Diary of a Madman; TitaniumTT's see you @ DGRRXI RE-REbuild

[TitaniumTT]

Ah, I see. I much better failure than the one I had. My PS pump started sounding like a supercharger. Thought, fuck it, I don't have the time, steering still works great, I'll deal with it when it becomes a problem. Well about a week later I'm driving up rt 57 which is a pretty bitchin backroad with about a one mile stretch of strait before a turnoff about 5 miles from my old house. Driving down the straight I see the car that was behind me, back off. I'm looking in the rearview and see what looks like trailing smoke.... thinking that's wierd... huh... I think I should check that out. I get to the end of the straight, go for the 135* turn and no PS at all... that's a TOUGH wheel to turn too, 31" mudders on a worm gear box BLOWS! A little offrd action becuase I couldn't make the turn and finally get to a safe spot. Open the hood, get a puff of smoke in the face, see PS fluid EVERYWHERE and the pulley, with the front bearing and shaft basically got ejected out of the pump body and was resting against the rad. Single serp belt, I wasn't going anywhere.

Lesson learned, or so I thought. About a year later the converter brick started rattling around. THought, whatever, I don't have the time, I'll fix it later. A week or so later the brick broke loose and plugged the exhaust, so far down on power it was embarassing.

[TitaniumTT]

So I figured that I wold wait until I had something to actually report before doing so........

THE 6-SPD IS IN AND WORKING LIKE A FUCKING TOP!!! One minor drivetrain vibration to work out and it's on the run right now.

The math and planning paid off WONDERFULLY. With a 7800 rpm, the top of 2nd is 60 mph and I can get there in LOW 4 seconds. The shifts from there out are right on top of each other, you don't have to bounce the engine of the rev limiter to stay in the peak powerband, the shifts are smooth... silky smooth, and the car pulls like a freight train.... it's incredible. I can't wait to get this bitch on the track.... 2 weeks from now.

So, here's what we got.... here's the super secret tranny in it's entirety compared with the stock Type-R shitbox. Length is the key here. It's been the length that has kept so many people from putting these trannies into 7's.

Comparision Shot



Here is the top of the Type-R box



Here is the 6-spd



The two things to note here are 1) the size and shape of the shifter top. The tunnel MUST be notched forward in order to accomodate the shifter tower. 2) That the shifter is off-center in comparision to the output shaft. The 6-spd is on center. This poses a problem when mounting the fucker as the shifter will be slightly off center in the tunnel. Nothing can be done about this and in fact, the tunnel needs to be notched towards the passenger side as well.



Here is the 6-spd mounted up to the engine and ready to be stabbed in..... but wait, there is yet another problem that needs to be addresses here.... that's right, the slave cylinder. There have been a few of the stock RX8 trannies mated to 13-B's in the past and in talking to 2 of the people that have done this in race cars and REPU's, the RX8 slave will not mate up becuase of the oil filter pedastal. I was going to get a slave just becuase I generally have to see something for myself, but decided that it was an unnecessary $80 expense, so I went with plan A.

[TitaniumTT]

Plan A is to modify the slave cylinder to fit the RX8 bellhousing. The guys that I had spoken to built an adapter plate. Thier reasoning was that if the the slave ever failed, they could just buy a new slave and bolt it on. In looking at the bellhousing in the FC to begin with, I saw a problem with this. The bolts would be VERY difficult to get to. As you can see in the pic, it would shift the bolts farther forward, sure you could unbolt the plate, but I had a better idea. When slaves fail, they fail from seals. Very few times do the cylinders themselves go bad, so lets mod the fucking cylinder shall we?

Here we go, the bolt holes are close, but they won't work, the cylinder will extend too far and I was afraid of it leaking out.



So I went ahead and cut the ears off of the stock TII slave and jigged the thing up to where I thought it should be. Bolted on one of the cut off ears and tack welded the thing on. Then I took it off, finished off the welding being CAREFUL not to penetrate the cylinder to the point where it would effect the seal.




