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Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
It seems that the car on top of my lift gets used about as much as the one on the bottom. Granted, neither one gets enough time, but I've been trying to keep them both in service. Both cars need tires badly, so driving them is on hold until finances get me the tires and repairs they need.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by scottmoyer
It seems that the car on top of my lift gets used about as much as the one on the bottom. Granted, neither one gets enough time, but I've been trying to keep them both in service. Both cars need tires badly, so driving them is on hold until finances get me the tires and repairs they need.
Have you been happy with the lift, Scott? I'm pretty sure i'm going to get the same one in the Spring.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Very happy with it. One thing I found useful that I didn't get, but need to, is an additional rolling jacking tray. It comes with one that supports 4500#, and can have a scissor lift installed for around $700 that will lift the front or rear of the car off the runways for service work. For me, I want a second rolling jack tray so I can get all 4 wheels off the runways at the same time. Instead of the $700 hydraulic scissor jack, I'll just use bottle jacks and jack stands. So, consider getting two jacking trays when you order because they aren't light and shipping will be excessive for it.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
A suggestion for those considering 4 post lifts. Ditch the metal Ramps
and get Race Ramps for the lifts. Fred at Reverse Logic, a distributor of RR's, gave me a sweet deal on a pair. They weigh next to nothing, and being 4 ft long, provide a better (lesser) angle on approach.
I hope this helps.
.
Last edited by Big&BadGTA; 01-23-2018 at 08:34 AM.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
The Advantage Lift comes standard with 36" aluminum ramps. They aren't very heavy at all, but obviously more than race ramps. Many other lift companies have steel ramps that are heavy.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Stopped by my parent's last night. I figured while I was there, I'd start the old girl up. She's been sleeping since October. Hooked up the battery and fired right up.
After about 10 minutes or so, I detected little wisps of steam coming up from the distributor area. It burned off after a minute or so, but then I got a slight whiff of anti-freeze smell. At the end of 30 minutes of running there was a small puddle of anti-freeze on the garage floor, under the passenger side, firewall area. I didn't see any interior leak on the passenger floor and it was really too dark and cramped in there for me to get a good look.
Heater core? Intake manifold leak? If I'm really lucky a loose heater hose clamp? I really need to get it back to my house for a full inspection.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Never had a hose pin-hole just sitting in storage. Aren't all the hose clamps the constant torque spring clamps? I could see a frost plug rusting out. Or a heater core developing a leak, but I'd expect it'd drain in the vents. Could be the heater pipe hardline on the frame rail leaking, but I haven't seen that happen in a thirdgen yet.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by Drew
Never had a hose pin-hole just sitting in storage. Aren't all the hose clamps the constant torque spring clamps? I could see a frost plug rusting out. Or a heater core developing a leak, but I'd expect it'd drain in the vents. Could be the heater pipe hardline on the frame rail leaking, but I haven't seen that happen in a thirdgen yet.
572. It's the only way to be sure.
I think the heater hoses going to the heater core have worm gear clamps, but I'm not sure. I don't know if a leaky heater core would leak on the back of the engine, though. Ah, who knows.
A 572 would be nice, but if I were actually going to do something I'd put 2.25" exhaust manifolds, N10 exhaust and 3.42 gears in it - but I won't, since it's too mint to mess with.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by chazman
Stopped by my parent's last night. I figured while I was there, I'd start the old girl up. She's been sleeping since October. Hooked up the battery and fired right up.
After about 10 minutes or so, I detected little wisps of steam coming up from the distributor area. It burned off after a minute or so, but then I got a slight whiff of anti-freeze smell. At the end of 30 minutes of running there was a small puddle of anti-freeze on the garage floor, under the passenger side, firewall area. I didn't see any interior leak on the passenger floor and it was really too dark and cramped in there for me to get a good look.
Heater core? Intake manifold leak? If I'm really lucky a loose heater hose clamp? I really need to get it back to my house for a full inspection.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
to get steam you would think something would have had to drip on the exhaust? especially just running for 10 minutes in the garage. This will be bugging you in the middle of the night...
At first I was going to say intake manifold, but that should have followed the block & just dripped on the floor, Almost had to come from a hose & dripped on the the exhaust system.
OR at least that would make sense given your description?
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by chazman
Failed freeze plug seems so crazy and random to me.
I know it does Charlie but I've had it happen to me. My '86 popped a freeze plug in the middle of summer. This was roughly 1998, car had 35k miles on it at the time. I worked weekends as a mechanic in High School. I went to the shop after school one day and one of the mechanics said steam was pouring out from my car in the parking lot. There was a pin hole in the freeze plug above the starter. It happens, and on a car that sits a lot and probably hasn't had the coolant changed frequently enough, it is actually fairly likely.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by Stuart S
Freeze out plug?
Originally Posted by 1MeanZ
My vote is freeze plug or intake manifold gasket.
Originally Posted by chazman
Failed freeze plug seems so crazy and random to me.
Originally Posted by 1MeanZ
I know it does Charlie but I've had it happen to me. My '86 popped a freeze plug in the middle of summer. This was roughly 1998, car had 35k miles on it at the time. I worked weekends as a mechanic in High School. I went to the shop after school one day and one of the mechanics said steam was pouring out from my car in the parking lot. There was a pin hole in the freeze plug above the starter. It happens, and on a car that sits a lot and probably hasn't had the coolant changed frequently enough, it is actually fairly likely.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
If he sells them all I call dibs on the '87 vert. the LG4 and 700R4 can go to Omnisource and be replaced with a real small block and a T56, then the car will be perfect!
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by 1MeanZ
If he sells them all I call dibs on the '87 vert. the LG4 and 700R4 can go to Omnisource and be replaced with a real small block and a T56, then the car will be perfect!
