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3800 On today's episode of my horrible life choices, 00 park ave edition.

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
I don't have much into it per say other than trimming studs for adapters and finally swapping new uhps onto the Camaro so I could take those tires for these wheels. And pulling the abs fuse to make it quit dinging because the front right abs wire is long gone and I could care less about the lights on the dash :rofl:
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
Snapchat-1260075115.jpg

I'm growing pretty fond of this thing the more I play with it. Cut the blown out oe muffler off and boogered a 2 foot glass pack on it and it's surprisingly quiet. No drone down the highway or anything noticeable at all with the windows up so I'm good with it. Bonus is it picked up some pedal and cleared the check engine light when I unhooked the battery.

Now I need to fight with the hvac mode door actuator and assess the AC. Gonna need to look over the suspension better and get out the tape measures and check the toe in cuz I've got a wiggle up front somewhere and it's dodgy. Then I'm really down to putting the cheap stereo in it, going through the top end and fixing the slow ass drivers window motor.
 

Turbocharged400sbc

3800 > ALL
TCG Blue
Jun 16, 2007
31,111
12,491
hangover park IL
I used to drill the actuators without ever removing them and I would shoot a fogging oil in them to remoysen the dried out grease.

It's not Uncommon for the system to need to be cycled from one extreme to the other....every now and then... for both the mode door actuators as well as the temperature actuators for dual zone although dual zone can kind to tell you when you're low on air conditioning because of how the air flows through the evaporator core for the left and right side
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
It won't move at all. I tried working it back and forth and it's just stuck on defrost. The rest seems to work fine but the blowers kinda noisy so I wonder if somethins rattling around in it or if it's about to eat shit too :rofl: I mostly just haven't gotten down there and taken any covers off yet to see what I've gotta deal with to change it out and the parts store lists 3 or 4 different actuators
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
I have your balancer and head gaskets in my pickup. But they closed the track for the weekend. :cry::cry:
That they did, I may try and have the dyno open tomorrow if it's not sopping wet out in that bay. Got some fancy wrx wheels to install tpms in in the morning and got a guy that wants to make some pulls with a truck so I may keep it fired up if it's not shitty out
 
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sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
So I've been picking away at this thing here and there when I can and so far I found a whole window regulator in the trunk and took the motor off of it and put it in the driver door and now the windows are all good again sans maybe spitting some spray lube down the tracks to speed em up some.

I also got down and pulled the cabin air filter out of it. What a fucking pain in the ass and there's 3 of em packed in there, of course there's a bunch of trash in the bottom of the channel and the dirt has them basically glued in there to boot. I blew it all out with the trap door open to keep it from shooting out the vents and just left it out. The increase in air flow is night and day so I'll deal with the dirt or keep the recirc closed.

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Then I popped the truck and figured out it somehow still has the original spare, jack, and trunk net in it still which surprised me.

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Finally I got all 80fuckingHD on the radio wiring harness for whatever reason. This car really doesn't deserve much better than a 10 minute butt connector and black tape job, and I have plenty of better things to be doin, but nah lemme just piss an hour or two down my leg with solder, heat shrink, and harness tape tryin to make somethin I'm literally never going to see again look good I guess.

Snapchat-1676161014.jpg
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
Had a little time to play with it at work today so I started checking the AC over, of course it wouldn't hold vacuum so I pulled one of the coupler adapters off the line and tried to shove some air in it. Sure as hell the line from the compressor to condenser is broke clean off the back of the compressor.

I'll have to dig around in my pile of stuff and see if I've got one off one of my fbodys that'll work, a quick search on eBay came up dry so I'll have to do some more digging and see what I can come up with there, hopefully the rest of the system is fine because I think otherwise all I probably have laying around is a couple old compressors and I'll end up having to track parts down otherwise.

