less than an hour to go home time...

 

I need to have the same things done to my car. Oil pan gasket, waterpump, timing belt + all the belts, cam seals, head gasket etc etc

 

I hope the troubles I've had here will help you prepare better than I did, and I thought I was well prepared at the time. Please ask questions if something is unclear, better to do so now while everything is still fresh in my head.

 

If you need to do a head gasket, definitely pull the engine and do the whole list while it's out. if you're going to skip the head gasket, then do it in the car as two projects. but if you need a head gasket, that usually doesn't get by just driving on it without doing major damage to the engine.

Mike, the O2 sensor will cause the noise, but I don't think it'll cause your idle issues. I ran without one for a while (prototype WSP y pipe... O2 bung had the wrong threads in it so the sensor wouldn't go in..) anyway, it ran and idled fine without the sensor- just ran rich.

your idle is most likely a vacuum issue somewhere. check hoses and gaskets. if you can't see any hose issues, start spraying the gaskets (mating surfaces) with a can of engine starting fluid.. you'll hear the engine surge when you spray the leak..

 

I was right on the O2 sensor, that fixed the issue. The idle was caused by a slight extra tension on the throttle cable, its normal now.

I just went on a test drive, and I am thrilled. I dont remember the engine ever being so smooth and free of random noises. Matt those mounts are excellent, no vibration of any kind even as low as 500 RPM. The UDP's effect is very evident, it revs much more rapidly. I had the AC and lights on, on idle... the air was very cold and the alternator didnt have any trouble at all.

 

Some before/after photos