98 Eagle Talon - "Onyx"

[XiKeiyaZI]

Just a quick teaser -

Got a bit done on the Talon. There's some wiring to be done tomorrow, specifically in relation to the CAS. Don't believe I'm going to purchase the harness for it - it's a waste of $70 if you ask me. I've also decided on running a COP with the proper ignition system. Going to invest in the COP first, and pick up the Arc setup next week, likely. Every day she gets a little closer. ♥ She won't let me down. And we're now bonded since she's taken a ####load of blood from me already. I was removing the front engine mount as I forgot to do it while the block was on the stand - removed the water pipe just fine. As I was loosening the 3rd of 4 bolts on the mount, the ratchet slipped and I 'touched' the metal exhaust manifold gasket. Next thing I know there is blood everywhere. It was such a tiny cut, but the skin was peeled back and I could see the bone of my knuckle. Word of advice - the metal Manifold gaskets are damn sharp. Picture included at the bottom.

Today :

Installed wiring harness
Installed Thermostat housing
Installed Injectors - With Rubber Grommet mod
Installed Fuel Rail AFPR
Installed New Side-Markers
Eliminated EGR and installed STM Blockoff Plate
Removed Front Motor Mount (There is where I gashed my knuckle open)
Purchased new nuts for Exhaust Manifold
Prepped Exhaust Manifold
Removed Broken bolts (3)
Drilled/Tapped ^ Said bolt holes

Ordered -
New Passenger Door Handle
AEM Wideband
Short Antenna
2.0 Open Port Cable
Front and Rear Strut Bars

Tomorrow I will have a few more hours after work to focus on her. She should be good to go very, very soon.

Underneath that thin layer of blood is pale-white bone. Haha. Tiny, but it stings~

IMPORTANT-10/08/12 : I now have NO feeling in this knuckle. Awesome. Turns out I hit a nerve as well as sliced the vein there. Haha.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Update 7.0

Okay, so I will need to wait until I make it home in order to upload the multiple pictures but I figured I should go ahead and update this thread to inform everyone that I -have- been working on Onyx, just been caught up with other things which has stolen my time away from being available to sit down and type this up. It's somewhat slow at work today so here we go.

1 : I sent the turbo off to be rebuilt. It received a new shaft, compressor wheel, and new compressor housing for a great price from a great source. I should have it in my hands by the end of the week. It is the last major missing piece to this puzzle.

2 : Ordered a ton of other parts that I'm going to list as a total here and go over their installation below. So far I have purchased and received - Open Dump 02 Housing, Rear Hatch Struts, 02 Sensor, brand new MTX-L Wideband (Amazing price), Rear and front strut tower braces, 2.0 Cable/unit for Evoscan/flash, Rallyarmor Mudflaps, Short Antenna (because I hate the stock one), Brand new side markers, Custom Catch Can, Recirculation Mod for SSQV BOV, 2G Knock Sensor, Rebuilt Transfer Case, Proper Shifter Cable Clips, oil cooler. New Starter, COP components, annnd a sticker.

a : The Rear hatch struts were the first things to go on. I was getting tired of popping the level and cramming something under it to hold it open long enough for me to lift the hatch. Installing these alone were fun as the bar I was using to hold the hatch up kept slipping for some reason. After about 10 minutes of griping, I got them both in. Hatch opens amazingly now. It's a very rewarding feeling.

b : Bought the components for a COP system for $50. Reworked the plate, fabbed the coils, wired it up, and sheathed the wiring. I plan on running the proper ignition system with it as I've always wanted to try it. If anything I can sell it for a higher price if I don't like it.

c : Got the transfer case out and was looking it over - thought 'what the hell' so I sent it off to be checked and refinished if needed. It was in good condition when it went in and came back even better.

d : Installed the Short Antenna - this was the hardest part. The stock antenna was held in with damn red loctite. Had to clamp down with vice grips and try not to scratch the paint. -.- Anyway, got it installed after 15 minutes. I like it a ton better.

e : The wideband is gorgeous. I love the layout of the gauge over the old LC1 that I had. Ripped out the Narrowband gauge and put this in it's place in the gauge cluster shroud pod. Have it under my stock boost gauge which will be flashed into providing a reference to knock. It just seems to fit with that.

f ; Installed the oil cooler itself - going to purchase new lines this week. Easy install. Nothing important here.

3 : Installed the transfercase along with my oilpan. I'm just going to say that trying to do this alone is a real pain. I couldn't get the darn thing lined up right for the longest time, and after I did I realized that I forgot to connect the driveshaft before hand. I then had to unbolt the carrier on the driveshaft and fight with that for a half hour before I finally got ti lined up and together (because I wasn't about to drop that Transfer case again.)

4 : Axles got installed. This is a bit out of order, but I hate talking about it. Something about the front suspension on a 2G irks me. With a 1G, you unbolt two bolts/nuts, a large axle nut, and bam - good to go. With a 2G, it's an hour long ordeal for each side. Needless to say, I got everything installed and mounted.

5 : I had forgotten to mount the AC compressor upon the engine being dropped in, so I crawled under the car to do this and found out I left the 6 bolt AC mount on the block....again, I was irked. I removed the intake manifold and pulled the old mount. Installed the 7 bolt mount, mounted the compressor, installed the tensioner, took this chance to install my knock sensor, and then reinstalled the intake manifold. As I try to only do one big thing per day, I basically wasted an entire day just installing the AC compressor.

6 : Installed the Catch Can on the passenger side Strut Tower right behind the Fuse Box and between it and the battery. Looks fine. Piping clears it.

7 : Prepped the battery install. Decided to not relocate it - only lower it to the subframe using this guide. Have done this several times and love Mounting Battery on Subframe

8 : Wired up my own CAS adapter harness. It is entirely plug and play. Quite proud of it. Saved myself $70!

9 : While I haven't got the other bits installed, I am waiting on other pieces to fall into place before I can do it. I started on the wideband yesterday but lost time. Should be able to finish that today. With each day that passes I get a little closer. She really only needs a full days' work with all parts available. I would have the exhaust and turbo system up were it not for the turbo needing to be rebuilt - but you know how things roll.

Anyway - She's closer. I'll be uploading pictures soon enough. Thanks for everyones' support. I'll be sure she's done right and is enjoyable!​

 

[manny correa]

My only other weakness besides my beloved northstar white 99 gsx is the magenta grey 2gb talon!! love the build man. Great job!

 

[nitrouskris]

I have a POLK head on my car for over 10 years now. "rebuilt once from POLK" And I will say it is the VERY BEST I have ever TESTED and I have TESTED them all. I have been in the game from 1990

 

[forumboarder154]

Your going to regret not going with the Southbend the first time around, I made the same mistake. Cheaped out on an XTD stage 4 and got a Southbend after the trans broke. It is really aggressive and it chatters alot, but then again my car is a dd.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

I have a POLK head on my car for over 10 years now. "rebuilt once from POLK" And I will say it is the VERY BEST I have ever TESTED and I have TESTED them all. I have been in the game from 1990

Thank you. I'm glad to get some feedback on that from someone who has been in the game since Polk was big. I have a lot of expectation from that head. Hope to see some good rates from it. Certainly can't wait to hear it.

Your going to regret not going with the Southbend the first time around, I made the same mistake. Cheaped out on an XTD stage 4 and got a Southbend after the trans broke. It is really aggressive and it chatters alot, but then again my car is a dd.

Well, it's not so much 'cheaping out' as I just want to test it. It's not a huge deal for me to drop the trans and change the clutch via worst case scenario. I'll keep it in mind, though. What with the 2300# Plate with the sprung disk I'm hoping it cuts down on chatter. The typical stage 4 is just an unsprung solid hub disk which is what I would expect Chatter from. We'll see how it goes.

 

[IHeartMyHonda]

Great build. Makes me miss my MGP talon. Also, where did you get that timing tool?

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Great build. Makes me miss my MGP talon. Also, where did you get that timing tool?

I picked this one up from extreme PSI.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

I went out and put the hood on as well as bolted up the Drive Shaft today - Here is her current state.

One day at a time.

 

[Black Widow97]

Lol. Why thank you! > I know it can be done and I aim to make him cry.

Mine will always be better because my engine bay matches he rest of my car, and I didn't waste money on a 6 bolt

To be honest, his car is my favorite 2g out there. If I could even come close I'd be happy - regardless if everything under the hood appears stock.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

That picture cracks me up every time. And it's not wasted money, Corey! I got it for $100 in great condition! It's the perfect candidate for the 2.3 build!

Quick teaser : Turbo will be in today. I took a couple of days off this week to get it finished. I bolted up the drive shaft yesterday. I will install the Manifold and turbo tonight. The wideband and intercooler plumbing tomorrow, and then finish it in the next few days. Might be start-ready this weekend!

Also, another sort of teaser - this is what my other toy is. ;3 She'll be the first test for Onyx when she's done and broken in. Maybe she can hang with all 6 gears that the bird has to offer.

 

[panda_gsx]

You have a real clean looking build going on it looks like you have alot of my fresh parts

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Lookin' good Kei! That picture of your knuckle made mine hurt... That's why I have learned to just put on a pair of mechanics gloves when wrenching on anything which may result in personal injury to help comfort the inevitable slip. Good luck and keep up the good work!

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Lookin' good Kei! That picture of your knuckle made mine hurt... That's why I have learned to just put on a pair of mechanics gloves when wrenching on anything which may result in personal injury to help comfort the inevitable slip. Good luck and keep up the good work!

I had to remove the exhaust mani (simply had it setting up there) the other day to check my coolant line fitments before I installed the coolant lines on the turbo and cringed the entire time because I just -knew- I was going to hit that darn gasket again.

Update coming this weekend guys! I've gotten quite a bit more done! This one will include a -ton- of pictures.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Alright guys, another Teaser -

I've been compiling a good update but I just can't post it yet. It's missing... something. -shrug- When I Feel like I figure out what it is, I'll post it up. For now I just want to update that this build is not dead : She's closer. Work coupled with Holiday times have -really- slowed me down. Couple that with the cooler weather and I've basically become an indoor hermit.

Found myself a good feed setup with banjo fittings. Should be here within the next few days. All couplers have been accounted for so that leaves me with needing to flush the flange on the J-Pipe as it seems to be a bit warped and I'd rather not have sealing issues.

Beyond that I am left with -

Finishing the above stated oil line and J pipe flange work
Finishing the inter-cooler piping
Bolting Up Exhaust
Wiring up Wideband
Installing/Blocking off Oil Cooler
Bleeding Brakes
Bleeding Clutch
Filling Fluids
Installing Battery
Setting up Evo-Flash/Scan

She also looks damn nice with mudflaps, by the way.

 

[talonxgirl]

Beautiful piece of automotive art! XD

It's come a long way and looking good. ^_^

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Beautiful piece of automotive art! XD

It's come a long way and looking good. ^_^

Oh jeeze, it's far from art. You know what? Let me just steal this from Corey -

So I see you're from TN! That's not too far for there to be another 2GB Talon! I feel there is hope for humanity yet!

 

[talonxgirl]

Oh jeeze, it's far from art. You know what? Let me just steal this from Corey -

So I see you're from TN! That's not too far for there to be another 2GB Talon! I feel there is hope for humanity yet!

Lol. Any Talon that's not rotted out in a junkyard is a piece of art, especially if people take the time to give them the tlc they need.

The picture won't show up on my phone.

Lol. Yeah. 2gb's are pretty rare up north. I had to come south for a good sturdy one. My last two 97's rotted out from under me back in Chicago.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Lol. Any Talon that's not rotted out in a junkyard is a piece of art, especially if people take the time to give them the tlc they need.

The picture won't show up on my phone.

Lol. Yeah. 2gb's are pretty rare up north. I had to come south for a good sturdy one. My last two 97's rotted out from under me back in Chicago.

Take a look later. You might get a snicker out of it.

I completely agree. It took me so long to find a 2Gb talon that I liked that hadn't been abused or was not within 500 miles. Considering the low production numbers compared to the GSX they are so hard to find. >.< I was so lucky to find this one in the condition it's in. It -does- have a few rust spots that will need to be fixed, but nothing major at all.

