Also drilled a hole in the T Stat and clocked it @ 12:00 to aid in bleeding air.
This is the old one I did a practice run on:
We just did this the other day on a friends 4.9 Fiero that was having overheating issues. He actually drilled 2 holes side by side then used a small file and cleaned out the middle. I did the same with my new T Stat. This is a "Fail Safe" T Stat that - if it fails, it fails in the open position.
Page 8 is mine!
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 04-16-2010).]
Jeremy at the Fiero Warehouse is a great guy! I had a lot of goofy questions about the harness and he had no problem answering them. I think I have all the connectors figured out now and tommorow we will see if I can bring it to life.
This one is for the neutral safety switch on the trans:
This one is for the charcoal canister and is not going to be used:
Made some progress today. Dan and Jeff came over at 7:30 am. We finished up a little wiring and then went to work putting it in the car. Took all of 20 minutes to get her bolted in then spent the rest of the time getting the harness in the right place and everything routed the right way (more time spent BSing than working). We accomplished a lot today. Jeff picked up a nice set of barely used Flowmater 40's from the neighbor cheap and Dan sold his 84 Vette and we stuffed a 4.9 in the XTC all before 12:00. As of this afternoon, all that is left is a alternator wire, a few vacuum plugs, the vacuum line for the brakes and the coolant lines. I need to get some fuel lines made and then she will be ready to fire up. After that, reinstall tha suspension and take her for a spin. I think we will rebuild the brakes first though............ Getting close now.
Not a bad day's work Let me know when you want to come by and pick up the shifter bracket. I suspect CJ will be cruising it by next weekend.
Well thanks to you and Jeff, I could not take it so I had to finish up the wiring and see if she would fire. Woke up the neighborhood this morning with the roar of a 4.9....... I can't tell you what a relief that was but I'm sure you understand it.
Here's what's left:
Fuel lines - Done Coolant lines - Done Exhaust - In process AC lines Oil Cooler Hook up the trans cooler lines Install the axles/suspension Brake Vacuum line Brake Job w/new flex lines Make sure everything is routed and tied down correctly.
Should be able to get all this done by next weekend?????? The exhaust is the big thing now. Everything else is easy. Thanks again to Dan and Jeff for thier help and to everyone else that helped to get it to this point.
Pat
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 04-21-2010).]
Well my son was whining about the exhaust for the XTC - "how we going to do it", It's gonna cost a bunch of money", wah wah wah! I told him that it would be no problem and to quit whining. Finally after listening to his belly aching for over an hour, I sent him to the auto parts store to get me some cheap exhaust pieces - a couple 90's and a 45 in 2.25 or 2.5". While he was gone, I trimmed up the factory Caddy down pipe and waited for his return. Now keep in mind that this is strictly a "mock up". Once I have it the way I want it, I'll either go get the proper bent pieces and build it or just have a muffler shop build it for me - depends on cost!
Once he got back, the first thing I needed to make was a "Y" pipe. My intention is to come out of the stock Caddy down pipe (that's really just a flange with 1" pipe) with a short 45 and then into the "Y" pipe which will split off to a small muffler on each side of the car. The XTC has about an extra 8" of length in the back end so I can install a short 12" to 16" long turbo muffler/glass pack, etc. along the frame rails and attach the tip right to the muffler going out the back.
I used my cut off wheel in the 4" grinder and cut a "wedge" out of each of the 90's
Then with some grinding, fitted them together
Then welded it together - don't laugh at my welding skills - I have none. Plus I was running out of gas and I could not see and....well enough excuses:
Then I fit the 45 with some cutting and grinding: The final piece will fit over the flange pipe and will be welded.
Pretty good fit considering it's all eye balled:
Plenty of clearance:
Anyway, it shut up the boy and now I can have some peace and quiet.
I could not stand it so I whipped up some make shift Fuel lines. Once I had them hooked up, I cranked it over and no fire??????? I pored a little gas in the TB and vroom......right up to 3500 rpm.....shut down. Then I capped off all the vac ports on the TB, cranked it over and vroom - 1500 rpm then settled to 1100 then t 800 - 900 and idled smooth. I think I have a few electricla gremlins to chase as the fule gauge is pegged, the op gauge is pegged and the SES light is on. The tach seems to work though. At lease it runs. I will need to time it and figure out idle and all that but it fires with the turn of a key and will run smooth. Very happy right now. Just trying to figure out how to post a video.
