'99 Firebird
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Me too. I thought it was a drop-in. Maybe he had to have something else milled?
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Some companies machine the sun gear to give better flow to the rear planetaries, so maybe he went to have that done? :dunno:
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Oh yeah, I got the car back. It's still making noises (although the primary scraping sound is gone from the trans, it's still making bad noises). I need to put it up in the air again and repeat the mechanic stethoscope inspection to see if it's the transmission (still), rear end, or something else that is making noise. The only thing making the noise as far as I can tell is the transmission (due to what was changed over time and what wasn't).
Depends on what look you're going for. Let me know what style you prefer (white, amber, or combination) on my visitor message page and I'll get you a recommendation...
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Hmm.. Where to start.
I narrowed down the noise to the torque converter using HP Tuners.
Then the oil PSI when hot dropped to the point where the "Check Gauges" light came on, and the motor made a light "tack" sound every 3-4 seconds. The oil pressure when cold is okay but would slowly drop down as the engine warmed up to operating temp. That was in early December 2012. I immediately parked it and towed it to my parents garage in the desert where I did the forged 347 build. It's been sitting until now, when I threw it on jack stands and did an inspection. The noise is coming from inside the shortblock/combustion chamber from the front of the passenger side cylinder head (verified by using a mechanics stethoscope on the header primaries). It's not a pulley as far as I can tell. 99% sure it's a main/rod bearing or possibly something bad in the valvetrain. Took off the valve cover and everything felt like it was under the proper tension.
On the bright side, the only thing I want to do to it within the next year and a half is make it run well and install the Procharger. All future appearance items can wait (custom spoiler, TA sideskirts, repaint, interior). Priority is on engine, trans, and Procharger.
The girlfriend & winter stuff & my Jeep has been taking a lot of my time lately. Going to be doing final troubleshooting before dropping the motor (to make sure it's not a sensor or a pulley) and then dropping the motor if it isn't an external issue (like a pulley combined with a failing aftermarket oil cooler thermostat), the weekend of March 9th with a few friends.
If the motor is done for, I'll probably be going 383 unless I have enough money in the bank at once to go with a larger-displacement forged aluminum build.
Will take lots of pics and keep you folks updated... Also, I got a sweet wide angle lens for my DSLR, so expect some decent shots with this build (if it happens).
I narrowed down the noise to the torque converter using HP Tuners.
Then the oil PSI when hot dropped to the point where the "Check Gauges" light came on, and the motor made a light "tack" sound every 3-4 seconds. The oil pressure when cold is okay but would slowly drop down as the engine warmed up to operating temp. That was in early December 2012. I immediately parked it and towed it to my parents garage in the desert where I did the forged 347 build. It's been sitting until now, when I threw it on jack stands and did an inspection. The noise is coming from inside the shortblock/combustion chamber from the front of the passenger side cylinder head (verified by using a mechanics stethoscope on the header primaries). It's not a pulley as far as I can tell. 99% sure it's a main/rod bearing or possibly something bad in the valvetrain. Took off the valve cover and everything felt like it was under the proper tension.
On the bright side, the only thing I want to do to it within the next year and a half is make it run well and install the Procharger. All future appearance items can wait (custom spoiler, TA sideskirts, repaint, interior). Priority is on engine, trans, and Procharger.
The girlfriend & winter stuff & my Jeep has been taking a lot of my time lately. Going to be doing final troubleshooting before dropping the motor (to make sure it's not a sensor or a pulley) and then dropping the motor if it isn't an external issue (like a pulley combined with a failing aftermarket oil cooler thermostat), the weekend of March 9th with a few friends.
If the motor is done for, I'll probably be going 383 unless I have enough money in the bank at once to go with a larger-displacement forged aluminum build.
Will take lots of pics and keep you folks updated... Also, I got a sweet wide angle lens for my DSLR, so expect some decent shots with this build (if it happens).
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Since May of 2011. Car started life as a v6/4L60E Y87 car, just like mine. Swapped in an LS1 in August of 2009. LS1 perished and a forged 347 arose. Now there may be problems with the 347 and a 383 may rise from the ashes. Poor Lee. Keeps going through motors. On the other hand, they keep getting more and more badass as he goes
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Dude, Lee honestly has some shit luck when it comes to cars, it's weird. One the one hand, he's a lucky SOB with some things, but on the other, he still gets ****ed in the end some way or another. Can't help but almost feel bad for the poor bastard. Almost.
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Yea, his car is badass and that's from a personal experience! He's always having tranny problems though... Imagine how many transmission he will mess up as soon as he every gets around to installing his pro charger that he has been holding off for a very long time.y87bird00 said:
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I know you've also met Lee and seen his car in person, even I have to admit it's pretty damn clean for what it is.
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Thanks Snipez, saved me from a lot of typing. lol.
Not sure yet. Once I know for sure what needs to be replaced, I'll make a game plan.
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Dropped the engine and pulled the heads:
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and inspected the forward-most lifter on the passenger side (where the noise was coming from) and found:
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then looked at the corresponding cam lobe and saw:
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So it looks like some metal got into the oil system and chewed up the lifter closest to the oil pump outlet. Chances are high that it's a bearing. Was going to throw it in the trunk of my dads car to drop off at the shop that built the shortblock but after measuring determined that with the heads removed and oil pan attached, it is about 1" too tall, and I didn't want to remove the oil pan just to get it to fit.
So now, it sits while I figure out whether to go Procharged aluminum 383 (re-use some parts) or Procharged 6.0 iron block (pretty much start from scratch again).
and inspected the forward-most lifter on the passenger side (where the noise was coming from) and found:
then looked at the corresponding cam lobe and saw:
So it looks like some metal got into the oil system and chewed up the lifter closest to the oil pump outlet. Chances are high that it's a bearing. Was going to throw it in the trunk of my dads car to drop off at the shop that built the shortblock but after measuring determined that with the heads removed and oil pan attached, it is about 1" too tall, and I didn't want to remove the oil pan just to get it to fit.
So now, it sits while I figure out whether to go Procharged aluminum 383 (re-use some parts) or Procharged 6.0 iron block (pretty much start from scratch again).
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