Bee’s 2010 SS/RS Rally Yellow Build

[Ashen 6.2]

Originally Posted by Bee

My bigger concern at the moment is taking the hat off the rotor...all 12 bolts were red Loctited on there. The guy at Summit said it won't be a problem to get the bolts off...he said he has had to do that himself in the past and to first try it with a socket and if it gives too me much trouble to apply a little heat. Has anyone had to remove bolts that had red Loctite applied? The shame of it is, I was going to use blue but then thought...by the time I have to get new rotors I would just order both pieces anyway.

On the red loctite, the only way I have ever been able to get a bolt/nut loose with that on it is with applying some heat. I think the packaging even states that.

BTW - those brakes look killer! great choice!

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Ashen 6.2

On the red loctite, the only way I have ever been able to get a bolt/nut loose with that on it is with applying some heat. I think the packaging even states that.

BTW - those brakes look killer! great choice!

Thanks bro!!

I was able to get the new rotor on today. The Red Loctite really didn’t put up much of a fight. I ended up using a tire changing machine to hold the rotor in place, and then I was able to break the bolts loose with just a ratchet (no heat required).

Here’s a few pictures of the rotors going in the correct direction now.

[Bee]

For probably the past 13 years of the 14+ owning the car, I have had the infamous oil cooler leak. It was never too bad…just a few drops on the garage floor here and there. Since I don’t drive a ton of miles each season, I only change the oil once a year and when I do, I’m always reminded by all the oil that is blown across the bottom of the block. Here's a picture of the mess I usually had to clean up with each oil change.



Last year, I set out to resolve the issue once and for all (thanks to the advice from other Camaro5 members), I opted to get the oil cooler delete kit from Improved Racing. The kit included the upper radiator hose from a 2012 Camaro, a 17mm allen plug for the block, and a bypass plate. So with this year's oil change, it was finally time to get rid of it.

Overall, it was pretty straightforward. But if I had to do it again, I would highly recommend draining the radiator first. I only drained the oil and the antifreeze made quite a mess. When I was finished, I had to put over 1.5 gallons of antifreeze back in.

I tried to remember to snap a few pictures along the way, or at least until my hands were too slimy with oil and antifreeze to want to grab my phone. Anyway, I started by removing the air intake to swap the upper radiator hoses. The 2010-11 hoses (first pic below) have a T in the line that goes down to the oil cooler, but the 2012's used a single hose (second pic below).




I would also recommend disconnecting the cooler lines before unbolting the oil cooler. I didn’t do that first, but ultimately had to in order to get the oil cooler out. The black covers will slide back to reveal a retaining clip. I didn’t get a picture of it, but there is another large line that goes up to the block. It also has a black cover/retaining clip to remove the line. Once that line is removed, you’ll be able to get a 35mm socket on it to remove the nut in the block. This will be plugged with the brass 17mm Allen plug from the kit.




With the lines out of the way, its time to unbolt the oil cooler itself. I started with the two 10mm bolts above the oil filter where the bypass plate will go. Next, there are only four 13mm bolts around the oil cooler have to be removed (the ones that thread into the studs on the oil pan. Three of them were easy to get to, the one at the top took the right combination of swivels and extensions to get to it, thanks to the headers.



With the oil cooler removed, I installed the bypass plate and the new oil filter..wiping down and oil and antifreeze I could see. And here's the final result:

[Bee]

This next one I have to give a huge shout out to The_bald_eagle_machine. Last week I ordered a pair of his battery ground cables. The cables are very nice quality and he shipped them out to me right away. Since the car was up in the air for the oil change/cooler delete, I installed the one ground cable from the bell housing to the body.

Just a quick backstory, for years, I noticed my car would be very slow to crank when it was hot. Most of the times it would happen are when I arrive somewhere and would have to wait inline. I would shut the car off for a few minutes and have to restart it. I always assumed it was due to an aging battery, even though I always hook it up to a tender whenever I get back home. It got to the point where I began keeping a jump box in the car.

I basically ran them both the same way bald eagle did his. I did a couple “hot” restarts and it appears to have resolved the issue.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Glad that you like the product. Looks like you purchased my last set available on the forum as I have been banned from posting them for sale in the forum as of today.

Side note your car is coming along really nicely. I look at my oil cooler every time i change the oil and just think of it as a ticking time bomb. Mine is not leaking *knock on wood* but my car is fairly low miles at 45k. I know that one day I will have to change it out, but I was leaning towards a mishimoto cooler instead of a delete. any reason why you went with a delete instead?

