Write-Up RPS13 Harness Relocation Under Fender

[kuramaya]

Why do this Mod? As you lower your car, and most importantly if you slide you car you will find yourself rubbing the fenderliner, a piece of metal, and eventually the motors harness. There are many ways to accomplish the task of removing this risk. I debated on buying ready made parts, buying sheet metal to put over it, pulling it through the engine bay, and then decided I would recloate it the way I saw in a few threads while researching last night. This is pretty damn easy, I added some extra stuff while I was in there. One key thing to mention is if you take the sides skirts and the front bumper off, you will save at least 30 minutes in the long run. I left them on and it became a PITA to maneuver when taking off and reinstalling the fender.

Tools Needed
Jack and Stands
10mm Wrench, shallow and Deep Sockets with extensions
12mm Wrench, shallow and Deep Sockets with extensions
Phillips Screw Driver
Channel Locks (I used a vice grip, I will now buy channel locks)
Drill with Bits
Sandpaper
Paint
Zip Ties
BFH (Big Fuckin Hammer)

1. First thing you wanna do is jack the car up and remove the front wheel(s). Once you get the wheels off, you can remove all the bolts that hold the Fender in from the top. They are the (3) you see in this Pic, and then there is another one at the very top not seen in this picture.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4311.jpg

2. Then move down to the rear side of the fender as seen in PIC 1 below. Here you have the screws that are holding on your side skirt to take off, (REMOVE THE WHOLE SKIRT, IT WILL BE EASIER IN THE LONG RUN). Then looking at the bottom of the skirt in this picture on the right side there are (2) more bolts that hold the fender to the chassis, mine were rusted to shit, spray them down with WD and wait a few minutes, also use a 6 point socket not a box end wrench. The last bolt for the rear of the fender is on the back left side of the fender. Then stay low and move to the other side and undo the screws or zipties that are holding your front aero on. There is one bolt here as well for the fender on the lower side(TAKE OFF THE AERO, THIS LAST SCREW IS A BITCH WITH THE AERO ON). Then the last bolt for the Fender is in PIC 2 below. Once all of these are out, you can first pull out the fender liner smoothly and then with someone helping you, each grab one side of the fender and pull it out:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4312.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4313.jpg

3. Now that the fender is out you can see what has been or can really fuck up your car and tires. 1st is the Harness sitting there, and then you see that piece of metal. I have nice slits in my neovas from that metal piece. The picture is not showing 3 dimensional but these are roughly sitting flush together. The metal part is recessed behind but sticks a bit lower. If you are still running a liner like I was, you can see a slit in your liner from the metal piece. This is the stock position for the Harness.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4314.jpg

4. The way I chose to relocate the Harness is to pull it over the inner fender Lip rather than through the engine bay. I did this for cleanliness of the Bay and as well didnt wanna fuck with the wires. In this Pic you can see the ledge I am going to run it over. I will use Big Ass Zipties to hold the Harness in place. There are some holes already there for you. The one I am pointing at here is perfect for these big zip ties. All I had to do is drill a corresponding hole underneath to secure the ziptie and hold the harness in its new location above the lip. Just pull some slack on the harness. There is slack, but not tons. Pull from the front of the car, not through the firewall side as there is no slack there but a bit. As you pull it up and over, secure it with the first ziptie through the hole you just made, make sure you run the ziptie under the hoot latch and wiper washer tube so as not to bind them down.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4315.jpg

5. Now for the second hole, this was convenient as well there was a top and bottom hole already there, if there isnt one, just drill one out. Again pull the harness up and over the Lip and then secure it with a Ziptie. Have someone hold it for you so you can get it really snug.
Once you get it secured, you are done with the relocation and it should look like the Pic below. See how it sits on the Lip? As you can see, I left the Loom on the harness, I should have taken it off as my fender was a bitch getting back into position with the big ass loom.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4316.jpg

6. Now that you have the harness relocated, its time to take care of that nasty piece of metal that will shred your tires. What you want to do is get some channel locks and start bending the metal inward towards the vehicle. Start from the outsides and work your way in, you just wanna get it facing inward. You can see in the pics what I mean:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4317.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4318.jpg

7. Once you get it bent in, take your BFH and pound the fuck out of it like a 20 Dollar Hooker on payday when your wife has been bitching at you until it's as flat as possible Like in this pic
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4319.jpg

8. Your newly flat piece of metal is gonna look a bit shitty, so get some 100 Grit sand paper and sand it down. After it is nice and smooth, hit it with some primer and then paint. It will look like this when it is done.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/kurumaya/IMG_4320.jpg

Now just have to reinstall the fender, your skirts and Aero. While reinstalling the fender, do not torque any of the bolts down all the way, just get them started. This will enable you to have some play as it will have altered a bit while off the car, it is some cheap ass sheet metal. Once all the holes have been hooked up, then torque them down one at a time working from left, then right, then towards the center.
Now you can move to the other side of the car and flatten out the metal piece on the passenger side.
Drop the car and go beat your car some more or Drink Heavily.
Late
Daryl

[ch1873857]

nice writeup man. every 240 owners toolbox

10,12,14,17 +,- screwdriver, BFH, and mother fucking zipties.

edit:forgot 17mm. all the suspension shit..der..

[ALEXTHESUS*PECT]

17 too as a you can't change coilovers with it!

[floodo1]

what coils are those?

[kuramaya]

what coils are those?

CST Zero 1's Mod list is in my vBPic Gallery page, just click up there at the top of the page bro.

[sky53line]

Great fucking write up. Sticky this shit.


nice writeup man. every 240 owners toolbox

10,12,14,17 +,- screwdriver, BFH, and mother fucking zipties.

edit:forgot 17mm. all the suspension shit..der..


as of yesterday I added a hacksaw to my assortment of tools.

[mrmephistopheles]

See how it sits on the Lip? As you can see, I left the Loom on the harness, I should have taken it off as my fender was a bitch getting back into position with the big ass loom.


Great writeup Daryl, my only criticism is that that lip it's resting on should be pounded down and under where the loom comes up, so it can come up smoothly instead of coming up on a hard edge. it's a pain, but it prevents future heartache (however unlikely).

[Ninjabread]

Daryl, you da man!

[kuramaya]

Mr Meph, let me analyze a bit and see if I agree...you prolly right since it was 100 fuckin degrees and I was getting agitated.....one thing that came up on ZY is "what happens when the zip ties snap from friction and it falls down and you shred it?"

There is no play in the ZT's or the Harness, it is in there so fuckin snug it is amazing, leaving the loom on made it snug. so I do not think from vibration they will snap. The zipties are about a centimeter wide each, Like I said BIG ASS ZIPTIES, and thick. Well if one does break then it wont fall below it will hang at the edge. Its literally on the ledge. So maybe not bending as you said Mr Meph is good, it is snug between the fender and the chassis. It may have stayed even without the zipties. The zipties hold it in place to put the fender on. Plenty of insurance.

Matt, Thanks Yo!

[2iv0 sx]

Your the shit man, your the shit. =D

[mrmephistopheles]

Mr Meph, let me analyze a bit and see if I agree...you prolly right since it was 100 fuckin degrees and I was getting agitated.....one thing that came up on ZY is "what happens when the zip ties snap from friction and it falls down and you shred it?"

Sorry I don't think I was very clear. I'm tired as shit.
Basically, where the loom comes up, the lip should be pounded down and under.
There should still be a lip up there and the loom can rest on it, plus zipties, etc etc.
Where it goes back down should be pounded down as well (if needed).



Also your upper seam needs more pounding! You cannot pound that thing enough. You rubbing your framerails too? POUND POUND POUND!

OK I sleep now.

[GSXRJJordan]

Yeah I did something similar to what MrMeph is talking about ~ I took a cutting wheel and angle grinder to the part of the lip where the harness crosses almost perpendicular to the lip (where the harness comes up above the lip in the back, and down below in the front). Other than that, I did it the same as you, D, with the exception of cutting the loom and rewrapping in elec. tape.

