Midnight_Rider's progress log

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Midnight_Rider
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:14 pm

FAC3L3SS wrote:...how much are these "standby bolts" that you're procrastinating on? Just wondering why a $28 piece of rubber was needed before a small set of bolts to make power.
It isn't the price of the bolts- I haven't been able to figure out what parts I'll need. I asked a mechanic at my Dodge dealership yesterday and he said that he would just try installing the S2 and, if a bolt broke or rounded off, then we could look into ordering replacements. Nope, not how I do things. No way am I just going to leave my car there while we wait for parts (my extended warranty has run out so no more freebie car rentals on Chrysler). The weatherstrip is readily available so I went ahead and ordered it. My goof was not doing this last week so that I could have had it on the car before Carlisle.
r/tguy02 wrote:flaws give it character gramps :rofl:
Then I wish that my car didn't have so much of it. :roll:
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Post by sidepipe87 » Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:26 am

Do you know what bolts they are? I can't imagine anything going wrong during a Stage 2 install, it's about a 10 minute job if that and nothing diffucult or anywhere I'd think a bolt may even possibly snap.

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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Jul 09, 2014 1:15 am

As far as I know, it's the heat shield bolts. 10 minutes? :shock: All I know is what I read here (instructions are for S2 without toys also). Comes across as being a little difficult so I'm hesitant.
http://www.srtforums.com/forums/f75/how ... ys-204082/
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Post by FAC3L3SS » Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:35 am

Looks like a few sensors, a wastegate, injectors, and an ECU. The worst part is toys harness, which I believe you're bypassing.
el. oh. el.

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Post by sidepipe87 » Thu Jul 10, 2014 9:30 am

Ahh heat shield bolts, that may be since the WGA is partially under the heat shield. I completely forgot about that since I tossed my heat shield anyway. I hate to say it but I think your bigger concern than a bolt snapping would be the heat shield breaking around the bolts. I know they like to bring a ring out where the bolt was... (Imagine pressing a washer out of the heat shield around the bolt hole with a stamping die if that makes sense) and then the bolt has nothing to grab onto. That cannot be prevented though.
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Jul 16, 2014 8:53 pm

Great, I didn't think of ordering a new heat shield. I dropped a bit of change at the dealership today, ordered new heat shield bolts and all but one bolt that I'll need when installing the suspension mods:

viewtopic.php?p=1004288#1004288

Also bought a new sunroof- can't wait to see my VISA bill. :roll:
Last edited by Midnight_Rider on Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by thomas_w » Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:32 pm

sidepipe87 wrote:Ahh heat shield bolts, that may be since the WGA is partially under the heat shield. I completely forgot about that since I tossed my heat shield anyway. I hate to say it but I think your bigger concern than a bolt snapping would be the heat shield breaking around the bolts. I know they like to bring a ring out where the bolt was... (Imagine pressing a washer out of the heat shield around the bolt hole with a stamping die if that makes sense) and then the bolt has nothing to grab onto. That cannot be prevented though.
That same thing happened to the heat shield over my exhaust manifold. I just added a washer to increase the area the bolt pushes onto to clamp down the heat shield. I have no idea how this heat shield you are referring to is situated so it may not work there (and this probably would not be a viable solution for Gramps anyway, at least long-term).

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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:37 pm

My thing has always been to have more parts than will probably be needed just in case things go wrong. Guess that I'll be going back to order a heat shield (my dealership's parts department just loves how much dough I drop there :roll: ).
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Post by Hudson_Neon » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:07 am

don't leave too much dough there. i've never known a parts department to be very domestic. i've NEVER seen them make loafs of bread. i don't see why you would wanna leave dough

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Post by Midnight_Rider » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:12 pm

:laughing3: Alright, wise guy. :rofl:
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Aug 06, 2014 1:06 am

New hardware for future front lower control arms and K-frame replacements:
Image

New hardware for rear suspension mods:
Image

You're looking at approximately $250 that I dropped at my dealership. :shock: I did end up having to buy used "6505213AA SCREW AND WASHER Tension Strut" eBay bolts as this part was discontinued by Mopar years ago.

