New 87 GN (Topic merged with "It's On!" post)

[SuperSix]

So - I finally spent some time really looking at the car.

I started by making a list - it's one legal page long already. This is gonna be fun!

I will be asking a lot of questions, how I don't run anyone off.

Overall, it's not too bad, just a LOT of small repairs that I know will take time. It looks like he was going to remove the motor and trans - damn near everything is disconnected. I only found a few alarming things, mostly electrical.

First one is some wire damage right behind the RH cylinder head - in the harness that runs around it. I assume it was damaged when they put the motor back on after the rebuild. It had silicone on it, I found it after removing the silicone 'plug' covering it. From what I can tell - the wire isn't completely broken, just damaged. Looks like it would be a PITA to fix.


What connectors are these?

[TSM Girl]

Ok, I think, I may know this one..I think in Picture #2, it looks like those connectors go together. Kind of hard to tell...maybe Cam Sensor?

[SuperSix]

Ok, I think, I may know this one..I think in Picture #2, it looks like those connectors go together. Kind of hard to tell...maybe Cam Sensor?

No, the one in question is much smaller that the cam sensor plug, seen towards the bottom. I need to park my 87 T next to it and pop both hoods.  

Honestly, I'm confused where to start.

I am thinking about removing all accessories and getting all of the wiring taken care of, new loom, etc.

[straycat990]

pic 2  looks like the alternator plug
pic 3  appears to be O2 sensor

[TSM Girl]

Ok, I think, I may know this one..I think in Picture #2, it looks like those connectors go together. Kind of hard to tell...maybe Cam Sensor?

No, the one in question is much smaller that the cam sensor plug, seen towards the bottom. I need to park my 87 T next to it and pop both hoods.

[Steve Wood]

You start one step at a time...look at the trees, not the forest.

Spending $15 for the shop manual on cd from Jeremy Wood will eliminate your wiring questions as well as give plenty of other help.

Being that you have another car, pull it over and check one against the other.....don't forget the ac compressor has a couple of connectors on the back as well as the clutch connector.

I would disconnect the fusible links from the starter and pull the harness up around the back of the head so you can get to the effed up spot and fix it....

Make sure the ground bundles on the back of the head are in good shape and not pulled loose or corroded.  You can relocate them to an intake stud or put them on the firewall with a ground back to the engine....

Clean things up as you go.

[SuperSix]

pic 2

[SuperSix]

You start one step at a time...look at the trees, not the forest.

Spending $15 for the shop manual on cd from Jeremy Wood will eliminate your wiring questions as well as give plenty of other help.

Being that you have another car, pull it over and check one against the other.....don't forget the ac compressor has a couple of connectors on the back as well as the clutch connector.

I would disconnect the fusible links from the starter and pull the harness up around the back of the head so you can get to the effed up spot and fix it....

Make sure the ground bundles on the back of the head are in good shape and not pulled loose or corroded.

[$1987 GN$]

If the wires are truely missing insulation get them puppies covered . . .

If it is the loom that is not there it serves two purposes, one to protect from chaffing and aesthetics.

AJ___

[Steve Wood]

the light purple single wire is the o2.

Here is a tip that might save you grief down the line...make sure the wiring harness behind the drivers side valve cover is supported up in the air.  Often the "stand off" that bolts to the valve cover breaks and allows the harness to sag.

Inevitably it will find that screw sticking thru the firewall and it will start to saw thru the wiring bundle until it pops something that you don't want popped.  As it is hard to see when the harness drops down, it can drive you crazy trying to find out why the fusible links have blown, or some other circuits.

Been down that road twice.

[SuperSix]

the light purple single wire is the o2.

Here is a tip that might save you grief down the line...make sure the wiring harness behind the drivers side valve cover is supported up in the air.

[daveismissing]

Mark-Did  you find your misc body parts, bezels etc?

[SuperSix]

Mark-Did

[SuperSix]

OK - spent a few hours working on it today.

TO get clearance, I removed the coil back, coil pack bracket, fuel rail, trans/throttle cable assy,  heater control valve and hoses. I fixed the exposed red wire - disassembled the wiring harness shrouds that guide the wiring around the back of the motor. The plastic piece is broken at the bend at the rear right  - need to see if I can find one of those. I fixed the grounds on the rear left of the intake - 4 wires going into two lugs were missing ~1/2" of insulation. I cut them off, and replaced them. 2 wires > 1 8ga with a huge lug on the end. WAY overkill, but I don't want any ground issues. I noticed the fusible link wiring going to the starter was pretty beat up, removed and replaced the old electrical tape, and put a new section of loom on it. It's tucked down behind the head and ready to be installed. I don't have a starter - well get one when I get closer to actually needing one. I puled a shit ton of old nasty loom and tape off of the end of the harness, and the wiring branching out of the end of it - re-taped and replaced the brittle, old loom. Many of the Weatherpak connectors are broken - I used to have a Weatherpak connector kit I got from Casper's - of course I can't find it anywhere.

I remember Sylvan saying the knock sensor needed to be torqued, so I pulled it, cleaned the threads and hole as good as I could, and torqued it to 14ft/lbs.

So many bolts and fasteners are loose on this car. weird shit, like the engine hoist bracket, oil return tube, etc. Almost all of the bolts on and around the doghouse were finger tight or missing - I am going to have to put a socket or wrench on ever bolt I can get to. I really hope it's just the externals. To get in deeper, I took off the IC fan, and the 2 of the 3 internal bolts that hold the plastic to the stamped steel bracket that bolts to the balancer were loose. All of the water pump pulley bolts were cross threaded - looks like the wrong pitch bolts were used. Then I took out the thermostat housing - the housing hold down bracket hole in the manifold was stripped, and an oversized bolt was used. The thermo housing is trash too.So, I need to get a new waterpump, pulley bolts, thermostat housing, Oring, and re-tap the thermostat housing hold down hole in the manifold, unless I decide to replace the intake.

I replaced the Orings i the oil cooler lines, and reinstalled those.

86Natty has my turbo, and won't ship it - seems he can't be bothered to make the effort to ship it to me. Not sure why, not cool at all. Sylvan is working on it.
All in all, a good day - I am most worried about the fasteners. I need to go over EVERY detail and make sure it's all correct.

Is there a resource where I can get bolt sizes, lengths, thread counts, etc for these cars?

All in all, felt good to get something done on it! Fiancee wants to go for a ride.

[Steve Wood]

ungn on tb.com sells a cd with the bolt sizes, etc.