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| jsup | Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
 
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I tell you, this engine is going to be the death of me...here's a couple that happened:
I got a PM on what was going on with the tune, we are still trying to dial it in...here's some of the obnoxious issues I faced. 1. First the car started overheating. I'm going through the car trying to figure it out....is it lean? Is the engine too big for the cooling system? Is it the tune....looking for leaks....well, turns out the dam THERMOSTAT was stuck. I went back to engine 101 and started thinking in terms of the old L48s I did in the past. Yep, a BRAND NEW TSTAT failed and got stuck closed. At least that was a fast, cheap answer. I put the stat in boiling water, with the original one that was the same temp, the old one opened, and the new one didn't. I have never seen a brand new TSTAT fail, well, a TSTAT in general. 2. We are having a bitch of a time tuning the car. The stock computer has a lot of variables, and is far more elegant and complex in terms of after market systems, therefore more difficult to tune. Well, the problem was, and we've been at it for weeks, that the O2 sensor was seeing a rich condition and pulling fuel out, making a lean condition. I would then get those pops associated with a lean condition. We have a Wide band sensor on there and when it poped the AFR went to 17, 18. So we knew it was going lean. We changed O2 sensors thinking perhaps the ECU was getting faulty information from a defective sensor...etc... We tried to program it out. Had tons of trouble. IT was being forced into BL 4, limp home. The car would pop and hesitate at 2400 rpms or so.....and got worse over time. Cold it was great, hot got worse. I pull the plugs to see what is going on, and seems that the builder put in recessed tiped plugs. There's no problem with that, higher performance motors use them. So we figure, we will put in standard, extended tip plugs. So I call Dart and get the spec they recommend for those heads and that motor. I put in the new plugs and BANG, I get a back fire. It runs and back fires two more times and I shut it down. I pulled out the plugs again, #7 wasn't firing. It was wet, and black. OK, next...I start testing the wires looking for 300 Ohms across them, Looking at firing order etc.... Everything seems correct. In my last build I used Accel Ignition parts, and came to the conclusion that they were worthless pieces of junk. So, I look at my cap, yep, Accel cap. Long story about why it was on there, but I wasn't the one who put it on. I run to the store and pick up a Standard Blue Streak rotor, and I had a brand new cap on my shelf. Cheapo one from Autozone, but works. Probably made by Standard for them. I put the new cap and rotor in and BANG!! Car fires, starts, and runs better than it had in weeks. SO.....my original opinion of Accel Ignition parts is as it was in the past, they suck. I did re use the cap from the old engine, however, it had about 250 miles on it, never should have shit the bed after 250 miles. I'm ordering some MSD wire and making up my own set, get those Accel wires TF out of there. I guarantee the cyls weren't firing right, as a result the O2 was seeing a rich condition because the fuel wasn't burning off as a result of no spark or bad spark. The ECU pulled fuel out. I drove the car for an hour, and even with a tune that isn't near done, it ran 1000 times better than it was before. The hard part is that we get to tune an hour or two here or there, but now we have a basis. So now that this is resolved, I should be making more process going forward, more quickly. It was frustrating. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 13:22
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Parts don't make power, engines make power. |
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| red_johnny | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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On Sabbatical
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Well its all about moving forward. Your doing it so keep it up! Sounds like your close!
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 13:35
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| Qack | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Sometimes it's the basics ... Thanks for sharing your story ... we've all been there, and empathize. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 13:36
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| biggrizzly | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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2011 Memorial Day Car Show Winner!
 
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Sounds good John! Glad its coming together. Mine is running pretty good with the PCM4Less tune. But then again I didn't try to stick a Monster in there like you...
My tranny is giving up on the extra torque, and slipping a bit, so I got to save my pennies to get that done too. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 14:58
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Don Haller Corvette Club of America 94Coupe, 383Stroka, PeteK Trans, 3000stall, 3.54rear, Konis and bigger sways. |
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| jsup | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
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GREAT! Now I have to worry about that. Did you do anything for extra cooling? I did the pan with the tubes, and an extra cooler, hoping I can get SOME life out of it... |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 15:14
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Parts don't make power, engines make power. |
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| Matatk | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Webmaster
 
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Glad you got it running better. When's the dyno?
Matthew |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 20:23
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2002 EBM convertible, Magnusson supercharger, cam, headers, etc. 1989 Corvette...RIP |
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| jsup | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
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The issue is I don't have a lot of time to work on it. I have to finish up the tune, which now that I know what was wrong should be easier than it has been. SO.....hopefully soon enough. I have no specific answer. The motor spins up like a two stroke weed wacker when I hit the gas. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 20:50
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Parts don't make power, engines make power. |
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| pr0zac | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
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i still have that fast system for sale.
 whenever you are ready! |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 21:37
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96 lt4. 357ci, 11:1, LE 226/232, LE2 LT4 heads, ported LT4 intake, EM Gladiator44, EM LT's, stock exhaust, NX kit. |
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| Notorious | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
 
