When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Glad that you're getting things sorted out. Sorry to hear though that the engine was in fact not in the best of shape. Odd to hear that the wrong coolant seals were used. When is your projected completion date for the engine?
Well it will be rebuilt by the weekend, but I have a Spartan race up in SC on Saturday, so I am going to see if I can pick it up Sunday. If I get it this weekend, it'll be running by Thanksgiving weekend. Got a couple new pieces I will take pictures of during install.
On one hand, I am kind of glad that the engine was not in the greatest shape. Other than the loss of some money, I learned quite a lot discussing the internals this past weekend, and what questions I would want to ask if I ever purchase another rebuild down the line. Anyway, just an expensive learning experience as far as I am concerned. Keeping a close eye on your thread as well!
Will look forward to the updated pics!! You have a very positive outlook on the rebuild. Not a lot of people feel the way you do about a car or an engine when it fails and that's admirable. Over in the RX-8 world, when an engine fails, its near the end of the world. Those guys will dog the car and the engine and part the car out like a bunch of savages.
Alright - I'm back and Arya is almost back too. Needless to say, between Thanksgiving and Xmas this got pretty hectic at work and with the family plans. Also - it was/is deer and duck season and I needed to fill the freezer!
Anyway, I rented an engine hoist yesterday and - with a few issues (are there ever none?) I got the engine back in the bay today.
A couple notable differences with the engine/externals so far:
FD OPR with the upgrades needed to oil pump to handle the extra PSI.
The 40% stiffer Comp engine mounts. Mine were oil and worn, so I figured I'd so stiffer. I am skeptical if it was the right decision, but I will share my opinion once I drive her.
All Mazda OEM apex seals were installed over the aftermarket.
New Pilot Bearing
New Oil Pressure Sensor (stock)
I have another couple of goodies when I get the full system restored in the car, but that is all for now.
So everything is buttoned up, but I tried to start her last night and she flooded. My battery was on low charge after all the weather changes down here (I presume), so I de-flooded her last night, got some new spark plugs as the ones I had were fouled now. Battery is charging now in my office, so come warm weather again on Saturday she should start right up.
In the meantime I got a Koyo rad a couple months ago, and sandblasted and re-painted the brackets as they were rusty (pic below).
I got a oil catch can installed where the battery used to be.
How things are sitting now: (edit: this is not how things are sitting - everything is put together. I guess I never took a pic of the bay once the airbox and everything was installed)
Well while I am waiting on Amazon to deliver my spark plugs, I went ahead and installed my ProSport boost gauge last night.
After ordering a few odds and ends from him, a fellow member and wiring guru JulioGee hooked me up with a wiring harness with a patch to fit a "12V Switched", a "Ground", and a "Headlight Switched" power harness for my future gauges and the boost gauge. It was super easy to install right behind the dash, and wired up perfectly (admittedly with a little help from JulioGee himself last night).
Super impressed with the results of install and the gauge itself.
Pics (harness plug, 12V switched, and headlight switched respectively):
So I got the car started this weekend - twice. But it flooded after the first start again because I was trying to burp the coolant system while keeping the thing running. It didn't get up to operating temp before dying. I de-flooded again and smoked out my garage again to operating temp, ran it for about half an hour with my foot on the throttle to keep it running. Gave a intermittent higher revs (up to 5k or so) once warm for about 20 minutes, but she still couldn't hold an idle and ended up dying again. Once again flooded as she sits now. I wanted some thoughts before I took further action.
After the de-flooding process on a new-build should I just go down the road and run it hard for a bit/redline her once? Would this help? I can keep the car alive in neutral if I need to come to a stop.
I would think leaky injectors if I hadn't had them serviced 300 miles ago or so. Just new-build qwerks? I'm interested in peoples' thoughts as I did not run into this last time.
In the meantime - I will continue searching around for related threads.
So I got the car started this weekend - twice. But it flooded after the first start again because I was trying to burp the coolant system while keeping the thing running. It didn't get up to operating temp before dying. I de-flooded again and smoked out my garage again to operating temp, ran it for about half an hour with my foot on the throttle to keep it running. Gave a intermittent higher revs (up to 5k or so) once warm for about 20 minutes, but she still couldn't hold an idle and ended up dying again. Once again flooded as she sits now. I wanted some thoughts before I took further action.
...
Is the idle adjustment screw on the BAC valve adjusted outwards?
Is the idle adjustment screw on the BAC valve adjusted outwards?
I will check the position though I have never messed with it, so I imagine it is fine.
I did find the pipe fitting on the turbo side of the AFM pipe was loose, so I tightened that.
Also, I got my vac lines mixed up from the boost sensor, so my restrictor pill was facing the wrong direction.
I am going to try to see if either of those alleviated the issue today or tomorrow depending on how long work goes for me today. I will check my BAC though to get an idea of its position.
edit: Thought about this symptom later after my last post, but when trying to keep the car alive for the ~20-30min, I had to keep the rpms above 1.5/2k otherwise the throttle was completely unresponsive as the rpms dipped closer to 1k. Not sure if this rings any bells as far as ideas, but figured it was worth a shot.
Well, my thinking on your other symptoms (not the weird throttle thing) was that when a rebuilt is started (to my knowledge) it has low compression and prefers a high idle for the first few hours. Using the idle adjustment will let you keep it idling without your foot on the pedal. I've never performed / started a rebuild, so this is based only on what I've read.
So total noobie moment. After taking a couple of weeks of soul searching, trying to figure out where I have gone wrong, and going over my engine head-to-toe, it dawned upon me to check the CAS. I lined up the marks on the pulley and pulled the CAS. It was 180 degrees backwards. I lined it up yesterday, worked on my buddy's new Bullitt Mustang, and today she started right up and ran like a dream. I feel a bit foolish, but glad I found the cause.
Now everything seems to be fine except I'm not getting much vac reading on my gauge. I may have to look back into some lines, but I am feeling good as I am on the home stretch.
More to come soon now that I know she's up and running..
Well the past couple of weeks I've been running to friend's places using their tools that I don't own myself to upgrade the suspension with polys.
Got the driver's side on today finally. The passenger's side stripped as I was installing the ball joint, so now I'm in the market for a new hub.
Another issue I am having is getting the inner tie rods off as I'm doing the steering stuff while I'm at it - all new tie rods and ends. Borrowing an air hammer this weekend to hopefully pop em free.
Just some progress pics for you pics lovers.
Inspecting the old bushing with a helper: Inspecting the old bushings out of the car - with a helper. Another shot. Side view - sway bar, end links, ball joint, and control arm.
Great work thus far!! It great to hear that the engine is running well and that the fix was super simple. And you learned something in the process so its a win win. Any recent pictures of the whole car to share?
edit: I looked at the first picture after posting and want to clarify before people start "warning" me. The car is on jack stands. I'm actually just paranoid when the car is jacked up this high, so I threw the jack on the subframe to ease my mind.
Last edited by GA_Boy_Drew; 04-04-19 at 04:17 PM.
Reason: Clarity
That is my roommate's 2001 True Blue Bullitt that his dad just passed down to him. This garage was my work-space only previously, but I couldn't let him keep his Mustang in the driveway. So now it's a little cramped for pulling apart vehicles, and the American Muscle vs. Japanese ****-talking has ensued in full force at my household.
Last edited by GA_Boy_Drew; 04-05-19 at 06:15 AM.
Reason: a word
So after awaiting a boot to be shipped in for my tie rods - everything is complete on the front suspension/steering.
Using this dope tool to easily remove inners. $14 on Amazon. New Inner Installed. Everything done!
I also put a timing light on the car as it was idling a bit low. Timing is actually spot on (self pat on back from stabbing CAS accurately).
Unfortunately that is kind of bad news because the idle problem is still there. Checked the TPS (good @ almost exactly 1 ohm) and I checked all the plug wires to make sure they are correct (all good there).
Going to drive it to get an alignment in the next couple of days, but I will be reading more into getting the idle corrected. I have never messed with the idle screw and it idled fine before, so going into research mode.
Here's a video of the idle - any opinions welcome - DGRR is one week away! :
Interesting development - I did not have much time to work on the car last night, but I did do the propane test and it seems my car is running lean right now. I had smoke-machined it before and fixed a couple leaks before first start, but I put the smoke machine back on and it can hear air coming out near the turbo but no smoke.
So this weekend I will jack up the car to see if I just couldn't see the smoke - maybe the leak is under the LIM or Turbo and the smoke was not enough that I could spot it. I am bringing a bar light and flashlight under there with me in hopes that I can track this thing down.
Well, after a long week/weekend I have tried everything. Fuel pressure is good, another 3 attempts at the propane test looks like I am not actually running lean. I think the first test the idle just jumped as the car was warming up. Spark timing is correct, wires shouldn't be arcing as the insulation looks great on all 4. All of my grounds were gone over when putting the engine back together - I guess I can go over them again. Smoke machine shows nothing leaking - the "whoosh" of air I believe is the air leaving the engine and into the hot-side/exhaust system.
At this point, without owning a compression tester, I want to assume it is just new build qwerks (and maybe have something to do with all the free-flow and street ports on mostly stock parts), so I plan on driving it short distances around roads by the house as a "break-in" period and listen/feel for any issues other than bumpy idle. Just wish I had a wideband at this point to keep a close eye on everything - maybe soon after I get some spending $$$ back up.
I did drive to the office yesterday, and once the car is warmed up it did idle higher - still bumpy though. But damn those comp. engine mounts and poly bushing everywhere bring a whole new feel to the car which I am loving. Gotta find time to do the rears. Also have to find some time to get an alignment, but all shop hours are my work hours
Anyway won't be taking her to DGRR (3+ hour drive that I am not comfortable with yet), but I will be driving up there in my truck to join the party and look on in jealousy of all those who have working cars
Some crush washer came in today as my banjo on the rear iron is leaking. I'll fix that up today and drive around all afternoon to try and get some miles on her.
Also yesterday, after living with 10AE guilt since removing the steering wheel, I went back to the original tails:
Also in the back of my mind to fund an adaptronic, v-mount, and a wideband I am thinking of going to get a professional to check over my old engine's parts for tolerances and selling all those parts - assuming they are all in good condition. I pulled the engine on lower compression, nothing stuck out as I cracked the keg except a couple of warped side seals with some obvious blow-by on one of the rotors, but I wouldn't feel comfortable selling unknown-condition parts. Gonna keep an eye on the classifieds to get a good feel for the possible return I can get on those parts. To be continued...
Quick Update - Got up under the car yesterday and pulled the oil pan which was leaking - it was not the oil cooler line (which I thought was leaking, but after time the oil cooler line was dry underneath and the pan kept leaking). It was the first time I did the oil pan with the engine installed, and it was not too bad. I did not have to remove the sub-frame or turbo actuator. I just jacked up the engine a couple inches, unbolted the pan, and turned it 90 degree to clear the pick-up tube. My back is a bit sore from being on the concrete for a few hours to pull the pan and clean the engine. All-in-all not a bad job to do solo.
Got it installed and torqued last night - hopefully it will not leak again. If it does, I imagine it is warped, but just a minimal amount to where I cannot tell. I'll start her up and let idle tomorrow to test the leak issue. Hoping I do not have to buy a new pan - looking into a wideband next for beak-in mileage. Data, data, data - I need to collect it better.
Side note - DGRR was hella fun and met a lot of folks. I will be back next year - with my car this time!
Also, going over Sunday to get my old block looked over to see what kind of shape the irons, rotors, and housings are in.
No pics this time, but I hope to be driving around soon and throw up some pics of the adventures.
The car is all drive-able, and when some of this 95 degree weather calms down I'm gonna daily her to work for awhile.
edit: Is it normal for the boost gauge to only read vacuum when I'm on the throttle and not at idle? I might have some wires crossed or need to try a different gauge..
So due to some lifestyle changes and the need to downsize, I am about to put this thing up for sale within the next month or two as I get my house ready to sell as well. Still ~300 miles on the fresh Rick Engman rebuild and running strong. Just have to figure out what 10AE asking price is in this shape and then it is time to downsize! I love this car, and I loved working on her and learning it inside and out, but it just does not make sense for me to keep it when I cannot enjoy it as much I want to. Thanks for all who have been around and helped/commented along the way. I hope to find this beauty a good home!
11-13-18, 06:19 AM
