It Runs!!!
My ClubSport made it's first trip in six months today. As some of you know, this car has been sitting in front of my house for what seems like forever with what was thought to be a bad transmission.
I finally got around to dropping the tranny last week and found out that the transmission wasn't damaged at all. Instead it was a broken clutch disc. The center spline on the disc had sheared off. Fortunately I happened to have a nearly new clutch kit sitting in my garage.
The tranny was missing a couple of mounting bolts from when the previous owner had it rebuilt and the starter was only held on by one bolt as well. No biggie, I managed to get a couple new bolts and the install went easy until I went to bolt up the starter. Since it was only held on by one bolt, the bracket which was actually part of the housing snapped off as soon as I started to tighten it
Having removed the starter from my other Ti on a previous occasion, I wasn't very happy knowing what I was up against. I did however manage to get it out from underneath the vehicle without having to remove or disassemble anything else
I took the starter to a good friend of mine who happens to be a certified welder and specializes in aluminum. He ran a couple passes with the torch allowing it to cool between each pass, then grinded it to perfection.
The bracket is now stronger than it ever was and today I finally bolted it up. I hooked up the driveshaft and bolted down a few things underneath the car, but it still wasn't ready for me to hop in and drive. As I mentioned before, the car sat for 6 months and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect before I cranked it. So while I was under there, I drained the oil and replaced it with Castrol Syntec. Bled the clutch and checked the level of the tranny fluid which was recently replaced with Royal Purple when the tranny was rebuilt. The gas tank was close to empty, but I did add a bottle of fuel stabilizer a few months ago. So I wanted to make sure the first gulp of gas would be clean so I collected all of the gas cans me and my neighbor could find, 5 gallons in total, took a trip down to the gas station in my other Ti, topped them off and gave the ClubSport some fresh gas before the moment of truth.
The suspense was getting intense as it would only be a few moments before I turned the key and put it in gear for the first time. I slowly lowered the car off of the jackstands and as the weight rested on the wheels, the car let out what seemed like a wakening yawn. Almost there baby. One more check of the engine bay. New air filter, check. New belts, check. New thermostat, check, New water pump, check, New belt tensioner, check. Oil level, check. Begin the walk around, new tires, check. New brake rotors and pads, check. Tighten wheel lugs, check. Climb into the cockpit, adjust the seat, press clutch in, cycle through the gears, all is well. Turn the key...
Nothing
Goddamit!!! The battery's dead. Pull my other Ti up next to it and jump start it. She cranks right up and purrs like there's no tomorrow. A little smoke from sitting for so long, but it gradually clears the driveway. I get out and do another walk around to take a peek in the engine and listen for any strange sounds or leaks. Everything seems perfect so I let the hood drop.
Hop back in, release the parking brake, roll down the driveway and take a few slow laps around the block. She shifts soo smooth and no strange noises. I gradually accelerate and detect a very slight exhaust rattle, sigh. Test the brakes a few times, then I drop it into second and punch it. Go through all the gears and slam on the brakes as my turn is coming up. Head home and clean up a little, then I took her on the freeway and swung by the gas station to fill her up.
Thats it for now guys. Tomorrow, the detailing fun begins as well as a trip to the dealer for some door molding clips and an intake boot. I'm going to rent a steam cleaner for the red millpoint, I might fix the headliner and I need to pick up a set of wiper blades and a battery. I'll be doing a clay bar this weekend followed by a few coats of wax. a little cleaning of the engine bay and then a for sale sign
THE CLUBSPORT LIVES AGAIN!!! WOOHOOO!
BTW, sorry guys. No pics yet, but soon to come.