Thread: B13 k-member removal

Thanks. Yeah I really didn't plan any of this. Stuff always just spiral out of control. Started with me changing the fuel pump to an ethanol compatible 340lph pump, noticed some flakes in the tank and I also cut into the 2 rubber fuel lines at the tank so had to replace them. This lead to me pulling the tank, which lead to cleaning and replacing all its hoses, then painting it, which lead to changing the fuel filler neck to a later model cars one with a ratchet style cap, which lead to me wondering about these brake load sensors http://www.sr20-forum.com/brakes-suspension/76420-rear-brake-load-sensors.html . Removing them, meant changing the brake hardlines, which leads to cleaning the chassis which leads to painting the chassis. Somewhere in between the decision to powdercoat the suspension happenned too. As well as tucking the brake hardlines and braided lines from the master cylinder so it runs behind the k-member and not along the firewall. Should give a cleaner look.

Should have just left the old fuel pump in there....hehe

Link to your thread? What are you using to paint the chassis? It's amazing how many little nooks and crannies there are. And you have to hit it from multiple angles and coats to get full coverage. I went through about 8-10 cans of paint. I hope the dried spray weighs less than the actual cans. I hate adding weight to the car.

I also painted the insides of the front fenders, so that you don't see metal when looking through any of the engine bay openings. Need to touch up a few nicks and scratches on the battleship grey engine bay then the motor can go back in.[/QUOTE]

Yes it certainly does spiral quickly when your there, Lol. I dont really have a thread for it, I've posted a couple pics in the what did you do to your b13 today thread with some pics of the rear wheel wells, I orginally was just going to do the wells before I put my brand new suspension on there but I needed to replace the brakeline's so the tank gets dropped which was replaced right before i purchased the vehicle so I wasn't to worried about that then my filler neck was looking crusty so I bought a refurbished southern one I dropped the rear control arms and knuckles as Im converting from drum to disk and have some turbofx control arms to replace the crusty ones that were on there. I have been documenting most of what i've been doing to the car and am going to take a day when she's complete and post all the pics I have and work I've done. I've been using por 15 in most area's and coating over top with some rocker guard. Not the cheapest stuff on the market but certainly will do the job well for my aplication as I live on the east coast of canada I wanted to prevent any future plans rust may have around my b13, Lol. Most people wont notice but too you and me it's peace of mind and something you may aswell take the time to do if your there anyway and in no rush to put the car back together! Look forward to seeing some more progress! Dave

Dude is not playing games here.

Question: if the subframe was dropped as a unit,would it bolt right up exactly where it was or is there play there for adjustment?
I am asking because if there was no"play" in it when installed loosely,the car could possibly keep a good alignment,right?
...by that,I mean the alignment would not change after removal and replacement if that clarifies it.

If you are able to drop it all together then I'm sure you'll be fine. The studs for the k-member are tapered similar to a ball joint shaft and from what I could see there was zero play at all. You'd need a few jacks and more than one person I imagine, or a lift and a transmission jack. Basically just disconnect the brake lines and the top of the strut towers as well as any wires etc held to the k-member. You would also need to disconnect the steering knuckle to allow the steering rack to drop with the k-member. My steering rack is manual. For powersteering there may be more things to consider.

Ok so got all the suspension bits back from the powdercoaters.

Here are some pics of the k-member. Sorry about the pics. Didn't realise the phone had a filter set on it.

Looking good. I've got to drop mine soon, I snapped off one of the engine crossmember bolts inside it and ended up welding the two together to make it to a race. I'm seriously considering building a tube-frame version to replace it, but I might just fix it up and get it powdered like you did.

On a side note I wonder if we can make aluminum pressed in bushings for the control arm.

The K-member has a very 3 dimensional profile. It would be pretty trick if you could build that. Just wondering what would be the benefit of it unless you can simultaneously correct some of the suspension issues that comes with lowering the vehicle. Maybe move the LCA forward and outward slightly, and higher mounting point on the inside pivot and incorporate some traction bar setup.




I can't see any reason why not.

To me, it would be about adding strength and durability to the connection points (rally car), maybe reducing weight in the process.



Yeah, that's a simple job for anyone with even a mini-lathe and a little machining ability. Better question is why? Reducing compliance in the suspension (harder poly bushings) is a good thing, but zero compliance? That would probably lead to fatigue issues with the brackets on the K-member, and it would be a horrible thing to drive... My initial thought about the motion is that it would work, but I wouldn't be shocked to see that there would be some bind, especially if there was any misalignment in the arm or frame..

I might give it a shot anyways. From a drag racing point of view it "might" help

Yeah, in drag racing it actually might. That'd be about the only application I can think of though.