99 GSX Rebirth/Clean-Up/Build

[DreamChaser7]

I’m so jealous for real. Can’t wait to get to the point you’re at. Great job, looks amazing, keep it up!

 

[bettfootball]

So had some time at home this weekend to start on the engine harness. I wanted to do it right-ish. I'm not buying new pins, or the special tool or any expensive loom, but I am de pinning and running each sensor independently to the ECU/ Dash area. Fixing any nicks in the wires, and replacing any damaged connectors.

I started by de-looming and de pinning every connector, labeling as I went.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Pretty simple, just time consuming and you need to stay organized. I simply numbered the ECU pinouts with their respective numbers. When I came to any junctions, I just de-pinned a connector and labeled that wire "TO MDP" or "TO TPS" etc. Pretty straight forward. I'm looking forward to simplifying the harness ground and power. It is also crazy how much extra wire is in the loom. Seems like they ran wires 10 foot long that only needed to go 5 inches etc.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Once I had all the plugs separated, I started laying everything out. Starting with the injectors, then knock, CAS, TPS, COIL, etc. Making sure I have plenty of slack/strain relief.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Once I have it routed like I want it, I will tape the bends tightly, to keep their shape, then remove the whole harness and finish it up on the table. I'm putting the injector resistor plug, the main fuse connection plug, and the transistor under the dash.

I also got a new ebay lip. They definitely have gone up in quality since they first came out 5 years ago or so, this one is thick, and not as flimsy as previous ones.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Peace!

 

[gsxitement]

That’s awesome. These cars are super simple. As far as engine wiring is concerned. When I did my harness, I used all the same wiring from the stock harness and and color coding to add simplicity. These jobs are all in the prep work. I have pages of info and my hand written pinouts since I did a firewall bulkhead. Gonna look super clean when you’re all done.

 

[bettfootball]

Yo.

So I finished mocking up all the bay sensors and the routing. Pretty straight forward. I wanted to get this done to get a length I was shooting for to do the ECU terminations. +/- 12" is all I'm shooting for, I will just have a little bundle under the dash anyway. So I needed to have the wires through the firewall to do so.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Once I had a demark point for the ECU terminations, I pulled the harness out so I can trim/extend as needed for the interior ECU / Dash plugs as well as the interior resistor box, transistor plug, and main Engine/Fusebox connector plug.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

I need to order a few plugs from Ohm racing eventually, but I will not be looming this harness until the car is running correctly, just to ensure there are no issues, so I have some time to get new plugs. Just replacing some that have cracks etc.

Peace!

 

[MindBlowin03]

Looks great, keep up the good work.

I rebuild the s90 throttle bodies to actually hold boost, if you're interested.

 

[bettfootball]

Small update:

The engine harness is done and routed. I'm not looming it until the car is running just to make sure there are no hiccups. That was a big undertaking .

But I also finally got reverse lights wired in. I never had these because my car was an auto, so I had an auto harness and never had backup lights. Pumped because I got brand new lights and wanted everything to work properly.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

I need to plumb the turbo oil feed and remote oil pressure sensor so I can get oil in this thing and start it up!!

Peace.

 

[Justin DuBois]

Automatic cars don't have reverse lights?

 

[bettfootball]

Automatic cars don't have reverse lights?

My auto harness didn't have the reverse switch plug in the harness. The auto transmission doesn't have the reverse switch like the 5speed does. I never wired in the reverse switch since my harness was already re-done, and it was an oversight when I originally did it.

 

[Dr-Evil]

This is probably one of the best resto builds I've ever seen, keep up the awesome work dude.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Automatic cars don't have reverse lights?

They do, but an auto uses a couple wires through the 12-pin Park/Neutral Switch connector to provide the signal for the reverse lights while a manual has a dedicated switch with a 2-pin harness connector for them.

It’s just not plug and play if using a auto harness in a manual car or vice versa. In either case, they certainly could be wired in.

 

[92Turbski]

You're crushing it, man! Love watching the build and the super sanitary engine bay with the white and contrasting engine color combo.

Rob

 

[Mikealj]

So had some time at home this weekend to start on the engine harness. I wanted to do it right-ish. I'm not buying new pins, or the special tool or any expensive loom, but I am de pinning and running each sensor independently to the ECU/ Dash area. Fixing any nicks in the wires, and replacing any damaged connectors.

