'01 SSEi...lives! (Vid pg 6)

[SSEiMan01]

Can't wait to see what you do Brad! FWIW aftermarket headlights will not have Bonneville written on them.

[sandrock]

That's what I was afraid of. The driver side light should be ok once it's all sanded and polished up. Passenger side....there's no point in trying to make it look decent. I'll use it as a test subject for...HID projector refit maybe.

Dropped the block off at the machine shop today. They do align honing too, so I told them to do it along with a nice hot bath and new cam bearings. They'll check the bores and if they are in spec they'll refinish for moly rings. If they need boring, they'll let me know.

[sandrock]

Started tearing into the motor that's in the car. I didn't have to get very far

I haven't even got to the LIM yet.

Wanna know?????
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Whoever took the supercharger off the last time didn't replace the gaskets or o-rings. It had a gasket, but was ripped in several spots, and the PCV portion wasn't sealed, which explains why there was so much blowby. It was eating coolant, but not much. It was causing a huge vacuum leak too. Could I save the engine? Probably, but I'll never trust it. I'll probably rebuild this one too, but just a stock rebuild.

I have pics on my netbook, I'll post them up later.

[00Beast]

Did you pull the engine out? If you didn't, I'd see what a set of LIM's and an S/C gasket would do, even if it's just so you can move the car around while you're working on it till the rebuilt engine is done, and do some driving to see if it has any other issues. Just my $.02...

[sandrock]

It's not out, but it's pretty close to it. The entire front end is off the car (partially to replace busted and bent pieces, but some to make it easier for me to remove the engine in a cramped area). I'm milking the job, I've been wrenching on it for an hour or so the days I feel like working on it.

[00Beast]

Just for *shoot* and giggles, you should just get some cheapie plastic LIM gaskets and a S/C gasket and see how it runs before you yank it...

[sandrock]

Pics of where I'm at with this....

[harofreak00]

Are you sure that it didn't rip when you removed the supercharger? Being soaked in coolant is normal, and causes the gasket to deteriorate.

[sandrock]

Positive it didn't rip. The front bolts were barely tight enough on there, and the whole assembly came off with NO effort. Also, take a look at the gasket itself. That white stuff is corrosion, which wouldn't be there if the 'charger was properly sealed to the LIM. The ports on that gasket also show bad sealing.

[harofreak00]

I've seen that corrosion on almost every supercharger I've taken off. I have 6 on the shelf right now, all have that.

[sandrock]

I know the front (snout) portion doesn't seal after the outlet going into the LIM. I'm talking about just at the edge of the outlet on the TB side, on the corners. Those vaccum and PCV ports aren't in the best of shape, and that's exactly how I found them.

[sandrock]

After milking it for several weeks, I finally got the old motor out of the car. Here's what I've learned:

1) That front engine mount was born, raised, and trained in hell. It's an upside-down torque axis mount, and I think it actually uses one of the bosses that the old 95-99 TAM used.

2) That front fuse/relay box is a nifty idea.

3) So are those black plastic ground blocks.

4) So are those quick disconnect transmission lines.

5) That power steering cooling loop is a joke.

6) That reversed transmission bolt is still a b***h.

Looks like what did this engine in was Gomer mechanics. In addition to what I found earlier, the rear valve cover gasket was pinched out, causing a huge leak. And remember that oil pan? The one that had about 3/8" layer of jb weld? It was hiding a 3" crack caused by Mr. Gomer using it as a jacking point

So, that leaves me parting this motor out. I'll sell off the heads, lower intake, and the supercharger from the other motor, as well as this block. I'll take the rotating assembly from this one since it hadn't spun any bearings and just have the crank polished and balance checked. The "new" heads are ready to be picked up, so I'll pick those up Friday.

This weekend, the car comes out of the garage so I can clean the snot out of the engine bay. It's rather nasty...a combination of crude, oklahoma dirt, leaves, and other surprises. Might take off the fenders too.

[00Beast]

For clarification, the oil pan IS a factory jacking point, but it clearly states you need to use a block of wood to spread the load out. Likely someone threw the jack underneath and went to town...

[myfirstbonnie]

I NEVER jack from the oil pan. To me, the sub frame is right there and much safer. The only time I had a jack on my oil pan was to lower the motor to do the cam swap. That way all it has is the weight of the motor on it, not the whole front end.

PM sent to you Mr Sandrock.

[SSEiMan01]

Oil pan on a 00+ is a jacking point, only time I've ever used it as one was for a solid mount install. Never to lift the car up, it just doesn't feel right. JMHO.

[sandrock]

She's starting to get her sexy back



Still lots of work ahead. Yes, I took out the fusebox and the coolant tank so I could clean back there. Remember, the majority of the underhood looked like this...

[wake]

night and day work on that engine bay...very nice!!!

[SSEiMan01]

Very nice Brad!

[crzydmnd72]

what was your cleaner of choice for that?

[sandrock]

For the painted areas I used Ajax orange cleaner, good ol' soap and water, and garden hose and hand brush. Trans got the same treatment, and just laughed at my futility. So I went to the store the next day and got Castrol Super Clean, Eagle One etching mag cleaner, and Megs aluminum wash. Used all three in that order. I could have just used CSC, but left the case a dark dull grey. The other two sprays were mainly to get the oxidation off the case left from the CSC.

Everything got a liberal coat of Seafoam Deep Creep for protection and just the right amount of glossiness.