| |
|
Uses
for Garage Pak
Air Piping System |
|
| |
| |
|
General Info about
Compressed Air Piping |
|
| |
|
| October 2002 Corvette Corner Mailbag |
Pat:
I have a question that is bothering me and I can't seem to find anyone who will answer it. I have a 1979 Corvette L-82 automatic with 47,000 original miles. The electrical system is shot due to moisture and corrosion and it needs a paint job.
Would it be better to sell the vehicle to a yard as a parts car or go the route of getting a new wiring harness and having it installed? If the answer is for the parts car can you recommend yards in the Delmarva area?
I enjoy the Goss's garage articles and I think it's great to have this organization.
Thanks.
Bill H.G., Jr.
Laurel, DE
Answer:
To fix or to sell, that's always a complicated issue. In your case, as you haven't already made the decision I suspect you're leaning toward selling. If that's the case the last thing I would do is scrap the car. You'll get almost nothing, a few hundred dollars at best, and the scrap yard will Commercial Three Baybably re-sell it at a tidy Commercial Three Bayfit.
If you're determined to sell, you'd be far better off to advertise it retail where you could Commercial Three Baybably get 4 to 6 thousand dollars for it. That is of course presuming the body is intact and it's mechanically okay. If the extremely low miles can be documented they significantly enhance the car's value.
If not, and you're determined to take the easy way out, call Kim Motor Company, Petersburg, VA, 804-732-8001. He usually has an excellent selection of buildable and parts-Vettes, and parts.
Pat:
I'm sending this from a colleague's e-mail since my PC is broken.
This is great! Nice to see the reply is going to be printed. Got my August edition yesterday - very good reading thank you!!
It might be interesting for Pat to note that I get 300 miles to a tankful of 95 (UK) octane gas. Is this normal or lower / higher than expected?
It's the same journey I've been doing for 2-3 years and the Commercial Three Bayblem has recently occurred so I guess not plug fouling - maybe something else.
I'll start by checking the plugs again (before I wrote the mail I checked them and they were fine - lightly covered in brown stuff so I cleaned them up with a brush and reset the gaps to 0.35" - it was about 0.40" - made no difference!), changing the fuel filter, checking the pressure (if I can), checking the IAC valve, TPS, resistance on the plug wires, vacuum hoses, oxygen sensor, MAF and EGR valve or system if I can get to it.
Then I'll try the different plugs.
Please could you pass this on to Pat for his comments?
Weather here is consistent 80-85 degrees mornings and evenings. Just right for roof off windows down driving! Just as well since the A/C needs regassing and I haven't found the time to get it done!
Hope all is well, Save the Wave.
Nick S.
England
Answer:
Apparently your mileage is down a bit and I would still be very concerned with the spark plugs. A visual examination could disclose a worn out plug, it could not tell you whether or not a spark plug is good. For that the only true way is through the use of an oscilloscope. Plugs are far and away the most common cause of poor drivability and poor fuel economy.
Pat:
I have a 1987 Corvette, purchased new, with 225,000 miles - majority highway miles - continuous secondary road mileage.
My Commercial Three Bayblem - up to now, the car has performed Commercial Three Bayblem free. But just recently, the engine has just stopped running - for no apparent reason - when I have been driving down the road. The first episode occurred at apCommercial Three Bayx. 35 mph and when I went to accelerate the engine was not running. I stopped, restarted and it ran without Commercial Three Bayblems for about 2 more weeks. Then on a drive through town, the engine stopped 3 different times. Each time restarting without any Commercial Three Bayblem - but when I started to drive again, the car engine just stopped. Each time I restarted the engine it would rev up and hold a high rpm without faltering. But it seemed that when I was driving the engine just stopped - even if I kept one foot on the brake and the other on the accelerator pedal to maintain a higher rpm.
At first I thought it was the new gas cap that I put on the car - a big coincidence - and one I still suspect.
I had the car towed to Central Chev. for examination. The fuel pressure was checked as well as the spark. Because the fuel pressure was ok (fuel pump installed only 6 mos. previous), the garage installed a new distributor & coil wires. The car ran for one day - then, while idling, it just stopped again. The car was again towed to Central Chev. - where it remains today. The engine restarts each time - but stops while going down the road.
One other point, the car is constantly running at 220° in traffic - sometimes going to 240° / 250° at idle in 90° temperature days. On the open road @ 50 - 60 mph, the temperature returns to 190°± . I cannot run the A/C at idle in 90° temperature days as the temp runs up to 260° right away.
