2000 AWD Xploder from Turbo back to NA

[CDW6212R]

That looks great, and the rotors will look very good for quite a while.

I had a set that came as black about 12 years ago, that look great through most of their life. I got 40-45k miles out of those, and the black paint lasted maybe half of that.

 

[willzilla]

Took the day off from work today to relax a bit (took the kids to 2 movies in a row last night and ate way to much junk food and it kept me up all night feeling like crap lol).

Got the rear brakes done with only a couple minor hiccups. I was not aware that the brake pads can go only on one side lol. Initially I had the non-caliper piston side brake pad installed onto the wrong caliper and was stumped on why I could not get the damn thing to snap into place around the rotor (the hook notches were on opposite sides lol). Once I noticed what was wrong and swapped them around all went smooth. I still do need to swap all of the brake fluid which I plan to do in a few days as time permits.

Also had to do some serious cleaning of the wheels and tires which had been sitting in one spot for a long time now. Bought new center caps as the ones I had were rusted up and are fairly cheap to replace and looked horrible.

Old rear brakes:

And new brakes (different side):

Side shot:

 

[willzilla]

Got all the old brake fluid out of the system and new fresh fluid in... Shocked the old fluid actually was not bad at all.

Put the rear wheels back on. Sadly the wheels all have faded a bit from sitting so long, may end up plasti-dipping them if I am unable to get them looking good again (once everything else is done and the truck is on the road again that is lol). Tomorrow I will see about swapping in actual coolant and also see if I can get those damn camber bolts tightened down enough to limp the truck to an alignment shop when I get a few other things finished up. Still need to swap the new AC drier into the truck as well.

I wiped the wheels and tires down as best as I could without actual wheel cleaner and such, hoping that stuff will all help once I get to a car wash after truck is back on the road lol. Can see the red calipers peeking out a bit, they look good! Bad photo as it was dark out and I had to hit the wheel with my flashlight beam

 

[CDW6212R]

Cool, clean brake fluid. Are those wheels painted, are they black? If it's a paint I'll bet you can work on them with typical waxes, polishes of various grits, to remove a layer and get a nice color back.

 

[willzilla]

Cool, clean brake fluid. Are those wheels painted, are they black? If it's a paint I'll bet you can work on them with typical waxes, polishes of various grits, to remove a layer and get a nice color back.

They are Cragar SERIES 397 SOFT 8 wheels which shows as "2-Piece Steel - Gloss Black Powder Coated".

 

[CDW6212R]

I gotcha, powdercoat is a tougher paint. I don't know how well it works with refinishing like normal paint. Give it a try and see if the layer below the top is as good as the original.

 

[willzilla]

Spent an hour last night draining the water from the coolant system (tap water, not the best stuff to use but hopefully it didn't do to much damage being in the car for a fairly short period of time while I was troubleshooting the leaks) and running fresh coolant through it. Ran the truck for 15-20 min with the heater running to cycle the coolant through everything. Will drain it all out again and maybe run distilled water through a few times and then go back to coolant to make sure I got the system in perfect condition.

Started to rain last night so didn't get much else accomplished.

 

[CDW6212R]

I forget if I asked already, do you have an additive for the coolant also, like Water Weter? I like that one for helping the WP seals, and reduce corrosion, plus it increases heat transfer. I use a bottle in each car I do.

 

[willzilla]

I forget if I asked already, do you have an additive for the coolant also, like Water Weter? I like that one for helping the WP seals, and reduce corrosion, plus it increases heat transfer. I use a bottle in each car I do.

Yes. I "think" I have some Dominator Coolant Boost sitting in my garage... If not, when I pick up some coolant later, is there a specific brand you would recommend that I can get at Autozone?

EDIT: Nvm, I see you said Water Weter

 

[CDW6212R]

Any of them are very good, the Redline Water Weter is or was the cheapest when I began using it. It used to be $8 or less, now it's closer to $10, I got a couple from Amazon last time.

 

[willzilla]

Any of them are very good, the Redline Water Weter is or was the cheapest when I began using it. It used to be $8 or less, now it's closer to $10, I got a couple from Amazon last time.

Drained all the coolant out today, replaced with a bottle of flush and distilled water... warmed her up.. No leaks still thankfully.. tightened up the camber bolts (def not in alignment lol).. put all the wheels back on, tightened them up, and drove the truck around the block and down a short empty road and bedded the brakes... A bit mushy, need to double check fluid and make sure no leaks when I get light.. and they def smelled horrible lol.

Coolant temps were great. Truck seemed to drive pretty decent as well, overall. I added a cpl gals of fresh 93 octane. Once I get an alignment, brakes solid, I plan to run a bottle of fuel cleaner stuff to clean out the fuel system.

 

[Centaurus5.0]

Looking good there Willzilla!

 

[willzilla]

Looking good there Willzilla!

Thank you! Need to re-bleed my brakes and re-check for leaks to see what's up with the super mushiness. After that will be an alignment and A/C stuff. Fun fun! Lol.

 

[willzilla]

Didn't do much with the truck today... Was busy cleaning the house and repaired a nice free LED TV I was given

I did run the truck again, let it warm up, and ran it for a good 20 minutes with the heater on max to run that flush/distilled water mix through again. Plan to drain it and fill it again tomorrow if time permits. I did notice a little bit of leaking coolant, a few drips, may be left over from when I had filled it or an actual tiny leak, not sure. Laid some paper towel under the truck and got a drop or two after running it for 5+ minutes. Shut the truck off and checked again a few hours later and didn't see any more drops on the towel. Will check again tomorrow and see if there is any more.

Need to air up the tires and delve in the brakes tomorrow or the next few days. The pedal felt much firmer today just pushing it a few times and fluid looked good but will re-bleed them all again to be safe if need be. Need to install drier and next week will get the truck aligned.





Even before cleaning anything the wheels actually don't look to bad...

Front:



Rear:



Engine bay needs a serious deep cleaning lol:



Where I saw a cpl drops drip from...





Old HID's still kind of work, lol. Need to replace these though, passenger side one flickers a bit warming up and has issues coming on when I tell it to at times:

 

[CDW6212R]

When you do the engine bay cleaning, also spray engine degreaser under the front, especially below the oil filter where you pointed to. That electrical conduit does catch leaking fluids, the seam in it allows oil in if it hits it.

 

[willzilla]

When you do the engine bay cleaning, also spray engine degreaser under the front, especially below the oil filter where you pointed to. That electrical conduit does catch leaking fluids, the seam in it allows oil in if it hits it.

Thanks for the tip! Will do.

 

[willzilla]

Found the issue with my mushy brakes... Rear driver side connection between the brake hose and caliper has a very small leak. I think I left a brass washer in there or forgot to add one or reused the old one. Where can I order a new brass washer, or, does anyone know the dimensions of the washer needed ??

Also... Went to install new ac drier... It's not the right one. The old one has a plug on it and the new one does not lol

 

[CDW6212R]

The copper washers can be had at parts stores, just take an old one for the right size to match.

Those have to be very tight, do it carefully so you don't accidentally go to far.

 

[willzilla]

The copper washers can be had at parts stores, just take an old one for the right size to match.

Those have to be very tight, do it carefully so you don't accidentally go to far.

I'll have to see if I can pull one out or find where I set one of the old caliper washers (think I alrdy tossed them though lol).

 

[willzilla]

Figured out the issue with the AC drier, lol... Didn't realize I had to unbolt the old electrical connector piece and bolt it to the new one, oops! Wondered why they looked different, haha.