Edit: gm hose 88987030 is discontinued, replacement is 4 seasons 55034 "refrigerant suction hose/discharge assembly" looks to be around 100 bucks I don't really wanna spend so I'll have to see what I've got
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
And I struck out on lines, got kind of excited when I saw the end I needed in the pile to pull it out and find it had been chopped in the rubber section when whatever engine it came off of got pulled, but I have a full set of fbody lines, also won't work due to the pressure sensor location and the fbody lines having the reciever dryer in them or I'd have pulled the condenser from the firebird to fit the different ends and made them work. So I get to think maybe they're the same as a grand prix and maybe a set would be easy to dig up, nope completely different again.

At least I've got 3 or 4 compressors to try out if that ends up being shit, at least those seem to be the same.
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
So I ended up just ordering lines for the AC, this things very quickly taken over daily driver duty for bombing around town so I've just been working on little stuff to get it back to it's former glory, low beam bulb, shoved a wire through an already drilled hole to flip the gas gauge needle back where it needs to be, topped off fluids and such, got a persistent bank 2 knock sensor code coming back and I'm not real sure if it's the sensor itself or in the butt connectored wiring that's in that general vicinity but I need to get that assessed pretty soon since it's pretty doggy and I assuming it's pulling the shit out of timing. Fuel trims are definitely on the leaner side of things making me think I have a vac leak but the idles perfectly smooth without any stumble or miss at all so I'm not sure on that yet until I investigate further.

Think I'll pull a wheel bearing from the k member I have sitting out back and try and track down the abs wire to get the light on the dash turned off correctly since that side does have a little wiggle in it anyway.

Trans fluid is still a decent red color and doesn't smell burnt at all surprisingly so I'm hoping for the best there but all in all this thing has been turning out pretty awesome. Just floats over dips and bumps in the road and is comfy as hell to drive, the kids actually like riding in it so that's a big plus. With the dirty800 potential under the hood these things were really slept on, it'll be an absolute blast to have some power at the pedal to boot.

Also I knocked a cheap touchscreen in the dash that updated things rather nicely...
Snapchat-1912907861.jpg
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
So, even with the knock sensor code, and it adding like 17% with the trims, and a wobbly wheel bearing and probably no alignment since it consistently pulls a little to the right, I looked down on the way home from town last night and about shit myself. I'm not entirely surprised since I drove it around a good bit last week and only used a quarter tank the whole time but this is a real nice surprise.
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I'll bet if I fix the little stuff wrong with it and give it about 40⁰ at cruise I can do at least 38 but now I've got a new goal of tryin to push it to 40 🤓
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
So I'm looking at my options when it comes to pulleys. I've more or less decided I'll probably go with a 3.4 and do what I need to as far as timing goes, but is there really any reason to not just go on the offset pulley and just leave the stock balancer alone? If it's not a real small pulley it's hard to think belt wrap would be a concern and it'd speed things up and keep the balance of the bottom end correct? Then really it's just heads up and measure for a belt unless there's a pulley or two I need to swap around from the gtp accessory drive. I'm really not going for power here if it makes 250 to the tire that's plenty for this thing.

Also my ac line showed up today, so I'll need to get some time to throw that on it and I should really change the wheel bearing as much as I've been driving it around lately 😂
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sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
So I tied into the front wheel bearing tonight after it wiggled pretty good on me again this morning. It had definitely seen better days.
Snapchat-388382292.jpg
Snapchat-388382292.jpg

And I thought I'd play it smart with an old lug nut and swap the studs so I didn't have to cut them again to find out the newer bearing flange is thicker so now I'm a couple threads shy of full contact. I'm definitely going to fix this right but by the time I got done screwing with it today I was done. Ran new wiring to the abs signal wires after digging back into the loom a ways and got it tied up all nice some hopefully the light turns out in the morning. If not I have a hearing for the rear to go after the other code. Previous owner did shocks and struts all around but axles bearings and tie rods was where he was when it exceeded his capabilities.

Excited to see what the trip around town does in the morning having that one fixed. It definitely had some play in it and I've already stacked about 300 miles on this thing and I really don't wanna have to do axles right away but I think they're gonna be next.

