Blown77Z Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 First impressions, SWEET ! On my way back to the house some guy was standing at the end of his driveway, flagged me down and asked a TON of questions about the swap. He even told his son to come over and look at the car, hehe. A couple of things I need some advice on... 1. Overheating problems. The lower radiator hose was cool to the touch leading me to believe the thermostat is stuck. Will buy a new one this weekend. 2. The nipple under the Throttle Body is suppose to be Tee'd into the upper radiator hose using the pressure relief fitting from JTR...correct? 3. Car runs a little rough, probably due to not having my O2 sensors hooked up yet since I still have my open headers, hehe. 4. Oil pressure gauge (AutoMeter Procomp) reads 90-100psi. Probably due to me using the stock 280 sending unit instead of the one that came with the gauge . I will swap that out this weekend. 5. Fuel gauge (AutoMeter Procomp) not working. Need to probe some wires there. 6. Speedo seems kinda funky, need to program it. Any advice on the above is GREATLY appreciated ! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1noel Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Before you spend any money on a new t-stat, try this: Remove the upper radiator hose from radiator. Pour coolant down into engine (only when engine is cool). Fill completely then run up to temp again. It is really hard to get the air out of these engines but this seems to work. It worked for me and several others on this site. Good luck and let me know how it goes. Get used to answering the questions and making new friends. You'll love this swap when you get the bugs worked out. Sorry I can't help you with the guage issues as I used all the stock guages. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Congrats. My LT1 ran rough before I installed the 02 sensors. As far as your cooling goes this is from Shobox.com and pretains to the LT1 but I imagine it holds true for an LSx too, it fixed my cooling problems: If you have removed the thermostat, you might want to fill the block with your coolant mix through the top of the water pump before placing the thermostat back in. Some people report that this helps to lessen air pockets. Fill until the water pump remains full, install thermostat and water neck, then continue with the next item. Using a 50/50 mix of coolant to water, fill the system through the radiator neck (bleeder valves open). LT1 coolant capacities for the 4th gen F-body: With Manual Transmission - 15.3 quarts (14.5 L) With Automatic Transmission - 15.1 quarts (14.3 L) [*]Close bleeder screws when bubbles disappear and only coolant is visible. [*]Fill the coolant recovery reservoir to the COLD fill mark. This will provide the extra coolant required to replace the air left in the system upon the first couple of thermocycles. [*]Install coolant recovery cap. [*]Block wheels and run engine in Park or Neutral with the radiator cap off until thermostat opens (you should see coolant circulating in the radiator tubes). [*]With the engine running, add coolant to the radiator until the level reaches the bottom of the filler neck. This may be tricky if you have an electric pump because coolant may try to gush out-be careful. Install cap sooner if you need to. [*]Install radiator cap. [*]Check for leaks after the engine is up to running temperature. Monitor engine temperature. If the temperature goes up into the red zone, turn off engine and allow to cool. After it has cooled, check the level in the remote reservoir and correct if necessary. Open the radiator cap and check the level there, too. Run engine again until the thermostat is open and check again for air at the bleeder screws. I got a lot of air out of the bleeders. But my biggest issue was my overflow tank was not working properly. I reconfigued it with the radiator overflow hose going to the bottom of the tank and an overflow hose coming out the top to dump fluid on the ground in case of a temp problem. I haven't had any temp issues since. That includes sitting in a traffic jam for 20 minues on I-75 coming back from DNI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Thanks for the help guys. I will try that on Sunday, going to Biloxi tomorrow for my anniversary BTW, here are some pics I took soon after I got the dash back in the car. I also installed a Pro Comp volt gauge in the drivers air vent, you can barely see it in the first pic, hehe. I took a small video earlier of the gauges coming on and me starting the car, but for some reason the camera won't connect to my computer..........ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 2. Yes. 3. yes... need to hook up the O2 sensor 4. You know the answer 5. Email Clive for the info. I remember wired up the fuel gauge for him but I don't remember. 6. Yes the speedo is funky because you have not programmed it yet. You will need to get on the highway to program it. First impressions, SWEET ! On my way back to the house some guy was standing at the end of his driveway, flagged me down and asked a TON of questions about the swap. He even told his son to come over and look at the car, hehe. A couple of things I need some advice on... 1. Overheating problems. The lower radiator hose was cool to the touch leading me to believe the thermostat is stuck. Will buy a new one this weekend. 2. The nipple under the Throttle Body is suppose to be Tee'd into the upper radiator hose using the pressure relief fitting from JTR...correct? 3. Car runs a little rough, probably due to not having my O2 sensors hooked up yet since I still have my open headers, hehe. 4. Oil pressure gauge (AutoMeter Procomp) reads 90-100psi. Probably due to me using the stock 280 sending unit instead of the one that came with the gauge . I will swap that out this weekend. 