1996 Camaro Z28 LT1 Project

[alone_and_insane]

Finally got it all put back together, and started it up for the first time tonight. Here's the result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeCW6...ature=youtu.be

I only let it run for the two minutes because I got scared and shut it off. I don't think the oil pressure needle moved the entire time--that is, it was at that position before I started it and well after I shut it back off.

Any thoughts?

[Boost Addict]

I'd check the oil pressure sending unit connection and the wiring. Sounds like you need some adjustment in the valvetrain

[alone_and_insane]

Well I think I found my culprit:





Reached my hand around to the back of the engine where the oil pressure sending unit is this morning before work, and found this: the plug is completely severed. No idea how that happened...

[birdie2000]

Well that'll do it

Glad to see you got her running!

[alone_and_insane]

Well that'll do it

Glad to see you got her running!

Thanks, and once again many, MANY thanks for giving me a hand yesterday.

So the plug accounts for the gauge issue, but what about all the noise? I was pretty confident that I adjusted the valves correctly, following the procedure on shbox.com. Being that the lifters are new, do they just need a little time for oil to work through them?

[birdie2000]

No problem!

Which lifters did you use? And how far did you tighten past zero lash?

[alone_and_insane]

I just got replacement hydraulic roller lifters from O'Reilly, nothing special (I don't recall the brand). I think I went 3/4 turn preload

[alone_and_insane]

A friend of mine suggested possibly running the motor at 2500 rpm or so to work the lifters a little harder to get oil working through them...is that a good idea?

[alone_and_insane]

I just bought an OBD2 scanner at O'Reilly and pulled the SES code P0100 "Mass or Volume Air Flow Circuit Malfunction" code, so apparently cleaning my MAF didn't take care of that either.


I ran it for a little more this afternoon, and the exhaust leaks and the valvetrain definitely need attention. I'm going to East Lansing for the weekend, so I'll have to tackle that next week.

[alone_and_insane]

So as you may recall I said before, I used brass caps to cap off the AIR fittings on my headers, like so:



Almost immediately after I started the car back up, the thread tape melted and the exhaust was leaking like crazy. So I learned that thread tape isn't good for heat lol. So what could I use to seal these without the sealant melting with the exhaust heat?

[Boost Addict]

Ultra copper

[birdie2000]

I actually think I used thread tape and it held up. Huh. Ultra copper is definitely the way to go though.

[1fstss]

are you running 1.6RR? that sounds like a set of crane RR... deffinately valvetrain noise!! and no revving it to 2500 isnt going to help LOL as soon as you start it your lifters should be prety much pumped up.

[alone_and_insane]

I actually think I used thread tape and it held up. Huh. Ultra copper is definitely the way to go though.

Well when I fired it up I saw some smoke coming from those spots and some liquid dripping out, so I assumed it was just the thread tape melting.

are you running 1.6RR? that sounds like a set of crane RR... deffinately valvetrain noise!! and no revving it to 2500 isnt going to help LOL as soon as you start it your lifters should be prety much pumped up.

I just reinstalled the original rockers. I thought about doing 1.6 rollers, but I found out it would take a lot of other work I didn't realize at the time.

[alone_and_insane]

I already picked up some ultra copper last night. I was gonna remove and reseal the caps last night, but I didn't have a socket big enough (used a crescent wrench previously, but can't get at them very well with everything put back together). So I went to Sears to get a 1" socket, but when I got back to my apartment, I realized I didn't have any 1/2" drive extensions or a 1/2"-3/8" adapter, and by that time Sears would have been closed before I got back I also ordered a pigtail for the oil pressure sending unit plug yesterday, should have it next week.


The complication today, however, has come in the form of my MAF. It was throwing a code before I took everything apart, so I used MAF cleaner on it, but it's still throwing a code after everything was put back together. I was shopping for a replacement, but I figured out that my MAF isn't stock. It looks more like this:





It has a plastic housing, no screen, and no airfoil. I think a stock LT1 MAF looks like this: