This week is a big cruise week with Back to the bricks and the Woodward dream cruise. I took it out tuesday night, everything seemed fine. Yesterday I cleaned up my engine a bit and wiped everything down. Checked my coolant and noticed it was low. Checked my oil and it was milky . Pulled the heads and the gasket was bad at the #5 cylinder. Pretty bum'd about this but hopefully I can get it back out tomorrow night. ------------------ Turbo3800E85F23 5spd spec5 11.54@132.7
[This message has been edited by Justinbart (edited 08-16-2012).]
That's what i'm thinking. I probably stretched the bolts. It never overheated and it still ran fine. The head is getting milled right now and I have head studs on the way. Scott wants to back the timing down a degree or two and raise the boost.
Boost was usually my answer too. While I use knock sensors, they're not 'active' in the sense that they pull timing, so I run low 16ish timing and ran up to 25+ on boost. Beat the hell out of my 1 block for years like this though.
Back on the road. Looks like I caught it in time before the rod knock started. That's a relief
I'm a day late on getting it done. It's too bad that the parts took a detour on the way to my house .It may have saved me a ticket and some rubber on the tires though. ------------------ Turbo3800E85F23 5spd spec5 11.54@132.7
[This message has been edited by Justinbart (edited 08-20-2012).]
Glad to hear everything is ok. I gotta ask though, do you have any issues finding a gas station with E85? I haven't seen many around here, but I honestly haven't looked very hard.
Well that sucks. You could always get like 5 gas cans and leave a stash at your house, or buy a drum. You can still make plenty of power with premium gas but once you go E85 you won't go back.
Originally posted by Justinbart: My fuel gauge started to act erratic for a few weeks and now its just pegged to the full side. Probably the E85 screwing with the sender.
Or it's just the typical crappy GM sending unit. Mine doesn't work, and the 11 years newer sending unit in my Riviera doesn't quite work either.
Took advantage of the ZZP black Friday sale. Picked up a Stattama ST5 cam, modded Ti-retainers, Rollmaster double chain set, valve seals. Sold off my 1.9 rockers, 60 lb injectors and got some 80lb injectors. I wasn't going to install everything until spring but I sold off my parts faster than I expected.
It looks like It was a good thing I didn't wait any longer. The 130# springs really took a toll on my tensioner. I found pieces in my oil when I did a change after the cam install. I'm not sure why the LS1 retainer cracked. They were used when I got them so who knows what they have been through.
Right now i'm on 16 lbs and i'm flowing more air than when I was at 21. The power curve is way different. I can't believe how much it picks up past 5k rpm. ...or i'm just used to it falling off with the stock cam. At first the cam was not as street-able as I had hoped. It would surge or stumble while cruising and dip pretty far down after I let off. Scott spent some time tuning it and it is much better now. Almost the same as before I put the cam in. I really like the lumpy idle. The exhaust note is much deeper. I guess there is quite a bit of room left in my injectors so It should get crazy when I turn the boost up. It's pointless right now with 30* temps. Spring should be fun
I think either my clutch or F23 transmission is about to go, possibly both. It is making a lot of weird noises. I can't really isolate either component to make noise so i'm thinking both. I still took people for rides after all the noises. I might pull it apart today or sometime this week if I get motivated.
Ok. Figured out how to rip a video from facebook and put it on youtube.
Ah, it might not work since it's on someone else s facebook page. It just a short clip to ~95mph nothing to do with the noise or anything. I was trying to get it to scatter and it still held up.
Pulled the trans off yesterday. This little guy fell out when I removed the clutch disk. I think this was part of the noise I was hearing. I still suspect something wrong with the transmission. It has been making a faint harmonic sound since late summer and seems to have gotten louder lately. It makes it in every gear if its under load. It will go silent under no load and then make noise again when engine braking. If its in neutral it's silent. With the windows down I don't hear it. With them up it drones. It reminds me of a bad wheel bearing sound. Still shifts great. Any ideas? I'm going to pull the transmission apart tomorrow. Hopefully its obvious when I open it up. Then I'll decide if I want to fix it or just chunk it for another.
I think the clutch has been like this for while. lol
The clutch disk doesn't appear to have worn much. As for the flywheel and pressure plate.... I need to get a feeler gauge in there.
Flywheel
No leaks!
I just ordered another Spec stage 5 but with the super clamp this time. ------------------ Turbo3800E85F23 5spd spec5 11.17@132.6
[This message has been edited by Justinbart (edited 03-21-2013).]
The noise was most likely the clutch disc and the loose flywheel. I bet the Trans is fine. What you described sounded like mine when the flywheel loosened.
Another broken spec clutch....
Edit: you shouldnt have clearance issues with that superclamp, mine fit no prob
[This message has been edited by Jncomutt (edited 03-21-2013).]
Alright. If I don't see anything obvious when I split the trans i'll let it ride. I ordered those ARP flywheel bolts when I suggested them to you a few months ago. So thankfully I have those on hand. They took a few weeks to get here.
These came in the mail today! New front tires Hopefully these will let me turn and stop better than the old dry rotted azenis.
I read on this forum a way to extract bolts. So I did this and took some pictures if anyone else was wondering. It was so simple and came right out!.
Three of the bolts looked bent and you can see there was some sheer force on the side of the bolt from the flywheel. There was marks on each side of the bolt.
Is it normal to have indentations from the bolt heads on the flywheel?
I'm feeling pretty confidant about that noise coming from the flywheel and clutch. Also too lazy to pull the trans apart, at least for today unless someone can convince me otherwise.
I measured .022" for the flyweel wear and .035" for the pressure plate. The pressure plate mostly tapers down towards the outside. Yeah, this clutch is a little harsh.
Nice technique with the washer and the nut to remove broken bolts and studs! I often use a nut welded what's left of the stud - but the washer is a good touch for protecting the surrounding area!
P.S. Looked like you were only using grade 8 bolts! Not surprised they broke for a flywheel use!!
Agreed, looks like 'tight tolerance' grade 8 bolts. He has 'better' ones now, so no big deal. Also, might want to replace that rear main seal. I don't know that i'd trust it to not leak and ruin your new clutch disc after having the weld next to it.
Also, My flywheel looked like that too.. Not that it was a good thing.
Edit, I was thinking marks from 'threads', but you said heads. Those marks are to be expected from not using flat washers. Looks like yours may be caused by the lock washer digging in.
[This message has been edited by Jncomutt (edited 03-22-2013).]
Clutch arrived today and I got it back together. If feels really good. Unfortunately the transmission is still making the whirling sound. I might just drive it for awhile and see if it gets any louder.
Hopefully these will let me turn and stop better than the old dry rotted azenis. 
