Stewie

Let's see, a guy with wife and kids driving a very practical, but boring, van watching another guy get out of an impractical, but fun & cool looking sports car. That had to be the "Stare of Envy and Crushed Dreams."

Gumby

Cost $20 to fill up tonight

Gumby

Strange vibration over 55, not tires

Front end is all rebuilt, good alignment, July 4th night on a back country bumpy road suddenly anything over 55 has a strange vibration you can feel in the stick also.

Had the rears rebalanced, just did a test on the fronts with a diff set of rims n tires and its still there. I was almost sure it was a balance issue in the front.

Totaly lost where to look now.

Gumby

Just to update my saga with "her" feeling like the right front tire is gonna come off, and vibration in the stick making me have to keep it under 50.......

add oil, its gone.............

Gumby

Check this out, here is my cap, maybe the rotor wasn't down far enough? kinda chewed into it, and the center nipple was all cracked n chewed up, was a couple of years ago since I changed it. That stress must of stressed the Ign mod as it went first warm day after work.

Gumby

Time to get back at it, have put off doing the exhaust way to long, tired of fixing little holes here n there, that result in fumes coming in the car. Ran out and bought a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Orvis 4.0L Up-Country + BB for the winter, then it didn't snow for crap most of winter, didn't tunr out to bad, she is a rare one of her own, standard they came with a V8, someone special ordered it with the more traditional I6 n all the upgrades. Only one incident with "Death Wobble" but did saved putting 6000mi on the Bird...

Gumby

Well here we go again, 10 years later I have to revisit this thread and fix the pass side like I fixed the drivers side so long ago. [ Maybe ill use a license plate again for fun ]


https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/1...ml#post1392964



no wonder I was getting fumes inside. Once again, ive caught things just in time.

Though I may go that extra mile now that I have the Alstons, I could cut allot out and really beef things up.

Even considering doing a back seat delete, total removal and reshape of the area to make it a 2 seater only.

But was glad to see what I did repair 10 years ago, is still holding up...

Gumby

BMR sub-frame connectors will be here tomorrow. Them plus the Alston will give me a full solid frame. So there is no concern about sheet metal holding the car together. Not that I need to yet, just annoying. I plan to make the LCA connection stronger so in theory, the BMR's could take the full weight or brunt of forced needed to keep the LCA's in place. Will also tie in the Alston's

Gumby

...

Gumby

Let me guess, the lca bolts go through a metal sleeve, would not break lose, cut head off, still wont budge / pound out. N i can't proceed till i test fit the right side arrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh

Gumby

Now where do I go from here, my guess is ill get the bolt drilled 90% out and then the sleeve will start to spin inside rubber bushing, or just drill and tape the bolt, for another bolt and leave it in there, slot the BMR around the bolt in back, once welded, weld bolt to BMR.... I dunno what to do....

zs&tas

Can you not chuck a grinding disc up there and cut the bolt to get the lca and bushing of the car. Then work on whats left ?
I use 4" 1mm thick discs , because they are thin they are great at cutting through metal.

Gumby

dose the bushing come out or off that easy???

Figured id have to remove the whole thing and get use of a giant press???

zs&tas

You can get the lca off the car that way and you will be no different than if had managed to undo the bolt normally ?
Bushing shouldnt be too hard to replace with some imagination ;-)

Gumby

3 jaw puller, 4 in clamp will make a pres for the sleeve but now the rubber part???

replacement ones are two piece not one, struggles for another day on the rubber or just leave it. is in good shape. not all dry rotted.

Gumby

worst part is now I gotta wait again, rockauto order wont be here till sat. local they want almost $30 for a set, less then $20 shipped from RA.

zs&tas

Nice.
Cant find a small metal disc ? Or make one to push on the rubber sitting between puller and rubber.

Gumby

Thinking of just leaving it in there till I get all the welding done, since it needs to be bolted up. But I need a sleeve to start that.

might try slicing the sleeve down one side, try n pry it open some n maybe it will release the section of bolt still in there.

