2003 SRT

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Seems like it's never a simple fix with me. Always something complicated.

I tested it before and after reattaching the pink line. It wouldn't even hit 15 psi on the gauge before I reattached it, but was creeping up on 20 afterward. It felt like there was a tiny bit of air coming out around the surge valve as well. Has me looking at this:

http://www.modernperformance.com/produc ... d-adapters

I couldn't hear anything else leaking. The charge pipe, both intercooler pipes, and the rest of the vacuum lines seemed good and quiet. It boosted like crazy once that pink line was back on there. The car sure pulls hard at twenty pounds.

Never seen that divertr valve before. $180 seems steep but it looks to be a quality piece. Just stay away from the Boomba diverter valve, they leak boost. Or just find a good used surgevalve that is not warped or the rubber diagfram(sp) isn't damaged. Maybe the 10mm bolts just need to be tightened down a bit on it. But don't break em. lol That would be a HUGE headache. Sucks about your coolant return line. Its it a rubber portion that broke or what? MPX has a bunch of replacement lines and upgraded coolant lines.

[JeremyJ]

Yeah, there's a rubber elbow that split on it. Modern sells the updated replacement piece for $70. I'm probably going to order it tonight, after I get my mechanic buddy to commit to helping me with it.

[JeremyJ]

Since the car’s an 03, that hose section is replaceable instead of permanent. My buddy reached under and replaced the split hose with a new piece. It took him 20 minutes and the car was back up and running. Crisis averted...this time.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Awesome. Didn't know the 04 and 05's were different.

[JeremyJ]

I blew a pipe off somewhere last night. The car only holds 5 psi, so it's a major leak. Probably the hot side where it attaches to the turbo, because it's loud as hell inside the car. Hopefully I can inspect and fix it today or tomorrow.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Not fun. Usually when something blew off it was the hotside to the intercooler or the sensor that plugs in the UPP, or UPP to TB.. for me anyways. I heard of it popping off at the bottom of the turbo too. Just never happened to me.

[JeremyJ]

I know the sensor is still in place. It has to be one of the pipes. Hopefully it's an easy fix and I don't have to replace anything.

[JeremyJ]

Turns out the cold side pipe blew off the intercooler. Easy fix.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Nice! I remember the first time it happened after I just had my Stage 1 PCM calibrated at Dodge to my VIN. (Only time a stealership has ever touched my car) I freaked out!

[blueneo03]

Damn, the injector cover looks great like that!

by the time you fix all the leaks you will have gone through the whole system!

[JeremyJ]

I discovered this a couple of days ago. I'm super irritated, given how much searching I did for these lights. I'm thinking about coughing up the $180 for the ones from Modern ($35 shipping is robbery).

[MyNeonSaysHi]

yikes I heard of that happeneing with the black housing lights. It has never happened to mine on my silver car or my current white one. And I bought the cheap ones on eBay too. Could be a matter of time or I am just lucky. Yeah MPX has very high shipping costs typically but you get it fast. I wouldn't be surprised if they are the same ones just relabeled from MPX. I checked my eBay and when I bought my black housings over 2 years ago from eBay I bought them from seller eaglemotorsport. They don't sell them anymore The picture they used had a white srt-4 in the background with evo mod and evo style intercooler. When you take that one out you should see if there is any labeling on it and I can compare with mine

[JeremyJ]

I was considering the generic eBay lights, since they all seem to be cheaply made. I can get a new set for $75 if I want to give them a shot.

[JeremyJ]

Purchase made. We'll see how the eBay generics hold up, I guess. I wanted to have the broken one replaced in time for the RADwood car show this weekend, so I went ahead and bought the cheapos.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Wow $75 shipped... I wonder how they differ from my $100 ones if at all. Hopefully the little chrome tongs stay on those. For some reason I want to say there was a thread on srtforums about different black housing headlamps and which ones to stay away from.

[occasional demons]

That bulb shield appears to have just been pressed on. maybe it was supposed to have some glue, but there wasn't enough? I'm sure the heat from the bulb doesn't help. Even plastic expands and contracts. I don't know if those shields are high temp plastic, or metal though.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Wait, can't you contact the seller of the black ones and get a new set for free under warranty? Not sure if you bought them used or what. (the one that broke)

[JeremyJ]

I never considered that. I'm not sure what kind of warranties are available through eBay sales (also where I got the broken set). I already received a new set anyway. If these ones fail, I'm definitely going to complain to the seller. I bought these new ones from a company that claims to make them. They're called K2 Motoring, I think. The box even has their logo on it, as opposed to the Depo branded lights that I bought from a third party. The listing shows a 180 day warranty, which isn't much. Anyway...I'll post pictures when I put them on.

