Green EK4

[iwearmoccos]

Todd, when I showed her the first photo, she got so depressed!!
LB and I will see it together one day.


Took the ED in for a rwc yesterday.

Needs the following;
- Passenger side front engine mount.
- Trailing arm bushings.
- LCA bushings.
- Exhaust, mid and rear mufflers.
- New rear pads and drums machined.

Overall, nothing too exciting and mostly what I had figured would be required.
Should be able to sort it out over the next week.

[iwearmoccos]

Long time between updates!
So Grant finally got sick of his garage ornament and made me pick up my gearbox that had been at his house since July, which then almost forced me to do something about the car that had become a permanent fixture in my garage since coming back from Wakefield.

I figured I had 3 options.
1 - Fix my new gearbox, keep enjoying the gearing for HH and Winton, but then never be able to go to PI because I'd just be bouncing off the limiter down the straight.
2 - Put a new LSD and FD into the stock gearbox.
3 - Pull the 'new' gearbox apart, salvage the LSD and FD and put it in the stock gearbox.

The first step was to pull the stock gearbox apart and confirm it was ok.
I took the gearbox to Tom and he removed the casing to find a pretty clean original gearbox! Syncros were worn, but the gearing was in great condition. The only negative was the chipped teeth on the diff, which will see the bin anyway.
So now knowing that the stock gearbox was in reasonably good condition, that cancelled out option 1.

I came home and ordered a Syncrotech master rebuild kit for the S4C. It turned up a week later, even with a few public holidays in there.

The next step, and what I was dreading most, was removing the 'new' gearbox from my car.
Previously Grant had led the way when we installed this gearbox, but I figured I could get it out if I gave myself a full weekend.
So last Friday I drove to my parents. The gearbox wasn't as noisy as I remember and it was SO GOOD to drive this car again.

My plan was to pull everything off on Friday night, so I could get to the gearbox in the morning.
That didn't really go to plan as I was stuck with an axle nut that would not move. I spent a good couple of hours trying every which way. You name it, I tried it!
I made a panicked Facebook post and offered $100 for anyone to remove it! Luckily my cousin came around with the big dog Snap On wrench and after about 15 seconds of gugugugugug, it was off!! I was very excited and he didn't ask for my cash!

Side note. This is my cousin's Patrol and my Grandpa.

Other than a heap of time and a ball joint that scared the shit out of me when it popped, the removal was pretty straight forward.
I took my time, followed a guide website I found and it was great to finally have a big hole in the engine bay!

While I was under the front guards, I noticed that my left coilover was a bit oily and so was right. I removed all coilovers and will organise to send them back to MCA for a rebuild. I've run these for nearly 2 years and have done so many track days! Will most likely upgrade them to Red spec, as well as a higher spring rate in the rear. I'm thinking 9 or 10kg, I'm currently running 7kg.
This morning I loaded up Mum's car with all my stuff and we headed back to my house. I will be down there next weekend to remove the front knuckles. I have new OEM hubs and lower ball joints to go in, as well as extended studs so I can run spacers when I get some 15*9s sometime when I've got some spare cash.

Pretty successful weekend, should know mid week the condition of the gearbox and if the LSD and FD can be salvaged!

[Yue_Will]

great update!
Good to see you getting back into it. Where did you source your OE hubs and how much did they set you back?

[iwearmoccos]

great update!
Good to see you getting back into it. Where did you source your OE hubs and how much did they set you back?

Thanks!
I did an order from Amayama and got a few things.
Hubs and bearings were about $500 for two.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[iwearmoccos]

Now that the gearbox was out of the car, I needed to confirm if the options 2 or 3 were actually possible.
As per usual, I threw a gearbox in the boot of my ED and met up with Tom to crack it open and take a look inside.
The issue with this gearbox ended up being the shaft on the final drive, where the end had somehow become rough for about 1/4 of it. I didn't take any photos, so it is hard to explain.
This section of the shaft runs inside a bearing, so it being perfect is important. Its lack of imperfection equals all hell breaks loose with noises from hell. Everything in the gearbox looks quite good, it was rebuilt not that long ago by the previous owner, so I expected one issue like it had, or it to be completely stuffed.

Since the FD is now useless, the next plan was to put the LSD into the stock gearbox, but after a bit of measuring, it was found that despite having the same cases (S4C), the inside of these gearboxes are different. The 'new' one is built around B18 parts, while the stock is a stock B16 S4C. The major difference which was noticed by Tom first, was the different ring gear sizes.

So now I was stuck with two gearboxes in pieces!
Some brain storming and eventually the plan was to get home to the gear calculator and work out what a change in FD will have on the 'new' gearbox and its short gearset.
And this is what we have as options.

Just to confirm, with the 4.9FD and shorter gearset, it is GREAT for Winton and HH. I have never been to PI with this gearbox (Last at PI in April, gearbox installed July) but if you look at the graph above, that basically spells BABABABABBA!! rev limiter bashing down the straight.
After looking at the above, a 4.4FD will work out best. Stock gearing for 1 and 2, but much quicker in the final 3 and still enough top speed for PI.
Conveniently, a 4.4FD has come up for sale as the gearbox for a certain JTCC inspired car is getting some upgrades, so that will make its way to my 'new' gearbox once a couple of B series tools arrive at Tom's in the coming weeks.

