Intake's back on....lessons learned!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 266
Likes: 7
From: Sumner WA
Intake's back on....lessons learned!
Finally, I've finished replacing the gaskets on my intake manifold! My leaks are gone and I learned some things while doing this, not all intake related.
Shipping my fuel injectors out to Rich at Cruzin' Performance was a great idea. I sent them Monday morning and got them back Friday afternoon. For $11 each it's hard to beat. I sent my cold start injector too. I think it finally fixed my hard starting problem, but I'll know for sure after a couple of days of test driving.
Video taping and labeling things is a great idea. I forgot some of the seemingly insignificant details and the video tape saved my butt a couple of times. Things such as which connector goes where, and how different wires, cables and hoses are routed.
That tiny little O ring that goes from the fuel rail to the elbow fitting for the cold start injector is very important! I somehow dropped it without noticing when I put it back together and the sucker leaked like crazy. I spent most of the day today trying to find a new one and ended up finding something that worked at True Value hardware of all places. None of the auto parts stores have it. I also found the one I lost about an hour ago when I was timing the car, isn't that always the way!
Distributor wrenches are absolutely necessary. No matter how hard or creative I got, I couldn't get to that darn distributor hold down bolt. A quick run to Pep boys to pick up the right tool for the job and I was in business.
If the distributor doesn't fit all the way down when reinstalling it, it's probably not engaging with the oil pump shaft. You can use a long screwdriver at least 8" long to reach down and turn the pump shaft into a position where it will engage. (I didn't have one so I used my jack handle...sometimes you have to improvise).
I finally found the EST connector. It's next to the power brake booster and in my case underneath the wiring harness completely out of view. It's a single tan wire with a black stripe and you disconnect it when setting the timing.
I also learned some things about the EGR system. I had a previous post where my car was running terribly and I thought it was the EGR system because I finally got a code 32. It turns out, the EGR temperature sensor was setting the code. (I took 65Z01's suggestion and spliced my new wire onto the old one, because the connector is impossible to get to, thanks 65Z01!) But, according to my haynes diagnostic procedures and what most everybody else says my EGR valve was bad and so was my EGR solenoid. Replacing the EGR solenoid made no difference and my EGR valve wouldn't hold a vacuum, but neither does my brand new one. I at first thought Pep boys sold me a bad one so I went there with my vacuum pump and tested a couple of them with the same results. I then returned mine and bought a GM one for about $25 more and it won't hold a vacuum either. I replaced mine with the new one anyway since I had everything accessible.
It turns out, the source of my original problem of rough running like it was missing on a cylinder was because it actually was. tonight when test driving it, it was still running terrible and I could hear a snap snap snap. I looked in the engine compartment and one of the plug wires fell off and was arcing on the exhaust header. It must not have been on all the way. I reconnected it and made sure in popped when pressing it on and the car runs absolutely perfectly now! I had ruled out the plug wires earlier because I had the rough running problem before I changed out the plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor and it was still there after I changed everything. Apparently I had a bad plug wire originally and duplicated the problem after the changeout. Geez.
Finally, I have the world's greatest neighbors. While my car was down for the week, they let me borrow one of their cars and didn't ask anything in return. I washed it, filled the tank and took them all out to dinner at the Longhorn last night.
Sorry this is so long, I'm just so excited that I was able to pull this off and she runs great...thanks to some Corvetteforum help!
Ron
Shipping my fuel injectors out to Rich at Cruzin' Performance was a great idea. I sent them Monday morning and got them back Friday afternoon. For $11 each it's hard to beat. I sent my cold start injector too. I think it finally fixed my hard starting problem, but I'll know for sure after a couple of days of test driving.
Video taping and labeling things is a great idea. I forgot some of the seemingly insignificant details and the video tape saved my butt a couple of times. Things such as which connector goes where, and how different wires, cables and hoses are routed.
That tiny little O ring that goes from the fuel rail to the elbow fitting for the cold start injector is very important! I somehow dropped it without noticing when I put it back together and the sucker leaked like crazy. I spent most of the day today trying to find a new one and ended up finding something that worked at True Value hardware of all places. None of the auto parts stores have it. I also found the one I lost about an hour ago when I was timing the car, isn't that always the way!
Distributor wrenches are absolutely necessary. No matter how hard or creative I got, I couldn't get to that darn distributor hold down bolt. A quick run to Pep boys to pick up the right tool for the job and I was in business.
If the distributor doesn't fit all the way down when reinstalling it, it's probably not engaging with the oil pump shaft. You can use a long screwdriver at least 8" long to reach down and turn the pump shaft into a position where it will engage. (I didn't have one so I used my jack handle...sometimes you have to improvise).
I finally found the EST connector. It's next to the power brake booster and in my case underneath the wiring harness completely out of view. It's a single tan wire with a black stripe and you disconnect it when setting the timing.
I also learned some things about the EGR system. I had a previous post where my car was running terribly and I thought it was the EGR system because I finally got a code 32. It turns out, the EGR temperature sensor was setting the code. (I took 65Z01's suggestion and spliced my new wire onto the old one, because the connector is impossible to get to, thanks 65Z01!) But, according to my haynes diagnostic procedures and what most everybody else says my EGR valve was bad and so was my EGR solenoid. Replacing the EGR solenoid made no difference and my EGR valve wouldn't hold a vacuum, but neither does my brand new one. I at first thought Pep boys sold me a bad one so I went there with my vacuum pump and tested a couple of them with the same results. I then returned mine and bought a GM one for about $25 more and it won't hold a vacuum either. I replaced mine with the new one anyway since I had everything accessible.
It turns out, the source of my original problem of rough running like it was missing on a cylinder was because it actually was. tonight when test driving it, it was still running terrible and I could hear a snap snap snap. I looked in the engine compartment and one of the plug wires fell off and was arcing on the exhaust header. It must not have been on all the way. I reconnected it and made sure in popped when pressing it on and the car runs absolutely perfectly now! I had ruled out the plug wires earlier because I had the rough running problem before I changed out the plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor and it was still there after I changed everything. Apparently I had a bad plug wire originally and duplicated the problem after the changeout. Geez.
Finally, I have the world's greatest neighbors. While my car was down for the week, they let me borrow one of their cars and didn't ask anything in return. I washed it, filled the tank and took them all out to dinner at the Longhorn last night.
Sorry this is so long, I'm just so excited that I was able to pull this off and she runs great...thanks to some Corvetteforum help!
Ron
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 90,675
Likes: 304
From: SE NY
Cruise-In II Veteran
Re: Intake's back on....lessons learned! (UDLUV12)
I'm in the process of removing my intake, unhooked my relocated EGR temp connector today and was glad I took the time to relocate it.
It's good to hear you liked that tip and congrats on your success.
It's good to hear you liked that tip and congrats on your success.