The bulb cover definitely attaches differently on the new set. Let's hope it's better.

[JeremyJ]

So I was wrong about the brand. The box actually says “Spec D” on it, which is the same brand that Modern sells for $180 after shipping.



I’m so glad I didn’t buy them from Modern. I saved over $100.

There are some differences between these and the Depos. The black part of the Depos is gloss.



On the Spec D headlights, the black is flat.



The Spec Ds also don’t use a traditional gasket around the edges, either. That causes this issue:







It’s not noticeable until you’re up close, but the gap is still disappointing. The casting is different and doesn’t even have the tabs to accept the gaskets off of the Depos, either. I did swap in my chrome bulbs from the R/T.



Overall I’m alright with them. Not stoked like I was with the Depos, but they’ll do for now. Let’s just hope they don’t leak.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Great pictures I think they look awesome. Learn something new everyday...I checked mine out since it has been a while. Mine say "Eagle Eye" where yours say "dynamic" Mine are also flat black. Had no idea about the "Depo" ones being a gloss black. Mine seem to fit perfect but I used OEM headlight gaskets since the ones they come with are junk. Mine accepted the OEM gasket all around.

[JeremyJ]

I just bought new brakes from Wheelwell. This is my first purchase from them, so I'll report on how the process goes. I ordered Stoptech rotors and pads. I got a $200 discount and free shipping, so it was too good to pass up.

[JeremyJ]

Rotors are here and they look good. Pads to come today. Install and impressions coming soon.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Very nice! How did you get $200 off?!! That is one heck of a deal!

[JeremyJ]

It was a special deal they had where you enter parts onto a wish list. Select winners are chosen to receive those parts for free. I won a runner-up prize which was $200 off any purchase of $400 or more. The pads and rotors were $465, so I paid $265. I'd been looking at brake parts for a while and was waiting for a deal to pop up somewhere. When this came up, I jumped on it.

On another note, Wheelwell has been pretty great so far. It's like Facebook for cars, where you enter your vehicles and go over all of the mods you've done to them. They now sell a bunch of parts on there. The prices are middle of the road, but they have huge discounts from time to time that are worth taking advantage of. You earn $100 off your first purchase of $200 or more, just for signing up. Shipping is free on orders over a hundred bucks and it's quick. These brakes showed up after two days. Pads took three, but they were drop-shipped from the manufacturer. No complaints.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

nice i signed up. I checked out a couple things. Nothing I really need for my neon though. Looking for things for my TL. Hope your brake job goes smoothly and your calipers are in good shape

[JeremyJ]

Here's the old setup in the front:



The new setup looks better. I repainted the calipers, since they were faded. I forgot to take a pic before putting the wheel back on.



All of the red had chipped off of one of the rear calipers, so I fixed it.





The install went pretty smooth. Especially the rear. However, on my break-in drive, the driver's side front caliper got stuck and heated up the rotor. I think I'm just going to put new calipers on the front. The passenger side caliper was stuck when I bought the car and now the driver's side is stuck and I don't want to deal with them anymore. I'm frustrated that I can't seem to do anything to this car without complications arising.

[occasional demons]

I'm frustrated that I can't seem to do anything to this car without complications arising.

Just hope your child(ren) are as good, when they are 16 years old!


It's easy to forget how old these are getting, and given they likely were not supposed to last this long, well the math isn't too difficult.

Having to drive the '99 the last few weeks, it is tough to believe it is 20 years old, has 273,000 on it, and the steering is still tight as the day it left the factory. It has it's quirks, but I really have to keep reminding my self that it IS 20 years old.

When I began driving at 16 years old, the amount of 20 year old cars still on the road were pretty slim (for northeast Ohio). You were lucky to get them over 5 years without rusting out in the rust belt. An exhaust lasted two years tops.

for a DD, 10 years was about all you got out of them, as oil wasn't as good, and the rust prevention was non existent.

So we have it pretty good, even though we are also paying more. But accounting for inflation, probably not a lot more.

[JeremyJ]

Well, I installed the new caliper and then drove around for a bit. I noticed it was still grabbing and could smell the hot brakes after a while. I went home and checked them out, only to discover that the other front caliper was sticking this time. Fortunately, Autozone had both in stock so I went and purchased the passenger caliper. I painted and installed it, then took the car for a spin again. All seems good so far. We’ll find out more on my commute to work tomorrow.

Here's the new front brake setup:

[JeremyJ]

I took the car out for a couple hours' round trip yesterday. The brakes were great. No more sticking. The pads feel good, too. Not super grabby until I ask them to be. Perfect for street pads.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Awesome! They look great too. Good job on painting them. Running spacers it looks like. What for?