Maintenance on my '94 z28 pic heavy [Archive]

Mrmaroon

09-29-2015, 12:20 AM

Heya guys. I'm going to log the stuff I've been working on with my new car. Maybe someone else will need to do what I am and find this.

I sold my old '00 3800 camaro that was my first car. I drove it for 10 years. I think it had 145k miles on it. It was a nice car to have, but I never wanted to upgrade it much since it was only a v-6.

I just bought a teal z28 M6 with 30k miles. I looked at the bill of sale and the previous owner put about 5k miles on it in 4 years. I am the third owner of the car.

I think all sitting and no driving has shrunk some of the seals. It had an oil leak from the intake manifold which I repaired. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/28/541fae0e01033d1cd3eb1c29aad29697.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/28/771277f7cf521b5cee7c7af24aa7d5ef.jpg The repair took me about a whole day. I went over everything dirty and replaced/fixed some things.

I changed oil and filter (castrol edge and K&N chevy truck filter). After the oil change it still leaked. The left side of the motor is wet beneath the exhaust manifold. I couldn't get a clear picture. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/28/dbe3fab7bfbc08a67d138a219ea4de19.jpgthe oil cooler assy is wet and my transmission too. Valve cover is dry. Tomorrow I'll check again. I wiped up the wet spots.

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Mrmaroon

09-29-2015, 12:37 AM

Every time I get started on one problem I end up getting side-tracked on another!

Today I wanted to try and find why it smells like gas in my car. I guessed I may have messed up hooking the fuel rail back in when I redid my intake gasket. I checked the connections and lifted the rail, I couldn't find anything. I'm thinking it's my charcoal canister. We've got a gas tank on the farm but it doesn't shut off sometime. It overflowed for a sec before I could shut it off. I'm going to have figure out where the canister even is!

After that I wanted to work in some cooling issues. The car runs around 225 in town. When it gets hot the oil leak smells really bad.

I used a hand pump and got the old coolant out if the radiator and overflow tank. Looking from the radiator neck the coolant looked green. Rusty sludge came out from the seal on the cap. I drained both flushed and refilled. Took the battery and overflow out. Here's a pic of the second overflow flush contents. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/28/4c2d85f4f355f72fb4be58682a79bb56.jpg I hope my engine isn't full of that!

My coolant low light also flickers constantly every two seconds. Here is why! http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/28/0c0b1523a702f3444eb1862f1a2068bc.jpg It is important to clean out the hole that the sensor goes into! It was full of this brown crap too!

I am afraid to do a full flush, my heater bleed valve is broken off right now. I bought this to replace it http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/28/ee306a88c5afcbd62f7793ce845c3e62.jpg
http://jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_Cooling_SightGlass.html

Afraid if I flush the system I won't be able to bleed the heater hoses. Pretty sure they are dry right now though. The heater doesn't work.

Tomorrow I'm gonna work on the heater core and oil leaks. Also I'm going to wire a manual fan switch. My PC won't let me flash a tune to the PCM. I've got a 160 T-stat in. Hopefully a switch will get me by until I can get it tuned.

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popo8

09-29-2015, 03:54 AM

Great write up man. To get the full potential of the colder thermostat u will need to lower the trigger temp for the fans.

As for it running hot in town, is ur air damn still in place under the nose of the car?

LTXtech.com IS my drug...

Mrmaroon

09-29-2015, 01:38 PM

Did some more investigation on the oil leaks. Fuck me it's the intake again. To the left of the oil pressure sender where the gap between the head and block are. There is a crack where the head gasket does t go all the way out. It is leaking from that area.

Couldn't get a clean shot of it
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/3bfbe359920f8ce1f0a60c04d98a46c7.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/2332ecaac3280ffd907e08d71f3a59f9.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/7a583dd4b9934deeb4725ce120b77de9.jpg

Guess the good news is I can probably redo it in an hour know that I know what I'm doing.

I'll try torquing the bolts again first. I used a lot of the "right stuff" and put it all around the "ears" of the gasket. I cleaned everything with degreaser.

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Mrmaroon

09-29-2015, 01:49 PM

As for it running hot in town, is ur air damn still in place under the nose

Yep it's on there. It gets the hottest sitting still. It runs 200 going 30mph or so. This has been on mostly 80-90 degree days. It's going to be in the 60's this week. I'll see if it changes.

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Dan

09-29-2015, 02:16 PM

I bought heater hoses for my 97 from gmpartsdirect. I think it was $150? I would drain the block. Pull out the knock sensor and the drain plug. Shbox.com has the locations for those. That's probably the original dexcool coolant and you can't mix it with other coolants otherwise it turns into a hard substance. Honestly, I blame all my cooling troubles on myself. I half-assed it hard and almost paid big for it. 99% of cooling system is new because I got cheap lol.

My car runs just past the 160 mark with my 160 thermostat. When I'm putting around school, I flip on low speed fans.

Sent from my Galaxy S6.

Mrmaroon

09-29-2015, 07:22 PM

Ok guys today I have been working on my manual fan switch. I am electrically challenged. I'm going off the shbox.com obd1 wiring diagram and I'm not going to use LED's

Here's what I've done so far.

I've spliced my green wire to the green and blue wires. My plug doesn't look like shbox's. I only have one not two.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/c3952a524773a4198877d69eac5c342b.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/eddb4b2caa95e070e8c8f293478f8a6f.jpg

Next I removed the PCM and routed the wires through the firewall grommet. I had to cut a little hole in the rubber for the wires. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/de12d53c3c61c95ea9a40d843d32fd5b.jpg

Now inside the car! I removed the glove box by taking out the bottom 3 hinge screws and bending the inside plastic of the box to remove it. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/41caf544fb15e00263ae5e8aa1bf5eb4.jpg

Next I took off the passenger side panel piece. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/16fbd9cfc6d1244242fe504a0e2ea45c.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/22a374c10bdc9dc9b017f8956fdb8cbb.jpg

After it was removed I found my wires. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/6dfc253987389143f5f864b2942e3eb1.jpg

I routed them under the glove box and into the cassette tray for now. It's an easy spot to work with right now. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/f6aa235dbd92ef4ff6a27f6ad9918dc9.jpg

Here is where I am stuck. . . I don't know much about electronics, so this probably sounds dumb - which wire would be the ground ? I'm guessing it's black. I found a nice thick black wire by the silver box to the right of the glove box. Would this one work? http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/56829d79bd3a7584cd6dfd1e4d657427.jpg

Also I grabbed the wrong switch. It's a DPDT switch, but it doesn't stay on by itself, you have to hold it there. I'll have to buy the right one some other time, but this one will work for now.

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Mrmaroon

09-29-2015, 09:20 PM

Holy cow it worked on the first try! I stuck my ground in the cigarette lighter to test it. Here is how I wired the switch.

The left two and bottom right are grounds. The top middle is high (blue) and bottom is low.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/29/fb46b47aaedc5961f30ba271318dd486.jpg

When it is on high do both fans run? It seems like I should run both high and low to one and just low on the other. My fans only have one speed I think.

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Dan

09-29-2015, 09:59 PM

With the 94, if I remember... it's one fan on low, both fans on high.

Sent from my Galaxy S6.

SSlowBoat

09-29-2015, 10:15 PM

With the 94, if I remember... it's one fan on low, both fans on high.

Sent from my Galaxy S6.
Correct, 94 had 2 relay architecture, later years had 3 relay architecture that had low,med,hi.

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popo8

09-30-2015, 09:00 AM

Yep it's on there. It gets the hottest sitting still. It runs 200 going 30mph or so. This has been on mostly 80-90 degree days. It's going to be in the 60's this week. I'll see if it changes.

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Is the 2nd fan coming on?

LTXtech.com IS my drug...

Mrmaroon

09-30-2015, 11:57 AM

Is the 2nd fan coming on?

LTXtech.com IS my drug...

Yes, but on data master it shows my coolant temp is around 225ish when this happens. With stock settings I think this is normal though?

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Dan

09-30-2015, 12:19 PM

Mrmaroon

10-01-2015, 02:06 PM

No. Depending on your thermostat, it should run 10-15 degrees warmer. My car runs at 170-175 with a 160 degree thermostat. With both fans on, it should be running around 190 if you have a 180 thermostat, and 170 if you have a 160.

You have a 160 thermostat right? It's a LT1 thermostat, not a small block chevy thermostat?

Sent from my Galaxy S6.

Yes it's the right kind. I did a test drive last night (low 60's instead of 95ish). I think the problem is that when it is hot the low fan can't keep up. Last night the low fan kicked on and it dropped it to the 200 range. I'll do a data log and compare it.

It only gets super hot going slow on asphalt. Like at a red light.

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Mrmaroon

10-07-2015, 11:04 AM

Well, I finally drained out the coolant and flushed the system. It seems to be running a lot better! My mission is fixing a ticking noise coming from my valve covers. I popped the cover
https://vimeo.com/141683319

This is definitely where the noise is coming from. The rocker arms I can move side to side a little and the pushrods move side to side too. I think this could be what is making the ticking noises. Is valvetrain ticking common on an LT1? It ticks the same wether it is cold or warm.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/07/1126f662e2ebcf5df1caf88b7f22dfb4.jpg

I welded this tab back to the valve cover thinking it could be causing the noise, but it didn't change anything.

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Camaro96

10-09-2015, 01:45 AM

I have it with roller rockers, but I didn't have the nose with stock rockers.

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SSlowBoat

10-09-2015, 06:33 AM

160 stat or not if the fans aren't tuned down the car will still get to stock temps.....

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SSlowBoat

10-09-2015, 06:33 AM

Sure the rockers aren't hitting the valve covers?

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Mrmaroon

10-20-2015, 06:00 PM

I've totally flushed the coolant and now it runs a lot better. It doesn't climb so quickly like it did. There was a ton of brown sludge in the coolant. I flushed it 5-6 times and put in 50-50. I put the 180 thermostat back in, the car is running to cool on the highway.

Ive been checking some other things on my car to see if I can find the problems. It feels like the car has a veeerrrry slight miss. It drives fine in all conditions, but at idle if you listen closely it sounds like a slight stumble. It doesn't happen with a consistent rhythm. I pulled off the fuel rail and cleaned the injectors. I reinstalled them and took the connectors off one at a time to see if the idle went wacky. When I took cylinder #3's connector off there was no change in idle. I think ive got a multi-meter somewhere, is there an easy way to test the connector without frying the PCM? I guess the important question is how bad is it to drive like this? I'm going to recheck the wires.

