Miscellaneous problems with my 1979 firebird 5.3 ls swap
#1
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So I have a bunch of miscellaneous problems that keep adding up to my swap that are just making it un drivable
the first notable one is I only have park neutral and reverse. And for some reason it goes into reverse when it’s at drive position.
The next problem I have is my brake booster hose becomes crimped and linked when the car is on.
another big problem is the car immediately dies when the throttle is hit.
for some reason my thermostat won’t open up no matter how long it runs
and the newest problem I have is it takes 6-10 tries to start the car before it actually starts.
please help I’m at my breaking point with this, anybody who has the thinnest of insight to any of the problems or all of the problems is super appreciated.
thank you
the first notable one is I only have park neutral and reverse. And for some reason it goes into reverse when it’s at drive position.
The next problem I have is my brake booster hose becomes crimped and linked when the car is on.
another big problem is the car immediately dies when the throttle is hit.
for some reason my thermostat won’t open up no matter how long it runs
and the newest problem I have is it takes 6-10 tries to start the car before it actually starts.
please help I’m at my breaking point with this, anybody who has the thinnest of insight to any of the problems or all of the problems is super appreciated.
thank you
#2
TECH Addict
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So it sounds like you need to just attack one thing at a time, do the un-related ones first..
1. Shift linkage is borked. Needs adjusted and you may need to replace the electrics on the side of the tranny.
2. Your using the wrong kind of hose for the booster you need "reinforced" vacuum hose.
3. IAC to Throttle blade not adjusted correctly. or you have a bad TPS
4. Replace the thermostat, yes BRAND NEW ones fail out of the box.
5.. Hard starting is fuel or spark.. usually. So first test fuel pressure key on and then while cranking. you should get a prime stage when the key comes on, the pressure should rise then stop, once cranking the pressure should stay up. If all is good there, start checking and cleaning ALL the grounds, especially the two on the back of the cylinder heads they must be tight and clean.
For every item I know how to do on a car, there are dozens of fails behind how I learned it. Good Luck!
1. Shift linkage is borked. Needs adjusted and you may need to replace the electrics on the side of the tranny.
2. Your using the wrong kind of hose for the booster you need "reinforced" vacuum hose.
3. IAC to Throttle blade not adjusted correctly. or you have a bad TPS
4. Replace the thermostat, yes BRAND NEW ones fail out of the box.
5.. Hard starting is fuel or spark.. usually. So first test fuel pressure key on and then while cranking. you should get a prime stage when the key comes on, the pressure should rise then stop, once cranking the pressure should stay up. If all is good there, start checking and cleaning ALL the grounds, especially the two on the back of the cylinder heads they must be tight and clean.
For every item I know how to do on a car, there are dozens of fails behind how I learned it. Good Luck!
#5
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#8
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So here’s all the solutions for anybody who might have the same problems as I
the shift linkage was borked, there was a retaining clip that must have popped out in my shift cable this it was flying around everywhere when I went to shift.
the I just did have a bad and worn out hose so I just got a new one
the car immediately fixed because of two reasons, one, I did have low fuel pressure because of a leak I didn’t know I had and the car was dying because of lack of fuel. And two I had a bad ground for my re pinned MAF sensor. I didn’t ground out both my coil packs to my heads to my frame leading to an incomplete circuit.
thermostat “didn’t open up” because I simply had a bad water pump. When I bought the engine I didn’t know it was bad simply because everything was already disassembled
and the 6-10 tries trying to start was because of bad fuel pressure
so thank you everyone and I have a running driving ls swap now
the shift linkage was borked, there was a retaining clip that must have popped out in my shift cable this it was flying around everywhere when I went to shift.
the I just did have a bad and worn out hose so I just got a new one
the car immediately fixed because of two reasons, one, I did have low fuel pressure because of a leak I didn’t know I had and the car was dying because of lack of fuel. And two I had a bad ground for my re pinned MAF sensor. I didn’t ground out both my coil packs to my heads to my frame leading to an incomplete circuit.
thermostat “didn’t open up” because I simply had a bad water pump. When I bought the engine I didn’t know it was bad simply because everything was already disassembled
and the 6-10 tries trying to start was because of bad fuel pressure
so thank you everyone and I have a running driving ls swap now
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G Atsma (09-05-2022)
#10
TECH Senior Member
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So here’s all the solutions for anybody who might have the same problems as I.
The shift linkage was borked, there was a retaining clip that must have popped out in my shift cable this it was flying around everywhere when I went to shift.
The I just did have a bad and worn out hose so I just got a new one
The car was immediately fixed because of two reasons, one, I did have low fuel pressure because of a leak I didn’t know I had and the car was dying because of lack of fuel. And two I had a bad ground for my re pinned MAF sensor. I didn’t ground out both my coil packs to my heads to my frame leading to an incomplete circuit.
Thermostat “didn’t open up” because I simply had a bad water pump. When I bought the engine I didn’t know it was bad simply because everything was already disassembled
and the 6-10 tries trying to start was because of bad fuel pressure
So thank you everyone and I have a running driving ls swap now
The shift linkage was borked, there was a retaining clip that must have popped out in my shift cable this it was flying around everywhere when I went to shift.
The I just did have a bad and worn out hose so I just got a new one
The car was immediately fixed because of two reasons, one, I did have low fuel pressure because of a leak I didn’t know I had and the car was dying because of lack of fuel. And two I had a bad ground for my re pinned MAF sensor. I didn’t ground out both my coil packs to my heads to my frame leading to an incomplete circuit.
Thermostat “didn’t open up” because I simply had a bad water pump. When I bought the engine I didn’t know it was bad simply because everything was already disassembled
and the 6-10 tries trying to start was because of bad fuel pressure
So thank you everyone and I have a running driving ls swap now
Thanks for keeping us all updated. It IS helpful to do that.