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Messages - bryes
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91
« on: August 23 2014, 08:53:37 PM »
I went to change the headlights today in my GN and everything was going along fine until my bit-driver tool, whose magnet has weakened over time, let go of the bit. First off, aren't they called permanent magnets for a reason? I guess in the world of magnets a decade or so is all you need to qualify as permanent.
Anyway that torx bit saw it's chance to escape and rolled down my bumper filler into the abyss that is the GN front bumper. For the first hour or two I tried everything to retrieve that stupid piece of steel. First I used my hands, risking a black widow attack. Then a magnetic retrieval tool. Finally, I resorted to the air and water hose. All to no avail. I squeezed my fingers and hands into all the little crevices, each layer of skin more painful than the last. I craned my neck under the front nose, stuffing my head up into that area, just to catch a glance shiny glint of the tool... and nothing! I kept on thinking that maybe I had been mistaken, that there had to have been the secondary sound of tool on concrete, so I expanded my search area.. under the tire? behind the air hose? maybe it rolled 20 feet to the other side? ...Still nothing.
Yes it would be easier, less time, less stressful just to run to the store and buy another bit; but dammit, I just wasted two hours of my life in 100 degree high humidity mosquito and sand gnat infested Georgia heat looking for it. And I really expect that at least a month was expended off the balance of my life in doing so. So at this point I'm going to start removing parts from this car until I find it...beginning with that stupid bumper.
Now the bad thing about pulling the bumper, the really bad thing is that I can't do it by myself. So I had to enlist the not-too-happy female manual labor in the 100 deg heat to assist. Needless to say, instead of watching black air tonight I'll probably be stuck watching Bridget Jones Diary. And worse yet, with all that contorting earlier, I write this now I feel like I've been through a minor car accident, so the chance of me being able to catch some zs in my chair during the movie are slim.
Finding the bit was just more of a relief than anything else. As I pulled down the bumper it was just laying there in the open, I'm sure it wasn't there the whole time, couldn't have been! It had to have slipped out from some mysterious place or found a wormhole somewhere. Pretty much the whole day was wasted, but at least I have a couple new headlights in there now!
92
« on: August 23 2014, 07:45:33 PM »
Good news!
I replaced the cam sensor cap today with a new, stock looking, one from tomco-inc.com and it solved all my issues as we suspected. Now the car starts hot or cold and didn't cut out a single time today. I drove it probably 10- 20 miles which is more than I've driven it during all previous excursions. The motor really runs (what I consider) well now. A tiny bit rough at idle but smooths out really nicely cruising around. The lowest oil pressure, hot at idle, was above 30 psi. It was hot today, 100 deg, but the cooling system seemed up to the task. One time after idling for a long time it did got as hot as 200, but then it dipped back down to 185 when I got up to speed. I'm definitely happy with it!
Some bad:
I am going to have to do something with that powermaster. You can watch the accumulator section of the MC filling after you shut the ignition off. You can actually hear a high pressure hydraulic fluid sound (like releasing a floor jack) coming from the booster side of the MC. The pump will cycle every minute or so if you don't use the brakes. At least the light isn't illuminating.. .
It wound up taking me most of the day in 100 deg heat to replace the headlights, I'll leave the majority of this for the bitch and moan section.
I'd like to maybe start throwing a little bit of boost at it at this point. Maybe start at 5 and work up to 10 psi, but no more. Maybe it's not a good idea because I don't have my hotwire installed yet and don't know the status of the fuel pump other then it will make at least 43 psi. I do have an internal fuel gauge and scanmaster of course, so I won't be flying blind. Let me know if and how I should proceed... I'll be trying to read up on those scanmaster numbers again to make sure I'm good in the meantime.
93
« on: August 18 2014, 10:05:21 PM »
Yeah, I did mean unplug it. That would be interesting to see a cam sensor removed while running though  Ok I guess I shouldn't worry about the thermostat then. Thanks for all your help.
94
« on: August 17 2014, 09:20:51 PM »
Thanks Steve! I switched the two relays around and the fan kicked on, so thanks for the suggestion. I let it idle and it didn't heat up past 185...
The only problem now is that I have the stock thermostat in so now the fan doesn't turn off at all. I guess I either need to change the tstat or get another chip so it won't run constantly.
I didn't drive it much today, so I still wasn't able to remove the cam sensor to see if the car ran better.
95
« on: August 17 2014, 05:19:54 PM »
New or known good. Let me know what you have, thanks.
Also I'd like a new or known good PM accumulator ball.
