1996 Collector Edition Corvette

[Maverick]

Sounds useful if it's not hydrolocked.

[wxo]

Good point, Jim. That thought did occur to me as I watched the video. After removing the intake manifold, I siphoned out a lot of gasoline that had pooled above and just waiting to go into the the combustion chambers. It really was a good thing that I dropped that washer into the intake and decided to go looking for it. That pooled gas might have caused me additional grief.

[wxo]

I've begun to put more miles on Silvia these days. She is beginning to feel more reliable with each ride.
I drove her to church for choir practice last night and decided that the tinted side windows and rear window are not for me. The tinting had to go. So I spent a few hours today removing it. What a dramatic difference in visibility. I'm loving it.
I also noticed some antifreeze spots on the garage floor. I tightened all the radiator hose clamps. I think that should take care of that.
Over the last few days, I have been increasing the fuel pressure to work out the lean bog. It is sitting at 54 psi right now and she feels really responsive and powerful. I have an appointment on Monday 2/28 for a dyno tune. I think the increased fuel pressure is richening the AFR to compensate for an overall lean condition causing the bogging. I should have more information about that after the tuning session on Monday.

[MostMint]

Glad it is getting out and taking you around after all that work to put it back on the road.

I would look around at other Vettes that year though, I think that 54 PSI is too high and this high rating is offsetting some other problem.

[wxo]

I've been all over this engine looking for reasons for this need for higher fuel pressure. I've found many bad vacuum hoses and they are all fixed. The intake is well sealed after the flooding incident. The Secondary Air system (with all it's vacuum hoses) is now gone. I've changed the TPS which didn't need changed. I have no more ideas on where to look.

This is an OBD2 car and all the sensors appear to be working correctly (no engine check lights). My next consideration is a mismatch between the MAF input and the injector output in the tune. My Hptuners software doesn't support this car. Hence the dyno tuner appointment on Monday at Carolina Auto Masters ( http://www.carolinaautomasters.com/gmtuning.php ). I'm hoping for a good outcome. In the mean time, Silvia puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. I love to stick my foot in it and wind her through the gears! It makes me feel like a kid again.

[wxo]

103485 The dyno session today ended with mixed results. The first run showed severe missing starting at 4500 rpm and getting progressively worse all the way up to 6400. After a couple of more runs and changes to the ECM, the miss was marginally better, but still there. Finally, it was decided that the opti-spark ignition was at fault and I needed to get a new cap and rotor and have it cleaned and rebuilt because of oil that had seeped into it. I wasn't surprised. So that's my homework.
In addition, the programming was changed to turn on the fans at a lower temperature. When they came on, they raised a big ruckus. Obviously the bearings had sat idle for too many years. More homework. The ambient temperature today was in the mid-50's so the hour's drive home was not ruined by noisy fans and Silvia ran fine on the interstate. Also, the 1to 4th gear interlock nonsense was disabled with the changes so another annoyance was removed.

[wxo]

[MostMint]

Love that torque curve. Now that you have a likely culprit I am interested to see how it behaves after your address the opti spark issue.

[Basement Paul]

I believe the optispark solves all your odd problems. And 300hp to the wheels is impressive already. Super solid numbers with nowhere to go but up.

-BP

[wxo]

Parts are rolling in. I have a new Opti-Spark, two new fan motors and a water pump gasket set in stock now. This is going to be another major undertaking. I was hoping to avoid dealing with the cooling system for a long while, but that was not to be. I have to drain it all including the block.
The whole front of the motor has to be removed including the damper pulley.

I was able to acquire a very rare PKE (Passive Key Entry) fob for a convertible.

Initially, I was assuming it was just a remote for opening the doors via push button, but no, it's much more than that and after 25 years all the electronics still work. Here's what it does:
Operation
You don't have to do anything for PKE to work when
the passive feature is on. Just move toward your
vehicle with the PKE transmitter, and the system will
automatically disarm your theft-deterrent system and
unlock the doors. If it's dark enough outside, your
interior lamps will come on.
If you move out of range, the PKE system will:
1. Lock the doors after five seconds.
2. Arm the theft-deterrent system.
3. Sound the horn to let you know the doors are locked.
4. Turn off the interior lamps.

[wxo]

Silvia's windshield wiper and washer controls were not working reliably so, talking to Mark at Mirrock Corvettes (specializing in C4's), he advised that the problem was usually in the electronics module integrated into the wiper motor. So I bought a used wiper motor from him and installed it today. I'm happy to say that it fixed everything. Both wipers and washers work like new. Now I can drive in the rain (after I fix the Opti-Spark, and the cooling fans and glue the back window back in) Hallelujah!!

[GMJohnny]

Every little project contributes to the completion of the project as a whole.
Keep going!

GM

[wxo]

Well, here we go again. Silvia is up on jack stands and the Opti-Spark adventure begins.

The Opti-Spark is behind the water pump which just under the throttle body there in the photo. I predict there will be many issues to find and correct in this adventure in wrenching.

[wxo]

Well, I almost made it to the Opti-Spark today. I'm stopped and stumped at the damper pulley. It is fastened to a hub on the crank snout with three bolts. I was able to remove the three bolts, but it is rusted onto the hub. It looks like an impossible job because there is a frame member just 1.75 inches in front of the pulley. I was able to wiggle a small three inch puller into the damper pulley cavity and hook it on, but it wasn't up to the task. The damper wouldn't budge. There is no room for any of the other pullers that I have in addition to a box full of pullers that Maverick gave me. Right now I've doused it with Deep Creep and will try again another day.

Water pump unbolted and pulled away showing the WP drive coupling from the cam and Opti-Spark unit just under it.

Here's the Opti-Spark unit hemmed in by the damper pulley which is hemmed in by the frame member.

[Maverick]

Can the front of the engine be raised enough to get a puller on the pulley bolts? Would that be very difficult?