Thread: 04 gp gt: low, slow and a dirty sloot.

Originally Posted by ItHurtz

I have a non hud window in my car, hud while I hate it and never use it, when it appears to go on, is clear.

Originally Posted by WarStryker13

.... But it looks much larger to the eye, and it's more than clear enough.

Good to know. Definitely not spending the extra $200 for the HUD glass then.

Good work Stryker. Odd about the temp though. I have ambient temp readout on the digital HVAC, but it doesn't display on HUD. But then neither do the radio stations, and they should. Gotta look into that.

Yup, it's got 4 different displays: MPH with temp, MPH without temp, Stealth mode with temp, and Stealth mode without temp. Temp always reads 86° though... Might be worth it to get an temp sensor, I'm pretty sure there's a plug in the front bumper for it.

As for the display, I'm really wishing I had the trim piece. lol

Still haven't ordered the trim piece, I know... But I did finally finish replacing the hubs.

Figured out that my front knuckles are completely FUBAR'd, the balljoint studs are loose in the socket, so much so that the castle nut will finger tighten all the way past the cotter pin hole. That might explain the clunk I get everytime I hit a pothole...

I have a long list of problems that I want to fix, whether or not that list actually gets finished or even written down is a complete unknown. But I can always claim progress.

Ordered some parts end of last week from the dealership, mostly because the prices really weren't that bad.

Parts! by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Paid $113 for both on Saturday, picked them up today.

Looks like factory. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

And installed them.

I'm continually finding more crap that needs fixed, latest issue is the clock ring... One of the flat flex cables broke, so now I don't have cruise control. That and the ABS is throwing a fit, probably going to have to get the module rebuilt here pretty soon.

I might just grab both of those from the junkyard this weekend.

Got some more parts, paid significantly less too.

Picked up a set of knuckles to replace the horridly worn-out ones that I've been on for far too long, and got a steering wheel coil so I'll have cruise control again. Oh, and a cargo net for the trunk.

Pictures will come later, especially pics of how badly I broke the old stuff.

It's been far longer than it should have, but now I've got all of the parts I should need to actually get this thing back together.

After pulling the old knuckles off, discovered why the car felt slightly off with steering and handling... https://i.imgur.com/YonZgYI.mp4 The other side was better but still easy to move by hand.

Then after I pulled the sway bar off, I found that the front bushings were just rattling in the subframe, explaining the clunk that I've had for a nice long while. Since the balljoints went bad so damn quickly, I figured I might as well replace those.

Long story short, I'm replacing the knuckles, balljoints, front LCA bushings, wheel hubs, steering wheel, and adding a HUD... All within ~2 months. This is the most love this car has gotten in a while...

So. Three weeks ago (ish) the airbag light came on and I parked the car in my garage until it was fixed. Last night the car left the garage. This is what happened in between:

1: The clock spring (or steering wheel module coil) was broken. I maybe kinda sorta broke the cables inside the clock spring, probably from being a bit too forceful when pulling the steering wheel off (oops)

I think it's broken.... by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

2: The old knuckles were abused and mistreated, resulting in gouges and deformation inside the balljoint sockets

Old knuckle by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Old knuckle by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

It's difficult to see, but there's a ridge in the socket where the old balljoints weren't fitting properly and had widened the hole to the point that I would have had to drill a new hole farther down the stud in order to hold the castle nut in place with a cotter pin. So I picked up a set of knuckles, along with a clock spring, cargo net, assorted little plastic nuts for the trunk, and an extra double din bezel for when I finally get a new head unit. (I tend to break interior pieces)

Junkyard parts are the best parts. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

(BTW, if anyone needs the extra trunk pieces, I can't fit anymore of them in my trunk so you're welcome to them)

3: The front LCA bushings had been rattling inside the subframe tabs for quite a while, I didn't have the T55 Torx driver that I needed when I installed the LCAs. Even though I got it tight, it wasn't tight enough to hold the center sleeve of the bushing between the tabs and a very slight amount of play turned into an annoying clunk and I had to fix it. So I went and bought the Moog Problem Solver spherical bushings and pressed those in, then used an 18" breaker bar with the T55 driver and a 36" breaker bar with a 21mm socket and full body wrenched those fukers tight.