96
« on: August 17 2014, 10:54:24 AM »
Thanks!
In regard to the fan issue #1, I actually have a TT chip in it, I noticed the other day that it has a handwritten description that says, "stock 16-18 psi boost" on it, or similar. I think I remember the fan kicking on once awhile ago before I was driving it actually. I'm going to be messing with this today.
To clarify the breaking up / no start problems of issue #2, I think we can say that it happens in the 3 phases below:
Phase A; Cold. Starts and runs fine, no issues.
Phase B; Warm (Initially up to operating temps or a little after) . Starts to break up off idle, feels like someone turns key off and back on very quickly. Fuel pressure is constant (I have a gauge). Will start when shut off. I drove the car for about 3 miles before it transitioned to Phase C.
Phase C; "Hot". SES light illuminates, scanmaster reads code 41. Car no longer breaks up. Will not start if I shut it off although fuel pressure is still about 43 psi. No spark on a test plug when cranking and I didn't hear injectors pulsing or smell fuel. After setting for about 45 minutes it fired right up.
I never did try to unplug the cam sensor as you mentioned. If I have the car out today I'll try it when the car is running in Phase B to see what happens.
97
« on: August 17 2014, 12:31:41 AM »
When driving the car I still have a couple of issues that I think I am on the right track to fixing.
I am trying to be conservative until things are 100%, so I have adjusted the wastegate to its longest length and have resisted the urge to flog the car. Overall, I am happy with the way it runs other than the issues that I'll discuss below. It is tight by my standards, stops well and is fun to drive and comfortable. The motor seems great and I get 45-50 psi of oil pressure hot and the car runs at 185 deg going 45 mph in 90 degree weather. Yeah the windows roll slow and some stuff doesn't work right etc, but I'm happy with it even though it's just a N/A 3.8 so far.
I have two issues remaining that I could use some advice on.
1:
The fan has yet to turn on. At idle the temp has risen up to about 200 deg and it still didn't engage the fan. I'm going to work on this tomorrow so any wisdom would be helpful.
2.
When hot the car sputters. Not like a miss on 1 cylinder by like somebody just turned the ignition off, and then right back on.Then, the Car throws a code 41 and about the same time it starts running much better.
Now, I think that I can deal with #1, but let me know any experiences.
I also think that number 2 is a bad cam sensor. Not only because of the code, but also because it starts running better after the code (batch mode?) pops up, and the fact that when I shut it down how it won't start (no spark, no fuel) until it cools down again. My guess is an intermittent fault with the cam sensor when warm, and then no signal when it gets completely up to temp. Then the computer goes to batch mode making it run better, but won't start back up bc no signal until it cools again. Let me know if I need to do any more troubleshootin g because I'm about ready to order a new cap I'm so convinced that's the problem.
As always thanks in advance.
98
« on: August 17 2014, 12:07:07 AM »
I'll try to tie up some loose ends from before. I have taken the car out a only a few times and have been able to eliminate a couple of previous issues, namely the scanmaster display fading and powermaster warning light.
I bled my PM a few more times and now the brake light doesn't come on at all when driving. It takes probably 5-10 second to for the pump to turn off after emptying the accumulator. I'm still not convinced my unit is 100%, so I've been working on rebuilding another unit, but still need to round up a power piston assembly.
After I properly wired up the SM by soldering the connectors and using connectors etc. , the LED display no longer faded at increased RPM. However, whenever the car would get up to operating temperature, the SM screen went blank. Just before it went blank I noticed that at least the coolant temperature readings went crazy, oscillating from -40 to 30 degrees (the ambient temps were in the 90s which it initially read correctly). All of the above issues were resolved by replacing the ECM.
99
« on: August 16 2014, 11:40:50 PM »
I realize that it's been a long time since I updated this thread, but most of my work has been both uninteresting and completed at my normal sub-glacial pace. So here is what I've done in the last half year or so.
I was able to round up a welder and weld up the exhaust, I fabricated a couple of brackets and re-welded the gutted cat. I broke a rusty muffler flange, so I re-welded that as well (really the exhaust behind the cat at least should be replaced). I rounded up some cheap tires and had them mounted on the rims that I hate, I'd like to find some stockers and will get better tires then.
It took a few months for me to find a cheap rear heated window, but I finally rounded one up for 50 bucks and installed it a few weeks ago. That was after buying a 4 door unit (ooops), but at least it was only 30. I don't know how much I saved doing it myself, but I just don't trust the "pros" because my windshields have always leaked after being installed and I wound up doing it over myself.