Mrmaroon

10-21-2015, 10:08 PM

I rechecked the wires running back and over the intake. I must have jiggled then right , because I could feel the injector start clicking. Also the idle changed when I unplugged cylinder 3.

After that I decided I would try and change some spark plugs! I bought some NGK TR-55's. I mainly wanted to check the condition of the #3 plug compared to the others. It did look different. It was a lot darker on the ground strap.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/21/6c33f3fe54bde081c76aa049231617fb.jpg

Here is #3 compared to #5
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/21/41f3d8b87948c15f14dfaaf3f80a789b.jpg

The restt I changed looked like #5. I didn't change 2 and 8. Luckily I have the worlds skinniest arms. I did it 1-3-5-7 4 and 6 from above.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/21/7953b024b1b62f1ce4d71e9aa19f9b4e.jpg

It got dark on me and I couldn't do the rest. Tomorrow I will do the others and change the wires. I went for a test drive and it sounds and drives A LOT better!

Interestingly the stock plugs AC-309 looked to be platinum tipped. On 3 of the plugs the platinum puck was missing on one or both ends. The gaps were .048 to 0.87 measured with a dial caliper.

I left the stock NGK plugs at .058 I may close then to .050

EDIT: These plugs are stock (pretty sure) at 32k miles on the car.

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Dan

10-21-2015, 10:12 PM

Mrmaroon

10-22-2015, 02:07 AM

Good to hear you potentially solved the cooling issue. I run NGK TR55 and they make a difference in the overall running of my car after my header install.

Doing plugs with stock manifolds? What are you spiderman? Get some headers if your state doesn't test emissions. I have XS-Power headers and spark plugs are stupid easy. New sponsor Huron Speed sells them :)

What did you gap your ngk plugs to? Yes I caught a lot of hell for having super small wrists in high school, but it does come in handy a lot fixing things!

I was actually going to wait for headers to do the plugs/wires, but the idle issue was bugging me and I figured it wouldn't hurt.

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Dan

10-22-2015, 02:12 AM

I ran stock gaps on the plugs. I think .50? I forgot now. I also did over the valve cover msd wires. Well worth it in my opinion. I burnt 3 wires routing them stock location with my shorties. Haven't burnt a single one yet. And if I do I have a backup set :D
34467
34468

Mrmaroon

10-22-2015, 04:44 PM

Thanks for warning me about plug #2! I had to Mygyver this device of extensions and converters to get the right size!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/22/aca5803ff3077d8ecd567266bd046497.jpg

It was easier going back in I had to twist my arm in front of the EGR Pipe and screw it in by hand.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/22/3396e26fa32b189fad925023eccef6fb.jpg

Plug #8 was about as hard as plug #7. I got it underneath. I managed to get all the plugs from underneath. Going to hold off on the wires. The passenger side looks like a bitch.

I've discovered two new problems. The first one is that my transmission mount is shot. That should be a pretty easy fix.

The second I'm not so sure about. I'm getting a VERY strong rotten egg smell in certain situations. It's either my cat or the battery. I found a receipt on the side of the battery and it said it was purchased in 2009 :(

The smell really happens bad when I'm headed down a steep >30 degrees incline. It smells like the car in front of me had Taco Bell meat put in with the gas! Only happens going downhill. I'll change the battery first.

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Dan

10-22-2015, 05:32 PM

It's a sign you should upgrade to some headers! I can do plugs in 15-20 minutes now. I have an install thread on here I wrote when Huron Speed became a sponsor.

Mrmaroon

11-03-2015, 12:01 PM

Thought I would post an update on what I've been doing lately.

I found and got rid of the tick! (Well, the loudest one.) I read about a million threads and convinced myself it was an exhaust leak, even though it sounded very metallic to me. The noise if I listened carefully was like one of those hand clapper things kids play with but very close together.

I tried spraying the manifold bolts for two or three days then tightened the exhaust manifolds as much as a could (1/4turn at most usually). This made no difference. I couldn't find any carbon leaks.

I watched the motor at night and saw the #7 plug boot guard was sparking. I changed the wires on the left side. #7 was a pain. But, like all things camaro once you find the right angle of attack it's all good! This made the car run better, but still the clicking was there.

Finally, I decided to pop the valve cover again. I took an extension and listened to the rocker studs. The very front rocker sounded different than the others. I looked at it and it was showing 3 threads while the others had 5. I was afraid I would mess it up trying to reset the lash so I tightened it to show 5 threads. PROBLEM SOLVED!

My car doesn't sound like a diesel anymore!

Now that that is finished here are the next things I'm going to do.

Change transmission mount.
Do right side plug wires.
I can still hear a small ticking that may be an exhaust leak.
I still think the idle sounds wrong, can't hear it in a video.
I need someone smarter than me to look at this data log and tell me if my left 02 is bad or if my left side is lean/rich for real.

The car had been driven a bit before that photo. This is also the only time in a log I've gotten an injector fault. It lasted 5 seconds. Didn't throw a code.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/03/7bf54a40755da857334832461ac73f31.jpg
The left o2 consistently reads with less range than the right. If it was equal to the other side either high or low I would think it was lean or rich, but it's always less on top and bottom of the graph. Hope that makes sense.

If it seems wrong I'll get an o2 sensor. This may be why I've got a funky idle. My BLMs are low at low MAF flow cells (121ish) and high at high flow cells (136ish). But pretty even on both sides. Don't want to have to buy random parts if I can avoid it right now.

Hopefully this helps someone with a ticking motor.

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Injuneer

11-03-2015, 02:17 PM

Can't learn much from a single frame of data - but see below.

It's idling right at the target idle speed. It's in the correct long term fuel correction cell, and the LTFT's are pulling about 5% of the fuel to correct for a mild rich condition. Anything 5% or less is within tolerance, and it's good that both sides are the same. Click on the red "DTC Err" box to see what the trouble codes are. The flag for "injector fault" is set, which should mean that at some point, DTC 18 for a faulty injector circuit set. Also see that the flag for "BLM Enabled" is not set, indicating it's probably not in closed loop. It should be with that CLT temp, both O2 sensors "ready" and more than 206 seconds run time.

Things that look OK:
-MAP and Barometer - What is the elevation above sea level where you are located.... looks like you might be at about 1,000-ft.
-MAF AFGS
-TPS closed voltage
-spark advance
-no knock retard
-system voltage
-IAC counts

Seems to be running a bit on the hot side... 223*F coolant.

Since you have a Datamaster log, do an "export as .csv" and send it to me (and I'm sure others here can look at it). You have to indicate which fields you want to export, and I can give you a list of my preferred items, and the order. You also have to select the first and last frames of the data, so that the system will export the entire data log. When it's available, you can e-mail it to me, or upload it to an FTP site where we can download it.

Mrmaroon

11-03-2015, 04:19 PM

Since you have a Datamaster log, do an "export as .csv" and send it to me (and I'm sure others here can look at it). You have to indicate which fields you want to export, and I can give you a list of my preferred items, and the order. You also have to select the first and last frames of the data, so that the system will export the entire data log. When it's available, you can e-mail it to me, or upload it to an FTP site where we can download it.

I can do that! If you can PM/post the fields that would be awesome. I'll do a new test run too. Should I drive it aggressively with some WOT? If I remember right the last time I flew the elevation around me is 600-800 feet.

EDIT: I looked over the log again. It looks like it switched the BLM Learn off when the injector fault happened. The injector fault follows the low O2 voltage reading on the graph. Fault goes away once the O2 reading goes back to normal.

Mrmaroon

11-03-2015, 04:25 PM

I've got a few more questions I can't find the answers too.

Is the wire from the Optispark to the coil supposed to click in twice at the coil side?

Why did I get 10 spark plug wires when I need 9? :confused:

Am I supposed to use dielectric grease on the metal clips of the wires? Or just use it around the edge of the boot to seal out water? And do I use it on the optispark side of the boots too?

If I clear the DTC codes does that reset my fuel trims and everything it has learned?

Thanks for all the help so far :notworthy:

Injuneer

11-03-2015, 04:42 PM

I know there's the green "closed loop" at the top, but BLM is not enabled, which would explain why both short terms are at 128. But again, the complete log would tell more. I looked at the graph to attempt to evaluate your indication that the range of the left O2 sensor is narrower than the right. The graph does show s narrower range at many locations, but at others, the red seems to overlay the blue pretty well. Again, with a .csv file, entered into Excel, it's possible to actually quantify the numbers, evaluate ranges, calculate averages, etc.

Not sure what happened in the center of the graph where you have the cursor... the left O2 appears to have flatlined at 36mV.

My choice for items and sequence (hope this shows up... most "copy & paste" seems to end up as black print in black background = impossible to read) would be:

Record# (inserted automatically)
TimeStamp (inserted automatically)
1 – Runtime
2 – RPM
3 – Speed
4 – TPS Volts
5 – TPS %
6 – MAP
7 – Cool Temp
8 – IA Temp
9 – Ign Volts
10 – IAC Pos
11 – AFGS (MAF cars only)
12 – Spark Advance
13 – Spark Retard
14 – Knock Count
15 – Inj BPW Left
16 – Inj BPW Right
17 – Fuel Trim Cell
18 – Left O2 mV
19 – Right O2 mV
20 – LTerm-LC
21 – LTerm-RC
22 – STerm-LC
23 – STerm-RC
24 – CCP DC
25 – EGR DC
26 – Baro
27 – IAC Pos
28 – Idle RPM
29 – Inj DC Left
30 – Inj DC Right
31 – RPM-16
32 – <OFF>

That’s about the most useful set of data. You enter those in the positions 1 – 32 that you get on the Export Engine Data setup screen.

And don’t forget to enter the last record number of the file in the “Count” field.

If you have issues with the .csv export, send me the DataMaster .uni format file. I have DataMaster on my home PC.... they won't let us put personal stuff on the PC's here at work.

Log it from a cold start. Let it warm up, and enter closed loop... should take about 3-1/2 minutes. Then drive it under a wide variety of conditions. A bit of cruising, and at least one full throttle pull in a lower gear (1st of 2nd). At the end of the log, let it idle for about 30 seconds.

All things considered, I think Scan9495 does a much better job than DataMaster, and it's free, with no limitation on number uses.

Mrmaroon

11-03-2015, 09:30 PM

Here are the .csv and .uni files https://www.mediafire.com/folder/my4dztb7zv1bf/LTXtech

Whats done to the car.

K&N CAI
No A/C (compressor leak)
Skip Shift I unplugged the wires in the PCM
I've changed all the plugs and only the left side wires
180 degree thermostat
manual fan switch
Stock tune
Stock everything
M6

I noticed on record 1170 I got a DTC-29 (AIR I think)
On 1546, 20921, and 22035 I get a data rec error for 1 frame.

Injuneer

11-04-2015, 09:48 AM

I'll download the .uni at home tonight. The .csv I can look at here at work.

Mrmaroon

11-04-2015, 10:12 AM

I'll download the .uni at home tonight. The .csv I can look at here at work.

Thanks a bunch, don't get fired over it though!

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Injuneer

11-04-2015, 12:09 PM

Do you have your EGR system still in place? There is evidence of fractional degrees of knock retard, and this occurs at the same time the EGR duty cycle goes to 100%. The 100% EGR seems to lag the knock retard by one frame of data. It's almost like you are getting knock retard, and immediately, the PCM opens the EGR to try and cool down the combustion chamber and control it. If EGR led the knock retard, I'd look for a leak in the EGR vacuum system, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

In one case, when you go WOT at rec #5407 there is knock retard as high as 8.6-deg. The left O2 sensor seems to be reading in the mid-800's, while the right side is closer to 900. Recognizing that the stock narrow-band sensors aren't very accurate at anything other than 14.7:1 (450mV) +/- 0.5, always risky to use them for anything serious. The only time the LTFT's are adding fuel are in the high load cells (11, 14, 15). In Cell 15 they are only adding 7.8% extra fuel. But in the low load cells (16, 12, 3, 5) they are pulling a small amount of fuel out (4 to 5% at idle). Might want to check the fuel pressure under max load.

Again at rec #9184 you get a sudden 9.6* of knock retard at WOT. In both cases, the left O2 sensor is reading an average of 40mV below the right side.

In general, the left and right LTFT's seem very close, with the left side maybe 1 or 2 counts less than the right.

That's all I had a chance to look at for now. I'll look at the range difference on the left to right O2 sensors in more detail.

Injuneer

11-04-2015, 12:11 PM

PS: They won't fire me..... I told them I was retiring in May, and they asked me to keep working as long as possible. So I'm down to a 3-day week..... :D Nothing like a 4-day weekend.

Mrmaroon

11-04-2015, 05:13 PM

Do you have your EGR system still in place? There is evidence of fractional degrees of knock retard, and this occurs at the same time the EGR duty cycle goes to 100%. The 100% EGR seems to lag the knock retard by one frame of data. It's almost like you are getting knock retard, and immediately, the PCM opens the EGR to try and cool down the combustion chamber and control it. If EGR led the knock retard, I'd look for a leak in the EGR vacuum system, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

The EGR is still hooked up and in stock form.

I don't have a pressure gauge or vacuum gauge, the car has 33k miles. I was going to change the fuel filter but still haven't yet. Maybe that will help the idle some too. I did replace the cracked intake elbow with a new aluminum one.

If you can tell anything about the 02 difference not sure if I should buy a new one or not.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this for me. :adore: I'm not good enough to see the finer details. I'm not going to turn my car into a drag racer, just trying to get the kinks out before I get it tuned and add some bolt ons. It will be my daily driver hopefully for a long time!

Injuneer

11-04-2015, 08:55 PM

Everything looks pretty good, other than what I mentioned above. Still need to look at it some more, including using DataMaster. This is a huge file.

Mrmaroon

11-04-2015, 11:39 PM

Everything looks pretty good, other than what I mentioned above. Still need to look at it some more, including using DataMaster. This is a huge file.

Sorry :embarassed: I tried to drive under a lot of different conditions! Thanks again @Injuneer (http://ltxtech.com/forums/member.php?u=6025) I really appreciate it.

I was doing some investigation tonight on the rough idle. It isn't so bad that you can see the tach needle move. It's intermittent and has no rhythm. I can see the shifter and AIR check valves vibrate when it happens. It does it from a cold start, but gets worse (happens more often same loudness) as it gets warm. If(b=normal sound and B=rough) it happens like this bbbbbBbbbbBBBbbBbBBbbbBbbBBBBbbbBbBBbbbb.

I re-plugged all the spark plug wires at the opti and the plugs. I reconnected the injector plugs. Still the same.

I tried to take a video of it, not sure if it is audible. When I was standing at the exhaust I could hear a few metallic tinks. I've had a problem sometimes with a rotten egg smell. I wonder if my cat is causing it? The car drives great as far as I can tell! :2000-camaro-medblue It doesn't bog starting in 1st and it seems to run fine when I get on it. I smacked the hell out of the cat a few days ago to see if I could hear rattling and it sounded solid. If you look at the file again maybe there is something that points to a bad cat? (I know Dan friggin headers lol) I'll try and upload the video soon.

Come to think of it the cat was the first thing that went :shit: on my old 3800sII V6 camaro. I actually think I replaced it twice so 3 cats on that one. It was enough to slow me down though.

Mrmaroon

11-05-2015, 07:29 AM

Now that I think about it, I did notice a really high pitched noise the last three days or so inside the car. Couldn't tell a location. It kind of sounds like high pitch static or a pressure leak.

I'm going to drop the cat back today if I can and take a look at it. If it seems ok I'll leave it. If not, this is really my friends car and he might punch it out until he can buy a set of headers/ory.

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Dan

11-05-2015, 08:10 AM

Rarely, My exhaust in back will hit the heat shield where it goes over the axle and cause a high pitch scream. The stock catback shouldn't though. Mines 3 inch and was fitted like shit once, then reinstalled a lot better a second time.

Injuneer

11-05-2015, 09:52 AM

No need to be sorry..... large file provides a wide variety of operating conditions. Just making sure you understand why it may take a bit of time to look through it completely.

I looked at the range and average of the left and right O2 sensors while it was idling at the end of the file. That covered about 3 minutes. The right O2 sensor averaged 444mV, which is what it should be at (close to 450mV PCM bias voltage). The left O2 average was 373mV. While the O2 sensor voltage was lower than it should be, there was no measurable movement in the STFT's, which should have moved upward to compensate for an indicated lean condition. On the other hand, the O2 sensor response is pretty flat over the range of 350-550mV, so that might explain the lack of movement in the STFT. During that period, the right O2 covered a range of 40 - 852mV, while the left O2 sensor was 62-821mV. The left O2 seemed to be responding slower, hanging at low mV for an extended period of time, compared to the right O2.

I think it's enough to make the left O2 sensor suspect. One 0 cost approach would be to swap the O2 sensors side to side, to see if the behaviour follows the O2 sensor. Then run a log over 3 minutes of closed loop idle, and I can do a comparison to the earlier file.

Mrmaroon

11-05-2015, 11:47 AM

I think it's enough to make the left O2 sensor suspect. One 0 cost approach would be to swap the O2 sensors side to side, to see if the behavior follows the O2 sensor. Then run a log over 3 minutes of closed loop idle, and I can do a comparison to the earlier file.

I will do this after lunch when I check the cat. I'll get a good cold to closed loop and idle. Going to change passenger side wires too

I figured out the dip in the datamaster pic I originally posted. I was testing an injector to see if it changed the idle and unplugged it. That is why it dips then goes normal!

EDIT: I may have found something. I was researching how an o2 sensor worked. I watched this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl3aD1qJrEg

My left o2 wire had oil on it when I bought the car. It was leaking bad from an intake leak. In the video around 2min it shows outside air going inside the sensor body. If mine is full of oil that wouldn't work well. I will take it off and look at it today. I'll buy a new one too. Should I get the AC-Delco AFS75? Nobody around here carries them. Looks like I could pick up Bosch, Denso, or NGK around here.

Injuneer

11-05-2015, 01:50 PM

Mrmaroon

11-05-2015, 07:28 PM

Yup.... my wife's Grand Cherokee started acting up, code set for the O2 sensor and it had power steering fluid running down the wires. Ran like absolute crap though. You can even have problems if there is an exhaust leak blowing on the sensor body, altering the composition of the air surrounding the sensor.

Get AC Delco.

Thanks again Injuneer. I didn't have time today to switch them (daylight savings:angryfire: ), but I think its safe to say I may as well replace it. I was wondering if I could drive the car in speed density and listen to a change in idle. If I unplug the MAF, will I need to unplug the o2 sensors as well? It probably won't make a difference, since it seems to do it in open loop anyways.

I did get my transmission mount changed today. It didn't look terrible when I pulled it off - figured I wasted 10$. Once I got it on and started though the shaking went down a TON. I'm glad I changed it.

Here was the old one
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/05/e9113523915c4847e6bcc28d1af9408c.jpg

I unbolted the cat-back and took a look at the catalytic converter. I hate to say it, but I was a little disappointed when I looked inside it - It didn't look bad at all. Was hoping that was my problem! Guess you didn't mention it, but I was curious!http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/05/0fd89ddcbe5280b8482ed8243cd8f436.jpg

I didn't get a total cold start and idle run in today or the plug wires changed. When I do get it logged I will upload it. I ordered a fuel filter and a Delco O2 sensor. They will be here Tuesday. I'll get the fuel pressure tested.

Thanks everyone for the help so far! I'm pretty good at troubleshooting and researching problems, but sometimes I can't figure it out. A nudge in the right direction helps a lot. I will keep working on it and posting.

Injuneer

11-06-2015, 12:25 PM

I don't need a cold start. I need three minutes of idling in closed loop.

Mrmaroon

11-06-2015, 10:40 PM

Here is the closed loop idle. I also added the oldest log I have. Should be about 2 weeks after I got the car. https://www.mediafire.com/?v7sm9iu4ty2pos5,1344t8g4xyt222j,8sg54owt89g9h59

Mrmaroon

11-07-2015, 12:15 AM

Here is a spreadsheet I made of my L/R o2 data. This is way better vs datamaster.

Mrmaroon

11-07-2015, 11:29 AM

Injuneer

I found a nice list of what correct obd1 readings should look like. I can't find it again :(. Was sure it said injuneer at the top of the list? Do you know the one I'm thinking of?

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Injuneer

11-07-2015, 02:18 PM

Yes.... that's my Scanmaster writeup.