Also I put the iat sensor back in it because it pissed it off so. Real professional installation there 👌
Snapchat-1047213934.jpg
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
My shimmy isn't fixed and neither is the light. Way smoother and no more clunk in that wheel but 45 to 50ish under acceleration and then around 40ish on the brakes or at really light cruise the wheel will wobble like a jeep but it's inconsistent so it makes me rule out balance or rotors. I finally got a little chatter out of the right front axle on the brakes and it felt pretty sloppy so I think the rear wheel bearing and axles will be my next target.

This things are a table of fuel in 230 miles so they info gauge lies and I think lack of abs signal along with the knock sensor code has it kicked into dump fuel and pull timing code like it did my Camaro. Along with it dumping way more than it needs to from whatever's pissing the trims off. Maybe check EVAP stuff since I havent found anything else obvious I guess
 

Trinten

Regular
TCG Blue
Aug 7, 2018
345
730
North Carolina
So a few quick questions:
1. You mentioned a few times about "throwing a canon at it" -- I don't understand the phrase here. What does it mean?
2. You own a dyno? That's awesome. (so, more of a rhetorical question/statement than an actual question)

Also, awesome find for 600 bucks. And it's funny to see those nice looking wheels on that car, very hoopdy. lol
 
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sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
😂 firing the parts cannon is just tossing parts at an issue instead of doing proper diagnostics.

I had a dyno, now my work has it but I still run it and use it whenever Im not busy doin other stuff.

You'd laugh if you knew how many people have come up and told me that it's a nice car just because of the rims and tint :rofl:




So back to the AC situation. New lines are installed, what a pain in the ass to get em halfway routed right due to shit in the way and not taking the time to move it. Compressor works and it gets decently cold for only having defrost vents but it wouldn't build enough pressure to hit the high side switch and just stayed steady state at like 55psi low side and 200 high side. It'd probably be fine and my thoughts are compressor is weak but I'm sucking it back down and not getting much oil back out of it so I'm thinking it's probably a bit dry after sitting open for God knows how long. But it works and if it doesn't cycle when I fill it back up and give it an ounce or two more than I should I'm just gonna send it for now and start digging into this axle thing.

Engine doesn't seem to rock going into gear and occasionally on a turn I get just a bit of clatter from that side. It doesn't help this cars sealed up nice and hearing sounds is pretty hard without the windows down really paying attention.
 
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Trinten

Regular
TCG Blue
Aug 7, 2018
345
730
North Carolina
My buddy Mike has that complaint about most modern mechanics "They aren't mechanics. They're parts replacers. They don't diagnose anything, and if there isn't a code that they can use to start guessing which parts to replace, they're totally helpless!"
He worked for a LEO motor pool, and he was amazed at the incompetence. At one point other guys in the shop wanted to replace an entire engine. He figured out what the issue was after a few minutes, but waited to see if they could do it. He only stepped in and showed them when he heard them tell the shop manager about needing the new engine.
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
My buddy Mike has that complaint about most modern mechanics "They aren't mechanics. They're parts replacers. They don't diagnose anything, and if there isn't a code that they can use to start guessing which parts to replace, they're totally helpless!"
He worked for a LEO motor pool, and he was amazed at the incompetence. At one point other guys in the shop wanted to replace an entire engine. He figured out what the issue was after a few minutes, but waited to see if they could do it. He only stepped in and showed them when he heard them tell the shop manager about needing the new engine.
It's not profitable to spend hours digging down on an issue when customers complain about diag time. Most of them fire whatever part alldata tells them too at it and they focus on stuff like suspension, flushes, and tires that's quick and easy money and they can train someone to do in a couple of weeks. They'll long block somethin far before tearing too far into it because it's hard to warranty repairs when your not replacing everything. That's why my job loves me cuz I'll save em 3k at the dealer by poppin good used rocker arms from our retired stuff into a pentastar and send it out the door for another 50k miles and if it drops another I'll just do it again 😂

So back to this ac again. Put some dye in it this time and backed off a couple ounces of r134a. Pressures still a little bit lower than it was before and only pulls 28.4 inches of vacuum when it should pull 29.5. Either way machine let it pass and I think there's probably a chunk of shit in the orifice or expansion valve or whatever the hell it is above the reciever dryer. Sounds like a leak but nothing coming out with soapy water and no dye so I'm guessing there's a restriction in there and the sound is the high side bleeding off to the low. At any rate it works pretty decent for now so I'll deal with it if it becomes an issue. If it's gonna be daily duty bombing the kids around the AC is going to be a must and it's something I do a lot of at work anyway so I'll get it figured out one way or another.

Forgot I had the abs fuse pulled so I dropped that back in and now my only open circuit is on the rear bearing I have in the backseat and haven't replaced yet. But the brake light went out at least so it's progress. That wheels got a bit of negative camber to it so I'm sure that bearings shelled and probably not helping my shimmy situation so that'll get done in pretty short order I believe.

Pulled engine codes again, cleared the iat code and the knock sensor code that keeps returning but this time I've got a p0171 so this confirms my thoughts about it dumping fuel. Also had a bank 1 sensor 2 low voltage code so not real sure if it's from being lean or if maybe I have an O2 thing causing the trims to skew that way. It really kinda sounds like there's a vac leak but I haven't been able to pinpoint it yet and I keep forgetting to look at map values to see what it's doing there. Forgot to stick a finger on the purge valve with it running to see if that's sealing up or maybe causing my issue but I would think I'd get an EVAP code along with that. And if it's really a vac leak I'm impressed because there's not a miss in this thing at all, I would think I'd at least see a rough idle intermittently or for it to fall on its face or do somethin dumb if that was the case. I also haven't checked fuel pressure so that could be a thing too.

But we're getting closer. And it's turning out to be a pretty nice car. And it's fun as hell to run it around and get dirty looks from girls and old guys who think it's probably some wannabe gangster :rofl:
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
So I went after that rear wheel bearing light. Thought I had a broken wire but really doesn't seem like it in the parts I could get checked with a creeper in the driveway. Both wheel bearings ohmed out pretty close to the same with old at 1.099 ohms and new at 1.20ish. Tried spinning em with the meter on and nothing really fluctuated with either and the only kind of signal I could get off the abs wire is .036 volts of ac current. Open circuit as far as ohms goes which kind of raises an eyebrow but without understanding how the circuit works without doing some research I'm not sure what to think of it. Anyways i get the caliper off and this bearing feels pretty loose even though it didn't really have play in it and spun real nicely other than it was kinda howly. So of course I go through the process of putting the new one in and cutting the studs for the wheel adapters. Get it all together take it for a drive and the car feels like it drives better but I'm just waiting for that wiggle to show its head again. The trac control light and abs light are still lit and I'm hoping it just stored a permanent code and once I clear it out it'll go away. But my gut tells me I'm going to be putting axles in it and chasing down a break in a wire somewhere yet.

I also hosed the maf down with mass airflow cleaner and put the stock intake back on. Feels like it slugged it out a little and it isn't near as responsive as it was before but it sure it a lot quieter and I wanna see if it changes the trims back to normal or not.
 

sktchy3.8

it'll work til it doesnt
TCG Blue
Jul 27, 2021
3,776
6,470
After educating myself on how hall effect sensor signal actually works, the low ac voltage at the pcm side of things actually makes sense and gives me a little hope that this isn't going to be a mess of looking for rub spots and pulling apart wire loom that crumbles when you look at it funny. The sensor and tone ring generate a small amount of ac voltage that's backfed to the abs module from each sensor and it in combination with the pcm use those values to detect and manage wheel speed variances (slip, slide whichever). More importantly I hope it also explains why I couldn't get a ground from either wire as ac voltage in a 2 wire setup wouldn't really have a dedicated ground as it would constantly switch back and forth.

Interesting. This might be one of those learn somethin new everyday things and be neat if I can just clear it or it decides it checks out ok.