Old Cars, Bad luck, Bad times....So what!

  

Sometimes things just go wrong. Other times a whole lotta things go wrong.  With old cars it's inevitable that you're going to have some tribulations.  

I'd just rather they didn't come all at once!

Watch to see what I'm going on about.

The Firebird Project - New Front Shocks...and more!

 

Once again we come to a crossroads.  

Fix it or ditch it. 

Is it good money after bad or is it an investment in the future.  Only you can answer that but if you extend your best foot forward every time at least you can be confident that you didn't cheat the process.

So it went with the latest project on the Formula.  Do we ignore obvious problems and just stick to the original plan or do we dig a little deeper and see if we can't advance toward our ultimate goal.

The desired result was to replace the front shocks, that was going to happen regardless.  However, experience has taught me that we weren't going to get away that easily.  The end result was not so much a surprise as an inevitability.

In the videos below you'll learn what it takes to tackle this project as well as learn about what you should be watching for.

Remember, you're dealing with a primary safety system here.  Shortcuts only invite disaster.

I'm hopeful the following is helpful in your project!

Shocking! - The El Camino needs some attention

 

Seems the Formula has gotten all the attention but I have 2 project cars and the other one wanted some attention.

How did I know?  

Well, I was a bit dense.  Any car guy with a project will tell you that it's sometimes a game of denial.  We simply can't accept that something we already fixed may need attention again.

So it goes with my shocks.  I had changed them but it had been so long that I didn't realize just how many miles they've soaked up holding up the front end of 4000 pound car.

So it was with the El Camino.  Now I should know better having changed the transmission 3 times, carburetor at least 5 times not to mention a myriad of other things.

 

But the shocks, I thought they had plenty of time left.  

Well, truth be told the shocks were one of the first things I ever replaced on the El Camino which puts the timeframe somewhere around 1992.   Before the engine change, before the new paint job and of course before 80,000 miles had passed under the third set of tires.

Yeah, it was time.  More accurately, it was overdue.

The signs were there just not obvious to my rose colored perspective.

The front end sat too low, so low in fact that I could no longer get a jack under the front of the car.  

Hard stops became a bit scary with the car diving to one side or the other.

Then the handling... Any imperfection in the road caused varied degrees of drama.

Yes, time to do something.  So I did and the video below shows the adventure.  Take a look.

Fix It: Finishing the Carter AFB Carburetor rebuild

No need for a lot of verbiage.  This is the conclusion of the carb rebuild series featuring the Carter AFB.  The Second video picks up where the first left off and shows you how to reassemble the Carter AFB carb and covers important topics like how to set float level, float drop, and initial setup.  There's also a bonus section on testing the fuel pump.

So enjoy and if you learned something, let me know!  I'm here to help!

Without further ado....

High Energy Ignition (HEI) Vacuum Advance replacement

Old cars break stuff, it's a fact of life. Sometimes, however, it's not obvious that something's broke.  It's more subtle.

Hard starting, a loss of power or just that feeling like you're dragging an anchor behind you.  You'll get where you're going but it won't be as much fun getting there.

When everything else has been checked and you've got symptoms like the ones above it might be worth a look at your vacuum advance unit on your distributor.

Most points and early HEI ( non computer controlled) units will have them and when they go bad you usually don't get any notice.

There's two easy tests that don't involve anything but pulling the vacuum hose off the carburetor (because chances are you don't have fuel injection) and see what happens.

Get the engine to operating temperature and then pop the hose off the vacuum advance unit.  If the idle speed drops you know the unit is probably good.  If nothing happens it's probably bad.

Time for the next test.

Get a vacuum pump like a mighty vac hooked up to the vacuum advance unit and give a few squeezes.  Whether the engine is running or not, you should see some vacuum reading on the pump's vacuum gauge.  If the engine is running you may hear the engine speed up as well.

If you don't get either of those things and you know the pump is hooked up and working right then you've got a bad vacuum advance.

Trolling the automotive forums most people will tell you it's an easy fix.  You pop the distributor cap, remove a couple of bolts and wiggle the old one free.  Of course it gets more complicated if your distributor is hard to access and it's even worse when the engine is hot.  Yeah, you can probably change it in 5 minutes if you yanked the distributor out but that's usually an even bigger pain than dealing with it in the car if your setup is anything like mine.