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Is your tranny still stock? If so, it's on borrowed time. My stroker is nowhere near the equal of your monster and I killed two stock trannys within the first year after building and installing it. And I raced it very little in that time. I finally installed a built one and all's well since. Yes cooling is of course vital, but the stock internals just don't like much extra torque. PeteK has a great build list for the upgrades you'll need. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 22:45
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| jsup | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
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I know, sigh, I know....it's all budget. It's going to cost me the same thing if I let it explode, or do it now....so... May as well wait it out and save some money in the mean time. When people ask what kind of tranny, I reply TEMPORARY......sigh again. Pete's not that far away, maybe I'll have him do it. IDK... I am currently researching trans shops in NJ so when it goes, I'm ready.... |
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Posted on: 2008/10/21 22:57
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Parts don't make power, engines make power. |
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| anesthes | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Master Guru
 
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A defect of the miniram is also the thermostat cannot completely open. Here is a thread I created on the matter: http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/alt ... mostat-bottoming-out.html Quote:
I think the $8D code is one of the easiest to work with. I'm not sure exactly what problems you are having as your tuner is keeping everything secret. Quote:
This always happens with a big cam. I realize part of your problem was a misfire, however you are probably going to find the combination of a large cam + miniram will want a lean idle, and moderate part throttle fueling. Has he adjusted the 02 swing points? On $8D you have a closed tps and open tps 02 thresholds, so you can pretty much get BLM to whatever AFR you want (within reason). I need to change the fuel pump in mine. At 5750RPM my injectors are static and my AFR starts dropping from about 12:1 to 14:1. On paper the injectors should be fine, I think the pump can't supply the volume at the higher rail pressures under boost. Considering I just bought the farm though, I have not had much time to tinker with the car. -- Joe |
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Posted on: 2008/10/22 12:41
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| jsup | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
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Hey Joe, thanks for the answers. I did upgrade the fuel pump. I have a stock one if anyone needs it. I'm going over there now. He's not keeping things secret, I'm just not versed enough to explain it correctly. It's my ignorance that is the issue, wish I were better at it so I can explain it better. The idle is fine, 14.X at idle. The issue WAS at light throttle at about 2400 RPM. The new cap and rotor seemed to stop that completely. So we're going to hook up the Wideband, Ostritch, and engine analyzer he has, then go see what we have... |
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Posted on: 2008/10/22 12:50
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Parts don't make power, engines make power. |
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| BillH | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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The Stig Moderator
 
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On the overheating, T-stat failure, there are stats that will fail in the open position. They're under the Failsafe brand.
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Posted on: 2008/10/22 14:58
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Every man dies but not every man lives. |
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| jsup | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
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You suck man, my tranny was fine until today, smoked it....had to go open your mouth didn't ya? ahhhh shit. Lost 3rd. Maybe I'll just let it sit till spring and do all the other little stuff I wanted to do and save my money till then....I can drive it around the block to warm it up in 1st and 2nd.... Sucks....really. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/22 17:59
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Parts don't make power, engines make power. |
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| biggrizzly | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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2011 Memorial Day Car Show Winner!
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Mine is slipping worse in 2nd
It can get around pretty good if I just baby it, but If I get on it second will just kind of rev up and then grab when the rpms get to around 3000. Whats wierd is that the car seems to drive ok if I leave it OD, I guess because of the gearing. Plus I still have the stinky 2.59 in there. I got one of PeteKs 9.5" 3000 stall converters and a set of 3.54 gears on the shelf ready to install. I just aint got the $$$$$$$ to rebuild the trans and set up the rear at this time. So I'm just milking it unitl it won't move forward any more. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/22 18:15
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Don Haller Corvette Club of America 94Coupe, 383Stroka, PeteK Trans, 3000stall, 3.54rear, Konis and bigger sways. |
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| jsup | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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Elite Guru
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Similar, I have the 9.5 and 3.07s, mine stalls at 2800. My wife won't give me any more money, I already spent $10K without her noticing, she's starting to catch on. Keep in touch on the tranny thing, maybe we can swing a 2 for 1 deal (laughing)..... You're a 700R or 460? I forget .... I stomped it and spun the tires at a rolling 50MPH......that was the end of that.. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/22 18:23
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Parts don't make power, engines make power. |
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| biggrizzly | Re: Sometimes, it's the basics | ||
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2011 Memorial Day Car Show Winner!
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I got a 4L60E Essentially, I did the same thing in Ocean City. I was along side my buddy Jim in his 07 Z06. He goosed his a bit, so I slammed it down into second and romped on it hard. After that it has been behaving badly. I still caught some good wheel the other night not even trying. You have to remember that this car could never ever spin the tires before the engine rebuild. Its amazing this things will smoke the tires now with a bad trans and the old 2.59 gears. It really drives pretty good considering the gearing. It could definitely benefit from a new gear set to change the power band a little, but not bad at all right now. It says I'm averaging 24MPG. and thats with the 30# SVO injectors. I expected a lot worse mileage. |
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Posted on: 2008/10/22 18:36
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Don Haller Corvette Club of America 94Coupe, 383Stroka, PeteK Trans, 3000stall, 3.54rear, Konis and bigger sways. |
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