Well, worked on the car until 1 a.m last night with hope of starting it this morning before my double shift...

Woke Up, poured coolant in, checked everything, turned it over with coils unplugged and fired her up after TWO and a half months of being apart!

I went through all the checks before my test drive - no leaks and everything looked good. I drove around for well over an hour keeping it under 1.7 - 2k.

My question is, after driving it that long, with a few stops and starts and then letting it cool until I came home from work at 10:30 tonight. Is it safe to get on it?

I just installed longtubes, LS6 heads, cam/valvetrain and 180 thermostat...I want to feel how much more powerful it is but am scared of breaking things. But I'm just glad that the thing even runs. I expected something to go wrong and not run. I'd say you guys have no idea how much trouble and pain(three stitches on my pinky knuckle) this thing put me through but I'm sure most of you know.

Thanks guys

Rick M.

 

What part of that needs to be broken in?
I mean, I've not even seen definitive proof that springs "need a few heat cycles" before getting on it. But I'd like to know since I've just put new heads and cam and rod bolts on my car.

 

I'm reffering to the valvespring break in.

I went by the LS1howto.com guide and it states to drive it around for a day, getting it hot. Then after letting the springs cool "overnight" you can bring it to redline all day. But I would think that my driving for an hour would bring it to full temp and letting it sit for 10 1/2 hours could simulate, "overnight". I just don't want to get on it and have a spring break. Or shorten the life of my springs having one break shortly down the road.

 

I was told to run it through "about 3" heat cycles like you're describing: full heat to full cool. 3x.

 

If your air / fuel is right and your seeing 0 knock let her rip

 

Nice. Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear. I'll probably be gentle with it until I get to that point just to be safe.

Although, I've already accidentally hit 4k once. It's a lot of performance parts to add at once. Quite the power jump already I must say.

Anyone know of good dynotuners in New England?

Fortunately Tbyrne Motorsports is just a state over, but figured I'd shoot it out there anyway.


Rick M.

 

Another quick Question!

While the motor is up to temp, I've been having a high idle problem. But it's not really a high idle. Just when I pull it out of gear, it'll revup and sit just under 2k and won't come down until I come to a stop.

The Question is...could this be a computer issue? I have a hard time believing it's a vacuum leak since it acts completely normal while cold for the first 10 minutes of driving.

 

That's the throttle cracker table. It's in the PCM...

 

umm i heard atleast a day of 2 of driving to let everything settle, springs mostly cause u can break them getting on them if they havent heated up before. i say after like 75 miles then u should be fine. just my .02 cents

 

Throttle cracker table?

I have let everything settle so far. I know about the break in on the springs and that has nothing to do with my slow idle down or "cracker table" problem.

What the F is a cracker table?

 

The throttle cracker table opens the IAC valve based on MPH and RPM. It helps cut back on the motor "bogging down" when the throttle body is closed. At higher rpms, the motor needs more air than the little hole in the throttle body can provide. There's also a throttle follower table that opens based on change in throttle position to soften the blow. If you ever get into tuning, you'll need to adjust these tables to get that like-stock driveability back.

 

I broke my motor in by letting it heat up and cool down 2 times then drove for about 2 hours then let it sit for the whole day . the next day I let her warm up and opened her up.

 

you cut your pinky on the head casting didnt you

 

Thanks a lot SSpdDmon,

I brought it to the place I'm having it dyno'd. They said to check for vacuum leaks. But there's no way it's a vacuum leak. Thanks for your words of wisdom and I'll let them know what to look for. It's a real pain in the *** because I can't even shift without it going up to 2k. Atleast it's driveable though.

 

my buddies car does the same thing he has an f13 he normally has to wait a sec for the rpm to settle before he gets into gear.or his car will stall out.

 

Haha. Actually I did it while trying to change out my O2 sensors. I was trying to pull that stupid little blue pin out of the clip to remove the plug - plyers slipped and banged my pinky on the heatsheild... It was my Wrist that slammed into the head casting..Almost needed stitches on that one.

 

before you really get on it I would take it out to a good strech of road and run it up to 4k a few times once it is warm. then let it cool overnight and really hammer it.

 

What about shoving the springs in the oven a few times before installing, or, do they need to be stressed?