Melted Piston.

Put the flywheel & clutch on tonight. Tomorrow I'll bolt up the trans & get it ready to put in the bay. Quick check of the valve clearances whilst I was setting the flywheel * TDC gave me clearances that are out of spec- the thicker cam box gasket I used clearly threw them out compared to the thinner style gasket (that always cracks for me, anyway) that the shop used when setting up the head. I think I'll deal with that prior to installation.

The ARP flywheel bolts that were recommended don't work so well. The heads are larger & there isn't sufficient clearance between bolt heads even using a 3/8" thin wall socket, so I used 2 of the original bolts & 4 of the ARP :(. I must have discarded the other original bolts, or I would have just used them all & been done with it.
 
Finally got the drivetrain back in the car, royal PITA in my messed up driveway. Took 2 hours (!) just to get it in place & mounts situated

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jvandyke said:
bet you're getting antsy to fire it up!
Click to expand...

Indeed!

Plugging away at it as time allows - got the AC & ALT on today, serpentine setup, and intake/exhaust header installed, fuel rail fitted, harness connections, etc.
 
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Got the rust repaired in both rear wheel arches/strut towers, painted & undercoated.

oil cooler & lines are fitted.

Allison Dist is in & set for base timing.

test fitted the plenum & intake setup. Need to make a blanking plate for the CSV.

EA3BB343-7824-412A-B968-1CBED1F331F9_zpsmmo6baq2-1.jpg


Upper cover has to be trimmed to fit around the modified heater port on the BV head, and lower cover needs to be trimmed to clear the slightly larger OD serpentine pulley.

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Got replacement tank straps from Bayless, but they didn't have ones with the FP cover bracket, so I added my own

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Fitting new eBrake cables while it's apart

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Saab 514 LH2.2 ECU in place. I forgot to make a bridge connector to go from the Green/black fuel pump feed to the new LH harness, so I had to open the harness and add that in. White relay is the Volvo LH system and pump relay. Just have to insulate all the cut original wiring.

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Control arms are de-rusted, cleaned & painted with POR15, ready to install.
 
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Rear suspension & axles are in - still have to actually tighten everything down. Replace the brakes lines & clean up the calipers next

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LH 2.2

lookforjoe said:
Saab 514 LH2.2 ECU in place. I forgot to make a bridge connector to go from the Green/black fuel pump feed to the new LH harness, so I had to open the harness and add that in. White relay is the Volvo LH system and pump relay. Just have to insulate all the cut original wiring.

IMG_4504_zpsa6fad3e5.jpg


Control arms are de-rusted, cleaned & painted with POR15, ready to install.
Click to expand...

Hey Hussein,

I'll be really interested to see how you go with the LH 2.2. In my opinion, this is a much simpler upgrade than Megasquirt for those who don't want to worry about tuning 1000 different parameters.

Cheers,
Dom.
 
dcioccarelli said:
Hey Hussein,

I'll be really interested to see how you go with the LH 2.2. In my opinion, this is a much simpler upgrade than Megasquirt for those who don't want to worry about tuning 1000 different parameters.

Cheers,
Dom.
Click to expand...

Should you decide to do the same DTR, I bought a Willem Programmer so I can burn additional chips with the leaner (Saab) map I made to compensate for the smaller displacement. The idea is to keep the adjustable MAF operating in the normal range.
 
Got the rear brakes all cleaned up, de-rusted, painted , sliders greased & new brake hoses in - handbrake adjusted. Suspension tightened with arms lifted to median area of travel to prevent stressing the bushings.

Even though the plenum isn't bolted in, I wanted to fire it up just to see if the LH system is all functional. I found I had no power switched through the system relay. After some fault tracing, I realized I was using the ignition pulse instead of the switched vBat through the ignition circuit to trigger the relay, once that was rectified, it fired up instantly :).

Didn't keep it running, as there is no exhaust attached to the header.