New spherical bushings by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Full body as in feet on one bar, deadlifting the other bar. That seems to have fixed it.

4: Getting the old balljoints out was the worst part of it all. I had to drill out the heads of all 6 rivets, because an air chisel with a fresh bit couldn't get them off. It did eventually manage to get the rivets out... After almost 2 hours of full body lean into those damn things.

The last time I drilled out rivets it took less than half an hour to get all 6.

New balljoint by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

But now they're bolted in, so replacement will be much easier next time.

And after 3 weeks, I finally have a working car.

Shiny! by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Still have things to fix, but that's just how it is when your daily driver is a 15 year old parts bin car. And I'm still never getting rid of it.

It finally happened on my way home from work yesterday...

I missed it by 1/10th of 1%... by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

And I couldn't get my phone out to take a picture when it happened, because there was a state trooper directly beside me on the highway...

I only missed it by a tenth of a percent, if you want to get statistical.

How hard was it to replace the dash cover? Mine's broken in 3 places.

It's actually pretty easy, you have to remove the A pillar trim pieces, but there's "handles" on either side that you start with, pulling the trim panel up from the sides and working your way to the middle.

Be careful once you get to the center, because both the alarm LED and the ambient light sensor have pretty short harnesses. I had to twist in all sorts of weird ways to get them out of the old panel and into the new panel. The light sensor is the biggest pain, because if you aren't extremely careful you'll break the plastic bracket that the sensor locks into. It's only held on by two tiny little spot welds, and even just snapping it back down into place can break those sonic welds and it'll fall down under the panel.

Thanks. I'll have to go to the junk yard. There's a couple in there i can practice on and then buy the one that's not broken.

Bottomed out on the access road I take to work every day... It's a single lane road up the side of a mountain, and it hasn't been fixed in at least 15 years. There's a few patch jobs here and there, but most of the patches pop out during the cold months so the potholes are pretty nasty.

Being low is hard... by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

This is why I'm seriously considering putting a skid plate under the front subframe, because the oil and trans pan are maybe 1/2" above the bottom edge of the subframe, and I really don't want this car to hemorrhage to death on my way to work one day just because someone else is leaving the site.

I don't need 3/8" plate armor for the underside, but something that could take a few low-speed hits until I bag this bish and just max the ride height when I head up this particular road. I've thought about going back to stock height... and that lasted 5 seconds.

Air ride or bust!

* random red wire with eye *

Originally Posted by cheatah faheatah

* random red wire with eye *

things that make you say hmmmmm?

Trickle charger for the battery that I disconnected when I ripped out the rest of the Arctic winterization BS...

Three heating pads went bye bye, but I'm leaving the RTV mess that held them on for three years. The block heater and battery charger will be just fine for any cold I may encounter in the future.

The damage:

Front fender damage by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Driver's side mirror damage. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Driver's side door damage by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Driver's side rear quarter panel damage by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Dangly bits hanging out. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

What's left of the driver's side mirror. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

How it happened:

Close call... by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Today is not my day. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Little too close for comfort. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

It's just a little stuck. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Damn box is in my way. by Ben Stryker, on Flickr

Tomorrow morning I'm taking it in to the shop to get an estimate, then I'm planning on going by the junkyard and shamelessly plundering the 05 Galaxy Silver GP in there for the entire driver's side... and possibly other stuff. We shall see.

I'm still trying to figure out how I hydroplaned at 35mph around a very tame-looking corner.

maybe you get lucky and they total it for ya.

And yes, once the tow truck winched it back over the berm, I drove it home. It pulls ever so slightly to the left now, but otherwise it drives like nothing happened.