03 GAGT LX9 and Getrag F-23 swap!

[Forgotten User]

finished that frame up and got it coated in por-15


mounts got por15 as well and think I found a poly insert for the rear trans mount that I can use, going to order it and hope it fits

gave the engine a quick wash to make it a bit nicer to work on lol busy this weekend but might try and get some time in on Sunday if not will start on Monday after work

[Forgotten User]

surprisingly I wasn't hungover after a bachelor party last night so found some time to work on the car

[Forgotten User]

didn't work on it as much as I wanted but more progress, pretty much only thing holding me back from yanking it is the damn exhaust! can't get those bolts to budge so might just chop the DP and install my headers at the same time....

[Forgotten User]

goodbye 3400/slugomatic

going to strap the subframe to the cherry picker and wheel it out of the garage to degrease the rest of the engine bay

[Forgotten User]

slow progress is still good progress right? lol got the engine bay cleaned up a bit and subframe out

3rd pedal and shifter/cables are in... highly recommended removing PCM and holder to install this with the dash still in the car

shift cables use the same hole as the automatic shift cable

only hole that needed to be drilled(1.25") yes I know it's slightly off, fixed that quick with the die grinder

got my J-body poly trans insert and control arm bushings as well.... all said and done these $75ish bushings cost me $140 thanks to shipping and border fee's

[Forgotten User]

most of the interior back in shift boot is from an alero so doesn't fit at all but better then just a huge hole lol

also pressure washed my dirty ass carpet, had a monster can or 2 pop in the back lol this was the before

chopped the auto brake pedal instead of swapping the brake/gas pedal and mount from the 5spd

swung by a friends to grab my "new" steering rack(bad seals on my original)


waiting for the mailman to bring me some packages this week....

[Forgotten User]

installing that stupid Speedbuilt swaybar made me loose my mind today! Hopefully it puts a smile on my face on the 1st corner I take lol

6 puck clutch going on and new slave cylinder went in


it's in!! 3 out of 4 mounts holding it in right now as I still haven't installed my poly insert for the rear mount


a buddy swung by my place on his way to the track last night to drop off a LX5 TB and adapter plate he made, also got my CAI the other day since the LX5 TB has vac lines on it, saves me from drilling/tapping my UIM

LX5 vs 3400

had a little fire with the rear mount

and beat the metal ring out of it, ready for the poly insert now

didn't want to cut/extend my CTS so I opened up my injector harness to get the wires out and reroute it, CTS and MAP sensor share a wire so pulled the MAP plug with it


got most of the wiring hooked back up and buddy who dropped off my LX5 parts copied my LX9/5spd tuned PCM and is going to flash the tune to my PCM(HP Tuned PCM I bought had a different service # then my 2003)

having a issue with getting the axle stubs out of my LSD trans, when I had the engine/trans sitting on the floor they were moving on me as I tried to pry it out so thought having the drivetrain bolted in would help but I still can't get them to budge :S buddy I bought it from mentioned they are a lot tighter with the LSD but never expected this lol

[caffeine]

Are you using an OBX LSD? If so did you chamfer the edges of the axle gears? If not then you may end up having to destroy the axle clips to get them out.

[Forgotten User]

it is a OBX but previous owner had it installed so no clue on what was done and I don't care about the pieces that are in it, just old axle pieces that I thought he left in to help stop spills but now I'm thinking he couldn't get them out lol

[caffeine]

If he didn't rebuild/modify the diff before install, it will likely be VERY difficult to remove the axles.

[Forgotten User]

VERY difficult doesn't even come close to describing it, it feels like it's impossible to get out haha so frustrated I need a few days away from it... Monday I'm going to jack the car up as high as it will go to get more room for a bigger prybar or swinging space for a sledge/pickle fork and hope it pops it out

[caffeine]

You'll probably end up breaking the axle clips in the removal process. Once you have one of them out, you can use a long bar or screwdriver to hammer the other one out through the open side.

[caffeine]

03 GAGT LX9 and Getrag F-23 swap!

After the axles are out I recommend removing the diff and modifying it as necessary so that this doesn't happen again. There are quite a few write ups on how to do it. Also it's a good idea to replace the pre-load washers. The ones the come with the OBX diff are weak and often incorrectly assembled leading to incorrect LSD behaviour.

Also in my case the bolts that hold the LSD together weren't even close to torqued down when I received the diff. Torquing them down properly with blue locktite is recommended.

[Forgotten User]

I've looked through a few of those threads and I doubt any of it was done to this unit found a place to buy the washers and some new bolts

http://rbryant.freeshell.org/obx_washers.htm

bought a slide hammer kit today and ordered this part which should be here by the end of the week

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D4NB5HC/ref=asc_df_B00D4NB5HC3350938?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=pg-1603-94-20&linkCode=df0&creative=395097&creativeASIN=B00D4NB5HC

should be fun to get the c-clip to release when it's locked into this lol was reading a bunch don't even run the clips with the OBX

[caffeine]

I've done the rebuild to an F23 OBX diff. It's pretty much exactly like the write-ups out there. It sucks that for you you can't open up the trans until at least one axle is out.