Had an issue today. After getting all the coolant lines in place, today we filled and bled the system. All went well until we tried to start it. No Fuel Pump - WTF? First I thought it was something I did. Yesterday I was under the car checking out the wirning trying to figure out the gas guage issue. I pulled the plug apart checked for bad wires and found nothing. Plugged it back together and went on. So I dive under the car agian, pull the plug apart and start checking for voltage. Key on, no voltage to the pump. WTF? So I hot wire the fuel pump, it works fine.
I run into the house and post up my issue in Tech - I have no clue where to start. I crack open the maual and read and read but cant find anything that helps. I decide to go out and swap the relays. Now these are brand new relays but after I swapped them, she fired right up? WTF? Could one of the new relays gone bad? Was it stuck maybe? Did I short it out when I was messing with the plug yesterday? Now I will go swap them back and see what happens.
So anyway, I was able to run the car to make sure I got it bled correctly. It sat in the garage with no fan for 10 minutes before it got to 195. I could tell when the t stat opened. I let it run another 10 minutes while I watched the temp gauge and went around the car checking the coolant tubes, hoses and rad. After about 2o minutes, it was approaching 220 so I put put the fan fuse in and as soon as the fan kicked on, the temp dropped below 200 and stayed there for another 15 to 20 minutes. I think I have it bled out correctly.
Tomorow we will install the suspension and tidy up the wiring. Getting close now! Here's another video of it running today.
Removed the old hubs and installed new seals this afternoon.
New seal installed.
New Hub installed:
I slipped in a outer axle stub to make sure that I ahd the seal set deep enought. The new seals were not as "thick" as the originals so if i set them flush, the seal may ride to far down on the axle. After a few test fits, I think I got the seal set to the right depth. The inside face is flush with the "mark" left by the original seal. I suppose it won't matter much because I will be using brand new outer axle shafts.
Went over to Frizlefrak's house this evening and stole the shift cable bracket and the shift arm so I can clone them! Hope he does not decide to take his car for a spin!
Worked on the shift arm this evening. I borrowed the arm and the cable bracket form Frizlefrak's car and cloned them. When I installed the arm, it hits the crossover pipe in park. Now I got to figure that out.
Flattened out:
Marked and drilled for the pin:
Pin welded in new place:
All trimmed up:
Frizlefrak's arm had a few cracks in it from where it was flattened out originally so I ground out the cracks and welded it up:
More later!
Pat
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 04-24-2010).]
That's funny right there, I don't care who you are. Git-R-Done.
Well after a late night and lots of new cuss words, I think I got it. I finished cloning the cable bracket then removed the crossover pipe. After I got the bracket mounted and the cable hooked up, it looks like the shifter is working good. I reinsatlled the crossover and was able to "rotate" it upwards. I tightened it down and was able to get plenty of clearance between the crossover and the shift arm. I will wrap the cross over with header wrap to help with the heat. Just waiting on some axles to show up and she will be on the gorund ready for a test drive.
Had a setback on the XTC today. Awhile back, I picked up some outer maual Fiero axle/CV's for the axle mod. After cleaning them up and looking them over, there was one that seemd a little "rough" to me so I decided to buy a set of remanned Fiero manual axles form AZ, then use the outer axle/CV and instll these on the Olds mini van axles. Today, one came in so I picked it up - got home and started to disassemble the new axle. Turns out the new outer axle/CV is the same diameter axle shaft as the Fiero auto - too small for the Olds mini van axle! Craptacular news! So now I'm back to square one with the axles. Monday I will see if there is a local shop that can rebuild the 2 used outers I have. Hope this wokrs out.
Dismantled a CV joint this evening - found out why it was rough. I was able to use a fine wire wheel on my dremel to clena up the parts. I put them in my brass tumbler with walnuts and jewler's rouge to see if they will polish up. If so, I will reassemble it and run it.
Axles and suspension in this evening. I need to move the motor 1/2" toward the passenger side - not a problem as I planned ahead for this possibility - I just need to slot a couple mount holes.
Just got back from replacing the shift cable bracket and shift arm that I stole off of Frizlefrak's 4.9. I did some measuring and eyeballing and my axle fears have subsided. He is using the same axles as I am and both his and mine are within 1/4" of being in the same place. I will bolt her back in where I had her and run it that way. On the way home I picked up some header wrap for the crossover. As soon as my brake lines come in from Rock Auto, I should have it on the gorund. Just got to get after the exhaust now then clean up some odds and ends. So close yet so far away. More later!
Pat
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 04-29-2010).]
