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Andrewhans 240 LS Swap, Going for 8's

This is awesome!

How accurate do you find that trans dipstick to be? I've got one too, not sure if I'm over or underfilled though.
 
This is awesome!

How accurate do you find that trans dipstick to be? I've got one too, not sure if I'm over or underfilled though.

If you are concerned about it, install the dip stick and remove the pan. Full should be at the pan rail, at least on my th400.
 
So I got sick of waiting for the shifter to be delivered so I cut a hole in the floor attached a linkage and shifted it by hand.

This thing was an absolute blast. Even at 4psi its a monster.

Sounds great at idle too. 4.8 and the small cam give it a little chop but pulls well down low.

But alas... it was not meant to be. I'm assuming 3 things lead to the next photo. I didnt verify the timing that was actually being commanded, the ring gap had to have been tighter than I thought it would be after 360k miles and maybe the 93oct I had in the tank was too old(3 or 4 months maybe)


Luckily the guys on the sloppymechanics forums are awesome and somebody is sending me 5 gen3 4.8 piston/rods for $50 shipped. Very excited about that. Im going to tear down the engine verify timing, check ring gap, fix ring gap and put it back together.

She will be chooching again soon!
 
Got the trans dropped, engine out and tore down. Only one piston was bad. #5 bit the dust for me. Gonna check gap on the rest and fix them while Im waiting on my spares to show up.




 
Damn, it's not too bad when it only takes out one piston and there isn't any other damage. I'm sure that little test drive makes you want to drive it so much more. I know I couldn't wait to drive mine after I broke a piston
 
Well origonally I was going to adapt the Volvo shufter but that would have left me with a reverse pattern where full aft was park then reverse etc etc. Didnt like it and wanted something better after I started reading up on how important it is for the shifts to be accurate and not inbetween two positions.

Found a Hurst QuarterStick with new cable and all brackets locally for $80. Just need the guy to remove it from his drag truck so I can buy it.

As a side note and bonus the driveshaft fits perfectly! Trans fluid lines and shifter and I can back the car out of the driveway under its own power!

FYI, you can keep the Volvo shifter if you flip the GM selector arm upside down. I used the Lokar 'column shift' linkage kit they sell - has threaded rod, small heim joints on each end, and an adjustable length shift selector arm. Had to clearance the tunnel ~1/8" to clear the flipped arm, but it works perfect and it's nice keeping the interior 100% stock.

I'll take pictures of mine if you're interested.
 
timing, or a flakey injector on that hole would be my guess.

Doubt it's gap, the L33 only had 120k on it when I dropped it in, it's seen it's fair share of boost controller mishaps.
 
timing, or a flakey injector on that hole would be my guess.

Doubt it's gap, the L33 only had 120k on it when I dropped it in, it's seen it's fair share of boost controller mishaps.

I think the engine had way less than 360k on it or the timing was too aggresive mixed with kind of old gas. Going to mix in e85 and fill the tank here for the next go around as well.

FYI, you can keep the Volvo shifter if you flip the GM selector arm upside down. I used the Lokar 'column shift' linkage kit they sell - has threaded rod, small heim joints on each end, and an adjustable length shift selector arm. Had to clearance the tunnel ~1/8" to clear the flipped arm, but it works perfect and it's nice keeping the interior 100% stock.

I'll take pictures of mine if you're interested.

I have a Hurst quarterstick that will be going in here soon. Thanks for the info though!

Damn, it's not too bad when it only takes out one piston and there isn't any other damage. I'm sure that little test drive makes you want to drive it so much more. I know I couldn't wait to drive mine after I broke a piston

I cant wait to get it back on the road now. Super excited honestly. Going to make a few changes to the tune and to the car and itll be back to tearing up the streets soon.
 
Also as an awesome side note. I beat the **** out of the car and never once got it over 195 the whole time. Even after doing a pull and coming to a stop. The stock 240 radiator is shockingly good. Only thing I did was a PT cruiser fan running on low speed and a stock 4.8 thermostat with a few extra holes drilled around the edge to aid in air leeding and flow.

Seriously impressed.
 
So I just walked out to the garage to check the ring gaps. I only checked the top ring gap as a quick test. Every hole was almost dead on .025.

Makes me lean towards timing was way off or bad gas. These are brand new deka 80# injectors. Fuel pressure was great on the pull too. I am going to move the "suspect" injector to number 2 though as a just incase. See if it follows. I dont usually ever hear #2 going. Usually 5 and 7.

Going to go grab some e85 top it up to give me a bit of a safety net and verify timing once its back together. Not sure Im going to gap the rings anymore than they already are.
 
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in the winter mine didn't run hot either. it wasn't until the summer that it started creeping. it never overheated, but even with a lower temp t-stat it would hit 200 without any abuse.
 
in the winter mine didn't run hot either. it wasn't until the summer that it started creeping. it never overheated, but even with a lower temp t-stat it would hit 200 without any abuse.

I will absolutely be keeping an eye on it. It wasnt an overly cool day Saturday. I think it was in the mid 60's.
 
Picked up a used Hurst QuarterStick fro $60. Really like it so far. It needed a really good clean and regrease. Ooerates very smoothly now.

Also spent most of the day mounting it. I like how it turned out. I may redo it later though.


 
Got everything back together and driving. I have a weird vibration at 3k that wasnt there before. Going to check the converter and make sure nothing funny is going on down there.

Also runs 7psi now instead of the 3 or 4 it had before. Not sure what thats about.

Need to get a consistent way to datalog so I can fix this tune. Its way lean even at 7psi. Trying to figure out if its tune or there is an issue.
 
What are you running for fuel lines? Are you using stock wiring for the pump or did you upgrade it?

I bought some Parker 801-6 line and a walbro 450 pump. I ran a 8awg wire dedicated to the pump straight from the battery. Its all on the factory return line.

As a side note I figured out why I popped my engine the first time around and was running super lean this time too. The ****in cheap ass MAP sensor split wide open. So I pried it apart, cleaned out the old sealant, RTV'd the halves together, ziptied it all to hell and then Double Bubbled the part that split open.


In this video you can actually see the ECU only seeing a max of 106kpa while the engine was actually around 140kpa (5psi). The e85 saved my ass bigtime with this recent error and mess up of mine.


The sealant and epoxy has cured and Ill check it out tomorrow to see if I fixed the issue. If the sealed sensor does the trick Im going to buy a genuine GM 3 Bar MAP and swap it out.
 
Its extremely frustrating to be honest.

Everything cured and is holding up great so far. Did some more testing and noe I have an uncontrollable boost issue. I currently have the shortest smallest diameter spring from the VSR 44mm in it. Initially I had the longest one in it because it felt the softest.

That spring was allowing me to hit WAY to high of boost. If I keep my foot in it I will scatter the motor on the ground I've datalogged 17psi so far and I let off when I saw the needle swinging right past 15psi.

I did at least get a good video of some burnout action. Ripping on the 6800 rpm limiter and controlling boost with my right foot haha

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/6867893806_rxtJ6gV?width=640&height=360&albumId=145943700&albumKey=LpLKGM"></iframe>
 
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