bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Oh good the Pictures work. Here is the engine when bought.
Bob's LS Story
- Thread starter bobsquatch
- Start date
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
And after a light pressure wash.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Also my transmission pan when dropped. Not good but not bad either. Plenty of friction material on the magnet but not excessive (particularly if it has never been dropped) and no shavings or debris.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Thanks Don. So when I leveled the car to fill the transmission I leveled it using the door runners for front to back as I figure a lift will pick it up as it is oriented to the ground so that would be level. I also took a measurement at the pan and was correct sideways but it is over a full bubble out. The back of the pan is higher than the front by better than a quarter inch when the car is level at the doors. It is not a huge discrepancy but I found it noteworthy so I included it for discussion. Maybe I am half a bubble off myself
!
!Is it hard to get the front a little higher or the rear a little lower? Most important would be side to side because of the position of the fill tube. I'd say 1/4" would be good enough,since it's in the middle of the pan front to back. don-ohio 
^)
^)bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
It would be easy, I just am not 100% sure which is right. Common sense says the pan but I am betting the chassis being level is correct. Don't ask me why. It just seems like things about this car are counter intuitive. Anybody know for sure?
Actually I used the 2-post lift on the four jacking points of the car and I didn't level the tranny pan. So you are probably right. OTHERWISE they would have to put different adapters on the front or rear . don-ohio ^)
^)bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
So Just a little reality check for me. Come this Wednesday when my coil packs arrive I will be swapping them out as well as eight Motorcraft spark plugs and my serpentine belt. I will certainly blow out the spark plug wells with compressed air before I remove the plugs , then I will do a compression test while I am that far a long. I was considering a Seafoam treatment before I change the plugs but I am hesitant. While I have completed the seafoam treatment several times on my equipment and outboard motors but I feel that it might be unwarranted on such a high tech gadget as my LS. I have laboriously searched the forums on this topic and there are pros and cons. My main concern being a new code has developed along with my original code of P0301. I know have an additional code P2196 O2 sensor biased/stuck rich. Well this is consistent with a misfire on cylinder one sending unburnt fuel through bank one exhaust and catalyst. I do not want to foul what may be a perfectly good sensor. I have barely driven the car maybe 75 miles since I bought it because I do not want to destroy my bank one catalytic converter. I have already noticed the rotten egg smell from the small amount of idling testing and driving I have done so I am very wary of forcing a bunch of wet sticky carbon smoke through the exhaust right now. However I understand now would be the perfect time to do it so I need to make a decision and I would appreciate all sage advice here. I fully expect my compression test to come back 100% normal and changing the COPS+plugs to cure my cylinder one misfire and stuck rich O2 sensor reading as well as to make my transmission shift better once I reset the computer via disconnecting the battery overnight. What do all of you think? Seafoam the hell out of it before I change the plugs/COPs or should I just forget about the Seafoam treatment all together?
Half a can Sea Foam in crankcase for a coupla miles,park it,and do the oil change. It has no hydraulic lifters,which is one of the things Sea-Foam conditions. If you believe you have stuck rings after you compression test it,BEFORE the oil change, add Rislone or Barr oil treatment(the ones that say frees sticky rings). Run it at least 50 miles with this type additive.If compression is fine leave it be.
Don't forget to check water pump shaft play or leak, idler pulley,tensioner and pulley when you do serpentine drive belt. don-ohio^)
Don't forget to check water pump shaft play or leak, idler pulley,tensioner and pulley when you do serpentine drive belt. don-ohio
^)bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Sure enough on the pump and tensioner but the oil change was already done. I do not anticipate any problems with the compression test.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
So good news. My parts came today and I swapped out 8 coils and plugs, did a compression test and replaced the serpentine belt. Car ran great on a 2.2 mile test run so hopefully all is well. I will take it to work tomorrow and if all remains well I will get an alignment and 4 new tires after work. Long day today, I need to get some sleep. I will post highlights tomorrow.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Yeah Don, work can be consuming. Well, so far so good today. No codes and running good. Shifts much better but not perfect.
So compression test results.
CYL PSI
1. 165
2. 175
3. 180
4. 170
5. 169
6. 180
7. 176
8. 176
The plugs all looked pretty good/tan. They were plenty worn as the gap was 15-20% over 1mm except cylinder #1 which was a little fouled but if that is the bad coil pack identified by the pcm it makes good sense. Small amount of oil in some plug wells so I will order gaskets. Also I broke 2 retaining clips on the coil pigtail drivers side cyl 8 and 6. Dang It! I will probably use small zip ties temporarily. I haven't searched yet, anyone ever fix these? Anyway, my wifes car needed the love today in the order of new brakes so I will get back after the LS tomorrow.
So compression test results.
CYL PSI
1. 165
2. 175
3. 180
4. 170
5. 169
6. 180
7. 176
8. 176
The plugs all looked pretty good/tan. They were plenty worn as the gap was 15-20% over 1mm except cylinder #1 which was a little fouled but if that is the bad coil pack identified by the pcm it makes good sense. Small amount of oil in some plug wells so I will order gaskets. Also I broke 2 retaining clips on the coil pigtail drivers side cyl 8 and 6. Dang It! I will probably use small zip ties temporarily. I haven't searched yet, anyone ever fix these? Anyway, my wifes car needed the love today in the order of new brakes so I will get back after the LS tomorrow.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Tomorrow I plan on getting an alignment and four new tires. I am going to get the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 if nobody tells me not to...
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Yes, you can buy new connectors and just swap the housings. Personally, I stick with the zip ties. If you loop them correctly, there's no way the connector is coming out.
I have A/S 3s on both LSes, and the BMW. No complaints.
I have A/S 3s on both LSes, and the BMW. No complaints.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Dang it! Went to take the kids to school this morning and a bad miss was obvious. I shut down and restarted three times on the 3.5 mile round trip and no change. Check engine light came on. I popped the hood and checked my two bad connectors on the drivers side, no change. Could smell the sulfur stink from the cat. Restarted a fourth time at a light and it cleaned up and ran perfect. Drove another 1.75 miles home no issues. Read codes... P301 Cylinder 1 misfire. The #1 cylinder spark pug was the only one fouling. I am figuring it has to be electrical to be intermittent like that, wouldn't you think? It was a bad miss like the cylinder was completely dead but it cleaned up to perfect instantly when it did. I am betting the engine light will go off on its own in a few miles of running good like it did before. A couple things come to mind... Cylinder 1 was the lowest in the compression test. That makes sense if the fuel injector is cleaning the oil off the cylinder walls. The broken connectors were on the drivers side, cylinders 6 and 8 so that should not be the problem. What do you think?
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
You just replaced all the coils and plugs, correct? You used new Motorcraft coils, correct?
If yes to both, then the next suspects are the wiring between the #1 coil and power (should be enough to check it the #2 coil), the wiring between the #1 coil and the PCM, and the PCM itself. There have been a few cases of PCMs with ignition and/or transmission problems. The theory is that the PCM is damaged by bad coils if you let it go long enough.
If yes to both, then the next suspects are the wiring between the #1 coil and power (should be enough to check it the #2 coil), the wiring between the #1 coil and the PCM, and the PCM itself. There have been a few cases of PCMs with ignition and/or transmission problems. The theory is that the PCM is damaged by bad coils if you let it go long enough.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
That is correct Joe, a picture of all parts used in post #90. Eight new plugs and coils. All Motorcraft. I will check the connector and wiring between 1 and 2. Would the PCM clean up like that intermittently? I will search how to test a PCM unless someone has a link...
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
"The theory is that the PCM is damaged by bad coils if you let it go long enough. "
Isn't that usually typical of the #4 and #8 coils because of their proximity to the firewall/PCM? I wouldn't think the #1 coil is close enough to damage it, would you?
Isn't that usually typical of the #4 and #8 coils because of their proximity to the firewall/PCM? I wouldn't think the #1 coil is close enough to damage it, would you?
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
I don't believe that the distance is that much of a factor. Noise from #4 is known to be the most likely one to cause ETC issues, but others can as well. Any bad coil can damage its associated driver in the PCM. It's a direct electrical connection.
The only practical way to test the PCM for this is to send it here: http://0343881.netsolstores.com/
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Ha! Thats funny Joe I just saw that link you posted in the transmission thread. Thanks for posting it here. I hope I do not need it but $100-$200 is not bad at all if it comes to that.
bobsquatch
Active LVC Member
Good news very bad news. Good= its running great for now. Bad=I went to put my tires on and my cheap a$$ primax wheels are de-chroming at the bead and will leak so I need new wheels. I am happy with stock and stock sizes and will be looking at Discount tire's wheels unless anyone has a good suggestion.