5l head work n stuff
I've just finished pulling the heads off my 5litre anyone know if there was meant to be an allen key bolt on either side? One was at the back on passenger side and one at the front on drivers side, on the side of the head not under the rocker cover.
Engine has crow stage 3 cam and chip acl flat tops 30thou over ground crank and new bearings throughout and has done about 20thousand k's, but im pretty sure the apprentice must have put it together coz its used heaps of oil from day 1, and its fouled a bunch of plugs and water disappears as well. i'm getting the heads re-done or replaced this week and i'm kind of hoping that putting it back together properly and torquing the heads and inlet manifold down properly might fix my issues... nothing visually horrible about the valves on the heads...but the pistons had an awful lot of carbon on top of them, a couple of cylinders that were a bit low on compression and kept fouling plugs probably had 3-4mm of carbon on them.
At the same time the car has always ran rich and stinky, i haven't driven it for 9 months coz it just started popping from under the hood and backfiring a bit under load. got richer and stinkier towards the end. I charged the battery fired it up and drove it to my inlaws shed to do the work.
I was kind of hoping that something would really jump out at me as being a culprit of all the foul plugs and disappearing oil n water but nothing has really stood out. One of the head bolts came out covered in milkshake, but the water and oil has always looked the way it should.
Getting back on the spanners has really re-kindled my love for the SS and if it goes back together the way it should i'm looking forward to putting some diff gears in it, and getting a proper dyno done to it.
Any thoughts/advice/opinion/experience on what's above would be cool, cheers.
Gonna throw some pics up of the work in progress =)
Some previous owner...cut a nasty hole under the airbox...guessing for a pod or something stupid.
i would suggest starting with the a good tune and checking things like timing, however a full rebuild may be necessary if its burning alot of oil
20,000km engine. you can still see the criss cross machine work in the bores.
It's kind of had a full rebuild, the bottom end is all 20thousand k's old. And the bottom end *should* all be in good condition. The bores look all pretty and shiney still with the criss cross machine work still visible. I've no doubt there's oil getting into the firing chamber but im fairly sure its not coming from the bottom end, its coming from above, past the valves or maybe the head wasn't torques down properly...thats the hope anyway.Originally Posted by VR028
All the rocker arms and even the rocker cover on the passenger side were a fair bit more darkly discoloured than the drivers side ones. Not sure if that means anything, but the passenger side bank was also the one with the fouling plugs problems and the lower compression.
Head work is costing 300, wasn't a lot wrong with them replaced 2 valve guides and did the usual lap grind flow stuff etc. Gonna talk to the guy tomorrow about port/polishing. How much it will cost vs how much gain is to be had from it...Possibly get a thou or two taken off the inlet manifold and possibly get a little port work done on that too.
Base problem here has always been oil usage and to a lesser degree water. Its starting to look more and more like the head/inlet manifold gaskets/torquing is the most likely culprit, though i have been advised that if the heads have been shaved a few times it can throw out the angle that the inlet manifold sits on and can make it hard to get a good seal. I've heard mixed opinions on it but i figure it cant hurt to take a thou or two off it and bring it down a touch.
VN - VR COMMODORE V6/V8 - SUPERSIZE THROTTLE BODY | eBay
Looking into one of these at the moment. Having a chat with the guy who did my heads tomorrow to see if he can give them some port/polish love and the inlet manifold, and maybe see if the throat on the inlet manifold can be opened up to 70mm to match the bigger throttle body. Once i manage to come up with some information about how my cam will affect my roller rocker selection i'm thinking i'd love to put some of those on it too, get the lot in and running and send it down for a dyno tune.
And then put 3.9's in it.
And then put vt front brakes on it.
And then...fix the stupid airbag cover.
And then get the windows re-tinted.
Torana Addict
The hole under the airbox is probably from an attempt at a DIY CAI, similar to this thread.
EASY $30 DIY Cold Air Induction!
Yeah...I actually have an ss inductions over the radiator CAI, the airbox has a bit of a patch screwed into the bottom of it...and that ugly hole...kind of makes me wonder if in a crash it would be a bad idea to have a hole like that. Well...Im sure it would be bad...
Heads are back in its all back together and running again...Tried to do the timing but im fairly certain its still dog ugly timing at the moment...Im not really sure where to set it with the cam in it and stuff...
Do ya'll reckon i should take it to a mechanic to get the timing done? or are they just gonna charge me $$ for no more idea what they're tuning it to than me?
Check engine light came on when i was taking it for a test drive... but i couldn't get a code out of it...I probably need to re-read how to do it or something. Abs is a bit touchy too, but its probably just the plug been knocked about needs pushing back on properly or something.
My battery was stuffed so i was using a borrowed battery to kick it in the guts and take it for a test drive really need to get a new battery installed in the thing so i can test drive it properly and nut out the code.
