Smokeygsi

And on...

Smokeygsi

So, its been a while since i updated this.. done a few bits recently..

First off was a common Soarer issue. The wiring loom for the front end lighting runs in a plastic conduit underneath the drivers side chassis leg. Low Soarers tend to rub into and through the wiring. I thought mine wasnt low enough to do this... apparently i was wrong.. the give away being the dipped beam flickering on and off with the lights switched off! lol

The damage



So i tore that all apart, cut the loom, extended it to run above the chassis leg



Rewrapped and secured above the chassis leg, out of harms way




Following on from that i replaced the blown LED sidelight bulbs with some normal bulbs from an A8 - purely as they give a slightly whiter light than a standard bulb. The took a machine polisher to them (spot the boo boo )

Before



After



I have also obtained a second bixenon projector, so i can slowly get to modifying and fitting the lights

Left - Standard A3 Bixenon Center - Standard Soarer halogen projector Right - Hybid bixenon to fit into Soarer lamp




Lastly, and probably most importantly i have finally fitted my Super Advans! But only the fronts for now.. im not happy with the tyres for the rear and i dont want to got for a thinner tyre (would be 255 on a 9j and would need a 235 probably)

So, rocking my 225/40/18 Pradas on the 9J advans with 25mm hubcentric spacers - fit looks good, just had to bin the arch liners and bend the tabs so they dont scrub

Spacers



And onto the car with the wheels







Next up, most likely in the spring is an exhaust and sorting out something for the rear wheels

:thumbs:

Smokeygsi

So, yesterday i had a little bit of a mishap... drove into an industrial estate in Harrow yesterday, not paying huge amounts of attention to be greeted by a fricking huge bang and the car stopping violently... after the panic subsided and i saw the engine was still running, i realised the exhaust sounded a little on the loud side... ok, so loud doesnt quite describe the noise. War may better describe it better. Jumped out the car and took a look underneath to see literally the entire exhaust system on the floor, just held on by the rear silencer rubbers.
Somehow i had managed to drive over the gate stopper and rip the exhaust off just after the turbos. Thankfully a friends garage was on the industrial estate, so managed to get the car in the air and remove the system.

Next issue was getting the car back to work in Watford. There was only really one option. Drive. How i didnt get pulled over is beyond me, drove past one police car and was followed for about a mile by a police van.. anyway, got the car back to work, and made some calls. Replacement exhaust system, 3 inches from turbos sourced from Garage D. And because i cant be arsed to deal with it i have asked them to fit it too.. should be back on the road friday!

Moral of the story.. the cars low.. dont drive over stuff :lol:





[Edited on 13-11-2013 by Mattb]

Smokeygsi

Well picked it up today.. turned out to be a little more work than anticipated. First up a bit of miscommunication, they didnt realise i needed a new downpipe, and thought it would be a 20 min bolt up job and done. Thankfully they had a used downpipe laying around which the kindly fitted for me. Next up was the bracket on the gearbox that attached to the exhaust.. mine was ripped off, so they fabricated a new one for me to suit the new system.

Overall im very happy. the tail pipe is a little excessive, but the tone and volume are spot on. very quiet at idle and general cruising, and a decent noise on boost. Just need to reset my boost controller now at it hit the fuel cut when i floored it on the way back to work..

My instagram pics from today...

Smokeygsi

So my run of bad luck seems to be continuing. Out of absolutely no where my power steering pump has developed a horrible noise, almost like it has no fluid in it. Checked the level, all ok, but i have noticed that there is loads of air in the fluid, im hoping that a seal has popped somewhere on the feed side drawing air into the system.. if not it may be time to rebuild the PAS pump. bad times

