Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Nice work.
My From Start to Finish 6.0L Build
- Thread starter RAMurphy
- Start date
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OP
OP
A couple of more pictures. Paint expected to arrive sometime this week. Going in tomorrow to verify alignment.
OP
OP
Just heard back from my alignment appointment. Looks like the driver's side front strut is slightly bent. I suspected this could be a problem and it is why I took it in for an alignment check. So, ordered left and right complete strut assemblies from Rock Auto and will be changing those out when they get delivered.
OP
OP
My new full strut assemblies that I ordered from Rock Auto were suppose to be delivered Thursday. They were not, but they were delivered today, unfortunately very late in the afternoon after I cleaned up for the evening. Spent most of the afternoon, after work, pulling the old struts off. For the life of me I could not break loose the nuts holding the sway bar links to the sway bar. Same issue, on both sides and top and bottom. Tried everything including heat. It's like they were welded on. Poor design too, you use a allen wrench to hold the center of the bolt and a box wrench to loosen the nut. Ended up cutting the sway bar link in half so I could remove the strut assembly. The top part of the link came off with the strut assembly. I used a reciprocating saw to cut off the bolts on the lower half. It took a bit of time but worked perfectly. No, I could not use an air powered cut off wheel - not enough room. Tomorrow, I will install the strut assemblies and post some pictures.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2016
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I agree 100% with that comment!
@RAMurphy You are a one man army. Your entire family is Blessed to have you.
OP
OP
@Miami-Dade Thank you for those very kind words. They are very appreciative and quite frankly they bring so much joy to our lives. I will continue to help where I can and provide guidance and instructions to my son-in-laws so they can feel comfortable and have the confidence in taking care of their rides. Besides, somebody needs to take these tools I've accumulated when I move on from this world.
OP
OP
The new strut assemblies are installed. Hoping to get the Vibe in on Monday for alignment. The first picture is of the driver side with old strut and sway par link cut in half (i did use the air cut off wheel for that). As you can see, I already cut off the bolt on the sway bar side. The second picture is the new strut on the passenger side installed. The driver side turned out blurry.
OP
OP
Still waiting on the paint for the fender. Ordered enough for both fenders, hood and bumper cover. Although I'm liking the look of the black bumper cover. If I leave it black, do you think I need to paint it? Thoughts?
Since I had the time, I ended up painting the body side molding. Looks pretty good. Hopefully I can get her in for alignment tomorrow. Actually drives nicely - straight down the road, no pulling either side and steering is centered but I know I need to get it looked at to verify and adjust as necessary.
Since I had the time, I ended up painting the body side molding. Looks pretty good. Hopefully I can get her in for alignment tomorrow. Actually drives nicely - straight down the road, no pulling either side and steering is centered but I know I need to get it looked at to verify and adjust as necessary.
iamdub
Full Access Member
If the sides and rear bumper are already an accent color, I'd paint the front cover to be the same. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're asking?
OP
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Yep, I can see the confusion I caused. So the front bumper cover was delivered as “paint ready” and is essentially a flat black. The body side moldings have been painted flat black to match the current bumper cover color. I like the look of the black front. So the question was - should I slap some paint on the already flat black bumper cover.
Not knowing how durable the bumper surface is, I'd say paint it. Those things take a beating.
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
If you don't paint it, the sun(UV) could eventually damage it. Might turn it chalky or just make it brittle. I'd paint it--something, flat black automotive paint maybe?
Yep I agree- paint it or UV will have it’s way and it won’t last long.
iamdub
Full Access Member
I gotcha now. I agree with the others- paint it the same as the side moldings. That unpainted flat black will steadily get lighter until it's a light smoky gray. It'll be lighter on the top surfaces. It'll also be damaged from direct UV exposure.
Painting it will ensure it matches and stays matching. I like the contrasting color scheme.
OP
OP
@Fless @Tonyrodz @Rocket Man @iamdub Thank you all for the input. So it is settled, I will paint the bumper cover the same flatblack I used on the body side moldings. I will do this when the body paint arrives and I have the vehicle back for a long weekend in the near future.
