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Organized Drag Racing and AutocrossDrag racing and autocross discussions and questions. Techniques, tips, suggestions, and "what will I run?" questions.
What are the consequences to completely removing the EGR valve and the temp sensor?
IMO, no consequences for the EGR except for smog test depending on your jurisdiction. Mine requires a visual inspection, so I installed a fake EGR and left the solenoid and vacuum lines in place. You need to have the EGR disabled in your tune. What temp sensor are you talking about? If it's the CTS or MAT the answer is no. It is fundamental for your tune to work properly.
Can I just get rid of this whole system under the intake and replace it with a block off plate?
Yes. I made a custom block off plate back when I had the OEM intake. No inspection was required back then. You can buy one with a gasket https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/87-...ff-delete-kit/. Make sure the vacuum port or line is blocked off as well.
Could I then get this code removed when I have the car tuned?
Yes. Here's how I did mine. Just an example.
Decided to remove the EGR valve and make my own little block off plate instead of the spending the $20-30 for the ones I found online. I kept the connectors tied neatly out of the way in case I ever need them in the future.
After that was finished, I could start putting together my Super Ram intake. This thing sure looks cool and will definitely perform well, but man it has so many different fasteners and seals required to make it work! And of course, everything threads into aluminum so I've spent a lot of time re-tapping holes or going to the next size up on threads that are already stripped. Most of the fasteners are a through hole into the plenum as well so everything requires thread sealant. I hope I don't have to take this thing apart again any time soon!
Quick update for tonight. My intake is on for good (hopefully!) so I gave the throttle body a quick clean up and stuck it on as well:
All of the vacuum ports on it were plugged when I took the car apart, and I would like to get them all functioning again, but for now I'm going to keep it as-is just to get the car started.
I then spent a little while getting my serpentine belt sorted. For those new to my thread, I'm retrofitting a serpentine system to my car from a later third-gen and have been taking a while getting all the small bolts and brackets together. I think I finally have it together though, and decided to put a small idler pulley in between the crankshaft and the AC compressor where to AIR pump would normally be. I bought an AIR delete kit from Hawks, but the pulley it came with was pretty big and had ribs for the inside of the belt, so I bought a new smooth idler pulley from Advance and swapped that out instead because I wanted it to ride on the outside of the belt. I think it should help keep the belt stable when I'm on the track with sustained RPM since it's a pretty long, straight shot from the crank to the compressor with no support otherwise. After a bunch of tries I settled on a 96.8" belt and it fits like a glove.
The pulley that comes with the Hawks kit, and my new one on the right (well, the box at least):
New pulley installed:
Clearance from tensioner pulley to water pump pulley looks good:
A really like to clean look of the serpentine system over the old v-belt. Hopefully it runs nice and quiet!
I'm getting very close to firing up the car for the first time in a couple of years, just tracking down some last minute little things and wrapping up some loose ends. Hopefully next post I'll have a running car!
Last edited by garage_engineer; 12-15-2019 at 07:27 PM.
I finally got through my "before first fire up" checklist and was able to turn the key a few days ago. It certainly didn't start on the first try though. I changed and updated so many things I knew it would be a miracle if it fired up first try, but I was just relieved that nothing major went wrong.
The first issue I ran into was my starter was dead. I first checked to make sure it was getting full power from the battery, and then also getting a full 12V on the exciter wire when they key was in the start position. With that confirmed, I took the starter off and tested it on the bench and sure enough it was dead. Luckily I have a guy in town that rebuilds starters and alternators and he was able to turn it around for my in about a day. He said some oil had gotten inside it and turned into sludge and a lot of the contacts were corroded. Makes sense since it was sitting on the shelf for 2 years. Here is a pic of the bench test:
After I got that figured out, my fuel pump was not priming with the key in the RUN position so I couldn't set the fuel pressure. I installed a new fuel pressure regulator so I really wanted to check this before I started the car. So, I first tested the relay and it seemed to only work when it wanted to so I replaced it with a new one and the fuel pump primed right up.
Testing the relay:
Setting fuel pressure... I set mine to 44psi before starting the engine.
Lastly I swapped the 2 year old gas I had sitting in the tank for some fresh 93 using my transfer pump:
At first the engine turned over fine but wouldn't catch, so I played with the distributor a bit and got it to fire up! Hopefully this video works:
Even though it fired up, it was having trouble idling. I tried checking the timing with the tan connector over the AC box disconnected, but it was all over the place. I also checked it with the A and B pins in the connector under the dash shorted but that didn't help either. I need to look into that as a really wanted to get my base timing dialed in.
I also noticed a slow coolant leak out of the back of the intake, which means I possible could have a big vacuum leak as well. This could definitely explain the rough idle, so looks like I may be taking my intake apart again to check that out.
Other than that, super pumped to have a running car and that nothing blew up!
Last edited by garage_engineer; 12-30-2019 at 09:10 PM.
nice job dude!, that indeed is a big milestone. yes, if you are seeing coolant, the whole intake might be coming off again. to test for a vacuum leak, a trick i have used is to have the engine running, and take a can of starting fluid and spray it at areas around the intake. if the engine revvs up, its because the vacuum leak sucked in the starting fluid, and combusted it. its worth a try.
nice job dude!, that indeed is a big milestone. yes, if you are seeing coolant, the whole intake might be coming off again. to test for a vacuum leak, a trick i have used is to have the engine running, and take a can of starting fluid and spray it at areas around the intake. if the engine revvs up, its because the vacuum leak sucked in the starting fluid, and combusted it. its worth a try.
Yes i am going to do a similar test to look for other vacuum leaks before I take the intake apart so I know if there are other areas to focus on. Hopefully its just that one spot...
Quick question that I will post in the electrical section but just seeing if someone that follows this thread could help me out as well:
I'm trying to identify which one of these connectors is for the backup lights on my T56. I must have removed my tape label from both and they both seem to fit the connector on the trans. I tried powering them both up with 12V from the battery with the key in the run position to turn the lights on but did not have any success. I'm pretty sure one if the for the EGR valve that I removed. My Haynes manual says the wire should be Lt Blue if I remember correctly (I dont have it with me) which looks like it could be either. Any help would be awesome!
I don't know about Camaro but the reverse lights go through C100 connector (near booster) on my 89 Firebird, and the wires run down the driver side sill panel to the rear of the car.
Quick question that I will post in the electrical section but just seeing if someone that follows this thread could help me out as well:
I'm trying to identify which one of these connectors is for the backup lights on my T56. I must have removed my tape label from both and they both seem to fit the connector on the trans. I tried powering them both up with 12V from the battery with the key in the run position to turn the lights on but did not have any success. I'm pretty sure one if the for the EGR valve that I removed. My Haynes manual says the wire should be Lt Blue if I remember correctly (I dont have it with me) which looks like it could be either. Any help would be awesome!
The stock wires for a T5 transmission should be light blue and light green for the reverse light switch if I remember correctly.
I don't know about Camaro but the reverse lights go through C100 connector (near booster) on my 89 Firebird, and the wires run down the driver side sill panel to the rear of the car.
Originally Posted by scooter
The stock wires for a T5 transmission should be light blue and light green for the reverse light switch if I remember correctly.
Thanks for the responses guys, it actually ended up being neither of these connectors! My car was originally and automatic so when the previous owner put in the T56 he hacked together a connector that drops down through the shifter hole to the transmission. On an auto, there is a switch on the shifter to engage the reverse lights unlike a manual where the switch is on the transmission. All better now!
Intake manifold is back apart so I can find that coolant leak. Turns out it was coming through the threads from one of the bolts that holds the runners to the base. This bolt passes into the coolant crossover in the back of the intake and I didn't have any thread sealant on the threads. Not too bad, I was worried the whole base was going to have to come back off! Now I just need to order another set of gaskets from Lingenfelter for $50 since they got ruined when I took the runners off.
Intake back apart:
Leakpath:
Since I had my intake apart I gave everything a fresh coat of paint since it had gotten pretty scratched up with all the parts getting installed around it. I used an engine enamel this time so hopefully it should hold up a little better:
I was able to also pick up my brake calipers from the painter who did a great job laying down some red:
I went to install my rear calipers and ran into a bit of trouble though. (I have Delco-Moraine rear calipers.) I COULD NOT get the piston to go back into the caliper. I tried using the little rotation cube made by Lisle that you get at the auto parts store but it just kept slipping off of the piston. Has anyone else tried using this little tool? I hadn't tried it before and I am not sure how much resistance the piston should put up from rotation. Should it be easy to rotate?? I also tried using a c-clamp and a disc brake spreader tool and couldn't get it to budge.
So, I decided to take the caliper apart to see if I could find anything. I really should be starting with fresh calipers if I am going to be tracking the car anyway but this wasn't a job I was planning on tackling. Getting them apart was pretty straightforward using some compressed air to get the piston out. I think the cylinders themselves might be pitted however. DOES THIS LOOK PITTED OR IS THIS NORMAL WEAR? Sorry for the crappy pics...
If they are not pitted, I will get a rebuild kit and save them for now. (I think there is a "recall" kit to use here so I will look that one up.) This was my original plan, as I plan on upgrading the whole rear axle at some point and would do it then.
If they are pitted and are scrap, I guess my options are to buy new calipers from the parts store (about $50 each so not too bad) or upgrade now. If I upgrade now, are there any options that don't require too many modifications? Can I keep my same parking brake cables? Sounds like I have a bit of searching to do...
Decided to move forward with rebuilding the rear calipers. Yes, it would have been nice to upgrade, but I'm picking my battles here with balancing budget and getting the car done and driving. I used the proper "recall" rebuild kit so these should serve me well until I am ready to upgrade the whole rear axle, at which point I will do the brakes as well. A few pics from the rebuild:
Cool vintage box the rebuild kit comes in:
Rebuild was pretty straight forward if you just take it step by step:
Ready to go back on the car:
While my intake is apart (and waiting on new Super Ram gaskets from Lingenfelter), I rebuilt my throttle body as well:
Disassembled:
Cleaned and ready for paint:
I love it when stuff is clean and freshly painted! Re-assembly is the best part!
Next I figured out my reverse light situation... the previous owner that swapped in the T56 modified a 4-pin connector to fit on the 2-pin switch (after chipping away a lot of the plastic shroud.) It worked, I guess, but I soldered on a new, proper connector to go with my new reverse light switch:
I'm currently working on getting my new wheels and tires stuffed into the front fenders (18x10.5" wheels with a 315/30 tire). Almost done and should have lots of info in my next post!
OK here's my update for tonight. I am not yet finished with fitting my wheels under the fenders front and rear, so I will save that info for now and do a complete post on the process once I'm done.
In the meantime, I got to work putting my front bumper support and bumper cover back on the car. This was a huge relief to get this back on the car so that it not only started to look like a car again, but that I could get it off my garage floor!
Once that was complete, I double checked my headlights were working and ran into some issues. Throughout this project, I have gotten much better at electrical troubleshooting and being able to systematically work through electrical systems to find the problem. This really tested my skills however! First, nothing worked when I pulled the switch. I was able to track this down to a bad headlight dimmer switch on the column (the one that switches between low and high beams) by by-passing the switch altogether and confirming the headlights came on. So, drop the column and install a new switch:
Then, only one light was working. Then both would work. Then just the other one. I tracked this down to a bad ground, after confirming that both lights were getting power and they would both work if I grounded them right to the battery with a jumper wire. So, fixed that and now I had headlights:
Lastly, none of my parking lights were working. Turned out one of them had a bad socket and one had a bad bulb, so all is good now with the lights! By the way... I have an older HID kit on my car and while I like the looks of the clear lenses, I don't like to blue bulbs. If anyone has a suggestion for a whiter bulb I can use, I'm all ears!
Next I re-installed my intake with its fresh new paint job. I had been waiting around for a new set of runner to base gaskets from Lingenfelter as they are on backorder. I lost patience and ordered a set of Edelbrock gaskets for their high-flow TPI intake they fit pretty well with just a bit of trimming.
Once the intake was back in, I could get started on making custom spark plug wires. I personally don't like it when spark plug wires are too long and hang all over the place in an engine bay, so this is a project I was looking forward to taking on. Here is what I used:
The MSD kit was really nice, and came with everything you needed to make the wires, including the tool to strip the right amount of insulation and then crimp the terminals in your vice. There are extra terminals and boots included as well in case you mess one up. I ended up using the double crimp style terminal, but they also include the old school single crimp style:
The first couple of wires went a little slow, as I struggled a bit with figuring out where to strip the wires so they ended up in the right place. Once I got the hang of it though, I had my little assembly area set up and I was cranking them out!
Here is the final look. I'm super happy with how clean it looks! I wasn't sure if the red was going to be too much, but I think it adds just the right amount of color to the engine bay.
