BLOZ UP Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) Well, found one problem: Disconnected charge piping. That would cause it to run worse. So, onwards to replace the headgaskets. Just disconnected the upper intake and charge piping. Need to drain the rest of the coolant and oil before going further. But to do that I need to empty out some containers. Advance has a sale on Mobil 1, I meant to pick some up... Edited September 22, 2014 by BLOZ UP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 Got one head off today. So, when coolant comes out of your exhaust manifold, it's not a good sign. Yeah, think the gasket blew. Note that I didn't drain the coolant from the block yet. Had some trouble getting the drain plug loose with the head on. Luckily very little was left in the head. #5: #3 #1 Deck height on #5 seems to be normal at first glance: The other side appears to be intact but I'll be replacing it while I'm here. It looks like my cam seals have a leak as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 New OEM gasket is noticeably better quality: Head back on. I got a much needed long 10mm hex driver. My short one gets stuck all the time and it takes three times as long to mess with the head bolts. Hopefully this will allow more consistent torque on the head bolts. Got the other side off. Looks intact, as the plugs indicated: I was supposed to get some more LED bulbs in on Saturday, and finish off the replacement off all the incandescent ones. Looks like it got delayed though. Just need to clean off the head and block, fix an exhaust stud and put it back together. Might have a coolant leak but I won't know until I fill it up and start it. Hoping to make it to the NJ Z Club car show this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 My car has been LEDed: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 So I got the rest of my LEDs in. Here are some shitty comparison photos: Before: Right-side done: Both sides done: Front before: Front after: The fronts seem slightly dimmer. It might be the slightly whiter shade. The rears are definitely brighter. The current draw is noticeable less too, since the other lights don't dim when the hazards flash (see video). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 How did you do the conversion, just LED replacement bulbs? Or is there more to it (flasher relays?) Just noticed your bumper sticker - classic, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) How did you do the conversion, just LED replacement bulbs? Or is there more to it (flasher relays?) Just noticed your bumper sticker - classic, haha. Yup, just replacement bulbs. You also need digital flashers, one for the turn signals and one for the hazards. Bulbs were acquired from superbrightleds.com, and are the following: 2x 67-W15 (15 LED license plate lights) 2x 67-R15 (15 LED running lights, upper innermost) 2x 1157-R45-T (45 LED tower for upper outermost brake/tail) 2x 1156-R45-T (45 LED tower for turn signals) 2x 1157-A45-T (45 LED tower for front combination lamps) 2x 67-R9-WV (9 LED red clearance) 2x 67-A9-WV (9 LED amber clearance) I also have a LED festoon but I got it from my parts car. It's not very bright. Edited September 30, 2014 by BLOZ UP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 Planned on getting a bit further today but got held back back this head. 3 stud holes were cross threaded. It took a while to get one stud out and fix it. Even after fixing two and putting studs back in, the exhaust manifold warped quite a bit and it required some persuasion to go back on. I really need to cut out some more of the flange between runners. But I got it back on. Put the head back on (which, by the way, is heavy with the exhaust manifold. Reminds me of the iron head 5.0 motors). Torqued it up with my nice new long 10mm hex driver. I added 10% to the torque values, so 52 ft-lbs. instead of 47. If that, and the new gaskets (and some extra deck cleaning) don't work out it looks like I'll need to deck the block and heads. If that's the case I'd rather run low boost while I build up another motor. Tested out the brake lights, which are satisfactory. Turn signals light up dim with the tail lights... that can't be good. Need to put in the LED flashers before I diagnose any further. Oh, I also measured the current draw of the LED park/tail lights, here're the results: 1.52 A - All incandescent 1.02 A - LED license plate and side markers 0.62 A - All LED So I dropped 0.9 A, which at 12.5 V is just over 11 W. Meh. I'm guessing peak power draw is down though, as incandescents draw a lot initially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Got everything back together, started filling up with coolant and the thermostat housing is leaking again. I think the timing belt cover might be interfering with it, this is the second time in the same place. So I drained what was in there for now, but decided to start it anyway to see if I've got rod knock or anything. After a bit of cranking and then reinserting the distributor the correct way, it started but was misfiring. I turned it off and decided to wait till another day to check it out. It might just be fouled plugs (pressure test caused lot of pulsing, plus lots of cranking, so it's plausible). So, I go around to the back to