My very first project car

[Grd1043]

This is the Build Thread for My very first project car. Reply below.

 

[Grd1043]

Finally was able to make room for her in the garage and get her out of the snow. See you in the spring!

 

[Grd1043]

Going to get it inspected and find out everything that needs to be fixed with it next week but here's my list so far of things to look into:

- Hood not properly secured on left side Done!
- Rear passenger tire leaks (Replace wheels+tires) Done!
- Air intake / air box replacement Done!
- Turbo manifold might be leaking, needs new gasket? Done!
- Driveshaft carrier bearings may need replacing Done!
- Parking brake cable is broken Done!
- Small power steering leak at the high pressure line fitting Done!
- Windshield wipers are slow / lethargic
- Side reflectors missing? Or they might just be covered over with paint (needed to pass safety) Done!
- Hood prop rod doesn't work well Not an issue
- Battery is loose / tie down strap missing Done!
- Oil dipstick is missing the hold-down spring Not an issue
- There's a faint rotten-eggs / natural gas leak smell coming from the rear. Doesn't smell like gasoline but I'm assuming it must be fuel related? Not an issue
- Whining noise coming from rear when car is running. Fuel pump? Not an issue
- Many wheel studs thread damaged / chewed up, replace all 20 of them Done!
- Front wheel hubs/bearings rebuild Done!
- Power steering rack replacement Done!
- Control arms, sway bar end links front+rear, and bushings Done!
- Turbo oil drain line leaking / replacement Done!
- Replace front calipers to address LF seized/dragging brakes Done!

Still to do:

- Cracks in turbo exhaust inlet?
- Driver side engine mount bushing deteriorated?
- Seatbelt doesn't retract easily
- Inside rear wheel skipping/hopping during tight turns
- Unusual amount of "rolling resistance", not sure if normal or not

Other maintenance to do in the near future:

- Oil change
- Check and change fluids: coolant, brake fluid, power steering, transmission, transfer case, rear diff Done!
- Spark plugs
- Timing belt? It looks good but don't know when it was done
- Balance shaft belt?

 

[pauleyman]

Dipstick doesn't come with a spring. That something people add sometimes.

 

[DarkStalker]

Don't forget the rear dif.

 

[Grd1043]

Well, right away I ran into my first newbie snag. I'm getting conflicting info when I try and find the right oil filter.

The one I pulled off was a Napa Gold 1381: https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/NGF1381
The replacement one I bought and that the store and all the websites I can find say is the right one is a K&N HP-1008: https://www.knfilters.com/hp-1008-oil-filter

But the Napa 1381 filter is way larger. The K&N is really small and doesn't cover the entire smooth face of the flange. NAPA's website says the 1381 is for the 1990-1993 Eagle Talon, not the 1994, meanwhile K&N's website says the HP-1008 supports "1994 Eagle Talon 2.0L L4 Gas All Models".

From what I can read on the forums, people talk about the "larger filter" being for 1g engines and the smaller one is for 2g? I surely have a 1G engine, so I'm assuming I want to use the larger filter even though it's not the one that the websites say is compatible?

On Rock Auto, it looks like something changes in April 1992 and the oil filters all go from being the large ones to the small ones. I can see them both listed in the 1992 model year with notes saying "From 4/92" and "To 4/92" https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...4+turbocharged,1103094,engine,oil+filter,5340

My car is definitely after 1992. So maybe I'm over-complicating it. But that flange just doesn't look right with the small filter on it.

Napa filter: , No filter:, K&N filter:

 

[Moonlight GSX]

Remember, that was the same year they made the switch between 6 and 7-bolt variants. This might be why you are experiencing the small snag. To be fair, you're doing it right by making sure the maintenance is done first then making it a project. Welcome to the DSM world.

 

[Grd1043]

Remember, that was the same year they made the switch between 6 and 7-bolt variants. This might be why you are experiencing the small snag. To be fair, you're doing it right by making sure the maintenance is done first then making it a project. Welcome to the DSM world.

Hah yeah I figure I should at least have the basics down before I start messing with it. Mine is the 7 bolt. Soo does that mean... big filter?

 

[pauleyman]

They all have the same threads. If it fits, clears the downpipe etc you can use it. My 93 spec was a little filter. I never used it. I put the big ones on.
Parts stores argued with me so much I just started telling them I had a 90 instead of a 93.

 

[Moonlight GSX]

At least with the bigger filter you have a bit more cleaning and overall oil capacity. I second the notion for a bigger filter.

 

[Grd1043]

Bigger filter it is! Thank you guys! @pauley I feel you, I've been asked "Who makes the Eagle?" a hilarious number of times now.

 

[Grd1043]

The time has come! After a whole winter of just researching and dreaming, I finally got the car registered and a temp permit and got it down to my friend's garage where we will be doing the work. We found a few more issues, discovered some issues I thought were issues actually were no problem. I'll keep it all at the top of the build thread as I work through the stuff.

Okay so - fluids! Here's what I'm putting in (and hoping this is all correct):

OIL: 4L 10W30 Conventional
OIL FILTER: Wix 51381
Coolant: ~7.2L 50/50 mix Ethlene Glycol (Low Silicate, IAT) universal coolant, e.g. Turbo Power Universal Concentrated Anti-Freeze
Transmission: ~2.3L Redline MT-85 (75W-85) GL-4
Transfer Case: ~0.6L Redline MT-85 (75W-85) GL-4
Rear Diff: ~1.1L ? Redline 75W-90 GL-5
Power Steering Fluid: ~0.9L ATF Dexron or Dexron II. e.g. Redline ATF D4
Brake Fluid: DOT3

It seems like there are two different transmissions that my car can come with - W5M33 and F5M33. I don't know how to tell which one I have but it doesn't seem to change any of the recommendations on Red Line's website for fluids so I'm hoping that at least for what I'm doing it won't matter.

 

[Grd1043]

Oh man alright, where to even begin. Turns out changing the fluids was the least of my concerns!

Rebuilding the Driveshaft
I took the driveshaft off and got the carrier bearings replaced at Lindsay Driveline with a couple new ones (CBM01-NTN) from DriveshaftParts.com They did an awesome job and it fixed the thumping/vibrating. Was quite proud of myself for taking a driveshaft off a car for the first time . It went back on no problem. My confidence was high at this point! But I had no idea what else was in store for me...

Power Steering Leak
Next step was the leak on the power steering high pressure line. It turns out - there's are no copper crush washers. It's an O-Ring seal! (Part #15 on this diagram at Charm.li). They were falling apart into powder. I couldn't find just the o-rings, but I bought this Sunsong power steering seal kit that had the o-rings which did the trick.

Power Steering Rack Replacement
Then the bad news - turns out the power steering rack is shot. You can feel it skipping a tooth or something when you shake the wheels. I thought the steering was a little squirrley when I dove it which I thought was the control arms, but when we wiggled the wheel you could feel it slipping a tooth or something and there was a lot of play in the steering rack. Crap.

So that meant removing the exhaust, driveshaft, transfer case, and a couple of subframe crossmembers to get the damn thing out. Thank god for this guy cause his video was super helpful . I even managed to not drop the transfer case off the jack, . I got a remanufactured powersteering rack from Rock Auto for a couple hundred bucks and we got it installed. Trying to get those lines connected/disconnected was a pain in the butt, and my coat is now totally soaked in ATF from lying under the car disconnecting the lines, but we got it done!

Cutting off the control Arms
While I was in there, we found out the control arms are totally shot. The ball joints were torn, the bushings were falling apart. We tried to take the control arms off - I wanted to put poly bushings on them - but it was no good the main bolt was completely seized in the bushing and there was no way to get it off. Part #8 on Charm.li. We had to sawzall it off. I managed to save the control arms themselves and just cut the bolt, and I got really lucky that the guy who runs www.rtmracing.com reached out on Facebook and said he had a replacement M10 x 1.25 x 135 control arm bolt. So I drove all the way down to Grimsby to pick it up along with a Turbo Oil Return Line (mine was leaking). Super nice guy. Really sad to hear they're winding down.

Where were we? Oh yeah, two new control arms from Rock Auto, and a good coat of paint on the brackets later and we're back in business. I heard people saying the Dorman control arms aren't that great elsewhere on the forums here, but they fit alright for me and it's all I can find available so good enough I suppose.

The case of the missing parking brake
So now I turn my attention to the rear end of the car. The parking brake is snapped on the driver side. I managed to get a Dorman C94560 for the left side and got it installed. No problem! The right side though? Literally doesn't exist on planet earth anymore. I ordered a Raybestos BC95931 from Rock Auto and the part that arrived was completely wrong - wrong shaped ends, wrong barrel, it the right length, but this parking brake was for a totally different car. Rock Auto shipped me another one - exact same problem. So Rock Auto refunded me and cancelled the order. I tried to get my hands on a Dorman C660448 for the right side - it is out of stock. Tried to order one from Capital Auto Parts - they cancelled the order, out of stock. Tried to order one from this place in Montreal on eBay -they cancelled the order, out of stock. Can't find this thing anywhere. I ended up putting the original parking brake back on the car.

