'94 Z-28 73k miles - Intake oil leak + oil fouled plug question?
03-01-2008, 03:31 PM
#16
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Location: Purgatory... Also known as New Jersey.
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Finally got the exhaust manifolds and Y pipe off today.
The good news is that my guides and seals appear to be just fine; There isn't a speck of buildup on the exhaust valves that would indicate that oil was getting in. In fact, there's only a light coating of carbon on the back of the valves and inside the ports, including the one that was getting oil fouled.
The bad news is that the intake manifold will have to wait for Monday; I'm beat from spending a couple of hours under the car twisted into odd positions getting the manifolds off. Man, what a pain! The drivers side was a piece of cake, but the passenger side... Well, I have a full compliment of busted knuckles but it's off.
Tomorrow I'm in the firehouse for a full 24 hours. Looks like I'm driving the wife's Achieva to work. I have a 54 mile commute (one way) and while I really like my '06 Dodge Power Wagon, the 14 miles per gallon is a bit rough on the pocket for commuting.
Monday I'll tackle the intake manifold with a clear head. I'm holding off on installing the headers until after I get the intake manifold off and inspect the intake gaskets and the intake valves to be completely sure I'm not pulling the heads off.
The good news is that my guides and seals appear to be just fine; There isn't a speck of buildup on the exhaust valves that would indicate that oil was getting in. In fact, there's only a light coating of carbon on the back of the valves and inside the ports, including the one that was getting oil fouled.
The bad news is that the intake manifold will have to wait for Monday; I'm beat from spending a couple of hours under the car twisted into odd positions getting the manifolds off. Man, what a pain! The drivers side was a piece of cake, but the passenger side... Well, I have a full compliment of busted knuckles but it's off.
Tomorrow I'm in the firehouse for a full 24 hours. Looks like I'm driving the wife's Achieva to work. I have a 54 mile commute (one way) and while I really like my '06 Dodge Power Wagon, the 14 miles per gallon is a bit rough on the pocket for commuting.
Monday I'll tackle the intake manifold with a clear head. I'm holding off on installing the headers until after I get the intake manifold off and inspect the intake gaskets and the intake valves to be completely sure I'm not pulling the heads off.
03-02-2008, 08:29 AM
#17
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On one other note, I pulled all the plugs out of the motor in the process of removing the manifolds. Driver's side had Bosch Platinum +4 plugs (Gimmick junk; shrouds the spark too much) and the other side had AC Delco used-to-be platinums that were all missing the platinum buttons.
Nothing more amusing than Previous Owner repairs, sometimes.
Nothing more amusing than Previous Owner repairs, sometimes.
03-02-2008, 09:47 AM
#18
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Aurora, IL
Posts: 12,312
On one other note, I pulled all the plugs out of the motor in the process of removing the manifolds. Driver's side had Bosch Platinum +4 plugs (Gimmick junk; shrouds the spark too much) and the other side had AC Delco used-to-be platinums that were all missing the platinum buttons.
Nothing more amusing than Previous Owner repairs, sometimes.
Nothing more amusing than Previous Owner repairs, sometimes.
03-02-2008, 06:08 PM
#23
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Location: Aurora, IL
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I had no problems with the starter, just busted the two bolts loose with a breaker bar.
03-02-2008, 06:58 PM
#24
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The cast iron manifold on the passenger side fell on my hand when I pulled the last bolt out from under the car. Felt like getting my knuckles rapped with a hammer. I said a few choice words, none of which I could repeat in front of my daughter.
03-04-2008, 04:25 PM
#25
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Location: Purgatory... Also known as New Jersey.
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This is what the inside of a 14 year old, 75000 mile Optispark looks like.
Scary thing is, it worked just fine... considering that the rest of the ignition system was beat to hell. Plugs were worn out and mismatched. Plug wires were so old they were actually cracking a bit.
Yes, that is a bunch of rust particles you see there on the white cardboard. Fell out when I opened it up.
The bearings feel nice and gritty, too.
My new AC Delco replacement is on the way from thepartsladi on Ebay, should be here Friday.
Let's see... New AC Compressor, new (electric) water pump, new Optispark... Only old accesory is the alternator. But that works fine and doesn't make any noise. (For now...)
At least that's easy to access and change.
Scary thing is, it worked just fine... considering that the rest of the ignition system was beat to hell. Plugs were worn out and mismatched. Plug wires were so old they were actually cracking a bit.
Yes, that is a bunch of rust particles you see there on the white cardboard. Fell out when I opened it up.
The bearings feel nice and gritty, too.
My new AC Delco replacement is on the way from thepartsladi on Ebay, should be here Friday.
Let's see... New AC Compressor, new (electric) water pump, new Optispark... Only old accesory is the alternator. But that works fine and doesn't make any noise. (For now...)
At least that's easy to access and change.
Last edited by The_Bishop; 03-04-2008 at 04:27 PM.
03-04-2008, 05:13 PM
#26
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Lansing, MI via Bowling Green, KY: Dalton, GA: Nashville, TN & Atlanta, GA
Posts: 1,026
Did you need any special tools to get your optispark apart? I would like to disassemble my original opti. I bought an E4 torx socket and got the cap off, but never got the rest of it apart. I didn't mess with it too much, but it looked like there were some hard to get to screws or bolts remaining once I got the cap off.
03-04-2008, 05:25 PM
#27
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Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Cibolo TX
Posts: 972
i would have went with the LT headers i have seen those pacesetters crack left and right and leak bad!!
03-04-2008, 05:27 PM
#28
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Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Cibolo TX
Posts: 972
This is what the inside of a 14 year old, 75000 mile Optispark looks like.
Scary thing is, it worked just fine... considering that the rest of the ignition system was beat to hell. Plugs were worn out and mismatched. Plug wires were so old they were actually cracking a bit.
Yes, that is a bunch of rust particles you see there on the white cardboard. Fell out when I opened it up.
The bearings feel nice and gritty, too.
My new AC Delco replacement is on the way from thepartsladi on Ebay, should be here Friday.
Let's see... New AC Compressor, new (electric) water pump, new Optispark... Only old accesory is the alternator. But that works fine and doesn't make any noise. (For now...)
At least that's easy to access and change.
Scary thing is, it worked just fine... considering that the rest of the ignition system was beat to hell. Plugs were worn out and mismatched. Plug wires were so old they were actually cracking a bit.
Yes, that is a bunch of rust particles you see there on the white cardboard. Fell out when I opened it up.
The bearings feel nice and gritty, too.
My new AC Delco replacement is on the way from thepartsladi on Ebay, should be here Friday.
Let's see... New AC Compressor, new (electric) water pump, new Optispark... Only old accesory is the alternator. But that works fine and doesn't make any noise. (For now...)
At least that's easy to access and change.
time for the 95 opti conversion while you are there!
03-04-2008, 06:48 PM
#29
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Location: Purgatory... Also known as New Jersey.
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