start pushing when I notice this: That's a good cup or so. I dunno. That's coolant that made it out the tailpipe. Kind of odd. That means it had to make it out the chamber, up through the manifolds, turbo, downpipe, up and through two mufflers, and up again and through one more muffler. So how much more is in there I wonder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaniam Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I've looked at your thread before but just realized you ran it at Englishtown and you're in NJ. My car is at work in Manalapan while I've been painting it. Let me know if you plan on heading back to the track any time soon. I'd like to see what my junk does before I dig into the holset swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Not sure when I'll be back. My car's not ready or tuned yet. It'd also have to be a street car only night, since when I went there last they didn't give two shits about street cars until 30 minutes after closing when they rushed me through my 2 or 3 runs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share Posted October 7, 2014 Getting real tired of things breaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alzSywxZ9Fk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78zstyle Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 ls1 ls1 ls1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 So I'm 90% sure I forgot to tighten the rocker shafts on the driver's side head. Which, by coincidence, is the one where the exhaust has to move in order to remove the valve cover. I woke up an hour early and immediately thought of it. Maybe what they say about sleep is really true. It might be a simple fix. Then again I ran it for a couple minutes like that so I imagine the damage could be: bent rocker shafts, galling from oil starved shaft, lifters. Valve cover damage. Sort of glad it was something I forgot to tighten rather than some chance mechanical failure. Not sure why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 But yeah, very tempted to dump it and go LSx if it's ruined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Took off valve cover without removing exhaust. Tightened rocker shafts. Everything looked clean and dandy in there. Car runs suspiciously well. Fire extinguisher, zip ties, flashlight and 10mm wrench must be kept in car at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Some unedited footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_vdfQvfKy0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) Car's running fine, white smoke has decreased. Now I see blue smoke Smokes a lot at low load only. I'm thinking rings are not seating at all. I know I set the gaps correctly. Will try a compression test and maybe a leakdown, and while I'm at it I'll switch oil. It's been only 70 miles on the rebuild, but it should not be smoking that much. Might also be oil leaking past the seals in the turbo. Have to double check my drain, and my oil pressure is pretty high when cold. Edited October 9, 2014 by BLOZ UP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 On a positive note I fixed my TPS. Slightly negative one: After replacing the front combination lamps with LEDs, when the tail lights are on my rear 'single-filament' (1156) turn signal LEDs are partially illuminated somehow. Even my indicators are partially illuminated. Overall resistance might be too low, I guess. I have no clue. Still flashes but it can't be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Changed the oil and drove it some more. Still smokes but much less. Only white when cold, and it doesn't smell so it's probably just condensation. Blue smoke was still there, but much less I think. I did a compression test and they were all at 170psi. Spec is 173. I cranked pretty briefly in each cylinder since my battery doesn't have the capacity for it. Real 6 second cranks would probably put me at 175psi. So, that's good. Compression rings and valves are okay then. I think it might be oil that seaped past the turbo oil seals when the turbo was off, it was laying on the side. Also might be that I routed my drain slightly different and it doesn't have as much downward slope as it did before. I upped the oil weight from 10W-30 to 10W-40, and used conventional (which is what I should have put in it for break-in, according to some people). I also found a Mobil 1 filter that's bigger than my current one. It's the M1-110 and it's the same part for the Frontier VG33. So that makes that easier. I also used 4.5 quarts instead of the 5 I had before. I used 5 in the VG30 without the remote filter without problems, but I just want to make sure I'm not foaming the oil in the pan. I tried tuning it some and my fuel tables are pretty whack. It seems like the car really requires a lot more fuel right off of idle, even cruising in gear at 30 kPa, it was surging like crazy with my VG30 fuel table that's already been richened a lot. It doesn't seem to like anything less than 15:1 AFR at any engine load or speed. I imagine part of that is my cam and headwork. Then again perhaps I didn't calibrate my O2 sensor correctly on reassembly.... Edited October 12, 2014 by BLOZ UP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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