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Took the yellow '85 and swapped it for this car today and brought it home. Perfect weather today to get to drive two IROCs. I got thumbs going with the yellow car and thumbs up coming with the met. red car.
That coolant leak from earlier didn't materialize today, not even any sign of it, even after driving 20 miles. Strange. I'd forgotten how nice this car drives. The HO air cleaner makes an intoxicating howl when you floor it. You may not be going very fast, but it sure sounds like you are!
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
As many of you know, ThirdGen Expo got rained out. We're planning a new date shortly.
Anyway, I bring it up because I brought this car to Expo. As I was loading the trunk before going, and closed the deck lid, it wouldn't pull down. I messed with it for a few minutes, but had to go. The trunk lid was able to latch but wasn't all the way down. Got to Expo, weather was showing no more rain and then the sky exploded with rain. Several of us found refuge at my house. Thank God I already had the top up, because the tonneau won't unlatch unless the pulldown is all the way down on the rear deck. It would have been a disaster!
Anyway, 15 minutes later in my garage, and what do car guys to when it's raining? Try to fix cars, that's what!
Here is 1MeanZ's butt, as he's trying to diagnose my problem with Sean, (RealSlow RS?) giving technical support via cell phone.
Anyway, with that diagnostic info, I contacted Lon, (lonsal) at Top Down Solutions for advice. I suspected the the reverser switch as the culprit.
When I disassembled the pull down contraption it was obvious that the switch wasn't making contact with the motor. I attached it and everything works. I reassembled and reinstalled and nothing. The switched had pulled away again. I removed and disassembled again and noticed the plastic part that holds the switch was broken.
So I epoxied it together and waiting for it to cure and have my fingers crossed.
BTW, this is a replacement motor as described to me by lonsal.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
So uhhhh.... You suffered a cracked motor housing. GM 20160581 Dorman 747-001 Cheap cheap CHEAP on Ebay (starting at $28 O.B.O. with free shipping). Very common failure.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by Drew
So uhhhh.... You suffered a cracked motor housing. GM 20160581 Dorman 747-001 Cheap cheap CHEAP on Ebay (starting at $28 O.B.O. with free shipping). Very common failure.
Not the actual motor housing, although there is a crack in that. It's the other clear plastic bracket/housing/whatever that the reverser switch uses to to attach to it. Got a part number for that?
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Is the reversing switch not screwed to the clear plastic motor housing? Pretty sure there's only two clear plastic parts in the assembly, the housing and the nut. Been a year or two since I've had a pile of them torn apart, so maybe I'm confused.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by Drew
Is the reversing switch not screwed to the clear plastic motor housing? Pretty sure there's only two clear plastic parts in the assembly, the housing and the nut. Been a year or two since I've had a pile of them torn apart, so maybe I'm confused.
One more, the one that attaches the reversing switch.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by Drew
Is the reversing switch not screwed to the clear plastic motor housing? Pretty sure there's only two clear plastic parts in the assembly, the housing and the nut. Been a year or two since I've had a pile of them torn apart, so maybe I'm confused.
I don't see it in the diagram. I didn't see the part on Lon's site either. Well, that epoxy had better work.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
If you're talking about the cracked piece in this pic -
That's the housing, #9 in the diagram and the part numbers I referenced earlier. I suppose it could look like 2 or more pieces after it cracks apart, but normally it's once piece that snakes it's way around everything in the bottom half of the assembly.
This photo is all the parts from the bottom end. Just for fun, everything in this pic aside from the steel pieces and the motor is destroyed in one way or another too.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by Drew
If you're talking about the cracked piece in this pic -
That's the housing, #9 in the diagram and the part numbers I referenced earlier. I suppose it could look like 2 or more pieces after it cracks apart, but normally it's once piece that snakes it's way around everything in the bottom half of the assembly.
This photo is all the parts from the bottom end. Just for fun, everything in this pic aside from the steel pieces and the motor is destroyed in one way or another too.
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
It's hard to illustrate because your image is upside down and most people photo the piece from other angles... But if you look at this Ebay pic (Credit: Mdmuscle) you can see the two holes on the top right which are the two holes where your crack is.
In the image of the busted parts I posted, you can see the two holes at the bottom left corner, just hard to make it out because it was cracked just like yours and the broken piece fell off when I disassembled it. LOL
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Okay, gotcha!
According to Lon, if I have the aftermarket motor, (two flat sides), you can't use that housing, that's for the cylindrical GM motor only. You need to get this one with the motor already incorporated in the housing:
Re: 1987 IROC-Z convertible. Are 4 IROCs too many?
Originally Posted by chazman
Okay, gotcha!
According to Lon, if I have the aftermarket motor, (two flat sides), you can't use that housing, that's for the cylindrical GM motor only. You need to get this one with the motor already incorporated in the housing
Beats me. I've always been able to find the pieces I need from a donor car, so I've never had to mess with the aftermarket motors. But just from looking at how the replacement motors come with the housing, and the housing/motor isn't the same as the OE setup, yeah, they don't interchange. You would need to replace the motor and housing in that case. I've never seen the factory motor fail, just lots of broken housings, a couple stripped gear nuts, a broken switch.
Given the mileage on the car, I'd be really tempted to find a correct date coded motor and restore it to original, rather than using a substitute setup.
People need to stop slamming thirdgen trunks and hatches! Push it down slowly and carefully until it clicks, and the motor does the rest. It's awesome. Slamming is barbaric!
01-21-2018, 07:51 AM
Why didn't I warrant a quote Stu? 
I mentioned the frost plug possibility all the way back in #210. 