Then later I think maybe if I can take cutting disc, and thin down a sawall blade to fit into the hole, I can cut the rubber into section. As I know its in there well, pushing the sleeve out, it looked to be pushing out as well, but snapped right back n never budged a tiny bit.

That bolt was a PITA, only got 90% drilled through, the last little bit that stuck out past the nut, some how was super hard, would not drill through even with a cobalt bit.

Gumby

Annnnnnnnnnnd I end up with the wrong parts. I hate that interactive menu RA makes ya use. Use to be able to still load the old html one.

I ended up with pan-hard bar bushing, why they are 2 piece rubber. Though they look similar I guess only the sleeves might be useful.

LCA are the major PITA 2 ton press ones, its a whole metal part that presses in and out.

That's gonna hafta wait, I really want to just get all the welding and patching done.

I have the whole area open on the pass side, even the section of frame where the Alston's mount. Gonna tie it all into one [ more then sheet metal] and into the body.

angle iron down the side of body,another piece flipped into LCA bracket, wide flat stock boxing frame and all tied into one. Id like to lay some square stock across that to go from side wall to the tunnel, but I can get round cheaper. Then another piece to be top of tunnel high. don't know yet if I just want a shelf, or a storage area that flips open, put speakers in it, just 100% backseat delete, "sorry no you can't ride in back".

Gumby

dam potentiometer in the welder is acting up. hmmm could I use a dimmer switch?

Gumby

well it may end up being the end for me with the Bird, I haven't had time to make good progress and been super tempted to buy a Corvette instead. lots n lots of real nice ones in my price range.....

not sure if id part it out, or try n sell whole.

Gumby

progress, first I figured out why the LCA bolts freeze up in the sleeve, only 1/3 of the bolt is the full width/dia of the sleeve, other 2/3 tapers down for the threads, leaving lots of room for nasty corrosion to build up inside. [ BMR replacement bolts are full shank till out of the LCA ]

Cut the old one in half to remove bolt, tack back together and jam back in the rubber.

Now for the other fun stuff, the BMR do not match up well with the frame in the front. Using a jack to force contact just makes the whole thing twist. so on the edge of the frame section where its double thick metal I drilled two hole up through and into the floor. Ill use a large thick plate for a sandwich. So that will hold it firmly square, ill slice just enough so the rest of the pad can bend up to touch then weld city.

Gumby

see whats going on here, first thought was id get more help with my fitment problem there, but then I went a whole different route... Bolt in BMR SFC are a thing now.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...lston-sfc.html

Gumby

Gumby

TPS n coolant temp sensor still not installed, here is a temp fix im gonna use for now. 87 5.7l 4+3 stick, scary fast

Gumby

Crazy idea, tried an old ECM that has a burnt section. ITS ALIVE...

Gumby

It was all so strange, spent weeks rebuilding it. There was welding but it ran fine when all done. All I did was move it to the side yard and somehow that messed up the EMC control of the injectors. Same prom n memcal in old ecm with burnt section, yet it run now. Will move under its own power where it would not move an inch without stalling/ flooding out. Dunno why it never hit me to try a diff ecm. Nice owning a C4 Vette but I miss my Bird, had her for a long long long time. And she has been through all sorts of changes, designs n styles. Think my next one will be to make it into a rally car. 31x10.5x15 on the rear, big tall skinnys nobbys on the front. Build a push bar with 4 round lights.

Gumby

The Bird has spoken, she has given approval and forgiveness. The 10mm socket the engine compartment ate 3 years ago at my old house, has appeared on the ground at my new house.

firstfirebird

iTrader: (3)

...and probably have bought 3x that many since? Tool companies should make sets that just have the common sizes by make/model of vehicles lol.

Good to see your thread still going. Last I signed in was in here 2105, have PM's that are several years old