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How To: 5th gen wire tuck - basics

74K views 168 replies 49 participants last post by  dtt02278 
#1 · (Edited)
***Disclaimer: Myself and the owners of PreludePower are not responsible for any damages caused by anything done within this writeup. If you are not comfortable about doing something - by all means do not attempt that step of the writeup. Some portions of this writeup are in need of updating and others could use improvement - for example; ways to extend the wires to the relocated fusebox. Take your time and do not shortcut anything.***


So i've been slacking for awhile now... Did this back in September and decided to finally post up some of the pics. Alot of other 'luders have done this but i've yet to see a writeup on it. Hopefully this will contain enough to be the final wire-tuck thread :)
This is a work in progress, I will continue to update this as I go. I have some new ideas i've yet to see ;)

What parts you will need / body panels required to be removed based on what you are tucking:

Battery Relocation:
Materials -
10' of 2 gauge wire for power (if fusebox is relocated) 12' if fusebox is still in bay
4' of 2 OR 4 gauge wire for grounds
6' of 2 OR 4 gauge for starter and alternator extensions (if fusebox is relocated and you decide to extend the lines vs replacing alltogether)
(x) amount of lug ring connectors/ butt splices, depends on how you hook up to your battery and if you use a distribution block
shrink wrap / or RUBBER electric tape
regular electric tape

What needs to be removed -
passenger door sill
glove box
back seat
passenger side back seat panels
trunk mat

Driver side shock tower:
Materials -
(dayco) 80210. It's 5/32 i.d. x 6' windshield washer hose. (i got mine from pep boys) for egr solenoid
zip-ties

What panels need to be removed -
IF removing fluid reservoir and relocating relays, remove front bumper and driver-side fender.

Passenger side shock tower:
Materials -
zip-ties

What panels you will need to remove -
-none-

Fusebox: (if NOT done with battery relocation)
Materials -
electric tape
ring lugs / butt splices for power and alternator wires
5' 2 gauge wire for battery feed
3' 2 OR 4 gauge wire for alternator

What panels you will need to remove -
glove box



- Would like to also thank Biglegs with his tips for the fusebox relocation that will be included in this write-up

I'll include pictures as I do more

Everything is pretty self explanatory, I've got some step-by-step pictures and will try to keep everything in some sort of order

What you will start with (intake depending)



Finished:







Passenger shock tower







Driver shock towerDepending on how far you want to go with this - you will have to remove the bumper and driver-side fender


















Dizzy






Horns




Firewall






Fusebox This will require you to extend or completely replace the starter/alternator wires going to the fusebox and replace the battery wire unless you did a battery relocation where you already have a longer wire - use your best judgement on this part since you will be passing these wires through the firewall, last thing you want is to cause a fire if something comes loose while driving.










Battery















----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

extra odds n ends i've done since the original post:

Before and after:







How to get there:

Alternator wire:

Remove the battery so there's no charge - then remove the alternator wires and pull off the top plastic cover. Wrap the wires with some high heat tape for a little extra protection and run it over the side motor mount and around the oil dipstick. Zip-tie it to the bracket towards the bottom/front of the alternator and call it a day :)






Power Steering hose:

Remove bracket on top of the Valve cover - wrap the metal part in some tape, and push it down between the timing belt cover and shock tower. Then take the extra slack and carefully push it down the bracket on the backside of the head.






Slimfans:









Traction bar installed:


 
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#35 ·
Don't jinx me like Ryan did!!!!

:smilejap: few setbacks but turned out great Jake!



I'll take a look around locally for the correct rubber seals for your main harness just to play it safe. (unless you figure what happened to that other white insert lol)
 
#41 ·
Update:

Finished firewall, and basically everything else that doesn't require making brackets/extending lines/ drilling holes.

That's it for the "basics" Finished pictures are in the beginning of the first post.
 
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#43 ·
Thanks Bill!


As far as the basics go - that's it, i'm done :)

I would add in where i re-ran the main wire harness's that are above the transmission, but it causes an issue making contact with the shifter cables for those that don't attach it right. I made up a quick pic on this page that shows the path I ran them but it's not in the write up.
 
#45 ·
You need to sand down your ground points to make contact with metal. The one you have next to your radiator stay - I moved down to where the battery tray used to be (the side mounted portion).

A 100 amp breaker shouldn't cause any kind of issue, you're using 2 gauge right?
 
#48 ·
Yep, you need a clean connection from the transmission to the body. like below:




This wire tuck looks good, the only concern I would have has already been stated(inner fender). Other than that I'd be willing to do it to my engine bay but I'm not gonna be there for a while, mostly I just wanted to compliment the handy work done in this thread.
Thank you!

all of the wires in the inner fender are stock wires - the only things that get moved there sit within the front bumper with your washer fluid resi :)
 
#51 ·
It really REALLY should be at least 4. I got my ring lugs at pep boys for $3 something. 8 is so small.... but if that's all you've got than give it a try....
 
#54 ·
I'm sorry man, I've been getting messages from all the sites that I posted this on. Photobucket is failing hardcore right now.


BUT! there is a solution! Our good friend Hot_97_lude has everything hosted on his site! Feel free to shop around and check out the tuck there!!!!

http://www.extremeprelude.com/wiretuck.html
 
#60 ·
nice job. ill probably do the same when i do my engine swap but im not looking forward to explaing everything to the people when i do emissions inspections. they arent exactly the smartest people
 
#61 ·
Thank you.

I wouldn't be able to pass emissions If I removed my evap stuff and went OBD1.

What state are you in that requires visual? o_O
 
#62 ·
(from a month ago)

Two more small things i've done - It's more like a game now of "WTH is missing?!?!?" Full shot soon after I try another few ideas.



 
#64 ·
lol you saw this all at the Sonic meet. Yeah I removed the alt wire and tucked it down below, removing the plastic cover that goes over the VC.

as well as moving the ground wire on the bracket off to the side. kinda worked out better that way since the head broke off the original bolt location -_-



Thanks - I'll be repainting EVERYTHING again when I pull the motor, powdercoating the brackets and painting the rest of the bolts (hidden or not) I'll be keeping the same colors though :)
 
#66 ·
Removed the plastic piece that it normally sits in and wrapped the entire wire in High Heat electric tape - then wrapped it again with some industrial tape to help with the heat with it sitting smack against the block.


I tucked it ontop of the side motor mount as you can barely see in the last pic, it's sitting in the little groove thingy. Then through the gap behind the dip-stick tube so it keeps it away from the belts. It sits about 2" away from the belts but won't move any farther even if I pull on it.

Pretty simple, nothing needs to be removed besides the black plastic piece it normally sits in. I suggest disconnecting your battery before disconnecting the alt wire. (I think I loosened my dipstick bolt as well just to make it go through without a problem as well)
 
#69 ·
Thank you


I don't have time to read through this, but in case nobody said it already.. you should really go with #1 or larger for the battery cable. I used 1/0 welding cable on mine and would highly recommend doing the same.


I used the same size on my relocation, a 1/0 welding cable. I've already suggested a few times on here that the minimum size to be used is a 2, but can't do much more than "suggest" - ya know?
 
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#73 ·
great work...in process of doing a tuck (following your guide) over here in the uk...mines black to, and ill post pics of the finished article when complete...have you considered detailing some of the more obvious silver ancileries in matt black...?? its all but deleted many a glaring silver pipe/alternator etc out of sight in my bay...im going to go as far as doing the entire engine in black too so it will just be coloured leads aem cai and a few shiny red bolts
 
#75 ·
Thanks man! I'm considering doing my intake gold - but as far as everything else that's silver, I plan on keeping it that way. Once I get a new job i'll be getting a good header, so that heat shield will be gone. I'll continue to paint the bolts throughout the bay though :).

There are a few 5th gen owners that have done their entire engine black except for a few odds n ends - off the top of my head, I think Japskorre is one of them.

Just take your time, and post those pictures when done! or even start a progression thread in the "Builds" section of the site.

i used to be a parts puller in our salvage yard but never mechanic just a part replacer... is this a very hard job to undertake or just time consuming and tedious

It's surprisingly easy to do. Taking your time and pulling/cutting every single zip tie and not scratching up the bay in the process, with two people, you can complete everything except the fusebox and battery relocations within 6 hours. - that's given you're joking around and not focusing on it completely lol. So yes, it can be time consuming and some things very tedious - mainly the fusebox since you're working in a tight spot and don't want to risk getting a wire lose or pulling one out by accident (esp when working upside down under the dash!) I've done 2 bays so far - about to do a 3rd, after you figure out where to put everything it goes alot easier. When I began, I was clueless as to where to relocate everything I wanted to tuck, so it took a bit longer.

I started doing this with no experience working on cars besides changing oil, brake pads, and air filters lol. But I do have an electrical background - so messing with all the wires doesn't bother me as much as it does many others.

Just take your time and you'll be happy with the results. I can honestly say i've learned alot more about the electrical system within the car as per where everything is run/ all connections, and how to access and work on the motor itself when the time comes.
 
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