The good news is that, with the proceeds from selling the S2 ECU that I couldn't use, I should now have the money to cover getting the rear suspension mods installed, hopefully before chipdogg's next meet. :D
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Post by r/tguy02 » Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:47 am

good lord, the stealership strikes again :shock:
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:27 am

r/tguy02 wrote:good lord, the stealership strikes again :shock:
No, not really. It was my decision to buy all new parts for the install- I could have just asked that the OEM ones be used again. Plus, the $250 includes my discount- it could have been worse. I forgot to mention that it also included the heat shield bolts (not pictured).
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Post by occasional demons » Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:42 pm

Make sure they apply plenty of anti seize to those bolts, especially the long rear ones.

Even goop it excessively into the holes of the knuckles and rear crossmember. With enough in there, you won't need to worry about damaging those if they need to come out again. By then they won't be available anymore, like the 1gn's are.
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Post by r/tguy02 » Wed Aug 06, 2014 2:55 pm

i know you chose to do it this way gramps, i'm just amazed what they charge for simple hardware, simply rape
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:16 pm

r/tguy02 wrote:i know you chose to do it this way gramps, i'm just amazed what they charge for simple hardware, simply rape
Yeah, it is quite a sum but I'm just glad that I was still able to source new parts.
occasional demons wrote:Make sure they apply plenty of anti seize to those bolts, especially the long rear ones.

Even goop it excessively into the holes of the knuckles and rear crossmember. With enough in there, you won't need to worry about damaging those if they need to come out again.

Thanks for the suggestion- I'll be sure to let the dealership tech know when I take the car in for service.
occasional demons wrote:By then they won't be available anymore, like the 1gn's are.
Sad but true. I figure that the OEM's lasted nine years so I hope to have the same outcome with the new ones. :thumbup:
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:17 pm

Rear suspension mods are scheduled to be installed Monday at the dealership. :D
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Post by MyNeonSaysHi » Sun Aug 17, 2014 8:08 pm

Midnight_Rider wrote:Rear suspension mods are scheduled to be installed Monday at the stealership. :D
Fixed. :D
I am sure it will turn out well. Hopefully you can get some pictures of all the new bolts and rear suspension pieces you get installed while its on the lift.

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Post by Midnight_Rider » Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:48 pm

^^No need to fix. The mechanic who was supposed to have installed these parts earlier this year would charge a similar labor rate if I paid cash (I was going to let him have my OEM parts in exchange for some of the labor). Just the price that I pay for not being able to do this kid of work myself. At least it's finally getting done- the parts have been sitting in my garage for almost a year! :banghead:
MyNeonSaysHi wrote:Hopefully you can get some pictures of all the new bolts and rear suspension pieces you get installed while its on the lift.
That's the plan- the camera batteries are charging as I write this. :D
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:56 am

Arrived at the dealership at 7:35 a.m. (I am a day sleeper and normally don't wake until around 1 p.m.) and was informed by the tech with whom I had specifically requested to do the work when I made the date in advance that he would be unavailable today due to a doctor's appointment. Went ahead with the 72K service and will have to put off the mods until October, I guess. :whymewhyme:
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Post by Jean-Seb » Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:32 am

Uuugh... this really sucks. I have the same sort of schedule as you, and it's a pain in the hole to have to get up early like that... and now this ? :banghead:

Hmmm... what keeps you from doing it yourself ? Lack of workspace ? Back problems ?

I hope the work the mechanic does is worth the wait. :?

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Post by occasional demons » Mon Aug 18, 2014 12:21 pm

Well in his defense, getting sick/medical needs don't follow any schedule, and are rarely convenient for anyone.

And you usually have to take Dr appointments when you can get them.

At least he didn't call off just because.


