1999 VS SIII S 5.0 Ute

[whiskeytango]

The dual 2 1/4 is ok for stockers...alot of dudes back in the day when dynoed noticed changing secondaries off extractors to cats picked up decent torque & little hp even on stockers...bigger gains again for mild to wild engines yet lost a tad if they went 3" unless it was a crazy high comp big banger

Yeah nice to know.
I'm going to spend the next few months full proofing the box and diff then decide if I'm going to boost or build a stroker next year.
Both of those will require different exhausts so I haven't even looked into it to be honest.

 

[whiskeytango]

Well after a few big days rolling around under the thing it finally moves again.

Today was big one.

- Installed new P/S Rack
- Control arms (resprayed first)
- Tie-rod ends
- Ball joints
- Rear shocks
- Rear sway bar bushes
- Reassembled P/S pump and belt

Still needs a wheel alignment but thank god it’s all done it was a hot/humid sweaty week in my garage.

The entire front suspension, steering and brakes are now brand new.

Rear needs some panhard bushes but everything else there is in good condition or replaced also.

Next step is a unis/cv, gearbox, diff and rims.

 

[VS 5.0]

Nice work.

 

[whiskeytango]

Nice work.

Cheers mate.

Thanks mate!

Will keep hacking at it during the year when I'm not away for work.

 

[whiskeytango]

Changed the sump gasket over the last couple of days.

It was by far the worst thing I've ever done under a car on stands!

I read some posts on here saying it'd only take 2-3 hours by removing the kframe.

FML that number blew out for me probably took me around 7 hours over an arvo and morning.

The sump bolt next to the compressor was a total nightmare. Took me a couple of hours of head scratching, multiple dead arms and rage fits just to get the bolts loose enough to jam a screwdriver in and give myself a 2mm wiggle room. Then the engine mount next to it took half an hour and multiple dead arms to get the bolt out.

Also getting the gasket to stay on the sump while refitting was a little frustrating by myself. Ended up putting lengths of hoochie cord through each hole and yaking the gasket bank into place as I went before lightly tightening and pulling the cord out. Worked alright just took a few attempts.

I didn't use goo as I knew it'd just smudge everywhere with no control under there. It's sealed a treat anyway.

There's really not a lot too it in reality but but f$#! ever doing it again without a hoist. Next time the engine will be coming out and I'd do other stuff at the same time.

Not worth dehydrating and rolling around in a 30 degree garage in 80% humidity.

 

[losh1971]

Sump gasket was replaced on my V6 and yeah engine pulled and five other things fixed at the same time. Not a lot more work to rip it out and a lot less pain. Mech did mine so made sense to remove engine and get everything done at the same time.

 

[whiskeytango]

Sump gasket was replaced on my V6 and yeah engine pulled and five other things fixed at the same time. Not a lot more work to rip it out and a lot less pain. Mech did mine so made sense to remove engine and get everything done at the same time.

Yeah smart decision.
I contemplated buying a crane as I plan on doing some engine work in the next 12 months, but figured i'd just do this as a quick fix for now and wait till I have a cam and the rest before I remove it.
Certainly was not a quick fix and wasn't fun. I did however learn a bit and no longer have any leaks so it's not a loss.
Plus I do have plenty of time to waste haha.

 

[Phillbert]

Nice ute m8, it's coming along nicely

 

[whiskeytango]

Nice ute m8, it's coming along nicely

Thanks mate.

It's annoying how 80% of my to do lift is not visual. No one notices when you spend 10 hurs rolling under a car lol. Well that's most car people lol.

 

[whiskeytango]

Organised a random mobile mechanic to come do a pre roady on Tuesday morning so I could get a list of anything little that I missed over the last few months. I really just wanted a list of stuff to tinker with over the next couple of months before I finally transferred reg from VIC to QLD.

Good news was he passed it straight up although encouraged me to put some mufflers on it lol.

Went in and transferred it today. Rego was more expensive per 6 months in QLD than 12 for a V8 in Vic. ******* nuts if you ask me!