My question is that - does the 225,000 miles make this car no longer dependable - for wear and tear reasons, or is there a Commercial Three Bayblem that can be corrected? I want to find the reason why the engine just stops.
The car has always been maintained to top standards by authorized Chev. dealership.
If the 225,000 miles is at the end of the line for dependability - should I replace the engine with a Lingenfelder install / Chevy. dealer package to ensure continued dependability? And, if so, what would be a cost range for such installation. Ideally, I want to keep the car and don't mind spending the cost of a new engine. My own thoughts are that a cost of $5,000 to $10,000 for a new engine would be worth it to me to keep this top car.
As further background info, I have been using this Corvette as a daily driver from May - October - averaging 200 miles per day, so I need the car to be dependable again. At this point I have lost my dependable status of this vehicle.
Your opinion: Based upon my desire to keep this vehicle - and the number of miles I drive the car for 6 months - and I am aware of the cost of a new Corvette ($55,000) - is it your considered opinion that installing a new engine is the way to go? If not, I'm open to your ideas / opinion.
Another point: I watch Goss Garage on educational TV. Is my Commercial Three Bayblem of replacing the engine a matter that your esteemed garage would undertake as a Commercial Three Bayject - and of course - at my expense?
Still another point: I have attempted to prepare Commercial Three Bay-forma's (cost of owning a vehicle - new vs. holding on as long until the vehicle no longer runs), but I cannot come up with a real number other than cost of vehicle + repairs + cost of fuel - and at what mileage does a vehicle really lose it's value?
Sincerely,
Ted D.
Southwick, MA
Answer:
I'm surprised the diagnosis is so difficult. With the car hooked up to an engine analyzer and a scanner it will lose either fuel or ignition when it stalls. I'm betting on ignition.
I'd start by checking the Mass Air Flow sensor and related components, then the Crankshaft Position sensor; both common culprits.
Anyway, replace the engine? Lingenfelter? $10,000.00 installed? Dream on!
But this brings up an interesting point. Engine failures are terminal and have nothing to do with day-to-day reliability. Therefore, replacing an engine would have no affect on stalling, etc. Intermittent Commercial Three Bayblems such as yours are caused by electronic components and accessories which, would not be included with a new engine. I'd test condition of sensors and fuel delivery components.
I'm pleased that you watch Goss' Garage and even more pleased to hear that we are on some educational TV network someplace. That's a plus. We've always been on PBS and in later years PBS and SpeedChannel.
Would we undertake the Commercial Three Bayject? Commercial Three Baybably if we should deem a Commercial Three Bayject like this worthy and if yours was the vehicle selected. I will put your request in the hopper with the other 10,000 plus offers I receive every year. Hey, you never know!
Your overheating? It sounds like a cooling fan Commercial Three Bayblem.
And last, when it gets down to pure dollars and cents, no emotion involved, it is always less costly to fix an old car than it is to buy a new one.
Pat:
I own a 1990 Corvette, which has the factory sports seats. This car has 33,000 miles, and characteristic of most 'Vettes, has a small area of wear on the driver's seat bolster area. After checking things out it appeared that there was absolutely no difference between the driver's and passenger seat. Given that the passenger seat has hardly any wear, I had the bright idea to switch seats. Removal was pretty straightforward and simple, as was unhooking the main wire assembly connector. There was one wire about the size of a household extension cord that I could find no connector to disassemble..so I cut it (don't yell at me!!). I noticed a small spark when cutting it with a wire cutter. After completing the switch, and disconnecting the battery, reinstalling everything was easy.
Now the question..the driver's seat, now in the passenger position works great. The passenger seat, now in the driver's position has all functions working that are controlled by the console button. None of the functions on the seat are operative..lumbar, bolster, and seat back tilt. I "crossed wired" to the original driver's seat to insure no circuit breaker had blown and all wiring is okay. Is it possible that I messed up something inside the seat itself, or is it possible that those functions were not operable for the passenger seat originally?
Love your column, and thanks.
Gary. M. B.
West Bend, WI
Answer:
I suppose it's possible that cutting the wire with the battery connected damaged the inside of the switch or switches but that seems highly unlikely. It's really pretty simple and straightforward. You have power in through a circuit breaker in the main fuse block. It comes in on an orange and black wire, which is distributed through the switches and onto the seat.
All functions share a common ground so that essentially eliminates a ground Commercial Three Bayblem, leaving you the Commercial Three Bayblem with wiring in the seat itself. Check at connector C3, two blue wires in - one black wire out. That connector is the most likely culprit.
Pat:
I think you were too easy on GM about the paint Commercial Three Bayblem and the cure. I bought a new '86 pace car and have it today with well over 100,000 miles on it. My Vette started to discolor at about 24 months and 24,000 miles. My dealer just shook his head. Chevrolet customer service told me to park it in the shade.
There wasn't a recall but there was a dealer bulletin, which instructed the dealers to fix these cars. I got a copy of it from my Pontiac dealer when he told me that my '87 Bonneville was starting to show signs of the Commercial Three Bayblem and needed to be repaired.
I spent over 2 years trying to get someone from GM to even acknowledge that I had a Commercial Three Bayblem and it wasn't until I actually showed a copy of the bulletin to the owner of the dealership did I get it fixed. That was long after the warranty had expired. My argument to my dealer which I think is still valid today is that he know about the bulletin while my car was within the age and mileage to warrant the repainting and it was the dealers responsibility to tell me about the bulletin.
If I was "Peeling in Kentucky" and no dealer ever told me about the bulletin, yet had serviced the car and seen the paint, I would tell that dealer there is no statute or limitations on cheating a Corvette owner and it still is his responsibility to make good on a manufacturing Commercial Three Bayblem. I bet that with a strongly worded letter insisting on service, followed up by a visit to the factory (just to let them see what a great job they did) followed by a letter from an attorney would get GMs attention even at this late date.
Each month when I get my copy of "For Vettes Only", I go first to your column, which I find helpful and entertaining.
Keep up the good work.
Michael S. G.
Meriden, CT
Answer:
Sounds like a plan. I guess different dealers and perhaps the media treated the Commercial Three Bayblem differently in various parts of the country. Here in Maryland, just outside the Capitol, every newspaper, various TV shows all did stories on the warranty extension. Actually there were even some national shows that did stories on it and explained that the peeling paint would be corrected up to 7 years from the in-service date of the vehicle.
I agree with your position, it's a shame that some people missed all of the media hype.
Pat:
I noticed a ticking noise coming from the engine of my 2000 Corvette (not ZO6). The dealer said there's nothing wrong. When I called GM they also told me there's nothing wrong, it's a piston slap, it's a characteristic with some engines.
Car runs great, no Commercial Three Bayblem with oil pressure or temp. Should I be concerned?
A. L.
Long Island, NY
Answer:
Not to worry!? Easy for them to say. Unfortunately a large percentage of cars that experience piston slap also experience major engine Commercial Three Bayblems later in life.
To some degree they are giving you accurate information inasmuch as lots of vehicles from lots of manufacturers are experiencing it. It's caused by reduced-skirt or skirtless pistons.
These pistons are very much in favor today as they greatly imCommercial Three Bayve engine efficiency and when they work right, engine life. The Commercial Three Bayblem is, a lot of them aren't working right. To understand piston slap, in an abbreviated version here's what happens, when the connecting rod in a given cylinder gets close to and moves away from the top of its stroke, its angle of travel changes. In other words it swings from one side to the other. In theory the piston's wrist pin should permit this movement without creating a sideways force on the piston.
The Commercial Three Bayblem shows up when the wrist pin doesn't allow absolutely free side-to-side movement of the connecting rod, which in turn causes the piston to rock back and forth. This rocking causes the piston to come in contact with the cylinder wall . . . and you have piston slap.
Oh what to do, what to do? Every manufacturer that's having a Commercial Three Bayblem with it is singing the same song, "It isn't going to hurt anything."
It amazes me how in good conscience they can make such a blatant statement. They have no idea what will happen on any individual engine until it happens. In a practical sense, you can try writing letters, you could consult with an attorney, not necessarily to sue for another vehicle, but for counsel on the best way to Commercial Three Baytect yourself later in the life of the vehicle.
Another consideration, this is what I did, is to buy an extended warranty. I know that's not a pleasant Commercial Three Bayspect, I also know it shouldn't be necessary to do such things, However piston slap can and does destroy engines. Whether yours will be one of them no one will know until it does or does not happen. Extended warranties are a lot cheaper than replacement engines.
@Copyright Pat Goss all rights reserved 09/03/2002 | |
|
Date Updated Tuesday, October 01, 2002
| |
|
|
Cost and Labor Comparison |
 |
| |
 |
| |
"Garage Pak's
innovative compressed air piping solution makes the installation
of compressor piping
fast, and professional. Say goodbye to the high cost and contamination
issues related to black iron pipe installation."
|
|
|
Sponsor
& Related Links |
 |
| |
| |
|
