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(Not*) Mediocre 242

Oh ****! I did that on a 1.8t once. **** sucks

Lol. It definitely could be worse. It only took like an hour to pull the intake and exhaust stuff. Just gotta pull the timing belt now and it'll be quick.

Damn! Did you put it on upside down or something?

No idea. I think I put it on backward (front to back), but I'll check and post a pic when I pull the head.
 
The new head gasket showed up on Tuesday and a package from Ben came a bit earlier. My wife and baby are also out of town this week, so I made some good progress.

Engine is all together and full of coolant. I need to fill it with oil and do my first start. I'll do that this weekend and probably start the break in process. I did put the head gasket on backward the first time. This time I was a bit more careful. I added a breather to the mechanical fuel pump port on the block and re routed some of my catch can lines as well. I think I should probably redo my hot side intercooler piping. It works the way it is, but it's not ideal. Oh well, something to do in the future.

The front suspension is also all assembled. I had Ben modify my roll center correctors for ackerman and I set it to 5 degrees. I installed new tie rods that I shortened because I have been making due with stock length ones for too long. The coilovers are RSones with 12" 350 lb/in springs using ABS spindles, so my wheel speed sensor setup much nicer now. I also added luxe steer. Installing the suspension was easy enough, but I ran into the same problem Hackster did with the wheel bearings not fitting. I had to sand the spindle coating off. Annoying, but not a huge deal and I understand why it was like that.

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Looking so good. Best 8v in the country?

Not even close.

So I finished everything and did the first step of my break in procedure. I ran it up to operating temp while varying the throttle constantly and then inspecting for leaks. I found no leaks. However, the car would not run without significant throttle. I'm pretty my crank timing is wrong and I may have an idle valve issue.

I really don't enjoy setting up the DSM CAS. It always takes me a couple hours to get it timed properly. Anyone have any good tips on how to get it right the first time? Right now it's "running" on a 0 degree trigger offset and the window is as gross polluter shows in the DSM setup thread. 0 degree offset is not ideal; it's supposed to be something between 90 and 120 degrees. Before I pulled the engine, I was using a 430 degree offset. I tried to align the trigger wheel in the same place as before, but it wasn't working.

I'm done for today. It was something like 100 degrees F. I'll have to mess with it tomorrow or something after I change the oil.
 
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Looking so good. Best 8v in the country?

At the rate the redblocks are being scrapped for LS conversions, he's climbing the list quickly!

Enjoying the progress..... don't lose faith in the banger. They can be a bit temperamental when they are high output configured. I've forgotten what EMS you have in this car, is it MS3Pro or other? Looking forward to some performance data from your upgrades.
 
I'm still pretty attached to this engine. I like that it's a more unique way of making power. I'll only swap to a 2JZ if I do some catastrophic damage to the engine. I'm not really interested in an LS.

It's MS3Pro.
 
I adjusted the CAS today and got it idling pretty easy. Tooth #1 angle is 100 degrees, which is what they recommend in the megasquirt manual. Tomorrow, I'll go out with my tuning buddy and do some engine braking to break the engine in.
 
I like this thing because of redblock, black color and that front end. Gonna be perfect when you get those later model bumpers on! You are doing awesome, keep on going!
 
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I spent some time breaking in the engine tonight. About 20 minutes of driving to 3500-4500 rpm and then engine braking all the way back down with no boost. After the first 20 minutes, I did the same thing with 5 psi of boost. No one flashed their lights or honked at me, so I think I came out ok. Engine is starting to sound a bit better and pull some more vacuum. I think more boost will definitely help seat those rings. I've got to do another oil change and get an alignment, then I'll take it out again. I wish I could say something about how the JRZs felt, but the alignment is so bad that it was all I could do to keep it going straight. There was also some clicking sound that is probably the brake dust shield rubbing on the disk.

I did notice my oil getting a bit hotter (~105 C) than usual (95-100 C) so I'll keep my eye on that. I also noticed some oil seeping out of the oil fill cap, but I'm not going to worry about that until the rings are fully seated. Other than that, it felt pretty good to be driving it again.
 
I got an alignment and went out to break in the motor more and do some tuning. The motor is feeling pretty strong. I need to fix a boost scaling issue in megasquirt, and then I can up it to 30 psi.

The JRZs feel great. I can't believe how different they are than my old Bilstein setup. Utah uses concrete slabs on the freeway and I would feel every seam. With the JRZs, it's actually smooth. I have them adjusted all the way soft and they give plenty of compliance, but still keep the car planted and tight. They're some of the best money I've spent on the car. I really need to do something about the back though. If I go over a bump, I can feel the difference. Front goes over smooth and nice, and the rear follows and crashes over.

I found a few more things to fix, like a tiny exhaust leak in a weld and oil leaking out of the fill cap, but things are going well. It feels great to drive the car again.
 
When I upgraded to the EFR, I modified my old intercooler piping to fit. It wasn't perfect, and has been bugging me so I made a new one for better fitment and to remove the bypass valve port. It fits much better, and I'm happy with it.

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I also swapped brake pads. I had some Hawk 5.0, and they made an unbearable squeaking every stop. Easily the worst sounding pads I've ever heard. So I put in some Porterfield pads. We'll see if they're any good. Either way, upgrading to 17z brakes up front is on my short list of things to do. RX7 brakes really aren't doing it for me.

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