PI Intake/Cam install problem

Yeah I want to get to that point, right now if they just went away it'd all be worth it, and honestly once/if we ever get to that point i'll say it was all worth it. But at this point, while the problems sitll persist, i'm saying it's not worth it because it's getting extremely annoying...we seem to be exhausing possibility after possibility as to what could be causing this.

As for the "right and left" issue, that's another thing i'm confident we got correct. We put each new cam next to the corresponding old cam while it was still in the car just to be sure we got them on the right side. "RIGHT" matched the cam on the passenger side, "LEFT" matched the cam from the drivers side...lobe-wise that is. We got all the rockers put back on if they'd fallen off, we torqued it down to spec, we cranked it over probably 4 times by hand just to make sure there was no PTV contact, and figured it was good.

Today when i'm done with class, depending on whether or not my dads already ran the compression test on it and what the results of that are, i'm going to start it back up again and just back it out and drive it down the street and see if maybe it's having a hard time learning for some reason...That should also warm it up faster so I can get the thermostat opened and see if coolant is still leaking in. I'm going to be REALLY tweaked if it passes the compression tests and still is getting coolant in the cylinders because we've seriously sealed the intake manifold gasket EVERY POSSIBLE way it seems. We're considering putting the old manifold back on just to see if that solves the problem or not. Maybe I got a defective PI Manifold? Right now nothing is going to surprise me. If a horse crawled out of my intake ports it wouldn't phase me.
 
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I know it is frustrating. My car has been sitting for about 5 weeks now becuase of either a blown clutch or a broken shift fork. I have that luxury of letting it sit since I have a good work vehicle now but it is getting to the point where I want to fix it now. I'm getting ready now to go out and get started. Just browsing and keeping up with your progress.

I've done both swaps you are doing now. The intake I didn't have any issues. The cam swap I ended up pulling the timeing cover becuase my friend dropped the cam washer through the timeing chain and into the oil pan. I also had to redo the cam cover when the gasket folded over reinstalling it and dumped a quart of oil on the ground. Things happen...you just have to be patient and tackle each problem as they come. Sometimes stepping away to get a fresh view.

As far as the other things going on...that could be part of your stress. I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Maybe let the car sit for a week or so until you get the other stuff resolved...like studying for calculus...
 
Yeah I know all that, but my personality is one that when there is a problem like this I "HAVE" to solve it. Thats another reason the calc test irks me so bad is that the stuff is right at the tip of my brain and I HAVE to solve it, but my lack of motivation for homework (stemming back to the first year I started combining work/school/social life) is what's killing me.

Anyways...about the car...let me sum up my thoughts:
People saying cam-related issues, answer this: I know a timing light won't allow me to adjust timing, but it will still help me see what the timing is at. We've checked the timing on #1 cylinder and with the rough idle it's usually in the 12-10BTDC range, 10BTDC is what it comes from the factory set at. SO if it was cam related, wouldn't that be off???

Ignition: Plug wires were checked with a voltmeter and are fine. Plugs have been replaced twice now and are properly gapped to around .052-.053. Distributors I don't know how to check and see if those are bad...tell me how to check those out and I'll do that.

Intake manifold: Who knows! We've sealed it every possible way known to man right now it seems like, and its still not running right.

Head Gasket: We'll be doing a compression test on it today and i'll get back to you guys on the results of that.
 
Check the resistance of the coils:

With ignition off, disconnect the electrical connector from the coil primary (where the connector attaches). Connect the ohmmeter to the (+) (center terminal) and the (-) (outer teminals). Should be 0.3 to 1.0 ohms.

For the secondary (where the plug wires attach) check the resistance across corresponding teminals...7/4, 8/2, 1/6 and 3/5. Should be 6.5 to 11.5 Kilo-ohms.
 
Ok, you have to be cautious about the compression test. If your cam timing is, in fact, out of whack, you may have valves partially open at the top of the compression stroke (it would really depend on how screwed up the install is, if it is at all). this would lead to a drop in compression, which would make you think piston rings, HG or whatever, but in fact it is a cam problem.

You said it is running rough though, is it like its not getting enough fuel? Have you thoroughly checked to make sure all your fuel lines are on the rails, that your injectors are plugged in, gas cap is on, intertia switch hasnt been tripped, etc etc
 
Where is the intertia swtich and how would I know if it has been tripped? The lines are on the raisl though, the injectors are all plugged in, gas caps on, and fuel pump is operational.
Now to top it off, I just accidentally bought a Diet Mtn Dew instead of regular...gah what a week..........
 
Dusstbuster said:
Where is the intertia swtich and how would I know if it has been tripped? The lines are on the raisl though, the injectors are all plugged in, gas caps on, and fuel pump is operational.
Now to top it off, I just accidentally bought a Diet Mtn Dew instead of regular...gah what a week..........

:lol: kick 'em when hes down. The inertial switch is in the trunk. It only would have been triggered if you a.) got rear ended or b.) purposely tripped it. I used this switch to cut power to my fuel pump so I could relieve fuel pressure. The injectors are fully seated in the rails and manifold? We did injectors on my buddy's IROC-Z before, and one of the O-rings rolled a little when we put them in.. so he was having fuel pressure issues. Just something to consider.
 
