Black98TA

Okay guys, Im kinda new here, I use the tech section of LS1.com a lot, but now im sure someone here can help a lot too. I just did a pushrod swap and had really bad results...first i put the coils on backwards on the passenger side, making the car backfire like crazy...took it to my buddy at a chevy dealer, he switched em up, and got me on the road...then cylinder 5 was reading DEAD as in nothing...did compression test got only 20 lbs when cranking the motor. He tore the engine apart and found out that my retarded self forgot to torque the rockers down to 22 lbs on cylinder 5 so he retorqued that for me and made sure that whole bank is all good to go...so NOW the problem is severe again...
I pick the car up today, and it seems fine, I try not to jump on it...but then im driving it for a while and decide to get on it just a little bit...but it hesitates so much and falls FLAT ON ITS face at about 4500 RPMS....at this point im like WTF is going on?

My only two uneducated guesses are that A) when the coils were on backwards backfiring BIG TIME it fouled the plugs on that bank, need new plugs and wires on it...or B)when all that raw fuel was being dumped into the exhaust (and i do mean it was RAW FUEL THE CAR SPIT FLAMES AT THAT POINT ) it tore up the inside of the cat and its totally backing up the flow now.

Anyone who knows for real what this could be willing to guess? I mean i may have screwed up the pushrod install even more than i though i could lol so guess away

Thanks
John

Brains

iTrader: (7)

Take it one step at a time, and go back through your work.. Chances are you didn't mess anything up too much, so don't start worrying until you absolutely HAVE to Start the car and listen for ticking on each side. If you hear one side is noisier than the other, pull that valve cover and verify everything is right. Never hurts to double-check the work, and valve covers come off pretty easily.

pimpmaro

I'm going to be swapping my pushrods this wednesday once I get home. The way I'm going to do it is to pull the sparkplugs and spin the engine over by hand when I'm torquing the rockers. If you still can't figure out what's wrong, you might want to go over it again that way, plus it gives you a chance to check over your spark plugs. I'm also going to be throwing in some brand new TR-55s so my baby should like that.

Dave Carney

You should not work on your car any more.

Constrictor 98TA

I dont understand how you could put coils on backwards? The spark plug wires only fit on there one way, and all the ignition coils are identical, so you could take all 8 of them off, put em in a box, mix em up and randomly put them all back on the car with no problems... What exactly was backwards?

As for your problem, it is possible a plug got fouled, something fell into your engine while it was apart, or maybe you put in the wrong length pushrods? I don't know, Im just brainstorming here.

Good luck.

Black98TA

well i took the coils off at the plug wire connection, so they were all together. on each coil it says which 2 cylinders they can go on, like 1/8 or 2/6 etc...i put those on backwards, thats how it was misfiring...as for cranking the engine by hand, on the LS1 you dont have to do that...you just bore the rockers on down...on the LT1 and other SBCs you need to crank the engine while doing it...anyone think that cat option might be a real possiblity? i need hlep with this pleasssse lol.
yes the pushrods were the correct length, they were the LS1 pushrods, even i couldnt F that up
im so pissed about this...i can do all the huge mechanical things perfectly fine, but i always find a way to forget the little things and have a brain fart. damn damn damn

john

eallanboggs

iTrader: (1)

It's called WHITEOUT. You put a "D" on the drivers side coil pack mounting plate. You put all your associated fasteners in Ziplock bags with lables in them like "oil pan bolts". You pull the digital camera down off of the shelf. Then as you tear you motor down you take a few photos to refer to as you reassemble it. Very basic stuff.

Blk00WS6

I agree. How does one forget to torque down the rocker bolts? Have you ever worked on an engine before? Do some reading before you attempt something like this again.

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

#5 is not that hard to change, so you could go ahead and change that.

If you don't elect to scan the car, you might want to reset the pcm since it might be running a limp mod and you might significantly reduced timing advance now (at WOT).

Black98TA

Sweet guys, thanks for totally reaming my *** out...like i havent done that to myself enough lately
Okay dude, I took my coils off on the driver side, totally changed everything out, put it together, and put the coils back on the ocrrect way...when i put the passenger side back on, I just used to driver side as a template (example) and put the coils on (all 4 were in a string connected together) and i put them on backwards, #8 on #2...etc. And I forgot to torque one of the rockers down because my friggin dog ran away while i was in the middle of retorquing them...put them at 20 lbs, then went back around at 22, but i guess i forgot to put #5 back to 22 lbs...Sheesh some people are wayyyyy to critical...Im sure you NEVER made any mistake working on your car, eh?

But no for real, Im worried about the car, it is EXTREMELY sluggish, i hear clicking from the passenger side...could it be a backed up cat or did I maybe not torque the other side down enough? Im kinda worried now, gonna have to open 'er up again i guess...

2001CamaroGuy

iTrader: (6)

Open it up, unbolt the rockers, and re-torque everything again.....that’s the only way you’re going to know for sure.....don’t be too hard on yourself.....everyone forgets something now and then..you just hope your mess ups are not too exspensive ("ummmm....guys....did we tighten those rod bolts down??? )......



I don't see how you could have hurt anything by what you did unless somehow the rocker became damaged (bearing came apart or cracked the rocker its self) or you bent a pushrod…..coil packs are same left and right (still try to keep then on their side just out of principle)......


By any chace did you swap pushrods because one was bent? Did you think to look and see if any valve springs might be broken....if they are that would cause some problems....




Really you losers....everyone makes mistakes.....don't be so hard on the guy..... .....I'm sure everyone on here has done things that make you say to yourself "how could I be so stupid...."....if you haven’t, then you obviously have not done much in life....

gojo

iTrader: (12)

They're just bustin'em. Anyone who says he at least doesn't do something dumb almost everytime is FOI..

Black98TA

Thanks guys for makin me feel better about myself at least im not a total idiot LOL. yeah i think im gonna open up the other side and retorque it all. I know that the coils are the same left to right, but theres an order theyre supposed to be kept in...look on yours, youll see pieces of tape with numbers on it by each coil pack...unless my car is special LOL
Thanks again guys...ill keep everyone updated

John

2001CamaroGuy

iTrader: (6)

ohhh....you have a 98...... ....you have the individual coil packs....not like on the 99+ with the entire rail of them......


it still "shouldn't" cause a problem but who knows.....

Rob98Z

With the 98's you have to be careful with the coilpacks. What I did was leave the spark plug wire connected and just laid the coil pack down beside the manifold that way I could put them back where they went. You can also do like mentioned above by using white-out or a paint pen and mark the coil pack themselves.

Black98TA

Alright now guys, one more question for everyone before I open it up...When I torque down the rockers, I just crank em down to 22 lbs...and make sure theyrealigned so the pushrod sits in the little "hole" at the end of the rocker. That is correct, right? Just want to make sure I got these things lined up right when I put it all back together. I figure Ill open it up and see what it looks like in there, then Ill look at the valvesprings to, just to be sure theyre okay, then check the plugs in case its just an easy problem like that...If the plugs are fouled and causing the car to hesitate, what would they look like? Would they just be black? Or how would they look? Just checkin on allll the info before I do this again

John

Black98TA

Anyone know what to look for with bad plugs? Should I just torque down the rockers to 22lb/ft?

John

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

BTW if you pulling the plugs to check them might as well put new plugs back in. If the problem continues you can probably read new plugs easier than the old ones.