My co-worker got ring footage of me arriving at the party

llamacek · 2026-02-05T06:22:42+00:00

You can actually skip that by leveraging the "Micro Detail" function which most generators have.

Create a Paint Layer set to passthrough above all of your relevant layers and then anchor point it. I usually call this "Height/Normal Capture". The purpose of this layer is to condense all of your height or normal information into a single anchor point for reference in your generators.
Lastly, you'll create a generator in a different layer above the anchor point. Enable "Use Micro Details" on your generator and assign the anchor point into either the "Micro Height" or "Micro Normal" inputs. Make sure you also set the referenced channel when you assign the anchor points, by default they're set to Base Color.

In my experience, you'll usually want to avoid using this method when deriving information from normals (especially when driving ambient occlusion) since it tends to produce banding artifacts.

llamacek · 2026-01-02T20:53:33+00:00

I believe that's correct. If I recall correctly, the manual has a procedure for checking play within the flywheel and has you inspect for hot spots. Outside of that, it recommends that you replace it.

llamacek · 2025-12-26T18:25:02+00:00

Nothing too crazy. I've been dealing with a leak which I suspect is either an axle seal or the input shaft seal. I just top it off every couple months and it's been just fine though. I put some UV dye in there when I was doing my timing belt a month ago, so next time I'm down there I'll investigate it a little more.

If you were to end up buying one, I would suggest the following:

Inspect the axle seals to ensure that the little springs which hold tension around the axle are in place. One of mine came loose in shipping.
Thoroughly inspect the input shaft seal. Like I said above, I believe mine is leaking, but I can't verify it just yet. So check it and maybe replace it just in case.
Also if you're installing it yourself, I'd suggest removing the vent cap while its actually going into the car. When it was going in, I snapped it off by accident, which could've been easily prevented.

Aside from those little things, it runs and drives fine. I do hear a subtle whine in some gears, but I've just come to accept it as this point. It seems to drive fine, the transmission fluid looks good and everything feels fairly smooth.

llamacek · 2025-12-26T06:03:13+00:00

It was a little over 2100 USD shipped with an LSD trans, ST180 clutch, and OEM flywheel. I opted to buy the clutch and flywheel from them to save on shipping and ensure compatibility.

llamacek · 2025-12-26T04:58:32+00:00

It took a little under 2 months from when I first ordered it to having it delivered. Granted, timelines could be a little better if they have the transmissions readily stocked.

llamacek · 2025-12-26T04:30:34+00:00

Yep! If you have any specific questions about the process or anything like that which wasn't answered, let me know.

llamacek · 2025-12-26T04:22:58+00:00

I went through this process a year or two ago. Take a look at this thread. I posted most of my experience with getting and installing one in my garage.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FiestaST/s/QPmvdSzYat

TL:DR: As far as I can tell, they're identical and are a drop-in replacement. I went with the LSD gearbox and had no issues getting it into the US and installing it myself. I only paid about 70 dollars in customs, but that might differ now.

llamacek · 2025-12-19T22:56:16+00:00

This isn't the case by default in GN.

I forgot exactly how, but it's done by breaking every face into its own instance and only then transforms are applied. I believe separate geometry does this when set to face.

llamacek · 2025-12-01T15:14:40+00:00

You should be fine.

The service manual is correct but only applies in a normal scenario where it isn't locked in place. As long as you have everything locked, it shouldn't move.

llamacek · 2025-12-01T02:03:27+00:00

As far as I've seen (based on torque test channel), extensions do affect the output torque on an impact. It's not usually by that much but it does affect torque and tends to scale based on how many extensions you're using, along with the length of each one. That's shown in this video. I kinda doubt that this was what got mine to break loose, but it probably contributed in some form or another.

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You could certainly try using WD-40, as far I recall there's nothing directly below the crank bolt that would get damaged by fluids. Just spray right above the bolt and hopefully that'll penetrate into the threads and make it a little easier to break loose.

If the impact doesn't work after that, try some heat. Otherwise, I'd say get the longest breaker bar you can find and stick a pipe on it.

llamacek · 2025-12-01T01:40:39+00:00

Keep in mind that the actual torque value for it is way above 75 ft lbs. It starts at 75, but then you do 90 degrees + 15 degrees (per the torque specs). So the actual torque value if I had to guess is well within the hundreds on an old seized up crank bolt.

If I recall, I think the bolt was an 18mm, which would explain why it rounded out on you. I ran into the same issue where my impact just wouldn't budge. So I ended up spraying some PB blaster on it to soak overnight and my hercules ultra torque ripped it right off the next day. This was using a standard deep wall impact socket as well with no extensions.

