Yea this is true, I've decided to reduce as much as possible any stuff in the tank that might wiggle loose, so no sealant or bolts where stuff can just be welded... you're right, leaking during quick turns shouldn't be an issue.

I have an Aeromotive 340 stealth pump... should be good for my hp range but then again if it isn't, there's an empty spot there for a 2nd

 

Where did yOu get the radiator hoses

 

The angled one that come out of the radiator is for an S10, and the 90* one was just me looking thru the stockpile in the back of a local parts store until I found one with the right diameter and shape.

 

Thinking of rebuilding a rear end yourself? DON'T. Just don't. Such a pain in the ***. Had to stop at setting the crush sleeve pinion preload because I don't have the right adapter for my big 1-1/4" onto the dial torque wrench driver. Need LOTS of cheater leverage...



Friend came over so I just had to mockup the wheel stance, ~1inch tuck, gonna look tough.. but need to stick meatier treads under there for sure...

 

Nice, I love it when they tuck

 

bump the pinion nut with the impact, then check the preload with torque wrench. continue until you get the correct preload, just go very slow.

 

Why not use shims and leave the crush sleeve for the OEM's?

 

If you could reuse the old crush sleeve it would help tremendously. Its already deformed. This would take all of the extra leverage out of it. As long as you have the same shim thickness your pinion depth should remain the same, it will be a matter of setting the backlash and your done. I would double check the toe and heel though.

 

Waiting for more updates.......

 

Hey guys sorry for letting this thread get stale, had to take a couple weeks off to finish up my last school course, but now that's officially done and I'm completely free to work on the car.

I graduate 2nd week of November, and I am GOING to be driving this thing to grad, which I figure would be fitting since I started the whole LS conversion about 2weeks after I started engineering school... 5 years holy ****!

Rear end is still being a bastard. It took me about a week and a half checking backlash, wipe pattern, pinion depth and taking pinion into work to press off bearing/adjust shims/press on bearing. Then I finally get the pinion depth and wipe right, and start tightening down the pinion nut at realize the bigger pinion bearing is complete junk. Koyo unit, as far as I remember I didn't drop the cone side or anything but it has a consistent tick when the cone side is spun in the race. Used aluminum bearing race driver and did every thing carefully, have no idea what happened. Long story short I got new Timken bearings, which spin SILENTLY, such nice feeling pieces, should've just gotten those right off the bat. Even the brand-spanking new smaller pinion bearing without any ticks or sounds is just plain loud when spun.

So gonna make better-sized smaller pinion race driver, install that tonight, hopefully wrap up the rear end within a couple days. Also have a 4-link setup in the mail. And also have been bandsawing some sheet metal at work for the gas tank. Pics will follow soon.

That an acceptable update? haha

 

That will work for now, You will soon enjoy the Fruits of your labor as i am of mine. Im getting just over 20mpg with 411s and more power than i expected.

Soon to come, Ear to Ear Grins

 

Good, this is what I like to hear.

I'm getting tired of my stupid 240sx with its disproportionally underpowered 2.4L NA motor spinning at 2600-2800rpm on the highway everyday, and only getting ~22mpg.

I got 3.90 gears for the Nova and cacluated ~1600rpm on the highway at 110km/hr in 6th, so if the Nova can come close to the 240 in terms of mileage (or beat it ), with over triple the hp if I wanna "get into it", then I will be a happy, happy man.

 

You should never reuse a crush sleeve, especially not with a new R&P and new bearings. You can however get a new crush sleeve "started" by putting it in a press. Once it starts to collapse, it takes a lot less torque to get it to continue to collapse to the point of proper bearing preload.

A new gear set is going to want a different pinion depth to get a good pattern. It's not as simple as reusing the shim stack, although that is usually a good starting point.

Did you get good preload on the carrier bearings? You really should have your own press for doing gear setup. I can't imagine all the back & forth you went through to get a good pattern.

 

4.10's is way too much for that turbo so good choice on the 3.90's.
Right now, with 4:10's in my car, the gears are too deep to get the turbo to actually make power all through the power band. It is more like spikes of power and not a consistent pull.

What 4 link??? I am very curious...

Oh, and congrats on the degree. Engineering degree's are not fun to finish up, especially when you have hobbies that try to get in the way....I know because I was in the same boat in 2008!

 

True that about hobbies (car, biking, beer, friends) PLUS school... something has to give somewhere, hence the sporadic updates here hah.

I was stuck between 3.73's and 3.90's, but I have the Camaro T56 and I figured with the 3.73's it'd put my 4th, 5th, and 6th gears just slightly out of whack regarding cruising rpm's. Marktainium has 3.73's and likes them, but he also has the GTO T56 with slightly different gearing ratios. A couple guys on Lateral-G/Pro-Touring were saying either way T56 feels good with 18" rims and either 3.73 or 3.90... I chose the higher just cuz I'm not going for all-out top speed, and traction will be an issues regardless . To quote Mark: "1st is useless, 2nd is getting there, 3rd will still chirp or break loose".

Clint I think he might've been referring to reusing the crush sleeve when mock-assembling everything for the mesh pattern checking. Silly me threw out the original larger pinion gear so I didn't have it around to bore out and and make slip-fit... that woulda made the entire process much quicker. Then again I have to go into work everyday anyways so waiting for the press wasn't too terrible.

I went with the Chris Alston G-Link, has good adjustability and minimal work to get it in, although it does require welding to the framerails as well as some tabs on the axle tubes. Everyone and their dog was recommending the DSE Quadralink rear end, but the floor sheetmetal under the rear seats would need to be cut up and reinforced, the trunk between wheeltubs needs to be chopped out for the shock/panhard bar cradle, and the axle flanges need to be cut off to slip on 3 brackets per axle end which all need to be 360*-welded... simply too much work at this point. I figure for my purposes I wouldn't even notice the advantages of the DSE "Swivel-Link", so the Alston triangulating 4-link won.

I figured I might as well while I have the whole rear end out and a (new) gas tank not installed, I'll end up dog-earing the gas tank corners for tailpipe clearance. It made sense to do right now because I'd want to do it anyways eventually, and to get the stance I want I'd have to have lowering blocks, which just aren't cool. Better ride quality, great ride height adjustability independent from shock settings, stronger for high hp, adjust pinion angle for lower height as well as anti-squat... all made sense right now.

 

...4 link......bastard.


I guess I know what I'm getting me for Christmas....

....and to update a quote, 1st gear, useless, 2nd gear, useless, 3rd gear, unpredictable, 4th gear, I need to slow down !!!...(14psi) (7.5 to go)

 

Mark you are ridiculous.

 

nice to see you're finally getting this thing running. I suppose I'll have to explore boost for the next project, which will be the gf's 67 Mustang (I just want to drive the nova for a while...). we'll have to cross our fingers you don't end up with an oil pressure issue.

 

Very nice work it looks good.

 

Small update, feels nice to have some workbench space again...



... cuz of this!..





Still waiting on the 4link so I can weld on the upper tabs and give the rear end its final coat of paint.



Rotors look so small in there...