K swap FRS : Freddy McShreddy part deux

captainawesome said:

Unfortunately I'm battling a serious case of tennis elbow, so trying to take it easy.

Oh man, don't mess around with that. It took me over a year to get back to full strength, and it was really frustrating trying to do anything in the garage during that time. After my tried and true method of just ignoring the pain didn't work, I tried just being nice to it until it stopped hurting, then I would always reaggravate it. You have to be nice to it and do rehab exercises. The exercises are mandatory. That velcro band "tennis elbow brace" that they sell at pharmacies, grocery stores, etc. did not do anything for me. Kinesio tape helped, until eventually I didn't need the extra support. Good luck.

In reply to obsolete :

Well crap. I was afraid of that. Had a similar issue with plantar fasciitis that lasted over a year before finally feeling normal again. The tennis elbow has been popping up when in tight quarters trying to get a wrench in awkward places and now I can't lift anything without pain even in really light weights. I've got so much going on I'm not sure how I'll manage to heal up anytime soon.

In reply to captainawesome :

Yeah, when mine was really bad, I couldn't really pick anything up, pull anything toward me, or control anything at arm's length. Like, I could still do push-ups or bench press, but hold a pitcher of water and pour a glass out of it? Forget it. Couldn't use an impact wrench (well, I did, but I shouldn't have), couldn't really pull on a breaker bar. On the plus side, I got a lot better at doing things with my non-dominant hand. I'm way more ambidextrous now.

But yeah, kinesio tape (I used RockTape, but there are a bunch of them out there), and as soon as it stops hurting enough, exercises.

For the tape, I found a simple cross pattern worked best. 5 inch strip across my arm just below the elbow, centered on where it hurt the most. 10 inch strip down the length of my arm from a couple inches above the elbow to a couple inches above the wrist. Intersection of the two pieces of tape as close as possible to where the pain is the sharpest. Watch some YouTube videos and you'll probably see some of them doing this pattern. You can buy the stuff pre-cut into 10 inch strips which makes this pattern fast and easy to do. It would last me 5-7 days per application on average, although wearing long sleeves makes it peel off faster. I also found I could stretch the tape significantly more than the directions recommended, and got more support that way without seeming to sacrifice much durability, but y'know, ease into it.

For exercises, I pretty much just focused on doing the wrist extension and wrist flexion movements (pictured here) and just doing those once a day made all the difference. Finally giving in and doing the exercises (like my wife said I should from the beginning...) was the turning point between repeatedly reaggravating it and actually feeling better and going longer without the tape until I didn't need it anymore. It's been months since I've done any exercises now and I can't remember the last time I felt any pain in that elbow. Of course, since I've done all this talking about it now, I should probably do another set of exercises before bed tonight just for maintenance :)

Again, good luck, hope this helps.

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, this is not professional medical advice, blah blah blah.)

In reply to obsolete :

I appreciate the tips. I'm going to try to use my left arm as much as possible right now, and in the meantime get some of that tape. Picking up a box of donuts is pain, and that's not supposed to be anything more than joy.

Think I'd still run a cat, no reason not to.  Doesn't take away any power, particularly on a naturally aspirated motor, makes the exhaust sound/smell better and  it's just a nice thing to do

In reply to docwyte :

It's on the list of things I'd like to add in. Originally I thought the stock front pipe with secondary cat would have been used. I didn't find out until the kit instructions were released that wasn't the case. I think there's a way to package it in, but until I have it all together it's hard to say. Unfortunately the header primaries are so long that when they merge it's considerably further back. There is a joiner pipe from the header to the mid pipe back, but it's short and space for a cat is pretty minimal.

Well I sucked at taking any progress pics this weekend. Haltech ECU/wideband goodies and ECM jumper board is "installed" along with the fuel ECU jumper stuff. Removed a spare fuel line as the car factory uses two and one is sufficient. Capped the second line with the provided plug. Did some touch up paint where all the hammering took place. Tidied up wiring with some new harness wrap. Installed shifter platform and trimmed some brackets. Lots of fiddling really just taking my time. No flywheel still so I guess I'll keep plugging along.

In reply to captainawesome :

Snow shoveling triggers a bad case of tennis elbow on my right arm each year and PT with one of these ( Amazon.com: TheraBand FlexBar, Tennis Elbow Therapy Bar, Relieve Tendonitis Pain & Improve Grip Strength, Resistance Bar for Golfers Elbow & Tendinitis, Green, Medium, Intermediate : Health & Household ) has greatly reduced the impact. I think it is pretty much the same as the towel roll method linked but with a little more consistent resistance. There are cheaper options and different levels of resistance out there, I just linked the one I have. Good luck as it can put a real damper on wrenching.

It's been a bit of a roller coaster lately. The flywheel showed up on Saturday and so all of Sunday was planned to get this kit bolted together. All was going well until I realized I ordered the wrong flywheel bolts. WTF? Kpower uses 90011-RDB-000 part number for all of their other Miata swap kits so I ASSUMED they would continue that tradition. When the instructions came out I glanced at the part number and they appeared to be the same. Key word "appeared" since I actually needed 90011-PNA-B00. So other than bolting on the bellhousing adapter and starter I was stuck. I ordered the proper bolts to be overnighted since there aren't any local and twiddled my thumbs like a toddler.

Yesterday the proper bolts arrived so my evening mission was to accomplish one thing only. Bolt a friggin k24a2 into my FRS.

And I did.

I'd like to say I got it all bolted up and got to hear it run but I ran into a handful of tedious snags. The first snag was trans tunnel clearance. The guide provided is really light on details for where and how much to hammer other than one picture, so I was a bit surprised to see my trans bracket wasn't lining up. After pulling the engine and trans mostly back out 3 times to cut and hammer for clearance, I finally got enough space for things to have some breathing room. This took up probably at least an hour or more of troubleshooting and being a sissy about how much I wanted to cut or hammer.

Things were smooth sailing getting the driveshaft bolted in place so I decided to do fluids long before I forgot. Well, the trans filler plug stripped out on the 10mm socket head bolt. Of course this was AFTER everything was bolted in place. Luckily a pair of vice grips got it loose and my spare diff has a similar bolt that made a worthy replacement. Pumping it full of fluid was messy since it was getting late and I was not quite on my A game. At some point we all begin to just keep pushing when it's time to call it a night.

I kinda wanted to finish all the dirty work on the underside so the header and front pipe were up next. I was informed one bolt can be a pain to get to on the front pipe and should consider bolting the header to it outside of the car as one piece. Then see if I can get it to all bolt up without things getting in the way. That tip worked out well as it was easily snaked in place without issue. I dug my mid pipe out of the attic and started to finish up the exhaust install. Unfortunately the muffler I thought was stock is actually larger at the flange than the mid pipe. Weird. I still have the aftermarket resonator only muffler thing that will bolt up but will need to look into other options for noise sake.

At this point I kinda cleaned up my tools and was ready to call it a night. Right before I was ready to shut the light off I saw the cam sensors staring at me. I figured a couple more easy  items bolted on would make it feel like there was more accomplished. Friggin pain to get access back there so what I assumed was a 3 minute job turned out to be 15. Oh well. They are on.

Crappy pic of trans tunnel hammerage? It's hard to see but at the top left there's a little nub that was causing all sorts of grief.

And a pic of the muffler flange size difference. I don't think this is a TRD muffler since it's stamped Subaru but am just now to a point where I can start looking into it further.

I expected to see all that extra space on the sides, but I didn't anticipate the space in front- interesting.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

I expected to see all that extra space on the sides, but I didn't anticipate the space in front- interesting.

So much so I am considering fabricoblling a Rotrex supercharger off the nose of it. Maybe using a kit intended for an s2k but adapting it?

Probably won't go that direction though. I do have everything to jump to flex fuel after I get a few miles in and that should put me around 250 so to the rear wheels. Compared to the previous 198hp on e85 with the fa20 that leap plus an extra 1k rpm will seem like a rocket ship. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

In reply to captainawesome :

I wonder how hard it would be to route the exhaust forward and out the side... you know, since K series hates exhaust restriction and all.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Only as hard as you make it?

Did some digging and apparently at the 17 onward years they changed the flange where the midpipe meets the muffler. I believe they use a similar donut gasket to the front of the mid pipe.

So options are as follows:

1. bolt on aftermarket muffler that I know fits for now and see how terribly loud it is

2. file holes to fit stock 17 up muffler to older mid pipe

3. find 17 up mid pipe

4. buy resonated 2.5 or 3 inch mid pipe

Leaning towards 1 first and then 4 later?

Yeah I'd be at the point of cobbled exhaust first because I want to drive it now. Then very quickly get tired of the loud and do whatever option gets me a reasonable sounding exhaust.

More progress was made last night even though it doesn't feel like it or visually look like it. Wiring is all done and routed. Sort of. I need to zip tie a couple areas and figure out grounds where the fa20 valve covers were usually attached to. Intake manifold is where it belongs. Throttle body was then bolted to it. Heater core lines are done. Started doing main coolant lines on the driver side and got it all sorted. Then moved to the passenger side only to realize I trimmed the wrong friggin hose when doing the driver side. Frick! I decided to call it a night and find a hose today as well as an exhaust gasket for the muffler. I also did some measuring to see if any aftermarket strut braces may fit. Gotta get some other folks to do some measuring on their setups to see if there's a bolt on solution or I'm going to have to make one.

Almost forgot. There's this plug that doesn't have a connector on the Kpower harness. Seems weird since it's connected to the Vtec solonoid but they do proved a Bosch oil temp/pressure sensor to replace the stock one on the block. Or at least that's how I understood it and the harness confirms some of it as far as placement goes.

Stock engine management or Haltech?

That oil switch is for the VTEC system, not the gauge. Haltech may not use it.

That swap is looking really good.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Stock engine management or Haltech?

That oil switch is for the VTEC system, not the gauge. Haltech may not use it.

Yup. It sounds like that's the case. Using a Haltech Elite 1500.

In reply to dculberson :

Indeed! I'm really pleased with how it looks, and super excited to see how it performs.

Last night I had a couple items on the list I wanted to check off. First and foremost was cleaning up the explosion of parts, packaging, tools, etc. all over the garage. After that I figured I deserved a night off but being able to have some leg and elbow room was enough inspiration to fasten the a/c lines in place. Of course that then led to me wanting to install the intake piping and vent hoses. Then of course fuel lines and flex fuel sensor.

And that's when I realized the car could be started.

Gulp.

After fiddling with the Haltech software and calibration for the drive by wire throttle, the car came to life. The exhaust is barely finger tight at the midpipe joinery and nothing at the muffler but it runs and those items will be addressed tomorrow. So pumped. I just picked up the coolant hose needed to wrap up that side of things as well as the muffler gasket. Hopefully I can get some test miles in this weekend and be commuting to work on Monday. Yeehaw!!!

Wow! I know you did a lot of work to be prepared for when the kit arrived, but cross-brand engine swaps aren't supposed to be this easy. Really impressive, congrats!

Long weekend but not as much done as I hoped. I thought I'd be driving the car around and headed to work on Monday but nope.

Friday evening the coolant system was all plumbed. Saturday morning I dove straight into fixing the muffler flange holes with a round file and some elbow grease. Let's put some purple stuff in the system and get this party started.

After spending some time trying to get the coolant burped, the car was starting to break up a little and run rough. When I shut the car off you could hear the worst shriek as it came to a hault. Then wouldn't start again. Frick! Super paranoid I assumed the worst. Oil starvation? Did I screw up the oil pump install? Crap crap crap.....

But the engine wasn't seized. In fact it was still turning over but acted like it wasn't getting spark. Then the battery died. Hmmmm.

I thought maybe just a tired battery and went to lunch with the lady to take a break. As we feasted I recalled that the voltage wasn't rising when running earlier but actually hovering just below 12v. I thought maybe the Haltech was reading wrong because my multimeter was reading a bit higher at the battery. So back to the house I threw a different battery in and tested to see if I'm getting a charge. Nope. Notta. When I pulled the alternator it shreiked horribly when turning the pulley. I found the source of the noise AND who knows how many other problems.

So I went to Autozone and bought a cheap reman. A few minutes later we are back in business! The car starts and runs so much better now. Unfortunately I was having trouble getting the lower rad hose to get warm. It seemed like the thermostat wasn't opening but the top hose was getting silly hot. During the time I replaced the alternator I realized there was a small puddle of coolant below the bellhousing. From what I could tell it was a hose clamp slightly loose introducing air into the system.  After snugging it up the thermostat began to open/close as it's supposed to. Yeehaw! We are getting somewhere now.

BUT..... my temp gauge isn't moving. At first I thought maybe it was trapped air, but the water neck at the back of the head is hot and that's where the sensor is. I tested the sensor and it's reading within range of what it's supposed to so I have to do more digging. Right now I can drive the car but the fans won't kick on when getting to hot. I can turn them on manually but would like to sort this stuff out before getting too far away from the house. I'm so close to finished. So close.

Oh, almost forgot. I was playing with the shifter alignment and couldn't figure out why it would go into reverse without using the lockout lever on the shifter. After exploring the shifter console to adjust the lockout plate I found there wasn't one there. My buddy helped me a week or two ago just going over the parts when they came in and he had bolted the shifter to the provided plate. I guess he didn't realize the lockout plate was missing and I didn't check his work. Since the shifter assembly was bought separate from the trans I assume someone had removed it before selling it to me? So long story short I have one ordered up. Hope I don't jam it in reverse accidentally before it comes in.

THIS WEEK I WILL DRIVE THIS CAR. I DON'T CARE IF IT'S 20 FRIGGIN FEET OR MILES. IT WILL MOVE UNDER IT'S OWN POWER.

Hopefully.

Great progress so far. I look forward to your driving impressions, especially since you have experience with the Subie motor in various power outputs. It will be a good apples to apples comparison with the swap and that's good information to have out there. 

So since I'm sitting on my rump at work bored I figure it's a good time to go over how I plumbed the flex fuel sensor.

First thing first. Parts list with some breakdown on price.

13507128 ACDelco/Continental flex sensor. Musta been a flash sale because they are around $50 now but I got it for $38 on Prime.

Vibrant 12275 pinch clamps $8.50 but only need 2 total for this.

8 pin connector 90980-10896 with pins that will plug into the stock AC2 harness connector was $20.90 and the only item I'm waiting to receive.

Boost Monkey flex fuel pigtail for $13.13. This means I only have to crimp 3 pins to the AC2 plug.

Gates 27335 5/16" fuel line. I bought 10' for $19.80 through Rockauto but maybe used a foot at best?

Dorman quick connects 800091 and 800085 for under $3 each. Also purchased through Rockauto. I only needed one 90 degree fitting and one of the straights so you will have a leftover.

Maxwell Manufacturing flex fuel billet mount for $28 on ebay.

Combined with the Kpower fuel supply line this is really all that's needed.

I took a spare bracket that was used for the stock intake box and flattened a spot for it to be bolted to the strut tower brace bolt. The Maxwell bracket bolted to it, and the lines point perfectly to the connectors. Into the sensor from the stock fuel hard line is a fuel clamped 5/16" hose feeding a 90 degree Dorman quick release clamped with the Vibrant crimp ring. Then a straight Dorman fitting crimped to the provided Kpower line which has a quick connect to their fuel rail. The Boost Monkey pigtail will pin to the AC2 plug and the rest is all settings to configure in the Haltech.

We've already made the provisions to run a flex fuel sensor quickly and easily. The Flex Fuel sensor signal is run off connector B, pin 8 on the Haltech ECU. All you need to do is go into the main setup on the ESP software, and set the Flex Fuel Composition Input to pin B8 (SPI1). From there, you'll have to set up the edge and sensor type according to which sensor you have. Once you have that setup, the rest is easy. Find the 8 pin connector (AC2) that runs right next to the main 54 pin connector that you'll plug the engine harness into. Everything you need is in the 8 pin connector. On that 8 pin connector, the 3 wires you'll need are as follows:

 

Pin 1 (light green/red stripe): 12V power

Pin 2 (white): Ground

Pin 3 (red/ green stripe): flex fuel sensor signal

Having major issues with my oil temp sensor as well as coolant. Odd that both would have any issues as the coolant temp sensor ohms match the heat range I tested it at. The Bosch oil sensor reads pressure just fine so weird that temp would be a problem. I haven't tested ohms to temp yet but will in a minute. Also my MAP sensor is reading around -78 kpa at about 1300 rpm or so. My idle won't drop probably because both temp sensor readouts are trash.


Ugh.


I've sent a message to Kpower to see if they can help rule out possible issues but other than plugging in their harness which can only be done one way there shouldn't be much I could have screwed up. I do know the coolant temp sensor on the k24 was working before I pulled the engine from the donor. Odds that it's bad seem really low. Also really weird that the oil temp sensor would be doing the same.
 

In reply to captainawesome :

First thought is grounds. Double check all of them. Good luck! I hate the cost of these kits when a lot could be done cheaper DIY, but WOW. That was a fast swap. Makes me rethink things a bit. Maybe I should save up some $$ for my miata...