 

[talonxgirl]

Same here. The previous Talons showed me what to watch for with this one. First thing I inspected was the strut towers and rockers for any rust. This one also came with all original paperwork from the dealership it came from in 97 and all previous owners that had their hands on it. I think I did pretty good this time around. It just turned over 203000 miles on the factory engine. ^_^

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Same here. The previous Talons showed me what to watch for with this one. First thing I inspected was the strut towers and rockers for any rust. This one also came with all original paperwork from the dealership it came from in 97 and all previous owners that had their hands on it. I think I did pretty good this time around. It just turned over 203000 miles on the factory engine. ^_^

Oh wow, I'm impressed.

The real question is; Does it have the rear cargo cover? :3

 

[talonxgirl]

Oh wow, I'm impressed.

The real question is; Does it have the rear cargo cover? :3

Yep! And it came with the owners manual, jack, spare tire, and cargo net. Only thing it's missing is the left fog light.

Are you planning any cosmetic work or audio or anything?

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Yep! And it came with the owners manual, jack, spare tire, and cargo net. Only thing it's missing is the left fog light.

Are you planning any cosmetic work or audio or anything?

Oh my~ I think I've found a new car-crush. I may actually have a spare fog light, ya' know?

I haven't really planned out anything like that. I won't be doing any body modifications save for the short antenna that I've already installed. Maybe tint those windows a bit darker but I'm certainly no fan of body kits. I'll be cutting out a rust spot on the driver strut tower as well as a spot under the lip of the rear hatch. those were the only two spots that the rust got to. Luckily I live across the street from a machine shop so it'll be easy enough.

As far as Audio - nothing special if anything at all. As long as my music sounds good I'm good. I may look into a laptop mount, though.

 

[talonxgirl]

Oh my~ I think I've found a new car-crush. I may actually have a spare fog light, ya' know?

I haven't really planned out anything like that. I won't be doing any body modifications save for the short antenna that I've already installed. Maybe tint those windows a bit darker but I'm certainly no fan of body kits. I'll be cutting out a rust spot on the driver strut tower as well as a spot under the lip of the rear hatch. those were the only two spots that the rust got to. Luckily I live across the street from a machine shop so it'll be easy enough.

As far as Audio - nothing special if anything at all. As long as my music sounds good I'm good. I may look into a laptop mount, though.

Lol. Really? That would be awesome. I've been trying to find that thing for over a year now.

Oh same here. I don't like body kits at all. I'm trying to keep mine looking completely stock. I just have to find all the badging for when it goes to paint come spring. That sucks. Those are the two spots most Talon's rust. This is the first Talon I've seen that doesn't have strut tower rust. The hatch rot was so bad on my last one that I had to replace the whole thing because I had a swimming pool forming in the back end. Lol.

That sounds cool. Audio's going to be my main focus after the cosmetic work is done. I'm going to wait until the engine or trans go out before any engine work gets done. I want to get my money's worth out of them.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Lol. Really? That would be awesome. I've been trying to find that thing for over a year now.

Oh same here. I don't like body kits at all. I'm trying to keep mine looking completely stock. I just have to find all the badging for when it goes to paint come spring. That sucks. Those are the two spots most Talon's rust. This is the first Talon I've seen that doesn't have strut tower rust. The hatch rot was so bad on my last one that I had to replace the whole thing because I had a swimming pool forming in the back end. Lol.

That sounds cool. Audio's going to be my main focus after the cosmetic work is done. I'm going to wait until the engine or trans go out before any engine work gets done. I want to get my money's worth out of them.

I'll dig around for it when I get home, but I'm fairly sure I have one. Just have to find it under a ton of stuff.

That was my biggest disappointment, but I knew it wouldn't be perfect. The interior and exterior are, so leave it to rust to move in and go " NOPE! " It's repairable~ I just want to hear it start, first, so I know it's not all in vain. x.x; My last Talon had the whole swimming pool habit, also...but that was due to a poor seal. When it'd rain or I'd wash it it'd just run right into the trunk. Ended up spray-lining the trunk and leaving the port open until I could replace the seal molding.

200+ thousand miles and still running strong? Any mechanical issues at all?