Matt's billet HX40 Super URS4: Dusting off Cobwebs

[pkw]

1 interesting turbo but why not an hY35? they have a t3 flange and 9cm housing.
..as small as I would go. should be a great quick spooling turbo.

2 why a needle thrust bearing on the lower coil over perch?

[lucidmatt]

Good questions. The HX40 that I currently have was kind of a "what if I do something nobodys done yet?" deal, that started when that original hx35 came in to me with a bad turbine. I went full mad scientist on it. I also wanted an externally wastegated, single scroll housing. I almost pulled the trigger on the BEP .70AR until this .63 housing fell into my lap. The nice thing is that if I do ever want to shift the powerband more north, there are ways.

The thrust bearing on the coilover is mainly to assist in the vehicle's turning characteristics, its an extra preventative measure against spring binding. I also wanted to see what I could build, so I gave it a go.

[lucidmatt]

Some more updates. Ordered a billet cam gear from Marc (mostly because I dont trust the cast stock cam gear with 260,000+ miles on it) to go on when I replace the failed CPS. Ive got new sleeves coming for new ABS sensors (I had to burn the remains of the old ones out with an oxyacetylene torch after destroying the innards with drift punches), and I've pressed out the old bearings and prepped the uprights for a nice coat of primer and epoxy. Today they get made looking pretty, tomorrow, the bearings get pressed in, just in time for the weekend build. I think I have everything fairly well sorted, but any secret tips and tricks for dropping the subframe, struts, axles, control arms. etc. is helpful. This thing is getting stem to stern refresh, new CV boots, new tie rods, new steering damper. whole 9 yards.

POS ABS sensor, with obligatory flyin' bird...


prepped uprights lookin' good...


Full list of what's coming this weekend (mainly so I dont forget...its going to be a big project, stop reading here if you want )

Drop subframe, struts with top mounts, CV shafts
Replace subframe bushings with solid thuppu bushings
Replace LCA's
Remove CV's, replace and re-pack CV boots
Install CV's in new coilover uprights
Replace tie rods
Replace steering damper
Install Thuppu camber plates, (align as best as possible just to get it to actual alignment rack)
attempt to salvage stock ABS sensors, prepare to if new ones need to be fed through the unibody
Power Steering fluid flush, new magnefine filter
Replace "Brake Bomb"
Replace CPS, Install Tommi's Billet Camgear

*BONUS ROUND FOR MORE PUNISHMENT*
Modify radiator mounts so it sits further inboard
Remove stock SMIC and piping
Install FMIC
Try fitting euro bumper
Cry as I trim euro bumper
Fit modded euro bumper to stealthy black FMIC
???
Profit

[ringbearer]

It's almost the weekend, you had better get started!

[lucidmatt]

oh yeah... at the risk of sounding stupid... whats the accepted method for pressing new wheel bearings in? dry or with some type of anti-seize or lube?

[loxxrider]

I love the attention to detail. This is the kind of car I'd want to buy if I was in the market (not that you want to sell).

I pressed them in dry when I did mine on the 200. Also, if the sway bar setup is the same, a ratchet strap will help in removal and especially installation of the sway bar. Get a tie rod end puller for the steering arms. You might have to modify it a little to fit on the strut arm.

[ringbearer]

Bentley says dry.

[lucidmatt]

I thought I heard dry, Just wanted to make sure. gave the shell a good polishing, scary amount of grime embedded all up in it.

[ringbearer]

Hows it going? Don't forget pics!

[lucidmatt]

Oh What a Weekend.... BIG UPDATE AHEAD

Saturday:
I began the teardown in earnest early Saturday. I got an excellent momentum going, as my boss' shop is akin to Dominic Toretto's shop in the original Fast and Furious. "If you can't find the right tool in this garage, you don't belong near a car..."

Her Last Photo, Pre-op...

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After the standard operating procedure of removing everything in the way, I popped off the hubs, pressed off that insidious outer wheel bearing race that apparently always takes a 1 way trip... and realized ECS ( ) sent me the wrong wheel bearings labeled as "front", which I have already pressed into my new coilover converted uprights... I should have re-read the part number... "4B0" instead of "4A0"... but I guess when you have 20 boxes of parts in front of you, you start to glaze over... I ordered the correct part number kit from Europaparts, and carry on while licking my wounds... At that point, frustrated from this realization, I shift gears and dig into my engine to replace my failed cam sensor and preemptively replace my cam gear with Tommi's Billet (Got it on time thanks to Marc). I figured that with 265,000 miles, the cam gear is probably due to be replaced. My God was I right...

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

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Old and busted, vs New Hotness

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I touched the cracked keyway, and it fell off. I couldn't believe how close a call that was. I checked the camshaft for damage, and there was nothing but a little galling I corrected with an emery cloth. I replace the cam sensor and torque every little bolt down on the Tommi's gear, then set the final torque of the cam bolt to 48 ft-lbs. Happy with doing something right for a change... I head back under the beast. I get the inner CV bolts undone, and ready to be removed from the car for a thorough cleaning, inspection, and re-booting (Passenger's side was making a mean howling noise...) But before I dive into that can of worms, I decided to call it a night.

