(Wrapup of this weekends work)

This weekend I finally decided to make the plunge. Saturday morning I took off the stock cx brakes front and rear, rear control arms, front hubs and knuckles, axles, etc.. Nothing too hard except for the balljoints that connect the front lower control arm to the hub/knuckle assembly - it took a lot of pounding to tear that stuff apart!!

With all that old stuff out of the way, its time to mount up the new. First on went the ITR rear control arms / brake assembly. Fits up nice, just like stock. No big suprize in mounting this up. Next up, Goodridge brake lines for the 99-00 si to connect the new brakes to the car. Connects beautifully. We string the ebrake cables to the holes in the cabin, to be connected later.

Next up - attacking the front. The front hubs that I recieved were jdm 98-spec ITR pieces. What does that jibberish mean?? It means that I need to trade out the front axles as well, as the late JDM models have a larger bearing and much thicker axle to fix a problem that no one had complained about. They dont sell those axles in the us, good thing I got some with the swap. Instead of breaking the axles apart from the hub, we decide to install the whole assembly as one piece so I dont need to buy new axles nuts. It slides in with no problem. We attach the front Goodridge brake lines, then close up for the day to go and party.

Wake up late on Sunday - I find my brother under the car doing the final torque to all nuts and installing cotter pins. We decide to fill the tranny back up with oil, as it works better with some in it. Time to tackle the final connection on the ebrakes. Oh, no. We routed something wrong, and they are about 2 inches too short. . Okay, lets undo some of the connections, attach it to the ebrake handle, and try and make it fit. , now it fits, but the rear calipers are locked all the time. . Okay, lets undo the handle and reconnect everything under the car, while hoping that the magic fairy will make everything fit like it should. , no luck. After about two hours of messing with this, I decided that carrying around wheelchocks is an OK alternative. Time to bleed the brakes. 4 or 5 cycles through, we are just about done. One of my brothers friends asks - "Why is his car peeing??" It seems like there is either alot of excess fluid dripping off the car from when we took the original brake lines off, or the new ones are leaking. . My brother takes out a wrench and tightens it a little more (all the while hoping he dosent brake the bolt) He then notes that the copper washers are junk and I should have gotten the Honda washers instead. . It holds for now. Something to replace soon, though!! Okay, with everything bled, no air in the system, I try the pedal feel. Hrm. Kind of spongy. Very spongy. My brother says the ss lines should firm up in a day or so, and with new pads and rotors, it will feel great - where are those?? . I need to call Andy at carbotech tomorrow. . But, I have the rotors. So, lets try and just "unstick" the rusty pads from the rusty warped calipers so I can drive around next week. Okay with that done we mount up the wheels. "I guess you are getting new tires tommorow as these are corded, correct??" . I can squeak out 60 miles, mabye?? I ask with a glint of hope in my eyes?? Nothing but a scowl back. Lets lower it down off the jackstands.. My brother then asks - Got the new axle nuts?? . They were loose, so he had removed them. . 2pm on a Sunday. . We ended up having to drive 10 miles to one place open today. They have one. . Another 30 miles and we have a matching pair. Okay, back to the car, install them and torque them down, lower it off jackstands, and it sits! Looks okay. Wow, this pedal is spongy. Back it out of the driveway and drive around the block with one foot pumping the brake, another on the gas to try and "unstick" the pads. Wow, feel alot more warped at speed than they looked. . Pads have about a pound of rust imbedded in them trying to stifle any attempt they have at stopping the car. . However, the car will lock up all 4 wheels at will, and it feels like it has alot more holding power than stock - if only there was a firm pedal.

Moral of the story - My brother took alot of time out of his weekend to help me install some expensive parts. (with no air tools). I end up with a car that needs wheelchocks to be parked, spits rust out of the wheelwells under hard stops, and gyrates like a large belly dancer when at speed. I love this hobby!!!!

ceas..

 

and don't forget the steady stream of food coming out of the kitchen and into the garage. about those wheel chocks; I thought only HUMMVEEs carried those around. at least you don't need a drip pan. the graphite ITR rims do look good on there. Rexman did his usual great job wrenching.

 

Schweeet! Pete, many props to the food from the kitchen, most importantly. I'm very familiar.

 

sounds like project bird-ish is keeping you busy. A few more mods and maybe you can sell yours for $38k as well...

edit--damn filter


[Modified by bishop, 10:11 PM 1/20/2002]

 

Glad the hammer and socket could help.. Oh, and next time you need an axle nut, try giving your friendly neighborhood acura tech a call.. he "might" have 10-15 sitting in that big green tool box of his.... lol

Dan

 

Yep, thanks for the tools... Wow, if only I could sell the car for $38k, I would be laughing all the way to the bank. Hell, if I could offload it for $24k, i would be more than happy! New Panther+ are on the way for the front, oem brembo rotors are in the garage, and I might stop by pepboys to get some generic back pads today.. Then, time to run home and fix this ebrake, I dont like having red wheelchocks holding my car in place. People point and laugh.

ceas..