589 replies to this topic

[rexy]

Pushrods Heath….

 

Time for spec savers youngster.

[Heath]

Sorry! Not sure how that happened, lol.

[rodomo]

Sorry! Not sure how that happened, lol.

(Drugz smokin hippie)

[Statler]

Here's where i'm at. 

Perhaps Doreme will chime in.

 

I've had 2 guys look at the engine. Both of whom i have deep respect for. 

 

Guy #1 is a well respected diesel mechanic with history of building 355's but not roller cams. 

His diagnosis : After measuring up & deciding that the rocker posts needed to be shimmed 2mm , i don't need pushrods. 

We packed one up with washers to determine the height. 

I bought 16 x 2mm spacers (machine washers) & fitted 2 of them. I then ran out of adjustment on the rockers..

 

Guy #2: Older guy. Well respected drag racer & engine / chassis builder (retired). 

His diagnosis : I don't need new pushrods. He showed me how to set one up though. Basically the same as any other rocker gear. 

 

So i backed off ALL of the adjustment on the Yella Terra Platnum series rockers to find zero lash. 

Even fully backed off, it kinda needed another 1/2 turn that i didn't have.

So i wound the adjustment in 1 turn & again checked the valve - roller footprint , which was ok. So i screwed them all in 1 turn.

 

I guess i will see when it fires up. It will either clack clack it's arse off, or hum.  

[Statler]

Well ..................... it clacked its arse off! Hahahahha.

 

Crank is hitting the sump. I've ordered a Aeroflow jobbie for $290 & it's supposed to be here on xmas eve, 

 

Just another piece of the puzzle. 

[Heath]

This is how you make them clear a 383, by the way. 

http://www.gmh-toran...atch/?p=1017245

Not sure how big you need to go for a 355.

[76lxhatch]

Wish I'd realised before installing the engine, but mine only need some light persuasion for the 355. Basically just make sure the windage tray/baffle is pushed down rather than sitting up, was just a couple of rod bolts glancing it. Easy to fix on the engine stand.

[Statler]

It's just one of those things that bit me in the ass.

 

I had wound it over to check when i fitted the sump & heard / felt no issue.

 

It's a H.E sump that i was using.  The Commodore also had a H.E but it's a bit deeper. 

[Statler]

Well i was tracking the sump from when it was posted in Sydney. It took 4 days to make it to Brisbane.

 

It then took a further 4 days to arrive in Mackay. 

 

I checked the tracking in the morning ( expecting delivery that day ) only to find that somehow it had overnighted itself back to Brisbane! 

 

It arrived 2 days later. Good ol' Aussie post! 

 

But now my hoist is playing games. One of the column locks isn't locking. I've contacted the manufacturer who suggested giving the lock assembly a squirt with WD40. 

 

Well i gave it a bath! 

 

It can soak overnight & i'll reinvestigate in the morning. 

 

Starting to think that i've run over a Chinaman. 

[Statler]

Sump is on , knock is gone.It turned out to be the crank was just kissing the center tack weld on the windage tray. I tap with a hammer would have cured it but meh! 

 

So it's running .......... poorly. 

 

I've set the timing to around 14 deg , they usually run on 10 but the cam might have something to do with that.

 

The tappets are just a little noisy so i think i will remove the brake booster ( to get the rocker cover off ) & the blower ( to get the other rocker cover off ) & nip the rockers down another 1/4 turn.

 

At the end of the run it started over fuelling . I've thought long & hard about this & i'm leaning towards a faulty fuel pressure regulator.

 

I never fitted the pulse dampener to the fuel system .  Occasionally it would surge about 200 rpm at idle. I figured having no dampener was possibly the problem , but then i noticed that the fuel pressure was fluctuating while this was occurring. 

 

When i shut the ignition off, the fuel rail pressure is dropping off to zero . I'm sure that it should be maintaining pressure? 

 

Another issue that i have brought on is that i'm trying to run the engine from the stock ECU ( hot chip ) that i was using with the 304. 

The 355 has larger injectors & i'm thinking that could also be the cause of the over fuelling issue? 

The Engine is a roller cam VT which i extracted from a VR. The VR ECU won't work with the VN loom & i can't simply swap memcals unfortunately.

 

I've found a guy in S.A who can take the info on the VR memcal & print it onto a VN memcal , but i think the supercharger will require a new program , & there is nobody local who can do this . I can't afford a 2K bill at a tuners for a dyno. 

