3.4L Motor Swap Underway!

[schoir]

Originally Posted by insite

i really can't wait to drive it. it died in march of '08! been WAY too long. it takes me a good bit of restraint not to rush it......

one of the coolest things was watching the VarioRam properly actuate, proving all the wiring & vacuum routing works like a champ.

one odd thing: the low coolant light is flashing. i'm all topped up, the system is burped (heater routing too!), and the sensor is plugged in. small issue, really.....

Insite:

WAY TO (methodically) GO!

When you first get it on the road, make sure you get photos of your permagrin that are as good as the other photos you have posted!

For the coolant light flashing, is it possible that the float sensor (inside the tube in the coolant tank) is stuck in the down position and is thus sending an incorrect signal?

Also, don't forget that the "coolant level low" warning light can also flash to indicate a fault in the engine compartment blower fan, so check that out as well.

Regards, Maurice.

[Cloudsurfer]

Looking good Kevin! Glad that you could put those silicone bits and t-bolt clamps to good use! You'll LOVE it once you take it for a drive....

[insite]

cloudsurfer - glad you remembered my name!! :-)


ok, road test today & put 70 miles on it. a little scare when i started to back out of the garage; HUGE billows of black smoke that smelled eerily familiar, but that i couldn't place..... oh yeah, bonding agents & kevlar. it was the new clutch. once that crap started burning off, all was well.

first impressions? holy ****************. i'd forgotten how raw and visceral this particular car was. first off, it's a no-option car, so it's very light. it also has very stiff suspension, no sound deadening, a solid front motor mount, and a LOUD stebro race exhaust. it is now also quite fast. this thing stirs every emotion when i drive it, even a little fear.....but in a good way!

the torque curve is so different than my G35. the G has TONS of low end grunt, but struggles for air up high. this thing is the reverse; torque is a little muted below about 3k, but once you're over 4k, it just builds and builds. MUCH more tractable around town; no need to shift as often. the noise is wonderful. also, with the added 600 RPM's, i can now breach 60mph in 2nd and 100mph in 3rd. this alone will save me some tenths at the track.

i still have a couple of minor details to handle. the car still wants to die at idle when i get off the gas. need to find the vacuum leak. the hose betweein the oil separator & my throttle is pinched; i'll also need to fix that. all in all, i'm very happy with the car & the project was a lot of fun.

thanks to the board & online community for all the help. i need to individually thank Todd Holyoak for all his help in paving the way for these swaps & for putting up with all of my questions along the way. Cloudsurfer was invaluable in helping design my intake plumbing. he even sent me a few silicone pieces and T-bolt clamps. thanks!

the one person i need to kick is hans; that's the name i gave to the guy that put all those friggin spring clamps on the hoses in this car. bubba's the name of his nemesis, the guy who invented the spring clamp cable pliers (i'll post a pic!).

more to come......

[AndyA6]

Congrats!

You made a lot of people take note and dream!

Later,
Andy

[tnoice]

Comgrats. I hope you get all of the little bugs ironed out. It sounds like this project was well worth the time, money, and effort. We will be looking forward to hear ongoing reports.

[insite]

update:

holyoak reminded me of the idle air control valve.......duh. i pulled it off to clean it & check it. it was rusted solid; i couldn't even move it by hand after i opened it up.

i dug out the one from the boxster engine, gave it a good cleaning, & popped it in the car. ran TERRIBLE!!! way worse off. i reset the DME & voila, buttery idle. running very well now.

keeps getting faster every day. i gave a check ride to a forum member last night (byron in atl); he agreed it's a little scary. much faster than either of us thought it would be.

[Bladecutter]

Good job, and congrats!

I have one question:

Since you installed a light weight flywheel, what precautions have you taken to prevent the crankshaft from going bye-bye?

Cracked cranks have been reported with light weight flywheels.
Especially track cars.

BC.

[schoir]

Thanks for the update. Good to see that your transplant is working out so well!

Now... how did you manage to find a wife like that?

Regards, Maurice.

[insite]

Originally Posted by schoir

Now... how did you manage to find a wife like that?

for whatever reason, her tolerance to my driving is OFF THE CHARTS. she doesn't get sick & doesn't complain when i go full maniac. i think a lot of it is because she's ridden with me at the track & she trusts my driving & trusts that i slow down a LOT when there's traffic, blind drives, lots of cyclists out, etc.

she can actually read & send iphone emails while we're a little sideways......