Sunday:
At this point, I'm ready to drop the subframe and front suspension down as one elegant unit... except that the ABS sensors are, again, hanging up the entire damn process. At the moment, they are the final umbilical waiting to get removed in order to allow the whole upright to go away. After the subframe is out of the way, out come the old, broken, nasty rubber subframe mounts and in go shiny fresh Thuppu Mounts. Replacing lower control arms is cakewalk compared to in the car, but those damn sleeves still present a royal pain in the ass. After getting the new LCA's taken care of, I put the subframe aside for a thorough cleaning before going in to the dirtiest job here...refurbing the CV's. After much protest, and a combination of the axle bolt trick and the BFH and drift punch trick, the two shafts are disassembled... the suspect passenger side goes first, and it doesn't look good. The first thing I notice is the c-clip is AWOL... and that half the splines outboard of the c-clip notch are stripped away, but the other half are completely intact. The balls, the cages, the inner race, all have serious galling, and I am finding pieces of axle and c-clip throughout the grease I'm removing... I clean all the pieces and set them aside, and disassemble the driver's side. Thankfully this comes apart freely and easily, with everything intact and happy. Then I noticed something even stranger... Every dimension of the two axles are different. The CV shaft diameter, the races, the ball bearing, the cages, everything. I am baffled. Did the PO replace a CV with the wrong model? It looked stock from the outside.
Does this look right to anybody?

I'll call him.... Mini-Me...

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Again, frustrated and baffled, I leave that be for now and move on to something I know I can do...
With the subframe out of the car, getting to the steering rack from below is a piece of cake, so in goes a new tie rod and steering damper. The old damper hadnt failed completly, but the new one had a far higher amount of resistance.
Finally, how she sits today, waiting for correct parts to start trickling in...

hovercar.JPG (1.5 MiB) Viewed 35640 times

[loxxrider]

Sounds like a solid weekend of repairs, however frustrating they may have been. Good save on the cam gear, although I wonder how you took it off (impact, no impact, cam lock, etc.) and if it may have just sheared then. The key isn't supposed to hold any torque; it is imply for indexing, so it may have been just fine as long as it was properly torqued onto the nose of the cam.

[ringbearer]

Looks like you got a lot done.
I'd spend the money on a GKN outer joint and scrap that odd one. Maybe someone has a used one that is tight you could have for less than a new one.
No major disasters so far!

[EDIGREG]

One thing to note after seeing your assembled coilovers...

You may have to move the helper spring under the primary spring. It will depend on your primary spring length. In my case, after adjusting to my desired ride height and compressing the springs under static weight, the spring coupler was right in line with the Bilstein gland nut, and the couplers I had would not clear the nut. Moving the tender spring to the bottom forced the coupler to always ride under the gland nut.

[lucidmatt]

If I'm correct, Ed, that shouldnt be a problem with me here. That's a 25lb (Take-up? helper?) spring so it should just bottom out under the car's weight and leave the 350lb linear rate spring to do all the heavy lifting, and the barrel section over the gland nut.. Here's the coilover pics I left out of this thread:

[EDIGREG]

Yes, but once you lower the perch to your desired ride height, plus add in the compression of the primary spring under vehicle weight, you may find the spring coupler interferes with the gland nut

[Marc]

Dmitri sent this to me yesterday. 2.2l with HX40 super, Euro 99ron with heavy aquamist methanol injection, stock ecu tuned speed density.

[lucidmatt]

I'm gonna need rods.

[ringbearer]

Yup.

Is the car waiting for next wekend for more attention?

[lucidmatt]

Looks like you got a lot done.
I'd spend the money on a GKN outer joint and scrap that odd one. Maybe someone has a used one that is tight you could have for less than a new one.
No major disasters so far!

I thought of that but the entire axle is thinner and wouldnt accept a typical gkn rebuild joint. I have to find a used OEM PS axle since literally every place ive called has said "nope, nothing in stock, sorry..." so this project is on hold until I can find a new axle... any leads?

[lucidmatt]

Yup.

Is the car waiting for next wekend for more attention?

I've been attending to side projects in the meantime, I replaced the brake bomb yesterday, pulled the front end off and the stock SMIC to start fab work for a FMIC. I'm also going to pin out some wiring for city lights,since there is nothing else to do but wait...

[ringbearer]

Just grab an EMPI axle until you find a good used OE axle to go through and swap in.

[lucidmatt]

Even the right side EMPI is NLA... ive called around, only the left DS axle is avaliable from EMPI. Chris Semple might have a used rebuildable unit pending inspection and verification that it's OE.

[ringbearer]

wow. I've got a used empi I just took out if you want it.

[chaloux]

Email Marcel, my dad. I'm sure he's got one (ten)

mchaloux at cogeco dawt ca

[lucidmatt]

Thanks all you guys for jumping in with leads. This community never ceases to amaze me. I have a rebuildable OEM axle coming my way tonight thanks to Mystified and Marc on here. You guys are the best, and this is exactly why I need to keep this car running, I cant imagine belonging to a kinder, more supportive, positive community than this one.