You are seriously making me want to pull my newly completed swap back apart and make it pretty. I guess that's what winter's for, right? Beautiful work, and nice attention to detail. If you ever make it down to the Spokane / Coeur d'Alene area, let us know!
I have family in Vancouver and California so there is a possibility of making the short trip... Thanks! I thought that's what winter was for as well, and here we are...the end of July (oh crap! I mean August)! I should have worn through the set of spare tires I bought by now! It will run before the snow...it will run before the snow...it will run before the snow...
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 08-21-2012).]
I pulled the passenger side radiator coolant tube down to inspect the kink a little closer. I just wanted to know for sure whether or not it needed immediate repairs before filling up the coolant system. I never had an overheating problem with the 2.5...in fact just the opposite. In the winter, the car rarely heated up enough to warm up the two person cabin.
Here's a few pics of what I saw...
I really don't think it's bad enough to warrant the effort of repairing it. I'm sure more than enough cross section area is available to keep things flowing. (ha ha). Anywho, just a few more pics for the curious...
I kinda feel like if I try to fix it at this point, the tube will probably crack and I'll be up a creek when things worked just fine before. Once again, I'm practicing my restraint. The less unnecessary projects I get into at this point, the closer I'll get to driving this thing while the weather's warm.
Do you have any pics of the flywheel end of the 2.5? This thread is helping my tackle the freeze plug on it and I'm curios as to where its at.
OK, I checked all my pics but couldn't find one. I was sure I had one but I've been wrong before. I had to go to my parts shed on wheels to get one. For those who want to know, this is my next project (after renovating the basement and painting my pickup). I got permission from the wife and kids to do a Scooby-Do Mystery Machine...should be fun!
And here's what you were looking for I hope...
If you need any more pics just let me know
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 08-31-2012).]
It's coming along quite nicely! Thanks for posting all the pictures of your progress.
Nolan
Thanks Nolan! Was there no meeting yesterday? I'm hoping to fire it up this weekend! I'm excited and scared...you just never know if everything is going to go well. There's still a lot of pics to post...I haven't even touched on the wiring yet! But for right now the polished pieces for the engine have been clear coated.
These have been a bit of a hurdle as they needed to be done all at the same time. I tried using just the duplicolor engine clear at first but as soon as it hit the magnesium oil filter housing, the magnesium oxidized and went all yellow and patchy looking. I know the spraycan clear usually is kinda yellow and milky but with the added oxidation I just couldn't live with it. Not when it looks so good polished up! I had to strip and repolish the oil filter housing before it could be recleared. This time I decided to use automotive quality paint. I don't have any lying around the garage so I picked up this quick spray can with built in activator for around $30.
It has a separate push pin on the bottom that releases the activator into the can so it can be mixed together. Once the activator has been mixed, the pot life of the can is only 2days. This is why I had to get everything ready for one time. I had enough left over to spray the chrome on my bike to hopefully keep it from rusting this winter.
Man, you cannot beat real automotive paint for leveling properties. This stuff went on real nice and flows beautifully. Just make sure you're using the proper respirator cartridges. Ok, it's not what you want to paint an entire car with but in a pinch, It sure did the job! It provided good pressure right to the end of the can which was a nice change from the other stuff. I was told by the guy at the body shop supply store it's a single stage acrylic enamel. In this part of the world, you can't buy the stuff anymore for VOC reasons but by selling it in can sized quantity, you can circumvent the environmental laws and still get it for the small jobs...like this one.
Now to start putting the pieces on so I can top up the fluids!
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 09-01-2012).]
OK, I checked all my pics but couldn't find one. I was sure I had one but I've been wrong before. I had to go to my parts shed on wheels to get one. For those who want to know, this is my next project (after renovating the basement and painting my pickup). I got permission from the wife and kids to do a Scooby-Do Mystery Machine...should be fun!
And here's what you were looking for I hope...
If you need any more pics just let me know
I wish I had that as a shed, lol. And that picture is perfect. I'll just replace both of those plugs while I'm in there. It sucks that this thing has such a big leak... I can't wait to see your car all finished btw, great progress.
I wish I had that as a shed, lol. And that picture is perfect. I'll just replace both of those plugs while I'm in there. It sucks that this thing has such a big leak... I can't wait to see your car all finished btw, great progress.