[Bee]

Oh no...I'm sorry to hear that!! If I ever happen to run into anyone at a local show/event that is experiencing a hot start issue, I'll certainly reach out to you directly.

And thank you...I can't believe I almost have all the parts I've been collecting installed.

If yours isn't leaking yet, hopefully that is a good indication it won't at all. I ended up just going with the delete because it seems most people that attempted to replace the o-rings on the factory cooler reported it only resolved the issue for a little while before it began leaking again. I was considering the Mishimoto cooler at first, but from what I could gather they are really designed to work in conjunction with the factory cooler. At some point, I may opt to install the Improved Racing oil cooler (if/when it ever comes back in stock) as that has a larger surface and was designed to be used without the factory cooler.

[Bee]

This job took me way longer than it should have, but I finished installing a new set of BMR motor mounts today. The reason it took so long is because the headers were blocking one of the bolts so I wasted a lot of time trying to find a short cut instead of just removing them. Where everything went completely downhill is when I was being stupid and unbolted the headers before disconnecting them from the rest of the exhaust system. The weight of the exhaust made it impossible to bolt the headers back on, and without the headers connected it was next to impossible to take apart the rest of the exhaust. I ended repositioning the headers enough to get one bolt in each one, and then with some heat, a large hammer, and a block of wood, got the exhaust from the cats back removed.

Of everything I have done to my car so far, I think this one is probably the most extreme. Granted, I need to get a couple hundred miles on them before they settle in, but that initial start-up and drive home felt like I was driving a completely different car. I could obviously always hear the car running, but now I can literally feel the rumble through the floorboards. It kind of reminds me of the old school big block muscle cars with no insulation under the carpet. Unfortunately, it was raining on and off and I got stuck behind way too many people driving like it was snowing. But I did get a short section of open road to wind out the gears a bit and everything felt very solid and incredibly responsive.

I’ll provide some additional feedback after they break in some more. Here are a couple pictures I took a long the way.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Originally Posted by Bee

This job took me way longer than it should have, but I finished installing a new set of BMR motor mounts today. The reason it took so long is because the headers were blocking one of the bolts so I wasted a lot of time trying to find a short cut instead of just removing them. Where everything went completely downhill is when I was being stupid and unbolted the headers before disconnecting them from the rest of the exhaust system. The weight of the exhaust made it impossible to bolt the headers back on, and without the headers connected it was next to impossible to take apart the rest of the exhaust. I ended repositioning the headers enough to get one bolt in each one, and then with some heat, a large hammer, and a block of wood, got the exhaust from the cats back removed.

Of everything I have done to my car so far, I think this one is probably the most extreme. Granted, I need to get a couple hundred miles on them before they settle in, but that initial start-up and drive home felt like I was driving a completely different car. I could obviously always hear the car running, but now I can literally feel the rumble through the floorboards. It kind of reminds me of the old school big block muscle cars with no insulation under the carpet. Unfortunately, it was raining on and off and I got stuck behind way too many people driving like it was snowing. But I did get a short section of open road to wind out the gears a bit and everything felt very solid and incredibly responsive.

I’ll provide some additional feedback after they break in some more. Here are a couple pictures I took a long the way.

Attachment 1136679

Attachment 1136680

Attachment 1136681

Attachment 1136682

This is on the list of future mods. Let me know if you notice a difference with these mounts.

[Eddymel1998]

Originally Posted by Bee

This job took me way longer than it should have, but I finished installing a new set of BMR motor mounts today. The reason it took so long is because the headers were blocking one of the bolts so I wasted a lot of time trying to find a short cut instead of just removing them. Where everything went completely downhill is when I was being stupid and unbolted the headers before disconnecting them from the rest of the exhaust system. The weight of the exhaust made it impossible to bolt the headers back on, and without the headers connected it was next to impossible to take apart the rest of the exhaust. I ended repositioning the headers enough to get one bolt in each one, and then with some heat, a large hammer, and a block of wood, got the exhaust from the cats back removed.

Of everything I have done to my car so far, I think this one is probably the most extreme. Granted, I need to get a couple hundred miles on them before they settle in, but that initial start-up and drive home felt like I was driving a completely different car. I could obviously always hear the car running, but now I can literally feel the rumble through the floorboards. It kind of reminds me of the old school big block muscle cars with no insulation under the carpet. Unfortunately, it was raining on and off and I got stuck behind way too many people driving like it was snowing. But I did get a short section of open road to wind out the gears a bit and everything felt very solid and incredibly responsive.

I’ll provide some additional feedback after they break in some more. Here are a couple pictures I took a long the way.

Attachment 1136679

Attachment 1136680

Attachment 1136681

Attachment 1136682

I did something similar when changing the header gaskets, I did them one at a time though and on the passenger side I was too lazy to unbolt the butt mount just past the cat, so I forced it up with hand and tried to get at least 2 bolts in to hold it in place so I can get the rest in, except when I did, none of the other holes lined up well, that's when I found out that the weight of the headers and exhaust threw me for a loop and I cross threaded a few bolts into my heads, now I have to live with that mistake, lots of washers jammed under the cross threaded bolts (especially the front one) taunting me every time I open the hood

[Joe.G]

I understand the purpose of the solid mounts, but is the vibration you feel worth the change? NVH on a mostly street car drives me nuts especially in a modern car, my old school rides it's more tolerable and expected.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by The_bald_eagle_machine

This is on the list of future mods. Let me know if you notice a difference with these mounts.

From what I've been reading, these may pair up nicely with a one piece driveshaft, but I'll let you know.

Originally Posted by Eddymel1998

I did something similar when changing the header gaskets, I did them one at a time though and on the passenger side I was too lazy to unbolt the butt mount just past the cat, so I forced it up with hand and tried to get at least 2 bolts in to hold it in place so I can get the rest in, except when I did, none of the other holes lined up well, that's when I found out that the weight of the headers and exhaust threw me for a loop and I cross threaded a few bolts into my heads, now I have to live with that mistake, lots of washers jammed under the cross threaded bolts (especially the front one) taunting me every time I open the hood

Oh no, that really stinks! Thankfully, I didn't strip any of the threads on mine. When the exhaust was connected, I ended up taking out the gaskets so it was one less thing I had to fight with to get the headers to line up. However, I was only threading them in by hand to get a feel for how the bolts were starting.

Originally Posted by Joe.G

I understand the purpose of the solid mounts, but is the vibration you feel worth the change? NVH on a mostly street car drives me nuts especially in a modern car, my old school rides it's more tolerable and expected.

That's the million dollar question that the jury is still out on. I think the initial startup and drive was just more than what I was expecting. The exhaust drone - never bothered me, the NVH from all the new bushings - never really noticed it...this is the first mod that is right on that line of going a little too far. The mounts have polyurethane bushings so they will absorb some of the vibrations, I couldn't imagine going to a full solid (or even Delrin bushings) mount.

From what I can gather, people either love em or hate em, but I want to give them a little time before I make a decision. If its too much, I kept my original mounts, or I could even try to find a set of Z28 motor mounts.

[Bee]

Just a quick update on the motor mounts. I took the car out to a local show last night, and it already felt tamer after one day of sitting. I can still feel the car running, but the steering wheel isn’t vibrating any more and even though the rumble in the floor boards is still there, it isn’t as pronounced. I can hear/feel a slight vibration while pushing the clutch to come to stop and the R’s briefly drop below 1000. The same vibration also appears slightly louder right at 2500 RPM’s but it immediately goes away when the R’s go either up or down from there. If I had to describe it, I would say it feels like I’m driving over a rumble strip (but the smoother ones). I still have to get it up on the highway to see how it feels at higher/constant speeds, but the likely hood of me going back to the stock motor mounts is already starting to significantly drop.

[Bee]

I'm playing around with some video editing software and came across this short clip from last winter.

https://youtu.be/gKscrLGNQj8

Just to provide some backstory, I was working on the backup camera (which wasn't working yet) and I needed a way to tell if the reverse lights were coming on. So I set my phone on my tool cart and pressed record.

[Bee]

So I have over 200 miles on the car since installing the motor mounts. I no longer feel the rumble in floor boards, nor the feel the “rumble strip” vibration when the R’s drop below 1000. The one around 2500 is still there, but I don’t think it is as pronounced.

However, one thing that is getting more apparent is the vibration of the car itself. What I initially thought was just a heat shield rattle appears to be more than that. I would describe it like I have my trunk packed with subwoofers and the bass cranked. I’m pretty sure it is probably a combination of my cam and exhaust being amplified by the motor mounts as it only happens while idling at a stop and immediately goes away once I begin to accelerate.

I started looking through old posts in the audio subforum, and think the loudest culprit is the rear deck. At one point, I found a video that someone posted on YouTube capturing the rear deck rattle…the only difference is he was blaring his music where I have my radio turned off. I think my winter project this year will be to rip out the rear interior and strategically lay some Dynamat.

Overall, I would say the motor mounts are in the + category, perhaps noted with an asterisk. The car certainly feels tighter and the throttle is more responsive than before…plus I love how the cam lope is more noticeable. The slight increase in NVH doesn’t really bother me, I just want to tamp down the rattles from the vibration.