585 replies to this topic

[Statler]

Started the new year with a little maintenance .

 

The blower case sounded like there was a handful of rocks rattling around inside . After fearing an expensive fix , good old Youtube to the rescue . The issue was a worn poly coupling between the snout & the gears .

Of course nothing goes according to plan. 3 of the case bolts stripped the allen centre out. Bugger! 

 

We shall overcome ! I had to sacrifice a torx bit but it worked . Not bad welding for a blind man in a kent of a position .

 

Of course when the cover was removed it dumped a bunch of oil over the  intake manifold <sigh>

 

I must be getting old because the last time i bought Form-a-gasket it was $5. Now it's $17 !

 

Now waiting for the bolt store to open tomorrow for a fresh set of bolts. 

 

 

 

 

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[Statler]

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[Stinga]

just went back a couple of pages for a look, great to see its on the road since last time i was here Col. it looks great, enjoy!

[Statler]

I've swapped out the 2:75 diff gears for a set of 3:25's.  i still have the old centre if i decide to make the pilgrimage to Tfest again .

 

I purchased a Proton Satria GTi last year solely to rape the front seats from. With my screwed up spine i was struggling to get in / out of the car , so i figured that lower seats would help . They did.

 

Fitting them wasn't too difficult . I made up new bases using 1.2mm zinc pressed steel from dimensions off the original mounts. This didn't quite work out as planned because it created too much tilt. I rectified this when fitting the drivers seat. Maybe one day I will redo the passengers side but i don't sit there .  I used redrilled VN-VS slides. I cut the commodore mounts off & welded them to the new mounts. I had to straighten out the adjustment bars a little but a little tap here & there sorted that. Passengers side adjustment bars for both seats worked better for this as they are narrower than drivers side. 

 

Everything fitted up nicely . New seat bases are 10X stronger than the original .

I could have bought seat bases online but they are nearly $500ea & aren't A.S certified . All up these set me back under $100pr.  I have shown these to a Certifying Engineer & his only comment was , "Geez Col, overengineered as usual " lol.

 

So now i'm not sliding around on the seat during 'spirited' driving . The old seats are wrapped up & sitting on the shelf. 

 

Budget Recaros. 

 

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[Statler]

 DSC00609.JPG   178.99K   9 downloadsAlso was invited by our local Holden dealer to have some pictures taken before the signage came down . Gotta love that showroom lighting .

 

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[Statler]

Getting ready to give the old girl a birthday.

First on the list was replace the stock steering wheel with a thicker MOMO item.  

 

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[Statler]

I had some -8 fittings welded to the fuel rails & rocker covers . 

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New engine nearly ready to fit. 

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Quick pic of the fuel regulator set up 

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[Statler]

I pulled the car down in November to freshen a few things up & get it ready for Rockynats.

 

When i came back from Rockynats last year i noticed that the timing case gasket was going 'green', I presumed there was a coolant leak inside, probably a welch plug leaking so that needed to be rectified. The clutch needed looking at & the engine bay needed painted anyway thanks to a leaking master cylinder. 

 

So out with the engine . I figured instead of fixing the old engine , i may as well slot in the 355 that has lived on my engine stand for the past 4 years  . It's ok , i wound it over every week. 

 

While the gearbox was out i thought now would be a good time to pull the 3;25 diff & replace it with a 3;00 Trutrac. 

 

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I had this teardown organised for a 2 week period , Then the weather turned to shit & oh well ,,,,,,, the best laid plans & all that.......

 

Car went off for paint & i got busy readying the new engine for installation. 

 

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With the body back from paint it took 15 mins to slot the engine back in. 

 

 

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Then the job or bolting it all back together began. Found a broken gearbox mount but i'm still having trouble finding the correct mount. 

 

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Got it all back together & primed up the fuel system to check for leaks , then the puel pressure gauge failed & sprayed 98 everywhere! Luckily Autobarn were still open. Hit the key & ......... flat battery. Sigh

 

Took the battery into my local supplier to have them charge it. 2 days later i got the call that it was stuffed. Guess i can't complain. I had it for 6 years. So i had to dip back into my cunning kick for another new Ultima. 

 

 

Primed up the fuel system again , checked for leaks & cranked it over , I was surprised that it fired up straight away. I was also surprised to hear a KNOCK KNOCK coming from the engine & a stream of 98 squirting from one of the weld on fittings on the fuel rail. 

 

Now the only thing i have changed in the bottom end is the oil pick up & sump. So i figured that the stroker crank counterweight was probably hitting the oil pick up tube or the main cap mounting bracket.. So i suspended the engine & dropped the sump . I removed the pick up tube after checking for clearance & didn't find any witness marks. I checked the inside of the sump & again no witness marks. I wound that bloody thing over by hand so many times & couldn't even find any binding. It's got me stumped. So i bolted the sump back on & refitted the K frame again.

 

Still waiting on the fuel rail repair. Seems Ergon are installing a new blah blah & shut their power off until this arvo.

 

It's 6 days until Rockynats & at this point i don't think Purple will be there. 

 

 

 

 

 

[hanra]

Keep going!! 

 

Its prob going to rain for the even by the looks anyways! 

[Statler]

Keep going!! 

 

Its prob going to rain for the even by the looks anyways! 

Stop praying for rain Brad! lol

I don't care, my wipers work. 

[hanra]

Any further outcome? 

