So I got back Friday morning. And on Saturday I set out to do work. It was still wet from raining earlier in the morning; but having just come back from Seattle/Vancouver, the weather was too nice to not to go ahead and get something done before it starts raining again like on Monday. My goal was to get it in running condition. So that meant I was going to do the oil change, and work on fitting the intake despite Mishimoto having sent me some more defective ones. I decided to delay the fuel filter because my battery is simply not charge enough. I wouldn't be able to pull the fuse and do a few starts LOL
I don't remember why I took this picture. Probably to show how it was damp? Beats me, but here's a picture
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psextm3nhz.jpg
Then started the usual oil change. The oil was dark as hell lol But at least it was still liquid, unlike the rubber/sludge that I saw in a gif on Reddit the other day :rofl:
I also need to straighten out that subframe brace too, but I'll do that another day.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psy2kqbuf1.jpg
While the car was up, I checked out my scrape plates. They were getting pretty messed up lol It's actually starting to fall off, but I'm going to remake the plates again later so whatever.
Here's some shots to show which part clearly has the most wear
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ps8jyr9yfv.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pszo5fc8g0.jpg
Done with the easy part :thumbup:
The next part was the intake. So I took everything apart again, including the DISA. I then fitted the defective lower intake boot on the TB to see how it fits. As I suspected. The fit and the angle of the boot was way better due to the better cuts. But, it doesn't sit in the TB groove and doesn't make a complete seal because of the melted section making it wider than the groove.
So since I had sort of a template for the lower intake hose, I started cutting the one that I had to make it fit like the defective one did. I already did the initial cutting on the TB opening side that I had marked a couple updates ago. Those measurements were spot on. For the ICV part, I had to cut an additional 1/8" off the 1/2" I had already taken off :facepalm: That pretty much gave me the angle that I needed, I could not get the lower hose to turn anymore at that point.
Sorry, I don't have any pictures of that part. Actually, I don't have pictures of the whole cutting/fitting/measuring part at all lol
The upper hose they gave me was pretty much exactly the same as what I currently have. At this point, it's all trial & error as I go along.
Brian N. came by to give me a much needed hand. So we started by fitting and eyeballing the cuts :eeps:
Here's an a couple of old pictures I took before to show you what we basically started with with the upper hose fitted
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psfew5hcgw.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psydiguwy4.jpg
So we started cutting the end that goes to the metal connector they have. Our main focus was to get the hose to turn more towards the driver's side (away from the engine) until we could get the opening of the MAF side somewhat parallel to the airbox. We did quite a few cuts, some of them we considered was very aggressive. But even then they weren't enough :wtf: :banghead: The position was pretty much set by the hoses connected to the F-connector. Since I didn't have any hoses to extend that portion, it's more or less near the stock location now. So it's not hitting the DISA like what others have done.
We got it to turn as much as we could and cutting a lot off. I couldn't cut it anymore because then the connector wouldn't fit. After all that cutting, the MAF side still wasn't parallel to the airbox yet :facepalm: Now the intake hose is more to the left, but it's also angled down like an 1" :hmm: From the test fit it looked like I could force it up that inch to get it to the level that I needed, so our next focus was to cut the MAF side of the intake hose.
So the first cut was to cut it to make it parallel to the airbox. Then we cut it so that the MAF angle would be facing down because when you pull up on the intake hose, it's now facing straight up into the air instead of straight into the airbox. That took a few tries to get it right. We got it super close, so all that was left was to force it in the rest of the way. Finally, got that sucker in :censor:
I reused my factory F-connector. It seemed to fit perfectly with a perfect seal so far. There's no leak that I could see. But I have a couple of the aluminum F-connectors if it needs changing. Makes for an even more factory look which is what I like.
Here's what my filter looked like :lmao: I don't remember when the last time I changed it was
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pssxwavzz8.jpg
And here is the fruit of our labor :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pshfifjd2d.jpg
That seriously took a ridiculous long amount of time. Like 4 hour total to make this thing fit. Hence the night picture.
This is how much I had to cut off :thumbdwn:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ps5yoptic1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ps5vropydm.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pse5rhcvst.jpg
That was literally 1/3 of the hose that we had to cut off just for the upper intake hose alone :tsk: :thumbdwn:
There's even more pieces I cut off before that, but I threw those away before I realized I should have taken a picture.
With that finally installed. I put the strut bar back in. Of course, during the re-install, i drop one of the nuts :banghead: It is forever lost now. But I have plenty of spares, so that was an easy fix.
Some closer shots of our work during the day with the Mason bar installed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pssklclwup.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psdw27new3.jpg
Engine looks good, and car runs now. No leaks as far as I can tell.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pskmc6qkg1.jpg
Car feels good to drive now. Only thing that sucks right now is that my ZHP shift knob is loose from when I broke it way back when trying to fit it with the Rogue SSK. So it vibrates like crazy and I feel like I could pull it off any time accidentally during a shift lol
Took a picture of the car, just cause it looked good just sitting there lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psdz6eslp3.jpg
At least from that angle anyways. My bumper paint is really getting unsightly now :(
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pstzt2vwdl.jpg
It will get taken care of in the future for sure.
Special thanks to Brian N. for coming over and helping me with the intake hose retrofit :bow: :bow:
I don't think I could ever recommend someone to get this. If it were just a little bit a cutting, then sure. But this is too much. I injured myself a few times in the process cutting myself with a really sharp razor. If I weren't wearing gloves, it would be worst LOL Their customer service have been ok at best. When emailing them, it takes at least 2 days to get a reply. Calling them is the best way. But if the CS person you need to talk to isn't there and they ask to take your name to call back. They won't. I've never received that return call.
I'm awaiting their resolution for the defective ones they sent. But it's the weekend, so probably won't receive a reply until Tues. I'll probably call on Monday and see.
So I have only a couple of items left to do now:
- Fuel filter
- Windshield Cowl
That would finally complete this round of preventative maintenance.
Meanwhile, I added a couple more things to my overall list of things to do/replace like a new shift knob. I probably won't get around to the fuel filter and stuff until next week. I'm letting my dad borrow the car while I work on his new car the entire week. I just hope that it comes back in one piece next week :rofl: