My gas pedal has been a bit sticky. Apparently, it's because of gunk making it hard to open the throttle body. I went ahead and cleaned it.
Before:
After:
Sadly, it still is sticking, but much less so. Even after cleaning and off car, there's a "hurdle of resistance" before it snaps open. I'm tempted to use a scrubber pad to smooth it more but am afraid of the leaks that could cause...
Anyways, I made more polka dots. I also got special SCCA dots too!
Good: the exhaust manifold is totally tightened down. We, uh, forgot to tighten the downpipe before bolting up to the head the first time, so I corrected that this evening with another hopeless car friend.
Bad: we discovered my water pump is leaking pretty bad when the car is on ramps.
Ugly: the water pump will be both cheaper and easier to replace on the Saturn than the thermostat on my Intrepid.
P.S.: apparently my Saturn is a 1998, not a 1997. Strange detail to overlook on my part!
P.P.S.: got published in the latest GRM as a photographer! Awesome!
Long weekend equals a long post.
Saturday morning, my friend David and I worked on the water pump and, while we were at it, decided to replace a very worn motor mount.
With that all buttoned up, my co-driver Dave (yeah...I know a lot of Daves and Davids) welded on the exhaust we cobbled together. The Saturn now vents into an OBX-R 4-2-1 header, a flex pipe, some straight pipe, a Thrush glass pack, a used Magnaflow muffler, and then out the passenger side.
We reused a sweet Mazdaspeed tip I had from a Miata muffler. Check out that bling!
With the car silenced (at least to the point I didn't receive a citation from my local cops), it was time to drive to an autocross! However, it was a wee bit rainy on the way and...uh...one of the wiper arms almost wiped itself off the car! I stopped at a gas station and swapped the passenger arm onto the driver side. That sucker had some serious spring strength and got my finger!
Sadly, I confirmed my oil leak fears after arriving.
It turns out that there's a leak on the intake side of the engine just above the alternator. Under load, it streams out oil from what appears to be the timing chain cover. This causes it to leak oil at a rate of around a quart every 40 miles, which is equivalent to the cost of gas (20 mpg = $6 every 40 miles = the cost of a quart of oil).
On the plus side, our event was at a mechanical community college, so I could clean up my mess!
Despite not driving at the event, I discovered a bad oil leak before it was terminal and otherwise have the car ready for some automotive stupidity! Plus, I got most of my dots on. I call that a win!
There are poly inserts for the 99+ dogbone mounts that replace the factory bushings. I had them on my 97 . Worked very well. I still have some leftover parts from my days of building Saturns, some were from XRC.
thesedreams80 wrote: There are poly inserts for the 99+ dogbone mounts that replace the factory bushings. I had them on my 97 . Worked very well. I still have some leftover parts from my days of building Saturns, some were from XRC.
I've heard rumors that two-stage polyurethane can be poured into the factory mounts to stiffen them up. I plan to give that a go on some of my spares as a very cheap upgrade.
Here is some info on the mount inserts: http://www.evilplastic.com/mounts-a.htm. and check this out for more Saturn performance:
http://www.sixthsphere.com/
Ooooo... awesome resources! Thanks!
FYI, the poly inserts only work with OEM dogbones. Don't buy the $10 rockauto replacements to stick the inserts in... they won't fit.
Yes, if you want a rock solid TAM or trans mt, you can use some 2 part cast urethane from McMaster. Honestly, its not worth it though. Get poly dogbones, leave the other mounts stock. The Saturn community has a very unnatural obsession with rock-solid engine mounts. Stock mounts in good condition are not a problem.
Wow! That design is so similar to mine!
I'm going to have nightmares.
pinchvalve wrote: Wow! That design is so similar to mine!
Holy $#!^ awesome creepy.
I have a problem. A tire problem.
I have 4 Intrepid wheels with dead tires, 4 loose Intrepid winter tires, 4 loose all-seasons, 4 Miata wheels with all-seasons, and 4 Saturn steelies with summer tires. There's also 4 more wheels my brother owns in the back. That's not counting the extra 16 mounted on 4 vehicles, bringing the total up to 40. Yup...
On the plus side, the Saturn will have BFG Sport Comp-2 tires whenever it's done spilling oil all over.
You don't have a tire problem until you open the cabinets under the bathroom sink and find a mounted 195/60/15.
If that day ever comes, let me know, because I only have three bathrooms and I don't know where the fourth tire went.
ssswitch wrote: You don't have a tire problem until you open the cabinets under the bathroom sink and find a mounted 195/60/15. If that day ever comes, let me know, because I only have three bathrooms and I don't know where the fourth tire went.
Ouch!
I just stained my kitchen floor with tires over a winter. Apparently cardboard was needed. Oops.
Purchased some Sport Comp-2s for the Saturn ($250) and, since I got to watch the wheels get balanced, knew these steelies were worth saving. They were pretty caked with oil on the inside (thank you timing cover), but nothing that Dawn, a scrubber, and a pressure washer couldn't handle. After washing and treating, they got a fresh coat of POR-15. I'm still debating about painting them now or later to prevent UV fade, but either way, this is an improvement.
Bonus: sold two sets of all-seasons for $90. My garage will be down to 16 tires soon.
kylini wrote: I just stained my kitchen floor with tires over a winter. Apparently cardboard was needed. Oops.
You can get snow tire marks out of rented-condo cork flooring by using a combination of orange cleaner and magic erasers. Ask me how I know.
Done:
• New battery
• New thermostat, coolant temp sensor, water pump, coolant
• Tires and wheels
• Exhaust
To do:
• Timing cover oil leak
• Potentially weird power issues (battery drain, no reverse or license plate lights, extra wires in fuse box)
• Better exhaust hanging in rear
• Throttle body and/or intake replacement
I got some 15x6 alloy saturn wheels I dont need anymore, $80 for the set I can take them to the challenge.
echoechoecho wrote: I got some 15x6 alloy saturn wheels I dont need anymore, $80 for the set I can take them to the challenge.
Thanks for the offer, but I don't know when I'll make it down to Florida. I have two sets of wheels ready to go right now, so there's that too!
Lemme sort out the massive oil leak, the weird parasitic load problem, the crappy ground problem, the possible alternator problem, and then actually getting some racing done with it first. 
Hey bud hope all is going well, look at you getting a spot in the magazine with POX! Keep up the good work!
I...uh...hope I actually get that issue. I re-upped when they asked for a high res copy of that photo!
Yeah, I haven't gotten to this car in a month. Something about RallyCross Nationals and research picking up too (I got the cover of Molecular Cell!). Now that the weather is cooling off, though, I plan on fixing er up and scaring my local children again!
kylini wrote: (I got the cover of Molecular Cell!).
THAT is awesome. Congrats. Love the car too BTW.
congrats on that as well! If you dont get it in the mail, barnes and noble should carry it.
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