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Tech / General EngineIs your car making a strange sound or won't start? Thinking of adding power with a new combination? Need other technical information or engine specific advice? Don't see another board for your problem? Post it here!
Installed some Koni yellows all the way around. So much better! Definitely firm, but in no way harsh IMO. Starting to feel like a more modern car finally. The KYB Excel-G's were fantastic for the price, but the rear end was just too boat-like.
Gotta decide on some solid strut mounts now. Hard to argue with the price of the Founders ones...
I'll let you know when I get some! Going to wait for a sale at Summit or Jegs or something and get some UMI ones I think. Founders are cheap but after tax and shipping, it's only $30-40 off from UMI at full price from Summit or Jegs with free shipping.
I've never done solid strut mounts on one of these cars so I'm not sure what to expect NVH-wise. Did it on the rear of a Miata and couldn't really tell any difference as far as NVH for what it's worth, but those had a rubber bushing at the bottom of the strut.
my suspension is so beat up. im really tempted to add one piece a week so I can tell what each part does on its own and then as a unit. I have a 3 point strut tower brace, founders strut mounts, wonderbar, voitland springs, kyb agx struts, swaybar bushings. im also doing balljoints and control arm bushings. im not sure I have the patience though
I'll let you know when I get some! Going to wait for a sale at Summit or Jegs or something and get some UMI ones I think. Founders are cheap but after tax and shipping, it's only $30-40 off from UMI at full price from Summit or Jegs with free shipping.
I've never done solid strut mounts on one of these cars so I'm not sure what to expect NVH-wise. Did it on the rear of a Miata and couldn't really tell any difference as far as NVH for what it's worth, but those had a rubber bushing at the bottom of the strut.
Thanks man - let us know. I’m doing new struts but the stock style mounts are pretty new. Hence tempted to do the Founders or UMI as well to “get the most” out of the new struts, but if the additional NVH is significant also nice to avoid that spend.
I was pushing the front of the car down with the hood open and watching the strut mounts and they definitely move around some vertically. They are KYBs and a little over a year old. Under 10k miles for sure. Seems like solid mounts should make a noticeable difference. I also completely filled the fuel tank and it hardly makes a difference now. There used to be a huge difference in how much the rear floated around with the old shocks, especially over speed bumps. I think I might actually like it with the bit of extra weight in the back?
Today I finally hooked the wideband up to the ECM, but it's not pulling into ALDLDroid correctly yet (using APYPWB). Also rigged up the ALDL adapter to get switched power from the ALDL port and then added some Velcro so I can hook it up and stick it right next to the port. Finally no more rats nest of wires when datalogging/monitoring! I think I also finally fixed the tiny bit of knock retard/count at WOT over 3200 RPM, but I gotta drive it more before I get too excited...
today my good running firebird started running badly. feels like a fuel issue. im going to check the filters. I haven't looked at them since ive owned the car. It made me sad.
Got the coolant flush done today on my new IROC. It's been a week long project but I'm pretty happy with how things turned out.
A lot of things were neglected on this car before I bought it, and I'm gradually rectifying past wrongs.
The coolant was disgusting. There was so much rust and filth in the system that it looked like coffee coming out of the radiator. After 5 drains and flushes with distilled water and two separate flushes with Blue Devil radiator flush, things were not improving. I gave in and spliced one of those Prestone backflush kits into the heater inlet hose and went at it with the garden hose.
I ended up filling 3 kids plastic pools with filthy water before it FINALLY ran clear. I then did three more drains and fills with distilled water to get the city water out, and topped it off with concentrated coolant to end up with a roughly 50:50 mix.
After all was said and done, I replaced the thermostat and gasket, water neck, both radiator hoses, all the heater hoses, heater control valve, and throttle body gasket.
