Various stuff for this weekend (long...so what!)

[Jim Buck <vwpride@mixi.net>]

Well, I just did the front motor mount replacement thing, and on a 16
valve, it's a little bit of a beehaach.  This is how I did it:  First I
loosened the two 17mm bolts that hold the mounting cup to the chassis,
then, I loosened the lower starter bolt first, putting vise grips on
it's head for extra torque.  Once that bolt was out, I could swing the
whole thing down about a half inch, and that was all I needed to pivot
the cup out and off,  then I jammed a screwdriver in between the rubber
and the piece it was attached to and pried it off.  (my mount was ripped
on the inside...anybody else have this?) 
Since, I wouldn't be so lucky with the new mount (closer fit), I clamped
on to the bracket with vise grips, and pivoted the thing up as far as it
would go, effectively loosening an otherwise breakage prone top starter
bolt, which then came out easily.  I then had the bracket off and was
able to squeeze the new rubber on and re-install!  Bentley says to
simply center the mount and tighten, nothing about jacking the motor.
    Other things I did included removing the shift light indicator relay
(man, why didn't I do this ages ago?), and removing the oil pan, banging
out the dents, removing the oil pump splash guard, and installing that
special factory approved oil baffle.  Of course that means no more 30wt
oil running through the combustion chamber or on to my K&N!  So you know
what that means...got to clean & re-oil the K&N (I'll probably get back
a few HP from that...you can actually hear the difference!)  Question:
Do you install a new oil pan gasket "dry"?  And of course, an oil
change.  Due to high mileage, I feel it's best to go with Mobil 1 15w50,
to accomodate for looser engine tolerances.
    Given all these tweaks, I should be just that much more ready for
the Northwest Ohio SCCA vs. Fort Wayne SCCA challenge this Sunday in
Toledo. Wish me luck! (I'll probably be driving against ES National
champ, Dave Pearson in his Saturn...barf!)  I'll let you all know how it
goes.

Jim
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