Yes
I'm guessing combination of running rich and rings not bedding in more so than assembly problems.
I guess the next thousand k's will tell. It will either keep losing its fluids or it wont.
The little thingy under the throttle body makes noise when the ignition is on and engine isn't running, iac valve or whatever the pic in my manual is of a v6 throttle body but it looks the same.
And I timed it with the abs diagnostic circuit open, instead of the engine one. Coz im pro like that. With the engine diag circuit earthed it ran a bit poo, which is good. Cuz when i time it properly it will be much better.
Oh...And its throwing a code 2.5 flashes a second, which if i read correctly is oxygen sensor. I checked to see it was plugged in properly and noticed the wires had probably been resting on the extractors and probly melted/distorted but either way the thing has run rich and burnt oil for a while, the o2 sensor is gonna be rooted anyway, and they're cheap.
Anyone know why the fan in front of my air conditioner condensor stays on? I unplugged it when i first noticed it...the air con didn't work when i bought the car and i've never gotten it gassed...but i plan to. So i need to suss out what is making it stay on.
In the shots of the valley, the passenger side looks far more mingin that the driver's side. Not sure what would cause that but from what I can see it doesn't look right.
What do the driver's side pistons look like ?
BTW...good luck fixing the stupid airbbag cover.
Yep, you're right the passenger side bank had heaps more carbon on it than the drivers side...One of the pistons on the drivers side was pretty bad but the rest were averageish... Having said that i've seen a 3.8l come apart after 200k and have cleaner pistons...
The original engine rebuild came about because of a broken valve spring on the passenger bank, and a bent valve... When the ppls doing my engine put it together, they just replaced one valve poorly, the guy doing my heads said the rubbers? on the valve's or valve guide's were all over the shop.
Right now its really just a case of giving it some tlc, some timing and a couple of tanks of fuel to work out whether its still burning oil...If it is it means new rings.
The unburnt fuel smell is gone, so that's a plus. im a little concerned about small bubbles coming up through the radiator cap though. But i think there might be a water leak somewhere on a hose or something... coz when i was under it connecting the exhaust back up to the extractors there was a few drips of water. (btw sounded pretty cool straight out the extractors) I need to get it hot and pressurize it properly get under it and work out where its coming from.
Still to do to get it back on the road.
* a bit of tlc under the hood testing vacuum and iac throttle position sensor bits and pieces.
* get 4 new springs and have it sitting at a nice medium between stock and cop magnet.
* replace the fuel tank =(
* new oxygen sensor.
* new tyres
* correct timing
After its on the road =)
* roller rockers
* gilmer belt drive
* ve front brakes
* re-tint
* 3.7's or 3.9's.
Updating...
New oxygen sensor went in car idled a lot better but in diag mode still 2.5flashes per second. Earthed the violet wire as per the book says still 2.5 flashes a second. Now the book says PCU/ECU.
Oh...and whilst re-doing the timing the oil light came on...Best cast scenario oil pressure sender got wet when i was degreasing the engine and is now stuffed...Worse case scenario...I dunno...gets pretty bad.
Mmmmm...search function...
Field Service Mode
After any Faults have been repaired.
Field Service Mode may be implemented by;
Start the Engine.
Connect Terminal 5 & Terminal 6 in the Diagnostic Connector.
In Field Service Mode;
The MIL will initially flash 2.5 Times per Second.
This Indicates that the System is operating in Open Loop Mode.
(NOT acting on the Oxygen Sensor Output.)
When the Oxygen Sensor reaches Operating Temperature (>360°C);
This is achieved by operating the Engine for up to 2 minutes at 1500 to 1800 RPM.
The MIL Flash Rate will diminish to 1 Flash per Second.
This indicates that the System has commenced Closed Loop Mode operation.
Air / Fuel Ratio
Once in Closed Loop Mode:
The Air Fuel Ratio will be indicated by;
The Period that the MIL is ON
Compared to:
The Period that the MIL is OFF.
A Lean Mixture is indicated if:
The MIL is OFF
All or Most of the Time.
A Rich Mixture is indicated if:
The MIL is ON
All or Most of the Time.
Correct Air / Fuel Ratio is indicated by an equal ON OFF period.
The Air / Fuel Ratio may be evaluated by;
The Vehicle being driven in Field Service Mode
At any Steady Speed greater than 2000 RPM and
Observing the Duty Cycle of the MIL.
This is useful in diagnosing any Driveability Problems caused by Incorrect Fuel Delivery
Oh well. I wanted a new oxygen sensor anyway... Need to fix that oil light problem before i can sit there and rev it to 2000 for a couple of mins though.
Hmmm. Bought a fuel tank from the wreckers today out of a vn ss, it has an extra hose coming out on the drivers side of the pump... Kind of thinking i should just take it back get my money back, pull mine out and weld the thingy's on top where they've pulled out.
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