Bolted it back on and repeated for the forward facing ear.



Tranny all bolted up with the slave and a new starter. I searched and searched for a starter before I decided to go with one from autobone. I know I know I fucking HATE autobone but.... all the other starters that I found even with my wholesale accounts were in the $2-300 range with a limited warranty. From 90 days for the most expensive bosch, to a 3 year for the napa unit. Theis POS from Auto-bone was something like $120 with a lifetime warranty. Now, I'm ignoring the Lifetime warranty arguement from Napa... everything that I have bought for my truck with a lifetime warranty from napa has failed, and failed FAST. Hopefully, this starter lasts a little longer than the average 7 months that the LIFETIME Napa parts seem to last. Time will tell

[TitaniumTT]

The next issue is of course a driveshaft. As you can see from the pictures, the stock TII shaft will not work. It's just a touch too long. Stock and the custom AL one I had built.





Now lets mount the bitch up. Before I swapped the trans I took a BUNCH of measurements off the u-joints of the original shaft thinking that I would be using that. I took the measurements under the assumption that the stock shaft would fit. Obviously it didn't so all my measurements were useless. So when building the mount, I had to guess as to where the tranny would be. I was close, but close doesn't cut it when it comes to drivetrain vibrations, we'll get into that a little later on, probably tonight as I do need to get something else done today.

So the mounting. I didn't want to solid mount the trans and when looking through my cache of parts I came across a spare set of FC rear control arm bushings from Energy suspension. I went to my stock of steel and found some tube that the bushing would fit snuggly into... SCORE! Poly trans mounts

So, first thing is to build a mount to the chassis. Pretty easy to imagine how this will go together.



Now the mount that goes between the two and bolts to the tranny was a little harder to built, but here's what we've got. Not bad and very strong

[TitaniumTT]

So, after I got the bitch installed and went for a drive, it was apparent that there was a problem with the tranny. I called Dave up and made arrangements for me to tow my prissy little attention whore down to him so he could figure out what was up with it. After a short amount of time I got a VM from him, happier than a little boy getting his first blowjob saying, Brian, we have a SHIFTING 6-SPD TRANNY!

So I got driven out there ASAP and here's the result. My prissy little attention whore awaiting her new implant



Good ass shot showing off the fuel cell



Jordan getting the last few of the bolts in.... mainly just wanted a pic of the back of the shirt



This pic was taken before the trans went back in.... can anyone see anything wrong with this? It was a source of the vibration and a reason that I wish I had built my own mounts and NOT bought the Banzai racing mounts. Kevin, if you're reading this, make sure that the angle of the mounts you're building offset the engine properly, AND get the angles proper.

[TitaniumTT]

Got the bitch buttoned up, checked the fluids, got her on the grnd and went for a drive....... HOLLY FUCKING HELL does she pull HARD. The 6-spd shifted great, the car ran SMOOTH, the ratios in the trans were spot on and the 4.3 rear was an awesome addition as well........ there was only one problem.... drivetrain vib in 4th-6th around 60mph and up. It's exactely like my truck when unloaded and hard on the gas.... the angles of the drivetrain are wrong and the shaft/u-joints are out of snyc.

Remember that pic above showing the engine rotated? Banzai mounts, so... I busted out the hoist, pulled the cup out of the driveres side, shimmed the passenger side, rotated the drivers side to the bottome of the adjustment, and the passenger side to the top of the adjustment range and got it to .1* with the rest of the car. Cool, that pulled the shifter over a little more as well.



Next problem was the angle relative to the pinion shaft. The pinion is offset to the passenger side in the FC. This means that the tranny needs to move over as well. Fuuuuuuuck, more notching of the tranny tunnel. Not very fun with a full interior but it's done and over with. Now, the tranny is so far over to the passenger that the original mount won't work. Not a big deal, build it once, I'll build it again. Now that's done.

