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Every job is intensive in its own way, but some are definitely more intensive than others. Let’s take a look.
First up is the conclusion to our customer’s Z3 woes. As you may recall, he came into Fluid MotorUnion with his Z3 regarding a failure of the differential mount. It ended up being more serious than just a broken mount, as the metal had sheared clean off the crossmember on the trunk floor panel. So we went to work cleaning up the remaining pieces of the body metal in preparation for our fix. Step one in the fix was using 1/8″ sheet metal for reinforcement plates inside the crossmember. We welded the plates inside the crossmember (since, if you recall, there was a gaping window on one side, that was perfect for access), sealed it up and ordered the new mount. If you need us to tell you the difference between the new mount and the old mount, well….it’s the one that looks new.
From there, it’s no different than setting it up like the factory does. With the repaired and reinforced crossmember all welded together then ground down smooth, we reattach the new mount in its place and spot weld it to hold it there. After that, we’ll finish up the welding, apply seam sealer to the sides to prevent corrosion from entering any miniscule crevice that may exist, then we coat the entire assembly in underbody spray to further prevent against corrosion and the elements, as it’s exposed to the outside during operation.
But wait! We can’t drive it just yet! After all, the differential is still out. As a matter of fact, this car will be driving better than ever once complete, due to the axle seals we’ll be replacing before reinstallation. And it *is* driving better, seeing as how we’ve had the car back together and have been test driving it. We don’t think that mount will be going anywhere for the remainder of the vehicle’s life.
Next up, we have a customer’s Audi A8. You know how you always hear those stories about how fun Audis are to service, with their extremely tight engine bays? Well, maybe fun isn’t the operative word here; rather, they’re a little intensive. Mostly because it requires a complete removal of the front clip. While it looks rather serious, it’s definitely not our first rodeo, so we know exactly what needs to be done to access the timing belt, the main point of the job. There are also a couple broken actuators on the front side of the motor, so we’ll be replacing those, as well.
Now, the definition of intensive moves more towards the intended meaning of the title. Bees aren’t everybody’s cup of tea; as a matter of fact, many people are allergic to their stings, which can cause painful reactions and may even end up with a trip to the hospital. However, much like other flying insects, if you get a bee really cold, it will barely be able to walk and move under its own power before it ends up in a state of suspended animation. That’s the case with the little guy pictured below. After pulling a car in from the outside lot, we noticed this bee crawl out of the vehicle and slowly begin walking around. As time went on, its movements grew faster and it seemed more alert, until it decided to get the wings moving and took off for the heat of the lights above us. Given that it’s barely above freezing outside, we’re impressed that this guy has survived as long as he has.
Finally, another intensive build around here is Tom’s Z32 Nissan 300ZX. He’s already built a custom engine bay and tubbed the wheel wells, and laid down a serious coat of flake-heavy Nissan Titan gloss black as well. Now, though, he’s focusing on prepping the motor for reinstallation into the vehicle. He’s asked us not to show any more pictures of the engine bay until the motor is dropped in, and we’re gladly obliging him, but he didn’t say we couldn’t put up a picture of his insane turbocharger and exhaust setup. That massive pipe, which includes both the regular exhaust as well as the wastegate dump, will be coming straight out of his hood. Loud won’t even begin to describe it. Get excited — we know we are!
And that caps off another week of FMU daily blog posts! Check back with us on Monday for even more original content as it happens! Have a great and safe weekend, and hopefully you don’t lose all of your bracket pools.
First up is the conclusion to our customer’s Z3 woes. As you may recall, he came into Fluid MotorUnion with his Z3 regarding a failure of the differential mount. It ended up being more serious than just a broken mount, as the metal had sheared clean off the crossmember on the trunk floor panel. So we went to work cleaning up the remaining pieces of the body metal in preparation for our fix. Step one in the fix was using 1/8″ sheet metal for reinforcement plates inside the crossmember. We welded the plates inside the crossmember (since, if you recall, there was a gaping window on one side, that was perfect for access), sealed it up and ordered the new mount. If you need us to tell you the difference between the new mount and the old mount, well….it’s the one that looks new.
From there, it’s no different than setting it up like the factory does. With the repaired and reinforced crossmember all welded together then ground down smooth, we reattach the new mount in its place and spot weld it to hold it there. After that, we’ll finish up the welding, apply seam sealer to the sides to prevent corrosion from entering any miniscule crevice that may exist, then we coat the entire assembly in underbody spray to further prevent against corrosion and the elements, as it’s exposed to the outside during operation.
But wait! We can’t drive it just yet! After all, the differential is still out. As a matter of fact, this car will be driving better than ever once complete, due to the axle seals we’ll be replacing before reinstallation. And it *is* driving better, seeing as how we’ve had the car back together and have been test driving it. We don’t think that mount will be going anywhere for the remainder of the vehicle’s life.
Next up, we have a customer’s Audi A8. You know how you always hear those stories about how fun Audis are to service, with their extremely tight engine bays? Well, maybe fun isn’t the operative word here; rather, they’re a little intensive. Mostly because it requires a complete removal of the front clip. While it looks rather serious, it’s definitely not our first rodeo, so we know exactly what needs to be done to access the timing belt, the main point of the job. There are also a couple broken actuators on the front side of the motor, so we’ll be replacing those, as well.
Now, the definition of intensive moves more towards the intended meaning of the title. Bees aren’t everybody’s cup of tea; as a matter of fact, many people are allergic to their stings, which can cause painful reactions and may even end up with a trip to the hospital. However, much like other flying insects, if you get a bee really cold, it will barely be able to walk and move under its own power before it ends up in a state of suspended animation. That’s the case with the little guy pictured below. After pulling a car in from the outside lot, we noticed this bee crawl out of the vehicle and slowly begin walking around. As time went on, its movements grew faster and it seemed more alert, until it decided to get the wings moving and took off for the heat of the lights above us. Given that it’s barely above freezing outside, we’re impressed that this guy has survived as long as he has.
Finally, another intensive build around here is Tom’s Z32 Nissan 300ZX. He’s already built a custom engine bay and tubbed the wheel wells, and laid down a serious coat of flake-heavy Nissan Titan gloss black as well. Now, though, he’s focusing on prepping the motor for reinstallation into the vehicle. He’s asked us not to show any more pictures of the engine bay until the motor is dropped in, and we’re gladly obliging him, but he didn’t say we couldn’t put up a picture of his insane turbocharger and exhaust setup. That massive pipe, which includes both the regular exhaust as well as the wastegate dump, will be coming straight out of his hood. Loud won’t even begin to describe it. Get excited — we know we are!
And that caps off another week of FMU daily blog posts! Check back with us on Monday for even more original content as it happens! Have a great and safe weekend, and hopefully you don’t lose all of your bracket pools.
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