Started tearing it down (It's Alive!)

[myfirstbonnie]

I think I'll replace this part:



Timing chain tensioner with 131, 000 miles on it. Chain had a lot of slop in it. I think that had a little to do with the rough idle I was having.

[Pontiacdad]

Nice pic, makes me wonder about my own tensioner

[clm2112]

I think I'll replace this part:

Probably a good idea

That, plus 100k+ of chain stretch is probably worth a few degrees of retarded cam timing.

[myfirstbonnie]

Ready for assembly tomorrow.



Only going to get the pan and front cover on tomorrow. A little more work before I get the intake ready.
Filter adapter has to wait until Wednesday when the Intense kit arrives.

[willwren]

Wow, Series 1 and 2 tensioners are ALOT better than that.

We've got a hardened steel shoe preloaded by a spring (never wear out). Lookin' good, Matt.

[crzydmnd72]

Wow, cleaned and painted! Looks pretty.

Can the S1 and 2 tensioners be retrofitted to LN3?

In both my wife's Bonne, and my brothers Lesabre, the tensioners were about twice as long, no wear, but made of the same plasticy nylon stuff.

[myfirstbonnie]

When I purchased mine I found that the same one fits 87 to 94. They changed the design of the LN3 to match the series 1. The only difference is that on the earlier LN3 there was a change to the bolt hole. It was either chamfered or it was countersunk. The actual damper was the same.

New style:

[myfirstbonnie]

Found another issue that I did not notice while tearing it down. The TB gasket was installed incorrectly. Notice the tab on the stud to the left in this picture there is also an offset of the bores:



This is what it stamped into the gasket:



Now I am not a college grad (yet), but this is not the top, but is the rear of the engine. I tried every way to put it on and there is only one way it lines up with the bore of the TB and the EGR adapter:

[Alibi]

Wow.... thats kinda hard to put that gasket on wrong with the labels and the overall fit. I wonder if whoever put it on at the factory (or whoever tore it down last) had a few too many brewskis at that point...

[myfirstbonnie]

The gasket was actually labelled wrong. The bottom is actually labelled as the top. If you look at the curvature of the stamp it looks like it was stamped upside down. The arrow is pointing to the top of the throttle body.

[myfirstbonnie]

Slowly getting there. Should have remaining parts ordered this weekend. There are a lot of dried out grommets that I will need to order. The good thing is they are still available. Here is the progress so far:

[crzydmnd72]

was the belt tensioner always that clean or did you scrub it up too?

[myfirstbonnie]

I always kept it as clean as I could without removing it, but you would not believe the dirt and grime down in the nether regions. All better now. Here is a before picture. I didn't own it very long when this was taken. As you can see this was before the ignition swap.

[myfirstbonnie]

Well, after chasing down grommets, I have started the reassembly. Need to finish up the alternator and then the TB and that end. Here are the pictures with the cover on the engine. The fuel rail is already installed underneath.

I did some painting, so feel free to critique it.

Before:



In progress:










And then I must go to work, so assembly is halted until tomorrow.

[Echo SSEI]

I think it looks, great Matt.

Very nice!

[myfirstbonnie]

Well, it is running. Sounds pretty good too. It took a few starts and stops to get the air out of the power steering, but here is a video of the first run to come up to temp. No lights on the dash at all. Here is the video:

[wjcollier07]

Omg! You just made me want to cry with that video..I miss my 89 so much.

That thing sounds brand spanking new! Excellent dead on, quick throttle response and an excellent, even exhaust tone.

Outstanding! Excellent job!

[Pontiacdad]

Sounds real good Matt, you did a nice job under the hood too

[crzydmnd72]

That whole car is in nice shape for its age. Sounds just like ours here, just looks 10 times better

Nice work!

[myfirstbonnie]

Thanks guys, I wanted to take my time and do it right. The older gen seems to be fading and I want to keep this one going for a long time. Thanks to the northwest I don't have a lot of rust on it.

I think the next thing will be the FE2 suspension parts. Other than that, front tires, brakes all around and then here before long it will need a tranny job.