Next problem is the angle of the engine trans. When I originally took my measurements they were off the u-joints becuase I though I was going to be re-using the orginal shaft. With that out I was forced to get it to where I though it should be.

Here's where it looks like it should be from the bottom. When I built my strut toer brace with the torque arm, these two points were lined up. They clearly aren't.



So I adjusted and moved and got it closer, took this pic,



moved it some more and got it spot on. Pulled a few angles from the tranny output, the yokes on the driveshaft at both ends & the pinion flange. They were within what I had understood to be acceptable measurements, built the mount, factored in some movement, and went for a drive. What started out as a vibration that could shake teeth loose, is down to what feels like a truck with mud tires on the highway feels like.... a constant little hum. MUCH better, but still needs some adjusting. I'm almost out of room regarding moving the tranny, I MAY have to drop the pinion flange down some to get some angle back.

Next step is to find the centerline of the car and with some lazer lights and plumb-bobs, get the offset of output shaft, the driveshaft, and the pinion, as well as the angles relative to horizontal and send them off to my driveshaft guy. He'll throw all that info into Dana-Spicers computer and see what needs to go where to get rid of the vibe. Gut says that becuase the tranny is a little longer, the pinion needs to come down slighty. Guys who lift trucks are all to familiar with this, except they go the other way with thier pinions.

If all that fails, it looks like it'll be a double cardon steel driveshaft... which would really piss me off.

So, that's where we are now. This tranny ROCKS! Can't thank Dave and his crew @ Speed1 enough for thier efforts. Without them, this NEVER would've happened. Anyone who can build a custom tranny is tops in my book. Thanks again Dave, I owe ya huge! This thing kicks ass, I wish it weren't raining today.

[EJayCe996]

Just when I started to think that maybe you got too old to work on your car. Bravo ol chap, bravo

[MaczPayne]

Wow. Can't wait to see how this does in the auto-x

[WE3RX7]

Horseshit! Thats all this is....













now, go build me one.

[TitaniumTT]

Originally Posted by EJayCe996

Just when I started to think that maybe you got too old to work on your car. Bravo ol chap, bravo

cute.... really cute but thank you

Originally Posted by MaczPayne

Wow. Can't wait to see how this does in the auto-x

Me neither. The thing should be damn near perfect.... 6-spd, 4.3 torsen, 400+rwhp, sequentials....

Originally Posted by WE3RX7

Horseshit! Thats all this is....













now, go build me one.

If you're serious, lemme know You're on your own for mounting the motherfucker though..... Banzai mounts and all

[EJayCe996]

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

cute.... really cute but thank you

If you're serious, lemme know You're on your own for mounting the motherfucker though..... Banzai mounts and all

*bow*

Arg, if it wasn't for the trip to Sevenstock, alcohol and strippers for my birthday this past weekend, AND my car heading into the body shop. I'd be all over this right now.

[limbar85]

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

Got the bitch buttoned up, checked the fluids, got her on the grnd and went for a drive....... HOLLY FUCKING HELL does she pull HARD. The 6-spd shifted great, the car ran SMOOTH, the ratios in the trans were spot on and the 4.3 rear was an awesome addition as well........

I demand videos!

[vex]

B,

Would you mind taking some shots on how your exhaust is hung on the pretty, pretty, princess?

I need some motivation.

[Nismo]

Damn kind of happy I am building my own mounts! Thanks for the heads up, definitely high on the drivers side, or low on the passenger side... I will keep this in mind thanks for that Brian!

I will post pictures when I build mine in the new Fab Section.

[TitaniumTT]

Originally Posted by EJayCe996

*bow*

Arg, if it wasn't for the trip to Sevenstock, alcohol and strippers for my birthday this past weekend, AND my car heading into the body shop. I'd be all over this right now.

Meh, I think that we'll ALWAYS know how to build this tranny..... third time being the charm and all

Originally Posted by limbar85

I demand videos!

Oh I'll get some vid's up.... the kind where I dance around cones in the near future.