violetpop

So I have been keeping a low profile during this lock down and being in an lga of concern I haven't done much at all. I buddy of mine in another country purchased a fancy lens for his camera for delivery to my place and the post man did a dodgy and didnt knock and got it sent to the local post. I had to go with my crazy 2 year old so I walk in, take a look behind me and an old boy with a walking frame comes up, I offer him to go ahead. This guy grunts and me with distaste and goes ahead. Respect your elders.

Arms rocked up so made arrangements to get the cradle out today. Stock diff bushes appear to be holding up fine for now so new arms and finally the xr8 hubs with new bearings and finishing off with a wheel alignment. Some minor cutting was needed to the brake backing plates I imagine due to the Territory rear brakes I have fitted. This work has made a surprisingly big difference with the rear end of the car and the way it feels. 1 bush was toast but the rest felt ok maybe on the soft side but now the rear feels much more connected to the car over bumps and in/out of driveways. Well worth the effort and dead silent. In terms of the rear wheel alignment I just aimed for factory spec but played around with the adjusters and managed to get -3.00 degrees camber if anyone was wondering. Toe and go for the front however the front alignment will need some more time spent on it with a shim job to get it spot on. Job for another day.

I think so mate, this kit was far cheaper than anything I could find but I'll have a good look at them when they rock up anyway. I'm really excited to drop the cradle for the third time though...[emoji23]

Ive been chasing a small noise from the car for a while and it has now become obvious enough to identify. The rear upper control arm outer bush has a small amount of movement and was making a noise when slowing down from very low speed. It sounded brake related at first but happy enough to find it. Could be related to kissing the gutter or could be the fact that its probably done 200,000. So I ordered the whole set from ebay and will aim to get the cradle out again and fix it all up. Half tempted to throw some heavy duty diff bushes in it while its out.

Just do it mate dont take any chances. Upgrade the turbo while its out and port your housing then say hello to 350rwkw. Much better than a busted engine.

Pretty bored lately so managed to track down a power steering pump seal kit and pulled apart my old pump. It actually never ran dry and made no noise but just leaked slowly from the big o ring at the rear. Will rebuild and keep for a spare. In other news I tracked down a chunky Fairmont wheel. Condition would be a 7/10 with some minor blemishes but no rips. Feels awesome in your hand when driving the car! Great upgrade.

Just do it and upgrade the core at the same time too. Win win!

Tidy mate [emoji106]

Yep that's how ive routed it. I left that stock valve in place and ran my own metal check valve on the outlet side as well.

Yes to the check valve. The way you've described it is the way I've run mine too and works perfectly. Check valve circled.

Not much to report apart from fitting a new power steering pump. Old one developed a leak from the body of the pump so time to swap it out. Been driving the car most days and apart from being a little grumpy on the cold start it still rips!

Thinking about picking up a spare box and having a go myself, keep down time to a minimum. I got these the other day but you might already be onto this. https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ru6th7nwxh033x/ZF6HP26.pdf?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ikddr3y2o1eonw/ZF6HP26 Diagnostic Guide.pdf?dl=0

Are you building the box yourself mate?

Yeah it was a 5 minute brain snap. Put up eoi post and was treated to some seriously brain dead people. Never again haha

Just a mate I used to work with in the motorbike industry. We all used to ride together but babies, life, cold so took the warm and toasty cars. Weird group hey? I cropped out the skoda too because I know how much you all love them haha

Got out for a drive on the weekend with a good mix of back roads and straights. In the corners the sq5 and rex left me like I was standing still haha that audi especially looked like it was glued to the road with barely a hint of body roll. Its the first time I've really driven the car hard and sure enough 3rd to 4th full throttle gear change slipped between gears and struggled to hang on. Something to plan in the near future maybe. The car has also become a bit of a pain to start with this cold snap.. Not cranking for days but sputters on the first go and starts on the second go. Perhaps a small touch up in the tune can rectify this. This has also made me wonder if I should look at a good set of coilovers and sway bars as I find the oem spec kyb stuff is just wayyy too soft and squishy.

