Assorted ramblings and bolt-ons with Daniel and George

[tlc1976]

Wow I guess I?ve been lucky. 3 engine swaps and always torqued them to spec and never had a problem.

[Duke George V]

Bad news lads! I'm an absolutely clumsy fucking clown who probably shouldn't be allowed near a car again.

So as I said in an earlier post, I am having issues with the torque converter bolts. Or bolt, as it were. The issue being, the last one of three that's still present is backing out. Since the yellow sedan is, uh, inconsistent during the summer, keeping George on the road is a priority, so I've been tightening the one bolt daily. On Thursday, this all went wrong. I did not position the jack correctly, and the car fell off the jack. Damage report:
?Snapped off the fan shroud. No big, just a trip to the yard.
?Snapped the oil pressure sender in half. A little more concerning, but since it didn't damage the block, and the computer doesn't seem to care, I am less worried than I am about...
?Snapped the solenoid off the starter. Slightly bigger problem. Just fucking destroyed it.









On the bright side, I've been meaning to change the starter anyway, since it sometimes hangs up in the way a failing starter does. I wanted to upgrade to a high torque unit for, say, the Malibu the engine came from, but there was something like a $70 price difference, so I just went with a stock replacement. Having the starter out also meant I could access the flexplate and replace the lost torque converter bolts. WITH THREAD LOCKER THIS TIME YOU ASSHOLE. All's well that ends well, as they say.

[Keiths1976]

Mines from the junked 3.5 lx9 lol

[Duke George V]

Finally chased down this goddamn misfire in the wagon. Parts replaced:
-7x crank sensor
-Ignition module
-ignition coils
-spark plug wires
-spark plugs
Basically the whole ignition system...except #6 plug. It's cross threaded. Past Daniel jammed that fucker in there without a care in the world. It will probably pull the threads out of the head, so I'll take it to a shop to have it helicoiled, eventually.

[Pontiac6ksteawd]

Same plug on my 3400 in my Aztek. And the dealer installed it that way. I got lucky, it didnt pull the threads out on the last tune up, but I bet it will on the next one.

[papawhellie]

I feel your pain. Most of us real Americans live this way. Current for me:
88 cutlass cruiser still waiting on new struts, brakes, rotors etc. fan running 24-7 cause I have not time or opportunity to repair/troubleshoot/fix.
83 diesel toy pu starter died, diesel from pump leak killed it
95 f250 7.3 long process to install fuel upgrade 800 in parts
84 6.9 diesel still in rehab
Running
69 f250
91 Camry
97 Saturn coupe
Various motorcycles
No AC average ga temp 95 but who cares
The olds cruisees as well

[Duke George V]

I went ahead and spent some money on some parts I definitely don't need for a car that doesn't deserve it. Ported upper intake, LX5 65 mm throttle body and adapter, and linkage bracket to match. From WOT-Tech, one of two suppliers of Chevy V6 parts that I know of. When combined with the headers I found at the yard last year, these parts should hopefully wake this engine up to its true performance potential.

3100 for the sleeper aspect, and the vacuum ports I need.


LX5 throttle body.


Big mouth.


Modified linkage. It looks like the modification is to accommodate the adapter plate's thickness?


The linkage is different from the LA1 throttle body I'm running. I settled on cables from a Lumina, and Milzy swapped the linkage out for me to match. According to Ben at WOT, the linkage is non-serviceable on this TB, so I will need a new cruise cable to match it. Good thing there's a yard just up the street.


With this, I might even be able to dip into the 16s in the quarter mile!

[Duke George V]

Howdy denizens of a-body.net! I haven't posted in a long time here, largely because I've been working on other non-A-body projects, like an engine replacement in a $500 Dodge Ram and the rehabilitation of a free Cavalier.

Today's misadventures involve the fuel pressure regulator on the wagon. I've been having extended cranking times when cold. If I cycle the key 4 or 5 times, it starts fine. Says FPR to me. Let's get started.



The regulator is easily accessible on this car. Unlike newer cars with returnless fuel systems, the regulator is attached to the fuel rail.


Intake tube off.



Throttle body off.


The fitting on the bottom is L A R G E. The small screw on the side that I did not take a photo of is a T27.


Out.



Installation is the reverse of removal.


I will find out if this fixes the issue for sure tomorrow morning.

[tlc1976]

On at least 2 different a bodies when I had extended crank times, it was at the pigtail to the fuel pump relay. A wire broken inside the insulation. Both cars broken the exact same way.

But I see you cycle the key and no go so it probably can?t be that.

When I got my Cruiser there were a lot of oddities. FPR was not holding pressure. But also the fuel pump hose connector was loose.

Hope what you did fixes it.

Looks like a nice day in your neck of the woods. It?s 33f and snowing here. Going to be awhile till I take my Cruiser out.

[Keiths1976]

Daniel saw your post on Fb man I hope you resolve all that BS....

[Duke George V]

Daniel saw your post on Fb man I hope you resolve all that BS....

I don't know if I will be able to. My wife had a similar problem a few years ago, and Facebook essentially told her that she was a liar, and she needed to make a new account.

In other news, the repair worked a treat. Right up until it nearly burned the car down with me in it.

I took it out this morning to go to the yard in Henderson and noticed a pretty heavy fuel smell. Pulled off the highway, and I was greeted with a gushing of fuel from the engine bay. It was coming from the fuel pressure regulator, which I had not fully seated in the fuel rail. It popped in neatly and stopped leaking. I could have killed myself. I lost over six gallons of fuel.

It's me. I am both the Worst Mechanic and the Customer That States.

[Duke George V]

Gentlemen.





Shit's about to get serious.

[6000 SSEi]

Where is that goin?

[Duke George V]

Where is that goin?

Wagon engine. I had planned to buy another LX9, which I can get locally for about $300, and build that one, then swap it at my leisure. That plan has recently become a necessity.



This morning I was traveling at perfectly safe and legal speeds and totally not playing with a Fiesta on the highway when I glanced in my mirror and saw smoke billowing from the back of my car. Given the fact that I have been mercilessly beating on this junkyard engine for over 50k miles without once cracking it open, it's not really surprising that it's now burning oil prodigiously at WOT. Shown above is my rear bumper with oil splattered all over it. The rear window was moist as well. So now I NEED to get another engine. Good news is, it doesn't appear to be smoking much, if at all, at idle or under light to moderate load. So I should still be able to pass emissions before my registration is up in June.

[Duke George V]

Truck doing truck things.


The little engine that couldn't.


It's the correct one.


Unfortunately for me, the car this engine came from was in a crash, and the yard I bought it from said that they typically don't get the key when they come in like that, so I have no idea how many miles are on it. However, I will be tearing it down this time, if only for the cam install.