[ch1873857]

as of yesterday I added a hacksaw to my assortment of tools.

oh shit...the most obvious. i used a hacksaw like 3 times yesterday cutting recirculation hose :cj:

[rican_nick]

i had to strip the loom off when i did it. I couldnt get the fender on for shit.

[kuramaya]

Fender was a bitch with the loom on, this however is what I think will keep it most snug. Did you have (2) People? It wouldnt have gone if I was alone. My buddy had to hold as I started each bolt one by one.

[rican_nick]

yea there was 2 of us.. I was also doing it with Silvia fenders not sure if there is less room or not but we pushed on the fenders up until it looked it was going to crease around the loom. Removed the loom it was still tight but it was close enough to where we got it on.

[hashiriya13]

Well guess we will find out if Silvia fenders are any different when we do mine. : ) It was snug but no real problem at all. I was thinking of doing mine with out the loom. Maybe we should cut/bend the ledge where they are saying and see ho it works out.

[bardabe]

and your facial expression never changed. Merciless. great write up

[upSLIDEdown]

I used stainless steel zipties from Harbor Freight when I did it this way. I did have a couple of plastic zipties break, adn I didn't want to have to worry about it. You can't get them quite as tight, but you never have to worry about them. I ended up going through the engine bay, pulling the grommet out of the firewall, beating the fuck out of it, and making a cover for it so the harness could go through the hole at the top instead of the center. I was rubbing it back at the firewall. Fixed now. There are pics somewhere in another harness thread. If anyone wants to see my small write up, search posts by me (not threads started by, cause I didn't start it) and search the word "harness." I think it was a 2 page thread, and my stuff was on pg 2. I think.

[Flybert]

You should take the loom off next time and hammer the lip down to allow the harness to come up. And one more thing, depending on how much caster you are running, you still might rub in the back because you don't have it ziptied back towards the firewall. I usually ziptie it to that little loop towards the firewall that you can see in your 5th picture.

[Wei240]

^^

yeah, i'm with flybert on that one, i thought i had everything squared away, and then i looked at my harness, only place rubbing at the track was towards the cabin firewall area... had to use a lot of zipties to 'pull' it back, and everything is gravy after that

[punxva]

haha I love Grant's writeups, because there is always one picture of him throwing up the shocker. It is a vital step that cannot be forgotten during any of them.

[Slidin240Wayz]

D,
Nice job. I agree that you should use zip ties to hold back the harness by the firewall.

Carlos

[mrmephistopheles]

haha I love Grant's writeups, because there is always one picture of him throwing up the shocker. It is a vital step that cannot be forgotten during any of them.

*cough*Daryl*cough*

[liv2drift045]

im so proud haha... you chose wisely...and the always detailed write up.. good job brother

[opponheimer]

Hey bjorkluv, nice writeup buddy, will do this on my s13 when I get the new wheels in. +1 Posi rep for you my good man.

[projectRDM]

If the fender is tight against the harness it will only help to alleviate any noise resonance you'd hear since they are prone to rattle a bit once being removed a few times.

[kuramaya]

If the fender is tight against the harness it will only help to alleviate any noise resonance you'd hear since they are prone to rattle a bit once being removed a few times.

Thats always good!

punxva - thats the 2nd time you called me grant.. Ha Ha...

[UfoZ8myCow]

Good write up man... Im going to be doing this over the weekend on my car. Except I think I might just take a grinder to that metal lip part rather than hammering away at it. Its like a million degrees outside, I just want to get it done.

[kuramaya]

Good write up man... Im going to be doing this over the weekend on my car. Except I think I might just take a grinder to that metal lip part rather than hammering away at it. Its like a million degrees outside, I just want to get it done.

cool glad it helps you out!

[Z33dori]

this is a pain in the ass.......bolts holding the fender and bumper together...not to mention i still have to fix teh harness to.


might have to wait for a bud to help.


Did anyone else have soil built up inside the fender.?

[hippo_chips]

Yea I had a whole pack of dirt inside the fenders. Looked like compost. I did the harness relocation by myself, you don't need help. The best way to do it is to remove the bumper first(four bolts on top of bumper, four clips above the bottom portion of the bumper, and then four bolts below, then the six fender bolts on each side). Then the fenders. The bumper to fender nuts aren't hard to do, just use a long extension and a socket wrench, no problems. When you relocate the harness, remove the loom. It makes it mush easier to put the fender back.

[Z33dori]

yea i ended up just leaving the bumper on...which like he said is pain in the ass. but hey i was able to do the whole thing my self including putting the fender back on with the loom.....which is very painfuly hard..


jus wondering if anyone else tucked the harness on teh passangerside too. i think i will.

[hippo_chips]

I put the fender back on with the loom, and noticed that my fender arch wasn't as close to my wheel as usual. It sorta pushed the fender arch a good 10-15mm up and out. So I remember that guy Flybert saying to remove the loom, took his advice, and the fender just fit perfectly. No need to force the fender back on. The passenger side is the same deal, just make sure you tuck it in and pull the hoses and wire, near the firewall, away from the tire. ZIPTIE everything good. Use a lot of them also.

[Z33dori]

okay so i do need to do the passenger side ...gotcha

[hellion240sx]

Daryl you come thru yet again! awesome!

zipties solve everything. you break your arm, ziptie it. leg broke, ziptie. sprained ankle, ziptie. i haev a handful of them in my s13 s14 and miata!

actually going to pick up the thousand pack at harbor freight for $7!

[UfoZ8myCow]

I just did this in the morning... Thanks to the awesome write up everything was a breeze and now I wont have any worries about rubbing anything.

And I also saved a few pounds! There was enough dirt under my fender to start a freaking nursery.

[JaeTea]

I did this a few weeks ago.

Do yourself a huge favor and remove the loom on the harness before bolting the fender back on.

[drifting_changed_mylife]

+1 for the 4 lug!

[whomiked]

Thanks alot just did this to my car, did passenger and driver side though.

[Z33dori]

ya its best to do both sides.......

i later went back and did my passanger side too....def worth it to remove the loom makes the Job 1000x easier

[Drifter Z]

It's not write up but I saw drift-tengoku video. it seems not hard if you have time. gl :)

[g6civcx]

Tip:

* peel apart the harness and remove any extra wires you don't need. It will thin out the harness.

* it's best to pull the engine harness through the dash and reroute the whole thing through the engine bay.

[jserman]

nice little peice of info...thanks

[bejota180sx]

whyyy did you bump such a old thread... you are a premium... you should know that...



ps. i just read your join date... sorry...

[drifter_for_life06]

if this hadnt been bumped, i probably wouldnt be going outside to do this tomorrow....as so long it stays above 35degrees :/

[tf_90s13]

i know this is an old post but i realised that the hood cable jumps out side in the tire well........ easy to pop the hood from ouside, i threw mine inside the engine bay. ill take picks later. i dont want anyone poping my hood and taking something or looking at my shit

[kuruptR]

Tip:

* peel apart the harness and remove any extra wires you don't need. It will thin out the harness.


Agreed!

As mentioned above the hood latch cable needs to be relocated, mine got damaged and stopped opening.

If your going ultra low with 18", you will have to completely remove the harness from the fender well. The wheel will burn the harness near driver side firewall.

[g6civcx]

The hood latch cable can be compromised. It's best to move it inside the engine bay.

[J90lude]

Very nice too bad Im a noob still and can't even remove my damn fender. "DAmn bolts"

[supra97]

just did this right now. pain in the ass to get all the screws and bolts off and on. but as soon as i finished, went sliding around the neighborhood. definitely worth it.

[Devil Man]

hahahahaha


i said to myself wow i havent seen this thread in forever haha