Last edited by garage_engineer; 02-19-2020 at 07:26 PM.
nice work! thats a good update. I also am a fan of neat and orderly spark plug wires. I have used that same exact kit you used to make wires for my old engine setup. I enjoyed making the wires, and I decided to run them underneath the headers. the painted intake looks good too. nice work
I just put my front nose and chin on a few days ago. was a nice feeling to see the car looking "normal" again. the sides of the chin weren't staying tight tot he fronts of the fenders so I had to use some adhesive to get everything to sit flush. made a mess, but its holding tight. how did you do with yours?
Not sure on the brand actually... they are part of an older HID kit that was one the car when I bought. I agree though, I like the clear glass lenses rather than the older sealed beam look. Makes the car look more modern.
Big update for tonight on all the work it took to get my wheels and tires to fit.
For reference, my wheels are 18x10.5" Weld S71s with a 6.6" backspace on all 4 corners. The tires are 315/30ZR18 BFG Rival S 1.5. I did my fitting with a small 1/4" thick spacer in the front.
EDIT: I also have C6 Z51 rotors on my car, which pushed the wheel/tire out the thickness of the rotor (I can take measurements if someone needs it.)
My ultimate goal is to be able to drive this car without any compromises... so not having to go around speed bumps, avoid railroad crossings or have a huge turning circle. I want to be able to toss the keys to someone and not have to give a long list of things to worry about. A big part of this is doing your homework when installing new wheels to make sure nothing is going to rub or worse... cut a tire! With all of the autocrossing and road racing I am planning on doing with this car, I spent a lot of time here massaging everything to make sure I don't have to worry about tire rubbing.
I will start with the fronts. I removed the sway bar, front springs and the bump stops so I could cycle the suspension through it's full travel.
Here is where I would like my ride height to be:
This is where I expect the suspension to be at full compression (maybe a bit higher):
In just moving the wheel straight up, there were 2 areas that needed to be addressed.
The first was rolling the fenders. There was no way around this. I considered using the old school wooden baseball bat method, but ended up finding a fender roller on Amazon for about $40 so I just on it. The tool turned out to be pretty nice and worked like a charm. The tape was my guide for the area I needed to roll.
Next I trimmed a bit of material away from the pinch weld where the outer and inner fenders come together. If the tire were to get up into the fender well, this edge would definitely puncture a tire. I tried to get some good pictures but it was tough:
After the vertical clearance was taken care of, I started turning the wheels lock to lock at different areas of the suspension travel (from full compression to full droop) and adding clearance or removing material where needed. All of the pictures below are from the passenger side so just mirror things for the driver's side (except the battery box, obviously).
Here is another look at the battery box interference from lying under the car:
And with the final cut made:
I don't currently have a welder, so once I get the car driving I'll have to find someone to weld up that corner with a little patch piece for me.
After, that things looked pretty good, so I painted to wheel wells and double checked everything:
The real test will come once I get out on the road but for now I'm pretty confident I've done my homework and will be OK. I'll post up the mods I did in the back next.
Last edited by garage_engineer; 03-20-2020 at 06:47 AM.
thats awesome. props to you for going with a tire that wide up front. looks like a bunch of work. nice job
you found a fender roller for $40 on amazon?!?! I just searched and saw that. WOW!! last time I checked (a few years ago) they were like $300 !! I need to do my rear fenders, I may end up buying one then if you say it worked well enough.
thats awesome. props to you for going with a tire that wide up front. looks like a bunch of work. nice job
you found a fender roller for $40 on amazon?!?! I just searched and saw that. WOW!! last time I checked (a few years ago) they were like $300 !! I need to do my rear fenders, I may end up buying one then if you say it worked well enough.
You will definitely need a roller for the rear, as the fender lip is two layers of metal and takes quite a bit of force to roll them. I got away with no relief cuts on one side but had to put a couple on the other side to get it up out of the way far enough.
Kudos for the effort in documenting all the mods. That is what makes this forum great!
Originally Posted by skinny z
X2
No problem guys, I have gotten so much information from this site I feel the least I can do is document some of my troubles so I can help someone else out in the future.
I will write up the steps it took to fit the wheels in the rear and then post that here as well. Once that is done, I will combine both the posts and put it over in the Wheel and Tire section so it might help some more people.
OK I am frantically searching this forum for help (so don't flame me!) but I thought I would post here as well in case someone following this thread can help me!
I can't get my engine to start. It will turn over but will not catch (or even try to catch). No backfiring or anything, the starter just turns it over and nothing happens. The engine has a TPI Super Ram intake if you are newer to this thread.
Here is what I know and have checked so far:
- I had the engine running about a month ago (although it wouldn't really idle). I had to take the intake back apart though because I forgot to add thread sealant to one of the runner bolts resulting in a small coolant leak.
- Since I took it apart, I rebuilt and painted the throttle body, I added a new cap, rotor and ignition control module (ICM) to the distributor and made new plug wires. I also triple checked my top dead center and noticed it was off by a bit, so I re-marked my balancer and installed the distributor at 6deg advanced.
Yesterday....
- I confirmed I am getting spark by grounding a spark plug against the block while someone turned the engine over. (I tried this on 1 spark plug)
- I can get spark by hooking up my timing light while the engine is being turned over.
- When i removed a spark plug from either bank (I did 1 and 2), they smell like gas (does this confirm my injectors are firing?)
Sorry this is not a ton of info but feel free to ask some questions and I can head out to the garage to perform some quick checks.
is it a blue/wite spark or a dull orange spark ? check a few other plugs. actually check the coil wire. I bought one of these little testers last spring when i was having ignition issues. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
if you are getting fuel, thats good but maybe the injectors arent pulsing and just spraying? can be checked with a NOID light, usually you can rent them form an autoparts store.
maybe, try getting it to start on just starting fluid/ether. unplug the fuel pump's fuse and spray some starting fluid int here just to see if you get a few cylinders to fire.
if you are sure you are getting spark,t hat eliminated a lot of things ignition related. I followed a very handy ignition troubleshooting guide last year that was helpful.. it might be worth a few minutes to look it over just to ensure that you are getting proper spark and all ignition components are working in harmony. https://easyautodiagnostics.com/gm/4...ed-icm-tests-1
is it a blue/wite spark or a dull orange spark ? check a few other plugs. actually check the coil wire. I bought one of these little testers last spring when i was having ignition issues. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
if you are getting fuel, thats good but maybe the injectors arent pulsing and just spraying? can be checked with a NOID light, usually you can rent them form an autoparts store.
maybe, try getting it to start on just starting fluid/ether. unplug the fuel pump's fuse and spray some starting fluid int here just to see if you get a few cylinders to fire.
if you are sure you are getting spark,t hat eliminated a lot of things ignition related. I followed a very handy ignition troubleshooting guide last year that was helpful.. it might be worth a few minutes to look it over just to ensure that you are getting proper spark and all ignition components are working in harmony. https://easyautodiagnostics.com/gm/4...ed-icm-tests-1
The spark looked pretty strong to me but I just ordered a spark plug tester to make sure, thanks for the tip. I also was looking at the same ignition article yesterday and it helped a bunch... I actually ended replacing my new ICM with my old one because it was acting weird.
I will pick up a rental NOID tester while I am at the store tonight and check the injectors are firing correctly.
OK quick update from tonight. I was able to rent a noid light from the local store. I plugged it into one of my injectors and nothing happened when I cranked the engine over. I looked up some troubleshooting guides on fuel injectors and started following the steps...
I verified I had a positive 12V with the key ON at both terminals of the injector socket by grounding each one with a test light. So, they have power.
Next, the injectors need a pulse signal from the ICM. To test this, apparently you need to pull the 4-pin connector off of the distributor and apply 12V to the terminal with the purple and white wire and see if the noid light comes on. It did not.
The trouble shooting guide then says to unplug the TPS and try applying the same 12V to the purple/white terminal. This time the noid light lit up. According to the troubleshooting guide, I need to replace my TPS.
This is where I stopped... does this seem logical to anyone? I replaced my TPS but also rebuilt the whole throttle body and did perform any learning procedures. If this seems reasonable (or if I should just replace my TPS)… I'm all ears!
nice work with the troubleshooting. unfortunately my experience/expertise/ advice can only go that for for now. I don't want to just "guess" as to whether or not your TPS might be the root of the problem. It certainly might, but I couldn't tell ya for sure. I do hope someone more knowledgeable will chime-in and help you though. I know you want to get things moving along and have the car driveable soon, so best of luck. I'll keep tuning in to the thread to follow and help when I can, but as for TPS troubleshooting, I am clueless.
nice work with the troubleshooting. unfortunately my experience/expertise/ advice can only go that for for now. I don't want to just "guess" as to whether or not your TPS might be the root of the problem. It certainly might, but I couldn't tell ya for sure. I do hope someone more knowledgeable will chime-in and help you though. I know you want to get things moving along and have the car driveable soon, so best of luck. I'll keep tuning in to the thread to follow and help when I can, but as for TPS troubleshooting, I am clueless.
I am learning as I go as well. Even though it is frustrating at times, when I look back after its all done, these situations force me to learn more about the car and how it works and I actually enjoy that part of it.
Update from last night:
I was able to get the car to start for a few seconds by spraying starter fluid in the intake manifold. That gave me some hope that I was on the right track!
I then started looking closer at my TPS and started noticing some strange things. When I first probed the middle B pin with my voltmeter, it was pegged at 4.64V volts. Looking a bit closer, the arm was stuck at the WOT position:
I don't think I am missing a spacer or a washer between the sensor and the throttle body, so what may be happening is the paint I applied on the throttle body took up whatever little clearance was there. If you look closely in that area you can see the paint scraped off.
So I brought the arm back up to the closed throttle position but could not get a solid output reading from it. I wasn't sure if this was a poor connection with the wire I had jammed in there or an actual bad sensor, so I pulled it off to do a resistance check on the bench. On the bench, I couldn't get any resistance reading from it which I thought was strange.... I also noticed the TPS had been modified with a grinder to remove the molded-in stops for the arm. Maybe with the bigger throttle body these stops were not allowing it to get to WOT?
I am currently calling around to see which car stores are still open to get a new TPS! (We are in shut down mode here in MA)
I bought a new TPS and confirmed on my bench that it was responding properly, the other one I took off was just dead. It took a bit of work to get it to fit though with my Holley throttle body.
When I first went to install it, you can see below that one area of the plastic was hitting the throttle body and not letting the sensor fully seat:
This explains why the old sensor had a lot of material removed:
Once I had it modified, I installed it and set it to the correct 0.54V for closed throttle:
After that, it tried to catch and finally started up after I played with the timing a bit! Didn't get a video though I was by myself so I was frantically checking for leaks and trying to set the timing.
Now, a couple more problems have surfaced where I'd be interested in any input:
1. Setting my timing - When I got the engine to idling consistently, I went to check my timing and my light read 37 deg advanced! Is this even possible? I had the small connector above the AC box disconnected so any insights here would be appreciated. I will start doing my own search again as well.
2. When I had the engine idling, I also wanted to check that my clutch was working correctly. So, with the back wheels off the ground I let the clutch out and they started to spin, which was great. However, my clutch pedal is now super firm. As in, I can't get it to the firewall and something is really wrong. This is a T56 with an new SPEC stage 2 LT1 clutch and flywheel. The master cylinder in new and I did the adjustable pedal modification so not sure what is going on here. I will start with checking my clutch fork but any tips here would be awesome! I want to get this thing rolling!
OK I've been doing more working than posting lately but lots of progress is being made! I need some quick help though with identifying some wires.
What do these wires go to? They come from behind the engine... two large red wires combine into one with a fuse looking thing? There are 2 vacuum lines as well. I know one goes to the heater valve but not sure on the other. Thanks in advance for the help! I'll have some big update posts coming up.
Here is a better shot of the end of the red wire... looks like some sort of a fuse?
And this is the small harness the red wires hook up to. I don't think this was hooked up to anything when I took the car apart a couple years ago, or at least I forgot to note anything.
Alright I'm back since my last post. Sorry for the delay but I have making a bunch of good progress on the car.
In one of my last posts, I mentioned that after I got the car started, my clutch pedal was very stiff. It was so stiff actually that I snapped the rod going from the clutch master cylinder to the pedal. I was not happy when this happened! As with most cars the car is pretty much built around the master cylinder so I wasn't looking forward to taking everything apart that I had just put together. The show must go on though so I took off the brake master cylinder, the booster and everything else that needed to come off to get at the master cylinder. One positive though is I took the opportunity to upgrade a Tilton adjustable master cylinder. This helps a lot on these third gen cars retrofitted with LT1 T56s, as the stock 4th gen hydraulics bolt right up, but leads to clutch engagement really high in the pedal travel. I really didn't like this feeling and it made it hard to shift quickly, so this should be a nice upgrade.
