Build Progress Highlights 2

So here are some more highlights and pictures of my car's rebuild process. Just random shots here and there. I guess it's the only downside to working alone that you have to do everything yourself including taking pictures.

Build Progress Highlights 1

Well my car is done, lol. I found a lot of pictures that I didn't post yet so here's the full scope of work I actually did on my car.

My initial plan was to pull the motor and do a timing belt job, fix my ACD system as well as relocate the pump to the trunk and also inspect the internals to see if there were any damage done by "my lack of care and harsh driving". I also found some metal shavings in my oil or at least thought I saw some metal shavings in my oil when I drained the motor. It was all going well when I ran into snag after snag.

When prepping to remove the transmission the drive-shafts wouldn't come out because the knuckles were stuck. Further investigation I found that the control arm bushings, tire rods and front struts were all seized on to the front knuckles. The torch I bought apparently wasn't strong enough and rather risk deforming the knuckles to the point where they would no longer be straight I just cut them and went on my way. With that done I was able to remove my front struts and knuckles without a problem. OK.

The engine and trans are out? Yes at this point the motor and transmission are out of the car and I'm able to get working on that... NOT! With the motor and transmission I decided to order parts like a new ACT HS Pressure Plate, OEM Timing Belt Kit, OEM water pump, and a lot of new nuts and bolts to replace the nasty old rusty ones. At this point I also opted to order some new Whiteline Front Control Arm Bushings, Steering Rack Bushings, Roll Center Correction Kit, and their Anti-Lift Caster Solid Bushings. When it came time to take the LCA's (Lower Control Arms) off the right side just wouldn't. I also found out that I couldn't just lower my sub-frame like I had planned because the 19mm nut that holds it in place was seized onto the stud. I think 90% of people would have given up at this point... So I came up with an idea to split the nut with a nut spliter; it worked. So I proceed to clean the stud off and grease it up so it won't corrode again and it forced me to order all new nuts and bolts for the sub-frame and LCA's. Great so i can lower my sub-frame and install my Whiteline stuff... NOPE! The passenger side LCA bolt was seized in place and wouldn't move. I had to then set up a 6ft long extension arm on my 1/2" ratchet and apply at least 200lbs on it. That equated to 1200lbs-ft of torque but still corrosion won. But then after a few more tries the bolt started to turn. Good sign? Then it stopped and just spun in place.

Fed up and completely frustrated at this point I took my angle grinder and cut my subframe open. There I found the nut cage that holds the nut for the LCA bolt in palce broke off. Then proceeded to use my Dremel to cut the metal around the head of the bolt. I then pryed the head while turning the bolt out. What I found puzzled me. The bolt was completely seized onto the sleeve of the bushing and what really was happening was I ripped the rubber bushing and that was the only way the sleeve and bolt could turn out.

I finally got my sub-frame from Mitsubishiparts.net and got to installing everything back in. At this point I had my buddy Derrick over at Prospect Exxon ship my LCA's out along with the Whiteline Bushings to his machinist to press the old ones out and then the new ones in. Excellent job BTW. I then reinstalled everything and was able to put a new 19mm nut and clean up that chassis stud without having to tack weld it into place like many others have suggested.

While all that was going on I was slowly working on my motor to get the timing belt on and water pump installed while having the oil pan off to inspect the bearings. I only looked at the crank carrier bearings because since that was the lowest point of the motor the chances of the metal filled oil going there would be higher than way up top in the head.

Some Progress... Part 2

I finally was able to get my hands on a relatively new ACD (Active Center Differential) pump, due to mine failing after being exposed to the elements of all four seasons within a 5 year period. When I mean exposed I mean directly exposed to the elements. Mitsubishi decided to mount this pump in the front left corner of the car which allowed water, salt, snow and road debris to attack it when moving. Therefore, after a while corrosion will work its way into the pump's internals and eventually cause it to fail by seizing the internal components. Heh, there's a nice pattern going with my car and that is parts like the seize... My solution is to relocate this pump into my trunk and plumb new AN SS lines from the pump to my transfer case and that will shift the weight to the rear of the vehicle and increase reliability ten fold; for the pump anyway.

In addition to my ACD pump, I also received my new Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers. I've also installed all my Whiteline bushings for my front lower control arms.

Some pictures to compliment my words.

ACD Relocated waiting for plumbing and one additional support bracket

New Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers!

New exhaust manifold studs installed and ready to go

Some Progress... Part 1

Finally I was able to get most of the parts I needed and had the time to really get things moving. So far the engine's timing belt is replaced and waiting on some gaskets so I can install the intake manifold. I never thought working on my car would end up being such a pain, however, it does feel quite rewarding to get things done. I've installed new exhaust manifold studs and removed my EGR system in the process and will convert to ECU controlled boost with Wideband AFR control input very soon. Finally I will be able to finally tune my car and be able to test out new Android based EvoScan software with a Bluetooth adapter and with that I will be able to get rid of my Defi setup.

The main hold up was my subframe and lower control arm bushing. The problem was that the bolt was seized to the inner sleeve of the inner lower control arm bushing. There was really no way around this problem other than cutting up my old subframe and hold the nut down so i can pull/push the bolt out.

This is the hole I cut into my subframe

The damage to the inner bushing of my lower control arm

The bolt that was seized to the inner bushing sleeve

Day Three...

Oh man, today was a good day. Well considering all the obstacles which I've encountered throughout the process of removing my exhaust manifold, I consider it to be a good day. On a side note, copper exhaust manifold nuts not cool after being driven 68,000 miles for the past 5 years in all the elements. Needless to say after 2 days of struggling and finding a viable solution to free my exhaust manifold, I have successfully done it with the stud still in tact.

Day Two

Today wasn't too bad, a lot of things still need to be done before the motor can be pulled but its getting there slowly. Taking my time and not rushing things while paying attention to every small detail is the key for this rebuild. Nothing will go unnoticed/untouched. It's been slow but I rather not rush something like this. Anyway, here are some more pictures of my progress.

The Rebuild Begins

It was time that I decided that I should man up and get my timing belt and water pump replaced while taking care of a few other things on my car. I even picked up a bunch of new tools to help me out with this job. So far just breaking down the car is pretty tiring but it's slowly getting there. New bolts and metal pieces are definitely in order as there is way too much corrosion all over the front end of my car. I'll try to keep up with picture updates as I go along. Here are some pictures of the work so far.