My very own update thread by BaseDrifter

8 minute(s) of a 155 minute read

A couple updates. I need new brakes and tires.

I will be purchasing bhusted's A8 brake upgrade kit including new rotors and TT carriers. This will upgrade the brakes from 288mm to 312mm rotors utilizing the stock caliper pushed out with the TT carriers. I haven't decided what pads to run yet.

I'll also be replacing the cracked/epoxied brake fluid reservoir that has been on the car since I bought it along with flushing the fluid. If I can afford it I will install stainless lines up front as well.

For tires I will probably be sticking with the same Falcon Ziex ZE912 225/50/R16 tires I have on the car now. I'm keeping an eye out for a good deal on a new set of wheels/tires though.

My chipped ECU will be back from repair shortly so I'll finally have some power back. I need to check the waste gate actuator's adjustment as well.

I have a new vehicle speed sensor on the way, hopefully that clears up my CEL, if not I'll start looking at the magnetic ring sensor in the tranny.

9-21-2013

The gods are making it very clear that I need new tires.

I have to drive the car tonight so I ground down the bolt to reduce the thumping. I'll be getting four new tires and an alignment early next week.

9-24-2013

My check engine light has been on for a few weeks now due to the vehicle speed sensor. My speedo hasn't had any problems but the code comes back within 50 miles after clearing it. Getting an "implausible signal."

For $17 I got a Meyle VSS. I don't think this will fix the problem, I suspect it is the other end of the sensor inside the tranny. The sensor is easy enough to get to and cheap enough to warrant replacing it even if it doesn't fix this issue.

New sensor.

Old sensor on car.

Old sensor removed.

While I was down there I noticed that my brake line is cracked. Good thing I'll be getting SS replacements when I upgrade to A8 brakes in the next few weeks.

9-25-2013

Oh mama, I got a very nice package today courtesy of bhusted.

I'll bead blast the carriers and paint them red. At this point I'm considering removing the front calipers and doing a rebuild on them as well.

9-26-2013

I got four new Falcon ZE912 225/50/R16 92H tires installed today and got the car realigned. I've only driven it a few miles but it feels great.

I took two of my old tires that weren't too worn down and put them on 2 spare wheels to use as full-size spare tires, one for my car and one for my dad's.

The damage:

ZE912 - $85 x 4 = $340
Mount and balance 6 tires = $187.50
Disposal = $8
Alignment = $150

Total = $685.50

My alignment.

10-2-2013

Got my new pre-cat O2 sensor today. Cost $66 shipped from Amazon.

Bosch 13740

Tomorrow I'll pick up the new gear ring for the VSS, once my speedometer is fixed I'll replace the O2 sensor. Then it's back to collecting brake parts.

10-4-2013

Just pulled the driver's axle and found this, normal?

10-7-2013

Thanks smitty.

Here is my trace of the circuit:

From the VSS the signal passes through a brown/red wire into the instrument cluster through pin 23 on the blue connector. After going through the cluster processor/speedometer it passes out through a white/blue wire on pin 6 of the yellow cluster plug into pin 20 of the ECU. Because my car was made before 8/97, the same signal from pin 6 on the yellow cluster plug goes to the cruise control module, pin 9.

Since my cluster doesn't seem to be receiving the signal I'm going to start with the wiring from the VSS to the cluster and see if there are any problems. Then I'll dig into the CC module.

Unfortunately I won't have access to the garage for a few more days.

10-10-2013

Thanks for the offer Smitty, I'll let you know if I can't get it sorted. I'm over in Berkeley right now.

Here are the rest of the pictures from changing the VSS gear ring. I was in a rush so didn't take as many pictures as normal.

Two M8x1.25 bolts being used to drive out the output flange. Using a couple pieces of aluminum to protect the transmission cover.

Output flange removed.

New gear ring.

Old compared to the new. Notice the lack of a "locating tab" on the new ring. It ended up locking into place with the side clips anyways.

Transmission side cover removed, gear ring uninstalled. 

10-14-2013

Stopped by the PnP today and grabbed a few things. I was looking for a specific relay but didn't have any luck. It's the relay that allows for programmable intermittent wiper speeds.

Got an AEB throttle body to resell, some relay plugs, a relay, a new brake fluid reservoir cap, and a couple fender screws and bleedervalve caps.

I picked up a can of rustoleum flat black paint to spray my lower grilles, they're looking a little rough. Got some new stainless hardware for my fog lights and a couple paint brushes for when I do my calipers/carriers.

I forgot to mention that I ordered a "russian" dash cam. i drive my car as a make-shift taxi on friday/saturday nights through a ridesharing app called Sidecar. I've given over 750 rides in my car and had close to 1400 people ride in it over the last year. I've seen a lot of crazy **** like when a homeless guy tried to peg a guy on a moped with his shopping cart (while going 30mph.)

The camera will be good for liability purposes as well as entertainment. It can record up to 1080p (or 720p) with a 120 degree field of view. And it cost a whopping $50 shipped from China. Yay!

Unfortunately I had to order a new micro SD card to go with it. Got a Sandisk 32gb class 10 card for $25. Should allow me to record ~6 hours of video before it starts looping.

I got the G1W camera.