Tilton adjustable master cylinder kit from Hawks Motorsports:
Bleeding the master cylinder before installing in the car:
One thing I did to make the installation 1000% easier was replace the bolts that come with the kit with studs. I struggled for a LONG time trying to line up the master cylinder in the engine bay and then thread the 2 bolts in from under the dash... talk about a frustrating experience! The studs made this so much easier because I could place the master cylinder in place with the studs through the firewall and then go underneath the dash and thread on the nuts. Worked liked a charm! I also needed to grind down the bolt holding the master cylinder to the bracket as it sat a bit proud on the mounting surface preventing the bracket from sitting flush on the firewall. You can see the grinding marks in the picture here:
Once I got the clutch master cylinder back installed, I devastated to still find a rock hard pedal. This meant something was wrong with the actual clutch. So, out came the transmission. What I found was my throw out bearing seized to my clutch disk and the throwout bearing was actually cracked:
It turns out I had my clutch disk in backwards, so instead of having clearance between the disk and the throwout bearing (which is what should happen), the disk was interfering with the bearing and eventually seized itself on there shortly after I started the engine..
The problem wasn't that I installed it incorrectly, but the sticker saying "FW SIDE" was on the wrong side of the disk! I found this out by comparing my old clutch disk to my now useless one:
So, I ended up getting a new disk and a new throwout bearing and, this time installing everything correctly, it should be working OK now. Just a pain in the rear to have to go so far backwards on the project! Now I can get back on my regular to-do list.
Last edited by garage_engineer; 05-10-2020 at 10:04 PM.
Next up was cleaning up the spaghetti mess that was my brake lines. I am running a Wilwood proportioning valve, which requires different threads than the stock third gen lines. My plan was to re-bend the stock lines to mate up with the proportioning valve and then use an adapter to convert from a metric to a standard flare:
I was able to get them reasonably organized, but in the end they were just too stiff and too long for what I needed. I ended up kinking one which was the nail in the coffin for these stock lines. And so began the rabbit hole of bending up custom brake lines... little did I know this would be one of the most challenging parts of this whole project!
I bought some standard steel brake line from my local auto parts store and a couple of different bending tools:
I first made some templates using an old metal clothes hanger and then tried to match it as close as I could in the real brake lines. This took me many tries to get right, but once I got used to the bending tools I got the hang of it. The lines definitely are not perfect but they seal up OK and will get the job done:
I bled the whole system using ATE TYP 200 high temp DOT4 brake fluid. I've been using this for a while and really like it... I've never boiled and it's pretty cheap!
Next I made some custom spark plug wires using a kit from MSD:
Continued on the next post...
Last edited by garage_engineer; 05-13-2020 at 09:24 PM.
Lastly for tonight, I finally got my fresh set of front Koni shocks delivered so I could button up my front suspension. I paired those with some new caster/camber plates from UMI and a new set of bolts from Spohn. I've been trying to be good about using new bolts in critical areas wherever I can, like the strut bolts, control arms, etc. For those new to this thread, my control arms also have Delrin bushings and QA1 tall ball joints installed and my brakes are C6 Z51 13.4" rotors I installed using a kit from bigbrakeupgrade.com. I also upgraded to larger 1LE front bearings. There are certainly a lot of nicer parts out there like tubular control arms and expensive struts but I think my set up is a pretty good compromise of budget and performance. As I get better as a driver I can always upgrade later!
That's it for tonight, my updates soon. Getting close!
fantastic. I approve of all of it!. I did the brake line bending project this past winter as well. I used copper-nickle line. It is super suuuuper easy to bend and flare compared to stainless, but you did a nice job with the stainless. I also have done the MSD cut-your-own spark plug wires and that is fun too. It is nice to have wiring and plumbing nice and orderly and neat. good job
I also liek the UMi strut mounts. I have those too. they are great. I did have one of the studs that are on the lower monnt(the one that is in the wheel well) snap off on me, but it was probably because I over-tightened it. UMI sent me a new one out right away. that was great. The Koni yellows are awesome, I've got those too
Dude, you are getting there! this has got to feel good being in the home-stretch right?
OK I need to catch up on some updates! Last time I checked in I had a running engine but a TON of little loose ends to tie up.
I used my very limited fabrication skills to whip up some brackets for both my ignition coil and my heater diverter valve. For the coil, it's a very awkward and relatively heavy piece so it was tough to find a good spot for it. Like I've been trying to do with most things on this car, I wanted to keep it looking neat under the hood but not so neat that I can't access or work on things when I need to. So, I found a spot on the backside of the driver's side fenderwell and made a little bracket to hold the coil there. It took me a couple tries to get it right and it's definitely not perfect but I think it'll work.
