Test drove the car this Memorial Day weekend, she drove great! So smooth handles turns great! I have put in a lot of work and I am glad it has definitely payed off. There are still so much work to be done, like the all the belts, hoses, water pump, new bushings, new fluids and a lot of cleaning the interior.

New Shocks! RS is rejuvenated!

Yesterday I decided to finally change out my shocks, as you all can see my old shocks on one of my old links. I went to the hobby shop, and I disassembled the shocks out.

All this took me about an hour to finally take out my old shocks. I was excited to just put them in. Too bad I wasn't able to take pics of the shocks and springs in the box.

So here are the old shocks with the springs compressors on them. Finally gone! 

So after taking about two hours taking off the spring compressors on the springs and disassembling the old shocks to get the Mounts, Shock Collars, and steel cup. 

Next step was to assemble my sweeeeeeeet new shocks! Except I made a huge mistake. After assembling the shocks I realized after I installed the new shocks on the vehicle and dropped the weight of the vehicle the shocks went up above and out of the port. So I forgot to put in the steel cup, good news is that the bushings aren't damaged as well as the polished rod. I am happy everything is ok!

After another 3 more hours of gruesome dis assembly  and reassembly. Here are the final pictures of the shocks installed. Also I little mod I did was used hardened washers in place of the cups for the rear shocks. The rear shocks cups were damaged pretty bad and is not reusable.

Tomorrow my wife and I will test drive the RS all the way to VA, wish us luck!

Breather Tube Filter

So I have been looking around at other 420A Engines and seeing what everyone does differently. I saw this one engine all blued out with spray paint, and saw this weird filter coming off the breather tube on the Valve Cover. So I did my research, what I found was that installing a filter on the breather tube, allows air to directly go where it needs to. In addition, it also keeps any oil from escaping the tube and going into your Air Intake tube. So I weighed the risk with the benefits. So I went ahead and purchased the necessary equipment.

First you need a Filter small enough to go onto the Breather tube.

This Breather tube filter that fits a 3/8" to 1/2" Tube

Next you need to find something to cap your breather nipple on the Intake

These fit up to a 3/8" tube, and they are made to create the necessary vacuum.

Installation was pretty easy, all I did was find the tube connecting the air intake nipple to the valve cover breather tube.

Loosen the hose clamps, and remove the hose from both ends. Also if you have your sensor mount in the way, your going to have to find a new place for it or remove it entirely. Next just install the filter, by slipping it over the tube all the way and clamp it down with the hose clamp. Next slip one of the vacuum caps over the intake nipple and if you have an extra hose clamp for "security" do so. Lastly make sure the screws are tight and let your vehicle idle for 3 min. 

Here is the finished mod.

Here is what my 420A Engine Looks like now

Hey everyone! Today I complete a great upgrade! I was so excited when I got in the mail yesterday. So As previously stated, I purchased an AEM Short RAM Air Intake Filter. So going through the motions.

BEFORE:

So I started off taking the old air filter system off. and clean the inside of the throttle body. It wasn't too difficult, just loosen the screws on the hose clamps.

Old Filter

The crappy filter is gone! YEAH!

See the inside of the throttle body is nice and clean!

AFTER:

Placed the connector hose on the throttle body with the hose clamps, then inserted the intake body with filter. Then I mounted the entire system onto the valve cover. After mounting it to the valve cover, then I tightened all bolts and screws into place.

Side View

Finished

It was an easy install, very simple. I let the vehicle sit on idle for 3 min as instructed by the installation instructions. Drove my car for about an hour, and you can definitely feel the difference with the old and new intake. The RS picked up faster and it was a lot more responsive with the throttle. I am very happy with this upgrade and cannot wait to see if it holds up over time.

Grease!? Are you kidding!?

So I knew there was a bunch of grease on the engine, but I didn't know how much. So when I went to do it today, I really didn't realize how much there was. So I spent about an hour or so scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing away all the grease I can reach. Sadly when I lift the car, then I can take out the rest then. Here is a pic of what has been completed.

As you can see in both pictures, that all the top side grease is gone. It's just the hard to reach places that
sucks to scrub away grease because it evolves taking apart the engine. The only things that sucks is that I can't was it away with water because I am afraid to harm any of the electrical components. So it smells like degreaser a little. I assume it will be eventually pass.