I have had a reply from MCA in regards to rebuilding my coilovers, just waiting on a confirmation and then I assume I'll be able to send them north for rebuild. I will be upgrading to Red valving and also going to a 9kg spring in the rear.

Sorry for the lack of photos, I'll take a photo of the damage on the FD when I'm with my gearbox next.

This weekend I will remove my front knuckles for new hubs and lower ball joints to be installed.

till next time!

[RC_dc2]

Looks like a lot of fun with your gearbox buildup.

I read on some other forum (can't remember where now) about some MCA coilovers having problems with seals failing and that it was a slow leak which eventually led to depressurised damper and knocking.

If I remember right they were blues built around a similar time, it didn't say how many were affected. Did they mention anything to you about it or about their expected time to rebuild?

[iwearmoccos]

Looks like a lot of fun with your gearbox buildup.

I read on some other forum (can't remember where now) about some MCA coilovers having problems with seals failing and that it was a slow leak which eventually led to depressurised damper and knocking.

If I remember right they were blues built around a similar time, it didn't say how many were affected. Did they mention anything to you about it or about their expected time to rebuild?

It has been fun actually, it is nice having a bit of time to plan a few things and play around.
No mention from MCA about a batch of leaky Blues.
I'm just waiting on a reply to my second email where I confirmed what I wanted. It has been a couple days, so I'll give them a call tomorrow. I don't want it to take 2 weeks to organise everything, it's wasted time. As much as I'm not in a rush, I don't want it to take longer just because a few emails took days to reply to.

[RC_dc2]

Just found where I read about it, was on SAU and was affecting X-r and reds. Looks like MCA just sent replacement units in those cases.

[iwearmoccos]

Just found where I read about it, was on SAU and was affecting X-r and reds. Looks like MCA just sent replacement units in those cases.

X-R weren't available when I ordered mine, they came maybe 4 months after.
I have had a few friends with knocking early on and they were replaced under warranty.

[Toddxxx]

Oh yes, reds!

Sucks about the gearboxes not being compatible. Maybe fix both and just do gearbox swaps for PI? Hahaha

[iwearmoccos]

Oh yes, reds!

Sucks about the gearboxes not being compatible. Maybe fix both and just do gearbox swaps for PI? Hahaha

I shouldn't need a 2 gearbox strategy with the future setup. If I hit the limiter at PI with a 4.4FD, I'll be going 20km quicker than I ever have down the straight!

MCA update.
Coilovers will be picked up on Tuesday, turn around should be a week or so.

[Toddxxx]

Haha yeah ceebs for gearbox swaps every couple of months :P
Do you think the different FD will hamper the hunt to retake the record at HH at all?

[iwearmoccos]

Haha yeah ceebs for gearbox swaps every couple of months :P
Do you think the different FD will hamper the hunt to retake the record at HH at all?

I can do a low 59seconds (58.78 is my quickest, 58.67 is current class lap record) with stock gearbox and RS3s, and I took the class lap record on my first time running the 'new' gearbox and NT01s at the track. There is definitely more in it and I think with NT01s and LSD, the 4.4FD in the 'new' gearbox shouldn't be too limiting.
The 4.4FD will mean I'm not hitting limiter down 'oh shit' or on the straight, so I should gain a few km/h there, the negative is it won't accelerate as much off the line and on the last right hander as it did bog down a little with RS3s and stock gearbox. I should be able to get around that with more grip from NT01s and LSD though.

It will also be interesting to see if I can gain any time from the coilovers once they are rebuilt.

[iwearmoccos]

My girlfriend came home from the market with a plastic bag, which usually means she has been shopping for herself. First time it has been a present for me, a Honda parking sign. She was pretty proud of herself.

My MCAs will be picked up on Tuesday, so I boxed them up and measured my heights to ensure I set them up the same again.
The car at MCA ride height isn't really a cool guy ride height, so I've gotta make sure it gets back to cool guy spec when the coilovers return! Also means my alignment should be the same, even though I will get an alignment again before the first track day.


On Friday night, after all the crazy events in Melbourne, I went back to my parents house to visit my mum and also to take my girlfriend down, as she hasn't been to visit for a long time. It also gave me a chance to remove the front knuckles so they can get new hubs.
The car was still in the same spot.

Everything is straight forward in removing the front knuckles, though I took particular attention to the setup on the Honed tie-rod ends.


And then there was nothing up front!
That big block of wood came from my Grandpa's. He made me take them when I was there last week as I could rest the engine on it while the gearbox is out.
Grandpa used to be a mechanic working for the bus line. He has great stories.

And both knuckles off the car, which are now in the boot waiting for new bits and pieces.

Those bits and pieces. New OEM hubs, bearings and lower ball joints. I also have longer studs, which are in the hub box with black tape.
I'll drop these off to the tall guy who has his hand in my gearboxes, soon enough. I know he's super excited to do more work on my car.

And finally, my girlfriend asleep in the ED. She has got a few mentions in this post. Though I may not have a girlfriend when/if she finds out I posted this photo.

[ChargeR]

That's a humorous photo.

Are the knuckles copping a clean before this other guy has to touch them?