IT LIVES!!

 

Welp did some more flailing around in the garage over the last few days... Updates below.

Got the car down off the ramps, roughed the coolers into place and was able to idle it in the driveway for 30+ mins without issue. This gave me time to clear all of the codes from the compression testing and previous low battery faults. Once that was done, everything bolted back together without issue and with the fixed lower support, aligned correctly on the chassis. Nothing is rubbing or dragging.




Which meant it was time for the first test drive!?!

It drives surprisingly well given that it sat for months and hasn't had a ton of maintenance. Idles cleanly and pulls through all of the gears without concern. Feels quite strong especially in the mid range. Tires are trashed though and will need replaced. Everything works electrically (windows, locks seats etc.).

Next post has some questions and concerns from the test drive.

 

Now for the questions raised by the test drive...

• There is a nasty vibration: car runs cleanly and vibration free to 55+, above that there is a vibration / wobble that more pulses than consistently shakes. Something along the lines of "pause wobble wobble pause wobble wobble pause etc"? Stays consistent on or off throttle and seems to intensify the faster you go? If the gas is matted in a lower gear speed, it doesn't seem to show until 55+ is reached. Haven't had room to get above 65+ yet to see if it goes away but definitely was getting more intense with speed (seats shaking, car becoming unmanageable). Possibilities?
  • Carrier bearing or Drive shaft issues?
  • Bad tire (broken belt or deeply out of balance)? It doesn't have the consistency of a bad wheel but...
  • Transfer case failing?
• There is a whine at the center of car that intensifies and drops with speed.
  • I am flushing and filling the T-case today but am assuming that this is the issue?
  • The trans will get flushed and filled as well.
• Previous owner very recently replaced the front struts with the Bilstien B4 sports. The ride is way stiffer and much more brittle than I remember with the sport pack. They didn't replace the rears when this was done and they look to be original (and is probably part of the issues).
  • Are there wagon B4 sports, a quick search shows the sedan all day...
  • I had planned to go to 18's and am concerned that the even shorter sidewall will make the overall package worse (especially with an upgraded rear). Are the OEM sports shocks / struts more compliant or are they just the relabeled Bilstiens at this point?

In other news, getting the car moving sadly didn't reset the DSC fault on the dash so that still needs to tracked down.

 

Congratulations, sounds like you've made incredible progress in a very short period of time. Your vibration could be the carrier bearing (just went through this myself) or nothing more serious than a wheel balance issue, especially given the speed range it occurs in. It could also be a harmonic from an unbalanced driveshaft or worn U-joint. Both of my X-Types have a bit of a whine which seems to fairly common. The transfer case has probably never been checked, so you're smart to do that right away, ditto the transmission.

I have 2005 Sport and haven't noticed the ride being unduly stiff, maybe just a bit more than the wagon. As far as the DSC warning, there are several conditions that can cause that, from a bad wheel speed sensor to a bad yaw sensor (located in the shift console and a real PIA to change. Plenty available used on Ebay. There should be come code thrown to narrow it down.

Best of luck and keep up the momentum!.

 

Thanks Max, appreciate the encouragement.

I was able to get the car out on the highway after getting the AC professionally recharged (working, Woot!) and the vibration was terrible. The steering was becoming unmanageable at anything above 70 and the car felt outright dangerous.

I decided to take everyone's advice, not panic and try the simplest and cheapest option first. A nearby Discount Tire had a slot and the newer Hunter Roadforce balancing machines so a stop was made. Every wheel was out of balance slightly but the driver front was the real culprit. After trying to balance the wheel a couple of times, they felt there must be something inside the tire that was causing problems. In trying to remove the tire, the sidewall actually split away from the tread in catastrophic fashion. One cheap correctly sized tire later, the vibration is almost gone and the search for a new wheel and tire package moves up the list. Also, even one new tire has made the front suspension less brutal over bumps which helps my issues with the sport suspension upgrade for the rear end.

I was also able to start the fluid exchanges for the drive train this week as well. All of three components (trans, transfer, diff) had surprisingly been serviced in the recent past. The real problem though is none of them were actually full!?