Aren't there 3 frost plugs or is the one on the lower right something else? I guess I could just pound them in and check but it's kinda late. Besides, someone might want this pristine 88 2.5 with only 120,000 miles on her...anyone? Please!
Aren't there 3 frost plugs or is the one on the lower right something else? I guess I could just pound them in and check but it's kinda late. Besides, someone might want this pristine 88 2.5 with only 120,000 miles on her...anyone? Please!
The one on the right is for the cam hole. I'd take it if you delivered it and put it in, lol.
nice build but you need to find the small bracket that fits on the starter and attaches to the block 4.9 starters are know for braking off the nose cone when this bracket is missing
Well, I finally got a definitive answer to this one! I checked several 91ish 4.9's in the yards and they did have a small right angle bracket that bolted to the block and to the back of the starter through the long, thin starter motor bolt.
On a 94 sedan deville, (same as the one my engine came from) I checked and there is NO small right angle bracket. In fact, that tapped hole in the block was being used for ground wires! Strange how the factory considered it necessary on the early ones but not on the later engines. Perhaps as the 4.9's life was coming to an end, they just ran out of brackets and didn't bother making anymore!?
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 09-04-2012).]
Well, I topped up the transmission with this stuff.
A 10mm bolt and wiggle out the VSS. The transmission has been dry for a while and despite all the cleaning I done along the way, I was surprised to see that debris still fell into the casing! As it was dry inside, I was able to vacuum it out easily but can't help but suspect that if you don't do a good job cleaning this are and blowing out the crack first, you'll undoubtedly get some crud in there. 2.5 quarts later...
Finally mounted the thermostat and oil filter housing for good. I wasn't able to find a new gasket for the Tstat housing so I just used RTV and torqued to spec (20ftlbs). The OFH had to reuse these barrel style seals. They are kinda like a 3/8" length if rubber tube that squeeze inside the housing between the block surface...should of taken pics. I didn't find new replacements so reused them with an insurance layer of RTV. The spec is 15ftlbs but I couldn't use the torque wrench on the bolt under the destributor. I tightened them a bit at a time and checked with the tq wrench. When the one I could access clicked, I had to go by feel with an open ended wrench.
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 09-04-2012).]
No meeting as it was the 5th Thursday of the month.
Hmmm. Could of sworn it should have been last thursday. No matter, I was on call anyhow and in the area.
quote
Originally posted by Sourmug:
Edit to ask: is she alive????!!!! Nolan
YES!...and she purrs like a Cadillac! Fired her up for the first time in 2years and it just sounds ridiculous!
A few bugs to work out (tach drops at 2k, alt seems to not be putting out, check engine light works, and no oil press guage) but the fine folks on here have some threads to solve those problems.
For your Alt, make sure you have +12v on brown wire on the alternator connector.
I remember reading something about that. I was under the impression that if the alt didn't see 12+ volts it wouldn't start charging. I was going to try to just use jumpers from another car to get it to 13 - 14 volts...Hope that does it.
I remember reading something about that. I was under the impression that if the alt didn't see 12+ volts it wouldn't start charging. I was going to try to just use jumpers from another car to get it to 13 - 14 volts...Hope that does it.
I don't remember the exact voltage but it don't needs to be so high. Jump from the car battery it should work.
I've been following your thread closely and it is great to hear it is running and sounds good...any change of a vid clip to see and hear it running? Hearing that it is running kind of got my thoughts going again for my 4.9 conversion, parts collection has been on hold with housing projects but that might have to come to an end.
I've been following your thread closely and it is great to hear it is running and sounds good...any change of a vid clip to see and hear it running? Hearing that it is running kind of got my thoughts going again for my 4.9 conversion, parts collection has been on hold with housing projects but that might have to come to an end.
I've been following your thread closely and it is great to hear it is running and sounds good...any change of a vid clip to see and hear it running? Hearing that it is running kind of got my thoughts going again for my 4.9 conversion, parts collection has been on hold with housing projects but that might have to come to an end.
I'll try to get one soon. It's the wife and our anniversary on the 6th and a whole bunch of other engagements this week. I'm really happy with how it sounds given my muffler hack job. The only problem is that after it warms up there is a squeeking noise that changes in pitch with the rpm. It sounds like a belt but is seems to be coming from the transmission. I don't think it's related to the throwout bearing or pressure plate-clutch disk mating due to certain tests...I'll guess I'll just have to wait till something goes first-the sound or the engine.
I don't remember the exact voltage but it don't needs to be so high. Jump from the car battery it should work.
I did check for voltage at the brown wire and there is none. Does that mean anything to you? I'll haven't tried the jump trick yet but am sure that it's not charging. When you rev the engine, voltage drops a bit. Idle it is sitting at 11.55V and will drop to 11.54 - 11.53. Good battery though, still starts with authority! That hasn't stopped me from taking it for a spin around the block; what a difference in acceleration from the 2.5!
I still got lots of work to do and lots of pics to post so stay tuned! I am determined to make this the cleanest looking 4.9 yet!
I did check for voltage at the brown wire and there is none. Does that mean anything to you? I'll haven't tried the jump trick yet but am sure that it's not charging. When you rev the engine, voltage drops a bit. Idle it is sitting at 11.55V and will drop to 11.54 - 11.53. Good battery though, still starts with authority! That hasn't stopped me from taking it for a spin around the block; what a difference in acceleration from the 2.5!
I still got lots of work to do and lots of pics to post so stay tuned! I am determined to make this the cleanest looking 4.9 yet!
On my V6 Formula the brown wire goes to the auxiliary gauges pod. I don't know for a L4. There is voltage on the brown wire only when the engine is running. When charging the voltage goes up around 13v.
I finalized my routing for the upper coolant hose. Despite picking up a length of fiero stainless coolant pipe from the wreckers ages ago, I went with something simple and clean. Here you can see the section of hose I cut from the stock 2.5 line.
And here's the section of hose cut from the rad hose that came with the 4.9.
The final setup...well, maybe not. I just have a length of that stainless pipe in there for now. I'll probably put a filler connection instead despite the obvious fact that it is not at the top of the coolant level. Maybe not. I filled it with water for now at the rad using the other length of 4.9 rad hose as a funnel into that tight front hood and lifted the front of the car a bit.
With the oil filter housing on I have to deal with the ports for the oil cooler lines. I plan on eventually putting on an oil cooler but for now, I'm going to by pass it. In other posts it has been shown that you can drill and plug etc. as I want to use this feature later on I don't want to permanently disable it.
One of the stock caddy oil cooler lines has a staight and a right angle at either end of a flexible hose.
This has been seen all over this engine, even the water pump cover.
The fitting at either end of the hose fit right into the housing with enough hose to make a loop creating a REAL oil cooler bypass. I couldn't have made one that fit better!
A shot of the bypass hose installed from the drivers side and then from the rear. Nicely tucked away, it will not be visible with the air intake I have planned. You can also see the heater core hose installed on the modified thermostat housing. I'm sure I mentioned it along time ago but just in case I'll say it again...I didn't want the heater core hose running over the valve cover messing up the look so I made a section and had it welded to the cast housing so it would point in the same direction as the main rad hose. It had to be offset so I could still access the bolt that holds the housing in place
Mental note; Install oil pressure sensor before installing oil cooler bypass hose. Much easier.
2nd Mental note; Install correct oil pressure sensor to operate variable guage and not the caddy one that activates the dummy light so you don't have to take everything apart and redo it.
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 09-06-2012).]
What I did to fill the coolant system was; 1 Lift the front of the car so the rad cap was above the highest cooling system point in the engine bay. 2 Open the little brass breather valve I installed on the right side of the thermostat housing heater core supply output. 3 Remove the rad cap and insert a length of rad hose from the 4.9 donor caddy that has a sharp Z bend in one end. 4 Use a funnel (sawed off pepsi bottle in my case) and fill the system from the 4.9 rad hose. 5 Have someone at the back ready to close the brass breather valve when fluid starts coming out. 6 Remove rad hose from radiator inlet, re-install rad cap. 7 Start engine to get fluid circulating. Repeat process if necessary to remove any air pockets.
I hope that should do it! The engine has run long enough to get hot and have the cooling fan come on. Temp went down and fan turned off. We'll see later how it does on the open road....
Well, I replaced the oil pressure sensor with one from a 94 sunbird 3.1. It's easy to tell whether it has the one you need by looking at the dash. If there's a variable oil pressure guage, it should be the right one. Why a Sunbird/Cavalier? Of all the cars I checked at the wreckers, these seem to be the easiest to get it from. Lay on the ground, two 15mm bolts to remove the starter, cut the wires with side cutters, unscrew the oil filter, and wrench away! 22mm if I remember right. I took the plug and a bit of wire to but didn't need it. This is the plug from the 4.9 harness
This is the plug from the 3.1 sunbird
The 4.9 has an additional ground wire...and all that sensor did was turn on and off!? Oh well. The 4.9 plugged right into the sunbird sensor and worked like a charm. I used a bit of oilproof teflon tape and tightened it till I figured it was good. If you need one and don't want to buy new or don't trust the off shore crap, here's a helpful list; http://www.fierosails.com/OilSensor.html
Curiosity is getting to me, have you made any more progress, have you been able to test out the performance, is it a good daily driver type of engine package for the car? Hope things are still on track and you haven't hit any major problems.
Curiosity is getting to me, have you made any more progress, have you been able to test out the performance, is it a good daily driver type of engine package for the car? Hope things are still on track and you haven't hit any major problems.
Wow! It's been almost a month since I posted last.
Sorry I missed your questions. My hard drive died and it took me a while to get the computer fixed. Then it took me till today to get around to installing pip...I hate doing that. I just don't find it that easy to get working. Probably cause I'm not much of a computer guy. Anywhow....
She runs great! I like the sound...definitely not loud like straight pipes, not quite flowmaster, but definitely not stock, and certainly not a 4 cyl anymore! OK...I'll get that video tomarrow. Maybe. As for a daily driver, it was never intended to be but I'd have no problem doing so. I got around 275km's to the first full tank, but will keep track of my reciepts to get an accurate mpg rating. I do get a bit of a vibration in a certain rpm range...could be my modified flywheel, could be the urethane engine mounts+lack of a flex tube in the exhaust...not sure. The simple solution is to just press on the gas pedal harder and it goes away! On the highway I get a check engine light but have not been able to figure out what for yet. The engine has a bit of a repeatitious bumping surge to it while driving...almost not noticeable, but goes away when the check engine light comes on. Got to look into that one.
I did meet my self imposed deadline though.... . . . . . .
Hey! Looks good. After following this build, I'm sure you're resourceful enough to iron out the few glitches you have. That's what's fun/challenging about owning a 27 year old car; always something to fiddle with. Seeing snow on a red Fiero reminds me of mine. Although, since the new paint job, it won't come out of the garage anymore if it's snowing.
Wow...great to see you back and even with the snow the car looks great! Can't wait to see a video if you get the time. Almost dissapointed to see the major portion of the build coming to an end as I check this thread before I check any of my email.
Hey! Looks good. After following this build, I'm sure you're resourceful enough to iron out the few glitches you have. That's what's fun/challenging about owning a 27 year old car; always something to fiddle with. Seeing snow on a red Fiero reminds me of mine. Although, since the new paint job, it won't come out of the garage anymore if it's snowing.
You hit the nail on the head! If it wasn't fun/challenging, I (we) wouldn't be doing it. I like the natural color scheme but am probably going to go with something else...although I'm not quite sure yet. It's definitely tough to bring myself to drive it in bad weather with all the work I've done...that and the zr rated tires have a 0 traction rating in the snow. It'll all be gone in a few days and the roads will be clear and dry for a few more road trips! I thought I'd toss in a pic from this morning.
Wow...great to see you back and even with the snow the car looks great! Can't wait to see a video if you get the time. Almost dissapointed to see the major portion of the build coming to an end as I check this thread before I check any of my email.
Thanks for the kind words! It helps inspire progress. I'm not done with this car by a long shot...just gonna take a break for a while. It's out of the garage so I can build a shed for out back for all the parts, wheels, fenders, etc. It's easier to build it in the heated garage and drag it out back than work out in the cold! I still have to post my write up on the wiring, installing the digital dash, and a bunch of other custom stuff I've done. On the list of future projects are a custom air intake, swapping the luggage rack for a stock wing, custom wing stands, custom interior, 12" corvette brake rotors, custom functional quarter scoops, custom front and rear bumpers, side skirts, custom hood air extractor, among others. It's gonna take a while and I'll have to prioritize so the car isn't off the road for this length of time again! I still have to develope the basement and build the Mystery Machine as well. Hmmm. It's going to be a busy year.
I was just reading over the last several posts and realized I didn't bring any closure to the alternator charging problem. Quite simple really...the wire from the alternator that connects to the battery light in the instument cluster had nothing to connect to! When I swapped my dash for the cavalier digital dash, it had no battery light so it never got hooked up. The digital voltage display is all that is provided to indicate the condition of the charging system. Well, I needed to add one. I could have just wired in a bulb somewhere to a 12v source but that just wouldn't be my style. You can see here that I have cut a battery display from an old fiero dash and will be grafting it into the cavalier dummy light display.
While I was at it, I added some LED's to back light the analog tach. The stock bulbs are just too dim to see through the tinted lens during the day. I made the plug to fit the stock bulb socket out of some circuit board, wires and solder.
It's the difference between this;
and this:
The tan or "beachwood" interior is a friends car. Neither have had their temp sensors hooked up yet so that's why they're not working. Yes, I know the first pic isn't that clear but hey, you try to take a picture at that speed. Actually, you can see the oil pressure gauge isn't working either. That was just after the op sensor caught fire and I cut all the wires to it so I could keep on driving.
I mentioned earlier that I used a short piece of scrap fiero stainless coolant tube to connect the modified hose on the drivers side. It's always in the back of my mind that there's no flange at the ends to keep the hoses from coming off when clamped. I'm not going to go through the description of how I created a flange but will say I used a similar procedure as discussed previously in this thread but with a bit more violence due to stainless tube being tougher to work with than aluminum tube.
Now I feel more comfortable knowing the coolant hoses are clamped to this instead of just the straight pipe. I looked into buying a hose connector but I didn't find any readily available...unless you want to spend $30 for one with a rad cap on it. It was faster to make than driving to the parts store to ask if they had one in stock.
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 10-24-2012).]
I really wish I could have seen this in time to stop you, but I didn't and I hope you don't have happen what happened to me.
4.9 Isuzu 5spd, Centerfornce Dual Friction Clutch. The Clutch disk/hub exploded, throwing parts all around the bell housing jamming the input shaft and blowing up the trans.
------------------ 857GT Part 85GT Part 87GT Part Caddy, 93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Now with Nitrous. Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
[This message has been edited by Capt Fiero (edited 10-29-2012).]
I really wish I could have seen this in time to stop you, but I didn't and I hope you don't have happen what happened to me.
4.9 Isuzu 5spd, Centerfornce Dual Friction Clutch. The Clutch disk/hub exploded, throwing parts all around the bell housing jamming the input shaft and blowing up the trans.
I did read that entire thread...after I bought the clutch! I've seen this happen to a few others out there as well...once again, after I bought the clutch. I was trying to support local retailers instead of ordering online but that may have been a mistake. I couldn't find anyone who had a good alternative in this neck of the woods and was assured by the performance shop that it would work just fine. He was also happy to take my money. While searching for a clutch strong enough to handle the 4.9, I actually had a transmission shop claim that the stock 2.5 clutch from "Sachs" would handle the power. I knew this was poor information from what I had read here about the stock 2.5 clutch. I do understand that there have been improvements with the centerforce line and hopefully I have one of the improved units. Check in once in a while, I'll be sure to fill everyone in if it craters. Besides, I've been told not to expect the trans to last too long either!
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 10-30-2012).]
I had mentioned earlier that I had a strange noise coming from the 4.9 once it warmed up. I took a while but I figured out what it was. The noise was kind of like a belt squeal but would die off like pressure being released when the engine was shut off. I realized that since I put off building my custom air intake I also put off running the clean air hose to the valve cover opposite the PCV valve. I had plans to drill through this oil filler cap and run it to the air cleaner but with a standard aircleaner setup for now, I totally forgot.
So for the mean while, I popped off the cover and opened a hole big enough for an aftermarket filter.
For now this is just squeezed into the hole I made and has eliminated the squealing noise. Without a supply of fresh air into the engine block, a vaccum is created inside as the intake sucks the crank case air through the PCV valve.
I'm not sure if it was the valve that was squealing or something inside the engine that I damaged and will lead to the untimely death of my 4.9. I hope it'll be ok. One more problem solved I hope...time will tell. I still got to work on the check engine light issue but this cold weather is keeping me from enjoying my ride. This is how she looks for now;
[This message has been edited by Reallybig (edited 10-30-2012).]
I should have worn through the set of spare tires I bought by now! It will run before the snow...it will run before the snow...it will run before the snow...
