parts.

dwb said:

Penetrating oil is also a good idea on exhaust parts.

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I've used a ton of penetrating oil over the last few days. I've been soaking it regularly.

dwb said:

It's all about leverage. If you don't have a pipe that will fit over the wrench, you can lock two wrenches together like this:
View attachment 789107

Sometimes a dead blow from a hammer will do the trick on a single wrench.

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If I can't crack it loose with one or with a hammer, I'll give this a try!

I appreciate it!

opn0 said:

I've used a ton of penetrating oil over the last few days. I've been soaking it regularly.


If I can't crack it loose with one or with a hammer, I'll give this a try!

I appreciate it!

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We’ve also had good results reinstalling all of the removed bolts so the pressure is less on the last, stuck bolt. And then we concentrate on removing the stuck bolt first.

FINALLY OFF.

Now the main issue... the threads on the left most bolt are completely f***ed. So I need to upsize to either an M9 or M10. Luckily, I'm not working tomorrow so I have the time. Super annoying tho.