Update 08-25-2004
To Everyone emailing me kindly asking for a update I am sorry I have not done this earlier! Here is what is going on!
August 25: While on a trip to Colorado Springs my Speedo driven gear Fell out about 40 miles from home. Luckily it was hinging by the Speedo cable. the bad thing is that the gearbox completely drained. After pulling off to a rest stop I fabricated a keeper and removed a fender bolt to keep the Speedo gear in place. the Damage was already done though! the Speedometer cable was damaged and also leaking gear fluid from the abrasions that occurred while driving. I made it home but not without the brand new alternator crapping out and the fuel system vapor locking. 40 miles in 4 hours! Did I mention the rear differential pinion seal leaking pretty bad also! when things go they all go at once!!
09-11-2004
Well I haven't done much driving of the car lately due to the Drivetrain issues but I have still managed to put another alternator in and had that one last around 50 miles and being stranded twice trying to get home. Luckily a Comcast employee was nice enough to give me a charge off his work truck which almost made it home, three blocks from the house the engine died again! Screw it I pushed it home, Up hill, in the 90 degree weather! so I am now on alternator #3 since the 2TG install and less than 600 miles. if you ever need a alternator do not ever buy a "Autolite" or "world Alternator" they suck. Even if they have a lifetime warranty they go bad and leave you stranded! The next alternator is going to a Toyota Remanufactured O.E. unit!!
SO being stupid today I installed a big ass Bosch 14" fan to cool the engine down when needed. Initial power spike when fan turn on is almost 30 amps but drops to about 8 amps shortly after. I also installed a new water pump and 180 degree thermostat. I decided to take the old thermostat and gut the spring and plunger and install that shortly after in my quest to keep the engine cool.
I am not certain how restrictive the Cooling system is on the 3T's but I figured I would not run the car without at least a bit of restriction and that was what is left of the old thermostat and a 1" diameter hole where the plunger and spring once were. I would say all of this has worked pretty damn good! Fan is set to turn on a 72º and off at 68º. the fan does run a bit on heavy acceleration but also shuts off quick. The alternator appears to be holding up and charging better than the last 3 in the car.
Yummy Autronic!
So I am falling deeply in love with this Autronic EFI! over the past month I have been tinkering around with some of the gadgetry!
Autronic Launch Control: Comes in really handy when heavy launching is needed. the cool thing about the Autronic Launch Control is that it's also Speed Dependant. It will turn on when at a complete stop and will Deactivate once launch RPM and speed are achieved!
Autronic Flat Shift: I can't believe how Friggen' cool this setup is! Say you are running WOT nearing redline and ready to shift. all you have to do is gently tap the clutch and the Autronic Retards the piss out of the ignition for 30msec which is just enough time (usually) for me to change gears while never letting off the throttle or really engaging the clutch, Cool Shit! The only downfall is my gearbox is already trashed and sometimes I grind the gears due to missing the gate on the gearbox. I have noticed I sometimes get my left foot ready to shift and accidentally tap the clutch unknowingly until the ignition retards. I almost slammed my head into my rollcage when I did it Today because the decel is pretty bad if you leave it in gear!
Autronic Traction Control: I ordered my raw hall sensors (allegro 3141) from Newark In One have Fabricated my own Hall effect sensor housings and they are working great! non-driven wheel sensors are installed in the front hub and get their signals from Magnets I potted into the 4 bolts holding the brake rotor on. The driven wheel sensor is mounted to the pumpkin of the differential and one small magnet is drilled into the side of the pinion flange. I have not really set the Threshold and other features yet. I do have traction control commence when I launch hard so I probably need to move the Driven wheel magnet to a actual wheel. More to come on this!
Stay tuned for more updates!!