[darkpuppet]

To say that not much got done on the car yesterday is an understatement. I'm hoping some folks here can provide insight to some questions I have, and bear with me on my little rant... I'll get to the questions first.

firstly
I have the pages printed out from the shop manual for the thermostat replacement, but I have to be honest, they are not clear on how to attack this thing. There are 3 possible screws or bolts to remove.. and if you look at the area of the tstat, there are 2 possible routes to take.

my question is this... do I go for the torx screws on the front (#1), or go for the bolts on the side (#2)? Any thoughts. I wasn't about to start pulling s**t off if I wasn't sure.. last thing I needed was a bigger mess on my hands (see below about the mess)

secondly
what's a good vacuum line to tap from? can I select from the ones I believe are in this picture?
<a href='http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v246/darkpuppet/vacuum_line.jpg'>
thoughts? I couldn't find a 1/8&quot; adapter to use on a t-fitting, so I bought some extra nylon tubing and will ghetto fab an adapter with teflon/electrical tape and zip ties.

Now onto my little rant.. how not to install you gauges :P
I should have checked sooner, so I accept full responsibility for this mistake... checking to make sure they sent you the right gauge pod:


actually, a non-flash picture shows what I mean a little better:
<a href='http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v246/darkpuppet/gauge_pod2.jpg'>
Here's what it looks like if I fix up the histogram:

so that's a pisser... can anyone confirm if my squarer a-pillars are indeed 2002 model year? because I asked for 2002 quage pod, but my car has a lot of things that seem really 2001 on it (like the hood insulation). I'll need to call Steeda and see how quickly they can get me a new pod. (did I mention this sucks?)

so after bailing on the tstat and gauge pods, I thought it would be a good time to sort out some of the wiring under the hood.... and what I found can be summed up in this pic:
<a href='http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v246/darkpuppet/rats_nest.jpg'>
you may notice the hood release cable that's been chaffed nearly to the core... it looks like it was caught with a grinder.. and considering the amount of senseless grinding those guys did, I almost expect that to be the case... should have inspected everything a bit closer before.

But there's a serious problem with pretty much all of the looming and hoses that pass that area.. some are zip-tied to the frame, but they're chaffing pretty badly and with the way everything is stacked, stuffed, and tied to each other, there's a lot of chaffing going on, and I'm surprised my car hasn't gone pre-recall flameside up on me yet...

So I stepped back... I'm going to have to attack this sht in the evenings and try to sort it out.. but right now, it looks like I may be renting a car for my travels to TBay... good lesson here kids.

don't wait to the last minute to do these things!

d'oh!

[hardk0re]

For your first problem, my solution is to just start pulling crap off. Its the best way to find out what goes where. Of course if you don't remember you have one hell of a tough time putting it back.

As for the guage pod, the one you got kind of looks like the same one I got for my 2001

<a href='http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/572000-572999/572202_7_full.jpg'></a>

I found even though mine fit perfect I had to play with it a bit to get it to fit, mine didn't fit nice and snug unless I applied some force and the guage pod bent a little.

The worst part for me was removing the pillar, I broke every single clip holding it on, it wouldn't stay and kept falling down. One day I was using some no more nails and just applied it at a few places and shazam, problem solved (Until I have to remove the damn thing).

So be VERY carefull removing the pillar because those clips suck! Not sure if someone here has a good technique not to break clips that can help you out.

[naz]

steve man... i think you have just confirmed everyone's worse fears about what happens when its not you or one your good friends modifying a car..

but in a way.. its almost better you are renting a car to go on a long trip.. i'm not sure a car with many one off parts is a good choice for any long trip.. at least this way if you break something you will have the rental car company to back you up plus you have a car that is really common and easy to fix by whatever small shop you stumble on in the boonies

[darkpuppet]

hey hardcore, thanks for the info on the pillar.. it appears as though I got the 2001 model.. I'll have a chat with the steeda folks and get that straightened out.

with the tstat, the EGR, and supercharger all sharing practically the same space, I want to avoid pulling off more than I absolutely have to.. and since the tstat is fairly simple, I can hold off on that. (I have bigger fish to fry with the rats nest o wirin')

I haven't had problems pulling my a pillar off on the passenger side, but you're right, you do have to be careful. I found it best to get my fingers as close to the clip as possible, and slowly pry it out with my fingers on either side to support the plastic... hopefully that will work out well for the drivers side.

[darkpuppet]

naz,Jun 27 2004, 04:52 PM Wrote:steve man... i think you have just confirmed everyone's worse fears about what happens when its not you or one your good friends modifying a car..

but in a way.. its almost better you are renting a car to go on a long trip.. i'm not sure a car with many one off parts is a good choice for any long trip.. at least this way if you break something you will have the rental car company to back you up plus you have a car that is really common and easy to fix by whatever small shop you stumble on in the boonies

yeah, I know what you're saying... maybe I'll rent a convertable and impress everyone back home :P

the car could make it, but man, this is what happens when you let others touch your car. it's taking a lot more of my time and effort than I really want it to... but on the plus side, I'm learning a whole helluva lot.

[manusvt]

For the thermostat go with the 3 torx screws its right behind the housing.

sorry for my english i am french :D

[darkpuppet]

manusvt,Jun 28 2004, 06:10 AM Wrote:For the thermostat go with the 3 torx screws its right behind the housing.

sorry for my english i am french :D

your english is plenty good.

thanks man!

[BrooksZX3]

Damn Steve, that wiring is a mess! Hope you can get that all sorted out. But you're right about the learning part. As frustrating as it gets though, you will look back and realize the learning is really quite fun.

Good luck!

[Paparoach]

Sometimes my friend I don't know if I should laugh or cry.....

Today I laugh :lol: