so i bought a porsche.......
07-23-2016, 10:31 PM
#201
got the car finished off last saturday. so much nicer to drive with the slightly heavier flywheel and rubber engine mount bushings. im never going with a real light flywheel again unless its a track only car. ive got a fidanza in my cobalt as well, if i ever have the transmission back out im putting a stock flywheel back in it.
so i almost got to drive it for a whole week. yesterday i started hearing some noise from the fuel pump at times. had 1/4 tank, started thinking maybe the gauge reads wrong and it was sucking air on corners so i filled the car up. well on my way home from work yesterday it went dead lean under boost, managed to make it home but the pump is now chewing itself to bits. roughly 800km on that fuel pump. its an AEM 380 lph, its their version of a bosch 044.
so now im trying to get a real bosch 044 pump. was hoping i could get one local, no luck so far. guess itll be down for another couple weeks.
so i almost got to drive it for a whole week. yesterday i started hearing some noise from the fuel pump at times. had 1/4 tank, started thinking maybe the gauge reads wrong and it was sucking air on corners so i filled the car up. well on my way home from work yesterday it went dead lean under boost, managed to make it home but the pump is now chewing itself to bits. roughly 800km on that fuel pump. its an AEM 380 lph, its their version of a bosch 044.
so now im trying to get a real bosch 044 pump. was hoping i could get one local, no luck so far. guess itll be down for another couple weeks.
Moderator
07-28-2016, 01:15 AM
#205
yup. and as more to it, ive been working late the last week again (something i shouldnt be doing anyways), and today i was only a couple ours late. so i decide when i get home im quickly gonna swap out the pump. went smooth, before i put the cover back on i fired it, checked for leaks, all good. put the cover back on, put it back on the ground, run it some more and it starts pissing fuel all over my driveway. take it all back apart in the dark to fix it (as i dont want to come outside for 60 L of fuel on my driveway in the morning).
im starting to hate cars lol.
im starting to hate cars lol.
08-15-2016, 01:49 AM
#208
had a productive weekend working on the car. i finally identified the slight front end vibration i had at highway speeds, i found some play in one of the ball joints. being a ball joint control arm (much like a cobalt aluminum arm) you cant just buy a ball joint, and a new control arm carries the porsche price tag at over $600 each. luckily my car still had the original control arms that have a rebuildable balljoint. i picked up a kit to take care of it, and while i was at it got a set of mono ball control arm bushings.
i didnt get any pics of the bushings before i installed them in the arms, but here is what it all looks like installed
when i took everything apart i discovered the front control arm bushings were toast as well, so its good i ordered the mono *****. the front end is so much tighter now. im starting to think about rebuilding the rear suspension, the only downside is all the performance mounts and bushings for the rear alone are around $1400. and at the same time id like to go to coilovers front and rear and eliminate the torsion bars. but thats for the future.
i also got another project completed. back when i was starting to build the car i picked up a solid transmission mount. it was great for getting everything set up but i didnt like the fact the engine could move in its rubber mounts but the transmission was solid, makes for lots of stress on the torque tube. i ended up putting the stocker back in for the time being. they make a better mount, its basicly the solid mount with rubber bushings in it. i decided that instead of spending $300 on it i could get $20 worth of rubber bushings and machine the solid mount myself. end result, cant tell the difference between the 2.
i didnt get any pics of the bushings before i installed them in the arms, but here is what it all looks like installed
when i took everything apart i discovered the front control arm bushings were toast as well, so its good i ordered the mono *****. the front end is so much tighter now. im starting to think about rebuilding the rear suspension, the only downside is all the performance mounts and bushings for the rear alone are around $1400. and at the same time id like to go to coilovers front and rear and eliminate the torsion bars. but thats for the future.
i also got another project completed. back when i was starting to build the car i picked up a solid transmission mount. it was great for getting everything set up but i didnt like the fact the engine could move in its rubber mounts but the transmission was solid, makes for lots of stress on the torque tube. i ended up putting the stocker back in for the time being. they make a better mount, its basicly the solid mount with rubber bushings in it. i decided that instead of spending $300 on it i could get $20 worth of rubber bushings and machine the solid mount myself. end result, cant tell the difference between the 2.
08-24-2016, 02:42 AM
#209
my next big upgrade showed up today.
those 3 letters put together are close to unobtanium in the 944 world. this transmission was only in the 1989 944 turbo s. there are lots of different versions of the transaxle. n/a versions got a 3.88 final drive and a tall 5th gear, turbos got a 3.37 final drive with a short 5th gear. 87+ versions all got a stronger case, and all of them could come with a limited slip diff and/or a fluid cooler system, where a pump driven off the diff feeds fluid through a cooler loop. this transaxle has the 3.37 fdr, fluid cooler, the best factory limited slip, and 1st and 2nd gear are shot peened for added strength, something no other version has. these things are very tough to find, and it was a small fortune, but its still cheaper than going through a few weaker versions of it.
so this one was set up for a v8 swap. its common for the v8 guys to swap the tall 5th gear from the n/a 3.88 fdr version into a turbo trans (any of them) with the 3.37 ratio so they can cruise at 2000 rpm at 70mph. this would be useless with the ecotec, especially with the cams (i cant even maintain speed at 2000rpm in 5th right now), so ive tracked down a short 5th gear set to swap back in. there is also another common mod im going to be doing, its a reinforcement plate in the back of the case to prevent case breakage from the pinion gear loading the case. its more of a mod for the early units with the weaker case, but its also worthwhile in this trans.
those 3 letters put together are close to unobtanium in the 944 world. this transmission was only in the 1989 944 turbo s. there are lots of different versions of the transaxle. n/a versions got a 3.88 final drive and a tall 5th gear, turbos got a 3.37 final drive with a short 5th gear. 87+ versions all got a stronger case, and all of them could come with a limited slip diff and/or a fluid cooler system, where a pump driven off the diff feeds fluid through a cooler loop. this transaxle has the 3.37 fdr, fluid cooler, the best factory limited slip, and 1st and 2nd gear are shot peened for added strength, something no other version has. these things are very tough to find, and it was a small fortune, but its still cheaper than going through a few weaker versions of it.
so this one was set up for a v8 swap. its common for the v8 guys to swap the tall 5th gear from the n/a 3.88 fdr version into a turbo trans (any of them) with the 3.37 ratio so they can cruise at 2000 rpm at 70mph. this would be useless with the ecotec, especially with the cams (i cant even maintain speed at 2000rpm in 5th right now), so ive tracked down a short 5th gear set to swap back in. there is also another common mod im going to be doing, its a reinforcement plate in the back of the case to prevent case breakage from the pinion gear loading the case. its more of a mod for the early units with the weaker case, but its also worthwhile in this trans.
08-26-2016, 09:12 AM
#210
Love how far this build has come. I've seen too many projects with interesting swaps just die out before being finished.
You've actually inspired me to pursue my own old school Ecotec swap. Just got the vehicle a couple days ago. Now I'm in the research phase, and keeping my eyes peeled for a doner car.
You've actually inspired me to pursue my own old school Ecotec swap. Just got the vehicle a couple days ago. Now I'm in the research phase, and keeping my eyes peeled for a doner car.
09-05-2016, 04:52 PM
#222
i have, a little. when we tuned it i was having issues in the higher rpm caused by weak valve springs, and we were limited to wastegate pressure. fixed the valve spring issue, just havent been able to get the car on the dyno again, i never seem to have enough time. i bumped ive had it as high as 12 but its just pig rich up that high, starts to nose over because of it. and i doubt ill be able to get it back on the dyno before i take the car off the road for winter.
01-10-2017, 03:24 AM
#223
well, cars having its winter nap, unfortunately its in my driveway, covered in snow. i also havent really been able to do much, ive been off work for the past 3 months due to my heart condition getting worse. im doing ok, as long as im trying to do anything strenuous, like walking up and down stairs. i can work on something on my workbench for about an hour a day.
last summer i picked up a transaxle from a 944 turbo s. these were the strongest transaxles used in the 944. the rear case half was made stronger, 1st and 2nd gear, the input shaft as well as the ring and pinion were shot peened for added strength, and its got a 40% lockup limited slip diff, along with a fluid pump and a cooler. this transmission was going into a v8 swapped car, it had the taller 5th gear from a n/a 944 put in it to get the rpm down on the freeway to around 2000rpm. that isnt gonna work with the ecotec so i had to swap it back. im also adding a stiffening plate to further strengthen the rear case. i figured im part way in, i may as well pull it right apart to inspect the whole transmission.
to get the 5th gear bearing bolt off i used a spare input shaft coupler in the vice
rear housing removed, this is 5th gear
diff cover removed, thats the gear that drives the cooler pump
front case removed
removing the rear bearing race. a puller that big isnt needed, a 3 jaw will work fine, but having a proper gear puller makes it really easy
here is the rear housing, this is where the stiffening plate goes
here is the stiffening plate on the center housing
at this point im a little sceptical on the whole idea of the stiffening plate, its supposed to stop the cast iron from flexing around the pinion shaft bearing, the flex eventually causes catastrophic failure. these plates are supposed to really help, but it doesnt look like its doing a whole lot. im also a little concerned with oil flow, the cooler return is in the back housing and the plate partially blocks the passage to the main case. its something i need to have a better look at.