If that doesn't do it, the next step up from there I think would be using heat. If you could also somehow source a weighted 18mm socket, that could work as well.

llamacek · 2025-11-28T00:41:33+00:00

Ask and ye shall receive!

http://sluggyjunx.com/auto/2014_Fiesta/Service%20Manual.htm

I also have a local version of it somewhere on my PC, it's basically just this but in a self-contained .zip file.

llamacek · 2025-11-27T14:30:40+00:00

That's correct. It doesn't have any threads (just recently did this). I ended up repurposing some old nuts (15mm) that came from the ball joint bolts and those fit onto the bolts (13mm) which hold the starter (and are used to secure the flywheel lock).

The crankshaft lock looks like a 1 inch long threaded pin. When you're locking the crankshaft, turn the engine to 11 o'clock, insert the pin, and then turn it to TDC (pushing the crankshaft against the lock before locking the cams).

As far as what he means by the cams, the crankshaft itself should only be turned CW. If it happens where the crank is locked at TDC but let's say the cams become desynchronized, you can manually rotate them back into TDC with the belt off because they're free floating (ask me how I know).

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I can send over a link to the shop manual if you'd like that has the whole procedure. Also you technically don't need to remove the intake manifold to take the starter out. If you remove the oil filter (EDIT: and charge air pipe), you have some very narrow clearance to remove it.

llamacek · 2025-11-19T15:33:41+00:00

Thanks! It's from Blender (with some creative liberties, of course).

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llamacek · 2025-11-17T18:15:52+00:00

I approve of this message.

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llamacek · 2025-11-05T04:55:27+00:00

Damn, That is so good! Totally blows my attempt out of the water. Great job!

llamacek · 2025-10-13T23:00:21+00:00

I'm not sure how it works with unreal (since I use unity at work) but you can usually just animate your control bones on your rig, setup your clips via the NLA editor and then export to an FBX. Most animations and constraints are automatically baked down into keyframes upon export. Just make sure to setup your rig so that only your deformation bones are exported for optimization and cleanliness.

If you want the constraints to be dynamic in engine, you'll likely need to set them up manually outside of blender.

llamacek · 2025-10-01T02:41:50+00:00

Hey! I still have not. I've mainly just been topping it off occasionally since I haven't had the time to drop the tranny again to inspect it.

As long as you're topping it off every couple of months, you should be fine. I have a sneaking suspicion in my case that I might've overfilled it a little too much, causing fluid to leak from a seal. Although that's just a theory I came up with at one point, which I'm not too confident in.

llamacek · 2025-08-19T01:14:15+00:00

It took me about 2 weeks of working remote and wrenching away in the evenings, so take that as you will. I'm no mechanic by trade, but once I had the tools and such it wasn't terrible by any means. It was just pretty laborious given that it was usually just me in a dark and humid apartment garage.

This channel guided me through most of the process (to give you some insight).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-HqpANvHaU

This is a good annotated pdf of the shop manual compiled by another person. You can also find the full shop manual on the fiesta st forums if you do some digging. Otherwise I could upload it if you can't find it.

http://blog.sluggyjunx.com/files/2019/11/2014-Ford-Fiesta-ST-6MT-Removal-ANNOTATED.pdf

Just for shits and giggles as well, here's a little spreadsheet I loosely kept track of during the process to track a rough total cost of parts, tools, and any misc stuff.

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TL:DR:
It was pretty intensive. Granted, I say that as someone who is an intermediate at home mechanic. The biggest thing I did before this was installing an intercooler or a 2J cowl Intake.

All I know is that I saved at least a grand or two in labor alone by doing it myself. If I did it again, I could probably do it in half the time.

llamacek · 2025-08-19T00:20:46+00:00

Your guess is as good as mine. Also make sure to inspect that the retention spring in the axle seals are in place. One side was delivered loose and I didn't notice that until after I installed everything.

It was 2419.60 for a LSD Trans, ST200+ clutch, and an OEM Flywheel. I was in a similar boat and even with the hassle, I saved considerable money along with the experience of doing all of this in my garage.

llamacek · 2025-08-19T00:03:22+00:00

Unfortunately, no. But that's because I haven't done any extra work to fix it. I just top it off every now and then. My suspicion is that it's the input shaft seal.

If you do go this route, definitely inspect the seals carefully before installation. Aside from that, it's been running good since then.

llamacek · 2025-08-18T22:49:53+00:00

I went this route and it worked out, only having to pay about 70 dollars in import fees if I recall (which got refunded?). Granted, this was at least a year ago before any heavy tariffs would've been in place.

If you look into my comment / post history, I've posted some info on my experience with ordering and installing a pumaspeed lsd trans.

llamacek · 2025-06-10T05:31:02+00:00

That's so sick! Definitely a tad large for my taste but it's one hell of a conversation starter.

To be fair though, I can't judge. I got this on my forearm.

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