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Stalker #85 headed back to Arkansas


xcarguy

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Well, the profanity is waning here in Eldo. Jegs, Fedex overrnight, $272.97, a new F-body oil pan, a 44oz Diet Coke and my silly-a$$ stubborness have all come together to bring the Storker back to life. Long story short; if you own a LS-powered Storker and suspect you have an oil pan leak, make d@^$& sure to take the 'CORNER" bolts out of the oil pan first so you don't miss one and try and drop the pan with the 'CORNER' bolt still in . . . . . . Man!!!! Honesty hurts. :banghead:

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Well, the profanity is waning here in Eldo. Jegs, Fedex overrnight, $272.97, a new F-body oil pan, a 44oz Diet Coke and my silly-a$$ stubborness have all come together to bring the Storker back to life. Long story short; if you own a LS-powered Storker and suspect you have an oil pan leak, make d@^$& sure to take the 'CORNER" bolts out of the oil pan first so you don't miss one and try and drop the pan with the 'CORNER' bolt still in . . . . . . Man!!!! Honesty hurts. :banghead:

 

I came very close to the same thing last night. I was opening up a Miata engine on an engine stand to look for the source of a rod knock. The pans are glued on with Ultra Gray from the factory and I was using a pry bar on the pan at the rear of the engine when a friend said stop, we missed one of the bolts. It was at the other end of the pan.

Edited by scannon
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Sorry to hear that X! Figured u might as well have went dry sump since you needed a pan..

 

If it makes you feel any better X, I forgot to lock down the ball on my trailer last Friday night. Rolled the Storker on and watched the tongue slam into my tailgate... Next morning I towed it 2.5 hours in rain, to find more rain, 30 degree temps and high wind at the track. It didn't even come off the trailer...

 

It seems the motorsports gods are angry lately...

Edited by subtlez28
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I came very close to the same thing last night. I was opening up a Miata engine on and engine stand to look for the source of a rod knock. The pans are glued on with Ultra Gray from the factory and I was using a pry bar on the pan at the rear of the engine when a friend said stop, we missed one of the bolts. It was at the other end of the pan.

 

 

Have you noticed how easily either of the two ears on a Wilwood master cylinder can be removed....70 bucks down the hatch.

 

 

Sorry to hear that X! Figured u might as well have went dry sump since you needed a pan..

 

If it makes you feel any better X, I forgot to lock down the ball on my trailer last Friday night. Rolled the Storker on and watched the tongue slam into my tailgate... Next morning I towed it 2.5 hours in rain, to find more rain, 30 degree temps and high wind at the track. It didn't even come off the trailer...

 

It seems the motorsports gods are angry lately...

 

Must be something in the water. Man, my head is getting sore. :banghead:

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Another oh shit here today.

 

I'm replacing all the suspension bushings on my Miata with 30% stiffer ones from IL Motorsports (via FM).

 

I'm using a Harbor Freight ball joint kit which is a very stout C clamp held in the vice and some spacing rings made to fit by my machinist friend. I use a 3/8" drive impact wrench since with my bad shoulders I can't put enough pressure on it even with an 18" ratchet.

 

I was pressing in the 3rd bushing and it wasn't going quite far enough to pop the ear out the back and fit correctly in the subframe.

 

I gave it one more try and the outside rubber flange finally met up with the boss. Just as that happened the bushing sheared and the metal spacer and 2/3rds of the rubber popped out the other side leaving the outer third of the bushing in the bore.

 

I hope I don't have to buy a whole set to get one replacement. There are 22 bushings in a set.

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Another oh shit here today . . . . Harbor Freight ball joint kit . . . . .

 

Skip,

 

I knew when you said Harbor Freight that this post was not going to end well. :jester:

 

Surely they'll sell you one bushing. :willy_nilly:

Edited by xcarguy
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Skip,

 

I knew when you said Harbor Freight that this post not going to end well. :jester:

 

Surely they'll sell you one bushing. :willy_nilly:

Many people in the Miata world use the same Harbor Freight kit, I have used it before with no problems. The only part of the kit I use is the C clamp itself.

 

I'll be happy if I only have to buy the four bushing set for the lower front end of the car. Each type of control arms of the car has its bushings in a separate box.

 

Earlier in the day I brewed a cup of chai on my K-cup machine while I was fixing lunch. I looked over at the machine as it finished and discovered I had forgotten to turn over the cup, chai tea was running everywhere. I had been cleaning and leaving the cup upside down after use as one morning I picked up the cup to find a large insect floating in the coffee.

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Many people in the Miata world use the same Harbor Freight kit, I have used it before with no problems.

 

Earlier in the day I brewed a cup of chai on my K-cup machine while I was fixing lunch. I looked over at the machine as it finished and discovered I had forgotten to turn over the cup, chai tea was running everywhere. I had been cleaning and leaving the cup upside down after use as one morning I picked up the cup to find a large insect floating in the coffee.

 

Skip,

 

I do hope you take my Harbor Freight (HF) comment in jest. I poke fun at HF because I could open a used tool store with the amount of HF stuff I have in my shop. :D

 

Tomorrow, I'm taking the wife and kids to see the new Disney movie Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day . . . . Yep, just seems appropriate somehow. :banghead:

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Sorry X, I've not been feeling too jocular this evening. A liberal application of beer, tequila and Kentucky bourbon in that order has since helped smooth things out.

 

I have a fair amount of Harbor Freight stuff in my tool cabinets but mostly Craftsman. I have a friend who has somewhere in the area of $100k worth of Snap On tools, I get a lot of grief from him too.

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. . . Kentucky bourbon . . . I have a fair amount of Harbor Freight stuff in my tool cabinets but mostly Craftsman. I have a friend who has somewhere in the area of $100k worth of Snap On tools, I get a lot of grief from him too.

 

 

Good heavens! As I was reading Harbor Freight and Snap On aloud in the same paragraph, I think lighting struck not more than ten feet from me. :ack: Between your Craftsman and my collection of Central Pneumatic, I believe we can out-wrench your friend. If not, there's always the burbon. :cheers:

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Good heavens! As I was reading Harbor Freight and Snap On aloud in the same paragraph, I think lighting struck not more than ten feet from me. :ack: Between your Craftsman and my collection of Central Pneumatic, I believe we can out-wrench your friend. If not, there's always the burbon. :cheers:

I have a few Snap On tools, most were given to me for birthdays and such. I still prefer working with my Craftsman tools. Neither of us has everything and we borrow back and forth as necessary.

 

I met him when another friend took me to his place to meet him and the Snap On truck was parked in his driveway, a monthly occurrence. He had a $500 a month Snap On habit for decades.

 

Hope that bolt didn't do much damage, and didn't hit your bourbon supply.:rofl:

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I have only one Snap-On wrench. I found it at a stop sign. As for Harbor Freight, they have a store near me so I can inspect before buying. Some stuff isn't up to my standards, but a lot is. The only HF tool I actually broke in service was a 3/8 drive extension and I was mistreating it at the time.

 

I recently got some aluminum jackstands from HF. I have zero fear that they will fail with any of my vehicles, but if somebody here wants to go halves, I can put one on the Instron machine and measure the strength & deflection. It's good to 10,000 lbf and recently calibrated.

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. . . . the Snap On truck was parked in his driveway, a monthly occurrence. He had a $500 a month Snap On habit for decades.

 

Hope that bolt didn't do much damage, and didn't hit your bourbon supply.:rofl:

 

 

I had an old worn out CJ-7 a few years ago that I bought for a song and a dance . . . it too ended up being a $500 a month habit. Oh, and the bourbon's fine. :jester:

 

 

I have only one Snap-On wrench. I found it at a stop sign . . . . . The only HF tool I actually broke in service was a 3/8 drive extension and I was mistreating it at the time.

 

I recently got some aluminum jackstands from HF. I have zero fear that they will fail with any of my vehicles, but if somebody here wants to go halves, I can put one on the Instron machine and measure the strength & deflection. It's good to 10,000 lbf and recently calibrated.

 

 

LOL!!!! . . . Now that's funny. :cheers: As for the jack stand stress test, I bet toedrag would be willing to help out; just make sure he shows up with the the olive oil and probes. :jester:

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  • 4 weeks later...

After growing tired of using painter's tape for on-track paint protection, I was encouraged to try something a little different. So . . . . What happens when you mix in one can of white Plastidip, a few brightly colored water based paints, one eight-year old, one eleven-year old , a mom’s supervision and a dad’s approval? :jester:

 

. . . . . :party:

photo (3).jpg

Edited by xcarguy
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