Fruitbooters S15 (Refurb time)

[Fruitbooter]

Fruitbooters S15

Hi Guys

I picked my gorgeous S15 up in September 2010 from Torque GT, great guys indeed.

I've wanted an S15 for absolutely years, ever since I first got into drifting and first set eyes on one etc but insurance was always a no! But not to long back I tried for a quote and it came back at an amount I was happy with! So instead of getting an Astra VXR for a lot more money which I planned to get for about 2 years, I chose to go down the S15 route and began looking for a decent one.

I paid a visit to Torque GT to have a look at one and it was brilliant, it needed a few things doing to it but I could definitely feel something was there, definitely felt like my car!

So details were exchanged, and a date was set to pick it up...due to me being a bit skint at the time I had to wait till I next got paid in order to afford the car and my insurance so 6 weeks of excitement and waiting began.

Eventually though the time came and I went down to pick it up.
It looked stunning, all new badges were put back on, weird arch protectors were removed and it was really clean and vibrant!

The drive home of about 200 miles was a steady one as I needed to conserve petrol but don't worry I had the odd moment where I got to grips with the accelerator and all I can say is Ohhhhh Myyyyy!

Gave it a clean once I got it back with wonderful Dodo Juice

It's a pretty standard spec -

2002 Model
59,000 miles

Exhaust System
De-cat
Cusco front strut brace
Kei Office Coilovers
Mushroom filter
Buddy Club P1's
Cat 1 Alarm

Not sure on the exhaust make but will try and have a look, sounds great though not to loud but definitely not quiet when you open it up!

Wheels will be going, they will be up for sale when I'm sorted and have enough money to get some new ones..

Got so much I want to do to it but its going to be slow unless my numbers come up haha

 

[Fruitbooter]

Went out one night and took some piks -

That was all last year...

Atm I am removing the sub frame and hopefuly tank too and cleaning up all the rust and protecting it for many winters to come.

I used the car over winter so all the salt has really had a go

The underneath atm -

I've increased the saturation of orange in those picks so you can see where the rust has started forming.

Few weeks on....

I finaly made a start on removing the subframe ready to treat the underneath and protect it from rust.

Tax ran out end of December so thought id SORN it and do this for a few months and try and get it ready for the summer.

Had to buy some new stands as I didnt trust my old ones, so got some ones from Halfords which will do the job.

Started by getting it on stands supported at the rear by wooden blocks that I made so it can be supported on the sill.

I then loosened the hub nuts so I can remove the discs much easier when the subframe is off.

I then removed the exhaust and rear arb, I was supprised how heavy the exhaust was tbh, for some reason I was expecting it to be really light but I spose 3" bore and a massive rear box adds up..

I then removed the handbrake, starting at the calipers and working my way under the car to where it goes inside. I was a bit of an idiot here as I thought to remove it completley you had to dissconnect it from inside..but later realised you could do it from underneath :annoyed:

Thats really as far as ive got atm, I tried yesterday and again tonight to try and remove the prop shaft but the stupid bolts wont come out! There so so tights its unreal!

Few random piks -

Once ive managed to get the bolts out and remove the prop I should be almost ready to drop the subframe, think theres a few connectors to unclip etc

 

[Fruitbooter]

This is up to date now, I did the below last night 08/02/11

Had a few spare hours last night so went and did a bit on the car.

This is what it looks like atm, floating on my drive looking sorry for itself

Started by removing both shock bolts so they can be moved out the way.

Removed this connector from the sub frame including the fiddly bracket, does anyone know what it is for future reference?

Unclipped diff breather hose -

Unclipped this connector, what ever it may be, looks like an earth?

Moved prop down a bit and clear of the diff, also used zip ties to show corresponding holes.

Removed the triangle support bolts on both sides -

I then bagged and labelled all the fixings I had removed so far as if I kept going id confuse myself at a later date most likely.

That was all I did last night, had a little sunset to finish off the night

Can someone just have a look and confirm, does that look like everything is removed now and the subf rame can be dropped or have I missed something?

 

[Motary]

wow, immaculate s15!

 

[vitoka]

Lovely s15 !

 

[jonny mac]

i'm doing the same thing on my s14 at the minute. ordered my replacement dw bushes at 1am this morning.

its hard to tell from the pics of what you've moved but from memory with mine i took off the following:

mega tight diff to prob bolts
shocker bolts
abs plug at front of diff
2xmulti plugs at back of diff
earth from diff bolt
2x10mm handbrake cable bolts on top of subframe
diff breather
handbrake cables
calipers cable tied to springs
4xsubframe support brackets
4xsubframe bolts

i think that was all tbh. there was maybe some other things but my checklist may have something you've not removed

also word of advice. loosen as much bolts as you can when the are on the car. lower arms etc, save you chasing the subframe around the floor trying to do them haha

nice s15 though fella!

 

[Fruitbooter]

Cheers!

Must have missed the abs plug or its well hidden! I could only see the speed sensor plug and wiring..

Think ive done everything else though so im gonna try and drop it the weekend and see what happens

Nice tip about loosening the arms etc while on car, I never thought to do that

 

[Fruitbooter]

Well yesterday was a busy day indeed, despite the rain and cold I managed to get a lot done

First I removed the rest of the wiring attached to the subframe and heat sheild and then supported the subframe so it could be dropped.

Because it was only me doing it and I had no help I decided the best way was to lower it slowly onto the 2 rear wheels I took off at the start, that way it wouldnt suddenly drop onto the floor when it comes away from the studs.

The condition is no where near perfect but its a lot better than I thought it would be -

To get the subframe off it took about 10-15 min max it was much easier than I thought, so I thought id start on something else beens I had the whole day to do it.

I started to strip down the subframe bit by bit and before I knew it I had a garage full of parts :|

The ball joint was an absolute basta*d! You couldnt get a socket or a decent grip on a spanner while it was still attached by the lower arms so they had to come off...then they move about when you try and do it with them off lol, in the end I got them off by wedging the hubs and discs under the subframe so it wouldnt move then crack the nuts off.

 

[Fruitbooter]

Getting there -

I then removed the diff, I thought it was low on oil as hardly any came out when the shafts where removed and it was tilt, but then suddenly it came out -

Gotta love the smell of diff oil

Tbh though I thought there would be more than that so I tried opening one of the plugs on the back plate but I couldnt get them off...so now I dont know how much if any oil is left inside? Can anyone confirm how much oil they hold?

Got everything off and sorted into piles -

I left all the nuts and bolts attached to the hubs and other parts at this time and when I send them off to be coated Ill bag them up.

This will soon be lookign shiny! -

Next ive got to remove the heat shields and im still debating weather or not to drop the tank

Oh and Ive gotta find a place that can weld ally as look at this -

Cant afford new coilovers so im hoping these can be repaired!

 

[Sam H]

Wait, you are doing all of this because there was some rust on the subframe?

 

[Fruitbooter]

No im doing this because there is a lot of surface rust starting to form underneath on the shell and because it has no protection at all its only going to get worse..so why wait when it will cost more to put right?

Do it all now so it will be protected for many years to come.

 

[Sam H]

You'd have a fucking heart attack if you saw under some of the cars I have owned.

 

[Fruitbooter]

lol Ive never really been bothered with previous cars tbh but this is (gay) 'a dream car of mine' (gay) and I dont want a car that stays in the garage all the time I want to use it all through the winter etc so want it to last

All the snow just gone has made it worse I think as I used it all through that which was fun to say the least so a lot of the salt from the roads has started to attack and made me really paranoid lol

 

[balang_479]

Props, thats how it should be done!

 

[Fruitbooter]

Did some more on the car Wednesday, there was still a few things left to remove before I can prep the underside.

I removed the weird shaped brace that goes under the prop, removed the prop and all the heat shields -

I was still debating weather or not to go the extra mile and drop the tank...

In the end I thought why not! Do the job properly

Started by removing the hose clamps and brackets on the filler neck -

I thought it would be best to detach the hoses from the filler neck and then pull them down with the tank as you cant get to the clip at the tank side -

I then supported the tank so it could be lowered down easier, I wasn't sure how heavy it was going to be so though this would be best.

I then removed the tank strap bolts and the tank began to lower...it got to a point and then wouldn't drop any more, I thought great its going to be the bloody fuel pump wires isn't it... I thought that you could unclip them from underneath but you couldn't so I removed the back seats hoping to gain access to the top of the pump....nothing! Its in the bloody boot lol!

So I removed the plugs and dropped the tank!

Fuel lines off - (Must remember which ones goes where, but they are positioned in a way that makes it obvious, still I put some tape around the red one)

Its starting to look less like a car now

Its exactly how I was hoping...nice and spotless under the tank

As you can see in the piks, the area that needs the most work is the box sections of the chassis and up by the wheel arch.

 

[Clark3y]

Good work, picked the right time to do something about that. I heard Torque GT were the holy grail of importers, guess they are just the same as everybody else.

Lovely car though, I've seen it around a couple of times, puts a smile on my face seeing a 15 on the streets of this dreary town.

 

[Sideways Simon]

Great work fella, ill be doing this to my s15 in a couple of months once the the weather improves a bit, what coilovers are they?? i was amazed when i saw the crack , on both of them!!

 

[Fruitbooter]

Good work, picked the right time to do something about that. I heard Torque GT were the holy grail of importers, guess they are just the same as everybody else.

Lovely car though, I've seen it around a couple of times, puts a smile on my face seeing a 15 on the streets of this dreary town.

Cheers!

Torque GT are great guys! It was the winter weather just gone thats done this as I used it all through it

What do you drive mate? Its good being in such a rare car..i havent seen another one yet on the road.

Great work fella, ill be doing this to my s15 in a couple of months once the the weather improves a bit, what coilovers are they?? i was amazed when i saw the crack , on both of them!!

I know yeh tell me about it!

They are Kei Office coilovers...I wish I had the money for some new CS2's or Teins..

 

[Sideways Simon]

They are Kei Office coilovers...I wish I had the money for some new CS2's or Teins..

No , stay clear of Tein, they'll brake your heart too!! at least one shock is doomed to leak, while yet in the prime of its life


i just put some HSD HR's in my s15 last week, and there awesome!

 

[RyanH]

I think the diff usually holds about 1.5 litres