Finally I installed some danko fillers. Yes they are a little rough, and probably don't fit perfectly, but they were just right for my car and budget!
I'm sure there are a few other things that I have forgotten about, but that's the bulk of it. I haven't worked out all the electrical gremlins yet, but I think I am on the right track. Thanks to everyone for helping out, pictures of the car in its current state (wo the windshield) are attached below.
100
« on: June 23 2014, 09:05:53 PM »
The pump comes on I think every time I step on the brakes, and the fluid level of the rear brake reservoir increases while the passenger side of the reservoir decreases after cycling the brakes. I put new fluid in the PM, and it became opaque very quickly. I think it's probably picking up stuff from the PM MC rather than the proportioning valve. I don't think that fluid would become contaminated very quickly if it were from the PV.
101
« on: June 22 2014, 03:57:58 PM »
I wish I had seen that hacked part in the MC before, but I bought it probably a year ago and have since swapped several parts from it onto my existing unit. I paid 75-100 bucks for it I think, so maybe I still got my money's worth anyway?? I have no idea what the idea of cutting it was, could they not separate it from the brake rod??
I know that a person takes on a larger risk using a PM than the other systems, so that's why I am trying to rebuild this MC while the one in my car works and the brake light doesn't come on. With the one in the car the fluid won't stay clear and I believe it has an internal leak, so before I drive it I'd like to have a system where there are no known faults. Then I'll be diligent and not take any chances to avoid sheet metal repair should the brake light rear it's ugly head again!
In the end I'll still have a system with a quarter century old pump, so I'll be keeping my eye out for a vacuum or hydroboost while I figure out what I ultimately want to do.
102
« on: June 22 2014, 02:11:49 PM »
Wow, that's a bad day. I wonder if, seeing as how the chain is still threaded over the cam sproket, that the cam gear stopped rotating almost the instant that the chain snapped, leaving it in it's current location? I would think if it rotated much more the chain would have been pulled down off the sprocket. Maybe that would be an indication of contact causing rapid deceleration real close to the instant the chain snapped. Whatever it was, sorry about your luck. Hopefully that was the only damage and you'll be back on the road soon 
103
« on: June 21 2014, 09:31:33 PM »
Hello everybody. I still have a couple of nagging issues that have prevented me from driving my GN much after getting the motor back together. The major one right now is the powermaster. Unfortunately I don't have any bars of gold laying around to trade for a rebuilt one, and the used one that I bought as a "known good" unit turned out to be a core; so I'm left now with trying to rebuild it myself. Fortunately, since completing the engine a year ago (or was it two?) there has been an empty space in my living room just begging to be filled again with buick parts. And with temperatures approaching the century mark here in Savannah, I have a some spare indoor time on my hands right now. So I took this time to tear apart the core that I have and I'd like to get it to a point that I just have to just swap it in, bleed the system and go. I have labeled my PM parts below similar to the one in http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/brakes/powermaster.jpg. I have measured the o-rings and seals with calipers and matched them to standard sizes as well as I can, and they are summarized in the picture. Since nobody makes a rebuild kit anymore, it looks like I am going to have to get all o-rings and seals from a hydraulics place. In researching it, i have found that EDPM or Silicone are the two options that are compatible with brake fluid, and it seems that EDPM is superior.I'm just looking for advice for those who have been down this road before. Maybe i'm just a glutten for punishment trying restore a PM (and not convert), but I'd at least like to get a good PM MC in the car to decide if 1 of the 2 accumulators I have em "accumulated" is good. I think that the seals will not cost very much, so all I have to lose is my time... and that is not worth anything  Finally, it looks like somebody cut the end off of the power piston spool (#46) in my core with a hacksaw. Does anyone have a power piston assembly laying around (#25) they wouldn't mind parting with? I think Autozone was out of stock! If I had to, I can hopefully use the assembly that is in my car right now, but I'd rather not.
104
« on: November 12 2013, 07:21:42 PM »
Happy belated Birthday and thanks for everything .
105
« on: November 10 2013, 06:36:51 PM »
I've decided to put the powermaster on the back burner until I can get the car out for its first test drive (at least around the block), then I'll know where i stand a little better. I will make sure the MC isn't blowing fluid through an internal seal before dumping more money into another accumulator. I have a separate PM MC that I will try to get seals for in the mean time. For the test drive, I think the only things I need to do are to round up some tires, and rig up the exhaust temporarily. Somehow the exhaust was snaped at the welds directly after the cat, so it needs to be re-welded. I don't have a mig welder down here but a guy I work with is supposedly getting one for christmas 
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