[Statler]

I got the fuel rail back today but i'm just too knackered to do anything today.

The joys of chronic pain. 

[Rockoz]

I got the fuel rail back today but i'm just too knackered to do anything today.

The joys of chronic pain. 

 

Know how you feel.

I have what I call 'reset' days every couple of weeks.

I go get my morning coffee, spend half an hour on the computer than back in bed for the rest of the day.

Sometimes I will do it for a few days running.

 

A lot of people will never understand how exhausting chronic pain can be.

I was better when I was taking lots of endone. But apparently I was addicted to it and not actually in pain.

So I stopped taking it. No withdrawal problems, just more pain than usual and lots more inactive days.

It has cost me about 12 months in my recovery time.

 

Do what your body tells you. Even the subtle hints it gives.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[Statler]

Yeah Rob , It's exhausting. 

 

I've been down the addiction path & visited the dark places that it leads to. These days i save the opioids  for breakthrough. 

 

I'm destined to boom & bust my way through this life. 

[Rockoz]

I didnt ever get addicted to them thankfully.

I just stopped taking them kind of in a way to prove a point to the doctors.

But when I moved I had to change doctors and the whole process of being allowed to continue with the drugs became a nightmare.

Plus the new doctor was an absolute idiot.

I told her that all she had to do was ring the number to get approval because I had been on that regime for ages.

Instead she went through an unnecessary process of a new application. Instead of getting 28 days supply, I could only get 14 days.

When I gave them up, I had zero withdrawals.

I was just in crap loads more pain than normal.

Went back to being in bed for close to 20 hours a day.

 

But I am now back up to around 12 hours a day, with the odd days of 16 hours.

If I feel drained, I just go back to bed.

Those days are becoming less frequent though.

But I can never see me being able to hold down a full time job again.

The only way might be an old weekend warrior position I had years ago.

Friday Saturday and Sunday all 12 hour shifts.

But I reckon I would spend most of the 4 days off in bed to start with until I got used to it.

 

In no hurry to look for work though.

Ive got a shed to fit out hopefully in the next month.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[Statler]

Well it's all back together & the problem remains.

 

I'm over it.

 

I just don't have time for another engine swap & being able to physically recover in time for Rockynats. So Purple can hibernate in the shed until i feel like looking into it further. 

[Bigfella237]

Are you able to make a video of the sound?

 

Is it a knock or a tap?

Bottom end or top? Louder on the left or right? (If you don't have a stethoscope you can touch a long screw driver to the engine in different places and put your ear against the handle.)

Obviously affected by RPMs?

Does it change between acceleration and overrun?

Does it change with your foot on the clutch?

[rodomo]

Fly me up

[Statler]

Are you able to make a video of the sound?

 

Is it a knock or a tap?

Bottom end or top? Louder on the left or right? (If you don't have a stethoscope you can touch a long screw driver to the engine in different places and put your ear against the handle.)

Obviously affected by RPMs?

Does it change between acceleration and overrun?

Does it change with your foot on the clutch?

Bottom end. Knock. I have a stethescope but i'm not going to run the engine for any longer than 3 seconds. I also won't rev it. 

 

Last ditched attempt today. I'm going to drop the sump 1/4" in the car & fire it up again. Just checking the check. 

Fly me up

You might not want to go home.

[Statler]

Went to drop the sump again today , only to find a oil spot (trickle) on the floor. 

It's coming from the lower extractor flange, which is bolted up tight. Huh?

 

Somehow she's getting oil in the exhaust port . 

 

Oh well. When i get back from Rockynat's i will throw the old engine back in. 

[Statler]

So i pulled the engine back out with intention to drop the old 304 back in. 

I was swapping over the ancillaries & when i removed the intake manifold i found the culprit. 

 

Now first let me say that i'm not familiar with the roller cam engines. I've never had to crack one open before , but i've pulled down a metric tonne of Aussie V8's. 

 

When i went to fit the intake manifold i found that it fouled on the spider plate. My train of thought was that the spider plate was a oil splash guard ....... it ain't! So i removed it. This was my mistake.  Now there was nothing to hold the dog bone lifter retainers in place , & this was the knock. Fortunately no lifters had spun .

 

I've purchased a set of Morel tie-bar type lifters .  Another $850 that i didn't expect.  I went to fit them yesterday & the heads have to come off before they can go in. (sigh)

 

To add insult to injury , i can't buy a pair of Aussie V8 head gaskets in this bloody town. 

 

I have a pair of Mace gaskets on the way , should be here in 2 weeks. (sigh) 

 

I said that if i had to remove the intake 1 more time , then i was going to paint the manifold , so i guess that i have some time up my sleeve to get that job done. 

 

Oh , i also threw in a new 10.5" clutch.

 

This little freshen up has turned into an expensive exercise. 

[Heath]

But you'll have a 355, where once there was not.

 

That is enough to get excited about, is it not? Haha

 

Well done mate. Good luck getting to the bottom of that one.

[Statler]

Gaskets finally arrived. Got most of the top end finished & then ................. Looks like i need new pushrods. 

 

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On the plus side though , i figure that this engine only had around 15K on it. I think i was pretty close. 

 

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[Heath]

Excuse my ignorance, but you need new pistons because of... compression? wear? unsuitability for boost?

[Statler]

Pistons? 

 

Nah! They're fine.