Well, went junkyarding today. I'm never going to the RIP-OFF yard again as he's crushed the 91 and that was THE LAST F-BODY he had in the yard. Heck, that was the last GM car that I know of that was older than about 1994. Didn't get the heater pipe.

I did, however, manage to get a 7X sensor to ignition module wire out of an 02 Malibu before I went to the other yard and got the lower half of the HVAC vacuum harness I needed. I did find a pipe at the other yard, but it's not what I'm looking for. I'm going to remove the A/C pipe I have and test it with water to see which of the pipes running into the diverter valve I can cut off. I know one of them is a blank, but I don't know which.

Also got some other assorted parts and the Heli-Coil set I needed to put the studs in the #5 cylinder for the header. I just need to get the driver's side header out and grind on it some more (can't get the stud into the lower #2 cylinder hole) and put another stud in there, but that will have to wait until I can see what's going on with the clutch slave heat shield situation. And then I can't put the headers OR EGR valve back on until I a, get new header gaskets, b, weld the EGR transfer tube to the #2 primary, and c, either paint or have the headers ceramic coated after being sandblasted. And of course make the blanking plate for the EGR valve. I do NOT want a vacuum leak coming from THAT thing!

And I forgot to order that blasted starter solenoid .

Anyways, I got the ignition coil assembly mocked up onto the engine and temporarily ran the 7X wire to where it should be. I need to take it back out and get rid of the junk wire loom, but that will wait until tomorrow. At that time, since I rented a PS pump pulley remover and pulled the pulley off of the spare pump I have to get it off of the V8 bracket, I will also be working on my accessory drive. If weather permits. If not tomorrow, then the following day because the weather is supposed to be better.

Eddi, no rush on those bell clips... I was just wondering if you had a couple.

:edit: A quick question for those with 3x00 heads and PaceSetter headers... Is it difficult to change the spark plugs? Looks like it could be a pain to me, but maybe that's just me .

 

I looked again mav. I cannnot find those clips. I must of lost them along the way.

 

Well, got the starter solenoid. Hooked up the battery today and found out that I either have no power on the START circuit from the ignition switch OR some issue between the switch and my VATS starter enable relay (no power at the relay, I know the VATS works). I'll have to deal with that tomorrow (yay, no snow and no 20 degree temps ). Can't crank her over yet to make sure I have decent oil pressure build-up .

Quick question... About how much space is allowable between my header primaries and the clutch slave cylinder? I got the slave bolted back into place today (I don't want to blow it apart AGAIN... only done that twice now ), and I literally have about 1/2" of clearance down there. I do have some heat wrap on the assembly that was in the car when I bought it. Should I plan on using that? Looks like the heat shield isn't going to fit.

:edit: And it seems that finding a pair of battery cables for a V6 with the battery mounted on the PASSENGER'S side is like looking for a specific needle in a needle factory. Only sets I've seen so far have been CUT for some reason or are otherwise butchered (seriously, I saw a set someone cut the factory battery ends off of to put on a pair of TOP POST terminals! ) .

 

Well, looks like I'm going to have to buy another part I shouldn't have to buy...

Ignition switch isn't giving me power on the START circuit. I have continuity between the switch and the VATS starter enable relay, but I have no power coming out to the yellow wire at the switch. I could swear the thing worked 2 years ago when I stopped driving the Bird, no problems at all. Oh, well. Guess it's going to be another couple weeks before I can turn the engine over and make sure I have good oil pressure and/or compression.

Also found out I need a 1/8" spacer between my crank pulley and the damper so that the pulley will line up with my alternator pulley. And I'll need to get a manual tensioning rod for the alt along with at least a replacement front alt housing to get the bolt hole in the right place for the tensioning rod. In case anyone is wondering, a 3x00 dogbone mount with lifting eye will be used as the main alt bracket. It barely fits behind the thermostat housing. The belt will be rerouted accordingly once everything is settled.

Will also be adding a 1/2 NPT to 10AN adapter and 10AN 180* fittings to the parts list for the intake heater hose.

Currently working on an adapter plate to mount the 4th gen heater box to the 3rd gen bulkhead. Found out I need a 1" spacer between the bulkhead and the box to get the box pushed against the center duct as it's supposed to be. Still will need to modify the A/C delete box for the heater core I have yet to buy.

 

if ur not keeping the ac go grab a heater box out of an s10 pickup , some gm/gmc vans/trucks also use the same box im using one in my tt iroc and it gives a ton of room

 

I deleted the A/C out of my 87 3 years ago... I've got a blower case from an 84 unoptioned 4 banger Camaro I've been using (which I bought a replacement motor for a few months ago since the one that was on the box was going bad). I still need to cut the hole where the 4th gen heater core pipes come through the bulkhead since the location is different from the 3rd.

 

Um, a little help here! bl85c, someone?

I'm having a serious issue between the MegaSquirt and the ignition module.

I have:
1. Power and good ground to ignition module
2. Good signal to ignition module from 7X CKP (BTW, anyone needing to get the TCE crank trigger kit needs to buy a sensor from a 3.4 Camaro... FWD sensors are 1/2" too short!)
3. I HAVE SPARK. How do I know? If I leave the wires off of one of the coils, I CAN HEAR IT.

I do NOT have a working engine speed signal to either the MSII or the instrument panel.

All wires have been tested to under .5 ohms resistance, and re-tested, and tested again just to make sure. Tach wire (for the cluster) was redone to eliminate the test connector which was providing high resistance (in the order of 60 ohms!). I even replaced the ground wire coming out of the module connector and connected it straight to the battery. And yes, I have already tried a second ignition coil pack.

The MSII is working properly on the stim. I can get an engine speed reading for a few milliseconds when first cranking, just enough for the needle in TunerStudio to register, but I get zilch after that.

After this, I think the next step is to try to close the terminals in the large module connector so they will seat more tightly inside the module. Followed by getting a replacement connector. I have finished the fuel system and just need to get gas in the tank and pressure test the lines after I get the fuel pump wiring done up (need to get a connector tool to get a power wire out of a spare connector I have and to make up a ground wire). But I can't even attempt to start the engine without a tach signal to the MegaSquirt.

 

if u are running the lastest ms2 extra code u can do an ignition capture log in tuner studio.

also take a datalog while cranking and send it to me with ur msq file
u may possibly have an incorrect setting in ur tune i.e a mis configured ignition input or output

with this said my first experiance with ms2 extra was not a pleasant one, the thing is i cant blame the code cause im thinking the megasquirt i bought used came with a bad ms2 cpu.but the version of code i was running also had a bug that would throw a map sample error and cause the ms unit to ignore the fueling table for the most part, and the car would only idle

over the winter i downgraded my megasquirt to an ms1 cpu runing the latest ms1 extra code, which i fully expect to cure my fueling and ignition issues on my twin turbo iroc.

the down side is between my work at the gym, and my newly started dj company i havent had the time to go work on my iroc to see if it fixed my issue.
im hopping to have some time this weekend to work on it

the dam weather just broke here its been 80* everyday pretty much and the iroc is calling my name to start driving it again lol

 

I'm not running MS2 extra... It's MS2 v 2.891, IIRC (I looked it up yesterday and kind of forgot which version). I didn't and still don't see a need to run extra as I don't plan on using nitrous, boost control, or any of that sort of thing.

The thing is that it IS seeing the ignition module. For a grand total of about half a second, I can get an RPM reading or 450 RPM. Forget anything after that. Turn the ignition off and try again, and still zip.

I just replaced the wires between the factory wires (87 harness) and the 7-pin connector for the module. Same thing.

I had a thought a little bit ago...

What's the voltage sensitivity of the 3100 module? My battery is toast. I'm only keeping it alive by using my onboard trickle charger. Once I start cranking, the batt voltage drops QUICK (and takes a couple hours to get back to where the charger shuts off at 13V). Should I plan on a new battery when I go to the parts store to get the rest of my exhaust parts? I'm already planning on getting one, but I was hoping this one would at least give me some time.

 

Uhh, yeah, battery Voltage while cranking (and after) is of great importance.