After all that, the parking brake works now - but only on the left side. The parking brake actuator on the right side caliper is totally seized up and won't turn. But it doesn't matter for now, when I pull the brake it squeezes the left hard enough that I think it'll pass a safety.

So if anyone wants 2x defective Raybestos BC95931, hit me up, .

Wheel hubs woes
Alright, enough with the rear end, lets get the front finished up. The threads on many of the wheel studs on my car were pretty chewed up and it made it a pain to get the wheels on, so I figured this is a great opportunity to replace them all.

I banged out the rear wheel studs and managed to get some new ones zipped on with the help of a little wheel stud installation tool from Amazon. After a bit of fussing around with some washers and spacers to get things figure out, I eventually got the process dialed in and they zipped on great!

The fronts should be easy too, right? No way. The fronts have this ring around the back of the hub that I think is the wheel speed sensor for the ABS. That hub completely blocks my access to the studs. Tried to take the bolts off to remove that ring - and they snapped. I also found out the wheel bearings have play in them and they need to be rebuilt. But that involves pressing out the bearings. See this guy's video - there's no way I can do that. I don't have those kind of tools or ability to do the shenanigans these guys did in this video to pull out the bearing and press a new one in.

I caved. Found a shop that was able to do it. I don't have the wheel hubs back yet, but the shop says they were able to clean them up, sand blast the rust off, press in the new bearing + seals and wheel studs. I'll get them back next week, and fingers crossed everything is okay!

What's next?

When I get the wheel hubs back from the shop next week, hopefully then I can install the wheel hubs reinstalled, finish installing the control arms, put the transfer case back on, driveshaft back on, and exhaust. Then I can put the center console back together. And if I'm lucky I won't forget to *finally* change the fluid in the transfer case, rear diff and transmission and give her another oil change.

Then I can re-assess what else she needs to pass a safety.

What a wild ride this last 3-4 weeks have been! I should really take some more photos...

 

[19Eclipse90]

It seems like there are two different transmissions that my car can come with - W5M33 and F5M33. I don't know how to tell which one I have but it doesn't seem to change any of the recommendations on Red Line's website for fluids so I'm hoping that at least for what I'm doing it won't matter.

W5M33 is the AWD manual transmission.
F5M33 is the FWD manual transmission that was used for those FWD turbo cars.

Nice progress so far!

 

[DreamChaser7]

Agree nice progress and great detailed write up with references. Believe it or not that helps a lot of people the more info that is out there for these things now. Keep at it and “put some cheese on it!”

 

[Grd1043]

Hey guys, so I have some more updates!

I got the wheel hubs back from the shop, they got the bearings and everything pressed in, and we got them installed back on the car no problem. Control arms back on, exhaust and transfer case back on, driveshaft back on. Got it all put back together and finally fired her up!

She seems to be running okay. I took it for a quick spin around the block. The handling is much much better now!

But, after a few minutes of fairly gentle driving I was smelling a bit of a "burning clutch" or "burning brakes" smell, so we brought it back in to look. Popped the hood, and it was bloody HOOOT in there. The exhaust manifold was super hot, really smelled toasty under the hood. My friend burned his hand on the hood prop rod, . Nothing melted or obviously damaged, just WAY hotter than I expected for such a short drive.

Is it... supposed to be that hot? Coolant temp gauge was reading normal and I only drove it up and down the street for like 5 minutes. I did a couple little pulls from 30km/h -> 60km/h, and then came home. I can only imagine that stuff would melt if I were to try and push it.

I might try and get a temperature reading with an infrared thermometer or something, but what kind of temperatures would be considered "normal"?

Well in any case, she's running! Just gotta get these last few bugs ironed out and I'll hopefully be able to get it safetied soon!

 

[92AWDHX40]

Hmm keep us updated

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Is it... supposed to be that hot? Coolant temp gauge was reading normal and I only drove it up and down the street for like 5 minutes. I did a couple little pulls from 30km/h -> 60km/h, and then came home. I can only imagine that stuff would melt if I were to try and push it.

I might try and get a temperature reading with an infrared thermometer or something, but what kind of temperatures would be considered "normal"?

I think normal is like 185-215.(SOmeone feel free to correct me if im wrong) Mine hovers around 190's -215 depending on fans running and outside temps, front mount blocking air to radiator, etc. You got a cheap obdII scanner? I think my old one that I used before I logged everything in ecmlink use to read coolant temps if id run the "live data" option. Check that your fans are kicking on when youre up to operating temperature and if you dont know the age of your radiator cap, thats usually a cheap fix. I use to see only slightly high fluctuations of temperatures when sitting at a light until someone informed me that that t all i needed.