So, its been an emotional week.. work has been a nightmare and quite frankly i am glad i have cleared all the crap i had. Secondly, after a bit of a stressful day the Soarer is finally home and fixed!!
So i rebuilt the power steering pump on thursday during my lunch break and threw it back on thursday eve after work. A very simple job if i am going to be honest. The shaft bearing seemed to be in good order, so didnt replace it. All the seals however were definately past their best. However i went to refill the PAS system with ATF only for the car to do its best exorcist impression and spurt all the ATF out the resevoir! So i left it at that thursday and pinched a car from work to get home.
That bring us to today. I double checked to see it fluid was getting to the rack, it was, fluid coming out of the rack... check. But still the same issue with the system not bleeding. I came to the conclusion that i had somehow damaged something in the steering rack after beating the bracket for the under tray back into shape, perhaps the vibrations through the subframe had some effect? (the PAS fault developed immediately after)
So again a trip to Garage D round the corner to pick up a steering rack. So £80 lighter and 20 mins later i was back at work, set about replacing the rack and swapping over the superpro rack bushes.
Again started the car up... only to have ATF spew everywhere again! Now i was certain it was a bleeding issue and took to bleeding the system a different way...
I removed the return pipe off the resevoir and blocked the opening on the resevoir to stop it leaking. Then filled the resevoir to the brim and using a fluid evacuator connected to the return pipe drew fluid through the system topping up as i went. Refitted the pipe and closed the resevoir.
Hey presto job done working none noisy PAS

I have a few pictures, but the arern't very intersting..

Smokeygsi

So all my crap arrived during the week... very exciting

First up was the whiteline 30mm Front anti roll bar, just need to sort some bushes for it





Also been a little homo an bought a nice purple tow strap



Bought some Federal 595 RSR for the rear - not sure how much of a good idea that was midway through winter



and wrapped some stuff in camo vinyl - the fuel flap was green to begin with anyway..





and the center coins for the super advans



Then had the joy of fitting the super advans to the rear (finally!) arches need some work after fitting 25mm spacers too, but i am happy








Rear brakes are up next, along with fitting the whiteline roll bar, four wheel alignment and suspension fiddling. Probably a service too

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

Nice update, car looks good man, Its gonna look even better when its summer and clean all the time, I hate road salt...

Smokeygsi

It sucks, theres no point cleaning it this time of year, 5 mins down the road its filthy again!!

Smokeygsi

Started to sort out my rear brakes, decided another easy bolt on conversion was the way forwards. Sourced a pair of Supra twin turbo rear calipers to match my fronts. Went used this time, but i think it would have been easier and not too much more expensive to go new :|

Some rather 'used' calipers



Had a few issues with these. A common issue that i wasn't aware of is that the pad retaining pins seize in the calipers, and these were stuck good and hard! i couldnt even press the things out! ended up taking them down the road and let garage D sort it!
Secondly the seals were split, so ordered a new set from Toyota



So I did some searching and everyone on the Supra owners forum says the same thing with regards the pins.. get stainless! Ordered a full set including some for the front which i am waiting for. While i cant fit the brakes, i though i may aswell paint the calipers and replace the seals..
Gave them a good run down, degrease and some paint










Colours alot lighter than i expected, but i quite like it. May do the fronts at some point to match. Happy with the finish, considering its from a can

Will update when the rest of the bits arrive and i fit them

LatitudeNZ

Great write up so far.
Really loving those tris also.

Keep doing what your doing!

wth98sc

i love the lack of a grill :/ looks so much more rugged w.o

Sc400NL

great car , your lowering setup is just what i'm looking for , exactly the right height for me , also the superpro bushing are a blessing , now i can order them in europe , although they have 47mm and 50 mm steering rack bushings , i need to figure out what i need

keep posting !

Smokeygsi

Thanks for the kind words guys!!

Smokeygsi

Yesterday, in a little bit of a rush i managed to fit the rear brakes.

not too exciting, and i havent even driven the car properly yet since doing it!

some old vs new discs.. now running larger brakes on the rear again! lol



cut up the backing plate to accomodate the larger discs and twin piston calipers



and all together





need to wash the poor girl!

lilSCsteve

iTrader: (71)

Simply, yet very well thought out upgrades! There's nothing like a piece of mind! Looking good!

steve