 

I'm not sure what to do now but Rockynats is getting closer. 

[warrenm]

Have a look on this site, you should be able to find someone closer. https://pcmhacking.net

[Statler]

So where i'm at.

 

I sent the VR chip to Chiptorque in Brisbane. 

They transfered the data from the VR chip to a VN one. They also had to do something else with the program to compensate for the supercharger.    That will be $275 thanks. 

 

I've fitted the chip but i'm still unsure about the fuel pressure regulator. 

When i stop cranking , or turn the ignition off the fuel pressure drops instantly to zero. 

 

I rang YellaTerra & found out that the fuel pressure regulator was an OEM item & that they no longer have parts for . 

Just put any old fuel reg on it mate , it will be fine ! We don't even supply fuel regs in our blower kits these days. 

 

So i bought a new reg from Autobarn. Turns out i need 1 fitting before it can go in. 

I went to Autobarn again to buy a fitting. In typical Autobarn style they didn't have one in stock , but they could sell me 2 fittings that would do the job ........ & charge me twice the fkn price ! 

I really don't like going there. Their " She'll be right mate " attitude shits me off. 

 

So tomorrow i will have the required fitting , won't take long to fab up a bracket & in it goes.

 

Then i can reset the timing , hopefully before the battery goes flat , set the fuel pressure & hopefully have a running toy again.

 

Rockynats is even closer.

 

I had to put it out of the shed to work on something else. When i went to drive it back in the shed it wouldn't bloody start. UGH! 

So it slept outside in the rain for a couple of days. At least it got a nature wash.

 333714834_1370559283514040_9145997483286898468_n.jpg   445.88K   3 downloads

[SmacT]

So, what's happening here? Get her back inside?

[Statler]

Well ....... i hooked the ride on up to the front & dragged it forward . I then moved the mower to the rear ( after cleaning out an escape route ) to drag it into the shed .  

When i went to start the mower again , the ignition barrel shit itself.   Interesting to note that genuine John Deer ignition barrels are cheaper than some of th Chinese copies.  

 

I ended up enlisting the help from the neighbours to push it back in the shed. 

 

Then Rockynats came & went. 

 

I had a sparky mate drop over & test / solder some earths , thinking that it might be the problem. It wasn't ! 

 

All out of ideas i had a mechinic / sparky come over only to confirm what i had told him. Yes it has fuel , spark & compression. Atleast he only charged me $50. 

 

So where is it at now ?

 

I've drained the fuel system & put another jerry can of fresh 98 in the tank . 

I removed the blower ( getting fkn tired of doing this ) so i could access the fuel rails. I removed the injectors & reinstalled the stock injectors. I don't know anything about pintal caps but i'm suspecting that the new caps were far too restrictive compared to the old caps. Either way i left them off. 

 

I'm waiting on a mate to drop over & give me a hand to set the timing . Hopefully it will run.

 

If it doesn't , then i am completely out of ideas. 

[SmacT]

Ah man - sounds awesome... Is it something to do with the computer you had changed?

[Statler]

I had a new memcal programmed.

 

I pulled 6 plugs out ( can you guess which 2 i still have to pull ? ) & cleaned them up. Almost got the timing right , & it fired up & ran.

 

Now i have to pull the blower again & correctly fit the blow off valve pipe. Probably shouldn't have fitted it in the dark. 

 

Getting closer. 

[SmacT]

Excellent! And yeah, light helps, I have a massive portable video light I drag everywhwre with me these days. Glad to hear you got it running.

[Statler]

Well i completely ran out of ideas. 

I bit the bullet & took the car to a local speed shop.  (not the chemical kind) 

 

They insisted that the large injectors should be in the car because that;s what the memcal is programmed to . Made sense. 

 

So he cleaned up the injectors (they all passed) , i then loaded my toolbox up & went to his shop & pulled the fkn blower off again , swapped out the injectors & put it all back together again , all in about 40 mins. 

I left him with instructions to set the timing , if needed adjust the fuel pressure & let me know the outcome.

 

6 weeks after dropping the car off i got a call. "Ah you can pick the car up. I can't fix it. I think the problem is in the chip ."

 

I did drive it home. It wanted to stall at every set of lights . From idle it has a HUGE flat spot. Tickle it like Elmo & once it's over the flat spot , it goes like a rocket ship. 

 

So what now ? I guess i will try to swap the old chip back in & see if it makes any difference. If it does , then the problem is the chip. If it doesn't , then i'll swap out the throttle body. 

 

Then i'm out of ideas again. 

[rodomo]

Well i completely ran out of ideas. 

I bit the bullet & took the car to a local speed shop.  (not the chemical kind) 

 

They insisted that the large injectors should be in the car because that;s what the memcal is programmed to . Made sense. 

 

So he cleaned up the injectors (they all passed) , i then loaded my toolbox up & went to his shop & pulled the fkn blower off again , swapped out the injectors & put it all back together again , all in about 40 mins. 

I left him with instructions to set the timing , if needed adjust the fuel pressure & let me know the outcome.

 

6 weeks after dropping the car off i got a call. "Ah you can pick the car up. I can't fix it. I think the problem is in the chip ."

 

I did drive it home. It wanted to stall at every set of lights . From idle it has a HUGE flat spot. Tickle it like Elmo & once it's over the flat spot , it goes like a rocket ship. 

 

So what now ? I guess i will try to swap the old chip back in & see if it makes any difference. If it does , then the problem is the chip. If it doesn't , then i'll swap out the throttle body. 

 

Then i'm out of ideas again. 

Sounds like a vacuum leak?

[Bigfella237]

Sounds like a vacuum leak?

Could be over-fueling too? (Could be a dozen things really!)

 

Any idea what the AFR is doing when it plays up?

[rodomo]

Could be over-fueling too? (Could be a dozen things really!)

 

Any idea what the AFR is doing when it plays up?

I get that, these days though, everyone looks at the hi-tech stuff before the basics.

[Statler]

That's the first thing i checked Rob. 

All of the lines are in good condition. 

[yel327]

Well i completely ran out of ideas. 

I bit the bullet & took the car to a local speed shop.  (not the chemical kind) 

 

They insisted that the large injectors should be in the car because that;s what the memcal is programmed to . Made sense. 

 

So he cleaned up the injectors (they all passed) , i then loaded my toolbox up & went to his shop & pulled the fkn blower off again , swapped out the injectors & put it all back together again , all in about 40 mins. 

I left him with instructions to set the timing , if needed adjust the fuel pressure & let me know the outcome.

 

6 weeks after dropping the car off i got a call. "Ah you can pick the car up. I can't fix it. I think the problem is in the chip ."

 

I did drive it home. It wanted to stall at every set of lights . From idle it has a HUGE flat spot. Tickle it like Elmo & once it's over the flat spot , it goes like a rocket ship. 

 

So what now ? I guess i will try to swap the old chip back in & see if it makes any difference. If it does , then the problem is the chip. If it doesn't , then i'll swap out the throttle body. 

 

Then i'm out of ideas again. 

 

I remember when we put an injected 308 into my mate's WB cab-chassis with a Muncie. It was all VP top end, harness and EUC/memcal. It kept stalling at a stop sign or traffic lights when you put the clutch in and idled it. Turned out to be a dodgy MAP sensor. Changed it and it was all good. Might be a stupid question, have you got the right MAP sensor for a blown application?

[Statler]

The blower is a YellaTerra kit. It doesn't require any upgrades from the stock GM set up. It's basically a straight bolt on kit that uses the stock ECU & MAP. 

It is designed as a straight bolt on for VN /P 5L engines.

 

But here's the curve ball , it's not designed for the VT engine , & it is probably too small for the 355. 

 

2 reasons i can think off as to why it doesn't fit VT . 1/ The supplied intake manifold fouls on the lifter retainer plate ( which i overcome by fitting tie bar lifters ) , 2/ The VT runs a serpentine belt . 

[yel327]

The blower is a YellaTerra kit. It doesn't require any upgrades from the stock GM set up. It's basically a straight bolt on kit that uses the stock ECU & MAP. 

It is designed as a straight bolt on for VN /P 5L engines.

 

But here's the curve ball , it's not designed for the VT engine , & it is probably too small for the 355. 

 

2 reasons i can think off as to why it doesn't fit VT . 1/ The supplied intake manifold fouls on the lifter retainer plate ( which i overcome by fitting tie bar lifters ) , 2/ The VT runs a serpentine belt . 

 

Are you certain it doesn't require a boosted MAP sensor? When I put an Eaton/Magnusson blower on my Hilux it required a different sensor as the standard one was referenced to atmosphere.