Project Procrastination

[The Raven]

When this is done hopefully covid will have gone away i will come see the car

[mwilkinson]

7 hours ago, The Raven said:

When this is done hopefully covid will have gone away i will come see the car

I really hope Covid has passed by the time I finish this. If not we are all screwed!

[mwilkinson]

So, I'm back to collecting parts again. First batch of parts for the front clip rebuild came through today courtesy of Whifbitz.

Includes:

- Top arms

- Top arm bolts, washers and nuts.

- Both lh and rh front hubs.

- I also got a couple of OEM plugs for the diff, with washers.

Still to order will be:

Flanges, bearings, seals, rear hub caps, lower arms and both sets of nuts, bolts and washers.

I'm also ordering a complete set of replacement fixings for the front subframes. 

[rider]

Are you changing out the front wheel bearings as well. The bearings have got to be a must do with your new press to play with.

You did write you were going to blast the shields to see what condition they are in but is that effort worthwhile when new ones are only around £20 each. I have some spare 16" dust shields if they are no longer available but they were when I last checked, quite recently. 

[mwilkinson]

29 minutes ago, rider said:

Are you changing out the front wheel bearings as well. The bearings have got to be a must do with your new press to play with.

You did write you were going to blast the shields to see what condition they are in but is that effort worthwhile when new ones are only around £20 each. I have some spare 16" dust shields if they are no longer available but they were when I last checked, quite recently. 

Hi Barry,

Yes, new bearings will be used.  That press has to earn its keep.

I too had noticed that the dust shields weren't overly expensive.  If I can get a set new for a good price I will buy new vs refurbish my old set.

It looks like the only part that won't be replaced are the ABS rings!

[mwilkinson]

I'm of two minds about the bottom arms.  Facelift bottom arms are crazy money vs pre-facelift.

I keep asking myself if I'd actually notice the difference, but it erks me to use a part that isn't year correct when they are available.

 

[Burna]

3 minutes ago, mwilkinson said:

I'm of two minds about the bottom arms.  Facelift bottom arms are crazy money vs pre-facelift.

I keep asking myself if I'd actually notice the difference, but it erks me to use a part that isn't year correct when they are available.

 

Isn't it the case that the pre-facelift arms are better? And they cost cut on the facelift arms? I seems to remember that info from the distant past

[mwilkinson]

6 minutes ago, Burna said:

Isn't it the case that the pre-facelift arms are better? And they cost cut on the facelift arms? I seems to remember that info from the distant past

That would be helpful to confirm in my decision making process.

I thought with the facelift that had made the suspension more compliant for daily use?

[The Raven]

3 minutes ago, mwilkinson said:

That would be helpful to confirm in my decision making process.

I thought with the facelift that had made the suspension more compliant for daily use?

Hmm i wouldnt take that at face value seeing their efforts to make facelift engine mounts and the resulting issues

[mwilkinson]

Interestingly  I think the front lower arms I've just taken off might actually be pre-facelift arms.

I think the previous owner, Dan Cowley, replaced them in around 2009.

Anyone know how to tell them apart?  Any comparison pictures?

[Burna]

45 minutes ago, mwilkinson said:

That would be helpful to confirm in my decision making process.

I thought with the facelift that had made the suspension more compliant for daily use?

They cut a lot of costs on the facelift, and there's definitely something that changed front end, as there's a consistent problem with facelift cars warping discs for some reason.

I personally wouldn't touch a facelift Supra, the ideal car is the crossover car. Pre-facelift engine etc.. but facelift interior etc...

[mwilkinson]

Mine is a crossover car, facelift body with pre-facelift engine.  But all the suspension on these cars is generally facelift from factory.

I think the cost difference is so significant that I'll be buying pre-facelift lower arms regardless.

 

[Delboy52]

I had to buy facelift rear lower no.2 arms as the pre-facelift simply weren't available. Surely if they were warping discs on the front ones they'd be a recall?

Pre-facelift front No.1 lowers are still available (48068-14080) £284 in Japan. As are facelift (48069-14090) £368.

[mwilkinson]

Most of the remaining front end parts came through yesterday.  I'm still outstanding a grease cap for one hub and a few nuts and bolts.  But this should allow me to rebuild the front subframe.

Only original parts being reused are the ABS inductor rings and the main steel, Ali subframes and Titan anti-roll bar (I've got new brackets and bushes).

I now need to get the subframes sent of for cleaning and powdercoating.  Front steel subframe will be galvanised first.

[SPG]

Got to love a good parts delivery , really enjoying this thread Matt

[mwilkinson]

Thanks mate  

I'm still working on the HVAC at the minute.  I plan on elclecteoplating all the brackets next week.

I'm making templates for all the valve / flap door foam peices which I'll look to post up at some point too.

[rider]

Its good to see some of the arms are still available. I thought all the top arms had gone apart from a Moog very cheap effort. Seeing all those bolts reminds me of many happy minutes trying to peel those p/n stickers off. Soaking didn't seem to help. Took forever one tiny tear at a time. Hours of fun ahead for you.

[mwilkinson]

Ha, yes.  You're not wrong. They are a pain in the posterior to remove.

[SPG]

I left my new suspension components in the garden shed for a few days over the winter, the stickers came off easy with the lower temps . 

[mwilkinson]

1 hour ago, SPG said:

I left my new suspension components in the garden shed for a few days over the winter, the stickers came off easy with the lower temps . 

Thanks for the tip.

[mwilkinson]

I have now stripped down my hvac and replaced all the foam on the flap doors.  It was very dirty inside and the foam on the flaps was in a state of disintegration.

As you can see some of the flaps were very difficult shapes and making the new foam replacement pieces was time consuming.

I had to first strip the foam and the old glue of the flaps.  This was relatively straight forward.

I then made a foam template in paper, then transfered it to card.  These were adhered to the flap with 3M 90 high strength adhesive.

Here are few images of the various finished flaps.

I chamfered the edges with a dremel to match the original foam.

Edited May 15, 2021 by mwilkinson (see edit history)

[mwilkinson]

I've got everything back together now.  Although I've yet to refit the heater matrix which was in good condition. I've hopefully got my hands on a new evaporator and expansion valve.

I cleaned all the brackets up, including those attached to the motors.  This meant I had to reset the motors to ensure they were all closing the flaps correctly.  I also performed resistance checks on all the motors to ensure they were working.

[mwilkinson]

[mwilkinson]

I also had the brackets on the front ABS sensors, which I removed some time back, powdercoated.

I rebuilt these today.

A reminder of what they looked like before.

[mwilkinson]

Today I also started to rebuild the front subframe and drive train.

I had the aluminum part aqua blasted and the rear part galvanised and powdercoated.

The galvanising has caused a slight warp in one of the brackets, which is a pain.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult to amend.  The tapping of the nuts was also a real PITA.  But at least it won't rust again!

I also had the dash support hot zinc coated and powdercoated.