Jon951

Turbo is Garrett GT3582R. As requested, here are a few more engine bay pictures.



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V2Rocket

bet that hurt the ol' pocketbook.
but you got 33 years out of the original one so it's a long-term investment...

V2Rocket

those're some meaty IC pipes.
looks great.

jderimig

I pulled the radiator. Threads were not stripped after all. There was a crack in the face starting at the hole and going out about 1/2".

There must be a small taper in threads because it opened more as I tightened the thermofan switch. Solves the mystery why it leaked more as it was tightened more.

Perhaps a thin laminating epoxy would fill that crack but I am guessing 34 year old plastic is pretty brittle.

Otto Mechanic

Located the correct positions for 951.341.108.02 (Heat Shield) and 477.813.285 (Transverse Strut) and got them installed.

I'm down to the exhaust system installation, literally hours away from turning the key. Going through the box of remaining parts to install and trying to remember where they came from two years ago... I was surprised there wasn't a number on the transverse strut. It only took me about half an hour to locate it in the PET though, which was good.

Tomorrow I'll be working on figuring out how to lift the exhaust assembly into position by myself. Should be entertaining, hopefully I won't drop anything on any important body parts.

PaulD_944S2

Scott, if you have a Harbor Freight in your area, they sell a transmission jack for about $60 that is useful for a lot more than just transmissions. You could use it to lift and hold your exhaust system while you work on one end.

Otto Mechanic

You know what Paul? I actually have one of those sitting right next to the lift. I imagine I'd have gotten around to thinking about it eventually, probably after dropping the muffler on my foot once or twice

I know I got the thing off by myself, I just can't quite remember how I did it. Like the Russian guy says in the movie "Fool's Gold", "It will come to you..."

Otto Mechanic

It's kind of a weird feeling; I'm actually running out of parts to re-install. Sort of scary.

V2Rocket

...not as bad as having stuff left over when you're done...

Otto Mechanic

Yep, I've been working very hard to avoid that. I do have extra parts, a clutch slave, rear main seal, throwout bearing, a couple of bleed screw caps, but they're all overstock.

So far I'm on track for not leaving anything out...

curtisr

"We're not worthy!"

Otto Mechanic

Well, today was the big day. I pretty much finished "phase 1" of my Firehawk Tribute. The exhaust was the last thing to go in and it didn't cause nearly as much trouble as I expected. I ended up dropping the car, sliding the exhaust in and setting the front of it on a steel jack tray that slides in the lift, then set the rear on the rolling jack. I put a regular old hydraulic jack stand in the front tray under the exhaust manifold and jacked it into "near position, then raised the muffler with the rolling jack and viola! Everything lined up.

I engaged the two rubber mounts at the rear, then moved up front to engage the front rubber mount just forward of the cat. At that point the entire exhaust was secured to the car and nothing had fallen on my head

I do have a serious question though: My car only has three "isolated" rubber mounts, two aft of the muffler in the rear and the other just forward of the cat in front. When I look at the PET and at Clark's, I see there should be one more forward isolated mount just aft of the cat, but it's not on my car. See the first photo; there's no hangar after the cat.

The second photo just shows the 6 8x35 bolts I used to attach the exhaust to the header. They're listed as 8x37, but it looks to me like there's plenty of thread.

Anyone else have a '89 or later exhaust that can confirm there are only three isolated mounts on this car? I can't see how I could have missed it, it should be bolted to the exhaust. I did change out the torque tube so I have a large collection of those "U" hangars that connect the exhaust to the torque tube, and lots of used rubber mounts, but I figure those are just extra parts.

The missing piece is the hangar just aft of the cat, I've attached the PET drawing and some pictures of my exhaust. It's part #9 in the drawing (and the associated hardware) That isn't on my exhaust. If anyone can confirm I'm OK with this install I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Scott.

V2Rocket

earlier cars had a 4th hanger, iirc it goes right where your S2 resonator is..

Otto Mechanic

Thanks Spencer, that's consistent with none of the PET drawings showing a resonator.

odonnell

Started getting terrible noises from the front end. Inner tie rods appear to be the culprit. Clunks in the steering and weird squeaking sometimes near center. It's always something...