Into the Deep End
#31
Burning Brakes
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Looks like a fun project and agree that mid July is a very aggressive time schedule. Be careful of the 'while you are in there' rabbit hole.
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#32
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Hello All,
Wow, have I been waiting a long time to write this post! I spent several years searching for the elusive 87 Black/Tan 5spd LSD, only to be foiled by MrMerlin (drat!). However, a different vehicle of almost the same caliber recently fell into my lap as well. See: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...7-s4-auto.html
Ok, so it is not quite the same as MrMerlin's car, but I bought it (happily) and am very excited about joining the Sharktank; albeit the deep end.
Fred was correct about cleaning up the engine bay and motor. Yes, it did look a little bit better, but I am still a bit overwhelmed about where to start. My thought was to break the car down into systems: Engine, Fuel, Braking, Steering, Electrical, Body, Suspension, and misc. Please let me know if I missed something. I will then further break down those systems by what I can determine as broken/missing/melted and needing replacement. My initial goal is to just get the car running/stopping under its own power and long term is supercharging.
As Awili6 stated in his FS post, the engine is out of the vehicle and I am going to pull the heads. The folks at IMA motorwerk in Chantilly, VA. said they would take the heads for repair. The guy on the phone at motorwerk also stated, "you're a better man than I" when I told him of my project. Oh well, I am sure there will be plenty of Debbie Downers out there. I don't care. The turtle wins the race. And while the engine is on the stand, OPG, TB, and WB. Top end refresh is obvious.
Now some background: 22 year Active Duty career, recently stationed at the Pentagon, been in the DC area for the last 6 years. Living in on-post housing, so no garage. The car is in a 10x20 storage facility with a single 110 plug in the ceiling. I have a generator from tailgating but will need air at some point. Anyway, wish me luck. Next move is to pull the heads this week and inventory the parts I have. The goal is to journey up to the Hershey swap meet this weekend to try and find what I need for misc. parts. Thanks for reading and Aloha, Rick. Now for some Pics!![Cheers](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/beerchug.gif)
P.s. What do you guys think about the name, "Smoke"? Could work...maybe?????
Wow, have I been waiting a long time to write this post! I spent several years searching for the elusive 87 Black/Tan 5spd LSD, only to be foiled by MrMerlin (drat!). However, a different vehicle of almost the same caliber recently fell into my lap as well. See: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...7-s4-auto.html
Ok, so it is not quite the same as MrMerlin's car, but I bought it (happily) and am very excited about joining the Sharktank; albeit the deep end.
Fred was correct about cleaning up the engine bay and motor. Yes, it did look a little bit better, but I am still a bit overwhelmed about where to start. My thought was to break the car down into systems: Engine, Fuel, Braking, Steering, Electrical, Body, Suspension, and misc. Please let me know if I missed something. I will then further break down those systems by what I can determine as broken/missing/melted and needing replacement. My initial goal is to just get the car running/stopping under its own power and long term is supercharging.
As Awili6 stated in his FS post, the engine is out of the vehicle and I am going to pull the heads. The folks at IMA motorwerk in Chantilly, VA. said they would take the heads for repair. The guy on the phone at motorwerk also stated, "you're a better man than I" when I told him of my project. Oh well, I am sure there will be plenty of Debbie Downers out there. I don't care. The turtle wins the race. And while the engine is on the stand, OPG, TB, and WB. Top end refresh is obvious.
Now some background: 22 year Active Duty career, recently stationed at the Pentagon, been in the DC area for the last 6 years. Living in on-post housing, so no garage. The car is in a 10x20 storage facility with a single 110 plug in the ceiling. I have a generator from tailgating but will need air at some point. Anyway, wish me luck. Next move is to pull the heads this week and inventory the parts I have. The goal is to journey up to the Hershey swap meet this weekend to try and find what I need for misc. parts. Thanks for reading and Aloha, Rick. Now for some Pics!
![Cheers](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/beerchug.gif)
P.s. What do you guys think about the name, "Smoke"? Could work...maybe?????
Good luck.
#33
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Hello gents,
I have meant to write and update for some time now. Much progress has been made on the car, and I am just short of my timeline of having the car dismantled by 1 June. One week of work and one week of the flu prevented me from achieving my goal. Currently, I have dropped the front suspension and am ready to tackle the next part of disassembly.
![Name: Dropping the front suspension.jpg
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This is the passenger side which did not sustain much damage.
![Name: Passenger side suspension.jpg
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One of the things that continued to bother me was the cause of the fire. My thoughts were, "how did it start"? And "what can I do to prevent this from happening in the future"? As I continued to dismantle the car, I think I found the answer.
![Name: The culprit.jpg
Views: 339
Size: 576.0 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171877d1496410555-into-the-deep-end-the-culprit.jpg)
Here you can see the AT fluid lines that continue to the radiator in the front of the car. When I touched one of them, it just crumbled. I was then able to determine from the damage that this is where the fire started.
![Name: Tunnel damage.jpg
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![Name: AT cooler line.jpg
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In talking with the PO and watching a video of the fire department putting the fire out, I was able to determine: The car was at idle, warming up in the driveway and one of the AT lines to the front of the car burst and leaked AT fluid over a hot exhaust which started the fire. The fire then traveled up the trans tunnel and up the fire wall, melting part of the HVAC in the process. The brake master cylinder then melted, which leaked brake fluid down the inside of the engine bay and further escalated the fire.
![Name: Brake fluid fire damage.jpg
Views: 367
Size: 425.4 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171893d1496411880-into-the-deep-end-brake-fluid-fire-damage.jpg)
The fire then ate through one of the grommets over to the inside of the driver's fender and caught the wheel liner on fire, which is why there was a hole melted in the fender, but the rubber on the wheel did not catch on fire.