Alright well question for you here then. My friend just had to have 3 new injectors ordered because when he was messing with his injectors on his 88GT he cracked 3 of them. Are they really hard to crack/ruin or was he probably just being overly rough with them? I bought new o-rings for the injectors but after hearing that story I don't want to have to wait for new injectors to arrive due to breaking some.
 
Well we did the compression test, all cylinders came back around 150 so that's not it. My dad said he finally did get to cylinder #'s from a MIL, #7 and #8, the ones we've been suspecting all along. We're going to test out the "distributor" for that side and see if that might be it. It still seems like water is somehow getting in though, but the coolant isnt dropping like it used to...the exhaust is just leaving nice wet marks whenever we let it run, little water droplets shoot out all the time.


Also comp....is that for checking on COP's or for my car?
We checked those and got the .3-1ohm for the connector but the places where the wires attach was reading 14-15.5Kohms
 
I think what we're going to do is put the old NPI manifold back on and see if the problems persist. If not then i'm going to see what I can do about getting a replacment for the PI manifold I bought...maybe I just got a defective/warped one?? We'll have to see I guess
 
Dusstbuster said:
Also comp....is that for checking on COP's or for my car?
We checked those and got the .3-1ohm for the connector but the places where the wires attach was reading 14-15.5Kohms
That is for the coil packs. 4 terminals for each pack. You got 14-15.5 on all of them? The Haynes says if you are not getting what is specified you should replace them. You checked them by the corresponding terminals listed? Double check the readings to be sure.
 
Dusstbuster said:
Also comp....is that for checking on COP's or for my car?
We checked those and got the .3-1ohm for the connector but the places where the wires attach was reading 14-15.5Kohms
That is for the coil packs. 4 terminals for each pack. You got 14-15.5 on all of them? That is alot of extra resistance if those are accurate readings. The Haynes says if you are not getting what is specified you should replace them. You checked them by the corresponding terminals listed? Double check the readings to be sure.
 
COramprat said:
That is for the coil packs. 4 terminals for each pack. You got 14-15.5 on all of them? That is alot of extra resistance if those are accurate readings. The Haynes says if you are not getting what is specified you should replace them. You checked them by the corresponding terminals listed? Double check the readings to be sure.

also make sure you're using a good multimeter. Mine is a piece of garbage and read high even on my new CPs. But if those readings are correct, then the coil packs are shot. I just don't get how this happened right after all this engine work
 
let me start this post off by first admitting..............I am retarded............
:banana: :banana: :banana: :D ITS RUNNING, IT WORKS :banana: :banana: :D :SNSign: :jester:










Now the culprit:
Cylinder #7 had wire #8 and Cylinder #8 had wire #7 on it:bang: :doh: .... I was looking at GDAWG's install guide being as my pictures all were taken with the strut bar on, so you can't see what wires went where. I looked really close and was like "wait a minute..." went out, switched them around, turned it on, and it just purred like a kitten. No rough idle, no nothing....just pure sweet goodness.

Now, I know for sure 3 of the teardowns were needed because there definitely was coolant leaking into the cylinders, but wow....for something so trivial and stupid to take up that much time/stress to figure out is retarded. Let this be a lesson to anyone who has read this and will attempt the swap, LABEL YOUR STUFF AND WHERE IT GOES, AND TAKE PICTURES.

Thank you that is all I'm off to work and then drive around for the next 12 hours.

I want to especailly thank StangGT97, Comprat, and Outlaw...and GDAWG, I love you too.......without you we would probably be tearing the car down right now as I type. AHHH its finally over!!!!
 
Dusstbuster said:
let me start this post off by first admitting..............I am retarded............

:lol: :owned:

Well dude I am so glad you finally got that thing running! Yeah when I did my install, I put all my parts in labeled baggies... and the plug wires, I labeled them with a black sharpie so you'll never see the numbers on them but I knew exactly where they went when I put the car back together. Wow, that is ridiculous, I never even thought of that as a culprit :doh: Well if your coil pack secondary resistances are reading that high, you should look into a replacement set at some point in the future.

Dusstbuster said:
I want to especailly thank StangGT97, Comprat, and Outlaw...and GDAWG, I love you too.......without you we would probably be tearing the car down right now as I type. AHHH its finally over!!!!

:flag: you're welcome man! Now go do some burnouts, then come back and drink some beers :cheers:
 
It got the last laugh on me tonight still. I was heading over to playmakers for a dance club thing and it started bogging/bucking on me, then the battery light came on and it died. I started it back up and pulled onto the onramp for interstate, wishing I hadn't gotten on the onramp but was too late to go back. Did it again and its dark out so i was like WTF no don't start acting up now. It died so I put the flashers on, popped the hood, and found out that we, in our fit of happiness over it finally running, forgot to tighten down the CAI and so the tube from the TB to the MAF had popped off both and the IAC tube didn't have its hose clamp on it and had popped off as well. My lucky dad got to get out of bed at 11 and bring me a standard screw driver and clamp, and after that it's basically ran like a champ...some rough idles here and there but i'll write that off as the car still learning all this new stuff inside of it.