I made the video below because nobody was ever going to read the 1000 words it would take to describe a 15 minute job.

So have at it and check off another little project on your classic car "to-do" list.

Avoiding a blowout: What that tablet in your dash won't tell you.

It's a fact of life, bad things are going to happen and most of the time you don't get much, if any, warning.  We are an imperfect form of life that produces imperfect things most of which will not persist after us.

Knowing this I find it maddening that so many people have so little clue about a 2 ton hunk of metal they trust their lives to every day.

To most people they give no more consideration to it than just jumping in the car and driving off.   Oblivious and ignorant to the condition of anything but the gas gauge.  

You don't have to be a ASE Master Technician to have a car but you owe it to yourself and those along for the ride to be aware of more than the difference in gas prices on either side of town.

In my case, I drive older cars meaning I have to be a lot more vigilant about a lot more things than just waiting for the "Fix Me" light to come on in the dash or some flashing icon in the "Information Center."  

I kind of blame companies like BMW, Mercedes and other so-called "luxury" brands for that mindset by the way.  They've constructed a fantasy where nothing ever goes wrong and never needs to be checked.  

If anything does, however, the car will just beam itself up to the starship Enterprise and Scotty will get right on that warp core problem straight away!  

It sounds stupid but it's literally the fantasy the luxury brands sell and it's dangerous.

Most newer cars have some basic level of diagnostics for such things as tire pressure, oil life and MPG and that's fine.   Thing is, a tire pressure monitor won't tell you of an impending blowout at 75MPH due to a bad tire.

Learning what to look for AND ACTUALLY LOOKING once in awhile will.

Which is the basis for the video below.   In it you'll see the early signs of impending disaster that can be averted if you're just the tiniest bit alert to the problem.

So watch the video, learn a little more than your "Driver Information Center" will tell you and be safe out there.

YouTube Automotive Treasure Trove

For a lot of you the weather is still very much "Winter" so you're probably not out and about or turning wrenches on your baby too often.  So what to do?

Well, if you're like me you find some favorite automotive videos on YouTube and maybe even subscribe.  Oh and don't forget the companion channel to this blog...Gearhead Garden Channel

One thing to remember about HOWTO videos on YouTube though.  Use the information at your own risk.  Don't take anyone's word as gospel and research from more than one source.  Anybody can post a video on YouTube even if they're a complete idiot!

This first example of a channel I follow comes from Scotty Kilmer.  I like Scotty, he reminds me of my step-dad and his information is usually pretty good.  He's a mechanic with almost 5 decades of experience under his belt that he's more than willing to share on his YouTube channel.  Along with videos like this, he also does a weekly Q&A show on his channel where he answers questions about car repair.  In this video he talks about the different grades of gasoline and when to use them.

This next example comes from a specialty automotive supply company called Eastwood.  I've known about Eastwood for 20 years and purchased specialty tools and products that I couldn't find anywhere else.   Their videos usually cover some procedure using their products.  The devil's in the details and Eastwood is a good place to go to deal with them.  There's a lot of good information that's helpful when you're trying to restore a classic.  This video features a project  79 Camaro Z28 and a primer on paint and finish techniques by TV's Keven Tetz.

The last Video is from a channel called Ramblin' Around.  It's basically a talented DIY Car guy named Jordan who details among other things the trials, tribulations and triumphs of putting an '87 Trans Am back together.  Lots of interesting stuff here.  This guy bleeds 50 weight but isn't full of himself.  It's the quiet guys who do the real work which is why I like his channel.  

So that's it.  I figure if I don't have any new content for you at least I can turn you on to someone who does.  Stay tuned though.  I still have the 95 Formula and will eventually get enough money and time to get it to pass emissions.  Expect a few videos and some writeups when that happens.  

You can be sure I'll detail those adventures here.

Formula Vs. Smog Check: EGR sadness

Last time I pretty much laid out my dilemma.   20 year old car, Emissions testing Nazis, questioning my life choices...

So I won't rehash it here.  It's a problem anyone with a car roughly the same vintage as their parent's high school diploma knows well.

This time we're going to attack the root cause of our NOx failure at the emissions testing station.  If you recall, the standard for a 95 Formula in Arizona is 2.00 and I managed to crush the scales at 5.99.

There are two primary emissions systems that contribute to this failure.  The first is the EGR or Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve and the second is the Catalytic Converter.

As I see it, the Catalytic converter is a secondary emissions component.  Meant to clean up whatever the other primary systems left behind.  There are exceptions such as certain vehicles that eliminate the EGR altogether and incorporate similar functionality within the intake system of the engine itself. 

But most of us with older cars will still have to deal with the tried and true EGR valve.  Considering it's exposed to constant exhaust heat, depends on a seal made of rubber and failure of said seal negates its function you're going to have to deal with it at some point.

The good news is that at least on mid 90's GM F Body cars ( 93-97 Firebird/Camaro) with an LT1 V8 the diagnosis and replacement is straightforward.

I should clarify here.  Diagnosis is easy, replacement would be easy if you could somehow wrest the engine out of the car in under 5 minutes.

That's not going to happen in a 4th generation F Body.

But enough of that...

The EGR's function is to circulate exhaust gases back into the combustion chamber to cool it down.  

Combustion temperatures above 2500F cause NOx, a noxious gas that creates excess ozone and irritates respiratory ailments among other things.

So the emissions Nazis are gunning for you if your car exceeds their standards.

On the 4th Gen F body LT1 (V8) cars the EGR is located on the back of the intake manifold in pretty much the most inaccessible location GM could come up with. 

Now if Camaros or Firebirds had hoods that tilted forward ( like the same vintage Corvettes do) it would be no big deal.  Thing is, these cars are cursed with about a foot of bodywork hanging over the engine.  Thank that 60 degree windshield for that one.

Still, you can deal with the EGR and the Fuel pressure regulator as well ( since it's in the same location) so long as you're willing to lay across the front of the car to get to them.

Which is what I had to do to replace mine. 

But we're jumping ahead here. 

Before we start turning wrenches we need to figure out if we need to.

Assuming the rest of your emissions components are working within specification, high NOx generally only comes from the aforementioned high combustion temperatures caused by a bad CAT or EGR valve.

The simplest test for a bad EGR is to stick a vacuum pump on the vacuum port on top of the EGR and give a few pumps.  If it doesn't hold vacuum it's junk, no exceptions.  The EGR relies on a flexible diaphragm that moves in and out as vacuum is applied to it. 

That diaphragm operates a rod ( pintle ) that allows a measured amount of exhaust gas to recirculate in the combustion chamber which helps cool it down and decrease NOx emissions.

If that pintle doesn't move then NOx can run rampant.

The other reason the EGR system can fail is if the EGR passages in the manifold become clogged up.   If the exhaust gas can't get to the combustion chamber it can't cool it down.

It can also cause the engine to run too lean ( too much air not enough fuel ) which can increase HC emissions as well.

Vacuum leaks can contribute to high HC and NOx as well and a torn diaphragm in a 3 inch disk is a pretty big leak.

So now we know the problem, the solution is pretty simple. 

Replace the valve...

While you're at it, check out the EGR passages and clean them out if they're full of crud( as best you can considering where the EGR is.)

Removal is easy, 2 (1/2 inch) nuts on a couple of studs.  Of course getting to them requires draping yourself across the front of the car but once you get positioned, it's not so bad.  I'd also recommend the use of an offset boxed end wrench since the bolts are partially shrouded by the EGR "disc."

Pop it off, remove the gasket, clean up the mating surfaces ( there's likely to be a sticky film left by the old gasket) and clean out the EGR passage of any carbon build up.  Then just bolt the new one on, torque the bolts down and reconnect the EGR vacuum line and you're done!

Really not much more to it. 

Below is a video that outlines the diagnosis and testing procedures.

March's Interesting Car Videos

So I've been a little lazy keeping up with the monthly car video posts.  But I've found a few vids that I've watched more than once so I figured I share them with you.

The first one is kind of ridiculous.  A hand built 2010 Lingenfilter Trans AM (made out of a Camaro) versus a 1968 Firebird 400.

The next one is a test drive of a stock 1968 Firebird 400

Finally, an eternal feud.  Camaro vs. Mustang

This Blog's got a YouTube Channel now!

Hey guys!

Just like the title says, this blog's got it's own YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/user/GearheadGarden

Below is a video playlist of my most recent uploads.  You'll find videos about cars, auto repair and car themed games just to mention a few.  

If you want to really know what this blog is about watch a few of the videos.