97 GST Spyder (AWD Swapped)

[spyderdrifter]

Thanks, I love my lights. Just need to find time to do my tail lights.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Well people, I have found that I spun a bearing. Most likely, I will need a new crank and a new rod, but knowing how I am, I'd just buy ALL new rods. My level of being pissed off by this is something I can't even express.


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[spyderdrifter]

Well I finally started ripping apart my engine at school last night. Found worse damage than I had expected, but I now at least know what I need to get my car back on the road, although it'll still be awhile. In short, I need an entire replacement short block. I shouldn't need a new head, but that is still up for debate.... I'm tearing it apart tonight and then will know for sure.

As for the short block, I knew the crank was done from how deep the gouges are. I don't even want to attempt having it repaired. Only cyl 3 rod bearings had spun out of place. The oil galleries on the crank for this rod were clogged with metal when I originally took the rod cap off and confirmed that I had a spun bearing. After pulling the main girdle off, I found the main bearings that sit against the front cover where clogged with more shavings and were visibly damaged too. Cyl 3's rod is also clogged and thermally damaged. The rod bearing (not rod cap) had to be forcibly removed which got mangled in the process. I got the oil pump open, and it was surprisingly clean.

My biggest disappointment however was when I pulled the pistons out. Cyl 1&2 have scaring on the walls that are too deep for preference to have re-bored. Its already sitting at 0.040 over because I was stupid, and I don't want to go over that right now. The undamaged walls measure at 3.3901. The damaged spots are 3.3882-3.3893 respectively by cyl. When I pulled cyl 2's piston I noticed right away that the oil rings were destroyed and later found out cyl 1 had a little too.

My instructor believes my turbo is the culprit to my engine failure because it has enough axial play to slightly scrap the compressor housing with the turbine blades. Anyone have more input?

 

[spyderdrifter]

Just bought a 6 bolt block, crank, rods, pistons, flywheel, and oil pan today, along with a few other small parts that go with it all. Hopefully I'll be able to have my car up and running again soon. Still gotta buy a new turbo, bearings, seals & gaskets, and a few other things.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Last night I fianlly got my tail light wiring modified to opperate like the Talon lighting. Now I can build my "charger" style LED tail lights and have them function properly. The only bad part is that the center brake light doesn't come on when running lights are on, and the brakes are applied. Still have to troubleshoot this to figure out how the get it to work right. But that is a minor issue. I also got my interior changed to black/gray two-tone with Plastidip. That stuff works great. Did this back on the 31st, so the info is old, but now on here.

I also got my HVAC unit fully illuminated, and painted my intake manifold and valve cover with wrinkle black, and then a light coat of red.

 

[spyderdrifter]

I have completed yet another electrical addition to my car. I now have a fully functional auto-dimming rear view mirror. I installed the mirror itself some time ago, but finally got the wiring done up today.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...mirror-conversion-part-1-a.html#post153150155

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...ng-mirror-conversion-part-2-wire-install.html

I decided to mess around with my pillar gauge wiring since I pulled all the window frame trim off for the mirror. Finally got the "memory" wire hooked up right, so I no longer have to reset the color every time I turn on the car.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Well it's been a few weeks since my last update. I got an aluminum spark plug cover from Lufkom, and it's awesome. Fits great, and definately won't warp like the stock ones. This is a good quality piece he made. I decided to respray my valve cover and take the opportunity to match the plug cover to it so it has a nice color flow. Made it all a lot glossier than the last time I painted it too, which made me feel like I finally accomplished the desired look (it's all rattle canned too). Tonight I painted my CAS to match as well, but didn't take a picture of it yet.

Just got a 6 bolt long block over the weekend. Drove the Talon it came out of right before pulling it. Drove pretty good, but once we started pulling the engine, I could tell the guy didn't have it running at full potential. He had random bolts holding his exhaust manifold on, and they weren't even tight. Maybe finger tight, if that (surprised it was even on still). So besides that potential boost leak, there was only 1 out of 5 bolts holding the o2 housing onto the turbo. And to top off everything, this engine was so, SO dirty with oil deposites built up and everything. Had many mental face-palms during the removal.