I can e-mail you a .pdf version. It was on my website, but I did away with the website a couple years ago. I think a couple of people have asked me for permission to post it on their sites, and I have allowed them to do it, as long as it still credited me as the author.

Send me an e-mail at InjuneerZZ@aol.com so I can reply with the attachment.

Mrmaroon

11-11-2015, 10:23 AM

That is the one, thanks. That report and the check field manual are the two best things I've read.

i got around to changing the passenger side wires. Unfortunately this has made my rough idle worse. Before I could barely notice the pops, but now they shake the car. If I put it in 5th at 40mph and give it a little gas it jerks the whole car. The whole transmission jumps. I drove home and parked it. Pretty sure I must have a cracked plug somewhere.

Honestly and in all probability the idle problem is from something I did wrong somewhere. I'm borrowing my parents garage to figure it out today. I'm picking up the O2 sensor and fuel filter too.

Ill let let you know how it goes.

Injuneer

11-11-2015, 03:14 PM

It's hard to make sure the terminals are fully on the plugs, with so little room to work. Are you sure you didn't get a couple wires crossed?

Mrmaroon

11-11-2015, 04:29 PM

I'm 100% on the orders of the wires. I've got the right side done now haven't buttoned up to test it yet. Plugs 4-6-8 looked identical. Plug 2 looked the same on the tip, but it's threads were damp. When I put the new one on it had a little more wobble than the others until I got it tightened. I also cleaned the oil out of the plug holes before I put new ones in.

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Mrmaroon

11-11-2015, 06:17 PM

Here is a video. It's still doing it maybe even worse now. Only does it once it's warm. I can notice a drop in RPM now. I changed right side all new plugs and wires. Luckily for some reason the guy at autozone only charged me for 1 spark plug.

Hopefully you can hear it. I can't really
On my phone.
https://vimeo.com/145453557

Wondering if when I redid my intake manifold some dirt got into a lifter?

Tried the water spray trick again, no sparking.

Going to change fuel filter and let it cool down then do the left side plugs and wires and test again. Hah it's probably the opti. The PO said he power washed the engine when he bought it.

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Mrmaroon

11-11-2015, 07:57 PM

Here is a video in 5th gear 40mph when I give it gas.
https://vimeo.com/145461637

I checked the transmission mount again and it looks good to me. It locktited the bolts when I changed it.

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Mrmaroon

11-12-2015, 12:32 AM

Ok guys after 14 straight hours...With only 3 beers (parents didn't leave me a house key lol), a package of pre cooked waffles, and 3 cans of Copenhagen I'm calling it a day.

These are basically all the tools you need for camaro work http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/11/7e5bcb16f6373b534bdfbb0ae7e36163.jpg

First I did the right side, new plugs and new wires. Double checked and made sure I got a solid click on the plug boot and two clicks on the opti. I used dielectric grease on both ends. This didn't fix it. I still had a bad miss and rough idle warm.

I did the left side the same way, except for the #7 wire. It was a more insulated wire and it looked good to me. I didn't want to mess with it and I hope it will hold up to the heat better being 8mm instead of 7mm. I know it's yet another variable :( .

I found a few problems on the left side. First was this vacuum leak. I dont know when this happened. It wasn't there when I did my intake manifold leak. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/11/225c094da259e34f3cb69addeff25cff.jpg

I used high temp duct tape to fix it for now.

Second, was my EGR valve. I'm not 100% on how they are supposed to work, but if I sucked on the valve part below the rectangle part I could easily suck air through it. I don't know if this means my EGR was going a little bit all the time or not. If i blew into the vacuum port it would raise the bellow and the valve. It also didn't look like the valve was concentric with the hole. It seemed like it was bound up a little. I could press the diaphragm down on two of the three sides. The other wouldn't make it go down. It would go down pressing on any two sides. I cleaned it out with seafoam as well as I could. I also loaded it up with seafoam before I put it back on. Whoever was behind me when it turned on got a real show lol.

Ok third, and the most important part of all. I don't think I ever got my #7 plug boot on all the way! I could push it until it clicked but it wasn't on. I figured this out on accident. I decided before I put any new wires on to make sure they all snapped with a plug correctly. When I snapped the plug on and spun it around it left a shiny part on the tip of the plug inside of the recess. On #7 it was close to being there, but not in the skinny part. I had to test this wire while it was still on the car and it was hard to get leverage enough to snap it. I finally did with a piece of wood and lots of electric grease. It's not slowly coming off now!

So remember, test each plug by snapping the boot, spinning a little, remove boot and look at the scratches on the plug! Make sure it's right inside the skinny part.

After I did all this my idle was back to normal again! It still has the very slight stumble though. The RPMs are pretty steady. The shifter doesn't shake anymore.

I also changed the fuel filter and put in a new battery, pretty sure I'm gonna need an alternator too. Something that my belt drives is making a lot of noise. I can hear the alternator making a very quiet electrical noise with key on engine off.

Thats it for tonight, I'll do the 02 sensor tomorrow.

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Mrmaroon

11-15-2015, 05:11 PM

Still haven't got the 02 on. I have been working on the EGR valve. Spent some time learning how it all works. I took it off and cleaned it really well. Mine was dirty and not sealing.

Need to make sure you get the two holes on top of the pintle. Mine were plugged shut with black stuff.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/15/041d9bbb2fb14f223f4ba7fdbaec0e4f.jpg

Also clean the surface the screwdriver is on
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/15/a425c2da3371dc2accfbefea36c527ca.jpg

And the counter bored part on the inside of this piece. These two surfaces seal the deal. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/15/b05075a3491ffe1eac1e21cffdc2e497.jpg

On the tip where the two holes are I used a piece of small wire and then soaked the part in some cleaner. After soaking it a ton of black stuff comes out of the tiny holes when you shake it onto a paper towel.

When I put it back on the car I could notice a small difference. Mostly at 30mph street RPMs. When I shift gears I can hear a slight difference - like a quick sucking sound that stops as soon as I hit the clutch and let off the gas. I could be crazy, but I'm pretty sure it's the EGR. Car drives a LOT smoother at street speeds and 1500-3000 RPM. Idle is a little better too.

Here is how the little holes effect the EGR. I hooked a hand pump hose on the end of the pintle. I pushed the diaphragm down and sealed the vacuum port with my thump holding the EGR open. When I push down on the pump air is sucked through the pintle breaking the seal on the vacuum. This closes the pintle.

https://vimeo.com/145807250

Next up is the o2. I also got a stethoscope. I'm going to try and find this ticking noise that won't go away. I'm pretty sure it's an exhaust leak somewhere.

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Mrmaroon

11-16-2015, 11:07 AM

You know how I said my cat/battery smelled **** when I was stopped downhill? Then I checked it and it looked ok? Well the truth is... Oh man... it was real shit that I was smelling lol. There is a sewage plant tucked further down the hill behind some trees by the river. I was convinced it was my car! I even bought a new battery...

Dan

11-16-2015, 12:16 PM

Lol you gotta admit it's a little funny.

LT1 injectors are loud I've heard.

Mrmaroon

11-16-2015, 01:41 PM

Lol you gotta admit it's a little funny.

LT1 injectors are loud I've heard.

Yea I was giving my girlfriend hell (she first noticed it I can't really smell) . Making me think it's my cars fault every time I pick her up from class. When her car smelled like shit at the bottom of the hill I wasn't very nice haha.

I'm pretty sure it's not injectors. I've listened to them closely. Now that my spark plug noises are gone I can hear 2 or maybe 3 different tick noises. I'm pretty anal about stuff - if I think I can make it better. I just need speakers/exhaust.

The higher pitched ticks almost chirps happen mostly from 1200-3500 RPM. They stop when I let off the gas in gear for a few seconds then start again while still in DFCO. I think I can hear it on both sides. Can barely hear at idle. Sounds worse when the car is hot. The ticks are short and close together. If I listen underneath at idle I can hear it pretty loud.

The other I can hear sometimes it's more of a pfft noise when I first get on it. It's more noticeable cold/first gear. This tick sound longer and further apart.

Anyways, I tightened all the manifold bolts I could reach. All but the stud on the left and two on the right. I'll test drive it later and see if it sounds different. I put in the new O2 sensor. I'll get a datalog of it and compare it to the old one. The old one was a bitch to get out with a crescent wrench. Here's a pic http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/16/ca6344d1b9ba14d054682bf807f7c9dd.jpg no buildup at all except close to the threads. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/16/aef527ed4531a5a7ed2014cabfede295.jpg

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Injuneer

11-16-2015, 05:02 PM

Mrmaroon

11-16-2015, 06:06 PM

I'm not sure what function those 2 small holes just above and to the side of the pintle serve. There are no matching holes in the gasket or in the intake manifold.

The factory manual indicates the valve should hold vacuum for at least 20 seconds.

I couldn't figure that out either. I tried to clean them out, but they are just holes.

Most of what I learned was from here.

http://www.tomco-inc.com/Tech_Tips/ttt27.pdf

The 2 little pintle holes on the tipa keep the pintle closed incase manifold vacuum keeps the valve open. It took me a while to understand it. There's a lot going on for such a small part.

Mine held open for as long as I held my thumb. I couldn't blow threw at all once it was clean. Glad I don't have to blow the pintle anymore haha.

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Mrmaroon

11-19-2015, 11:42 AM

I've got an update and some more questions. I finally got the o2 sensor changed. Haven't ran a log yet. It's been rainy/wet roads so I can't hear the car very well, but it sounds like the idle is better.

My question is about the pulley driven stuff. I haven't been able to find a lot of info on this. One or more of my pullies is really noisy.

What is the best way to test a pully? Does it need to be completely tight? No movement front/back or radially ?

When I removed the alternator for plug wires it made some noise when I spun it and squeaked a little. I can't spin it up at car speed by hand though.

Also my AC system belched oil over the belt and I'm sure everything connected. Don't know how bad this is for pully life.

So my questions are:

1. How much and what is normal pully movement.

2. Is oil bad on pulleys.

3. My AC compressor seal is bad/leaks. Would this cause a noise also?

The couple of times I took the serp belt off it looked ok I may get a new one though.

I'm definitely going to do headers soon. I tightened then up and it seems to have made it worse. I'm going to do this over Christmas probably. Not sure if long tube is what I want I have been looking at mid length headers. I'm pretty broke right now so any system that I can easily hook up to stock exhaust would be a plus until I can change that out. I'm more about making the car easier to work on then getting maximum HP.