Took it for a drive tonight and then rechecked everything - nice clean green coolant, plenty of heat and best of all, no leaks. Mission accomplished!
bought plugs, wires, and a fuel filter today hoping a good tune up would cure my fuel issue. I feel pretty confident that its a gross filter. looking at the filter I wouldn't be surprised if it were the factory piece. I got the fuel filter changed but didn't get to the plugs and wires. once those are on im going to do a cap, rotor, and air filter as well. im probably going to change the injectors but im going to have a look at them and see how they look. they are probably originals.
well life got in my way and I didn't get the plugs and wires in. the fuel filter didn't correct the issue. im bummed about it but will keep after the fuel system until I cure it. luckily there aren't that many parts to a fuel system.
Man I had a rough day today, last night I finished up the 3” exhaust so today I went out there to fire the car over to hear it. The second I opened my door it wreaked of death and I saw a dead baby mouse on the back seat... I just completely re did the interior two years ago with brand new carpet and good conditioned seats so my heart sunk into my chest. I never even drove the car with the new carpet in it... I was working in the interior last week and it still smelled like a brand new car.
after I saw the first mouse I panicked and started looking around. I spotted another baby mouse under the driver seat. They had no fur and their eyes weren’t even open yet. I then excepted that my interior needed to come out so I pulled the two bottom seats in the back. Huge piles of foam and carpet backing... I lifted up the pile of foam and my brand new carpet was soaked and stained yellow with mouse fluid. There was another mouse in one of the piles which brings the mouse count to three.
I then faced my fears and took out the new headliner material I had folded up in the rear floor pan. sure enough, mama mouse was dead underneath it and she stunk so bad. The mouse count is now 4.
My next move was to take the back seat out but before I did that I noticed another baby mouse stuck to the carpet on the side of the drive shaft tunnel. Mouse count 5.
i removed the back seat and lifted up the carpet and didn’t see any signs of them getting underneath it but I’m still not taking my chances, tomorrow I’m pulling the entire interior out of the car. I don’t want to re use the brand new carpet since it’s been violated with mouse fluids. Blows my mind how in under a week they were able to destroy my interior and all die at the scene of the crime, I don’t use poison mouse traps.
this has me thinking though. I have plans on turning the car into a track car, I have my brand new 383 in it and running, built 700r4, adjustable suspension, and a bunch of other performance parts in it, subframes connectors were next on my list before I drive it so I’m thinking now is the time to put a cage in it. I know a cage isn’t necessary at the track for the speed it will run with the current engine but I’m thinking while the interior is already gonna be out of the car then I might as well get it done and crossed off the list for the future.
After all this heartache I’m not even sure if I wanna put carpet and back seats back in the car. Ever since I moved into this house I’ve been at war with the mice in the garage and they finally dropped the atomic bomb on me, I wanna surrender. I would leave it outside but the rain will leak in through the t tops and wreak havoc as well, I was planning on doing all the gaskets soon but I’ve seen many posts of people with new t top gaskets still getting rain water in. I think I’m just gonna leave the carpet and seats out until The cage is in, new gaskets installed, and the mice have been defeated.
Bought a 4th gen leather interior. The colour was 'off' for my tan/ beachwood interior. Fixed up the leather cracks and holes and painted the drivers side seat in Camel. Worked out great I think...
This came in a few hours ago, hope to get it installed soon. Going for one last run at the track with the 10 bolt this week. Its gonna be the first run with the blower and last run with the 10 bolt.. Seems fitting.
started changing the plugs, did the passenger side front underneath. while I was under there I found a plug that's broken and hanging. it looks like it connects to a brass fitting screwed into the block but im not sure i
f that the case. im guessing its a knock sensor but im not sure. I will research it. this is near the starter
I reattached my new air dam. I've had a hell of a time figuring out what the right size bolts are for this thing.
As it turns out, 4 of the six were 6.3mm bolts with a 10mm hex head. The previous owner appears to have somehow enlarged the other two holes in the core support, so I have to figure those ones out.
While I was under the car, I lubed the front end.
Took it for a nice long drive tonight. Not sure how many more nice days we'll have before it's time to put her away for the winter.
This came in a few hours ago, hope to get it installed soon. Going for one last run at the track with the 10 bolt this week. Its gonna be the first run with the blower and last run with the 10 bolt.. Seems fitting.