If you are in Bankstown, youve got the 2 United servos in Yagoona. Easy as!

Ended up ordering some BCI steelies in 17x9 +27 as they were the only ones who had stock. Never really liked them with the larger Expensive Daewoo holes but gave them a quick squirt of black and they are mostly covered by the new hub cap. Cable tied on for good measure. First impression I like how they fill out the guards and on the drive to the kebab shop, no grip at all but improving pretty quick. Had no issues disposing of an early c63 so I will scrub them in a little more and see how they go.

Car has been going great. Currently eyeing out some 9 inch wide steelies and have some Federals waiting for me for when that happens. Dynamic have nil stock and no eta on when they will have more so I'm ringing around to see if anyone has anything kicking about. In other news, hub cap theft is on the rise in my area. Seriously though, who knocks off a fricken hub cap? I've got another set of 4 from a Ford Kuga coming and will cable tie them on for extra security haha

Treat yourself to a slurpee from 7-11 mate

Obviously steering weight and just general 'pull up at the lights' is all different but the biggest difference I felt when changing from the tard to my gsxr was when you come barreling into a turn and you're off the gas potentially downshifting 2-3 gears just how much weight you're carrying on a larger bike. The momentum pulling you always got me. A few 'oh sh*t' moments thinking im going to run out of space.. The tard, brake late? no drama.. Brake absolutely fkn sh*t scared folding the front late? No drama. That red thing of yours would sound pretty glorious on song though..

Some more tinkering... Dash rocked up and fitted, horn in, went through the birds nest of wiring behind the headlight to clean up the blinker wiring and fit the stock ones. Pulled out all my luggage to get an idea of what I want to fit to the bike when I start using it. The I turned my attention to the carb.. It was much worse than I thought. Pulled off the drain bolt and some nice green sludge had formed. Rest of the inside of the carb was lined with this stuff. I found over the years the best thing that works for this is foaming upper engine spray, cleans everything right up. So a good clean and back together then back into the bike. Its leaks!!! I checked the float needle and looked in good condition but obviously not good enough. Plan is to track down a needle and seat and try again. I was still able to start the bike and confirm it would start like it used to (basically just look at the starter button and it starts, no choke, mixture screw 2 turns out) Will do more work as the parts come in and if the falcon doesn't break anything haha

Would love it I reckon.. I've got a 3mm drill bit which will do the job nicely.

Dragged out my tarded drz and spent the arvo checking it over and getting an idea of what I need to get it going again. Usual stuff, battery, oil change, air filter clean, spark plug. Might just strip the carb and give it a quick clean considering its sat for a fair while and I also really need to make some sort of a baffle for the muffler as its way too loud and already scored me a date with the epa inspection station once before. One thing I forgot about was the last time I washed the bike the trail tech speedo took in some water and stuffed up the lcd screen so I will have to replace that too. Been nearly 2 years since I've ridden a bike might need training wheels. Some time ago I picked up an mc22 cbr250 front wheel to graft into the bike. This cast wheel needs new spacers turned up and a disc adaptor to use the suzuki rotor. In turn this will allow me to run the 4 piston 40mm axial brembo caliper found on many 90s ducatis. Brakes for days on such a light bike. I've run this similar setup before and it was hands down the best balance between outright braking power and feed back I have ever felt.

Finally had a chance to look at the car.. Turns out it was leaking from the big fuel pump o ring. Why exactly I am still not sure but maybe it just gave up but I'm certain the tank didnt have excess pressure. While it was out I swapped out the Walbro for the Pierburg and fitted it back up with a new o ring. Checked fuel pressure, looked good. I had to drain 20l from the tank by connecting a hose to the hard line from from the where the fuel filter bolts up, bridged the pump relay. Checked the serviceable filter while I had it off. Got the fuel back in which put me over 3/4 and on the road test home all looked good, no leaks but some left over smell which a will let air out and I stink on e85 too. Left the back seat out and I plan to fill the tank full again and a few extra clicks then double check again.