 

Uhh, yeah... My dizzy worked just fine down to 9V (still provided crank signal but had a BAD misfire due to low voltage at the coil). My alternator died while on the highway years ago and I pulled over into a rest area to find out what was up and stupidly shut the engine off. Needless to say, it didn't crank over again until both the alternator and battery were replaced (at a cost of $400).

If the DIS is that voltage sensitive, isn't it kind of stupid? I'm not even getting into the 10V range. I can see not being able to get a good spark, but there is no reason why the module shouldn't be able to produce a decent reference pulse under 12V. And, again, I'M STILL GETTING SPARK!

I had another thought a couple minutes ago...

Keeping the same battery for now, can I use the GM 7X function of the JimStim to produce a 7X signal to the module for testing purposes? This would serve the purpose of keeping batt voltage up while producing a viable 7X signal to the module that should work long enough to get a longer-lasting signal to the MSII.

 

You don't need to use the 7x signal from the JimStim, the ECM sees the exact same signal as a dizzy from the DIS ICM.

There's two parts to what makes electrical items work, voltage and amperage. If the car will not crank over at 10 volts from the battery, then you do not have enough current. I'm not going to get into the power (Watts) part of the equation, but I would replace the battery, it seems to be the source of your problem from what you're showing.

The Delco EFI doesn't like to work below 9V and in many cases will actually shut off at that point, even though I have ran the ignition systems off lower voltage, it didn't like it.

 

run the ms 2 extra code it offers alot of new features including ignition and trigger loggers that the base ms2 code does not have

it also offers alot more tuning resolution on both the fuel and ignition sides


i agree with 6 shooter fix the battery megasquirt itself does not like low voltage and is prolly reseting while u are cranking

 

MS2 extra is not necessary and more headache than I need.

MS is NOT resetting while cranking. I've been sitting there looking at the full list of all inputs/outputs and the time counters keep on counting. The battery voltage remains above 11V. Yes, the basic interface in TunerStudio says "BATTERY LOW" but it's NOT resetting.

And that's the part that irks me. The system voltage is staying above 11V (until I really get on the starter). With my distributor, I wouldn't have any issue getting DRPs. The module IS PRODUCING SPARK. It's a BRIGHT WHITE SPARK jumping the distance between both coil towers on the same coil, about 1 1/4" apart or whatever. But I'm NOT GETTING DRPs.

I will try a different battery, but I seriously doubt it's going to help. And it's going to have to wait a couple days. In the meantime, I'm going to see if hooking up the JimStim to the 7X input on the module is going to work.

 

ms2 extra is not more headache infact its more helpfull

i had igintion issue son my tt iroc using ms2 base code that i couldnt figure out loaded ms2 extra and used the ignition logger and fixed it in 5 minutes

its mostly likley u have an input or output misconfigured i see it all the time

but without ur msq its anyone quess as to whats wrong

go on the ms forums first thing there going to ask for is msq and datalog , there is no other way to trouble shoot ur issues

 

Well, now, after this THIRD module has the exact same symptoms as the other 2, and I've done some checking on the subject, I can safely say that the DIS issue is with the trigger wheel. Instead of the timing notches being 3/16" wide and 1/4" deep, they're 1/4" wide and were originally 3/16" deep. The spacing on the #1 notches is completely wrong... There's next to nothing between them.

So, it looks like I'm going to have to make my own, and I'm going to make the issue known to the place I got the DIS trigger kit from (British Car Conversions). Only question I have is... Where is a good place to buy an 8" square or 7.25" round piece of 1/8" steel?

 

If you're getting spark, the trigger wheel is fine.

On my wheel I have less than 1/8" of material between the pulse and home notches and it's worked flawlessly in two vehicles, with a combined on vehicle running time of about 7 years. Mine is home made, BCC, nor anyone else had off the shelf trigger wheels when I first needed a trigger wheel more than 10 years ago.

Are you getting fuel? Do you have the coils connected to the coorrect cylinders in time with their TDC compression events? I found out recently that although in theory if the trigger wheel is 180* out the engine should still run, it does not, it will just crank like there isno ignition.

 

I've had 3 or 4 trigger wheels from Marc and never had a problem with them.


Can you post a pic?

