The chevy performance manual says that the max lift on the cam for a 2.8 is .540 with heads only shaved just enough to ensure a good seal. Comp Cams and WCF also sell conversion rocker arm studs so you can run SBC full roller rockers and Harland Sharp has them in a 1.65 ratio.
[This message has been edited by goatnipples2002 (edited 01-07-2006).]
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12:52 AM
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
Well finally droped the engine. One man job but what a hassle. Always forget about all the little steps to disconnect everything... Found some interesting surprises that were not noticeable while I was running it. Look below. Now clean-up time!
What a mess...
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12:14 PM
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
Definitely Pontiac did a very poor design of this engine compartment. They should have designed some type of water containtment system to avoid rain water to fall behind the engine. Try to change these nice rusty bolts...
I never heard this cracked manifold...
And this one was very interesting. A missing manifold bolt (or broken?) Never heard it leak.
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12:23 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40925 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
How far do you live from the ocean? I'm guessing there's a lot of salt in the air. Mine were rusted, but not that badly.
Steve; I live about 12 miles from the coast so it is not that close. But I bought this car used so who knows where it lived before. At least now I confirmed that the engine had some work done at some point because the wiring harness has some tape over it and that missing bolt in the rear manifold. The engine ran very strong for a 117K miles engine so maybe it had some internal work done.
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06:50 PM
lou_dias Member
Posts: 5348 From: Warwick, RI Registered: Jun 2000
Some little progress. I was able to strip the wiring harness from the motor and leave it in a state ready to separate it from tranny and cradle. I forgot all the different holders it has at different places for the harness. I needed to take pics of them so I don't forget where they go. Now more cleaning to do. All the rusted bolts came out except one.Sawzal with it Also found a crack in the body of the alternator. Do you think I need to replace it? How much does a reman cost? Tks
Alex. Whats up man. I just found this thread. Everything looks awesome! Cant wait to see it in person. Are you going to Daytona and if so, what car will you be taking?
Alex. Whats up man. I just found this thread. Everything looks awesome! Cant wait to see it in person. Are you going to Daytona and if so, what car will you be taking?
Did you sell that nice GT? Shame on you! Yes I plan to be at Daytona and hopefully will take both cars. Most probably I'll drive the same day early in the morning. Will see.
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04:12 PM
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System Bot
normsf Member
Posts: 1682 From: mishawaka, In Registered: Oct 2003
I don't know why we enjoy this hobby. Sometimes I just think we are a bunch of masochist that like sweating and getting hurt sometime in the process. Just venting a little. Anyway, what do you do when you have an axle that doesn't want to come off? Easy. Just take the whole tranny out with it.
Now if I could have this weekend free to clean this up.... More to come next week.
Wow, if yours looked that bad and you didn't know it, then I wonder what my front mani's gonna look like when I take it off to fix an exhaust leak (I can hear it inside the cab). Thx for the pic of the runners, and gl with the build
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03:04 AM
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
More findings from the autopsy. I knew I had a problem with a mount as I could hear the engine rock but didn't know was this bad. The front engine mount is trashed and don't even look at the front tranny one...
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02:22 PM
Jan 24th, 2006
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
Today I decided to put the engine back in the cradle. First I needed to install the intake. At one point I was going to wait until the engine was back in the car and install the intake then. This was to avoid rising the rear of the car more to clear the taller intake/engine combo over the dolly. But then I thought that maybe rising the car could be easier than installing the intake in the car. Boy was I right! I had the engine in the engine stand to install it and still was a real pain. Can't imagine this ordeal at the engine compartment. Main problem was the fuel rail. First the two bolts to hold it were not properly aligned so I had to enlarge them a little bit to clear the bolt. Then there was no way to get the fuel rail in with the injectors in place. It was way easy after taking off half of them and then reinstalling them with the fuel rail in. When it was time to install it over the lower manifold it was VERY difficult the get the injectors to snug into place. The clearances are so tight that I had to push and juggle from different angles to get it in. Still i'm not sure they are right. I just hope they don't leak. Getting the bolts in was ok with access around the engine like I had. Overall took me near 1 hr to get this thing in. But at least I accomplished my goal and the engine is on the cradle mated to the tranny. Now to connect that converter...
Here is the misalignment result...
and the fix;
This is how it looks after everything was tight. Not sure if those injectors are seated properly because after so much juggling I didn't know when they clicked
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09:35 PM
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
I have the short runner intake as well, and it is possible to get the fuel rail in with all the injectors in place. You have to go in through the side with the rail at an angle and keep rotating it back and forth to clear. Its a very snug fit, but it'll get in there. I had the same trouble with the bolts, it took me a long time to get both to line up and thread in, but eventually I got it and snugged it all down. No leaks yet! I was doing it with the engine in the car, too.
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10:29 PM
Jan 25th, 2006
sardonyx247 Member
Posts: 5032 From: Nevada, USA Registered: Jun 2003
I have the short runner intake as well, and it is possible to get the fuel rail in with all the injectors in place. You have to go in through the side with the rail at an angle and keep rotating it back and forth to clear. Its a very snug fit, but it'll get in there. I had the same trouble with the bolts, it took me a long time to get both to line up and thread in, but eventually I got it and snugged it all down. No leaks yet! I was doing it with the engine in the car, too.
I guess it is possible but I was scratching all the intake inside. Taking off the injectors is the way to go. It is so easy to take three off and put them back that there is no excuse not to.
quote
Originally posted by sardonyx247: Cool some one else useing Jacobs wires
To me those are the best. Only if the would come in different colors....
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09:21 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
So Alex, I'm not sure if anyone else noticed yet, but what kind of flooring are you using in your garage? Is it epoxy? (I ask because I'm buying a house and want to do something to the garage floor to help prevent oil stains, etc.)
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09:42 AM
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System Bot
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
So Alex, I'm not sure if anyone else noticed yet, but what kind of flooring are you using in your garage? Is it epoxy? (I ask because I'm buying a house and want to do something to the garage floor to help prevent oil stains, etc.)
Ja!! All of my local friends noticed it and loved it. It is a Rust-Oleum floor paint kit sold at Home Depot for about $60. They also have a heavy duty one (found out that one too late) for about $100. They both cover about 250 sqr-ft which is good for a one car garage or a small two car garage. I had to use two kits anyway because I did it one half first (moved everything to other side) and then the other. I have to say that it is very strong. The big test is this one. Rolling the chery picker with the engine on it doesn't even scratch it and oil cleans out easily. I highly recommend it. Your wife will love it too
This last week I spent every evening and then Saturday prepearing this thing to go in. I don't know why we spent so much tine on this hobby... Is the little details that take so much time. Here are the results on the cradle. Hope you like it
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10:17 AM
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
This side shows my muffler setup. It is a Magnaflow offset inlet/oulet with 2.5" in/out and 2.5" down pipe. It will have a turndown in the meantime. Not sure if I'll take it to the back. I have another idea that I may like to try
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10:22 AM
FieroMGDriver Member
Posts: 961 From: Concord, NC USA Registered: Nov 2001
That looks sweet. Did you think about using chrome or polished fasteners for the intake? I guess I should ask if they are available, that would make the whole intake look really good.
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10:48 AM
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
That looks sweet. Did you think about using chrome or polished fasteners for the intake? I guess I should ask if they are available, that would make the whole intake look really good.
I'm not sure which ones are you talking about. The only ones that can be seen are the three you can see from the top and two of those are chrome.
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11:17 AM
FieroMGDriver Member
Posts: 961 From: Concord, NC USA Registered: Nov 2001
I was referring to these bolts, but after you added the wiring, vacuum lines, etc, I guess they aren't as noticable. I still wonder if there are shiny fasteners available though.
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03:01 PM
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
I was referring to these bolts, but after you added the wiring, vacuum lines, etc, I guess they aren't as noticable. I still wonder if there are shiny fasteners available though.
Ok. Yes they are still visible but they are kind of disguised as you can see here.
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05:50 PM
Feb 1st, 2006
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
Now the problems. The CRX CAI doesn't work with the FOCOA headers as you can see in the pic Had to go to PepBoys and buy an extra 45° elbow to add and cut to fit and clear the hinge. So it was a combo of the two. Came out nice. This intake is super tall as you can see in the pic below. I hope it doesn't scratch my hood. haven't tested that yet. So I went and started the car with the stock chip. It ran like crap until closed loop but then the idle was bad and had some stumble at partial throttle. I ran the engine to break in the cam and it overheated. For some reason the temp gage is not working so after the fan came in I used my IR and it was in the 230s°. Shut it down and checked everything. Well, then I installed one of Troys proms. The one with less fuel and more timing (#110). It still runs rough until it gets to closed loop but not as bad as with the stock one. Then it runs much better but still seems to have a little stumble. All this is without load because I haven't run it yet (looking for an axle). But still main problem is still overheating. I have tried to burp it several times. Raised the car, lowered the car couple times. Never I have had so much trouble burping it. Unless it may be something else. Hope not. The new muffler sounds very nice. Have a nice deep rumble. The engine shakes a little so I guess maybe it is the cam lope. Other than that it sounds tight. Will keep trying. Thanks for reading
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09:10 AM
PFF
System Bot
BITBYFIEROBUG Member
Posts: 79 From: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada Registered: Jan 2006
Just a quick tip - If you get a deep 10mm 12pt socket, you can use 2 of the old chrome upper plenum bolts to hold the throttle body on instead of the boring black ones. I used the 2 short chrome bolts for the throttle cable bracket like you did, plus the chrome bolts on the TB. Little touchs
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09:46 PM
Feb 2nd, 2006
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
Just a quick tip - If you get a deep 10mm 12pt socket, you can use 2 of the old chrome upper plenum bolts to hold the throttle body on instead of the boring black ones. I used the 2 short chrome bolts for the throttle cable bracket like you did, plus the chrome bolts on the TB. Little touchs
That's a good tip! I have plenty to choose from after discarding two plenums. Didn't know they fit
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09:42 AM
Feb 4th, 2006
Alex4mula Member
Posts: 7403 From: Canton, MI US Registered: Dec 1999
Nothing but bad luck. Many things have gone bad and it has delayed everything. Now it is even raining here Anyway... I was able to finally find a fix to my transmission cable and I can shift. The overheating is gone (burped) and the thermostat is working ok. The car is on the ground. But... the intake hits the trunk pretty bad. It is about 1/8" to tall. I lifted the front of the hood (hinges) temporarily but that won't do as the hood looks misaligned to the side fenders . Also the car doesn't idle too well and when I put it into gear it dies. I installed my EEPROM carrier on the ECM so now I can burn PROMS easily and do adjustments. The problem is I need to get more educated and know what the hell to modify... Still my main problem now is that seems the ignition switch is bad. It was acting before and sometimes when you hit it the starter wouldn't engage. I though it was the starter but this one is a different known good one and is doing the same. Will have to order it and install it and I'll be traveling too so that would be at least another week gone by without being able to move the car. I guess maybe my wife will give birth first (yes she is pregnat, due Mar 6!) before I give birth to this thing....
[This message has been edited by Alex4mula (edited 02-04-2006).]
I thought the trueleo was supposed to fit under the stock decklid? Did you do something to alter this or does it not fit?
I'm using stock rubber mounts and stock lower gasket. It was a surprise to me. I guess I'll need to try a grove on the inner hood as I don't want to grind the intake.
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06:26 PM
FieroMaster88 Member
Posts: 7680 From: Mattawan, MI Registered: Nov 2000
It's looking good Alex! You'll get it sorted. I have confidence.
quote
Originally posted by goatnipples2002:
I thought the trueleo was supposed to fit under the stock decklid? Did you do something to alter this or does it not fit?
I think it'll fit under a GT decklid. It's about > < that much too tall to clear my decklid, as well. I believe the long runner version wil clear with no difficulty, as I think the plenum sits lower.
I installed a Mustang scoop on mine, and cut out the opening above the engine. Problem solved. In retrospect, I probably could have put 1/2" spacers between my rear cradle mounts and the frame rail, and it would have had plenty of clearance.
Try to change these nice rusty bolts...
Also found a crack in the body of the alternator. Do you think I need to replace it? How much does a reman cost? Tks