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Mrmaroon

11-28-2015, 01:33 PM

My alternator is definitely bad. My lights dim when I shift. On the plus side my new 02 sensor has raised my mileage. Before I was getting 12-17. Now I've ran 2 tanks and got 19 - 20

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Dan

11-28-2015, 03:17 PM

Get a Delco alternator. Have the battery tested at auto parts store. Are you driving the car through the winter?

Mrmaroon

11-28-2015, 05:43 PM

Get a Delco alternator. Have the battery tested at auto parts store. Are you driving the car through the winter?

Yea it's my DD. I just replaced the battery. The alternator whines pretty bad and my lights dim when it's under a load.

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Mrmaroon

12-10-2015, 07:23 PM

Alternator should be here tomorrow. I ordered a new one, not reman. Fiancé got me a new muffler for Christmas too. I ordered it online. Can save a lot using coupons and speedy perks. (She) got it for 70$ plus a 10$ giftcard. It's a magnaflow. Think it was 120$ retail. Too broke to upgrade whole exhaust right now :(

I've got a set of Goodyear eagle F1 GS-D3 tires on. It's what the car came with. Now that it is getting cold my ass end is sliding some when I turn! They must get hard. I don't like the tires they are pretty noisy. They run 300$ a pop. I'll need to find some winter tires.

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Mrmaroon

11-28-2016, 03:48 PM

I'm back... Here is the short version

I've not done a lot to the car since my last post. The o2 sensor replacement and new alternator didn't fix the car 100%, but did bring my mileage up from 180 to at most 280 miles per tank. I was happy with this until a few months ago when the tick noises got worse. Over the last few days I have chased down a whining noise on the car.

I replaced the tensioner assembly, AC system with a deleter pulley, and new belt.
I used EEhack to log the car and its "tests" feature to note differences in strength between single cylinders.
I fixed a low RPM jerk on clutch disengage by removing my #7 plugs metal boot that was arcing to block.
I cleaned all grounds.
Oil recently changed from dino to 0w-30 synthetic with K&N filter. This quieted noises somewhat.

Here is the long version in more detail.

I stopped work on the car after the alternator/02 sensor replacement last December. I started working on it the last month. Last night I removed all AC stuff and put in a new belt, tensioner, and AC delete pulley.

The Dorman AC delete bought from a chain using 94 camaro as a car is NOT a direct replacement. The one I bought was part #34209.

On the AC delete the holes were threaded for threads holding the compressor to the accessory mount piece. It won't work like that unless you have bolts with thread all the way. It also came with smaller bolts and spacers. I drilled out threads and had to shim the pulley outwards about 3/16" to get it in line with the other pulleys. It had a slight whir when I spun it, so I replaced the bearing grease with better stuff. I did this by prying off the cover on the ball bearing. Idk if this has any effect on the noise during engine speed/forces. This quieted it down to silent when spun by hand.

I installed the new belt after marking the old tensioner to measure how much stretch the old belt had. After that I installed the new tensioner and again marked it before I removed the compressor. I had a sneaking suspicion that the AC deleter had a bigger pulley. It was slightly bigger, I had to crank the tensioner almost all the way to get the belt on. Not sure what is considered normal on them.

Now that I've fixed these problems the car is a lot less noisy. The compressor was making the most noise. When its shaft seal failed it leaked oil onto all my accessories and opti. I think this caused all the bearings to fail to a degree. The car is now at 40,000 miles.

I downloaded EEhack and have been messing with it for datalogging. This is the first time I've logged it since changing out that o2 sensor. It says they have near equal peaks, lows, and average, but the left cross counts are a 25% lower vs. the right older o2.

My car was still riding rough and bucking at low RPM. It was very jerky when shifting. I saw sparks jumping off cylinder 7's metal boot again. I removed it and the problem went away. I used EEHacks cylinder balance test to see if any cylinders scored differently. Using this info I replaced plugs and checked connections on cylinders that were low. Now my car is running well. It feels faster than when I bought it.

Here are my next projects/upgrades. Some may be related I'm not sure :face_shocked:.

So far the new belt/pulleys got rid of the faster high pitch tick. I could hear it driving at 1500-1700 and 2000-2200 RPM in the middle of the dash somewhat. I can hear other problems now that its quiet :laugh:.
I now hear an electrical noise (verified not AIR) at all times most noticeable at idle. It follows electrical load more than engine RPM. Turning on the lights changes the noise a lot and stays changed after RPM stabilizes. This one is hard to search for. Most people are hearing the AIR.
Since I've owned the car I replaced the battery and alternator with new non reman. The voltmeter is high (guessing 16-17v) at first start then goes down slowly. This doesn't always show up in data logs. Idk what voltage the PCM is showing.
My low coolant light is still coming on but not frequent enough for me to think its broken. It happens after driving more than 1 hour. I noticed one night after I shut the car off, the hose going to the thermostat was sucked tight and flat. Still using the original 180 thermostat. I have a new 160.
Going to sacrifice to the Camaro gods I can flash a tune to my PCM with EEhack. Flashing failed with Tunercats and the other flash program. It would get to 100% then shit on me. I would have to unplug the battery to start the car. I really want to change the fan speed and do some other simple things.
When I removed the AC junk I noticed my water pump is black on the bottom :shiner:.
I'm ordering a new water pump and maybe an optispark. The car idles worse on rainy days. I have an oscilloscope I built from a raspberry Pi. I will use that to check the high and low res signals first. Wish you could see them from datalogging.
I'm showing a correction for rich conditions at idle and lean at high throttle. Not sure if this is normal.
I can hear the lower pitched puff ticking sometimes. It sounds different then when I first start it and hear the piston slap. I should change the exhaust gaskets but will order long tubes if I go that far.

This is a long post. It's helped that I can read back on everything I was doing last year. I'm trying to document it closely in case I need it in the future.

Mrmaroon

11-28-2016, 04:08 PM

Heres a datalog shot using EEhack. This was during a trip to my dads. Around 20 miles highway driving.
37239
Im going to work on tuning and datalogs today while I have time.

Here's a shot of the removed AC partshttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161129/dfd569dec5ab46ca474c5571e37a37d5.jpg

Injuneer

11-28-2016, 05:43 PM

There's actually an indicator line on the tensioner assembly, and a marked range that the indicator line is supposed to be within.

The AIR pump noise can be checked by unplugging the pump, or just waiting the 206 seconds typically required to enter closed loop, when the pump shuts off.

It's normal for the voltage regulator to kick the voltage up right after the engine has started, to replace the stored energy used to start the engine. But 17 V sounds a bit high. The voltage should taper down to ~13.5 V gradually. I just happened to be reviewing a Scan9495 log for someone. 12.0 V before the ignition turns to start, current inrush of the initial hit on the starter dropped it to 9.5 V. When engine starts, 14.1 V, drops to 13.5 V in five minutes. Power to PCM goes through the I/P fuse box, dash reads directly off the alternator. Not unusual for the PCM to read 0.5 to 1.0 V lower than the gauge.

"Normal" long term fuel trims want to be as close to 128 as possible. From my experience, anything between +/- 5% (121-135) is acceptable. Anything outside that range may indicate a problem.

I'll take a look at your screen shot, first to see what eeHack is capable of, then to see if any abvious problems.

Mrmaroon

11-28-2016, 07:00 PM

EEhack is free to use with XDF files on http://fbodytech.com/ there are some guides and an automatic tune generator. I can't vouch for it, so use it at your own risk.

I found a few other screenshots of the cylinder "Tests" function. Other people have a low cylinder #1 number (whatever metric it is) so I'm not chasing that anymore. The number went slightly lower (worse) with a brand new wire and plug, who knows. It did help locating two cylinders with bad spark problems. My car smoothed out a lot since then it was a rough rider before :D.

I remember seeing a triangle on the tensioner but not the line, Ill have to look at it again. I drove around today and it ran well. It has been rainy the last two days so I can't hear/feel as well as normal.

The electrical noise I'm wondering if it may be my CCP. I can verify my noise is not a result of the AIR pump cycle at first start. It may be an AIR pump related part though. My noise is always happening no matter what. I ordered the water pump, spare chinese opti as a backup depending on how bad things are, and a gasket set.

Im holding off on my intake manifold leak until I can get new long tubes. If I'm tearing it apart again I'm going to do that too.

Injuneer

11-28-2016, 07:33 PM

Mrmaroon

11-29-2016, 01:33 AM

I'm mainly interested in the eeHack scan/data logging capabilities. I've been helping people interpret data logs since the days of Diacom. Some people still refer to the LT1 scan data interpretation document I wrote between 2000-2002. Don't need tuning, since I ditched the stock PCM 16 years ago. Using a MoTeC M48 Pro since then.

I'll see if I can find a picture of the markings on the tensioner.
@Injuneer (http://ltxtech.com/forums/member.php?u=6025) I know you're smart enough to figure it out! It wasn't directed at you, more towards anyone wondering what EEhack was. I had your guide but lost it on the old computer.

I went for a cruise for an hour tonight logging my ride.

Since removing my AC compressor my Knock Retard is gone. I tried all night to get it to pull timing. It only removed 2 degrees for a second one time. I thought it felt faster:finger:. It was wet though I didn't floor it any. Before removing AC, it would start KR in the 2.5 to 3k RPM range and up. EDIT: It only pulled the 2 degrees when I stopped and restarted the car.

I'm going to try and get a video of the ticking noise. I hope its not a bearing, probably exhaust leak. There are two ticks that I heard. One is always there and is softer. The other comes and goes and is a lot louder/sharp. They both happen at the same timing over each other. I can hear the injectors ticking and the sewing machine noise of the valve train now. Half the time I think I stalled out its so quiet!

The electrical noise I hear might (35% guess) be the power steering pump bearing. I need to look closer when the weather quiets down.

I noticed for the second time this week when shifting 1-2 my car loses all engine power for a split second then it returns. Like a rocket ship losing spent stages and shooting off faster....? Is what it feels like. I couldn't see this time, but last time a lot of smoke came out when it recovered.

My scanner shows BLMs of around 120 in cells 1,2,3,16, and 17. All the other cells are 128-130 and my o2 sensors are averaging 450mv Left (new) 490mv Right (original) peaks and lows are the same for each side. cross counts are still 4:5 ratio left right. Idk if I need another o2 sensor to replace the old one. My left BLMs are always lower than right.