• The trans dropped almost exactly 3.5L the first time but only 2L only came out the second time... I refilled 3,5L and checked the level port which dripped as normal. I am waiting on additional Ravenol fluid for the third fill and will report back.
• Transfer case only had 200ml in it at drain and a magnet full of metal. I tipped the car over as far as I could and was able to put about 450-500ml in before it ran back out. I may have to find a pro with a lift to get it completely drained and filled again to the proper 600.
• Rear diff was almost new fluid but only 3/4 full. I drained what I could and topped off to the fill hole.

These steps have dramtically quieted down the car. The fluids seem to have taken a ton of noise (and hopefully wear) out of the driveline.

Next steps:

• Find the rattles in the front end
• Repair the headlight adjusters on both sides
• HID upgrade
• LED upgrade the interior
• AC preformance testing (its cold now but ATL summer is coming)
• Massive detail job on interior
• determine next steps on body repairs (drivers door, fender lip, front bumper replacement)

Will keep you all updated and thanks again for the help!

 

So, another request for help from the group...

On my previous X, after I redid the front struts I didn't torque the top nut completely (inexperience plus rushed work = fail). As the struts were replaced recently by the previous owner on this cat (and I am getting similar noise), I am hoping this is some of the cause of the front end clatter. On the other car, I ultimately took it to a Firestone to determine what I did wrong and correct it. This time I am hoping to avoid the cost and time to fix it.

Question is:

• 25nm is the spec I found, correct?
• Can I simply back the nut off a couple of turns and retorque it with it in the car?
• If so, does the car need to be in the air or can it be done on the ground? (I assume on the ground as that is the rec for other suspension pieces)
• If either up in the air or on the ground, does the suspension need to be compressed in any way or is the weight of the car enough?
• Or sadly do I need to pull the strut and compress the spring?

I do have crows feet and the offset wrenches so thankfully more tools aren't needed. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

Hello all, update on the front end issues.

I did finally have an outside eye look at the front suspension to determine next steps. The previous owner recycled the mounts when the sport struts were done and they are at the end of their lives. Also the end links to the roll bar have failed. I will order the parts and let you know how disassembly goes...

Quick question:

It looks like the strut bearing and mount are two separate parts in the drawings? So I would need: C2S44944 (Strut Mount) and C2S30556 (Bearing), correct?
Any other round-to-its I should prepare for? Other parts to have on hand (besides the end links)?

Thanks!

 

Short update on the progress. In today's exciting news, for the first time since the car came home, NO warning lights on the dash?!

I was able to track down a new (to me) yaw sensor (it took buying an entire car) that actually worked, which finally solved the last yellow light for the DSC. I took her out for a mountain loop run and all seems well, no Trac, ABS, DSC or temp lights on. Even the flickering oil pressure seems to have solved itself...?

More work happening over the weekend so photos and updates to follow

 

C2S39545

Awfully expensive but, available. I would (have) contacted member dr dome who parts out Xs for the part.

 

Wow, what an incredible journey to get to this point! You should be proud.

 

Dell, appreciate the heads up on Dr. Dome. That's good info to have especially after the two different senors I bought from ebay both arrived DOA. Max, thanks for the encouragement, some of this has been a bit of a drag, especially finding the fiddly bits for a wagon.

Over the weekend though:

Got all the interior lights replaced with LED's (6411's for the trunk, 6418 for the overheads and the 168 push style for everything else). Much brighter and more modern feeling...

Got all the foam seals for the radiator installed. Not sure they are needed but they solve my OCD... and reinstalled the bumper bar.




I also got my new headlight adjuster pieces from Poland and started that project. More details below:

The headlights came out without issue, cooked up just fine and popped apart just like before. I reassembled everything but am stumped as to what the problem is. Photo below:




This is as high as I can adjust them. (the blue tape is where they should be...)