Been surfing Muffler suppliers trying to decide what to use. Thinking of a cheap turbo muffler to start with. More for mock up versus function. I need to see what "fits" before i buy some higher end mufflers.
Ordered a set of cheap turbo mufflers today and gathered up some exhaust pipe pieces. It will be tight but I think I can make it work. Alos wrapped the crossover with header wrap - 2 layers. Should help keep the under hood heat down. Also got the motor mounts bolted back in. If I get my parts form Rock Auto tomorrow, I may be driving it Saturday afternoon!..........
Wrap that rascal!
In the car - starting to clean up the wiring some:
More later
Pat
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 04-30-2010).]
A little more exhaust work this afternoon - Finished the Y pipe and then welded it up. There will have to be a few small adjustments made to it for a good fit but it's pretty close - a little heat here, some tweaking there.... It's coming along. Still looking for brake lines from Rock Auto. Got an email last night that it shipped yesterday - doubtfull they will be here tomorrow. If the mufflers I ordered actually show up tomorrow as promised, I can get the exhaust finished up then go over everything a second or third time - main thing is cleaning up all the wires - routing and I have to fab a couple hose mounts to keep them out of harms way. A few wires to the starter need to be lengthened then rerouted to keep them away for the exhaust manifold. With the exception of the brake lines, oil cooler and AC hoses, it should be done tomorrow afternoon. I can hardy believe that it is near the end of this swap. Seems like I just started it yesterday. What will I do when it's done????????? I think I can find something to keep me busy!
More tomorrow!
Pat
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 04-30-2010).]
Had big plans for the XTC today - I really wanted to drive it around the block but it was not to be. The mufflers never showed up at the parts store and I could not find the bolts for calipers - spent half the day digging trough bolt buckets looking for them. I put a new rad cap on - just for good measure and then topped the coolant off again. I did spend some time cleaning up the wiring, tightened up the crossover, installed the exhaust collector/Y pipe. Then I started it up and put the tune to it Did the Idle learn thing - a few times and set the timing. It purrs like a kitten. ABout 6:00 the boy found the caliper bolts - maybe i'll spin it around the block tomorrow. While I was waiting for the mufflers, I worked on the V8 Coupe so the whole day was not a loss. I was ging to wait to post this video until I had the exhaust done so I could do a comparison but here it is anyway.
Pat
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 05-01-2010).]
Had some fun with the XTC rear brakes. I decided it was time to bolt the calipers back up and found that the left side sliders were siezed up. Also had to take the e brake lever off to compress the piston. Found that whoever worked the brakes on this car last, did not get the arm on correctly and the hex was rounded out. I added some spot welds and used my dremel with a carbide cutter to reshape the hex. After compressing the piston, the arm went on perfectly - all was good there.
I did find that the rear brake pads are nearly new - I compared them to a brand new set I have for the Formula - can't see any wear. Anyway, there were 2 outer pads on the left side and 2 inner pads on the right. Without the inner on the right, this allowed the piston to spin rendering the ebrake useless on the right side. I swapped the pads around to the right orientation but was missing one of the anti rattle clips. Spent most the afternoon yesterday searching for one clip - no one sells a hardware kit. I can buy new calipers from Rock Auto and they come with new pins and anti rattle clips - I hate to spend 50,00 plus for calipers just to get a anti rattle clip. I have a few firends searching thier stash's now - if I can't come up with one, I will reassemble the brakes and leave the right outer pad without the clip until I can find one.
On a more serious note, I have a rant about AZ - why is it that they can never seem to order what you actually need? I know these guys at my local AZ real well - they know better. Everytime I have to order something through them, it either comes in wrong or never shows up at all. I try to use these guys cause they usually have what I am looking for and if I have to order it, can get it in 2 days. If I wanted to wait a week, I would order from Rock Auto, Fiero Store, Summit, Jegs, etc. I ordered some cheap turbo mufflers for the XTC exhaust mock up and they were supposed to be here on Saturday - nope - come back Monday! Went back Monday - nope - don't know where they are - have no shipping info - do you want your money back? No I say, Order the Fu&^%ng things again! Cheese and Rice these guys are starting to make me want to throw on the postal uniform and run through a couple dozen clips! Ok rant off!
Hopefully they will show up on Wednesday - if so, I can get the exhaust done and be able to take the car around the block. I'd love to get her done by Friday - there is a Vette run planned this weekend and I'd really like to take the XTC! - What? It has Vette taillights!
Let me know when you want to come by and pick up the shifter bracket. I suspect CJ will be cruising it by next weekend. 