I read somewhere that someone was using 34 degrees timing at idle. Ive tried going up to 29 from 22 and it makes my idle rougher. It still makes a slight miss/fart noise at idle.

Mrmaroon

11-29-2016, 01:41 AM

Ya double post. Would an intake manifold rear leak cause me to run rich or lean at idle? Under what conditions does oil actually come out of the intake? During stronger vacuum or higher airflow pushing it out? I think I read somewhere the intake leak was from decelerating in gear a lot. I may have blown it out when my spark plugs were wired wrong. I redid it when I bought the car.

Injuneer

11-29-2016, 12:44 PM

GaryDoug has my Scanmaster writeup available for download:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/v98qwpu8hih9q95/Scanner_readings_-_What_do_they_mean.pdf

Injuneer

11-29-2016, 01:15 PM

Tensioner diagram:

Mrmaroon

11-29-2016, 01:15 PM

GaryDoug has my Scanmaster writeup available for download:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/v98qwpu8hih9q95/Scanner_readings_-_What_do_they_mean.pdf

Thanks for that it has saved me a lot of searching.

I'm ordering a serial to USB chip. The one in the red devil river USB-ALDL cable won't work in EEhack when I flash.

It's the same as winflash and tunercats. I can datalog fine, it passes the pre flash tests 16/16 every time, I can download the cars bins. When I go to flash It crashes at the very beginning of writing to memory. Then it shuts off and I have to unplug my battery to reset.

I'm stuck between buy a new cable or study ALDL protocols.

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Mrmaroon

11-29-2016, 01:17 PM

Tensioner diagram:

Is that triangle supposed to be on top? I'm pretty sure mine was on the bottom... I'll check it again when I get to the farm. Thanks for the diagram

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Mrmaroon

11-30-2016, 01:28 AM

I made some videos in a low ceiling barn. It makes it easier to hear.

I think I found the source of two of the noises I hear. One of the ticks I found after I let my car cool off and restarted. It sounded like it was coming from where the Y pipe comes together. Before the cat. I didn't have time to video it. But I will tomorrow.

The other noises are an electrical or hissing in the engine bay. Also getting an electrical high pitch noise under the rear. It sounds like coil whine in an electronic device.

Here's a clip of the engine. Closed loop and went through 4 fan cycles at idle. While driving I can hear two different ticks. In this clip I only hear one. I can't be sure which one it is. I can also hear the electrical or even hissing noise here. Maybe behind the alternator. Close to the EVAP solenoid?
https://vimeo.com/193660497

Here is a clip of me revving it to around 1500rpm. This is when the high pitched noise comes to life driving. It happens like clockwork at 1500 and again at 2200.
https://vimeo.com/193660716

Here is a shot of the other noise I noticed around this time last year. It's a hissing noise also maybe the fuel pump? It's always doing it. I can hear it while driving behind me and to my right.

Also during this video the AFR is set to 12.9 in EEhack. It smoothes out my idle a ton. The pops are hardly noticeable
https://vimeo.com/193660852

Tomorrow I will work on the exhaust leak. I'll try to find the hissing in the engine bay. I don't want to have to find the fuel pump noise :(

Reserve Chinese optispark and Delco water pump are on the way. Looks like I may as well get the long tubes too. Damn, why not get a camshaft if I'm doing all this and fixing the intake manifold leaks ;D good thing it's Christmas time.

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Mrmaroon

12-02-2016, 01:44 PM

I checked my fuel pressure KOEO is 42psi and holds for a while. Supposedly a bad batch of gas got delivered to the farms where I live. I had to use some the other night and now my idle is worse again. It was running better on 93.

I'm about ready to pull the trigger on the headers. Can't decide what ones to get.

Pacesetter longs/Mids or speed engineering stainless style. Pacesetters are tried and true but ugly. The shorties look more medium length to me and are cheapest with the Y. Speed Eng style looks 50/50 from what I've been reading. I do have a torch and BFH.

Losing a lot more oil from the intake. It was 3 dots... Now has 2 big puddles.

Do I need to order a water pump drive coupler? I'm at 40k miles now. WP is on the way.

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SSlowBoat

12-02-2016, 08:04 PM

Mrmaroon

12-04-2016, 02:12 PM

I was checking my connectors and air intake for leaks. My optic connector wasn't fully seated. When I checked my coil pigtail I noticed this....
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161204/6a9d0497bd923c60e76a6e7113b73c7c.jpg

I don't remember the colors on the wires. I didn't see a 4th wire or a pin so I don't think it's missing. Every picture I've seen of this connector in a car has 4 wires tho. The Shoebox site shows 4 wires in the diagram. This is a 94 M6.

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Injuneer

12-04-2016, 06:16 PM

Shoebox's 94/95 wiring diagram shows only 3 wires.

no wire on pin A on the black connector (actually, no pin)

pink wire to pin B on the black connector

white/black to pin A on the gray connector

pink/black to pin B on the gray connector

http://shbox.com/1/95_ign_system_schematic.jpg

Mrmaroon

12-05-2016, 03:16 PM

Mrmaroon

12-05-2016, 04:03 PM

I've definitely got a Vac leak somewhere on the passenger side. I think it may be the AIR or EVAP who knows. I have a propane torch to try later.

For record keeping, this is EEhack analysis with every datalog I have added in. Including a shot of the o2 sensors so I can see if my other new one improves the right side or not. Its handy looking back at things from last year on here.

37290

This is my overall plan for the car in the next few weeks.

Check all wiring for ignition with a multi.
Fix vac leaks.
Hang fuel rails and check for leaks. KOEO 42 PSI
Replace fuel filter after run of bad fuel.
Install new torque arm bushing (it's slapping when I let off gas).
New right 02. The left was replaced last year. Both ACdelco (Denso type).
Clean and oil air cleaner.
New intake temp sensor/maybe coolant temp sensor.
Install new WP and remove old opti for testing.
If old opti looks good its going back in. If not, I will try the assault racing opti.
Redo my intake manifold seals. I might put in new lifters so I don't have to undo it again until cam.
Check oil pump gear.
Check all rockers and pushrods.
Install new headers and Y (not ordered yet).
Put in new motor mount bushings.
Changing all wires with MSD and all plugs with NGK IX55s while headers are off. Making sure they are on perfect :drool:
Making a new ALDL cable with 232 FTDI
Might do some motor paint. Hard to beat @Dan (http://ltxtech.com/forums/member.php?u=7787) pink pony motor.

This should keep me busy for a while. Luckily I've got a heated garage/shop and a forklift. No car lift, only ramps and jack stands. If I should check something that isn't listed while the car is unbuttoned please let me know.

Injuneer

12-06-2016, 10:59 AM

I see two color coded grids with red in the upper left corner. Is one Bank 1, and the other Bank 2? They appear to be LTFT's for various combos of RPM and MAP (engine load), roughly correlating to the 16 operating cells. Is all that correct?

If that's correct, it's running rich at idle/low load both Banks, and one side (Bank 2) leans out at the top end. At idle, it's pulling ~6% fuel out. A vacuum leak will be more obvious at idle/low load, where MAP is high and the vacuum leak represents a sizable percentage of the total air flow. The fact that it's puling fuel out at idle, the MAP is actually relatively low (indicating good engine vacuum) would not seem to indicate a vacuum leak. MAF flow is where it should be.

How did you determine that you have a vacuum leak on the passenger side? Again, not sure what those two grids represent, since they are not labeled as to what differentiates one from the other.

Mrmaroon

12-06-2016, 11:56 AM

Injuneer I I should have labeled it - the grid on the left was L/R average BLM+INT average together. The right side is the L/R avg of just BLMs. This is the data of all my logs.

I did another datalog last night of the car cold (32F) start to hot with maybe 6 hot cycle at idle. The BLMs were closer then dropped to 111L 118R with INTs steady at 125 both sides. This was after idling for 20-30min. It didn't look like it was going to change much from there.

The popping and shaking really became noticeable at 800 seconds after starting. This was before closed loop or BLM mode was activated. It's always worse the hotter the car is.

I can't find many reasons why a car shows a rich/low BLM besides leaking injectors. I'm not sure if my car is really rich at idle or the pcm just thinks it is.

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Injuneer

12-06-2016, 02:58 PM

If it's a L+R average, how did you reach the conclusion that the passenger bank has a vacuum link?

Why would you wait 800 seconds to activate closed loop? The typical transition is based on the programmed timer, which is 206-seconds. Or are you saying the PCM had not entered closed loop on it's own by 800-seconds? Why run in open loop with the engine fully warmed up?

I really think you would be far better with a continuous log, done with Datamaster or Scan9495, showing the reading of every critical sensor and PCM parameter values at the rate of up to 9 frames per second. Then you could look at the area around 800 seconds, and see if you can find what values changed that may have caused, or indicated the cause or the popping and shaking. Maybe you can do that with eeHack, I just have not seen one from that system.

Mrmaroon

12-08-2016, 07:13 AM

@Injuneer (http://ltxtech.com/forums/member.php?u=6025) You were right on the vac leak Fred, it was my K&N filter making the noise - It had almost fallen off the tube. I hit the bugs out of it but didn't re-oil. The 800 seconds bad idle was in my mind. I forgot that I was watching my O2mv drop for a few minutes before I started the car :embarassed:. The heaters must run with the key in acc. You can view everything in EEhack like you can in scan9495. I took that picture to compare it after I do my exhaust/02 and opti.

Here is a shot of the pump my idle is getting worse. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161208/a87726b110dc03e278b2d3830b90dfee.jpg

My torque arm bushing is cut in half. I've got a new one of those too.

Edit: I may buy this http://www.opti-shield.com/opti-shield-installation.html for my new water pump:jest:

Injuneer

12-08-2016, 10:24 AM

The stock TA bushing is split in 1/2, with one half of the bushing riveted to each side of the clam shell housing. That's the way they made it.

Only some of the aftermarket replacements are one-piece, like the Energy Suspension poly.

Mrmaroon

12-10-2016, 12:44 AM

That's good to know on the bushing. Ive been working on the front of the car. So far draining the rad and removing stuff. I found something crazy though. . . I went to unplug the bottom hose on the right looking from the front. Was expecting a shower of coolant, but only puffs of dust came out.http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/9ad9ca0df828d669a082de8365070aea.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/6e6de60ae7d1e02337b5aff7275d3c17.jpg

I knew my coolant level gauge was working right when it blinked some days. Glad I trusted my gut and left it plugged in. It didn't change this outcome though.

I bought a 94 service manual and ohm tested my coil. I got solid 8.4kohms on all 4 holes. The metal plug end was very white colored like lead oxide on a battery. Maybe from the dielectric grease

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Mrmaroon

12-10-2016, 01:14 AM

What am I going to find. These are the top WP bolts right is on the dry side. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/cfd36d67155484ffe3ec65eb10800dfc.jpg

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SSlowBoat

12-10-2016, 09:44 AM

What am I going to find. These are the top WP bolts right is on the dry side. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/cfd36d67155484ffe3ec65eb10800dfc.jpg

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Mmmmmm dex mud residue

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Mrmaroon

12-10-2016, 12:36 PM

I gave up last night around 5am. I was contemplating cutting the last bolt on the opti so I wouldn't have to remove the damper :D.

My car squirted some oil when it saw this new Delco pump http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/df279a861f3682aaf7be89a2e676f4b2.jpg

Here are some shots of the old pump
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/3847d93c24a65d048fddf06ea8ed1fdf.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/2a2ca3c10f4b23155ef05efef781b404.jpg

That dry hose ran to the oil cooler and when I put water in it, it filled up the radiator. Both ports on both sides of the WP were clean and the pump had the best bearing on this whole car.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/a94f7ad595a119f9686b3efc393d7e4e.jpg

Now that it's light outside I can start rapping on the damper. It looks like I got a front main seal in my gasket kit. Wondering how far I should go here. Have a set of pullers at the farm but they're tractor sized.

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Mrmaroon

12-10-2016, 12:45 PM

Also have a set of LS7 lifters and speed engineering headers and Y pipe on the way. Hitting the intake manifold seal again too.

I ripped out all AIR components. Is easy without AC. I may leave it out. I feel like going this far I should hit the head gaskets too. Just make sure?

I disassembled the assault racing opti and took some photos. I did find some problems with it. I may put that in another post. I want to see the inside of mine first.

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Stormyweather

12-10-2016, 03:31 PM

Injuneer

12-10-2016, 04:31 PM

Mrmaroon

12-10-2016, 04:48 PM

Damper shouldn't be that hard to remove. "Rapping" on it could destroy it. Apply rust penetrant between the damper and the hub. Use a 3-jaw puller.

http://shbox.com/1/pull_pulley.jpg

Are you familiar with Shoebox's site? Has "how to's" for a lot of the stuff you are doing. Including testing the coil. And there's a site where you can get a free download of the shop manual. I think you don't get the traffic you should from people who could help you, with the forum you chose to post it on. Maybe "projects and builds" would have been better.

Thanks Injuneer Yes I have a hard copy of the service manual now to look at and I used shoeboxes site to test the coil.

I sometimes exaggerate a little. I soaked the damper with Kroil the last 3 days. I clamped a 2x2 to the bottom and hit it the first with the force to set a nail and that broke it loose.

It took me longer to remove the spark plugs, the damper was the easiest part for me. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/ba387d5be1b231ee52ea90f4bf377c4c.jpg

After that I removed the opti
https://vimeo.com/195130483

The cap and rotor were dry. The rotor and metal plugs looked worn out to me I try and get it in the video.

The bearing is shot though and the spline drive stayed on the camshaft when I pulled the unit.

Here's one of the bearing.

https://vimeo.com/195130591

Here's a shot of the only clean part in this thing, the optical disk. This model of opti has the same internals as the assault racing opti. Which is weird to me, because most google pics show a different inside to most optis.

https://vimeo.com/195130733
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161210/0c7f1f752e146728020bf54c63ecfe64.jpg

Seeing this rust on the metal pieces makes me think I should leave the 3 metal shields under the optical disk off on my new one. I'm not sure if they ground the metal screw studs together though

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Mrmaroon

12-10-2016, 06:13 PM

I fucked up and ordered the 96+ gasket set. The opti gasket is the big kind. The old WP gasket looks good. Opti drive looks leaky. Crank hub looks good. I'm going to do the WP and go pick up another set.

I bought distilled water to run through a few days and flush the system some more. I'm doing new wires/plugs while the opti is off to make sure they are connected. I can move the opti around and get them on right. I will pull them off the plugs when I do headers.

Going to put a set of V-powers in again. Gapped to .050.

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Mrmaroon

12-10-2016, 10:07 PM

If you have to take apart an alternator for some reason...

Mark the case before you take it apart.
Take the top cover and pulley off, from the stator and bottom metal piece. Don't try and pry the stator from the back shield.

The brushes pop out when you remove the halves. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/cf0a30effed961048ab298089f69519f.jpg

To get them in again push the top brush and spring in then insert a wire through this hole. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/835a5805569955997fd885315b68bbcb.jpg

It will come out a hole in the back. When you put the halves together you can pull it through and the springs pop out again.

This is the second time I've had to take one apart, its easy once you've done it.

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Mrmaroon

12-11-2016, 04:10 PM

Hoping it works if I leave the AIR tubes in the stock manifolds w/ check valves attached. I removed everything else AIR related.

Here's a few shots of the seals.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/d71c65ae66d542e0da88373c88a2b20b.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/d534ed9626e5e5d7c8f2fa0b85627d4e.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/aa8acd32e8ca5ec30f036b0db7b169cc.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/92f1629070e77496c2ed8ed0671f2651.jpg

Not going to do timing cover until I do a cam.

I found this vacuum port? On my AIR hoses. It didn't have any vacuum line attached that I can find. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/285dc9552494d43e9e430a82093cc6cd.jpg

Put in new plugs and wires almost ready to button her up!

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Mrmaroon

12-11-2016, 05:39 PM

I wont feel so bad when it fails now. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161211/5b283f6645ab1a4db18bb742d4bd6da6.jpg

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Injuneer

12-11-2016, 06:04 PM

AIR system - Just a bleed valve with nothing connected to it in 1994. When they issued the AIR pump recall, applicable only to 1995-1997, they added a "bleed valve harness", but only for 1996-1997 models.

Mrmaroon

12-11-2016, 07:09 PM

Put some high dollar "buy 1 get 7 free thermal grease on the ICM. I've got a bunch left over from bitcoin mining.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161212/5641c1e48ea05248eaf332d018286a29.jpg

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ChazWhiteZ28-

12-11-2016, 07:35 PM

Thanks for that it has saved me a lot of searching.

I'm ordering a serial to USB chip. The one in the red devil river USB-ALDL cable won't work in EEhack when I flash.

It's the same as winflash and tunercats. I can datalog fine, it passes the pre flash tests 16/16 every time, I can download the cars bins. When I go to flash It crashes at the very beginning of writing to memory. Then it shuts off and I have to unplug my battery to reset.

I'm stuck between buy a new cable or study ALDL protocols.

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how did you go by fixing this? mine does the same thing. i can read with eehack download the bin and pass the stability test, but when i try to flash the pcm it fails.

Mrmaroon

12-11-2016, 08:56 PM

SSlowBoat

12-11-2016, 09:19 PM

Got everything ready for a battery start test run and found this. Had to forget something. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161212/52849e5c1a618fdaa7a9b682d3cb715a.jpg

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Youre gonna need that

Advance auto has dodge drain plugs that fit the air fittings on the manifolds so you can delete all the stuff

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Mrmaroon

12-11-2016, 09:36 PM

Youre gonna need that

Advance auto has dodge drain plugs that fit the air fittings on the manifolds so you can delete all the stuff

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Yea I just fired it up on battery before I put in the WP. The cheap opti lives! Then I realized those AIR valves were leaking.

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Mrmaroon

12-11-2016, 09:40 PM

how did you go by fixing this? mine does the same thing. i can read with eehack download the bin and pass the stability test, but when i try to flash the pcm it fails.

I have not yet, but it's next on my list after I finish this opti. I ordered a different serial converter that's supposed to work with no resistors. It's the smaller in this photo. I think it was FR232 or something. Look up DIY serial cable on gearhead.efi forums.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161212/e13acd7793296b404c9eb6192dacbf06.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161212/0fbc36fa1b8b0480366be62338a219f7.jpg

That bigger chip (the one that does what yours is doing.) came in a RD River ALDL kit I bought last year.

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ChazWhiteZ28-

12-11-2016, 09:49 PM

ya i got mine from rd river as well. i will look it up like u said and i will wait to see if it works out for you.

Mrmaroon

12-12-2016, 03:57 AM

ya i got mine from rd river as well. i will look it up like u said and i will wait to see if it works out for you.

Roger that. I've got soldering tools to work on it tomorrow. (Have to anyways, just broke my temp dash gauge sensor :( .) Ive heard two other cases of RDR cables doing the pass everything but no flashing. The other cases were fixed by different cables. It does the same thing in 3 different programs for me so it's probably a lost cause to try, but who knows.

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Mrmaroon

12-12-2016, 04:38 AM

Finished the tune up! It was a lot of work and took me all weekend. I spent 20+ hours working on it. I tried to go slow and make sure everything was correct. The service manual I bought saved a lot of searching.

I did these things during my tune up.

Changed original opti with Assault Racing opti. Then gave brand new opti a bath in spilled coolant.

Changed orig WP for new Delco WP.

Replaced pcm coolant sensor.

Did opti and water pump seals. (Time consuming for me.)

Drained and flushed coolant. Running a gal of 100% and the rest distilled to flush more dexcool out.

Thermal compound and spacer mod to ICM.

Changed plugs TR55s to new TR55s

Changed cheapie AutoZone wires to Taylor 8mm spirals. (Fit fine in stock looms and easy to snap on). (Left old wire #7)

Drained fuel filter to check for bad gas.

Removed all AIR junk except check valves. Don't remember capping a vacuum line if one exists. I'll have to look.

Removed EGR valve and solenoid. Preparing for Speed Engineering headers. Capped intake port and block off on the valve.

Attempted but gave up on passenger side o2 sensor. Will either wait for headers or find a long extension and try it from the front.

I drove the car home from my parents (they've got a garage w/ heat :D.) My fans kicked on from the AIR delete muffling any noises. I did get a short glimpse at first start and couldn't believe how much quieter that new opti is.

