Spitting black gobs out exhaust, INT 160, stuff in radiator...fun.

[gordyzx9r]

So...because of work and family, I couldn't get to the GN for a month and it sat in the garage.  Finally get some time to finish braking it in, and guess what...it won't start.  Battery is dead.  Go to jump it and holy shit, the audible knock sensor is screaming with just the key on (car not running).  Turn the car on, it starts and seems to be running fine...the audible knock sensor still blaring away but nothing on the SM.  I didn't wire in the KR sensor so I have no idea WTF wires are where so I let the damn thing eat itself and eventually it dies.  So I take the car out because I still haven't broken it in yet and don't want it to idle. 

Nice normal drive, no smoke, nothing.  Inside the temps and pressures are good.  The TPS is off at .38 and the BL is high around 138-140.

So I get it home and go to put it in the garage when I notice that it had been spitting out giant black gobs of who knows what the hell with water out of both exhaust pipes. It didn't feel like oil, it was like giant flakes of carbon or something.  So I clean that up and go to put it in the garage and notice that the INT is 160.  WTF!?!  It's never done that before. 

Pop the hood, then I notice the overflow tank looks like it's full of dirty water.  Open that up and it's brown and green.  Wait a bit, take off the radiator cap and it's bright green with what looks like a brown/yellow halo.  I drain out the overflow tank and it's full of sludge and sediment?  Probably at least half a cup of brown mud and sediment.  But it's not oil, it's almost like sand.  Bill said he always puts in GM stop leak tabs and thinks that it's maybe that, or maybe when they cleaned the block the cast iron got some rust on it and it's getting flushed out? 

Just because I'm  curious, I decide to check the FP while I'm under the hood...hook the two wires up together and fuel starts spraying out of the fuel line tap from the shaft that goes into the bolt that connects to the rail.  So I take that off, take the cap off the schrader valve and put it on the fuel rail for now.  I ordered a new Fuel Line Tap Schrader Tee 1/4" ACESS VALVE from Caspers today.  I imagine it was leaking like that the whole time I was driving it.  Could that somehow have lead to the high INT and this black soot that's coming out of the exhaust?

So, I'm about to check the plugs and the plug wires...hoping that all the plugs look normal. 

Bill is thinking I need to do a compression test.  I don't think I blew a head gasket as the temps are fine, it's not a milk shake or white...it's just freaking dirty and filled with some kind of sediment (from the stop leak tabs?).  I have a 10 gallon air tank and a compression tester kit that I have yet to take out of the package and he seems to think he can talk me through it over the phone.  I also have a set of noid lights, but not sure which one I'm supposed to use as there is a set...see picture.

Man I wish I lived near someone with some sense of mechanical skills and some knowledge about these cars...

   

[gordyzx9r]

Also, I took the Sears Die Hard battery out and grab that Optima Red Top that was in the trunk of the white T-Type I bought to get tested, they both had bad cells (go figure).  So I bought another Optima Red Top for the GN. 

I need to get the instructions downloaded for that audible knock sensor and rip it out, I ordered a new one of those as well from Caspers.  While I'm down there, I need to rewire the pre-luber from a BAT fuse to an IGN fuse, is there a limit to how many things you can power in the IGN fuse.  What about using the wiring block that came with the Power Logger, can I use that instead of the IGN in the fuse box?

[gordyzx9r]

I also ordered  a new radiator for the GN because Bill blocked off the oil cooler and transmission cooler after the first motor went south.

[Steve Wood]

I would guess the black gobs out the tail pipe are the results of condensation in the exhaust and from the car being parked awhile.

The TPS is fine...

I would ignore the ints and look at the blms which are what really count.  It is adding a little bit of fuel to a perceived slightly lean condition.  This may be because the battery was dead and the ecm is relearning which it will get under control after some driving.

I am guessing that it is the GM tabs that have floated to the top and got pushed into the reservoir-particularly if the car is running good, the oil does not look like latte, and there is not water being pushed out the overflow, nor dripping on the floor from around the heads, and the temps are normal.

IGN 1 is a 20 amp fuse, IGN3 is 25 amps so if the fuse blows (st blt/acc for the first and AC for the second, you put too much load on the terminal in question.

No to using the PL analog block.

I would leave the radiator alone, buy a B&M Supercooler for the tranny and forget the engine cooler.  I hope he did not block off the oil cooler but instead, removed the oil cooler adapter from behind the filter.  Blocking the ports in the adapter will force all the oil thru the bypass and I think that will reduce oil flow as I look at the piece.

You need to hire me as a GN Financial Consultant because you are a vendor's dream and I would have saved you half of what you bought

[gordyzx9r]

Just read the installation instructions for the audible knock sensor...it gets it's power from the ECM.

Why the heck would this thing go off and stay on then and burn itself out?  Could a battery with a bad cell really cause that to happen?  When I had that bad battery in it and driving it, the SM showed like 12.2V, with this new battery it's showing 13.9/14.0. 

And while I'm down there, where the heck is that audible door chime/black cigarette box looking thing at?  I've got a new and going to change that out as well.

[Steve Wood]

The door chime box is just to the right of the instrument cluster when looking at the cluster from the drivers seat....it is about 99% hidden from view when you are laying in the floor looking up under the dash

[gordyzx9r]

Forgot to mention, when I was driving it with the bad battery in it...the lights were real funky.  The blinkers would blink in sequence not simultaneously up front.  Never realized a bad battery could do all of that.

[gordyzx9r]

I think I found the audible chime box...but holy crap, how do you get it out!?!  I can't feel a release clip for it.

[Steve Wood]

here is a thread that might help some...I did mine afterward and did not take the cluster out...think I used a small screw driver to pop the latch up so it would come out...when you plug it back in, it pops into the connector and then the latch clicks into the hole....I may have used an inspection mirror to see the latch...then I knew what to do

http://www.turbobuicks.com/forums/buick-v6-turbo-tech/42958-convenience-center-chime-module.html

[daveismissing]

here is a thread that might help some...
http://www.turbobuicks.com/forums/buick-v6-turbo-tech/42958-convenience-center-chime-module.html

That thread is like old-home-week. Steve, David, Earl, gay porn?
 

[gordyzx9r]

here is a thread that might help some...I did mine afterward and did not take the cluster out...think I used a small screw driver to pop the latch up so it would come out...when you plug it back in, it pops into the connector and then the latch clicks into the hole....I may have used an inspection mirror to see the latch...then I knew what to do

http://www.turbobuicks.com/forums/buick-v6-turbo-tech/42958-convenience-center-chime-module.html

That helped...that little tang is a tough little mother !@!$$%& to get a hold of.  It's out.  Now to put the other one in.

[Steve Wood]

That's easy. Just press it in

[gordyzx9r]

That's easy. Just press it in

Holy crap that thing is loud...huge difference.

[gordyzx9r]

Fuel pressure...

Just checked it, it's at 36.

Shouldn't it be 38 to 39 PSI w/car not running (plug in wire w/o car running to check)?
To check with car running, plug the vacuum line.
In = More pressure.
Out = Less pressure.
 

But what exactly am I adjusting to make those corrections?

The tall metal screw on the top of the FPR?

[Steve Wood]

the fuel pressure should be checked with the engine running and the hose removed from the regulator.  If you have a TT chip, then it should be adjusted to 43 psi.  If you have a Bob B chip, then adjust it to whatever his instructions state.

Loosen the lock nut slightly on the threaded stud coming out of the top of the regulator and turn the stud.... tightening will raise pressure, loosening will lower.  recinch the locknut once finished.