• The car is centered on the panel and the correct 25' back. (sorry the camera has them flaring so badly)
• When I received the pieces, I did double check that they weren't different from each other and they looked the same.
• Is there something I am missing or a trick that will get them where they should be?
• Also once they were installed, even adjusting them to here pulled them off the bottom pin (which doesn't adjust) so they are floating a bit...
• I am considering cutting the new adjuster down a 1/4' so that they will move more (good or bad idea)?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Your baseline looks (at least to me) to be way higher than it should be. Here's a video on correct way to aim headlights on any car. Again the height you have just appears to be WAY higher than where the X's lights would be at a few inches from the wall for initial setting purposes.

 

This may seem like a stupid question, but when you installed the adjuster repair kit did you sort out the two plastic pieces that look almost identical, but aren't (see picture). They're apparently not interchangeable and have different offsets. The shorter of the two plastic pieces goes into the slot on the projector side of the assembly with the longer ones installed on the high beam side. Got this information from a vendor that sells coversion kits to change over to LED lights. His name is Anthony and he's proven to be very helpful with questions pertaining to the headlights. His email is: quadcamturbo@gmail.com. Feel free to use my name.

Hope this helps.

 

Nice thought progression Max224, is it even possible to install them backwards? Idk, but here's video of correct installation =

 

Max, Dell thanks to both for the help.

I double checked my helper's placement of the spike marks and I think we need to have a remedial lesson in how to read a tape measure (for both of us) .

Dell, you are correct, they are way high but even correctly placed, the cut off isn't where it should be.

I am planning on pulling them apart again because (as Max suggested) those parts do seem to have a specific placement and I am just not convinced I got it right the first time. Updates to follow.

 

The headlights are definitely a big PIA, and buying new is way too expensive an option. I converted the wagon to HID bulbs and they seem to holding up pretty well. I'm in the process of converting my sedan from HID to LED. I've gotten bogged down in the process they're sitting on my workbench awaiting assembly. Truth be told, I don't think it was one of my better decisions, but I'm too far into the conversion to go back to the facotry HID setup. Another case of "it seemed like a good idea at the time".

 

Even with being on the road for the last few days, I was able to get some more work done. Never been a fan of the "murdered out" all black body and wheels combo:




Drag 17"s that came on the car. In decent condition but not quite right..




So decided to simply adjust the contrast a little and found these after a little "cheap and cheerful" CL surfing.



MSW type 25, 18's in a 45ET with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3's. They aren't quite as bright as I had hoped but definitely pop in the sun. The Michelin's have been my go-to tire for awhile now and even this partially worn set improved the ride, handling and noise floor in the car dramatically. Bumping to the 18 hasn't affected the ride in any meaningful way, especially as the weight went down a bit.

Thoughts? I like them way more than the originals but they aren't quite singing to me yet... If I get motivated, they may get painted a slightly lighter colour..


Also got the "Sport" seats installed before I left town.




Massive improvement in grip and placement behind the wheel, comfort is basically the same though. Sadly the leather pattern is different than the back (something I may solve later...). Also I didn't grasp that the 05' has a seat position sensor that 04's lack. Now the airbag light is on and the passenger seat needs to come out again so that I can swap the entire base instead of just the occupancy sensor, sigh.

 

Looking good ETK! I like the look of the MSW's over the Drag's.

 

Definitely looking good! I somewhat agree with you on the "murdered out" look, but still find it appealing in moderation. Are the windows tinted; looks that way in the photo? If I had time and/or the money, the manual transmission swap would already be underway.

 

Thanks BK. I am still selling myself on the MSW's but getting there quickly. I think the body design has enough curve in it that the flat planes and "chunky" look of the Drags didn't quite click. Also being flat black didn't help.

At some point in the not to distant future, the colour should change to something closer to the UK release Blue, meow mix will come off the hood and all mesh will replace the slats. These tweaks should suit the newer wheels as well.



Not the best photo but the intention is there.

Max, the car is tinted terribly and at some point, all of it has to come out. The intention is to go lighter with ceramic film for better heat / UV suppression. Agreed that black on black can work, you just lose so much of the design detail in it.