On the way home I could still hear the faster ticking and noticed it changes in pitch with changes in RPM. I'm convinced it's an exhaust leak.

Car drove great for the short distance I drove it. My results are highly subjective and based on a 10 min drive on wet road w/ fans running. Will test it more tomorrow.

Other results are... Power didn't change much. The reverberation around 2.5-3k RPM is gone now. Ride seemed smoother. Shifting less jerky and 6th seemed a little smoother. Seems like low RPM has more torque. Didn't notice the slapping sound when I hit throttle and let off (less bucking?)

I really want to say the idle stumbling (800RPM +/-150) is gone, but I couldn't test it thoroughly. I broke my dash temp sensor and had no way to tell coolant temp. I unplugged the fan relays for a minute and couldn't feel it, but it may not have been hot enough yet.

Hope I don't find a huge spot of green snow tomorrow lol.

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Injuneer

12-12-2016, 12:09 PM

Drained and flushed coolant. Running a gal of 100% and the rest distilled to flush more dexcool out.

Who put Dex-Cool in it? Factory fill in 94 was still "conventional". On the other hand, I went to Dex-Cool in 1996 and never had a problem with it.

Removed all AIR junk except check valves. Don't remember capping a vacuum line if one exists. I'll have to look.

Already responded on the vacuum line - there is none. Why didn't you remove the check valves? Potential source of exhaust leaks (probably the "ticking" you are hearing). Under certain conditions, the fast flowing exhaust can induct air into the manifold, and that screws up your O2 sensor readings. As noted in a post above, there is a Dodge/Cummins diesel oil drain plug the works fine. Get a copper gasket with each plug. Threads are M22 X 1.5.

My fans kicked on from the AIR delete muffling any noises.

Why would that happen.... fans turning on because of too much noise?

On the way home I could still hear the faster ticking and noticed it changes in pitch with changes in RPM. I'm convinced it's an exhaust leak.

AIR check valves?

Mrmaroon

12-12-2016, 01:52 PM

Who put Dex-Cool in it? Factory fill in 94 was still "conventional". On the other hand, I went to Dex-Cool in 1996 and never had a problem with it.

Already responded on the vacuum line - there is none. Why didn't you remove the check valves? Potential source of exhaust leaks (probably the "ticking" you are hearing). Under certain conditions, the fast flowing exhaust can induct air into the manifold, and that screws up your O2 sensor readings. As noted in a post above, there is a Dodge/Cummins diesel oil drain plug the works fine. Get a copper gasket with each plug. Threads are M22 X 1.5.

Why would that happen.... fans turning on because of too much noise?

AIR check valves?

I'm not sure Injuneer thanks for the AIR info. Assumed wrongly original was Dex.

I think my fans are running on high because of a DTC code from EGR, AIR, missed connector or opti.

I can't scan the car until I finish making the new cable to see what I've done.

I left the AIR check valves in. The ticking I hear is not from removing the pipe. I should be putting new headers in in the next 2 days.

So far no coolant leaks

SSlowBoat

12-12-2016, 02:30 PM

Who put Dex-Cool in it? Factory fill in 94 was still "conventional". On the other hand, I went to Dex-Cool in 1996 and never had a problem with it.

Already responded on the vacuum line - there is none. Why didn't you remove the check valves? Potential source of exhaust leaks (probably the "ticking" you are hearing). Under certain conditions, the fast flowing exhaust can induct air into the manifold, and that screws up your O2 sensor readings. As noted in a post above, there is a Dodge/Cummins diesel oil drain plug the works fine. Get a copper gasket with each plug. Threads are M22 X 1.5.

Why would that happen.... fans turning on because of too much noise?

AIR check valves?
If thats true about the antifreeze being conventional, then i want to smack whoever put dexcool in the last 4 lt1's ive worked on. They should be shot

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Mrmaroon

12-12-2016, 03:50 PM

Just got the Speed Engineering brand headers. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161212/29fcf419bfbc97bff6a3d7f4ac21f1e9.jpg

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Injuneer

12-12-2016, 05:43 PM

If thats true about the antifreeze being conventional, then i want to smack whoever put dexcool in the last 4 lt1's ive worked on. They should be shot

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Dex-Cool was first used full-year in 1996 LT1's. My 1994 (bought new by me) was conventional from the factory. Shoebox had green in his 1995. Some people claim they had Dex-Cool in late 1995 models.

Mrmaroon

12-12-2016, 06:21 PM

Dex-Cool was first used full-year in 1996 LT1's. My 1994 (bought new by me) was conventional from the factory. Shoebox had green in his 1995. Some people claim they had Dex-Cool in late 1995 models.

That's interesting. Mine was brown when I bought it last year at 30k miles w/ original coolant.

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Mrmaroon

12-13-2016, 12:47 AM

My fans kicked on because I forgot to plug in my water temp sensor :claps: I plugged it in, restarted and no CEL for about 20 seconds... then CEL and fans. Im almost done with my ALDL FTDI chip. Hope it works.

EDIT: The Eagle has landed! Successful tune with EEHack and the FTDI chip I posted of above.

Mrmaroon

12-13-2016, 11:04 AM

Here's the thread I used for info on the cable.

http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Injection/showthread.php?719-Uber-easy-DIY-USB-ALDL-Cable

Here's the chip I bought. You need a micro USB to male USB cable for it. (Used PS3 charger cord.)

http://m.ebay.com/itm/FT232RL-FTDI-USB-3-3V-5-5V-to-TTL-Serial-Adapter-Module-for-Arduino-Mini-Port-/122258076700?hash=item1c7726341c%3Ag%3AsnYAAOSwa%7 EBYR6XB&_trkparms=pageci%253Acc75aa25-c14b-11e6-a616-74dbd18045af%257Cparentrq%253Af8e047b81580a7884447 d813ffd90f5a%257Ciid%253A6

I'll have to double check on this, something isn't correct on my wiring the car flashes codes when I connect.

I soldered yellow and purple (pin M and L) wires together to Tx/Rx on the chip.

Red wire (pin A) to Ground.

White wire (pin E I think) to DTR. Not sure why may not need this one. The white wire in my RDR cable had a 10k ohm resistor originally.

I'll test just the yellow/purple and red wires to see if that works.

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Injuneer

12-13-2016, 11:29 PM

If "the car flashes codes when I connect", what code(s) is it flashing?

Mrmaroon

12-14-2016, 05:44 PM

If "the car flashes codes when I connect", what code(s) is it flashing?

I'm not sure Fred - I will check when I can. I realized what was happening after I was done scanning.

It may have been the EGR/AIR/Coolant temp sensor DTCs that were set. I have only heard of '93 cars flashing codes though?

My ride smoothness has improved quite a bit. The car runs a lot smoother on the new opti/plugs/wires. It's so quite now I think I've stalled the car.

I still have the idle stumbling problem so I started on the headers/o2 sensor. I notice the change going in to closed loop. My open loop is smoother so the closed loop seems worse to me I think (could be losing it.)

I've got the Y pipe off and am stuck on the last 2 passenger side bolts. I'm going slow with them in case they break. I did crack each bolt a little last year so that helps. Left them overnight in a Kroil bath. I'm going to grind down a socket and the box end of a wrench to fit in there. Also changing the differential fluid.

Injuneer

12-14-2016, 08:45 PM

Why would you be getting a code for AIR? As long as there is a good fuse in the circuit, DTC 29 won't set.

Mrmaroon

12-16-2016, 04:38 AM

Why would you be getting a code for AIR? As long as there is a good fuse in the circuit, DTC 29 won't set.

I assumed I would after ripping out all the AIR stuff? I will check everything thoroughly when I finish the headers. Didn't realize how much blood and tears I would shed for them. Everytime I think I can get away with not unbolting something I'm wrong...

Injuneer

12-16-2016, 12:02 PM

The only code the AIR system sets it for the control relay circuit/fuse. The PCM doesn't have a way to tell if the AIR pump is there, or whether there is any air flow into the manifolds. Those capabilities were not added until 1996 with OBD-2.

Mrmaroon

12-17-2016, 01:47 PM

Aggh should have bought the smaller headers! Of course everyone else's would hit the steering shaft but not me ;). Need to get this done before it gets to -10 tomorrow. We had an Ice storm so I can't drive now. Should finish up tonight.

If you buy the 1 7/8" headers (I think that's what they are). They require beating on. I had to hammer the right side in 3 different places. The left side drops straight in but hits the steering shaft. I did both of mine from the top.

Had to remove right side 3 times and left side once. Still have it on ramps. It may hit below. Need new motor mounts.

I think plugs are harder to do now. Wires are easier tho. I used to be able to do the front 3 on each side from the top. Hard to get #5,7,8 w/ the headers.

I want to leave a review that says "Perfect fitment. 2 beer job!"

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Dan

12-17-2016, 03:38 PM

What headers? I did a ls steering shaft and my xs power didn't hit

Stormyweather

12-18-2016, 01:17 AM

@Mrmaroon (http://ltxtech.com/forums/member.php?u=8511) Weren't those Speed engineering headers? Ive been thinking about those but I don't drink.

Mrmaroon

12-18-2016, 02:53 AM

@Mrmaroon (http://ltxtech.com/forums/member.php?u=8511) Weren't those Speed engineering headers? Ive been thinking about those but I don't drink.

Yea they were the Speed Engineering. If you buy them get for sure new motor mounts, a hammer, drill the outside holes bigger, get Allen head bolts, put the back bolt in first.

I had a helper and it took me a while to make what I had work. I was in a closed barn most nights it was 20 degrees and no working heater.

I got pissed off one time enough to cut my hand open. This was after it took 3 tries to get the passenger side in from the top. I couldn't get the back bolt in. I pulled it a fourth time and did last bolts first.

Driver side dropped straight in. The problem there was the steering shaft. Denting the tube and moving the steering column over was just enough. I may have to get new mounts.

I'm running open headers until the noise pisses me off enough to do the Y pipe. It looks like Ill have to cut the drivers side pipe to Y and my stock cat back some. Running the Y parts without the collector and angling then outward for now. I only needed 1 O2 extension.

They don't look bad, but they're not Kooks either. If pacesetter had cheap stainless I would have got smaller pipes. I've got a magnaflow to put in next.

I'll post a video and some photos when I'm done cleaning up. The headers look great installed Y pipe looks good too. Car sounds good with open headers was surprised!

If I could go back I would def buy the motor mounts and may still do that.

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