As I mentioned before, I’ve been trying to knock out some of the free and cheap things on the list. I decided to tackle the following things on this round of fixes and changes.
1. Replace the damaged tire: As I’ve mentioned before, one of the spindle bolts got loose, and tire ended up making contact with the coilover perch, grooving the sidewall in the matter of maybe 1000 feet of driving. I ended up going to Americas Tire, and they prorated the tire for about half the price, so better than paying for a brand new one all out of pocket. As you can see by the picture below, the damage was pretty substantial.
2. Power steering pump replacement: After the hydroboost conversion was completed, I didn’t get a chance to test it successfully, because the pump failed pretty much immediately (lol go MotorCraft). I’ve taken the bad pump off, and installed a replacement from AutoZone, positioned the return line neck in the correct direction, so that it wouldn’t kink the line, and fired it up. After the system was bled, the steering felt great immediately, and so did the brakes. Finally I felt like I’ve had OEM quality pedal feel. Who would have known that doing a hydroboost swap would mean that I would have to take the entire system (power steering pump, hydroboost unit, pedal box). I’ve taken the car around the block in normal driving, and even got on the brakes pretty hard, and it felt pretty good, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
3. Proper battery hold-down: I’ve had the shop owner fabricate a mount for the battery for me, when I moved it back under the hood. He ended up making this concoction out of sheet metal and silicone, which make it kinda hard to work on the car. I went on google and immediately found a correct hold down specifically for the Odyssey PC680MJ, and it was only 35 dollars. Bought it, used self tapping screws to mount it on the side of the fender where the factory battery used to be.
4. Different drive seat: For as long as I’ve had the Sparco Circuit 2 seat, the halo part made it very difficult to drive on the street. Changing lanes became a trustfall exercise more than anything else. If I tilted my head in the right direction, I would be able to get glimpse of what’s on the other side, but it was very inconvenient. I ended up taking out the Circuit 2 and selling it. As a replacement seat, I’ve installed Sparco Ergo. Ergo still keeps the halo bolsters, however they are detachable, which means that I can drive the car on the street and to the track without having giant blind spots.
5. LED dash lighting: I’ve decided to swap out the stock bulbs in the gauges and HVAC controls to green LED. I’ve had Autometer GS series gauges, which are already LED backlit, and the stock gauges never quite matched in both brightness or the shade. The new LED bulbs have changed that significantly. The brightness and shade of the gauges is a very close match, and that’s something I can live with for $6.99 shipped from Amazon.
And of course, the gratuitous cute daughter pictures.
1. Replace the damaged tire: As I’ve mentioned before, one of the spindle bolts got loose, and tire ended up making contact with the coilover perch, grooving the sidewall in the matter of maybe 1000 feet of driving. I ended up going to Americas Tire, and they prorated the tire for about half the price, so better than paying for a brand new one all out of pocket. As you can see by the picture below, the damage was pretty substantial.
2. Power steering pump replacement: After the hydroboost conversion was completed, I didn’t get a chance to test it successfully, because the pump failed pretty much immediately (lol go MotorCraft). I’ve taken the bad pump off, and installed a replacement from AutoZone, positioned the return line neck in the correct direction, so that it wouldn’t kink the line, and fired it up. After the system was bled, the steering felt great immediately, and so did the brakes. Finally I felt like I’ve had OEM quality pedal feel. Who would have known that doing a hydroboost swap would mean that I would have to take the entire system (power steering pump, hydroboost unit, pedal box). I’ve taken the car around the block in normal driving, and even got on the brakes pretty hard, and it felt pretty good, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
3. Proper battery hold-down: I’ve had the shop owner fabricate a mount for the battery for me, when I moved it back under the hood. He ended up making this concoction out of sheet metal and silicone, which make it kinda hard to work on the car. I went on google and immediately found a correct hold down specifically for the Odyssey PC680MJ, and it was only 35 dollars. Bought it, used self tapping screws to mount it on the side of the fender where the factory battery used to be.
4. Different drive seat: For as long as I’ve had the Sparco Circuit 2 seat, the halo part made it very difficult to drive on the street. Changing lanes became a trustfall exercise more than anything else. If I tilted my head in the right direction, I would be able to get glimpse of what’s on the other side, but it was very inconvenient. I ended up taking out the Circuit 2 and selling it. As a replacement seat, I’ve installed Sparco Ergo. Ergo still keeps the halo bolsters, however they are detachable, which means that I can drive the car on the street and to the track without having giant blind spots.
5. LED dash lighting: I’ve decided to swap out the stock bulbs in the gauges and HVAC controls to green LED. I’ve had Autometer GS series gauges, which are already LED backlit, and the stock gauges never quite matched in both brightness or the shade. The new LED bulbs have changed that significantly. The brightness and shade of the gauges is a very close match, and that’s something I can live with for $6.99 shipped from Amazon.
And of course, the gratuitous cute daughter pictures.
