Zklonne
Member
More on the Crown Rally - for those who do not know the rally is part of Rally4aCause Foundation which raises money for causes like Epilepsy Foundation, Shriners Childrens Hospital, Hear the Cheers, and most recently the COVID relief fund. This year, through 2 of 3 total rallies, over $110k has been raised for these great causes.
We decided to dress up the purple Goblin as a Waluigi/Wario theme this year and go full Mario Kart... and let me tell you, it was a HIT with everyone. Nobody really expected to see a car like the Goblin show up for the 3 day rally from Minneapolis to Cedar Rapids then to Chicago and back, much less with a set of pocket rockets strapped to the top....
Day 1 - we launched fine and made it about 4 hours in with steady cruising speeds ranging much of the time from 90-110 mph. Our only problem during most of this was overflowing some brake fluid which then blew behind the dash and splashed a bit onto us. I think the cap was maybe just loose as we cleaned and tightened it and didnt have the issue anymore. Shortly after our gas stop and fixing that, as we accelerated past one of the media cars was a big poof of smoke and no power. First thought was "f*$k there goes an overheated tranny". Turned out to be the CV axle that exploded and threw grease onto the turbo which cause the plume of smoke. We got towed and fixed up at a local shop (it was a pain sourcing an axle so we had them get us a spare in case the other side blew out later). Fast forward and we b-lined and made it to Cedar Rapids by nightfall to meet back up with ralliers and get some much beers in us.
Day 2 - started the day at Hawkeye Downs Speedway where we did some short lap runs just to give people a feel for an oval track. After launching to head to Chicago, we survived roughly an hour on the highway, most of which was steady over 100 mph before POP goes the axle again.. same exact story. But hey, lucky for us we had a spare and some very nice companions with tools to help us do a roadside axle change. It only took one run to the auto store to get a socket for the axle nut, and an hour later we were on the road again, milking it out to Chicago where we had another fellow rallier get us another spare axle.... and after reviewing the 2 cases and he dark purple heat discoloration on the axles, we drew a conclusion that maybe a stock Cobalt SS axle isnt really meant to see such high speeds for extended periods of time.
Day 3 - we did our annual drive through at Shriners Hospital in Chicago, no contact or stopping obviously with COVID but we could all tell the joy in the kids as they watched us drive through the hospital parking lot. Now we just had to make the 6 hour drive back home, planning a pace of 60-70 mph max. Low and behold we made it an hour out of Chicago before... the Audi R8 we were with blew a tire. After calling every remotely close dealer to try to find a tire, finally a rallier from Chicago drove out his stock S5 wheels to replace the rears on the R8 to get home and then ship back. Well.... since the R8 has zero room to haul wheels, the Goblin got outfitted with a set of massive wheels strapped to the back. To top everything off, after cruising another 2 hours at regular speeds, we noticed a slight wobble the the back passenger tire and stopped to find the CV joint again falling apart... no jack, but all the other tools and another spare to replace, so we found a log and lifted the rear of the car onto it - 37 minute later #pitcrewstatus and we were back on the road again. We drove another 2 hours to meet with the trailer to get us the rest of the way home safely (it was now midnight on a Sunday).
That leaves us where we currently sit, super busy with work so the Goblin has sat in the garage with me fearing driving it anywhere until I have a lead on what to do - which I don't. A few people have mentioned alignment so I am thinking of getting the numbers run for the current alignment to see where we sit. Anything else to start with? Based on eyesight, I dont think the alignment is going to be anything crazy out of the ordinary.
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