Getting closer........

[Jim Nilsen]

Jim,
Sorry I did not return your call, I was out of town all weekend with spotty cell service. Any updates?

Matt

P.S. I had a leak on my 4th gen pan at a repair weld. Cleaned it up and wiped it with a small dab of silicone, I know kind of back woods, but it did the trick.

Hi Matt, the leak in the pan turned out to be a star washer stopping the bolt from fully going down and sealing the threads up. The radius is very tight and you couldn't even get a socket on it and the open end wrench couldn't get it down either. I replaced it with an ARP bolt with the smaller head and it went all the way in and sealed. the pic and the black spot on the inside of the pan while inspecting it led me to think it was a hole. The oil coming down the side of the pan was invisible it was so thin and I didn't even see it while under the car but I just happened to touch the side of the pan in the right spot and felt it was slippery. A lucky find before I had all the other bolts off and the pan off.

I didn't have any luck with the new 6a box and coil but the builder gave me a couple more wild ideas to check and while going over them I found a loose rotor. It is so loose it is rocking and able to go back and forth about 20 degrees but it didn't ever seem to hit the terminals yet but hey had to be very close. I never saw a rotor get like that and it happened so fast it seems. The strange thing is that when I measured the slot that the rotor aligns itself on it is at least .050 wider than the rotor tab, so it could move back and forth if it isn't tight on the post it mounts on. It was always real tight when I got it but when I installed it the last time it went on easy but I didn't think anything of it and it really wasn't anywhere loose like it is now. I was excited about being so close to firing it up and it is something that has never been a problem before in all the years I have R&R them. very strange as to why it did it? It also explains why I couldn't see the problem and who would have thought it was the rotor if that is what the problem is. it could just be another one of the coincidences that was another problem ready to happen.

So hopefully it is the simple thing and it will all be good with a new one. It also would explain why it might run 10 seconds one time and ten minutes the next because reving it and a bump could have made it move.

I will feel so relieved and stupid at the same time as to not have noticed it and we will all have to add a bad rotor to the list for those who have one. You guys with cam and crank sensors have it so lucky. It sure was hard to miss it when I took it of this last time.

All in all the new engine runs great and has a whole bunch more torque. The builder told me that it is more than likely due to the longer rods than the heads. It is also much more fuel efficient if the VE table changes are any indication, all the values are less across the whole spectrum and my accelleration tables are off now too because of it.

My laptop power cord crapped out and the disc player also crapped out on it too. I have a new laptop coming and I hope windows 7 is a lot better than vista.

This is becoming really expensive lately and if anyone thinks they are going to spend less money once the car is on the road and going to the track or autox they are in for a big surprise. I was able to build it over a lot of years on very little money and to have fun with it is going to cost more but that is where all the fun is, Damn.