S2K Metro NY Bear Mountain Cruise 2022

It's been a few years since S2K Metro NY set up a bear mountain cruise but thankfully we were back in full force. The plan was to meet up at the Croton Gorge Park and start our drive there. A few different groups met up at various spots before heading to main meet up spot. I drove up with some of the Northern NJ crew that met up at the last rest stop on the GSP at the crack of dawn.

Part of North NJ Crew - Croton Gorge Park - 7-31-2022

James Gandolfini Service Area

We drove up to Croton Gorge Park only to find that it was closed. It was 7am and the park didn't open until 8am. Some NYS parks are open ahead of time even though the attendant isn't there but they barricaded the entrance so we couldn't get in until opening time. We got in touch with the organizers and set off to our alternate meet up spot instead. We had a terrific turnout of about 55 cars.

Secondary Meet Up Spot

Once all the various crews arrived, we had a quick drivers meeting to discuss safety and logistics then drove to the usual Wendy's to regroup and reorganize before the start of the main drive.

Regrouping + coffee + bathroom break

A friendly officer came by who happened to also be a fellow S2000 owner. He offered to help get everyone get onto our main route once we were on our way which he did. Unfortunately, a bunch of us got stuck behind some traffic and by the time we hit the intersection where we were supposed to turn he had already left causing a number of cars to go straight and miss the rest of the crew. Thankfully I had driven this route many times before and quickly realized the error and made a u-turn to get back on track but most of the people behind me got lost by going straight following the rest of the cars that had missed the turn. 

Group photo at Brother BBQ

Most of us made it though to the final spot at Brother BBQ. It was a great drive, albeit quite a bit hot by the time it hit noon. It was great seeing some friends I hadn't seen in a several years due to the pandemic and also making new S2K friends. I think the vast majority of people that made it through the entire drive really enjoyed the event and are looking forward to doing this again. This is now 11 years since we first started doing this and while some cars have come and gone and there are both new and old faces, I'm glad the tradition continues and we're all able to share in the same passion we have for these cars.

S2Ks taking over Brothers BBQ

Fixing the oil catch can drain

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a few drops of oil on the ground after parking Bumblestook. Looking underneath, I saw that the AN coupling going from the hose that comes from the oil catch can to the bung on the oil pan was a bit wet. I decided to drain the oil to inspect the fitting as I had the same issue last year from a cracked coupling. The coupling looked intact but the leak was for sure coming from it so my conclusion was simply that it wasn't sealing properly.

New coupling (blue) and Early's conical seals (169110ERL) - 7-17-2022

To fix this problem, I ordered a new AN10 coupling that seems a bit beefier and also was a bit longer so that I could give the hose a little more slack. After reading up online about AN coupling seals, it seems that a lot of people recommended Earl's conical seals made of soft aluminum which is supposed to work great on potentially damaged mating surfaces. I figured they basically act like conical crush washers and aren't overly expensive so they were at least worth at try.

Early's 10AN conical seals (169110ERL)

Conical seals fitted to the male end

Finally, it was just a matter of putting the coupler back on and tightening it all back up. Last time I did this I didn't have a good way of holding on the hose end so I bought an adjustable AN wrench and this time I felt I really got it properly snug before hooking up the other end to the bung going to the oil pan. 

Coupler installed

I poured some oil into the catch can to let it flow down the hose just to check for any leaks and so far so good. I won't know for sure until I give her a proper run. We've got a big track day in a 3 weeks so I'll be able to really test it out.

Filling the oil back up - Amsoil 10W-30

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 61,606

- 5.5 quarts Amsoil 10W-30

- Didn't change the oil filter this time as I had just replaced it 1000 miles and 3 months ago.