Despite how bad the engine looked, the ghetto hack jobs (2g MAF wired in like crap), lack of certain important hardware, and this guys lack of tools (I didn't bring any even though I considered it), we got it out, and I got it home where I felt the need to tear it down, just to have peace of mind. Got it apart, and it was very clean inside. No metal shavings, flakes, or any ther debris in the oil pan (thank God). The valves and piston domes had only a very, very light dusting of carbon on them, that wiped off by finger. No leaking fluids in the cylinders. Valvetrain looked great too. So this engine looked every bit as good as it drove on the inside. Outside it needed A LOT of TLC in the form of brake cleaner, but that wasn't nearly as important. I'm happy with what I got and now my Spyder will be back up and running within a month at most (providing nothing goes wrong).

Will be getting a new turbo soon once I file my taxes, going with a 16g. Will most likely get a new flywheel and clutch as well, among the random seals, gaskets, and bolts I plan on replacing. I'm anxious to drive my baby again, been too long. But I won't make the same 'rush-rush' mistakes I made last year.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Here's some pics of the new engine.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Just got my taxes and ordered a Big 16g today, along with flywheel, clutch, FMIC, oil cooler, and random bolts and seals I need. Will be getting a new water pump, battery, plugs & wires, and other small parts locally. Not much more of a wait left.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Just got my valve spring compressor tool from UPS 10 minutes ago. Gonna pull out the valvetrain so I can get my 2g head drilled for the 6 bolt head bolts and to put my new valve seals in.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Finally got all my new parts, except for the FMIC. The vender sold my set to someone else. Gonna rig up the side mount to work with the 16g. However I'm running into issues with the turbo to manifold bolts not tightening down all the way, so I'm gonna take the turbo to school and have the holes tapped to the right thread pitch. Also have to figure a way to get the turbo J-pipe to sit right while bolted on. One of the holes on the flange is too close to the pipe and will be crocked upon installation and create a boost leak. Other than the turbo issues, its all going decent. Got all the steel braided lines done up for the oil cooler, never again. Such a pain.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Always a set back with these cars. My clutch kit came with the wrong throwout bearing, and the turbo won't bolt to the manifold because the threads weren't driven completely through the exhaust housing so I have to tap them. I hate delays...

 

[spyderdrifter]

Well, I had to stop so I can head off to school, but got my engine back in. Right now, I'd say its 85% complete. Will be finishing the rest after school tonight. Another sleepless night like the past 4, worth it though. Enjoy the pics.

 

[spyderdrifter]

It's been awhile since my last post, but there's a few updates. The 16g was a POS. It failed upon first start up because I apparentlly got a cheap one. Figured since it didn't come from Ebay, it'd be better, but I was wrong. I did get to keep it though, and got a full refund I've since shipped my old T28 to Justin for a rebuild. I ended up having to put the bad 16g back on though, so I could drive the spyder to my new place. Since then, the bad ignition coil decided to fail altogether.

Before the coil failed, I took the car to school for some diagnostic tests to see what was wrong with my idle problem. During the tests, I had a friend fill my steering resevoir while I turned the wheel, and even though he's a professional tech, he over filled it, and took out the steering pump. Now I have to rebuild it.

So I've ordered a power steering pump rebuild kit, new thermostat, & new radiator cap, which I should get tomorrow (all OEM parts). One of my friends has shipped me a new coil (thanks Chris), and will have the turbo back soon. The scan I had done said the only code was a P0202 (#2 injector malfunction). It turned out that the boost leak from my throttle body was the cause for the code, and after I put the gasket on right, the leak and the code were eliminated. So all runs great now, aside from the parts getting replaced within the next few days, and the lack of boost.

