Progress Thread 1993 LX Hatch Progress

[Mac131]

Another update...
Got both heads ported. They are ready to go. I decided to get an explorer intake because the runners are light years better than the stock intake. I'm currently porting the lower now. Here's some pics:

Leak testing valves.

Lower intake progress.

1/2 done.

I should have the upper and lower intake completed tomorrow. I'll then move to the MAF and Throttle body.

Just trying to stay motivated this winter!

 

[nicholase]

Another update...did the 93 cobra booster conversion. I watched LMR's video and it helped a bunch. Measuring the pushrod was easy enough too.

Hey, I'm getting ready to do mine. I watched the video as well. Seems pretty straight forward. One thing I didn't see mentioned is sealing the new booster to the firewall. It looks like there was a gasket or sealer originally? Does the cobra booster come with a gasket of any kind?

 

[Mac131]

Hey, I'm getting ready to do mine. I watched the video as well. Seems pretty straight forward. One thing I didn't see mentioned is sealing the new booster to the firewall. It looks like there was a gasket or sealer originally? Does the cobra booster come with a gasket of any kind?

I don't think the replacement booster came with a gasket... The original was a bear to break the seal.

 

[Mac131]

Got the car out of hibernation...been acquiring plenty of parts over the winter. I bought a pretty clean set of 94 cobra wheels. I really like the way they look on a fox. I still need to add a spacer to the rear for proper stance along with lowering it a bit more.

OLD

New


I may paint the rim cutouts black...still undecided.

Next up is installing 2 chamber flow masters and better subframe connectors.

 

[gkomo]

I would leave them all silver but thats just my opinion. They do look good tho!

 

[Mac131]

I would leave them all silver but thats just my opinion. They do look good tho!

Thanks! That's the easier route too! Hopefully I'll have it all dialed in this weekend.

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

I’d leave them silver too. Looks great!

 

[Mac131]

I’d leave them silver too. Looks great!

Thanks! I know these rims are either a love/hate...I love em though.

 

[89ripper]

Looks tough

 

[Mac131]

More updates...replaced rear axle bushings and also installed flowmaster 40 series mufflers and tossed the pypes M80s in the trash. Took it for a drive and noticed a clunk clunk clunk sound when swerving or turning right. Sound is coming from the rear end. Also have a whine when accelerating. Found the clutch packs to be completely fried with a bunch of end play on the right axle. All bearings Look and feel good. Also discovered a chipped spider gear. Backlash is .027". Waaaay too lose. I'm going to rebuild the carrier with new gears and clutch packs and also shim the carrier for tighter backlash. Since it's well broke in, I'll set it on the loose side of the spec. If the whine persists, I'll have to do a complete rebuild with new bearings and gears....here's some pics.

More to come....

 

[Mac131]

Got the rear end put back together yesterday with another set of used spider gears and clutches. Set the clutch pack thickness to .655" and arranged the steel and fiber plates properly (steel against spider gear). Pinion bearing felt good with around 6 inch pounds of preload (broke in bearing). I shimmed the carrier to the right side and also added more shims overall, so it has some preload on the carrier bearings. It had none when I first took it apart. Backlash is now .011" and below is the drive and coast pattern.

Pattern looks good. Took it for a drive and the clunking is now gone but I have some gear whine at 50-60 mph. It used to be worse and would be there between 40-60 mph. From what I hear, once you have gear whine it's pretty much engrained until you replace the ring and pinion. I can live with it...it's much better than before. Ring and pinion teeth look brand new still. On to the next project...door panel resto and front end drop/alignment.

Here's some more pics of the rear end project:

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[limp]

My understanding is if its a used R&P, you set em up a touch looser than the specs say.. A few thousand less......

 

[Mac131]

For sure, I was aiming closer to .015" since that is the loose end of the spec but you are kinda limited due to shim combinations. It's hard to find any info on setting backlash on used gears. It just has a min and max spec. Mine was originally at .027" which is way too much and the gear pattern showed it. Here's the pattern at .027"

Coast isn't bad but the drive is all on the heel side.

I don't think these gears had many miles on them due to zero wear on the pinion. We'll see how it goes. Worst case, I'll do a complete rebuild.

 

[limp]

When I set up my new rear I ordered some pinion spacers that came as one large one and multiple smaller ones to get the correct preload... Called the place when I could not find the correct combination and they had me " kiss" a spacer with some sandpaper on a flat surface ( thick metal or thick glass..... Worked great.....
Granted mine is a 9 inch but " kissing" some bushings should work for you....

 

[Mac131]

When I set up my new rear I ordered some pinion spacers that came as one large one and multiple smaller ones to get the correct preload... Called the place when I could not find the correct combination and they had me " kiss" a spacer with some sandpaper on a flat surface ( thick metal or thick glass..... Worked great.....
Granted mine is a 9 inch but " kissing" some bushings should work for you....

Good point! I totally could have done that...I guess we'll see how this one behaves before I crack it open again. Nice pic BTW.

 

[Mac131]

Hey all...more updates. I have been working on the interior. I was able to find some OEM door panels from a 1990 that needed some cleaning and a re-dye to opal gray. I think they came out nice.

Cleaning...

Opal gray dye.

Installed.

Here's a pic of what was in the car...aftermarkets with no moisture barrier. They weren't aging well either.

This weekend I gutted the rest of the interior so I could replace the carpet and dye the rest of the panels back to opal gray. I also decided to relocate the amp to the trunk, so I rewired the stereo harness.

The bracket that the center console bolts to had two broken rivets which was making everything sit at an angle. I got that welded up and sitting nice and level again too.

While I was in here, I decided to replace the clutch cable, firewall adjuster, speedo cable, and sensor.

With any luck, I should have the new carpet put in this weekend and a good start on getting the panels dyed.

Hope everyone is getting their cars out!

 

[Mac131]

Was able to get quite a bit done this weekend...interior is about 95% completed. The center console armrest and rear hatch panels still need to be dyed. All in all I'm pretty happy with the results. It's not a show car but still looks pretty good.

With any luck I'll have the interior completed this weekend.

 

[gkomo]

Looking great!

 

[Mac131]

Looking great!

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it. Much better than the attempted all black conversion I inherited.

 

[Mac131]

Some more updates...the interior is all done. I'm pretty happy with the end result. I noticed my driver's side window makes a repeated clunk sound when it hits bottom...I am thinking the lower limit switch isn't working right? It's always something...lol. here's some pics.

Last night I decided to finally replace the smoked headlights that came with the car...I think it looks so much better now. Took the car for a nice long drive through the mountains today. It really is running great.

It looks decent in pics but it's a 10 footer for sure. Someday I will repaint it... however, that will be last since it's still presentable. Next major project will be an engine and engine bay refresh. Maybe next month...

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.