3.3SS rebuild finally underway..........

[fred cook]

Yep, skipped posting a day. When I cranked the engine yesterday, I got lots of oil pressure! I also got some "substantial" oil leaks. I believe they are either the oil cooler seals or the internal thermostat seals. The only way to really know and fix is to pull the engine back out. Sooooooo, this afternoon I got everything loose except the axles and the clutch linkage. I will take care of them in the morning and do the drop then. My plan is to seal off the port for the large threaded oil line (pressure line) and simply turn the S hose up so that it will hold some oil in the block. Then, spin the engine over a bit while it is on the ATV jack and see just where the oil is escaping. Make the repairs and test again. Etc. At least I am getting good at pulling and installing the drivetrain! Might come in handy some day!!!

Later,

[Lapkritis]

Can pull the oil cooler with engine in the car. Or just pull engine and leave trans alone. Just food for thought. With as fast as you work either way is fine I imagine.

[fred cook]

Think I found the leak. I went ahead and pulled the engine and tranny back out so that I could see all the potential oil leak spots. I had made a short list of what I thought was leaking including the internal thermostat, the oil light sender, the oil cooler and the rear main seal. After getting the engine out, there was no sign of leakage on the top of the engine which eliminated the thermostat and the oil pressure sender. I used a rubber cork to seal up the pressure line that goes to the external oil cooler. To make certain that the cork did not shoot across the shop I used a battery terminal puller as a clamp to hold it all together. Added about 4 more qts. of oil and connected a battery to the starter and let it turn over a bit. No oil leak. Spin it some more, and then some more, etc. No oil leak. It appears that the leak was coming from the external pressure line (the one that I corked) rather than from somewhere else! The fitting must not have seated properly when I put it together. The good news, is that the issue appears to be identified if not fixed. The bad news is that I could have taken care of that without pulling the engine! Since I had the engine out anyway, I verified that the leads going to the various senders were correct and hot to the master plug. The connector for the oil pressure light sender fell off while I was testing it. Apparently the wire was broken inside the insulation. I put a new connector on that wire so there should not be any more problems with it for a while. I have a couple more checks to do in the morning and then the drivetrain goes back in. Maybe the third time will be a charm!

[gsxrken]

Great thread, even if I have to rotate the ipad to view many of the pics in the correct orientation. Thanks for taking the time to post; its posts like these that reassure many of us that a garage rebuild can be done... with time and patience and maybe perseverance, but it can be done.
Looking forward to a YouTube video of first drive!

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by gsxrken

Great thread, even if I have to rotate the ipad to view many of the pics in the correct orientation. Thanks for taking the time to post; its posts like these that reassure many of us that a garage rebuild can be done... with time and patience and maybe perseverance, but it can be done.
Looking forward to a YouTube video of first drive!

The pictures that appear upside down were take on my iPhone 4S. They appear right side up on a PC but upside down on my iPhone and other related devices. Don't know why this is happening! If anyone has a solution, I'd love to hear it!!

[Flat6Heaven]

Just caught up on the past weeks' worth of work... Very impressive!

Looking forward to the startup and post run-in videos.

Fingers crossed!!!!!!

[fred cook]

While I had the engine out on the ATV jack I decided to do a compression check. Pulled the top spark plugs and blocked the throttle open. All 6 cylinders registered 160 psi on the compression gauge! And that is on an engine that has not run yet! The 160 should be a good number for the 10:1 compression ratio, but I was happier with the fact that all cylinders pulled the same numbers. After playing with the compression gauge, I got busy putting the engine back in the chassis and making the small connections in the engine compartment. I still have to do the small stuff under the car (clutch, throttle, axles, etc.). That should take an hour or less to finish up. Then we will see if I can make this sucker fire up!

[KTL]

Just get the engine back in there and hook up the basics to do the initial fire-up and observation/check for leaks. No need to hook up the clutch, axles if you have to take it out again. Already put yourself thru that once, don't do it again!

Just make sure the trans is in neutral...... So that'd be one "unnecessary" thing i'd hook up- shift rod/coupler.

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by KTL

Just get the engine back in there and hook up the basics to do the initial fire-up and observation/check for leaks. No need to hook up the clutch, axles if you have to take it out again. Already put yourself thru that once, don't do it again!

Just make sure the trans is in neutral...... So that'd be one "unnecessary" thing i'd hook up- shift rod/coupler.

and I appreciate the feedback. However, I am certain enough that I found the problem that I went ahead and stuck it all back together. At this point in time, I can unbutton everything and drop the engine/tranny in a couple of hours! It's amazing what a little On The Job Training will do for one's abilities! I do think that I am going to buy a remote starter switch so that I can crank and watch at the same time! Probably a good $15 investment. If all goes well, it should "speak" before the weekend is out!

[Lapkritis]

I double-quadruple checked everything on mine before start up. Cranked longer than I expected while filling the carbs... the extra once-over a few times is helpful. I went over my distributor timing/firing order 3 times for example... put the rotor on #4 and Z1 after turning over once with the chain covers on and got it. Good luck - lots of fun.

[fred cook]

Spent most of today working a Taekwondo training camp. Kind of a long tiring day, but very satisfying to see students progress!

After supper, I went out to the shop to take care of a couple of items. I had realized earlier that I had not verified that I was getting spark from the XDi ignition system. So, I pulled one of the bottom plugs (easiest to access), hooked up my remote starter switch and let it crank over a few times and short to the block. Sure enough, nice white/blue lightning bolts happened! Using the same plug, I pulled one of the top plug leads and repeated the process with the same results. Nice to know that is working properly! I've got some parts ordered from our host which won't be here for a couple of days, so I guess that I will let it "rest" until the goody box arrives! More later.

[fred cook]

Fired it up for the first time tonight at about 5:00. While bleeding the fuel lines, I found a couple of leaks. Fixed them, mopped up the gas and hit the starter. Tried to start a couple of times and then fired right up. Opened the throttle to 2K and let it run for 20 minutes. Oil pressure light went out and the gauge was showing 3 bar(s) of pressure at 2,000 rpms. I've got video, but I believe the file is too large to post.

[Lapkritis]

Nice work.

Youtube.com is good for hosting video.

[iiXii]

Really nice post
Thanks !

[Flat6Heaven]

Great news, congratulations!

Looking forward to reading about your CIS mods' performance.

TIA,
Ben.

[Kemo]

Were you planning on getting this engine dynoed? I would be very interested in the results of that. Great build and thanks for taking the time to document all of this

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by Kemo

Were you planning on getting this engine dynoed? I would be very interested in the results of that. Great build and thanks for taking the time to document all of this

Yes, after some break in miles. I have a friend in the Atlanta area that has access to a chassis dyno.

[fred cook]

Just as soon as I finish up a few last items and actually get to drive this thing, I will spend some time sharing what I did with the CIS system. I need to make sure that it works before I go spilling the beans about it!

Originally Posted by Flat6Heaven

Great news, congratulations!

Looking forward to reading about your CIS mods' performance.

TIA,
Ben.

[Flat6Heaven]

Well, your plan was already pretty much laid out in an older "CIS" thread. You have obviously put a lot of thought into it and I can appreciate your wanting to verify actual functionality before sharing the concept.

However it may work out, kudos for following your own road. Very inspiring!

[PFM]

Fred,

Great job all around! I am sure you were smiling when you got it running. Looking forward to the CIS mods as well.