I also bought some OEM A52 paint and painted my Talon bumper. Looks good so far, but need to get more.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Decided to go to the salvage yard today in search of a wire connector for my coolant temp sensor. Figured I wouldn't find anything since there was only 1 2g turbo DSM listed on their inventory; a '98 Talon TSi. So as I started my wandering, I stopped at a Galant first and it had the connector I needed. But when I got to the Talon, it had the rear bumper I need, and the entire engine and transmission, minus the intake tube & filter, and valve cover. It had a 6 bolt swap and a TD05H turbo. Too bad I only brought a screw driver and wire cutters for the connector. I did however grab the rare side strakes for only $11.00.
Not a bad steal. Unfortunately I won't be able to go back til next Tuesday, I hope the bumper at least is still there so I can finish my Talon Spyder conversion.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Just got my Turbo back from Justin yesterday. Looks great and can't wait to reinstall it. However, that'll have to wait until I get a new bung for my oil feed line to hook into the turbo. Since I've gone with a steel-braided line (I hate the factory line), the bung I have, which I thought threaded into it, doesn't fit. I really thought I test fitted it before sending off the turbo for its' rebuild. Guess not< and now I have to wait a little longer. But oh well, that's not a problem like the issues I'm still having with the cooling system not working properly. Also got my new ignition coils from Chrispy in Miami, thanks Chris- they worked on first start up, no more random cylinder misfiring. Hope you're prepared for beers at the Shootout.

I'm so ready to be driving my Spyder again, and so sick of dealing with these little problems that just pop up like with all DSMs. They seem to be such a problem sometimes, that they become a challenge, just to see it through to their former glory. I've told myself so many times that I quit, and no longer want to deal with these cars anymore, but I never do quit. I know they're awesome cars, and can't see myself driving anything else. They sure test my patience though...

 

[NWHTanK]

Good to see a talon spyder build. Im in the same boat. I manage to pick up a rusty awd talon for my conversion. Keep the post coming.

 

[mitsu409]

man I love your car. im fixin to do mine gunmetal grey and accent red. im having over heating and oil problems. but im changing my water pump and my pcv valve Thursday that should take care of my problems. just wanted to say u did a beautiful job

 

[spyderdrifter]

Thanks, but its still far from finished. Will be retesting my cooling system pressure later tonight, so I hope I've got it working right. But probably not, I think my spyder enjoys not running so it stays safe in my garage away from retarded drivers.

 

[spyderdrifter]

I got the final piece to my Talon body swap today, the rear bumper. Only cost me $40. Now I just need to get more A52 paint, paint the bumpers and side strakes and install everything. Started my layout for the strakes too, was just waiting on getting the rear bumper for final markes.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Found a guy locally selling the entire 2G AWD rear end setup. Got the subframe, diff, axles, sway bar, brakes, spindles, and lower suspension arms for only $300. Got lucky to find this for so cheap. Will still be a while before any of these parts go on. I want to have everything before I start. However, I will be pulling everything apart and replacing all bushings, seals, bearings, and whatever else needs replacement, before installation. Also been told this is probably from a '95 model due to the ventalated discs.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Just a little update, got my new oil feed line today, so now everything is reinstalled. Will find out tomorrow if everything runs well or not. Gotta let some RTV dry before I fill up the oil and prime my turbo. The only on going issue I have now is the ignition problem that I have confirmed to be my power transistor going bad. I managed to find out a friend had an analog multimeter to test it properly and it is bad. I also swapped back to my stock radiator to see if that returns my cooling system back to normal, and properly burping the system. I also finished up getting my Talon tail lights wired up right and got a metal tee pipe for the turbo coolant lines.

 

[turtlespeeder]

Looks great man, the 2g Talon bumper looks a lot better than the Eclipse. Good job on all the progress!

 

[spyderdrifter]

Thanks, next big step is getting the rest of the parts for AWD.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Started shaving all the casting marks off my spare intake manifold today so I can paint it to match my shaved valve cover.

Spyder is now running again so I decided to take some night pics. They're not the best quality, but my phone camera is all I got right now. One day I'll have a real camera. Paint will come soon for the rear bumper and the addition of the side strakes.
Enjoy