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Found out that left front strut is clunking. It's a KYB Excel-G installed in June. Right side seems ok, at least compared to the noisy left side. I can easily feel the clunking in the strut by pushing down on the fender with one hand and holding the strut with the other. I'll report back how the warranty process goes.
So far, KYB is saying they don't deal with directly with the public and Amazon is saying to contact KYB because the return window is closed. I decided to deal with other front end noises and finally replaced the u joint in the No. 2 steering intermediate shaft. Kind of a pain to do but cheaper than buying the whole part. Reduced clunking in the wheel but there is still a clunk I believe is coming from the u joint in the main steering shaft. Picture below. Need to diagnose that later today.
New u joint in the intermediate shaft.
Also found the bushings in the front upper control arms are shot. So once I fix all these other parts I can go back to the struts.
Test fit my new to me 20" Lowenhard LD-1's. Front wheels will need a spacer and longer studs while the rear will just need an extra inch on the outer lips. Next is stripping tires off and then separating the wheels and getting them stripped. Excited to get these back and rebuild these period correct wheels for this thing.
This is the best of the 4 and the only one that even holds air.
So far, KYB is saying they don't deal with directly with the public and Amazon is saying to contact KYB because the return window is closed. I decided to deal with other front end noises and finally replaced the u joint in the No. 2 steering intermediate shaft. Kind of a pain to do but cheaper than buying the whole part. Reduced clunking in the wheel but there is still a clunk I believe is coming from the u joint in the main steering shaft. Picture below. Need to diagnose that later today.
New u joint in the intermediate shaft.
Also found the bushings in the front upper control arms are shot. So once I fix all these other parts I can go back to the struts.
Yesterday I was able to eliminate the clunking from the steering. I removed the steering column and inspected all the parts, bearing, u joints etc. Everything looked fine so I repacked the bearings and shaft splines with a thicker grease and put the splines on the two piece main steering shaft inside the column a different position than originally. Now after driving my normal commute, steering feels much tighter, no more clunking. Just need to replace the upper control arms and the front end will be done, except for those KYB struts. I don't like how the ride anyways so I'll probably junk them and put on Monroe struts in the future.
Drove it this past weekend without the A/C on for the first time since last winter since it's finally cooled down. I noticed that it ran a lot smoother and turned the AC back on to see what the issue was and it seems that the trans is dropping from 2nd into 1st too late right around 10mph. The car kinda lurches kinda like if I've suddenly pressed the brake a little harder right before the car comes to a stop. Real annoying. I remember brushing this issue off when I bought the car. Turning AC off fixes it.
Is the AC compressor really stealing that much power from the engine? I do notice that it runs 2-300 rpm faster at 0mph with the AC on. And shouldn't the ECU compensate for this? This is also the 5sp in the pre-facelift models which are supposedly pretty bombproof. Any suggestions into what I should do? From my knowlege, the ECU has never been updated or tampered with.
My left mirror was not working correctly. I posted a few pics, and tried a few things, and some things helped, but it always reverted to just clicking and not moving properly. Would click for about 15 seconds.
Well, I found a used mirror on ebay, for a decent price, so I bought it, and had it painted Black Cherry ($70) to match my paint. It took about an hour to take the door panel off, get the old mirror off, and the new one on.
Although it was freshly painted, I took the housing off my mirror, (my 16 year old paint is great) and put it on the replacement mirror. Buttoned it all up and works like new.
There is one internal difference, the old mirror had a slip nut, that kept slipping on the shaft, the new mirror, has a hard cover screwed down over the slip nut, so it will not move. I don't know what year the new mirror is from, but mine is 2005. It's a good update. Sorry, I did not take pics of the newer mirror internals. Not mine, this is a stock photo, from another post. Yellow arrow at slip nut. Door panel off Almost done...
Took her for a drive. As mentioned, this thread will indicate each time she gets driven (looks like it was September 19), spends most days sitting. Going to drop her off to get the state inspection today. Nicely, no tires are leaking, unlike years past. Have had the Rydanz Roadster R02s since 2016, engineered in Europe, made in China.
Lubricated all rubber in between doors, around mirrors, hood and couple of other spots. Noticed immediate difference - no longer hearing specific Low volume squeaking noise coming from door area when driving Over bumps or when entering parking lots at higher ground.
[QUOTE=pmesfun;10906885]So far, KYB is saying they don't deal with directly with the public and Amazon is saying to contact KYB because the return window is closed. I decided to deal with other front end noises and finally replaced the u joint in the No. 2 steering intermediate shaft. Kind of a pain to do but cheaper than buying the whole part. Reduced clunking in the wheel but there is still a clunk I believe is coming from the u joint in the main steering shaft. Picture below. Need to diagnose that later today.
New u joint in the intermediate shaft.
QUOTE]
Did you have the U joint replaced locally at a shop specializing in driveshaft related work?
I did it myself, but in hindsight the original u joint was fine. What fixed my clunking was regreasing everything inside the steering column with thicker grease.
10-04-20, 10:57 AM