 

[Grd1043]

Hey all, thanks you guys for commenting and helping put me in the right direction for this stuff.

So it turns out, the heat from the exhaust manifold I was worried about was just me being stupid. I drove the car and pushed it a hell of a lot more today, and the heat doesn't seem to be an issue. It's just so much more than I'm used to since I've never owned a turbocharged car before.

But... that "toasty burning smell" I was smelling? That's my front left caliper. It's dragging I guess? And it is cooking the caliper, rotor and the whole rim. I tried cleaning the calipers and pushing the pistons in and out a bit, and everything "seems" fine and moves freely, but after I drive for an hour or so on the highway and check the wheel, the one front-left wheel, caliper, and rotor are very hot to the touch, much more so than the other wheels. The red caliper paint is all faded and burned off, that probably should have been a giveaway, . Something to figure out soon I guess. If I have to replace the caliper... maybe this is a good time to do a 'big brake' upgrade kit? But I don't really know what to get.

Next weird mystery.... when I make tight turns in the parking lot, my inside rear wheel is "skipping" or "hopping", it's as if it's being forced to rotate more than it's supposed to and the diff isn't doing it's job. It's pretty noticeable, even when I'm just like parallel parking. My car has the limited slip diff. I don't recall this happening before, but I did just recently change the fluid, put different tires on, and changed the power steering rack and my alignment on the front is basically just me eyeballing it, so pretty bad. So I dunno maybe this will go away after I get my alignment? I'm not really sure what's going on here and I do really hope I haven't done something to mess up my transfer case or my diff.

In any case, Monday is the day! Wish me luck. Once I get past the safety I can finally get the thing registered properly and start doing whatever I want to the car.

I'm getting an alignment and safety at the same time. So I'm working furiously this weekend to get the last of the odds and ends tidied up so it's ready and hopefully will pass. My coilovers from BC Racing finally came in! Also my racing wheels + tires I had previously from my Mazda 3 (Nankang NS-2R and Fast FC04 rims) look like they are going to fit on the car! So going to try and get those installed this weekend. It'd be nice to get the alignment done with the new coilovers already installed.

 

[Grd1043]

She passed the safety!! Alignment done. Coilovers installed.

What a difference the alignment made! After I put the coilovers on the car felt really bad to drive and I was worried, but I was out of time so I just had to send it for it's safety. I guess that's my fault when one wheel is toed in like 5 degrees it'll do that to you, haha. I was just surprised how much difference it made not just to the steering feel but how the engine responds and the brakes, and the clutch feel and everything. But, now after the alignment the steering isn't squirrley anymore, the steering wheel feel isn't so hard / springy, the car just feels just like... normal again. What a relief.

I got two new calipers for a 1994 Mitshubishi 3000GT 3.0L V6 (Raybestos FRC10227 and FRC10228). They look identical to the old calipers in every way that I can tell and bolted right on. These things are so beefy compared to what I'm used to on my Mazda 3 it's awesome. That Dorman C660448 right rear parking brake cable I had such a hard time finding also came back in stock inexplicably so I picked that up too. I guess at point I'll need to figure out how to repair the seized up parking brake situation on the rear calipers, but it's really nice to have the fronts all good again.

Will see how it feels this weekend when I finally get a chance to take it for a real cruise!

 

[92AWDHX40]

Looks good man following the build.

 

[SixBolt_16G]

She passed the safety!! Alignment done. Coilovers installed.

Let us all take the time to celebrate another DSM on the road... legally
Congrats!

 

[Grd1043]

Hey so, this is probably a stupid question but could anyone help me confirm what turbo I have? Mine has markings that say "TD05H", "49168-01 03 0", and "78-11020". I've been assuming I have the "14b" stock turbo this whole time, but I don't actually know for sure.

Also... are these cracks inside the turbo where the exhaust manifold bolts up to it something I need to be concerned about?

I'm actually looking into the exhaust for the car at this point, but we discovered that my O2 sensor seems to 'bottom out' in the elbow and can't be tightened fully, so I'm assuming it's not the stock O2 sensor. If I'm doing the exhaust and I want to have an AFR gauge / wideband O2 sensor / etc. I think I need to replace the elbow + downpipe so the exhaust can be made to properly bolt up to it?

I'm not sure if I should be continuing to invest in parts that will bolt on to this turbo if this turbo is looking like it's days are numbered, so I sort of figured that steep 1 is to at least confirm what exactly I have.

 

[pauleyman]

Turbo info

show us the o2. You could just have bad threads. Turbine housing you have is toast. Look for cracks around the wastegate. Probably as bad or worse.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Double check that link, Paul.

Yes, that is a 14b.