tunatrky

Hey guys 'n gals,
I replaced my tired old cap/rotor/wires/plugs and fixed the remainder of my exhaust leaks. Plugs all gapped at 0.035. While I was in there I figured I would finish removing the non-functional AIR injection system [I was hoping to keep it and make it functional, but so much of the plumbing was bad causing exhaust leaks and the pump was frozen].

I was removing the AIR line from the exhaust manifold and the threaded portion broke in half. It's like a transmission line. It still has the pipe on the inside. I tried to easy-out this guy and the easy-out broke in half, the broken half going inside of the exhaust manifold.

I fired this guy up to finish setting TDC because I removed all the wires to free up room. It knocked like crazy. Loud, sharp knocks. I verified timing was correct, I thought wrong firing order or 180 out because of the noise. Still knocking to my dismay. I patched up the hole last night to diagnose knocking before I remove the exhaust manifold and have the bolt taken care of by a machine shop.

I fired it up again this morning and verified no exhaust was leaking from my temporary patch. It's still knocking, not nearly as bad.

Could the easy-out have bounced into the cylinder head chamber?
Could the noise be the pipe bouncing back and forth underneath the patch?


This is very discerning to say the least. My father hinted at rod knock, and I assured him this was no coincidence.


My temporary patch with exhaust sealer. I was surprised it survived the first fire up to be honest. To the left you can see the only grade 8 hex bolts I could find to plug the other AIR injection ports which worked like a charm.

Here it is running. Sorry it's so hard to hear. Hoping to convert to electric fan soon

Jump to 0:27 for the knock sound. Any speculation as to the possibilities would be great. It's pouring rain, so hopefully I can bring it in the carport and start removing my manifold.

Thank you all,
-TunaTrky

tunatrky

In addition, I just set base timing. 6BTDC in drive, 500 rpm, ESC[?] wire disconnected. At proper timing it wants to stumble and die while in gear now, with a general lack of power. Although it does start up on the first crank. It searches for the correct idle, up and down sometimes ~ 75rpm.

Should I just advance it to where it liked to be [8-10 BTDC] or begin troubleshooting IAC, TPS, etc? Also, when I set base timing do I have to disconnect ESC, set timing, and then disconnect battery each time? Or is it okay to simply advance the distributor on these computer controlled cars?

I need to buy a Chilton's book but I don't know if the common 82-92 Firebird books cover the crossfire in depth.

soarestransam

Disconnect the advance by pass wire to set base timing and also set timing in park not drive

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Congratulations! You just gave yourself a reason to buy headers!

As mentioned earlier,

Set base timing with the car in park,

Disconnect the battery, unplug the ESC wire (4 pin connector) , reconnect the battery, and start the car. Set the timing to 6*BTDC. It WILL run rough with the wire disconnected. Turn the car off, reconnect the wire, make sure the dizzy is tightened down, reconnect the battery and start.

I recommend disconnecting the battery each time simply because when I do it, if I don't, I blow the ECM fuse.

Be sure you don't have any vacuum leaks before troubleshooting anything else. Some cars like more advanced timing.

Unfortunately I'm at work and work computers don't like Youtube, so I can't comment on the video at this time. However, I would expect that the exhaust would blow your little bits out, unless it did indeed fall inside the exhaust port of the heads and down into the motor, which means you now have a serious problem.

tunatrky

Ozz1967 I followed those procedures. Reiterated it in park not drive. Why did I hear to do it in drive at 500rpm?

At any rate, the timing's spot on and it's running great - despite possible total destruction. Alas, I'd hate to rip out a perfectly running 305 but if that bolt by some chance in hell made it into the combustion chamber I'm ready to rip it out and scrap. Hopefully the heads are all right as I was planning on using them on my next 350 block. Heard they are better than a lot of the '70s and '80s 350 smog heads that are so common.

I've spent twice the car's purchase price in parts to repair 15+ years of neglect in a couple months, and this really was the last stretch to be in the clear. I was even going to get it ready for paint soon!

I've searched every air injection thread I could find and nobody has had a similar experience. I try not to be thoughtless as to avoid any extra wrenching, but who was to predict the easy out would break? I should have.

I'm trying not to let Chinese bolts and bits ruin my life here, but to be honest cheap Chinese hardware that come with various things has caused me a solid extra week in the shop just over the course of a few months. The bit that broke was cheap, and it was my fault. Tilt pin remover, easy-out, distributor rotor [pathfinder], and some other projects had brand new hardware that snapped in a low torque environment. I've had very seldom bad experiences with actual Chinese parts, depending on application. Just their bolt hardware!

I just can't imagine turning the easy out with a ratchet, and PING it shoots right into the cylinder head valve chamber.

Here is my exact manifold. Of course this one has plugs instead of the injection lines. I was trying to remove the 2nd from left AIR line.
http://static.summitracing.com/globa...-278_GC_xl.jpg

I'm ripping off the manifold now. Will report back. If there's casualties I will be sure to post pictures

OrangeBird

iTrader: (1)

If all you owe this job at this point is an exhaust manifold , why would you go pulling the head(s) before at least looking in the cylinders on the side the broken piece may have fallen into ? Just about any tool rental place , and even most of the auto parts stores around me , have for rent or lend a scope that you can snake down the plughole and have a look around on a small TV like screen to see if the chunk did indeed actually end up in a cylinder ?

wouldn't it suck to take the head off and not find the broken piece ?

tunatrky

I meant pulling the exhaust manifold to visually inspect the head chamber. I was just thinking about a camera that snakes through the plug hole. Any information on this? This is going to be absolutely necessary at this point.

tunatrky

I can't find a place that will rent Borescopes. There are cheap ones available for $50 with no screen, or $150 for a screen. I would rather rent it, as I don't see a future non-mischievous use for it.

tunatrky

Update: #3 cylinder is hammered. I pulled #3 plug and inserted an 8mm inspection camera. Fresh metal dents in the piston. I bought a $110 'Whistler' 8mm inspection camera. $110 at O'Reilly's. I can't take a picture with it, and I can't take a picture of the screen or it's all blurry. RIP 305, 180+K. Unknown, odometer broke long ago. It ran very well.

tunatrky

Note: It was insanely stupid of me to ignore that knock, I didn't think it was physically possible for that bolt to go into the head. Be careful of these things when dealing with stuck AIR injection flares as they are in front of the exhaust ports And don't use the cheap PowerBuilt easy out set... Off to go assess some 350 cores.

tunatrky

Best shot I could get. Phone camera is great but this screen is very poor. I'd recommend spending the extra $50 on one of these.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Bummer man. Worst case scenario!

You should be able to find a 350 core pretty cheap. Hell, now that you "HAVE" to do it, I'd even consider an LS swap, or at least a stroker motor. Now would be the time to do it, especially if you get a 350 core that's not running, since it has to be rebuilt anyway.

But, cheaper to get it on the road, a 350 will get you where you want to go, with the least amount of work. Now you have to decide, how much $$ do you want to put into the motor. You have lots of decisions to make my friend. I wish you luck.

8Mike9

[QUOTE=tunatrky;5852339]( And don't use the cheap PowerBuilt easy out set... /QUOTE]




No, just have to know what easy outs are designed for.