I was able to get the Vibe in for alignment yesterday morning and they made the appropriate adjustments. Drives great. My daughter picked up her car yesterday evening and she teared up when she saw it - she absolutely loved it, big smile on her face as she drove off. Makes the time and effort so worth it.
So terribly hot and humid here (90+ and real feel over 110) the last several weeks. I'm so glad to have A/C in my garage - a father's day present several years ago from my better half.
I was able to get the Vibe in for alignment yesterday morning and they made the appropriate adjustments. Drives great. My daughter picked up her car yesterday evening and she teared up when she saw it - she absolutely loved it, big smile on her face as she drove off. Makes the time and effort so worth it.
So terribly hot and humid here (90+ and real feel over 110) the last several weeks. I'm so glad to have A/C in my garage - a father's day present several years ago from my better half.
OP
OP
So, another cost set back on my build. After 60K miles it is time to put new tires on my wife's 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. Wow, the cost of tires has gone up. Looking at three tires: Continental Crosscontact LX25, Firestone Destination LE3 and Michelin Defender 2. All three receive great ratings. I've actually have continentals on my Tahoe which I absolutely love. I also put the Firestones on my daughter's SUV (she paid for them) and they ride extremely well. Of course I also have experience with Michelin. Not a surprise the Michelin are the most expensive. Not even considering the original Falken tires.
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New tires for my wife's car ordered from Tire Rack.
I was hoping to have my new engine built before my next oil change. That won't happen. This being summer and all the work I have been doing on the house, helping/supporting my family and camping - I've put another 5K miles on my baby. Ordered my AC Delco filter and Mobil 1 synthetic oil (5W-30). Will be changing the oil on Friday. Expected high 98 with a real feel over 115. I guess I will be firing up the A/C in the garage again.
I was hoping to have my new engine built before my next oil change. That won't happen. This being summer and all the work I have been doing on the house, helping/supporting my family and camping - I've put another 5K miles on my baby. Ordered my AC Delco filter and Mobil 1 synthetic oil (5W-30). Will be changing the oil on Friday. Expected high 98 with a real feel over 115. I guess I will be firing up the A/C in the garage again.
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When I decided to build this engine, I also decided I wanted better control of my upgraded electric fans. As I was purchasing and collecting the rest of the parts (minus the costly heads) I needed for my engine build the past several months I also procured an updated solid state fan controller from autocoolguy.com. This component allows me to properly adjust and control when the fans kick on from a temperature perspective, but it will slowly increase the speed as required based on the temperature of the coolant. It slowly engages the fan and ramps up as required. When you turn on the A/C it will kick on both fans gently to a level you select at the controller (from 10% all the way up to 100%). It also has a failsafe feature that allows you to kick both fans on at 100% with a switch in the cabin (I already have a switch for my current setup). My brother installed one of his units several years ago on his major upgraded Ford Mustang and loves it. My plan is to install this on my current set up to give it a try until my new engine is completed and installed. Goal is this weekend if time allows.
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Finished both the Oil Change and the upgraded fan controller install. Started early in the morning, because I knew it was going to get hot. Even with AC in the garage, by late afternoon to early evening the AC struggles to keep up.
Oil Drained
Topped of Oil Filter with Oil
New Filter installed and drained pan bolt torqued down properly
Last of the 6 quarts
From my catch can - not bad after 5K miles
Oil Drained
Topped of Oil Filter with Oil
New Filter installed and drained pan bolt torqued down properly
Last of the 6 quarts
From my catch can - not bad after 5K miles
OP
OP
The controller was a bit more time consuming. But I did lay out, determine routing and cut wires to rough lengths last night. The directions provided were easy to follow. On one end of the controller you have a Ground and Two Fan Wires. On the other side a Battery, Ignition, Ground, 2 Sensors, Air Conditioning and finally the fail safe.
Started by draining the radiator and installing the cooper pipe and temperature probe on the lower radiator hose. This was the hardest part of the install.
I wired up the controller
Started by draining the radiator and installing the cooper pipe and temperature probe on the lower radiator hose. This was the hardest part of the install.
I wired up the controller