Here is the coil:
The other very awkward thing I needed to make a bracket for was this heater control valve. Decided to mount it to the back of the AC compressor bracket. I'm not super happy with it and the fact that I had to use zip ties, but should hold up for now:
Last edited by garage_engineer; 06-04-2020 at 09:45 PM.
For my fan wiring, I wanted to keep the stock strategy of having one fan come on with the AC and the high temp switch while the other comes on with the low temp switch. Having installed a 180* thermostat I used 195* low temp fan switch. The problem is that on the front of my intake, I now had to have the temperature sender for the computer, the temperature for the gauge, the fan switch and also have a way to attach a heater hose to the diverter valve I showed in my last post. There are only 3 outlets on the front of the intake, so you do the math! I ended up using 2 of the ports for the computer and gauge senders, and then some plumbing tubing I picked up at Home Depot (I know, I know... not ideal!) to combine the fan switch and heater outlet. After I painted it black I don't think it looks too bad:
The radiator I am using comes from Cold Case and I picked up the matching shroud and dual fan setup. So far it looks like a nice piece, the only issue is the connectors on the fans. They look like the universal fan connectors you can get online but one of the pins is a bit offset, which forces you to by their matching fan wiring kit. I didn't want to do this, so for now I wired up some female terminal connectors that are working for the time being. The proper permanent solution will be cutting the connectors off of the fans and soldering if some different 2-pin connectors. I mounted my fan relays to the side of the radiator core support near the battery but can't find a picture!
My next little issue was a coolant leak coming from the back of my intake manifold that I could not figure out for the longest time. It turns out, one of the bolt holes for the TPI runners was leaking coolant. Now, this bolt hole is not supposed to thread into a coolant passage but it looks like at one point someone used too long of a bolt and cracked a hole in the bottom of the bolt hole. So after figuring that out, I put some thread sealant on the bolt threads, re-assembled the intake and thought I was good. Unfortunately though it didn't work... and I wasn't happy! I started the car back up and was greeted with a big puddle of coolant on the garage floor. Taking apart a Super Ram takes some time! The second time, I cleaned the threads out as good as I could with a tap, filled the bottom of the hole with a bit of grey RTV and then added a bit more grey RTV on the threads. This time, instead of installing the whole intake manifold, I rented a coolant system pressure checker so if it was going to leak, at least I wouldn't waste a day putting the intake back together. Luckily, the system held pressure over night and seems to be doing ok so far.
Last edited by garage_engineer; 06-04-2020 at 10:10 PM.
More updates! Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been using every minute I have to work on the car and get it ready for the UMI autocross at the end of the month.
The fix for my coolant leak seems to be holding up so that's good news. I've had the car running and up to temperature a couple of times and no sings of a leak yet. On to the next thing!
Next I started working on my exhaust system. My thought process for the exhaust was to re-use my old system, which was Hooker shorty headers, a y-pipe under the engine and then a single pipe back to a muffler with 2 tips. As I went to mock up the system, I ran into a big issue though.... the Summit road racing oil pan I had installed did not leave enough room between the front of the pan and the crossmember for my y-pipe. This was completely my fault, as I didn't think of this when I bought the pan. Lessons you learn when going through your first big car project.
So I figured I had 2 options... I could scrap the y-pipe and have a custom dual exhaust fabbed up for me OR I could install a new oil pan that would allow my y-pipe to fit. I took a look at doing the true dual exhaust and thought it would be very tricky with the transmission crossmember I have (Spohn I believe). Not an impossible job, but I could see it leading down a long road of custom fabrication, new trans crossmember and whatever else. So I decided to swap out my oil pan. In the end, I'm happy with this decision as it let me keep a nice clean exhaust system with good grand clearance and what should be plenty of flow for my little 350.
If you've ever swapped an oil pan on a third gen however, it's a big job! I dropped my k-member and pretty much had the whole car apart for what seems like the 10th time!
To replace my Summit pan, I went with the Canton road racing pan made specifically for third gen Camaros. It's a really nice piece, with trap doors to keep the oil in the sump and kick outs on the side to get more capacity as opposed to the kick out on the front on the Summit. I needed to grab a new oil pump and pickup to go with the pan as well. It came in a zinc finish, so of course I had to paint it black to match the rest of the parts on the car!
After I got the car back together I tied up a few more loose ends and it was off for an exhaust system and an alignment:
11-18-2019, 07:26 AM
I was by myself so I was frantically checking for leaks and trying to set the timing.
