geckolizard

I will definitely consider the spring trick -- had to look it up when you mentioned it. I have some new lift supports on the way with the bump stops I should be getting tomorrow, so if it's still causing a problem after those get replaced I'll have a back up plan of attack.

inspector

geckolizard

Got the snowflakes put on today! =D

geckolizard

New lift struts are installed, and the hatchback is now popping open and staying open until closed. I'm also getting to be an expert in taking out and reinstalling those sail panels! This was I think the third or fourth time I've had to take them out. =D

Next up, I am going to tackle the headlights. Driving it at night has not been the greatest because the low beams are way too dim. The high beams are awesome when I get to use them. But the low beams... I think those may actually be the original low beam bulbs that came with it in 2002 that's how dim they are. I looked into doing an upgrade to LED/HID/etc., but really I don't want to do that much modification to it. Plus, I *hate* being the one who has to see that as oncoming traffic at night, the light is way too blue and completely destroys my night vision.

geckolizard

Headlights got replaced and I ended up having to get a new battery in the process... Once I had replaced the low beams, I decided I needed to do the high beams as well because they were about as bright as the new low beams. Since I didn't have high beams on hand, I went to move the car back into the garage, and all I got was the fast clicking when I tried to start it. No corrosion on the terminals to blame, just a crappy cheap 2 year old battery.

Quick trip to the auto parts store (or 3...) and a new Duralast Gold battery and a couple high beams were procured. Battery replaced, car started right up. Popped up the lights, and swapped out the high beams. It still had 1 original high beam dating all the way back to 2002! The others dated back to 2010 (low beam), 2011 (low beam), and 2013 (high beam).

I did not replace the fog beams, but I'm not in a hurry to do that. I should definitely be able to see a lot better, but I'll have to wait until I can take her out at night to know how much better.

geckolizard

Just wrapped up a three day road trip with the Firebird. We traveled to Big Bend National Park to drive Panther Pass (officially called the road into Chisos Basin) and RR-170 from Study Butte/Terlingua to Presidio Texas along the Rio Grande. From there we made our way to Alpine and the following day drove to Kent on TX-118. In total racked up about 1500 miles for that trip, but got some really good, fun miles in. RR-170 and TX-118 are part of the Texas Mountain Trail system, and the roads were in good condition.

I'll be taking her into the shop this week for an oil change and to check the brakes/rotors. On the trip in the fall right after the windshield had to be replaced from rock damage, the drivers side rubber trim started coming loose. It happened again on this trip, and when we got back I noticed the passenger side had also started to come loose. I was also looking at the trim today and I'm not entirely sure they used the correct rubber trim or what, but there's a visible gap at the top corners where the t-tops meet the frame. =\ I will have to address the situation before long though as in June I'll be taking her on the Bandit Run.

There was also one semi-concerning moment that I need to look into as well. We were stopped on the side of the road to tend to some other issues. As we were leaving the shoulder, with the car in 1st gear as I accelerated, the oil pressure momentarily dropped down to 15psi before returning to its normal 60psi. It was rather hot out in west Texas (~95 F) so maybe that factored into it.

geckolizard

Took her into the shop the other day. Found out the brake fluid was toast and the reason for the spongy braking over the weekend. Got the lines bled and filled with DOT4 instead of DOT3, should be good to go on that front. Also had the oil changed, and unfortunately that's bad news bear territory. Found some metal in the oil, unfortunately I am having to wait to find out more information about exactly the "metal" looked like and how bad it is. She does have 45K rather rough miles on her, so it could be fairly "normal" if we're talking about small flaking/microscopic particles, but if there's shavings or some kind of big metal pieces in the oil from a bearing or other component, that's not good... Already kind of decided that _when_ the engine has to come out, a new LS3 will get dropped into its place.

geckolizard

Lots of small flakes... Mechanic says it'd still run for a while but not to push her too hard. I guess it'll be getting the LS3 sooner rather than later, I was kind of hoping to delay it for a while maybe until after the Bandit Run in June.

geckolizard

Sad Sunday.... Washed the Firebird and put it back in storage. Things are not looking good. Oil pressure is running really high now and anything above 3000 rpms pushes it up to 80psi. Looks like the engine's going to have to be swapped sooner rather than later. Hopefully I can nurse it and she'll make it to Tallahassee for the swap.

CODE20FORMULA

Get any quotes on the swap?
I have been dreaming about a 6.6L swap for mine but
I would have to pay someone to do it...

geckolizard

Only rough estimates on the cost of doing the LS3 swap. Basically it works out to around $3K plus the cost of the engine, which for a LS3 appears to be around $7500-10K depending on where you get it from. The main issue I've heard about doing the swap, in terms of why the labor is so expensive, is due to having to rework the gauges (nothing major just time intensive).

The other problem I'm finding is one of my own making really, I want to go on the Bandit Run this year, and getting the swap done within the remaining time just isn't going to be possible. All the shops I've talked to that have been recommended here and that I know of are slammed right now and just wouldn't be able to fit it in before that deadline.

But where there is a will there is a way! Rather than swap out to the LS3 right now, I'm taking her over to a shop today to have the LS1 in it rebuilt. It would be faster to use an off the shelf ready LS1, but then I don't really know how many miles have been put on it or how it was treated in its previous life. If I stick with the block I have, I will at least know some of its history and it'll keep its numbers matching, plus this block only has 45K miles on it. Rebuilding the current motor will take a couple weeks longer, but can still get done and ready to go by the run. =D

geckolizard

I'll know more in a couple of days once the engine's out. One suggestion I was given and I may just do depending on whats up with this engine is to put an LS3 short block in with the current LS1 headers, and then later swap out the headers and fix the gauges. Any thoughts from folks?

Nathan C

Hang in there!

geckolizard

They got the LS1 out. It hasn't been taken apart to find out what's wrong with it yet though. That will happen at some point. In the meantime, putting the LS3 in isn't going to happen either... They can't get the right LS3 that will fit, they just are not available. That leaves rebuilding the LS1 or using a different block. Rebuilding the LS1 "right now" will take 4-6 weeks and another week or two before it would be all buttoned back up and running. That conflicts with the Bandit Run. So, the alternative that I've chosen for now is to go ahead with a LQ4 370 iron short block to at least make the run. I'll reuse the existing LS1 heads as well.

I'm kind of conflicted with the choice to be honest. It's really a truck engine, it will add 100 pounds to the front of the car, and it's basically a wash on the horsepower side or maybe even a slight reduction. However, that said, it is iron so it can handle a good bit more abuse than the aluminum block, it can support more modifications better like running larger camshafts, and while the horsepower is less, it will be producing more torque. Though really the HP and torque are basically in the same general ranges according to the specs, and running a higher torque may be beneficial given that I find myself driving mountainous areas more than track and trying to go as blazingly fast as possible until the motor explodes.

We'll see here shortly, and if I don't like how the car handles with the LQ4, I at least will have an LS1 that I can rebuild and put back in its place. After the Run of course! =D

lees02WS6

iTrader: (5)

You don't have to rework the gauges, whoever told you that is blowing smoke. Either you need to use the LPE trigger box to interpret the signal coming from the LS3's 58 tooth crank and 4x cam sensors or pull the crank and cam gear and put the LS1 gears on in their place.



The LPE trigger box is preferable if the engine is already assembled, but if the engine is being built then it's generally better to use the LS1 crank and cam gears. The main drawback to the LPE is the delay at startup, and the reliability of it. Though I haven't had issues with mine.

lees02WS6

iTrader: (5)

LS3's have the same physical dimensions as the LS1. Things that need to be swapped over to the LS3 are the LS1 F-body oil pan, dipstick and dipstick tube, oil pickup tube and windage tray. For simplicity's sake a cable driven throttle body should be used in place of the drive by wire unit. You also need the ls1 f-body exhaust manifolds or headers, the LS1 map, and knock sensors.

The LS1 f-body accessories: A/C, a/c bracket, alternator, alternator brackets, power steering pump, water pump, and the crank pulley/balancer need to be swapped over to the LS3 also.

You'll need extensions for the LS1 map sensor, since the map is on the front of the LS3 intake. The knock sensors have to go on the side of the block and also need extensions. I tapped out existing holes on the block for this, and that is usually what people do.

The LS3 also needs ev1 to ev6 adapters to use the LS3 injectors with LS1 harness.

geckolizard

It wasn't that they couldnt find the LS3, they couldn't find one with the right flex plate. They used to have a good hookup on it but that guy went out of business. Anyway it was really beyond my budget to full LS3 anyway, and the more I've been thinking about it, this may be a really good choice in the long run for what I am doing with the car. I should be getting her back with the LQ4 soon (hopefully Monday/Tuesday or so).

geckolizard

Good news to start my Friday! Just got the call and the LQ4 has been installed and she's ready to go. I'll need to do 500 miles of break-in on it, then she's getting an oil change and going on the dyno and getting tuned. Should be interesting to see what she's pushing now compared to the original -- especially since the top end is all from the LS1. Think I'll route part of the break-in miles on some curves to see how the iron block has changed the driving. I know the LS1 or an LS3 would be a better track motor for it, but track time is expensive and she doesn't see that as often as she sees mountain roads, so this may turn out to be a pretty good move. If the additional front-end weight doesn't bother me too much in the cornering on twisty roads, the next step would probably be to upgrade to better heads. I'll also have a LS1 short block that I'll need to rebuild; that will either go back into the Firebird if I don't care for the iron block or make its way into a future life powering a monster miata. I've driven front-end heavy cars pretty much my entire life (cut my teeth on a V8 1985 crown victoria and a V8 1978 buick lesabre), so I bet I won't mind the iron block and additional weight on the front.

Nathan C

Glad to hear she's running again. I'm curious as to the Dyno numbers.

geckolizard

Got her back from the shop yesterday. The weight distribution has changed as expected and it is noticeable. She feels beefier now, but she's now got that 6.0L iron block instead of the 5.7L aluminum one. I haven't had an opportunity to really take her out to hit some curves yet so I am reserving judgement until after then. My suspicion is that I'll be just fine with it. I'll need to take her for 500 miles to break in the engine and the clutch -- and they have to be city-ish miles not highway miles in order to get a lot of shifting to help break in the clutch. You can definitely tell she has not been tuned yet, and she's currently not as quick at the start but she is pushing an extra 100 pounds how. Bandit Run is going through Talimena Scenic Byway and the Ozarks so by the end of that I'll definitely know if I'll keep the block and invest in better heads or rebuild the LS1 and throw it back in.

Fortunately there does not appear to have been any real catastrophic damage to the old block, e.g. large chunks of metal in pan, so it'll be a good candidate to rebuild. The the oil bypass valve was sticking either open and/or closed, so the best guess is it caused a lack of oil to the engine and then things just broke down worse from there... Still haven't broken down the lowers to know for sure what parts will have to be replaced during the rebuild though.

I doubt I'll ever really know what caused it though. It could have been the aluminum block flexing while I was having to engine brake into the higher end of the RPM range coming down the mountains to compensate for the fried brake fluid, or it could have been something a previous owner chose to ditch the car over rather than get fixed and it just now got bad enough... She did have 36K miles on her when I got her 15 months ago and there's no telling what they did with her either, did they drag race it? How'd they treat her? Unanswerable questions!

Anyway, the next thing that is going on the list is to get the suspension looked into. She's not riding nearly as smooth as I'd like, and that problem predates the engine swap. Intererstingly, the bed spring sounding squeek that had been present has not popped up lately with the new engine. I'm thinking probably need some new springs...