Rolling Road

I managed to book in a slot at Specialist Technical Solutions rolling road up here in Shetland while liaising with Dave at Canems to ensure the car was going to run as good as she could.

Ray got to work strapping the car down and started the tune after a good chat with Dave regarding the software and tune.

My engine isn't a standard LS7, it has had a camshaft and other various internal items and if you remember clocked 620bhp on the engine dyno.  I was expecting less power through the drivetrain and with the lesser quality of fuel up here (Far from super unleaded) so we put it to the test.

A good few runs were done and the basic tuning was put in place.  There was however a slight misfire at higher revs.  After speaking with Dave he confirmed that it appears when I got my engine it had been supplied with aftermarket coil packs and these could potentially be the route cause.

I ordered genuine GM ones from Rockauto.com along with spark plugs and leads.  

• Coil Packs - GM 12699382
• Spark Plugs - ACDelco 41-104
• Leads - GM 748UU

Once these were fitted, the misfire was gone and the rest of the tuning could take place.

I requested that the car didn't need to have every ounce of power extracted from it, as long as it was comfortable and smooth to drive.

Ray comfortably got 544 bhp and 562 ft.lbs of torque with no sign of pre-detonation.

Once on the road we can fine tune it.

Time to Reflect

For the IVA rear relfectors are required.  After looking at various people's versions, I thought for now I would make a simple bracket that bolts on under the brake light.

I created a pattern on a piece of card, and then once happy cut it out from a sheet of Stainless Steel.  The holes were bored, and everything was rounded off and polished with the polisher.

I then moved onto getting the ID plate fixed to the bulkhead.  I have a fairly empty bulkhead, so placed it nearer to the passenger side.

A front number plate blank was made from a piece of plywood just to mimic where the number plate will finally fit.  This is currntly screwed onto the bar using P-Clips. Not sure how I'm going to fit the plastic number plate - if you have any ideas please let me know.

I also changed the engine oil - had a petrol smell so I will have to check after getting the engine setup on the dyno.  Since my LS7 has a batwing sump from an LS2, it isn't 100% straight forward.  The oil spec is easy enough, it needs to be GM4718M 5W30.  I used Comma Syner-X Fully Synthetic.

The oil filter needs to be the one from the LS2 which is an AC Delco PF46 (Or equivalent - In my case Mahle OC 999).  

The engine takes 6 litres of oil.  

Engine Detailing

I always wanted something to cover the ignition coils on the engine, but I wasn't too sure about the normal fibreglass covers.  I have seen a few people using classic rocker covers so I saw a cheap set on eBay and went for them.

Once they arrived, they looked good.  I removed the original covers to replace them with the new versions.  I had to transfer the vent pipes for my oil catch cans, but these just pulled out and pressed into the new ones (A tight fit).  I bolted the new covers down complete with new oils seals.

I set the covers on the top of the coils to see what it will look like - it will look good, but will require some modifications...

On the drivers side, GD have a bracket where the Vectra steering column fits to - I don't need it so it will have to be cut off since the new covers can't go on with it in place.  Also, the drivers side rear coil pack points directly at the chassis and so will need to be rotated slightly for the ignition leads to clear.

The cover has holes for the coil packs to go through, but even the dipstick will prevent the cover from going on!

I decided to machine out the holes to complete openings so that the cover can be lowered straight down with the coil packs connected.  You can't see the holes anyway.

I put the covers to a friend who has a CNC machine who machined the holes out for me.  Once bolted in place I think it simplifies the engine bay.

Vectra Bracket needs to go!

Dipstick prevents cover from going on

Bracket Removed - Could have been neater

Before Covers

Cleaner look

Machined openings

Bracket installed to rotate coil for wire clearance

Engine Bay Battery Connectors

I always had an idea of using an Anderson connector inside the engine bay to allow access to the battery for jump starting / charging purposes.

After playing around with the connectors, and the limited space around where I was hoping to install it, I thought I would abandon that idea since I felt that my knuckles would probably get badly damaged. And also if I didn't have an Anderson connector adaptor with me, somebody with standard jump leads wouldn't be able to help.

I bought some 250A heavy duty remote battery charging posts.  For the positive, I tucked the connector up and under as far as I could to keep accessible, above the cooling water pipes and inside the battery compartment.  A cable was then run to the battery terminal.

For the negative side, I cut down the post, turned it down in the lathe, drilled a hole through the centre and bolted it to the chassis using a coutersunk set screw.  This bolts onto the chassis where the main negative battery cable connects to the chassis.

Altogether a more funtional use of connection in case it is ever needed.

Engine Hokey Cokey

You'll remember I had an issue with my clutch slave cylinder leaking here.  I kept an eye on it, and every now and agin there would be a small puddle of clutch fluid on the floor...  I checked the remote bleed hoses and fittings which all appeared ok, and even having a look inside the bellhousing, it didn't look like the repaired housing or fittings were leaking either.

I concluded that it must be the seal on the shaft that was leaking.  That means engine out again!

Since I have done it before, it isn't too much of a big job.  There are a few bolts that are more tricky than others, and the O2 sensor connectors are a little difficult to reach.  At least all the bolts are new and free from rust.

I stripped the cooling system and front chassis cross brace, removed the exhaust manifolds, starter, alternator, fuel connections and unplugged all the wiring.  This means the engine comes out without too much trouble.  With blocks of wood under the gearbox, and the car on axle stands the engine crane makes short work of removing the engine.

I ordered a new clutch slave cylinder through Gardner Douglas - Genuine one which looks a lot stronger than the Tremec one.  I didn't take a photo of the supplied one, but here are two from the internet (The photos don't look like there is much difference, but side by side they were)

Tremec Slave Cylinder

On inspection of the removed slave cylinder, the central section where the seal moved against, appeared corroded. This means that when the seal moved past that piece, fluid leaked out.  Not sure how this came to be, unless the coating was damaged and the brake fluid corroded the aluminium?  Anyway, I was sure this was the problem.

I removed the quick connect fitting from the new unit and replaced it with my fitting including a dowty washer (bonded sealing washer). 

Engine was then put in, put together with a couple of bolts on the bellhousing and the clutch system bled. I didn't want to fully bolt it all back in case I had a different issue....

I realised that with the new slave cylinder installed, I didn't check the clearance between the slave cylinder and clutch tines to check that the clutch would engage / disengage.  To check this, you have to measure the distance between the clutch tines and the bellhousing, and then the bellhousing to the slave cylinder bearing face.  Then you deduct the two to get the clearance.  You know what that means?  Engine out!

Once out (again), I measured the distance from the slave cylinder bearing face to the bellhousing while still in the car.  I then had to remove the bellhousing and fit it to the removed engine so I could measure that part.

The Macleod twin clutch documentation recommends .100" to .250" of clearance.  I ordered a shim kit from Billy's Speed Shop on eBay.  I then installed the correct shim under the slave cylinder and the engine went back in again!  The clutch was then filled with fluid and bled again.

There are a few tutorials online for how to measure the clerance, but I thought this short video from Kame Trick shows what is required.

I will continue to monitor this to ensure there are no more leaks!
 

Clutch Bleeding Disaster!

Now that I had my bleeding kit, I went ahead and bled the brakes.  Using DOT 4 fluid, the front and rear systems were bled without issue.  The reservoirs were left at the "Full" mark.

I moved onto the clutch bleeding where it apperared to bleed ok.  I tried the pedal and it all seemed good.  Again, topped up the resorvoir to the "Full" mark.

A while later, I noticed a small puddle of fluid underneath the gearbox bellhousing.  The clutch reservoir level had dropped. On investigating with a torch, and peeking in through only a few of the small openings, I could see that the fluid supply fitting had a small weep.  If you remember I made a fitting here.

Since this is all inside the bellhousing, and also the fitting was made to a short length for neatness, I couldn't tighten the fitting from outside the gearbox housing. (Hindsight would have been a great thing).

I managed to get a spanner fitted inside but couldn't turn it. I then got a 4" adjustable spanner inside and could manage to put a bit of pressure on to the spanner to try and nip up the fitting.  As you can imagine, you can't put very much force on with a 4" adjustable, but I managed to put enough on to break the clutch slave cylinder and release bearing!  Needless to say, the rest of the fluid poured out into the floor.

The only way to fix this was to remove the engine!

I had to undo the front support brace, the cooling water reservoir, exhaust manifolds, starter, undo the fuel hoses and wiring then it just lifted out!  The design of the housing has a thin section as the fitting goes into it.  Possibly been weakened before?  I think this is a Tremec manufactured cylinder, but not 100% sure.

What it should look like

Welded release bearing and new fitting

I managed to weld the piece back on, lengthened the fittings so they could be tightened outside of the bellhousing, and put it all back together again.  Bled the system and all appeared well.....  Watch this space!

First Start

I temporarily hooked up all the gauges on the dashboard, and tried a first start.  She turned over but no signs of firing.

A phonecall to Dave at CANEMS soon had her fired up once he uploaded a basic map for the LS7.  She will get properly mapped once down beside him on the rolling road.

I realised that the thermostat wasn't opening, so I removed it from the housing and using a kettle I confirmed that it was very sticky.  New one on order!

Oil Catch Cans

I finally got around to installing the oil catch cans.  I couldn't really decide where I wanted to fit these, but ended up fitting them just above the alternator on the passenger side.  Care will have to be taken when draining them down not to spill any of the collected oil...

I made a stainless bush and bracket to mount these to the cylinder head, also using the supplied twin bracket.  I used AN-6 fittings and hose to connect it all together.  Once mounted, and by following a diagram detailing the "dirty" side and "clean" sides, I ran the hose as neatly as I could, cut it to length and fitted the ends.  The only difference between my LS7 and the diagram is that the driver's side rocker cover only has 1 vent point so I used a T-piece to join to the passenger's side rocker cover.  I just have a few more clips to fit to ensure the hose doesn't move.

Oil Catch Cans

I have been thinking about engine breathers and what to do with them.  I believe sometimes the N/S rear one is just blocked off, but I felt I wanted something different.  Scouring the internet and forums, I found some diagrams on LStech forums which I thought looked good and made sense.  There is a clean side and a dirty side, and people use catch cans to filter the vent to make sure oil doesn't pass back in through the intake.

I looked and bought 2x Racetronix catch cans which have a sight glass in them so you can see if / when they fill up.  I bought a double bracket too, but still undecided exactly where to mount them.

I bought hose and connections to suit and will update the blog once installed.