57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

I wish you the best with it. They're pretty good dudes, hopefully they'll get it straightened out.

Thanks, Chip. I got a call from Rick yesterday evening with an update. They discovered that the FITech program in the ECU had no values set for the trans. They input some basic parameters and got the line pressure where it should be and the transmission now seems to be working. They'll know more when they go for a test drive.

The throttle position sensor wasn't working, so they had to replace it. After doing that, they discovered the throttle cable was only opening to 78%. When they adjusted it, the ferrule on the end popped off, so they had to order a new cable which should be in today. They set the ride height to the specs in the RS chassis manual which will allow them to align the front end. Then it's off to Belton for tuning on the chassis dyno. I'm hoping I'll have a running, driving car in the not too distant future.

[mongocanfly]

Good deal

[Low Elco]

Whooo Whooo! Good news! Who's tuning in Belton?

[Ol Blue K20]

Some good news!!!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Good deal

Yes it is, Greg!

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Whooo Whooo! Good news! Who's tuning in Belton?

You bet, Chip. Tuner in Belton is Todd Knight. Drag races on weekends so he only works Mon-Thurs. Pretty good gig if you ask me.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Some good news!!!

Finally, Dale, I was beginning to get worried this whole deal was fixing to get even more expensive. They have it ready for front end alignment on Monday and tuning after that.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Yes it is, Greg!

You bet, Chip. Tuner in Belton is Todd Knight. Drag races on weekends so he only works Mon-Thurs. Pretty good gig if you ask me.

Finally, Dale, I was beginning to get worried this whole deal was fixing to get even more expensive. They have it ready for front end alignment on Monday and tuning after that.

Woo hoo!!! Sounds like you'll be driving it soon!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Woo hoo!!! Sounds like you'll be driving it soon!

Rainy weather has us in a holding pattern, Dale. Thought we might get a couple of days come this Monday and Tuesday, but the closer we get the crappier the forecast.

I went down to HRE today and spent the morning putting a radius on the edges of the holes feeding the idle air control. There was one hole with a big burr on it from the machining process that was tough to reach but I got it. From what I've read, smoothing those edges can reduce the whistle in the IAC significantly. The car was covered up and right in the middle of the shop, so I was reluctant to start it up and see if it made a difference.

There's a drilled hole that has me wondering though. Most aftermarket throttle bodies have a tube pressed into the TB that intersects the smaller hole located in front of the throttle blade. It would appear the tube is meant to be a vent for crankcase ventilation. However, mine is plugged with a pipe plug. Which means as air flows over the opening, it's like blowing across the top of a test tube. And we all know what kind of noise that makes. I went ahead and put a radius around the edge of that hole, but I'm thinking I may need to seal it off entirely.

I ended up with a few small places where the Dremel tool skated on me a little, but nothing serious. It's a bit nerve wracking, though.

[Ol Blue K20]

Let's hope it works. Those burrs surprise me, I would of figured they would be cleaned up before being sold.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Let's hope it works. Those burrs surprise me, I would of figured they would be cleaned up before being sold.

Me too, Dale. One of my best buds owned a precision machine shop and he always said you can tell the quality of a shop by the way they deburr their parts.

No luck so far getting the car to the tuner. Not entirely sure he wants to mess with it. We had a nice day yesterday, but he said one of his racing buddies needed some work done so he gave away my spot. Decided to go ahead and drive it home now that the trans problem is pretty much sorted. It handled and rode great on the drive home, but once I got into stop and go traffic, the temp gauge crept up above 200+. When I got home, I popped the hood with the engine still running only to find the fans weren't working. Pulled the relay module today and found a bad connection. But while I was at it, I rewired the relays for a conventional two relay setup. Now each relay operates a single fan at full speed rather than both at half or full speed like before. One less gizmo to fail somewhere down the road. The radius work I did on the IAC openings seemed to help a bit. I still need to tape over the unused vacuum port and see if that quiets it down even more.

HRE was unable to get the AC system to hold vacuum. They traced the problem to the seal around the compressor shaft. They ordered a new compressor from Vintage Air but I'll need to set it up in the mill to remove one of the mounting ears. It's in the way of the block that attaches to the fittings with the service ports. Glad I decided to do it myself as the labor is free.

They left the line pressure gauge taped to the windshield for the drive home. They want it on there when it eventually gets to the tuner. There's still a small amount of flutter in the pressure in 1,2 and 3 but it's a steady 200 psi in overdrive. They ended up putting an extra quart and a half in it to get the pressures to settle down. Prior to that the needle on the gauge was all over the map. Most of the trans settings in the program are defaults, so I'm hoping the guy doing the tuning can make it even better.

[nsb29]

When you have a complete build you always have some issues but you have had your share that’s for sure. I have a three relay set up on my fans with the AC on they both run on low and you hardly hear them I left it idling in the driveway with
ac on The other day to see if I can get the high-speed fans to come on, they were LOUD

[Vic1947]

Reduced fan noise was the reason I had the three relay setup to start with. I may have been a bit hasty to throw it under the bus, but at this point, anything I can do to simplify my life takes precedence. I did leave the third relay in the module box, so if the noise gets on my nerves, I can rearrange the wiring and be back to the original scheme.

[Ol Blue K20]

I'm glad we're getting the problems solved. Little bit at a time and it will get done!

[Vic1947]

I've arrived at a crossroads of sorts. This past week, I drove the car home, and while it was mostly fine, it was not entirely without issues. I comforted myself by believing the small problems would be solved by the tuner. To prepare for the session with the tuner, I attached my laptop to the FITech hand held controller to download the necessary program drivers for the ProCal software. Somehow in all of that, I overwrote the changes the guys at Hot Rod Express had made to the ECU calibration and now the car won't start. I used the hand held controller to reenter as many of the parameters as I could remember, but no luck. Engine just backfires when you crank it and refuses to start.

As the problems with the engine and transmission have multiplied, I've become disenchanted with the whole computer controlled / EFI thing. I've told more than one person I should have had my head examined for going this route after the issues I had with the GM Connect & Cruise package in my truck build. This is even worse because of the scarcity of people familiar with FITech around here. I get the feeling the drag racing guy down in Belton that's supposed to know how to tune these setups isn't all that interested in my deal.

Furthermore, I've come to the conclusion I'm too old to acquire and retain the knowledge needed to properly setup a system like what I have on the wagon right now. There are just too many landmines that lead to poor performance or outright failure. Like Dirty Harry famously said, "A man's gotta know his limitations." And more than anything, I hate having to rely on others for help.

So I'm thinking the time has come to throw in the towel on the FITech/4L70E. I think I can convert to MSD/Holley intake/FST carb/TH700R4 and peddle the parts I take off. With any luck, I might almost break even on the exchange and end up with a system I can work on without being at the mercy of others.

The EFI setup looks nice, but that's about the only thing it has going for it.

[mongocanfly]

Oh my...

[Ol Blue K20]

I feel for you Vic. I don't understand that stuff either. But don't let it get ya down, you'll will prevail....

[Vic1947]

I've calmed down a little from my original post and figured it was worth a try to contact FITech and see if I can get a known good calibration file. If they don't want to do that, I'm ready to pull the trigger on all the parts I need to convert to a carb. Once I hear back from FITech, if I do decide to go the carb route, I need to decide on the trans. Hot Rod Express has a good relationship with a trans shop locally and it would be nice if I could get a trade in allowance on the 4L70E and converter and swap for a 700R4. If that won't work, I can do a standalone TCU to control the 4L70E. Will see which way the wind blows tomorrow.

I've attached a photo of the spark plugs, before and after cleaning. All eight were nasty black. Obviously running way too rich.

[Vic1947]

The service tech from Hot Rod Express that worked on my transmission shift problem at their shop made a house call yesterday. He spent a couple of hours going over all the ECU settings but had no luck getting the engine to start. He did determine that the idle air control wasn't working properly. It is supposed to be set to 100 while cranking the engine. Then after the engine starts and warms up, it should idle with a value between 5 and 10. Instead, it just stays on 245 which is full open and creates a giant vacuum leak. We also noticed the valve was making a high frequency squeal when the key was on. We unplugged it and the noise stopped so we're sure it was coming from the IAC valve. The folks at FITech said there's no good way to bench test them but recommended that I remove the valve from the throttle body and hold the pintle while someone turned the key on and off. The plunger should move in and out slightly when doing this. Well, it moved alright and came apart completely. Ohio Speed said they had several IAC's do the exact same thing. So they're sending me a new one.

I'm not sure if this will fix the problem, but it's a start. I still have all the parts I need to switch over to a carb just waiting on my wish list. We'll see how this goes. We had planned to go to the lake for a cruise in next week and meet up with one of my best friends I've known for over 50 years. Had to call him today and postpone to July. This better be fixed by then or I won't have any hair left.

[Low Elco]

What in the shadangers?! I'm sorry you're having such issues, Vic. I'd help if I could.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

What in the shadangers?! I'm sorry you're having such issues, Vic. I'd help if I could.

I appreciate the offer, Chip. Taking it one step at a time right now. If this IAC valve doesn't do the trick, something else will.

[Ol Blue K20]

This sucks, I hope the new valve helps...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

This sucks, I hope the new valve helps...

I hoped so too, Dale, but no luck. It appears the driver side coils are firing normally while cranking, but there's no fire on the passenger side. I called FITech yesterday and got a RMA number to send the ECU and hand held back to be reset to the factory defaults.

However it turns out, I've decided to forge ahead with my backup plan and remove the EFI setup entirely. I've ordered a Holley dual plane, dual quad manifold and a pair of 600 cfm carbs as well as all the other gizmos I'll need to control the trans, ignition and cooling fans. When I get the factory reconditioned parts back from FITech, I'll see if I can sell the whole kit and caboodle on fleabay.

This dog's gonna hunt if it's the last thing I do.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I hoped so too, Dale, but no luck. It appears the driver side coils are firing normally while cranking, but there's no fire on the passenger side. I called FITech yesterday and got a RMA number to send the ECU and hand held back to be reset to the factory defaults.

However it turns out, I've decided to forge ahead with my backup plan and remove the EFI setup entirely. I've ordered a Holley dual plane, dual quad manifold and a pair of 600 cfm carbs as well as all the other gizmos I'll need to control the trans, ignition and cooling fans. When I get the factory reconditioned parts back from FITech, I'll see if I can sell the whole kit and caboodle on fleabay.

This dog's gonna hunt if it's the last thing I do.

I'm sorry it didn't work out. But, I'm glad you're gonna be persistent and not give up! I hope plan B works out for ya!

[mongocanfly]

X2 to what Dale said

[Vic1947]

The MSD LS series ignition control arrived today. Got busy installing it and right away ran into a problem. The harness they supply that reads the crank and cam positions has a plug that's supposed to go directly into the cam sensor. The problem with this is that the actual cam sensor is positioned in a totally inaccessible spot behind the FEAD and below the water pump. GM ran a pigtail with a steel shield from the sensor to an accessible spot down near the harmonic balancer. But apparently, MSD in their infinite wisdom decided not to use that plug. You can buy the correct plug (shown on the right in the photo below) so I'm at a loss as to why they would make it so difficult on the end user. I spent a half hour on hold with Holley trying to confirm it would be acceptable to splice the correct plug onto their harness before finally giving up. Will try later tonight when maybe they aren't so busy.

The way things are going, I'm fairly sure they'll tell me splicing in the correct plug will void the warranty and possibly lead to the apocalypse. Regardless, I already have the correct plug on the way.

[mongocanfly]

Dang