more pics to come, i pulled the diff apart but forgot to take pics
last summer i picked up a transaxle from a 944 turbo s. these were the strongest transaxles used in the 944. the rear case half was made stronger, 1st and 2nd gear, the input shaft as well as the ring and pinion were shot peened for added strength, and its got a 40% lockup limited slip diff, along with a fluid pump and a cooler. this transmission was going into a v8 swapped car, it had the taller 5th gear from a n/a 944 put in it to get the rpm down on the freeway to around 2000rpm. that isnt gonna work with the ecotec so i had to swap it back. im also adding a stiffening plate to further strengthen the rear case. i figured im part way in, i may as well pull it right apart to inspect the whole transmission.
to get the 5th gear bearing bolt off i used a spare input shaft coupler in the vice
rear housing removed, this is 5th gear
diff cover removed, thats the gear that drives the cooler pump
front case removed
removing the rear bearing race. a puller that big isnt needed, a 3 jaw will work fine, but having a proper gear puller makes it really easy
here is the rear housing, this is where the stiffening plate goes
here is the stiffening plate on the center housing
at this point im a little sceptical on the whole idea of the stiffening plate, its supposed to stop the cast iron from flexing around the pinion shaft bearing, the flex eventually causes catastrophic failure. these plates are supposed to really help, but it doesnt look like its doing a whole lot. im also a little concerned with oil flow, the cooler return is in the back housing and the plate partially blocks the passage to the main case. its something i need to have a better look at.
more pics to come, i pulled the diff apart but forgot to take pics
01-11-2017, 12:22 AM
#224
took some pics of the diff
the guts taken out the the case
the spider gears
the clutch clutch plates
this is a 40% lockup clutch style lsd. in the stack of clutch plates, the one with the 4 tabs on it is selectable, its said that going with the thickest ones that you can achive a 60% lockup, im going to try that.
the guts taken out the the case
the spider gears
the clutch clutch plates
this is a 40% lockup clutch style lsd. in the stack of clutch plates, the one with the 4 tabs on it is selectable, its said that going with the thickest ones that you can achive a 60% lockup, im going to try that.
01-13-2017, 12:24 AM
#225
i got the rear housing machined for the stiffening plate. i used my friends benchtop cnc milling machine, unfortunately the housing was too tall to machine with a fly cutter, i ended up having to machine it with a 1/4" end mill, and had to cut half of it, move the housing on the table and cut the other half. took a while, but i always have fun using this small machine.
one thing i didnt think about till i already started machining was the dowel pin holes, as you can see, they are now gone. after some looking every picture ive found of the machined covers shows people arent machining them deeper. to me thats an issue, the rear cover needs to be properly indexed to the case to prevent loading the rear bearing to one side. so thats something i have to tackle yet, and i need to make some longer dowel pins.
im still pondering the cooler return oil thing, but after a little more looking im not going to leave it alone. on the cast iron case, at the bottom left of my above pics there is one drain hole, that gets partially blocked off by the stiffening plate and you end up with a very small channel. on the right side of the bearings, right under the shift rail holes is another drain hole, the plate blocks that, and for oil to flow into that the level would be as high as the bottom shift rail, and thats even a restricted path.
i keep running across this picture on google
its pretty obvious here they are trying to direct the oil onto the gears themselves, i dont think this is needed, in fact, i dont think there is any benefit at all in these transaxles, i cant say ive seen a picture of an over heated or oil starved gear. im thinking about maybe running a small -3 line into the rear housing and a larger -6 hose the main case somewhere. im still thinking about this, id like to find more info on the setup in that picture, would be some good food for thought
one thing i didnt think about till i already started machining was the dowel pin holes, as you can see, they are now gone. after some looking every picture ive found of the machined covers shows people arent machining them deeper. to me thats an issue, the rear cover needs to be properly indexed to the case to prevent loading the rear bearing to one side. so thats something i have to tackle yet, and i need to make some longer dowel pins.
im still pondering the cooler return oil thing, but after a little more looking im not going to leave it alone. on the cast iron case, at the bottom left of my above pics there is one drain hole, that gets partially blocked off by the stiffening plate and you end up with a very small channel. on the right side of the bearings, right under the shift rail holes is another drain hole, the plate blocks that, and for oil to flow into that the level would be as high as the bottom shift rail, and thats even a restricted path.
i keep running across this picture on google
its pretty obvious here they are trying to direct the oil onto the gears themselves, i dont think this is needed, in fact, i dont think there is any benefit at all in these transaxles, i cant say ive seen a picture of an over heated or oil starved gear. im thinking about maybe running a small -3 line into the rear housing and a larger -6 hose the main case somewhere. im still thinking about this, id like to find more info on the setup in that picture, would be some good food for thought
Last edited by Sharkey; 01-13-2017 at 12:37 AM.