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Good you are taking steps to minimize heat exposure to the affected areas
Man if the gas is 7-8 years old I would use a cheap hand pump to syphon it from the tank. Adding good fuel and trying to burn through all that crap gas may likely clog up the injectors and fuel filter. I would go so far as to disconnect the fuel filter and use the fuel pump to pump out the last remaining gas after you syphon out the majority of it.
or just drop the tank and pull the fuel pump and get all the fuel out that way
I swear that I had done this before, but I cannot get a siphon hose into the tank. I read that it is made to prevent this... Is there a trick to getting the hose into the tank?
An alternative is to disconnect the input side of the fuel filter, and extend the line to a container out from under the car. Then with KOEO, jumper 12v to the prime test connector (just in front of the PCM). Keeping an eye on when the container is full, disconnect the jumper. Just be careful.
It would also be wise to change the fuel filter while up at it.
Emptying the tank with the fuel test port way way easier than I expected. I ended up using the feed line from the engine bay instead of the feed from the rear as it was easier for me to get to. I used an insulated paper clip (just happened to have one) with the tips stripped off. I then attached it to a wire and ran the wire back to the positive terminal. It only took about 4 minutes to clear about 9 gallons (Walbro 255 pump).
Last edited by DrewHMS97SS; 12-02-2016 at 11:05 AM.
Fuel and a new filter unfortunately did not fix the starting issue. The fuel pressure at the regulator is at 42PSI (I have an Autometer electronic gauge connected at the Areomotive FPR), and drops slightly as the engine turns over. It sounds like it is trying and will stutter a bit but never fires.
Being that it started when I had the fuel leak, I had to have messed something up when I was pulling the rail off. It is a tight fit, so I will start looking at the electrical and vacuum lines. I have the rail off again, and the injectors look okay, and I don't see anything obvious with the electrical. I checked the resistance on the injectors and found each to be between 16-17 ohms, so I believe they are all fine.
On a positive note, I was able to get both lower a-arms off the car without lowering the kmember:
I pulled the plugs and found a bit of fouling (they smelled worse than they looked). I ended up replacing the AL's with NGK mainly because of availability.
I also found a surprise!
I have a new set of Taylor stainless braided wires on the way. I wouldn't think that 1 broken wire would prevent the car from firing, I would figure just a nasty misfire, but maybe it was causing more severe issues by grounding out the whole system?
The next couple of weeks will be pretty tough to get anything done on the car, but I will post back as soon as I have progress.
the plugs do look a little "wet"...maybe due to cranking motor in attempt to start.
"maybe" the shorted plug wire FU the Opti. IDK if that could cause it to short out internally or just misfire only on that cyl.
You have chased several burnt wires...maybe there is another one yet to be discovered causing the no start issue
you may find it while doing something completely unrelated so good luck.
It appears fuel pressure is not a issue nor is the bad gas now that you have drained it
I am hoping the wire in combination with the wet plugs resolve the issue. If we are still at a no-start scenario after changing the wires I will diagnose the opti (actually a dynaspark).
Finally back on this. Summers in Vegas make working in the garage a complete no go for me. I was able to get the front alignment back together with the new lower a-arms (pics soon) and am hoping to tackle the new plug wires this weekend to see if I can get this thing fired before I end up with 7 year old gas again. I REALLY want to drive this beast again.
Here is the lower a-arm re-positioned and tightened down:
Here is the front suspension back together. It is about 1/4" more forward than I'd like, I am hoping with an alignment they will be able to bring it back a hair:
I also realized I never posted pics of the steering rack back in place. The new cross member makes life so much easier under the car:
I will grab some new shots with the lines routed and tied up soon.
Last edited by DrewHMS97SS; 10-05-2017 at 04:01 PM.
Finally got the car running last night. It idles well and seems to be solid. There is some vibration when the clutch is out, but oddly is mellows out after it warms up. I need to get the tires on the front, and get some of the wiring tied up from the extra gauges and nitrous system before I can drive it around a bit. Really though, the trick will be getting to the point where it is ready to be registered, so I can get a 10 day moving permit, so I can get it to an alignment shop, smoged and registered.
Last edited by DrewHMS97SS; 12-14-2017 at 12:07 PM.
Where did you guys put your ignition systems? I originally had it opposite of the battery (open space with the SS air box), but I switched to the K&N CAI. I was going to put the ignition in the trunk, but was told by MSD that I could not go much further than the firewall. I don't want to cut up the interior, and am at a loss for space in the engine well. For the time being, I have it sitting loose hugging the CAI.
Yes, it was mail tuned by MadZ28, but not dyno or fine tune as I ran into issues shortly after the build.
Originally Posted by cardo0
Worked fine on my corvette but that really doesn't say a digital MSD 6 box will be OK past your fourth gen camaro firewall. I have an analog MSD 6A for my '94 Z28 but haven't mounted it yet.
They didn't actually sell extensions for the digital, but said you could extend the wires up to 6 feet. I don't see that limitation any where in the instructions, but don't really want to chance fate (with my previous fails in the car).
Originally Posted by cardo0
Now if you remove the bottom plastic "fascia" under the front bumper there is room in there and its fairly cool and dry. But you can't access it w/o removing that plastic fascia.
Ill get under there again, but don't recall anything big enough. Thinking back over this, I might just buy a piece of aluminum plate big enough for the unit, then make a mount to go next to the cruise control box. I'll take a hard look at that this weekend. I am not concerned having to pull down the fascia to get to it as I hope to not need much adjustment after it's going.
Originally Posted by cardo0
Man would I like to have a BMR crossmember. Thx for posting what you went through. I hope to get there someday with my '94 Z.
I wish that I would have done it during my original build. It has made SO much difference with getting to things from the bottom of the car. I am so happy with the change, I would do it again even if it wasn't a weight savings.
Originally Posted by cardo0
Right now in the process of fixing a bad tune and rebuilding the original motor. No hurry to rebuild the motor though as it has a good motor in the car now and its a lot more fun taking my time to do this rather than having to leave the car on jacks w/o it.
I hear you. My car has been in a undriveable state for for about 99% of the last 12 years. I will take a pic of some of the 'love notes' that my friends and family have written in the dust over the last few years as proof that you are taking the right path.
Originally Posted by cardo0
I'm really learning a lot about the local machine shops in town here and how much I trust them to do. I think I'm finding out some shops are more just an engine assembly shop and have all the machine work done by second party.
Finding a trustworthy shop is critical. Good luck!
11-30-2016, 04:33 PM
