8 replies to this topic

[Andy69]

Charity autocross yesterday at MIR.  Great turnout - 80 drivers - normally we get 20 or so for a local event.  It really wasn't an autocross so much as a half lap of the track, but still a blast, even with my worn out rock hard tires on a 48 degree day.  Despite all that, I managed a 26th place finish.  Normally I have no trouble beating the high HP cars but on a course like this there was no way.  The fastest car, a 2018 Z06, beat me by nearly 6 seconds.  There just weren't enough tight corners to make up for the straights where there was a 40-50 mph speed differential.

 

I was late getting there.  I had to make a trip to the hardware store in the morning.  I was checking the engine mounts and the right front mount had one broken bolt and the other two were loose.  It felt like they were stripped and when I removed one, it was awfully short, so I got some longer ones and got them in and tight.  The third one is still broken off.  I think fixing this is going to require replacing the case because there are other issues.

 

Then on my last run I came around the last turn and the shift rod fell off and the shifter got all floppy.   I guess that retainer pin must have fallen out.  It was still stuck in a gear so drivable.  But I had to have help to get it on the trailer because it appears to be stuck in 1 1/2 gear or something as it slips.  

 

I suspect there is something more going on here than just the shift rod - it may be that the pin actually broke because something else happened.  I won't know until I get it up on the stands and get under the car.  I might be swapping out the transmission sooner rather than later.

 

Great way to start the autocross season.

Edited by Andy69, 04 February 2018 - 10:15 AM.

[Sinub]

Maybe it's time for a dyno design shift knuckle.  

[rallyxcrx]

My rear mount has failed more than once. High RPM causes the two top bolts to fall out, and this breaks the tranny case, and when the mount is finished the throttle sticks wide open and the tranny shifter also fails. Now I safety wire the two top bolts together. The bolts are easy enough to drill, and loctite dosen't work. I have a blown motor to fix right now, and yeah, this car kicks ass in the turns, but gets it's ass kick on the straights, Dave

[Andy69]

My rear mount has failed more than once. High RPM causes the two top bolts to fall out, and this breaks the tranny case, and when the mount is finished the throttle sticks wide open and the tranny shifter also fails. Now I safety wire the two top bolts together. The bolts are easy enough to drill, and loctite dosen't work. I have a blown motor to fix right now, and yeah, this car kicks ass in the turns, but gets it's ass kick on the straights, Dave

 

Same problem here.  I've broken one rear mount and had the bolts come out once.  The time the bolts came out broke the transmission case.  I've got that problem now with the front transmission mount - one bolt hole is split out and one is stripped for about the first half of the hole.  I've also got what I think is a stripped subframe bolt on the passenger side.

 

It's tough keeping this car together.  After every event I need to go over it and tighten things, and I still have issues.

 

At some point, this car will be retired because of the workload of keeping it together and the difficulty of finding parts.

[kedwards]

I definitely lost a tranny/motor mount bolt a few times over the years, at least once while on-track. Also broke a tranny threaded hole at the rear motor mount, during an autocross. In retrospect, I should have been more diligent checking for tight bolts...

[Andy69]

Well, I broke it again.  Had a clunking sound from the passenger side, which turned out to be a loose top strut nut.

 

But upon inspection of the engine mounts, I discovered that I now only have one remaining bolt on the passenger front mount.  One is split out the side and stripped, and the other has a bolt broken off in it.  I can't get access to the hole with a drill even after dropping the motor down by unbolting it from the two front mounts.

 

I have an event next Saturday.  My choices thus far are:

 

1.  Run it with one bolt in the mount.

2.  Remove the transmission and drill the hole

3.  Remove the transmission and replace the part of the case with the broken holes.

4.  Or, while I have it out, pull the LSD out of the current one and install it in the LF trans I bought last year.  

 

4 makes the most sense, since I need that one to go in the car anyway because it has the tallest 2nd gear.

 

But more and more I'm thinking about option 5, which is parking the CRX permanently, and buying a newer car with more aftermarket support.  I hate to do that because this little thing is FUN, but it's increasingly harder to repair because of the parts issue, plus I need to upgrade the suspension in order to be competitive at the national level and as it stands right now I can't because of parts availability. 

 

I haven't decided one way or another yet, but I'm thinking C5 Z06 or a Boxster.  Both cars that were made for what I want to do with them.

[gtpilot]

Option 4...

[Andy69]

Option 4...

 

I'm going with 4 to get the car ready for Saturday.  

 

Still thinking hard about a C5 though.  Very competitive in AS.

[gtpilot]

 

I'm going with 4 to get the car ready for Saturday.  

 

Still thinking hard about a C5 though.  Very competitive in AS.

 

No points for you if you do that!  Stick with the CRX!