 

Let me be clear on this:

I THOUGHT I had spark originally. Now, I don't get squat. Between THREE DIS modules and 2 7x sensors.

All 3 DIS modules have spark with my JimStim hooked up to the module's yellow 7x terminal and in 7x simulator mode. I get NOTHING with the REAL 7x hooked up. Nothing. The wires are on the coils in 2,5,6,3,4,1 order (module is turned backwards on the bracket so #1 is at the REAR). Spark has been checked with a spare plug on the #1 wire. I do NOT get DRPs with the 7x. I get DRPs with the JimStim and through test light stimulation of the PPL/WHT REF HI wire (as is in the FSM), as was verified by fuel pump relay running the pump, injectors pulsing, and TunerStudio showing as such. Both 7x sensors test well within specifications (I was sent a copy of the flow charts for No Start and DTC 82 for the 3.4 Camaro).

Believe me, I've got fuel. I didn't originally remember the 305 injectors leaking, but apparently they do, and I'm going to need to change the oil pretty soon (gas is in the oil).

The only thing left to replace is the reluctor. The reluctor has, literally, about 1/16" between TDC#1 and the sync "teeth". It sure as heck isn't the 10* as specified in the DIS specifications. As I said before, the "teeth" are too wide. I thought they looked kind of funny when I bought the kit, but it's too late now.

Basically, I'm down to either one of 2 things:
1. ALL THREE of my DIS modules are defective (if you think I believe all 3 are defective when all 3 test EXACTLY THE SAME... ).
2. The reluctor needs to be replaced with something closer to specifications.

 

Dug out my old damper from the junk metal bin. Used a template I drew up last night using the GM DIS page for the MSII to cut notches in the outer ring of the damper.

I now have spark. It's taking a couple revolutions of the crank to send the DRPs to the MSII, but they're being sent now.

The BCC damper is completely WRONG. They have the #1 sync pulse coming 10* BTDC instead of ATDC, and the other notches are 10* off as a result (actually, they have the #1 TDC mark right but the other cylinder notches are referenced off of the SYNC notch instead of the TDC notch!). I'll be sending them an email shortly.

Battery is D E A D. Going to get a new one when I can. My life support failed.

Question:

With approximately 11.4:1 compression, about what compression PSI should I be reading on my gauge? I'd like to get the valves 100% set using max compression PSI before I go any further.

 

Sounds like you installed the wheel backwards.

It's not 10* between the notches, it's 10* between falling edges. This means there are 10* of rotation from the beginning of one notch to the beginning of the next notch.

 

Um, duh. The damper only goes on ONE WAY. The notches are cut into the outer ring of the damper, as I said before.

It's 10* between the #1 TDC and #1 SYNC pulses. Then it's 50* between #1 SYNC and #2 TDC, and 60* between notches back around to #1 TDC. I didn't screw up, BCC did.

Might want to look here if you don't think I know what I'm talking about:

http://www.megamanual.com/ms2/GM_DIS.htm

And the BCC page... This is the kit I bought, for reference:

http://www.britishcarconversions.com...category_id=28

 

I'm well aware how the DIS trigger wheel works, I made mine back on '02 for my turbo 3.2L Jimmy, and is currently installed on my 2.8L Nissan engine.

Look closely at the diagram, it's not 10* between the sync and TDC notches, it's 10* between falling edges. On MS diagram the centers of the notches are being indicated. The ICM is actually looking for the falling edge, or the leading edge of the notch that indicates a change in state. The rising edge is ignored.

You're the only one that I've heard have issues with the conversion kit. Though, I've never liked any trigger wheel being cut into a harmonic balancer, since the outer ring does move in relation to the crank, even just a little.

BCC used to sell a different kit, that was not part of the balancer.

 

Marc is a great guy, get ahold of him and i'm sure he'll take care of you.


That must be a fairly new product, Hadn't seen it yet.

 

Um, yeah, 10* is still 10*. Doesn't matter if it's leading, trailing, or in the middle of the notch, 10* is still 10*. And the other 5 notches are still referenced off of the SYNC notch and not the #1 TDC notch like they're supposed to be.

What is so hard to understand there?

And yes, BCC sells another kit, for FWD cars. The ring mounts between the crank bolt and the damper pulley. My belt is in the way, so I can't do that. And, after the issues I've had with this $150 kit, I WON'T do that.

And that's not the only problem I've had with this kit. The bracket for the 7x is too short between the mount on the block and where the 7x is mounted, by approximately 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch. I'm currently running spare washers I pulled off of my old torque arm hardware between the 7x bracket and the block just to get the 7x close to the middle of the damper.

Attaching a pic of the damper on the template. Yes, the viewing angle is slightly off, but the point is still the same as the notes point out.

 

You originally said that there is supposed to be 10* BETWEEN the notches, which is not correct, and is WHAT I am pointing out to you. The 10* is is between falling edges, so the raised part between the notches can be and is very small, on most trigger wheels I've seen they are between 1/8" and 3/32" in length as measured at the outer most surface of the trigger wheel. Also it is very important that it is 10* on falling edges, not any where else, because the ICM only cares about falling edges.

It does look like your particular unit is not correct. There are a few issues. The original timing notch will affect the way the engine runs, it will likely be seen as a timing notch, especially at lower RPM. I'd have to look again, but the notches may not be in the correct position in relation to the crank sensor (even if the notches were correctly position in relation to each other), but I'll have to look at a crank to refresh my memory. I know in my case I had to shift the whole pattern around the wheel, due to my CPS location, which was lower than the stock position would have been.

I just don't understand how the simplest of triggers gives people such a hard time.

 

Yeah, I believe I said 10* between the leading edge of the #1 TDC notch and the leading edge of the #1 SYNC notch, or it was implied. But that's irrelevant.

I'm attaching another pic. This is of the damper at TDC #1, as is indicated by the timing gear on top of it (the timing gear mark is supposed to point straight up towards the cam at TDC #1). As you can see, this damper, which was supposed to have been PROFESSIONALLY machined, isn't even close to how it should be. I have sent this pic to BCC, and should get an answer soon.

 

Where the notches are located when the engine is at TDC #1 depends entirely on where the CPS is located. Off the top of my head, I believe the falling edge of TDC #1 notch should be pointed at the sensor, when the engine is at TDC #1. Pointing straight up or straight down is irrelevant, proximity and clocking to the sensor is what matters.

 

Go back and read my previous post again. I didn't say anything about the DAMPER NOTCHES being pointed up or down with the crank at #1 TDC. I said the CRANK GEAR TIMING MARK points straight up with the engine at #1 TDC.

Anyways, I just got an email back from BCC after I sent the pics with his original reply. He apologized and said the damper was installed into the machine upside down. I got a full refund.

 

The timing mark is NOT supposed to be straight up, the timing tab is not located there, it is about the 2 o'clock position, so the OEM timing mark would be in that area with #1 at TDC.

The crank gear for the timing set would point straight up however.

 

Okay, dude. How's about you go back and read BOTH of my above statements, AGAIN.

The DAMPER is NOT THE TIMING GEAR. You know, for the timing chain? Or have you never replaced a timing chain/gear assembly?

Again, I didn't say the DAMPER timing mark points straight up. I said the MARK ON THE TIMING GEAR POINTS STRAIGHT UP WHEN CYLINDER #1 IS AT TOP DEAD CENTER.

 

You should probably take a few more minutes and type out a little more to explain what is going on. Your posts seem to lack key information sometimes and become confusing because of this, or add superfluous information that muddies what you're trying to say.

BTW, I've built several engines over the years, I'm well versed in what part does what, so take you're attitude and put it aside, or you will be taking a vacation from here.

 

Let's lock this down...

I've got a replacement damper coming as I cut the SYNC notch in my backup in the same spot as BCC did, 120* off (it is firing, but it's backfiring). It's been paid for and will be shipped in the next couple of days. With the refund from BCC, I'm going to go get a new battery tomorrow and hop over to the junkyard to get the exhaust hanger nobody wants to sell me for the intermediate pipe. She should be up and running by the second week of July at the latest (depending on how long the damper takes to get here).

I'm going to take the pertinent info from this thread and put it in a How-To thread.

 

After 2 days of working on getting the valve lash set right (had to buy another compression gauge ), I'm getting 200-210 PSI compression on all cylinders. That was the other issue I wanted out of the way...

It's firing. It actually ran, sort of, for about 5 seconds.

It's L O U D. Seems like it's possibly firing late? Not just a few degrees, either. It's not smooth at all. Very loud pops through the exhaust, and if you step on the pedal it immediately dies. In the 5 seconds above, the header primaries got almost hot enough to not be able to be touched. Except #5, which might possibly have a bad injector or bad connection to it. I've tried adjusting everything I can think of in the cranking and ASE charts, and nothing is working. I can't get it to run long enough to even get out of the seat to get my hand on the timing light and get the light in the right position to CHECK the timing much less adjust it via the Trigger Wizard.

:edit: And yes, the replacement damper is cut right... I cut the wide TDC (#1 timing scale mark) notch and the SYNC notch last to make sure I got the SYNC in the right position. And the cam hasn't slipped a tooth on the timing chain and I was staring right at the FSM while installing the chain and gear to make sure I got the chain on in the right position.

 

Well, looks like I'm going to replace the fuel injectors...

I don't have any leaks from the FPR. I even completely removed the vacuum line from the plenum to the FPR and plugged the end of it. I turned the screw on the FPR out and dropped the fuel pressure. Still runs pig rich. I knew the things leaked but I didn't think it was quite so bad.

I just bought a set of Vette fuel injectors off of eBay, 22#. I'm hoping they arrive soon and they hold pressure when they get installed.

 

Well, it's going decent... Sort of.

Fixed the power steering leak. Still confused as to why the lower rad hose keeps blowing off instead of the coolant going into the puke tank. Got the radiator fan working and set for 195* (yes, I know the thermostat opens at 195, but much higher and the radiator hose blows off, it's happened TWICE now). Fixed my vac leaks in the valve covers. Replaced 305 fuel injectors with a set from a Vette, 22#, as I needed.

Looks like I'm going to have to change the oil... Gauge is reading pretty low when hot, and I have no idea how much gas got into the oil from the leaking injectors.

And I'm also confused as to why the MAP is reading 30-40 kPa one minute, I get the engine run up to 2500 to tune that cell, get the cell tuned, let off the gas, and all of a sudden the MAP is reading 62 kPa?

 

That MAP reading does sound odd. Have you checked your rad cap as the possible coolant issue?

Speaking from personal experience, it was much easier to start tuning after I was driving my car; I was having all kinds of issues trying to sort out my idle and such but in the end the car actually drove not too bad. I finally achieved a smooth idle a couple weeks ago by messing with the BPW vs. fuel pump voltage table (didn't realize that the injector lag times actually change at different fuel pressures, so even though I was using the values from my injector spec sheet, they were wrong for the fuel pressure I was running. Fixing that table instantly led to a smooth idle and part throttle driving).

Edit:
With idle/part throttle hunting or general issues, I find the MAP readings can jump all over the place. If the issue is related to fuel injector lag times, you may find that the car runs much better while driving.

 

I went ahead and disconnected EVERYTHING in the vac system except the FPR and MAP and now I'm down to about 32ish kPa. I'll go ahead and reconnect stuff one at a time until I find the problem.

I also discovered that I need to hunt for an exhaust leak. I need to realign the pipes anyways, so no big deal. And adjust the rear brakes (drums).

I can only adjust the pulse width against battery voltage, and I believe it's a broad setting (not a table as in GM bins). There is no table for BPW vs F/P voltage.

Ended up resetting the VE table to the suggested setup as per the built-in calculator and adjusting from there. Idle is decent. Careful acceleration off idle is decent, but I can't stab the throttle without dropout.

I'm hoping to get this thing driveable within the next couple of weeks so that it's ready to go and get tuned that way when I have the money put together for all of the BS I need to do to put it on the road (tax, title, insurance, inspection, front end alignment).

 

Well, I spent 2 days and dropped the front exhaust pipe out of the front end. Couple things happened:
1. Got rid of all of the exhaust leaks.
2. Cut out a portion of the front of the pass side SFC to gain clearance for the exhaust. No more rattles.
3. My floor jack finally blew a seal and I almost didn't get the last stand out from under the car .

Now I have discovered that my valvetrain sounds like a freight train. I'm going to get rid of the SBC rockers (1.6:1 if anyone thinks they might want them) and put in a full set of the 3x00 non-adjustables. There is a TON of play in the rockers even with the lash set correctly, and I believe that is where both the top end noise AND my "spark knock" is coming from (can't possibly be any spark knock since the engine is running so rich at idle I'm throwing carbon ***** out the tail! And the fact that there really isn't much in the way of spark advance yet).

 

The search for the mysterious engine "knock" continues...

Removed oil pan. Found sludge in the bottom of it (stupid cheap oil I'm using for break-in!) and some in the oil pickup screen. Cleaned screen and soaked the sludge off of the oil pan by immersing pan in mixture of Purple Power and water (which is how I got the oil sludge off of the heads and de-carboned the intake). Rinsed and painted pan and reinstalled after checking connecting rods for any play which would indicate spun bearings, of which I found NOTHING. Refilled pan with slightly less cheap oil. I'm going to run the cheap dino oil for the next approximately 100 miles before replacing the oil and filter and using Mobil 1.

I have yet to restart engine due to alternator mounting issues. One of the bolts that was retaining the bracket to the head broke off and the alt came loose, throwing off the belt. I'm going to resolve this by replacing the alt and bracket and installing a tensioner, with parts for a 3.4 F-body. I'm just hoping the bracket isn't going to interfere with the mount for my external 7x... I ordered the bracket with tensioner and the alt off of eBay. Should be here next week (if the sellers don't decide to sit on their hands for 2 weeks like some others ), and then I can buy the belt to go with them.

I'm leaning more towards noise due to play in the rocker arms now that I have checked the lower end and everything is tight. I won't know if the problem was the oil or the rockers until I get the alternator straightened out. Just to be sure I don't have spark knock or detonation, I pulled a couple plugs the other day and they look fine except they're black due to running rich. I don't see any indication of spark knock whatsoever.

The tuning continued right up until the alt threw the belt. I'm pretty sure that the under-3000 RPM range of the VE table is pretty well set and should only need some fine tuning especially when it comes to throttle response when stabbing the pedal (kind of skipping right now in the moment the pedal is stabbed).

Also changed the coolant... What was in the engine, after the lower radiator hose blew off TWICE, was pretty much water. I put the almost-new coolant that I drained from the 87, which is a 70/30 mix (good to 270* before boiling) into it. I'm not going to be a happy camper if the lower hose blows off again when the engine reaches operating temp. At some point, I'll cough up the money for a 175-180* thermostat (currently running stock 3100 195* stat) and keep the fan coming on at 195* like it is now.

Hopefully the store isn't going to screw me out of the vacation pay I have yet to use and I can have the car plated and on the road either late this month or the middle of next month.

 

I had a thought... Should I attempt using better gas? What I've been using is 91 octane non-ethanol, because it's the highest grade I can get that's non-ethanol here in town. I'd rather not use ethanol gas if I can avoid it, and the second closest gas station selling non-ethanol, which has 93 octane, is 30 miles from here. Should I also maybe try an octane booster? If the problem does indeed turn out to be spark knock and not the rocker arms?

 

104+ octane boost works

But id dump a bottle of MMO in there, the small one or half of the large bottle [atleast half a tank of gas]. its not really an octane thing but does effect the burn.

 

Actually, I might do the MMO first... The whole bottle. IDK how old the Vette injectors are or how clean they are inside. I'll get another 5 gallons of the 91 non-ethanol on Thursday when I get paid and hopefully I won't need to use the gas can again... And then I can put 93 in it with octane booster if necessary. I'd like to hope I can avoid it at some point.

 

Calling project89...

Well, I've been fighting with this engine for 2 days now. After pulling the intake and pushing the #3 and #5 injectors back into their bores (with new o-rings), double-checking the torque settings on the intake, valve covers, and just about everything else, putting a heli-coil in one of the starter bolt holes (thanks to whomever put the engine in the 87 and used the WRONG STARTER BOLTS!), and a whole bunch of other things, I'm back to where I was a few weeks ago. I believe that the idle kPa should be around 28-30 (it was there a couple weeks ago before I replaced the alternator and bracket and had to remount the CKP) and it's around 33-35. Cold starts are somewhat hard, hot starts are next to impossible without holding the throttle partially open. Idle speed won't go below 1500 or so, no matter what I set the IAC steps to, and I'd like to see it in the 8-900 range. Also, I'm not sure if it's quite right or not, but the TunerStudio is reporting that the 02S is seeing the AFR around 16:1 at idle, and it seems to me it should be a little lower than that? It doesn't seem to matter what I do, nothing changes...

I need some help tuning this thing. I'm perfectly alright with sending the MSQ and a datalog, but I need to know what to show in the datalog. I would prefer to have most of the no-load tune done within the next week or so, so that I can get the car registered and what not and get the driving tune going.

 

My idle Kpa is arround 45-50 at hot idle and its got a 260 grind cam.

Can you see what the IAC command and position is when its idleing so high?

Its seeing 16 afr as in using the narrow band and converting it over to a afr? I know on my gtp, hp tuner sees afr but its off of the narrow band using a formula using the Mv and temp (heated narrow band though)

I dont like because its not close to the seperate wideband/controler read out. IE. Ive seen a solid 1.0-1.5 difference between the aem that i trust and the narrow band read out.


Depending on what your tuning for datalogs should show.
IAC information
Rpm
Spark Advance
Mph
BLM
INT
02 redings
Map(kpa)
Tps %
Ae and PE active
Injector PW
Intake temp
Engine temp
Open/close loop active
Error codes

 

with megasquirt everything is included in the datalog , u dont have to do anythign its all there

remind me again what version of megasquirt and code

sounds like u need to adust the warmup tables , and cranking tables before u go any further ,

a no start unless u partially open the throttle is usually due to a to high of a cranking pulse widh

 

With ms do you start with a flat slate? Do you have to fill all the tables and such up?

 

With the WOT street/strip turbo cam I get 35-40 kPa at idle (850-900 rpm)

 

depending on the new firmware its either all filled in and u have to change it to ur setup, or everything is blank


the newer firmwares are very complicated in terms of what they do so they come typically setup for a sbc , the reason they do this is if u forget to fill in a few fields u could have some serious issues

all firmwares come with a starting point for startup/cranking

on my iroc i had to reduce cranking pulsewidths by 50% to get my car to hot start


when first starting a car set a ve number of about 40-50 in the ve table around the idle area

see if the car fires if it does start adusting the warmup wizard to keep the engine running until it gets to 170 degress then from there there is no longer any cold start enrichment added and then u can adust the ve table to give deired afr or vacum at idle

there is not set afr for idle some engines like it rich some like it very lean give it what it wants that gives u the most idle vacum


after all that u will have to let the engine cool completly refire it and retune the cold start/starup enrichment tables

 

Problem with the intake pressure is that it's all over the place... If you can believe it, I'm still getting the sucking noise from the REAR of the engine. I'm going to disconnect EVERYTHING from the intake except the MAP (including the brake booster) and see what happens when things cool down again. When I shut it off a few minutes ago, the intake pressure was up to 55 kPa. It started at 35.

I adjusted the IAC until I'm absolutely sure it was closed (commanded over 300 steps) at idle. Still about 1500 RPM. Put more fuel in and eventually it stalls out but won't go to about 900 unless the radiator fan is running (set to turn on at 195*).

I've put more fuel into the equation and all the intake pressure does is go UP. Take fuel out and the intake pressure goes UP. This is when it's not going nuts, BTW. Can't figure out why the WUE just won't shut off after a couple hundred "cycles" when the engine is hot.

Loves backfiring (or is it firing into the exhaust, I can't tell?) when cranking, especially hot. When it cools off, I'm going to try backing off the crank PW.

Only thing I can think is that I need to back off the ignition timing (not on crank, that's about 6*). I can try going back to my original table (I modified the ignition table about 8* after getting a sample 3100 timing table on 60*V6).