![Name: Drivers side fire damage.jpg
Views: 333
Size: 332.7 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171894d1496412045-into-the-deep-end-drivers-side-fire-damage.jpg)
Moral of the story, change your AT lines rubber parts.
The heat of the fire also caused damage to the interior of the car (other side of the tunnel).
![Name: Damage from the heat.jpg
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Size: 463.6 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171897d1496412163-into-the-deep-end-damage-from-the-heat.jpg)
I am not sure if the CE panel is toast or not. Had I seen this damage before, I probably would not have bought the car.
Current state: I have now figured out that I have to drop the torque tube to repair the damage to the underside of the car. I also must remove the fuel lines and the one remaining brake line. This has caused me to stop for a minute and take a breath. I am thinking of switching to the motor for a break before I remove the rear suspension, transmission, and torque tube.
Anyway, I much more to write about but off to work now. If anyone wants to come over to help with the rear suspension removal please let me know. I can promise beer/water/pizza or Subway.
Let me know what you guys think.
Rick
I have meant to write and update for some time now. Much progress has been made on the car, and I am just short of my timeline of having the car dismantled by 1 June. One week of work and one week of the flu prevented me from achieving my goal. Currently, I have dropped the front suspension and am ready to tackle the next part of disassembly.
![Name: Dropping the front suspension.jpg
Views: 367
Size: 263.1 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171876d1496410318-into-the-deep-end-dropping-the-front-suspension.jpg)
This is the passenger side which did not sustain much damage.
![Name: Passenger side suspension.jpg
Views: 329
Size: 253.6 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171898d1496412874-into-the-deep-end-passenger-side-suspension.jpg)
One of the things that continued to bother me was the cause of the fire. My thoughts were, "how did it start"? And "what can I do to prevent this from happening in the future"? As I continued to dismantle the car, I think I found the answer.
![Name: The culprit.jpg
Views: 339
Size: 576.0 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171877d1496410555-into-the-deep-end-the-culprit.jpg)
Here you can see the AT fluid lines that continue to the radiator in the front of the car. When I touched one of them, it just crumbled. I was then able to determine from the damage that this is where the fire started.
![Name: Tunnel damage.jpg
Views: 330
Size: 458.8 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171878d1496410749-into-the-deep-end-tunnel-damage.jpg)
![Name: AT cooler line.jpg
Views: 323
Size: 375.6 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171881d1496410866-into-the-deep-end-at-cooler-line.jpg)
In talking with the PO and watching a video of the fire department putting the fire out, I was able to determine: The car was at idle, warming up in the driveway and one of the AT lines to the front of the car burst and leaked AT fluid over a hot exhaust which started the fire. The fire then traveled up the trans tunnel and up the fire wall, melting part of the HVAC in the process. The brake master cylinder then melted, which leaked brake fluid down the inside of the engine bay and further escalated the fire.
![Name: Brake fluid fire damage.jpg
Views: 367
Size: 425.4 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171893d1496411880-into-the-deep-end-brake-fluid-fire-damage.jpg)
The fire then ate through one of the grommets over to the inside of the driver's fender and caught the wheel liner on fire, which is why there was a hole melted in the fender, but the rubber on the wheel did not catch on fire.
![Name: Drivers side fire damage.jpg
Views: 333
Size: 332.7 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171894d1496412045-into-the-deep-end-drivers-side-fire-damage.jpg)
Moral of the story, change your AT lines rubber parts.
The heat of the fire also caused damage to the interior of the car (other side of the tunnel).
![Name: Damage from the heat.jpg
Views: 351
Size: 463.6 KB](https://rennlist.com/forums/attachments/928-forum/1171897d1496412163-into-the-deep-end-damage-from-the-heat.jpg)
I am not sure if the CE panel is toast or not. Had I seen this damage before, I probably would not have bought the car.
Current state: I have now figured out that I have to drop the torque tube to repair the damage to the underside of the car. I also must remove the fuel lines and the one remaining brake line. This has caused me to stop for a minute and take a breath. I am thinking of switching to the motor for a break before I remove the rear suspension, transmission, and torque tube.
Anyway, I much more to write about but off to work now. If anyone wants to come over to help with the rear suspension removal please let me know. I can promise beer/water/pizza or Subway.
Let me know what you guys think.
Rick
#34
Vegas, Baby!
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I don't name my cars usually. My Pantera was named by my victims when I used to street race it, FWIW.
IMO, you should name this one, " FRIED!" Cause that's what it is, it's fried! Wow, what a lot of work! Hope it turns out great and all the time and money is worth it!
IMO, you should name this one, " FRIED!" Cause that's what it is, it's fried! Wow, what a lot of work! Hope it turns out great and all the time and money is worth it!
#35
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I think that in it's present state I would remove and replace the brake booster since it was subject to the same heat as the brake master. There is no better time to replace than now while the engine is out.
It would be a shame to get everything back together to then find the booster was defective.
It would be a shame to get everything back together to then find the booster was defective.
#36
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I think that in it's present state I would remove and replace the brake booster since it was subject to the same heat as the brake master. There is no better time to replace than now while the engine is out.
It would be a shame to get everything back together to then find the booster was defective.
It would be a shame to get everything back together to then find the booster was defective.
I think I am going to go with the OEM undercoat. That stuff has already demonstrated it resistance to fire and a company called Wurth makes pretty good stuff. I am just taking a pause before the rear trans/suspension gets dropped. Actually, I am thinking of a little bit of engine work may be in order as a diversion. I plan to order the under coat this week and get back after it .
Rick