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Those who have done it---> Making hole in firewall question

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Old 05-22-2001, 06:48 PM
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Today I was trying to drill a hole in my engine firewall to run some wiring, and I broke two drill bits!!! Let me just add the the result was just a bunch of scratched paint. The best place I can find to drill is at an angle, and the drill bit will not bite into the metal, it just breaks. Where has everyone else drilled there's? Looking for any comments or opinions, it was a BIG setback today. Thanks in advance.
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Old 05-22-2001, 06:56 PM
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Just in case you didn't know, there's already a hole in the firewall you can use... it's near the middle top... look for a rubber grommet and take it out. Then you can drill a small hole in the grommet and run the wire through it making it waterproof. Saves you from cutting up your car.
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Old 05-22-2001, 07:01 PM
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1) why are you driling the firewall?

2) if you are running wires inside the car.. the car already has a hole in the firewall

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Old 05-22-2001, 07:07 PM
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I drilled a hole in my firewall to run
1/0 gauge cable. I learned.... first make a good
dent in it with a punch tool. Then use a smaller sized
bit and run it at high speeds. Make sure you're drilling
straight, and not at an angle. After you have the
hole, use a dremel tool or something similar to make it
bigger until it works. That's how I did it.
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Old 05-22-2001, 07:18 PM
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Thanks for the input everyone. Sprintmax, did you run your amp cable through the same hole Ants is talking about? Where are you running your NOS wires? Thanks in advance.
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Old 05-22-2001, 07:21 PM
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the NOS electrical wires.. yes i will run those through that same hole to the ECU..

the NOS stainless steel line is run under the car.. next to the fuel rail..

The hole is right above the fuel filter.. as shown in that pick.. on the driver side right behind the intake

Originally posted by mtrai760
Thanks for the input everyone. Sprintmax, did you run your amp cable through the same hole Ants is talking about? Where are you running your NOS wires? Thanks in advance.
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Old 05-22-2001, 07:47 PM
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Originally posted by SprintMax
the NOS electrical wires.. yes i will run those through that same hole to the ECU..

the NOS stainless steel line is run under the car.. next to the fuel rail..

The hole is right above the fuel filter.. as shown in that pick.. on the driver side right behind the intake


Which side did you mount your bottle on? Did you have to drill a hole for the NOS line, or is there one I haven't found yet in the trunk? Thanks
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Old 05-22-2001, 07:55 PM
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lift up your trunk mat on the driver side (thanks Synki) .. you will see a rubber gormet towards teh back of the car.. just ither drill it or remove it and you can run your line through that

Originally posted by mtrai760



Which side did you mount your bottle on? Did you have to drill a hole for the NOS line, or is there one I haven't found yet in the trunk? Thanks
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Old 05-22-2001, 08:33 PM
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Originally posted by SprintMax
lift up your trunk mat on the driver side (thanks Synki) .. you will see a rubber gormet towards teh back of the car.. just ither drill it or remove it and you can run your line through that

Which one Sprint? I have a couple rubber grommets, does it matter which one? I don't see anything I can damage, but you never know... Thanks.
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Old 05-22-2001, 09:02 PM
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that 14ft runs real short.. i would say use which ever one gets you close to the engine

Originally posted by mtrai760


Which one Sprint? I have a couple rubber grommets, does it matter which one? I don't see anything I can damage, but you never know... Thanks.
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Old 05-22-2001, 09:09 PM
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I donn't think that it really matter which one you use - that's what they're there for. But when you do run your wires through, you should probably fill up any empty space with putty or something.
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Old 05-22-2001, 09:12 PM
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Originally posted by SprintMax
that 14ft runs real short.. i would say use which ever one gets you close to the engine

Thanks. I just looked up some pics that Synki posted and got a pretty good idea how to mount it and run the line.

I don't have very complete instructions yet. Which one is the fuel bypass jet? Thanks
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Old 05-22-2001, 09:27 PM
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Use a unibit -->

It's best drill bit for large hole through sheet metal. The bit doesn't jump around. It sort of grinds as it drills to give you a smooth round circle.



Here are some pictures of the large holes I drilled.



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Old 05-22-2001, 09:34 PM
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That's tight!
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Old 05-23-2001, 07:10 AM
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Originally posted by mtrai760
Today I was trying to drill a hole in my engine firewall to run some wiring, and I broke two drill bits!!! Let me just add the the result was just a bunch of scratched paint. The best place I can find to drill is at an angle, and the drill bit will not bite into the metal, it just breaks. Where has everyone else drilled there's? Looking for any comments or opinions, it was a BIG setback today. Thanks in advance.
ya there is a grommet on the driver side of the firewall about 1 foot from the top. look from the engine side and you'll find it. it's nice size.
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Old 05-23-2001, 08:13 AM
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umm, umm, umm mtrai760, when your done installing, come to my house so i can check it out.. Man, 1max2nv is a computer/picture/maxima wiz. hehe L@@K at all those holes he drilled. man, have you checked out his page, he almost drilled a hole in his bumper. LOL
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Old 05-23-2001, 02:56 PM
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I drilled through on my third gen by using a small drill bit to make a small indentation in the metal, then switched to a full size and just pushed really hard. It eventually broke through. The indentation made with the small bit helped keep it from sliding since it was at an angle.

Had to shape it a bit, but once I got that done and popped a grommet in, it's real clean and snug.

Used it for my amp power cables.
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