1991 RC recovery mission - "Rebel Scum"

[underscore]

I got plates back on it and took it for a drive. Unsurprisingly the pump being stuck on means I get a code 54. It doesn't seem to impact driving since I have a boost controller and the TVSV is disconnected but I'd still like to try to fix it when I have time.

Code 34 popped up occasionally as well, during the same low-load conditions as before and still intermittent which I hate because everything I test when it's parked comes back good. I've got a 2500km trip coming up in a week so we'll see if I can nail it down before then.

 

[underscore]

I was able to reach up under the dash from the drivers footwell, thinking maybe the intercooler ECU wasn't fully plugged in or something, to find it wasn't plugged in at all. Either it fell out while I was wrestling everything back in or I just forgot to plug it in. So I pulled out the head unit and plugged it back in and now the pump doesn't immediately run at key on, so that's hopefully fixed.

I also swapped back to my original AFM since I still got code 34 with the spare and my fuel economy was noticeably worse.

 

[underscore]

~2,200km later and it's back home after a long trip for a TSD event. I forgot to take many pictures since my phone was running the checkpointing app and I didn't want to risk messing with it but here's a few. No major issues apart from a strut insert nut loosening off which we fixed at a gas station mid-event. It still triggers code 34 but not as often and I can pretty much tell when I'm driving in a way that would trigger it and avoid it. The gas mileage is way, way better back on the original AFM, 11.5L/100km cruising outside of the mountains instead of 17. It also has some sort of odd drone only above ~3k rpm on the highway, which is really annoying and I need to dig into it. I suspect it might be either the exhaust touching something or the solid rear end mounts transmitting vibrations because it doesn't sound like it's just coming out the muffler.

The last time it was clean-ish

A little dirty Saturday morning

A couple of the other cars. I love the variety of entries, everything from an Echo to a 911 to a Land Rover.

More dirtier

The boot tree

Peak dirtiness before it rained at the ferry terminal

Cleaned up a little by the rain, I stopped to check everything was good before taking the fun route home.

Home

 

[underscore]

I've been tidying up a couple things to prep for the next TSD event. The highway drone was pretty annoying, I found out the exhaust had shifted and was hitting the crossmember in the back so I hunted down the missing hanger bracket the shop removed for some reason back in 2017 and that got it back where it should be. Then little stuff like fixing one mudflap, adjusting the placement of the one rear spat, chucking on the studded tires, relocating the side underglow, swapping over the light bar from my Grand Cherokee, fixing one fog light bracket, etc.

I also decided to add some sound deadening in the trunk, that took me down the rabbit hole of finally swapping out the antenna that has been broken since I bought the car lol. I learned there's a drain tube for the antenna and mine was plugged with dirt. So a heads up to everyone else to maybe check that every so often. Most of the trunk area is pretty solid so I didn't find too many obvious spots to add deadening material but we'll see how much this helps. In the spring I'll see about doing the main cabin.

 

[underscore]

Well the TSD is over and it handled it like a champ. We finished second in our class, only losing out to another 5th gen Celica, so I'm pretty happy. The huge drone is gone now that the exhaust doesn't sit on the crossmember but it's still pretty droney on the highway. I might try putting a stock midpipe back on and if that doesn't do it a different axleback as well.

 

[grip-addict]

What a happy celica!
I put a vibrant ultraquiet resonator on my 3" exhaust and it made a huuuuge difference in dealing with the highway droning. Highly recommend.

 

[underscore]

I added one of those and it made no real difference. Same thing with the silencer that goes in the muffler tip.

 

[underscore]

One of the photographers that came to Thunderbird shared their photos. Here's a couple of my favourites.

And a couple from the photog of how insanely pretty the scenery was

 

[grip-addict]

I added one of those and it made no real difference. Same thing with the silencer that goes in the muffler tip.

Is it vibrating on anything else ?
I've seen ls guys wrap heater hose around their headers at high-vibration points.

 

[underscore]

It was touching the forwardmost rear crossmember, which was really loud at certain rpm, but I fixed that and I don't think it's hitting anywhere else. Hard to tell just lying on my back in a garage though. I'm going to check for leaks as well.

 

[scandinavian link]

Love the photos! I need to get on my computer instead of my phone, but even on here they look great!

Looks like a great time. Makes me wish I wasn’t too scared to get salt on mine. On my original st165 (20 years ago), I remember driving in the snow was one of the best ways to enjoy it. I hate salt!

 

[underscore]

Fortunately we don't really use salt here. A few of the cities use some other chemicals but for the most part it's just plows and sand.