Front ball joint: 1, Ball Joint Tool: 0. 🙁
Actually I did get one of the ball joints out, but the tool failed on the second one. New tool on order.. and next time I’ll add some heat. Rear suspension fully disassembled now too, and the rear steering ball joints still need to come out. Those are a pain. I don’t think any of the rear suspension bolts had been removed in the last 25 years.
A bit more work on the R32 front suspension. It is completely apart and off the car. Next up is to do the same on the rear, then work on replacing the wheel bearings all around.
A bit more work on the R32… A new fuel rail, regulator, and I had my stock R35 GT-R injectors which I modified to fit. I ordered a bunch of suspension components to replace many of the aging ones.
At times like this I’m thinking ‘Do I really have any idea what I am doing?’ Now both my primary and my backup GR6 DCT Sequential transmission are in pieces! Let’s hope I don’t have any extra parts when everything is back together!
The R32 has a center console stack with a set of three gauges built in, but they are old school analog gauges. I’d like to have some gauges that can record, show max, replay, as well as interface with a logging system. 4D systems makes these cool little displays that are a perfect fit. They have an onboard processor, 4x 12-bit ADCs, and an SD card to hold the images for gauge display. You can write code in 4DGL to cycle thru different gauge options, and even interface to external switches and LEDs.
New tires and wheels installed on the R32, as well as the new FMIC. Next up is some interior work, new gauges, etc.
I finished up the new MAFless intake path on the R32, plus removed all of the blow-off-valve plumbing, replaced the valves with VTAs, and got MPSSs installed on the new wheels. It looks like I’ll need roll the fenders.
Oh I also got some new wheels for the R32. They are 18×9.5s +24 offset, which seems to be about right offset wise. I’m putting 275/35R18 Michelin Pilot Supersports on them, as that is about as big as I can fit in the front.
Since I am running speed density on the R32 I decided I should go ahead and remove the MAF sensors. That meant pulling out the intake tracts, which meant noticing that the recirc setup from the blowoff valves was still installed. It is a pretty extensive set of pipes and fittings in stock form, so those had to go. That meant removing the bumper, which meant seeing how much oil and crud was accumulated in all of the intercooler pipes due to incorrect catch can install, which lead to .. well you know how it goes.. I’ll be putting in a proper Jeff Perrin Perrin Air-Oil separator to keep this from happening again!
Transmission work complete. New clutch and clutch valve body installed and the transmission back in the car. Thanks to Chris Fogg for the expertise and speed. Love these GR6s.