5. Fuel gauge (AutoMeter Procomp) not working. Need to probe some wires there. 6. Speedo seems kinda funky, need to program it. Any advice on the above is GREATLY appreciated ! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Update on the Z. I plugged the O2 sensors in and zip tied them up and took the Z for another spin. The car runs A LOT better with them plugged in, not perfect, but better. Pros: 1. Overheating problem fixed. One of the problems was lack of coolant...I took off the upper radiator hose and poured Coolant/Water down it until it came to the top, WOW it took a lot of fluid Let it sit there for a while, temp got around 210 degrees or so, the fan kicked on and the temp dropped. 2. Oil pressure gauge fixed. Cons: 1. Fuel gauge still don't work. Clive ? 2. Speedo don't work. I tried to program it earlier and it seems like it's not getting a strong signal. I used the GRN/WHT wire from the small white plug from the LS1 harness..... But I think I should use the wire from the VSS itself. Anyone know which wire it is? The VSS has 2 wires: YEL is High signal, PPL is Low signal .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1noel Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I had to use the VSS high signal to trigger the CableX box I used to run my stock speedo. I'd guess that would be the same to run your aftermarket guage. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I don't have the car at the house and can't remember the setup. Right now, my fuel gauge is pretty off. I am going to get another fuel lever sender out of one of my part cars. Also, my oil pressure gauge may be on a different range than the oil pressure unit. I remember buying the right one......as I hit the gas...the oil pressure seems to drop?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted April 7, 2008 Author Share Posted April 7, 2008 UPDATE: Took the Z for another spin just now. Oh man it feels GREAT to get it out on the highway ! 1. I got my Speedo to work, WOOT ! I had to use the VSS high signal coming into the PCM - PPL/WHT wire. 2. Now I can't figure out how to wire up the reverse lights... You hook the BRN and GRN wires from the LS1 harness to the 2 dark GRN wires from the 280z????? I got good continuity from the dark GRN wires to the bulbs. I might go buy some new bulbs to see if the old bulbs (which look good btw) are somehow bad.... BTW, Clive did you add the resistors to your fuel gauge like in this link, http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=127605&referrerid=15552 Wish mine would work, so I can tell if it is accurate, LOL. Did your oil pressure gauge come with a sending unit??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1noel Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Hook up your wires that went to the Z reverse switch on the trans to the reverse switch on the new trans. Can go either way (doesn't matter which wire goes where). Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted April 7, 2008 Author Share Posted April 7, 2008 Mike, I tried wiring up the reverse light wires from the LS1 harness using the wires from the white plug on the LS1 harness (which have continuity from the reverse switch to the plug) to the reverse light wires on my 280z. The reverse light wires on my 280z have good continuity from the wires back to the bulbs. I'm thinking that somehow the bulbs are bad.......Going to buy some new bulbs and go from there. BTW, not sure if this is relevant but last night I found a small white plug under the dash which has 1 dark GRN wire and 1 BLK wire coming from it. The GRN wire on the plug has continuity from it to the GRN wires that ran to the old Z reverse switch. This plug is just hanging there not attached to anything and I couldn't find a bare plugin for it anywhere ! Is this plug suppose to be attached to the inhibitor switch or something else? Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1noel Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 The only plug in the dash I can find with only those two wire colors is for the seat belt indicator lamp. Have you tried a test lamp at the switch on the tranny or at the bulb socket? That would tell you if your bulbs are bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted April 7, 2008 Author Share Posted April 7, 2008 The bulbs are good, I hooked the same bulbs up to my brake lights and both of them work. I will test out the reverse switch on the tranny to see if it actually works............ BTW, my fuel gauge works, hehe. The problem is the fuel level sender is kinda funky. It has some play on the floater rod where it's connected to the upper metal support. I tried to bend it a little so there's no play and it seems to "work" atm, but it's a little off. I'll probably get me a new fuel level sending unit down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 BTW, my fuel gauge works, hehe. The problem is the fuel level sender is kinda funky. It has some play on the floater rod where it's connected to the upper metal support. I tried to bend it a little so there's no play and it seems to "work" atm, but it's a little off. I'll probably get me a new fuel level sending unit down the road. HaHa, same thing I did! Tried to bend it into range.... Any vids coming soon of the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 I need to find some video software to rip the DVD format off the disk and put on my HDD, then I can upload it to the internet ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Is it a Sony DVD recorder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 Yeah, it's a Sony Handycam............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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