Parts Update, New Hoses and New Belts

Today all my parts are coming in by the end of next week. My Tokico Spring + Shocks Kit, Energy Suspension Bushing Kit, AEM Short RAM Air Intake, and of course this sweet 49ers License Plate Frame! Also parts that I picked up today are:

Gates Racing Drive Belt (Power Steering, and AC Belt)

Gates Racing Alternator Belt

Gates Racing Upper Radiator Hose

Gates Racing Timing Belt Component Kt

Gates Racing Time Belt Kit, Included the 2 Pulleys (Eyes), 1 Hydraulic Tensioner (Nose), Water Pump + Gasket (in the mouth), and the Performance Timing Belt (Mouth)

So intend to take two days, this Friday and Saturday to complete this upgrade/maintenance. This is just the 60k+ miles scheduled maintenance. The current belts on there has been there for the past 14 years and its to time for an upgrade. So I think these Gates Performance parts will be a great fit for my Eclipse.

New Liner and New Design thoughts

Today I complete something minor on the Eclipse. I bought a cut to fit cargo liner for my trunk. I still need to rejuvenate my trimming both inside and out. So eventually I need to get some trim paint and take care of them. I am excited to see what it looks like. Another thing I've decided to do is temporarily keep the stock rims and make them look sick!

3 Hour Transmission Fluid Change Job

Today I completed a difficult task on the Eclipse. What started as a simple Transmission Fluid Change, turned out to be a 3 hour ordeal. First I jacked up the car and tried to take off the spring compressors but it seems that its the only thing that are keeping the springs from launching out of my car. So all 5 mechanics and I decided it was a safer bet to leave them on and just replace them once my Tokico Shocks and Springs come in. Now for the rest of story... So I first of all, it is very difficult to maneuver down there when the vehicle is jacked as high as can be. That was mostly the problem, I have decided pretty much if I am working on the bottom portion of the car to just invest on a lift. So I took all 14 bolts off and to my surprise the Transmission Fluid pan is essentially glued to the transmission. I had to take a pry bar to pry away the pan from the body itself. Afterwards there was a lot of left over RTV sealant as well as what was left of the old rubber gasket. So I let the old BLACK fluid drain out. Funny part is that the color of the clean fluid is RED, I guess the threat of transmission fluid getting old is a very real threat. Also, I suggest following what the maintenance schedule on your car. Yes it maybe hard work and might cost a lot of money, but it beats having to buy a new car. Continuing on, I took an air sander to sand down the gunk, old RTV and the old gasket from the pan. After that I took the pan, bolts and the magnet to the solvent tank for cleaning. After all the crap was washed off by the solvent, i proceeded to scrape the underside of the of where the gasket meets the Transmission body. After getting all the crap off, i painted new RTV sealant on the underside and pan where the gasket meets the pan. I place the filter in, pushed the it all the way until you hear two clicks on for each mount. I then placed the pan back to the body and bolted the pan to the Transmission body. Yes that sounds like a lot, but at least I know I did it right.

So the newest issue...

I've been hearing this grinding noise from my suspension since I bought the vehicle. I finally took a look down there 2 days ago and this is what I found!

Everyone loves to lower their car right? It makes it look cool and handle better etc etc etc. But in this case sadly, this is the worst attempt at Lowering the car anyone has ever seen.

FRONT DRIVER STRUT & SPRING

This is the culprit, observe how the bolt on the right set of clamps are rubbing against that spring. Hopefully tomorrow I will see what real damage it has on my shocks and springs.  

REAR DRIVER STRUT & SPRING

FRONT PASSENGER STRUT & SPRING

REAR DRIVER STRUT & SPRING

Tomorrow I intend to remove the spring compressors and complete what other work that needs to be done in the allotted time that have. I just hope most of my time will not be taken up by removing the springs.

My newest project!

On March 23, 2013 I purchased a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS that has about 63k original miles on the vehicle. To my excitement, it was in great condition for a 14 year old car. So at first, I felt like maybe this a bad idea. So in the end i decided to give this car a shot.

So far everything that I have completed, has been just the tip of the iceberg. I have already done some restorations on the vehicle, just some rubbing compounds, interior work, new door handle and new struts for the Hatch. 

The past few weeks have been really time consuming learning how this engine works etc etc etc. So far I have done a few things, and here they are.

One critical job I had to do was change the Valve Cover Gasket. So after much deliberation I went with an aftermarket Fel Pro Valve Cover Gasket and used the red RTV sealant on my car. 

You can see the Red RTV Maker on the outside ensuring that this won't happen again.

Then I installed new brake rotors and brake pads. Actually was not too hard at all.

Lastly I installed a new MSD Ignition Coil pack as well as new MSD Ignition Wire Set.

So far those are what have been completed on the vehicle. Sadly I still need to do a full inspection and scrub down to see whats going anywhere else in the car.