Last picture before winter maintenance:

Adding some Dynamat. Looks like just about 20lbs.

Stripping the interior:

So that’s why my airflow is so off:

Probably not a good idea to store parts on the hood:

Nasty looking, deteriorating foam

 

 

Garbage. I weighed it at some point, but forgot what it was.

Replaceing my headlight switch fuse:

Interior Parts store in my basement:

I noticed some red marks on the Dynamat. It turns out, I was making them. Dynamat is sharp!

Dirty, rusted ground. Time to split a nut:

My pump has been buzzing, and my boot cover has been leaking. So I bought new ones:

Under the computer…

My computer has been missing this bracket on the transmission, and the part is unavailable. I finally got one! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so happy to buy a piece of metal. Thank you, Rob!

Leaky Brake Master Cylinder? I found fluid on it, and corrosion on the booster:

Another project! Replace the leaking Brake Master Cylinder:

I took two days off work before DCS 2010 to relax. On Tuesday, June 15^th, while reinstalling my trailing arm shields, I discovered one of the driver’s side axle boots came off and threw grease everywhere. In 2007, I had the previous owner replace my axles after one of the boots came off. Too bad he made the same mistake again – he secured the boots with zip ties! Also, the boot on the other side of the axle was torn. This is very messy work, and with the clock ticking until DCS (we leave Thursday, June 17^th), I didn’t worry about taking many pictures. The damage:

I decided to buy some grease, two boot clamps (they were cheap), and borrow the CV boot clamp tool from Autozone, and put the boot back on. I’d leave the other torn boot alone.

I successfully shoved CV grease into the boot, and re-clamped it.
Success!
Except I started reading on the internet about how different CV greases shouldn’t be mixed, which could eventually cause failure of the joint.
Failure!
With only one full day left before DCS, I decided to rebuilt both CV joints properly. I removed the axle on Tuesday night, and began degreasing and cleaning everything. I ended up destroying one of the new clamps, and grease that I had bought earlier in the day.

Nitrile gloves, a few rolls of paper towels, and a sheet of cardboard under your work area are essential for this job.

On Wednesday morning, I drove to DMC Midwest, and purchased two CV boot kits. Special thanks to the staff for helping me purchase parts, while they were preparing to leave for DCS. I raced back home, and reassembled the joints:

The smaller clamps in the kit are too big, and zip ties are acceptable substitutes. Packed with grease, and clamped together correctly:

My first picture in this blog post shows a strange flare on the axle. I’m not sure why there is a flare, but I’m blaming the previous owner. The flare prevented me from using sockets on the bolts, so I pounded the flare out. I still couldn’t attach a clamp properly, and ended up ruining the supplied clamp. I had just one more extra clamp from NAPA (glad I bought two!), and ended up using a zip tie as a spacer:

Done! I reinstalled the axle, and drove several miles to test out the car. So far so good. So much for two days of rest. We leave for DCS tomorrow morning.

I decided my 30 year old rock-hard spare tire had to be replaced. I found it’s impossible to find a new spare online, so I decided to visit a salvage yard. Sure enough, I found the T125/70D15 tire was a common size on several junked cars. I found the newest car I could find, with the spare (a wrecked 2004 Hyundai). The manufactured date on the tire says 2003, and the rubber had never been used. I didn’t bother measuring to see if the 4 bolt pattern was the same as the Delorean’s. The cashier said $12, and I felt great about my purchase.

Old tire:

Old tire, new tire:

I jacked up the car, and removed a rear wheel to see if my new hub would clear the brake caliper. It didn’t. And the 4 bolt pattern wasn’t correct. That’s ok, the Delorean’s aluminum rim looks nicer.

So I visited a tire shop, and asked them to transfer the newer tire to the D rim. They said they didn’t have the tools to do it. They also said new spares can’t be bought, because the automobile Industry has 100% of the market. Yup, I confirmed that.

So I visited another tire shop, and they said they transfer it. They even disposed of the no-longer-needed steel rim.

New(er) tire, old rim:

My spare, with a can of fix a flat, a plastic tire bag, and some tie down straps. Things I hope to never use.

Costs: