rod bearings, lash adj, oil consumption, coolant

[1kirby1]

What the **** is going on with this car??? I bought it in august and the water pump went out in three days (1000 miles, had to drive it from chicago to DC). So I did the 60k on the lower end. I wanted to build this car up and already have new calipers and rotors all the way around with 96 upgrade on front. But every week there is some new problem. First I noticed the loud knock on start up, I thought rod bearings might be the cause. I noticed a significant coolant leak, looks like it's coming from between the radiator and plastic tank on the side of it somewhere, shoshop recommends new radiator (how unreliable is the reclamp procedure?). Today the oil light came on and I just changed the damn oil 500 miles ago with Castrol GTX 10w-30 (As advised by SHO einstein sdpatt). Not to mention the coolant light was already on because it's hard to keep up with. Oh yea AND the freaking door ajar light is on which I'm not too concerned about but when you have three lights blasting you from the dash things don't look good man. Jesus, something else I remembered, the last few days when rolling very slow there is a sound like pushing furniture across a wood floor, it's coming from the front and I assume it's wheel bearings. What do I do about this? I'm thinking about not putting any more money in this engine and going with a 3.2 conversion. Ideas? Thoughts? Advice? Complaints about a really long post?

 

[SHOZ123]

By a good radiator, not OEM or Modine try Good Radiators Stay away from SHO Shop, buy a new oil pressure switch, and get a new door light switch. That's all I got to say for now.....

<small>[ November 07, 2002, 08:26 PM: Message edited by: SHOZ123 ]</small>

 

[luigisho]

kirby, I think if you can afford the down time and the the labor the 3.2 conversion isn't a bad idea. If you do that then freshen everything before you drop it in. If not I would suggest dropping the oil pan and checking the bearings. As for the radiator it's a crapshoot. You could try to fix it, but I would get a replacement (maybe even look for one without those endtanks). You should also check the oil pressure to be sure the oil pump is functioning in spec.

 

[BeatDaSHO]

what oil light came on? the red oil pressure light or the orange low oil light? if the red one came on and your rpm's seemed to be in the normal range (around 950), then it looks like you have low oil pressure and in need of new bearings. knock at startup can also be caused by bad bearings.

Greg

 

[1kirby1]

The yellow/orange check oil light. I'm really thinken this 3.2L is the way to go. Judging from the procedure given in Showtimes you don't have to do any weird modifications except for one cut. This looks very straight forward actually and I'm a little confused why ANYONE ever said it couldn't be done. Once somebody actually tried it he found it could be done quite systematically. I want to get this engine to be as close to new as possible without sending it out and having someone else do it. Any advice about this would be excellent. A resource to check out would be just great to. Is there anything missing out of the guidelines on Showtimes on converting to a 3.2 that I should know about? I was hoping to use that as a guide to doing my own. I'm hoping to do as much work to the 3.2 as possible before dismantling my engine ie. I need the car to drive around. How long does it take to get the 3.2 engine as ready as possible for the 3.0 components and how long does it take to transfer all the parts. You guys are great, special thanks to Luigi for making me realize if I wanted to spend the $$ to have an engine that I know I can trust this is the way to go.

 

[luigisho]

kriby,
as a disclaimer- if your problem is electronic, a new motor won't fix it and imagine how ****** you'd be if you did the swap with the problem recurring after! The oil pump is swapped over to the 3.2 block. So if you go in that direction make sure everything is in good order.

Email Don Mallison over at shoclub.com and see if Mark N. wrote an article with install tips in it. I think there was something written up in one of the SHO magazine issues he puts out. Maybe you can buy a copy of that old issue. There are alot of posts here if you take the time to search all the old threads you will pick up alot of info. Most of the conversions are relatively new and done by members here.

BTW-- Tim Dahm, who did the write up on shotimes, is really a cool guy and I bet he would answer a few questions. As a matter of fact, I would be surprised if he didn't have a 3.2 converted car or motor laying around ready to go.

<small>[ November 08, 2002, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: luigisho ]</small>

 

[1kirby1]

I will try to find that article. I'm 99% positive I have no electrical problems except for the door ajar and the blower door actuator (man i've got a lot of work to do ). When the coolant light comes on she's low, when the oil light comes on she's low. My electrical system is brutally honest. A mercedez M3 toasted me the other day, all the more reason for doing the upgrade. God I wanted to turbo this thing but I believe the car should be prepared for it and by that time I may have no $$$$ left .

 

[Groo]

Oh yea AND the freaking door ajar light is on...

As a band-aid, you could just try taping back the little clips that tell the car whether the doors are opened or closed.

the last few days when rolling very slow there is a sound like pushing furniture across a wood floor, it's coming from the front and I assume it's wheel bearings.

It's not wheel bearings, you just have a case of SHO Owner syndrome (aka thinking some some problem is a hugely expensive one). I heard the same sound, it was just the insulation from the cat back dragging on the ground.