TeamD Adventures

(this is part 2 of the sacrificial skid plate story)

With ripped out mounting holes in the sub frame and a rally on the horizon, I knew I needed to get this problem addressed soon.  Dave at Davesport had some time on his schedule so we agreed to get the work done.

Davesport is up in/near North Bend, WA.  It is not too tricky to find if you follow the map on his website but don’t be thrown if you find yourself in a residential area.  His shop is behind his house but it is fully equipped with a lift, welding equipment, air tools, and a bending machine that looks like it has had much use in the building of cages.

After removing a couple of vehicles to clear some space (including a Porche 914 with a suspicious turbo intercooler – screened with a pink STI – peeking out from the rear engine compartment – yes, he’s shoehorned an STI engine into this little thing) I rolled my WRX into the shop.  We popped it up on the lift and Dave pulled (unscrewed) the sub frame off.

With the sub frame now on the ground, Dave started the repair.  First he cut out three plates that would be going over the existing ripped out holes.  He cut them to size, drilled out a hole, and then welded on 8×1.25 nuts on the back side.  While those were cooling, he pounded flat the ripped metal and then pounded / drilled / filed down the area around the hole to take the replacement plates.  Then, with much bzzzing and sparking he welded the new plates over the old holes.

That covered the front mounting of the skid pate.  The back part bolts into a connecting plate over the transmission.  A solid rock strike had mangled one of the mounting bolts / holes a few years ago and the second one was pulled out during the water crossing.  Again, the same techniques came into play.  He drilled out the old mangled nuts, pounded the bent metal back into shape, welded on new nuts, and then finally remounted the connecting plate to the frame.

While all this was happening, I was fielding calls from work, getting things done on the computer (thank you AT&T wireless for once giving me some signal strength when I needed it – although I would have preferred 3G instead of EDGE), and taking the opportunity to inspect the car.  It’s not up on a lift often so I gave the underside a once-over.

Good thing I did, too.  I located a small problem related to the rear sensor.  I already knew we were working with only one magnet back there (the factor in back was twice the factor up front).  What I didn’t know was that the rear magnet was no longer in the grip of epoxy.  It was hanging on to the back hub with magnetism and nothing else.  It’s a wonder I was getting any pulses at all.

Note:  Deal with this before the next rally.

Now that everything was cool and attached, it was time to bolt in the new skid plate.  The front holes lined up nicely but the rear holes on the skid plate were not perfectly aligned with the newly repaired connecting plate.  Never fear, some grinding / pounding / wiggling and everything lined up nicely.  Tighten all around and the new skid plate is in business and ready to ward off any wayward rocks.

Next up:  Oregon, new ultimate brake pads, and a Cobb Accessport.