And now for the really bad news..... really bad news.....
Steven Synder I now feel your pain even more....
On my way home a deer ran out in front of my car.... ! !!!!!! $%@%@
I tried to go around him and my tire caught the edge of the road and launched me off a cliff into a small field were the nose took a dive/ plowed into the mud. I have no idea how I got out of the mud as well as I did, but I went back and forth until I caught something and then ramped it back up the hill onto the road. The car is fine save for the destroyed front bumper, signal lights and side markers. I pulled a tree branch out of the front of the car, it went right aound the radiator. Time for a new bumper. To fast back or not to fast back... that is the question. I guess I'll have some time to think about it while I'm saving over the summer.
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 12-04-2008).]
I am glad that the damage is isolated to teh front end only, and it looks to be easily repaired. Be sure to check your suspension parts to make sure they are not bent.
I feel your pain. I had a yahoo in a semi rear end me last summer. I was sick for days, and now I drive more defensive than ever when in my Fiero. I am always looking to see what the other drivers are doing.
...pshhhh you should see the side of the road. Thank you, you just made my day haha.
Topcat- I've already gotten the front end cleaned up and everything looks much better. I'm think about mounting several Vulcan cannons on the front for animals now.
Well the damage was quickly repaired with unbent front bumper parts. Although the car was lightly scathed, it should have been totaled considering the dive I made. But everything buffed out. So.. onward!
Ok so as you all know (well the loyal ones ) the car has always been blasting fuses out of the water, specifically the INJ 1 and INJ 2 fuses. I never tore down the engine to find the problem. That was a mistake.
And according to Jncomutts scan tool, the cam sensor has also been going on and off intermittantly. Well it finally went out completely last week and in the process something jarred the motor enough to smash the harness between the head and the firewall (I think). The two INJ fuses blew but the car wouldn't start after I replaced them........Major short.
After getting the intake off and unsheathing the wires, I found that the cam sensor is powered by the same wire as the crank sensor and and power for all 6 injectors! This seems like big problem and perhaps the reasoning for the injectors going. The wire to power all of these injectors and sensors is about 18-20 gauge as well.... So I know that I at least need to update the stock 10 amp fuse for a bigger one.
This did not however fix my car's not wanting to start. So since the guys over at RTF helped me out so much by helping me assume why is wouldn't crank (...I'm just going to say that no one here helped ) I determined that the injectors were not getting power anyway and that ultimately this may be the reason for the cam sensor not sending a pulse either.
Fast forward:
I found that the cam sensor curcuit seems to be correctly connected to the ECM. This left me thinking that the cam had dies somehow in the jarring. So I spent the afternoon with Jncomutt looking for a cam sensor at a local "U Pull It". We came across three motors with the cam sensor option, none of which still had the sensor. So I can't find a cam sensor.... Does anyone have one that they don't need lying around?? I am in desperate need.
Once I get all of this straightened out I plan on rewiring a seperate power to the cam and crank and increasing the size of the wire running to the injectors.
Fast forward more:
The problem was a burnt section of harness. The header was responsible for burning the injection power feed in half.
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 06-05-2008).]
I looked over about 6 quad fours yesterday and the sensor is a screw in unit that is about half the size of what I need. I did not run across any Northstars, but then again I wasn't looking for one. That's a great idea though, I'll ask over at 60degree and RFT.
I had no idea that there were so many quad 4's and 3.1 in the yards.
Anyone here know about the N* sensor?
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10:33 AM
Steven Snyder Member
Posts: 3324 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Mar 2004
And now for the really bad news..... really bad news.....
Steven Synder I now feel your pain even more....
On my way home a deer ran out in front of my car.... ! !!!!!! $%@%@
I tried to go around him and my tire caught the edge of the road and launched me off a cliff into a small field were the nose took a dive/ plowed into the mud. I have no idea how I got out of the mud as well as I did, but I went back and forth until I caught something and then ramped it back up the hill onto the road. The car is fine save for the destroyed front bumper, signal lights and side markers. I pulled a tree branch out of the front of the car, it went right aound the radiator (thank you god). Time for a new bumper. To fast back or not to fast back... that is the question. I guess I'll have some time to think about it while I'm saving over the summer.
If that's a deer you got LUCKY!!!!!
could have been much, much worse!!!!
-M
[This message has been edited by Austrian Import (edited 04-21-2007).]
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02:36 PM
May 7th, 2007
Steven Snyder Member
Posts: 3324 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Mar 2004
Thank you for bumping this. I've got some serious stuff coming up next week. Finally summer!
The seats are amazing to *me*. The car is so much more fun when you feel like you're strapped into it. There is stiff support on both shoulders and hips which makes for a very tight seat. I'd like to get a set of four point harnesses. *However, these aren't seats for comfort. It’s painful sitting in them for more than an hour. Trips home from school are agonizing. The seat forces the driver and passenger to sit at a 90* angle with no adjustment. There is also not much cushion between you and the springs, so the longer you sit in them, the more you know where every wire in the seat is. This is proportional to weight though, so the heavier you are, the less comfortable you are. I love them; my family and roommate hates them.
I have a set of Mike's seats (as can be seen in previous photos) and I took them out and sacrificed the comfort just because I missed the Corbeau's. The solid state seats fit into the Fiero well. I believe most adjustable ones do not. They look really good too. But most importantly it changes the personality of the car. They are very "serious" feeling.
All in all I'd look for an adjustable set first and then settle for the Forza's if I couldn't find any that would fit well. I take that back. I would find a set of corvette C5 racing seats, or maybe even leather C5's.
Ultimatly Comfort vs. potent feeling and looking - that's what it really comes down too. Also be careful not to wreck your car once installed, they make you want to push it.
-Paul
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 06-19-2007).]
*Rant* Ok... so. I have abstained from posting on pennocks for some time now; mainly because there have been no serious power adders yet. But, I did get the engine electrical short sorted out. The wiring harness was laying on a header. So for the past 4-5 months I had been driving with no cam sensor (the wire was hanging in two and was probably grounding to the header). Other burnt and grounded wires include: Fuel injection harness power (No fuel = no crank), crank/cam ground, and a spark plug wire. I can conclude that the injector power was shorting to the header, which was blowing a fuse. The fuses have been blowing for some time now, which would mean this would have been an issue for a long time. The PCM runs in limp mode without the cam sensor, which would also explain why the car is hesitant on and off. At least this is being fixed.
All wires were patched and rewrapped in tape and then aluminum heat tape. The harness was then hung out of the way of the header. We also rapped the spark plug that had been burnt and hoped for the best. The immediate effect was the car has power like it did the first night I drove it. Everything was getting better, and I was hoping to build a short runner intake next.
On my way back to Charlotte last night the car was hesitant. Shortly afterward I smelt something burning. It seems the wires have once again been compromised. A cradle drop is in order shortly. I plan on soldering in extensions to the harness to run it around the engine all together this time. I’m sick of dealing with this.
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 01-22-2008).]
Bump... Wow that was a long time ago. I fixed the wiring problems several months ago, so no more cooked wires. The newest episode has been with the front cover. I was talking to Mike about engine movement several months ago, and we had a look at the stock mounts. They were beginning to look a bit shot, so I left the car with Mike while we waited for a new set of poly mounts to come in.
Being without a car can tax your patience. The mounts came in from West Coast eventually. Mike installed the mounts while I was at school. After installing the mounts the dogbone was now not properly sized. So dad ordered another dogbone for me. I finally got home one week and found out what was going on. I didn't want to wait for the dogbone, being that West Coast took their sweet time on the mounts - I wasn't about to wait for them again without a ride. So I asked Mike if he thought the car could be babied without the dogbone. Mike and Dad had tested the new mounts without the dogbone. My dad assured me that the motor didn't move more than an inch when they had chirped the tires in the shop. So I decided to take the car without the dogbone.
I got to school without problems, and even drove over to Jnco's to get some help diagnosing a noise and to hang out. On my way over, the motor moved. It took me completely by surprise and for a moment I thought I was imagining it. So I gave it a soft peddle to see what would happen. The motor hit the back firewall and bounced backwards! When I got to Jnco's I also found that the heater hose had been severed when the motor rocked. So I eventually fixed the hose and filled it back up with antifreeze.
Several weeks later, I was going to go to a local parking deck and fix a couple of things and examine the mounts. Jnco was bored and decided to come along. So we drove over to my dorm to grab the tools and some Lemonade and Ice in case we needed a break. The Battery died with the car parked out front. So me and Jnco push it down a hill, I put the car in reverse, and then tried to clutch start it....
The motor slammed into the strut tower and broke the top of the front cover off. I got the car down the hill and into the parking lot. I worked on the cover for a month before resorting to JB weld to temporarily fix the problem. I didn't get off campus before the artificial weld softened and failed. So a month later I am trying to replace the front cover with the motor in the car. Four broken sockets later, I was finally able to get the crank bolt out. The cover is coming along nicely.
A funny thing; my mom dropped off the dog bone on her last visit. It's sitting in the front seat (the irony). I have learned a lot though, so I am grateful to have at least learned a lesson, even if it was a hard way to learn it.
Here's some snacky photo's to keep the thread alive.
Fixing the front cover.
Some older photo's: Younggun88, Me, Jnco's sister, Jeff, and Jncomutt; enjoying a weekend.
Polishing the MAF
Fixing the parking lamps after my "flight"
One day after a drizle
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 12-04-2008).]
If I may ask, how much did it run you to get the heads machined? Did you have them disassemble and reassemble them as well? Looking at finishing up my ported heads finally and they will need a valve job, new valve seals and the valvetrain re-installed. Trying to get a ballpark of what to expect price wise. I can get them decked for free but it might just be easier to have a machine shop do that too.
Thanks! -Jeff
------------------ --180* t-stat, cams, 96-97 intake swap, FFP pulley, A/C Idler, P/S idler, Ported exhaust mani's, flowmaster exhaust, EGR delete, K&N filter, chip-- --13.8 @ 99 (before cams full street trim)-- --Check out the Fiero Kingdom!-- Beater: Flat black 90 CRX with a JDM D15 VTEC <--ballin'!
The head's were completely redone: Ground, new valves, new springs, new seals, decked, everything.. Kevin even put them in an electrostatic bath. The thing is, I have no idea what it would normally cost. It was one of those, friend of a friend things. Mike (the man who helped me put this car together) is like a brother to the guy. So I only ended up paying like $300, which is ridiculously cheap. I'd say around $500-600 range including a deck and small grind. A complete stab in the dark though.
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03:06 AM
PFF
System Bot
fieromadman Member
Posts: 2217 From: Oconomowoc WI, USA Registered: Jan 2003
Hmmm... well I have brand new valves, springs, seals, and access to free decking, so I was hoping that I could walk out of there in the 2-300 dollar range with a valve job and assembly done. If not, then I should just buy the tools to re-do the seals and buy a valve spring compressor to re-assemble them myself. I'll have to call around I guess.
Well, it's December, so there must be something going on in my garage right.
I have taken the initiative to do most, if not all, of the work on car myself from here on out. I'll admit I was a complete rookie to the entire engine swap game last year, but I'm ready to jump out of the nest and take over. I'll be working in my garage whenever I can and less at the shop. However, I would like to contribute my entire swap to Mike Miller, without his help I would never have even gotten the motor in the car to start with. Thanks Mike!!
I successfully changed the front cover and set the timing by eye (all with the motor in the car). I was on my way home one Saturday night at 3:30am, trying to get the car in the garage where I could properly take care of the timing and fix the mounting. I was stopped at the exit ramp to get onto the highway from school. The slave lost pressure and the clutch bit hard, sending the motor into the firewall again (Transmission mount to blame; I actually felt the motor thud against the firewall!). I lost alternator power immediately and soon found that the front cover had snapped again, in the exact place as before. Imagine my frustration after spending a month outside busting knuckles to fix this cover.
I limped it back to school, threw the keys on my desk and abandoned the car in the parking lot for a week. Mike towed it home at the end of last month. I just got home from school and began working on the car Monday. I had pulled the motor out after the car was towed home, so I began collecting supplies Monday. Today I started working.
Here was the cause of all of my trouble, and the reason why the motor won't stay still. At least the poly held
Monday night:
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 12-04-2008).]
I had to remove all of the yellow sludge which resulted from the coolant mixing with synthetic oil. When I was working in the confined space of the car, I placed the front cover gasket on backwards. This allowed for one coolant passage to leak to the timing chain. This wasn't fun stuff to clean up.
The next thing I decided to do was to build a better heat shield for the back manifold. I used 1/8" welding steal.
Mocking it up:
I spent the rest of the morning cleaning a very dirty engine. Here is one of the pics I took early this morning.
I'm happy with how the heatshield came out. I think the timing is set in that picture. Anyway, I've decided to replace the front plastic cover with a steal cover so that if the belt ever slips, it will not chew into the plastic again. Lots more to come.
A big thanks to Jody for the new front cover! (Cover #3 mind you.)
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 06-03-2008).]
Just getting started. I'm really happy with how the motor scheme turned out. I was originally planning on a red cherry and chrome look. After Steven beat me to the idea, and after some consideration, I decided I'd enjoy a black look. So I modeled the engine after the new Concord Chronograph C1 that just hit the market. Now I need to get some carbon fiber and vacuum bags.
Whatcha guys think?
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 12-22-2007).]
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10:34 AM
Dec 24th, 2007
pavo_roddy Member
Posts: 4351 From: State with a city named Gotham Registered: Apr 2004
I had no ideas you were xperiencing all these troubles.... Since your crash I mean! On a plus side, I do believe your headed in the right direction for your motor, with the colour scheme!! That black looks awesum!! Now get to polishing that aluminum!! I hope you fix all that is wrong this time, .........
------------------ Me, I sell engines, the cars are for free, I need something to crate the engines in.... Enzo Ferrari....
Today they are called garage's, yesterday, they were stable's! Eric Jacobsen....
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08:58 AM
Younggun88 Member
Posts: 705 From: Charlotte, NC Registered: Jan 2005
Exhaustion. I swear I'll pick up batteries soon so that I can add more photo's; which have been few and far between. I ran out of electrical solder today and so I tried using plumbing solder with a 0% silver count. Needless to say, it didn't go well. I've gotten more though and I'm nearly finished with re-tailering the harness to specific length. That's all that can be said however... Hopefully I'll finish the harness tomorrow (crosses fingers). It is worth mentioning that I was pretty sick yesterday. Slow progress isn't contributed to inherent laziness.
PAUL!!! Aren't you back in school yet!?!? If it looks as good as it sounds, and from the pics you've posted thus far, the worksmanship is probably TOP NOTCH!!! hehe, pun intended.......
NOTCHIES RULE, FASTBACKS DROOL.........
------------------ Me, I sell engines, the cars are for free, I need something to crate the engines in.... Enzo Ferrari....
Today they are called garage's, yesterday, they were stable's! Eric Jacobsen....
Alright, I have 4 weeks of progress pictures. I'm going to try the best I can to break them up and add short explanations. I hope that I might be able to help anyone preparing for a swap. Just ask if there are any questions.
Just like any swap, its takes lots of work to refine the job. I'm pretty happy, but there's been so much time spent on this project. I'd like to do more such as por-15' ing the chassy and cradle. But I need my daily back. I'm sure I'll have a chance in the future for this and other things. Without further ab due:
Re tailoring the harness. About 3 feet of each wire was removed, more than 100 butt splices were made, and several new circuits were added. I also redesigned the AC circuit/relay wiring. I drew up blueprints for anyone interested.
Finished and covered in Aluminum heat tape (extra precaution... I have learned a few things about that back header huh )
Cleaning the garage also helped.. for a bit.
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 01-27-2008).]
Next in line was the bay. Pictures speak a thousand words so....
Small things to add: I regrinded the decklid hinge to allow for much more clearance, and timing belt safety, should the engine ever break loose again. Next I removed the battery tray, and ground down all tabs on the firewall that would no longer be utilized. The next item in order was to build a PCM tray for right firewall. I used Krylon Anti Rust paint in Simi Black to finish it all off.
I used Steven's method of pre heating the paint to around 70-80* F to allow for a smooth finish. The area was prepped with simi coarse wetsand paper and mineral spirits. I wish I had some outside pictures so that I could show off the finish. Everything came out really nice .
BTW.. This is what happens when spraying in close proximity...
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 06-03-2008).]
And the happiest day of the month. A new mount!!! FINALLY!!!!!1111oneoneone :Fireworks:
Inspired by Steven Snyder (Series8217) and Blueshift. Sorry for the blurry pictures, I was in a hurry. The mount is from a 1975 Dodge 318. The bracket was from the original W-Body car. I did regrind the mount so that the dodge component seated properly. I never got a picture though.
To test stability we put about 300ft/lbs of pressure on the motor with a long crowbar. The engine barely flexed. With the addition of the other getrag bracket, the motor was rock solid. With the dogbone connected-- its never going anywhere again... I hope
I traveled to Kernersville NC to retrieve another getrag mount. Here is a picture of the build going on there.
While dad and I were planing out our endever, mom came out to see how everything was going. Notice the bricks under the cradle that were used to lift it up enough to get the crate and jack under it.
While we were lifting the motor, the crate that we built broke and the motor dropped about a foot onto the extended jack arm. Fortunately it came to rest there, but the oil pan took the impact damage. I plan on pulling off the pan and inspecting the pump later, hopefully it didn't get bent. I'll certainly replace the pan, because I absolutely hate it when -whoever- has your car on a lift and points it out. "Did you try to jack this car up by the pan?!". Its nice having a car that looks liek it was put together by someone who knows what they're doing.
Since dad had to drive me back to Charlotte we decided to just call it a night and build another crate the following week.
[This message has been edited by Emc209i (edited 01-27-2008).]
) the car has always been blasting fuses out of the water, specifically the INJ 1 and INJ 2 fuses. I never tore down the engine to find the problem. That was a mistake. 
) I determined that the injectors were not getting power anyway and that ultimately this may be the reason for the cam sensor not sending a pulse either. 
Hey everyone. Merry Christmas! 
I hope you fix all that is wrong this time, 
)