And that particular job has the potential be a nightmare, even with a lift and the proper tools at your disposal. Not something I look forward to, let alone doing it feeling like crap.
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Mon Aug 18, 2014 12:42 pm

Jean-Seb wrote:Hmmm... what keeps you from doing it yourself ? Lack of workspace ? Back problems ?
No mechanical experience, no tools, no place to do the work- here is an old pic to show how tiny my garage is:
Image
occasional demons wrote:Well in his defense, getting sick/medical needs don't follow any schedule, and are rarely convenient for anyone.

And you usually have to take Dr appointments when you can get them.

At least he didn't call off just because.
When I've had to make an appointment for what he needed (an MRI), I had to make it several days in advance, NOT the day of the appointment. I'm ticked that no one let me know beforehand so that I could have rescheduled.
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Post by occasional demons » Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:33 pm

Well that is more of the service writer's fault than the mechanic's. They probably figured you would just have it done anyways. You still made good a bit on that by having them do the 72 month service.

I would have complained to the service manager.

And unless the mechanic told you personally why he was off, they violated federal law by releasing medical info to you. That is a big no no.
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Olha Koba, a psychologist in Kyiv, said that “anger and hate in this situation is a normal reaction and important to validate.” But it is important to channel it into something useful, she said, such as making incendiary bombs out of empty bottles.
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:53 pm

occasional demons wrote:Well that is more of the service writer's fault than the mechanic's.
He told me that it was news to him.
occasional demons wrote:They probably figured you would just have it done anyways.
Yeah, the service writer and the tech both tried to talk me into having another tech do the work but I wanted who I scheduled the work with- he's the one who got under my car when I showed up without an appointment a few weeks ago to pick up parts, looked at everything and then stood behind the parts counter to help parts order all of the bolts pictured above.
occasional demons wrote:You still made good a bit on that by having them do the 72 month service.
It needed to be done before the OH and MI meets so, yeah, I told them to go ahead. Long story about that but I won't go into it here.
occasional demons wrote:I would have complained to the service manager.
I did but... Another long story. :roll:
occasional demons wrote:And unless the mechanic told you personally why he was off, they violated federal law by releasing medical info to you. That is a big no no.
The tech told me himself but it seemed that everyone except my service writer knew about his injury from last week. Oh well, I've waited nearly a year to get this work done so I guess that I can wait some more. :banghead:

Also bought new lug nuts today and ordered a new heat shield for the :quotes: eventual :quotes: S2 upgrade.
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Post by MyNeonSaysHi » Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:12 pm

Has your SRT-4 ever seen snow/salt? I would love to find a mint SRT-4 like yours that I could just garage since I have another car. My silver SRT has seen a lot of winters. :(
Sucks you have to wait so long until you get those mods installed.

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Post by Midnight_Rider » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:16 am

^^Yup, mine unfortunately used to be a DD so it saw a lot of salt. Here is a link to a thread with pics of the car in snow (after I had the accident a few years back):
viewtopic.php?t=47990

Plus, it sat outside at an Iowa dealership from August of 2005 until I bought it new in late May of 2006.
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:06 am

sidepipe87 wrote:Ahh heat shield bolts, that may be since the WGA is partially under the heat shield. I completely forgot about that since I tossed my heat shield anyway. I hate to say it but I think your bigger concern than a bolt snapping would be the heat shield breaking around the bolts. I know they like to bring a ring out where the bolt was... (Imagine pressing a washer out of the heat shield around the bolt hole with a stamping die if that makes sense) and then the bolt has nothing to grab onto. That cannot be prevented though.
New upper heat shield is on order but should I get the lower one as well for the S2 upgrade? Parts wasn't sure.
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Post by sidepipe87 » Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:03 pm

I don't believe that is necessary. the heatshield is sort of a clamshell design. the upper one fits OVER the bottom one, so that one should not need to be removed or unbolted.
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Wed Aug 27, 2014 11:48 pm

Great, one less thing to buy. :lol:

Okay, finally managed to schedule an appointment late next month to do ALL of the mods I've been trying to get installed for almost a year. I learned today that the tech who had previously worked on my car in his private garage now works at a dealership and it only took two days, five phone calls and speaking with six people to get an appointment. :shock: Keep your fingers crossed.
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