I started by de-looming and de pinning every connector, labeling as I went.

View attachment 702155Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Pretty simple, just time consuming and you need to stay organized. I simply numbered the ECU pinouts with their respective numbers. When I came to any junctions, I just de-pinned a connector and labeled that wire "TO MDP" or "TO TPS" etc. Pretty straight forward. I'm looking forward to simplifying the harness ground and power. It is also crazy how much extra wire is in the loom. Seems like they ran wires 10 foot long that only needed to go 5 inches etc.

View attachment 702156Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

View attachment 702157Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Once I had all the plugs separated, I started laying everything out. Starting with the injectors, then knock, CAS, TPS, COIL, etc. Making sure I have plenty of slack/strain relief.

View attachment 702158Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

View attachment 702159Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

View attachment 702160Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Once I have it routed like I want it, I will tape the bends tightly, to keep their shape, then remove the whole harness and finish it up on the table. I'm putting the injector resistor plug, the main fuse connection plug, and the transistor under the dash.

I also got a new ebay lip. They definitely have gone up in quality since they first came out 5 years ago or so, this one is thick, and not as flimsy as previous ones.

View attachment 702161Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Peace!

Mind sharing the link to the ebay lip?

 

[bettfootball]

Yo!

So I really wanted to start pushing for a first start up on this thing, so started knocking on the little stuff.

-Installed / routed the remote oil pressure sending unit/line.
-Installed alternator and components
-Installed clutch slave cylinder and bled/adjusted the clutch system
-Installed and wrapped up the fuel lines, to and from the rail.
-Finally got around to doing the final polish on the radiator and installing that.

On to some pics.

I was debating how I wanted to run the fuel line. I started out with it on top, as the underneath path was pretty busy with coil pack, and all the lines etc. But it looked super goofy..

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

So I flipped it and went underneath.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Final things needed before the startup are:

-Get oil in the car
-Finalize under dash starter power cable to junction box
-Install IC piping
-Vacuum lines
-Radiator Clamps & Fill with coolant
-Start up???

Peace!

 

[Dericsh]

So close!

 

[DreamChaser7]

Any pics of the remote oil pressure setup?

 

[bettfootball]

So I wanted to set the car down to let the suspension settle a bit. I raised all (4) corners 1.25" as a starting point, definitely monstertruck style.

I really don't want this to rub, so not really sure what the gameplan is. Really wish you could get this wheel face with a little higher offset. My 5zigens had the perfect wheel size for this car IMO.

I can probably lower another .5" and be fine, time will tell!

Peace!

 

[Justin DuBois]

Have you removed the springs and inspected clearances with the corner on the bump stop? Save yourself a very bad day, and make sure you won't rub - bend - tear out fenders and liners.

 

[bettfootball]

First startup was a success!

Had a few hiccups.

Issue #1: No Fuel
Details: I wanted to check if things were working properly so I was testing my MPI relay to try and get the fuel pump to startup to look for fuel line leaks. Well, jumping pin 5 to ground didn't start the pump, so I traced that back to a loose ground on my fuel pump rewire relay. The ground is on the seatbelt bolt, which I don't have installed yet. So that fixed that issue.
Solution: Actually ground the fuel pump relay

Issue #2: Fuel leak at the hangar, specifically the oem feed bubble flare.
Details: I noticed a drip from the -6AN to Inverted bubble flare fitting (allows stock hangar to adapt to -6AN lines) Thought this was strange because this was TIGHT.
Solution: Removed all fittings, cleaned small bits of debris in/on them, and used Permatex High Temp Thread Sealant PN# 59214 To lubricate the threads and re-installed.

Once these two issues were fixed, I was ready to give it a first start.

After I filled the car with some conventional 10W30 I got to priming.

I primed the engine again until oil was coming up through the lifters for a few seconds, I just unplugged the main engine fuse for the priming, you can also pull the MPI relay(s).

Once primed, I made sure to have my fire extinguisher (up to date) handy and ready to go .

It fired up pretty quick and idled like hell.

I attempted to keep it at 1,500 RPM, then 2,000 and back etc, but with timing off and it being cold, was quite the challenge. I let it run for a few minutes and cut it off.

Issue #3: Turbo oil feed leak.
Details: I saw a small puddle below the turbo and knew it was the oil feed. I use a banjo bolt feed with (2) crush washers and they were not a perfect fit.
Solution: Bought two new washers and sanded them flat with a block and 1000 grit sandpaper before install to get rid of small imperfections.

Next Steps:

I did not have the car loaded with coolant, nor did I have the IC piping on completely, so I will start with getting the piping all buttoned up. I'm not happy with how it all fits, but I want all new custom piping with Vanjen clamps soon anyway. I also lost my TiAL o-ring for my blow off valve, so that has to be ordered as well.

I will keep an eye on any small leaks in the meantime, but SHOULD be able to get it out on its maiden voyage very soon. Just 30-50 miles of vacuum pulls and then another oil change. Hopefully with some wiring fixes my OMNI MAP sensor doesn't shit the bed like it has in the past, I will keep an eye on my AFR's for sure. Also hoping my alternator issues were solved by getting the trigger wire connected back to the harness.

Peace!

-Brady

 

[bettfootball]

Pic of the flare fitting that was leaking for reference. Seems to be dry so far.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Issue #4: Front of block leak
Details: This leak didn't get to the point of having a drop on the floor, but I always had a problem getting this area to stay dry. It was hard to pinpoint this to a single location in the past. It could have been from the timing side and making its way over at any point. This seems to be coming from the manifold. I will have to RTV the stud that goes through the oil galley and hope that is the fix. The oil could just be coming from that stud and "riding" its way over on the manifold gasket to this location, not sure.
Solution: Going to RTV the middle stud and HOPE that helps.

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Untitled by bradydings, on Flickr

Peace!

 

[bettfootball]

Well... feeling pretty defeated.

Oil drip found under the timing cover, oil drip found on the OFH, oil on the turbo return line, oil leaks below the exhaust manifold, cannot pinpoint it down but could be coming from anywhere really.

1G water pipe I bought that supposedly was already welded up with water bung deletes, that I got powdercoated, leaks.

I've never had this car leak free, and I cannot drive it even with the tiniest of leaks. All gaskets, seals, bolts everything were brand new, just so defeated and really bummed out.

 

[idkiliketurbos]

Well... feeling pretty defeated.

Oil drip found under the timing cover, oil drip found on the OFH, oil on the turbo return line, oil leaks below the exhaust manifold, cannot pinpoint it down but could be coming from anywhere really.

1G water pipe I bought that supposedly was already welded up with water bung deletes, that I got powdercoated, leaks.

I've never had this car leak free, and I cannot drive it even with the tiniest of leaks. All gaskets, seals, bolts everything were brand new, just so defeated and really bummed out.

Definitely how you plan for a new build to go. I've always had really good luck with the UV dye to detect oil leaks. I had something similar that was incredibly difficult to find and it helped identify that a cam seal was leaking which caused drips to come from multiple areas toward the bottom of the engine.

 

[bettfootball]

Definitely how you plan for a new build to go. I've always had really good luck with the UV dye to detect oil leaks. I had something similar that was incredibly difficult to find and it helped identify that a cam seal was leaking which caused drips to come from multiple areas toward the bottom of the engine.

Yeah I need to pull the timing cover and clean the whole thing down and do the dye kit. REALLY hoping I don't have to pull the timing/front case etc, as that was just put together by a shop.

 

[Justin DuBois]

Well... feeling pretty defeated.

Oil drip found under the timing cover, oil drip found on the OFH, oil on the turbo return line, oil leaks below the exhaust manifold, cannot pinpoint it down but could be coming from anywhere really.

1G water pipe I bought that supposedly was already welded up with water bung deletes, that I got powdercoated, leaks.

I've never had this car leak free, and I cannot drive it even with the tiniest of leaks. All gaskets, seals, bolts everything were brand new, just so defeated and really bummed out.

I feel your pain. Perfecting these cars is a roller coaster of progress and setbacks. A good nights sleep, and a little time will help.

I have something like this going on myself - I just parked it and walked away and started thinking

 

[Dericsh]

Hopefully after you take a deep breath, it’s something that’ll be an easy fix. Keep your head up man! Such a clean car - gonna be worth it!

 

[Dusty Landrum]

Let me know when the part out is...