In reply to engiekev :
Thanks! The whole exhaust is welded, but it looks like it'll drop far enough to clear with one bolt/mount. I'm going to review the transfer case removal in the FSM today. As long as that doesn't open a whole other can of worms I'll probably move forward with it.
Not sure how I didn't notice this thread until now, but that is a sweet Laser! I have a friend who had two 1992 RS's. They are considered to be the rarest of the early DSM's and have all the good stuff. His 2nd car (1st one was so bad it ended up a parts cart) was able to click off a 12.9 in the 1/4 with the stock turbo and a manual boost controller on snow tires and steelies. That car was pee-your-pants fast on the street, especially after he modded it, and especially since he ran those steelies and snows for a "sleeper" look. 
I do remember him fighting the stock ECU a lot. They had a capacitor or something that would fail over time and destroy the circuit board. He kept a stockpile of those. Other than that, it was dirt cheap and fast as hell. Hopefully you get the head sorted out, because this one looks like it has all the hardware to be really quick.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Thanks Tony! Hopefully I can get it to turn too lol.
I got the bottom end opened up. Putting back together isn't going to be fun though... I had to pry the driver's side axle & wiggle the oil pan rather forcibly to get it past the pickup mount, and reinstalling the transfer case & going to be challenging solo.
I'm pretty sure someone owned stock in Permatex.
They also used a gasket...
These unibody rails sure do look nice. At least they're protected by a thick layer of sludge.
Then there's the driver's side axle mount on the back of the block. I'm pretty sure there should have been a spacer here.
But eventually I was able to pull the #2 cap & check the bearing & journal. Not great, but how bad is it really?
I've seen worse. I'd plastigauge it and see if it's in tolerance
Yeah that looks better than I expected.
The bearings in our challenge engine are slightly worse than that and we're driving it across country. Clean it up and you're golden.
Great news - thanks!
There's one other thing I need to check while it's apart though. I'd noticed before I disassembled it that there's a spot of higher resistance when I was finding TDC, and last night I discovered it's still there.
I'm thinking I'll check the cylinders first for anything unusual, then retorque all the bearing caps. If that doesn't change anything I'm not sure if I need to go any further or just button it up & run it though?
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
Any witness marks on the pan?
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
It happens with the pan off, but no, there's no contact marks inside the pan that I've seen yet. Though I still need to drain/filter the last of the oil & check for smegma in the sump.
Are you missing the AC compressor? There is a spacer available between the axle and block that's available somewhere.
In reply to Scotty Con Queso :
Yes, the a/c is long gone. The spacer may be in the pile of parts. If not I may have one that works, or certainly have a pile of washers I can use.
Well nothing exciting tonight, but after 2-hours of tedium the orange rtv is all off the bottom of the engine & oil pan.
For being OBX brand this seems like a decent piece.
I'll have to clearance the area where the oil pickup interferes with the flange, then clean the pan really well before reinstalling it. I also need to torque down(up?) the rod & main cap before i reassemble it. Though I did pic up a tube of the recommended grey rtv today.
Last night of vacation...[sigh] I think if I had about 5 more vacation weeks I might be able to finish it.
I did finish removing all traces of orange rtv from the oil pan, tidied up my clearancing for the oil pickup & flushed out all the crud. I also torqued the main & rod caps that I loosened up. I'll need to test-fit the pan & make sure I can get it into place without screwing up the bead of rtv before I can reinstall it.
I probably won't be posting many updates for a while, as most of my time is going to be spent cleaning this mess.
Great job. I think you went way beyond what was expected.
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
Thanks! I'm 100% for keeping expectations low, it makes life much simpler.
Looking good! Great progress so far considering what you started with.
I'm thinking of making a run of 3D printed AN hose mounts for DSMs, to hold the hose in place on the firewall. I'll send over a set when I get some built
In reply to engiekev :
Awesome, thank you!!!
This is pretty cool. I had an AWD years ago. I hope your repairs are not too involved.
In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
If I keep it post-Challenge, based on all the crud under the car I'm pretty sure I'll be replacing every single seal in the drivetrain. But hey, if it breaks before then that's one less thing to worry about!
Can you hit the underside with a pressure washer? Or some engine cleaner? Or both?
It does look pretty nasty under there.
Up here in the salt belt we would just call that free rust preventative.
RacetruckRon said:Up here in the salt belt we would just call that free rust preventative.
Thats exactly right! My 1G DSM always leaked oil from somewhere onto the underbody, I only drove it one or two winters but the parts the oil touched are pristine!
TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) said:Can you hit the underside with a pressure washer? Or some engine cleaner? Or both?
It does look pretty nasty under there.
I'm thinking once I get the car back on the ground & outside I'll prop the front end up on jack stands in the driveway & attack it with my (crappy) electric power washer.
engiekev said:RacetruckRon said:Up here in the salt belt we would just call that free rust preventative.
Thats exactly right! My 1G DSM always leaked oil from somewhere onto the underbody, I only drove it one or two winters but the parts the oil touched are pristine!
Yeah there's not a speck of rust that I've found yet, but it sure hasn't lived a gentle life either.
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