Originally Posted by Evilokc
started changing the plugs, did the passenger side front underneath. while I was under there I found a plug that's broken and hanging. it looks like it connects to a brass fitting screwed into the block but im not sure i
f that the case. im guessing its a knock sensor but im not sure. I will research it. this is near the starter
Knock sensor is the plugged in sensor just above the starter in the pic, right below where it says "878" on the block. The stray unplugged connector would be the radiator fan switch which goes into the head (and coolant passage) between the rear two spark plugs on that side of the engine. You need to make sure it's plugged in otherwise the cooling fan won't work depending on year/engine.
The knock sensor and fan switch both use the same connector, just different colors. So note which one is which if you ever unplug both at the same time.
not a great day in thirdgen world today. I noticed I had a plug hanging last night. i thought it might be a knock sensor but its in fact the fan sensor plug. the wife took the car out and it overheated. I hope there is no damage. I ordered a new sensor. fingers crossed.
Man I had a rough day today, last night I finished up the 3” exhaust so today I went out there to fire the car over to hear it. The second I opened my door it wreaked of death and I saw a dead baby mouse on the back seat... I just completely re did the interior two years ago with brand new carpet and good conditioned seats so my heart sunk into my chest. I never even drove the car with the new carpet in it... I was working in the interior last week and it still smelled like a brand new car.
after I saw the first mouse I panicked and started looking around. I spotted another baby mouse under the driver seat. They had no fur and their eyes weren’t even open yet. I then excepted that my interior needed to come out so I pulled the two bottom seats in the back. Huge piles of foam and carpet backing... I lifted up the pile of foam and my brand new carpet was soaked and stained yellow with mouse fluid. There was another mouse in one of the piles which brings the mouse count to three.
I then faced my fears and took out the new headliner material I had folded up in the rear floor pan. sure enough, mama mouse was dead underneath it and she stunk so bad. The mouse count is now 4.
My next move was to take the back seat out but before I did that I noticed another baby mouse stuck to the carpet on the side of the drive shaft tunnel. Mouse count 5.
i removed the back seat and lifted up the carpet and didn’t see any signs of them getting underneath it but I’m still not taking my chances, tomorrow I’m pulling the entire interior out of the car. I don’t want to re use the brand new carpet since it’s been violated with mouse fluids. Blows my mind how in under a week they were able to destroy my interior and all die at the scene of the crime, I don’t use poison mouse traps.
this has me thinking though. I have plans on turning the car into a track car, I have my brand new 383 in it and running, built 700r4, adjustable suspension, and a bunch of other performance parts in it, subframes connectors were next on my list before I drive it so I’m thinking now is the time to put a cage in it. I know a cage isn’t necessary at the track for the speed it will run with the current engine but I’m thinking while the interior is already gonna be out of the car then I might as well get it done and crossed off the list for the future.
After all this heartache I’m not even sure if I wanna put carpet and back seats back in the car. Ever since I moved into this house I’ve been at war with the mice in the garage and they finally dropped the atomic bomb on me, I wanna surrender. I would leave it outside but the rain will leak in through the t tops and wreak havoc as well, I was planning on doing all the gaskets soon but I’ve seen many posts of people with new t top gaskets still getting rain water in. I think I’m just gonna leave the carpet and seats out until The cage is in, new gaskets installed, and the mice have been defeated.
Damn, that sucks. How/where do you think the mice managed to get in?
got my fan sensor. will install it tomorrow and start testing for a dead cylinder. ive been searching and searching for the cause of my running issue. I felt like it was a fuel issue. however I noticed a few symptoms that are odd. 1) car starts fine. 2)exhaust note is weird and choppy,3) exhaust smells like fuel,4) motor shakes under load,5) no power,6) motor doesn't want to revv here is the symptom that threw me. as stated the motor has no power and wont revv. however if I powerbrake it I can get the rpms up and it takes off as expected but as the rpms even out I lose all the power again.
welp seems like was a spark issue. running much better. didn't get the fan switch in yet but may still do it this evening. took the car out for about 15 miles at different speeds and it felt much better. haven't done cap and rotor yet but will soon. now I can get back to my suspension.
Started messing around with better audio for the car. Despite the 6x9s, the bass was just non-existent. it's weird because my 2nd gen with 6x9's in the rear deck has plenty of bass (but not super low subwoofer bass obviously). So I installed a Rockford Fosgate P300-10. So much better! I tried a Rockville RW10CA slim 10" last week but I just wasn't happy with it. It was better than nothing for sure, but it seemed to have a weird response curve and I just didn't like how sloppy it sounded.
I was originally hell bent on putting the sub in the spare tire compartment so it was hidden, but the P300 wouldn't squeeze in there and after thinking about it, the deck area is useless for storage most of the time anyways. The P300 has connectors for power and everything so it's super easy to unplug and take it out, and the umbilical cord is long enough that I should be able to fold the rear passenger seat down and set it there.
Makes me want to add a 4 channel amp and upgrade the other speakers from the low budget 4x6 and 6x9 Pioneers I have running off the head unit. But I want to gut the interior and do a full deadener/foam/MLV treatment first since it really needs new carpet anyways.
I installed the fan switch. it fixed nothing and created more problems. I pulled the original fan switch and asyouknow half my coolant flowed all over. I put down a drain pan but I still got a nice coolant shower to get me sticky. I pulled out the original fan switch sensor and compared it to the replacement and it didn't look the same. the replacement was a bit longer. I already had it out so I tried the new one. it was difficult to install because the extra length interfered with the hard line that runs near it. I plugged in the switch and started the car. it wasn't leaking but the temp gauge immediately went to 220. the motor was still cool to the touch but it read 220. I will go tomorrow with the original and make sire I get the correct part and go at it again. I have no clue whats up with the temp gauge.
I snagged up my ` 86 IROC a couple of years ago. I always dreamed of having a Camaro since I was ten years old.
At that time we had a Chevy dealer on my block an was always checking out the 1971 2nd gens. Oh the corvettes
had the better engine but the Z28's just stole my heart. When FI came in the mid '80`s and the
HP and handling was on the upswing and .. that awesome hatch window shape came, well my love for the Third gen exploded!
What I've done.. just bits here and there as a humble family man can afford but the best thing I done today (Technicaĺly yesterday) was
Take her out for a fun Drive!! Whoo Hoo!
I'll try to upload some pics
*
Last edited by TAbracadabra; 10-14-2018 at 04:01 AM.
Reason: Correct double mention and typo and add a few words:)
Only a few local car shows left and gotta have some fun before she gets tucked in the warm garage to hibernate for the winter.
Rollout In late March or April is such a long wait.
Started messing around with better audio for the car. Despite the 6x9s, the bass was just non-existent. it's weird because my 2nd gen with 6x9's in the rear deck has plenty of bass (but not super low subwoofer bass obviously). So I installed a Rockford Fosgate P300-10. So much better! I tried a Rockville RW10CA slim 10" last week but I just wasn't happy with it. It was better than nothing for sure, but it seemed to have a weird response curve and I just didn't like how sloppy it sounded.
I was originally hell bent on putting the sub in the spare tire compartment so it was hidden, but the P300 wouldn't squeeze in there and after thinking about it, the deck area is useless for storage most of the time anyways. The P300 has connectors for power and everything so it's super easy to unplug and take it out, and the umbilical cord is long enough that I should be able to fold the rear passenger seat down and set it there.
Makes me want to add a 4 channel amp and upgrade the other speakers from the low budget 4x6 and 6x9 Pioneers I have running off the head unit. But I want to gut the interior and do a full deadener/foam/MLV treatment first since it really needs new carpet anyways.
With that hardware sitting on the shelf like that, do you have the vinyl cover to pull over it?
I installed the fan switch. it fixed nothing and created more problems. I pulled the original fan switch and asyouknow half my coolant flowed all over. I put down a drain pan but I still got a nice coolant shower to get me sticky. I pulled out the original fan switch sensor and compared it to the replacement and it didn't look the same. the replacement was a bit longer. I already had it out so I tried the new one. it was difficult to install because the extra length interfered with the hard line that runs near it. I plugged in the switch and started the car. it wasn't leaking but the temp gauge immediately went to 220. the motor was still cool to the touch but it read 220. I will go tomorrow with the original and make sire I get the correct part and go at it again. I have no clue whats up with the temp gauge.
That's strange. The coolant temperature gauge sending unit is on the driver side between the front two cylinders. Changing your fan switch shouldn't have done anything to the gauge.
Originally Posted by 2 birds 1 Z
With that hardware sitting on the shelf like that, do you have the vinyl cover to pull over it?
No, and I'm not sure that would actually cover it. Not crazy about it being visible either. At least I have rear window louvers sort of covering it I guess?
Picked up a late 4th gen spare from the junkyard. Tight, but it fits. Had to leave the plastic pedestal thing out and trim the tab on the interior panel to get that to fit back in place. Had the jack and ratchet and all that already, but no actual spare tire. I do have AAA, but I wanted a spare too just in case of some odd situation where I can't wait for a tow, or just need a wheel on it while I deal with the blown one. I figure if a rear tire goes I can put the donut on to keep from damaging the wheel and call AAA. Or if I really need to drive it just a little further/limp to a nearby tire shop, I can put the donut on the front and put a front tire on the back to save the probably worn out posi.
with the car running well I decided to tackle the front suspension. I did ball joints, springs, and struts. its not a terribly difficult job but removing springs is pretty scary. I rented a ball joint press from orileys. it was rough getting the old ball joint out until I realized I was pressing the wrong direction. once that was fixed thing popped right out. the other super smart thing I did was decide that the control arm would be easier to get back together if the spring was still compressed. it was very easy but then I couldn't get spring compressor out of the spring. I got it all done correctly. the test drive showed a greatly improved ride. im pretty happy that I used my weekend to get it done. I still have a wonderbar , swaybar bushings and end links , casterplayes/upper strut mounts , and a 3 point strut tower brace to install and then steering will be next. ,then rear suspension, then subframe connector
Picked up a late 4th gen spare from the junkyard. Tight, but it fits. Had to leave the plastic pedestal thing out and trim the tab on the interior panel to get that to fit back in place. Had the jack and ratchet and all that already, but no actual spare tire. I do have AAA, but I wanted a spare too just in case of some odd situation where I can't wait for a tow, or just need a wheel on it while I deal with the blown one. I figure if a rear tire goes I can put the donut on to keep from damaging the wheel and call AAA. Or if I really need to drive it just a little further/limp to a nearby tire shop, I can put the donut on the front and put a front tire on the back to save the probably worn out posi.
what does a salvage charge for a 4th gen spare? I could also use one.
when I installed my balljoints last weekend I didn't have a grease gun. today I went out and greased em up real good. my new steering rebuild kit is on the way. im really hoping that will cure my click. I think its a bad tierod end clicking. they are in pretty bad shape. cars running well though and the new front suspension has improved the ride.
Picked up a late 4th gen spare from the junkyard. Tight, but it fits. Had to leave the plastic pedestal thing out and trim the tab on the interior panel to get that to fit back in place. Had the jack and ratchet and all that already, but no actual spare tire. I do have AAA, but I wanted a spare too just in case of some odd situation where I can't wait for a tow, or just need a wheel on it while I deal with the blown one. I figure if a rear tire goes I can put the donut on to keep from damaging the wheel and call AAA. Or if I really need to drive it just a little further/limp to a nearby tire shop, I can put the donut on the front and put a front tire on the back to save the probably worn out posi.
Apparently I've missed a trick somewhere along the line....why a 4th gen. spare?
Apparently I've missed a trick somewhere along the line....why a 4th gen. spare?
Mainly because the newest 4th gen spare is going to be 10 years newer than the best 3rd gen spare. Not sure how much of a difference that makes now that I realize 2002 was 16 years ago though... I was seriously considering getting the correct inflatable spare off eBay/Craigslist, but I'm not sure I'd trust that style of spare tire at that age.
Plus it's on a 16" wheel and should be compatible with 4th gen LS1 brakes if I end up actually doing that.
09-27-2018, 09:03 PM
