So it’s been a while and the car’s been kickin' my a$$, so here goes. I’ll try to keep this as short as possible.
I was having power steering issues and wasn’t totally sold on the 20:1 after my first AutoX. Really if the suspension was tuned it wouldn’t be as bad, plus it’s a great rack for the street and Kyle Tucker seems to do pretty well with it. On July 1st I ordered an AGR rack from Summit and had a 10 day delivery date that got pushed back 3x into late August so I cancelled.
Plan B was to install a DSE pump matched to the rack. Ugg, same issue persisted. Early August I found and ordered a different AGR PN which had the same specs and it showed up mid-month. After the install I was still getting the same on/off power assist. By this time, Matt Jones at AME and Prime Time (aka Ron Sutton) told me it probably was a pump or system issue and they were right. With Dick at BoS' help, we swapped back my original pump, changed a return line, remounted the PS cooler lower and removed the reducer valve and it seemed to do the trick! The steering felt like what others have described as a modern BMW. Light and crisp and I liked the feel a lot.
I also got a call from Steve Rupp inviting me out to Streets of Willow to the Super Chevy suspension Challenge so the prep was on…
Next up was a review of my front and rear roll centers with DSE and AME and a discussion with David Pozzi about his experience with the sub. I had some minor modifications made to the sub to get a little more clearance and got my second alignment to achieve a bit more caster. Combine that with the rack repair and light steering I was feeling pretty good. After unloading the car at home last Thursday night I noticed a couple small oil/fluid spots on the driveway and put the car away for the night. Next day I take the car to get new shoes installed and upon my return I have not a weep, not a leak but puddles! Not good when I’m 48 hours from hitting the track. With Rob pushing me via text every 10 minutes (kidding, but much appreciated), I spent the next 12 hours in the garage removing parts to be able to tighten –an / npt fittings and checking valve covers and my oil pan. I finally got far enough back and discovered that my rear cover and seal was leaking. The more I checked, the worse it got. Ugg again, game over. I called Steve and told him I did my best, but the car won this round.
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