I also found that the serpentine is trying to walk outward - my idler/tensioner by the alternator is 'cocked' so I need to take that off & see whats up, then I can run it through a few warmup cycles & leak check everything, adjust the fueling, etc.
 
kmead said:
Betcha that's popular around the neighborhood...
Click to expand...

It might be under normal circumstances, however the neighborhood is completely torn up with heavy equipment installing culverts under the roadway & catch basins in every yard.... been going on since last year

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Got the manifold bolted in - and found that the system is running way to rich - it won't idle at all. AFR's drop to 11 & under shortly after starting. I need to try the stock Saab chip to determine whether the chip I made is actually leaner or not. I had raised the map values 16% to adjust for the smaller injectors. According to the ECUProject page, raising the values creates a leaner mixture. If it runs richer yet with the stock chip, then I know I'm going in the right direction, just not lean enough.

EDIT: AMM wiring for Saab LH2.2 is NOT the same as for Volvo LH2.2(!!)

I dynamatted the exhaust area, and added a layer of DynaLiner to the underside of the trunk. Left the left side open, where the oil cooler sits.

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I had hoped installing the exhaust & O2 sensor would make a difference, since I was previously running it off the header, but it didn't.
 
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Issues.....

Engine just won't run properly with the Saab ECU & MAF. I hope I didn't wash the cylinders, it was so rich! EDIT: Reason was the wiring for the Saab MAF is NOT the same as Volvo - burned up the element :(

I swapped in the Volvo 544 ECU & 007 MAF, and it started & ran much better. I was able to get it up to normal operating temp, with the cooling fan cycling a few times. I have a steady idle AFR in the 14-15 range, although the Volvo diode tool says its too rich. Have to play with that more.

Getting a good base idle is proving to be tricky, and the rpms don't drop rapidly when free revving the engine to 2-3K rpm. That will need attention.

Found a minor coolant leak from one of my fittings on the T/Stat housing - it appeared to be from one of the hoses, but I'm pretty sure its one of the ECT bung plugs I added at some point.

More worrisome is that it turns over slowly when cranking - the kind of resistance you feel cranking when timing is too far advanced - however, checking it with the light on the crank pulley I'm confident it's at 10º BTDC. Plugs are gapped at .045", as per Allsion's spec for the ignition system. I may have to try retarding it further, just to see if it feels better cranking.

I'll double check the battery charge before I do that, since it has been sitting (disconnected) for quite some time, and not on the trickle charger for about the past month.
 
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rjplenter said:
Is it just the high compression slowing down the cranking effort of the starter?
Click to expand...

Not sure what it was - perhaps the unsettled fuel settings didn't help -it was actually way too lean at idle. I ended up setting the mixture using the wideband controller instead of the LED tool - I had leaned put the MAF too far (.024v!). Got the warm AFR lowered from high 16's(!) to 14.7-15.2 range. Base idle is still too low - about 750 - which is fine on the Volvo, but too low on the X1/9. I only have 13inHg vac at idle, so the fuel pressure is too high, and that is affecting fueling at idle.

So, I need to make some changes to the plenum, I think. Since I added the larger butterfly I have no idle adjust other than the butterfly setting which seems too twitchy, and also requires resetting the TPS every time.

I need to add a butterfly bypass.

After running awhile to get the idle/mixture sorted out, it started making a horrible clacking sound - really sounded bad! It turned out the water pump pulley had come loose, I thought the bearing had failed, actually. I removed the pulley & enlarged the holes to use the M8 threaded holes instead of the M6 I was using. Loctited the M6 hex bolts, and made a centering sleeve, since the Toyota pulley is not hub centric on the fiat water pump.

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Fixed the coolant seepage, it was the ECT probe crush washer.

Just need to sort out the idle & TPS setting, then I can go & get the NYS inspection sorted out.
 
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List of mods.

Hi Hussein,

I have been following this thread with interest, but would you be so kind as to detail all the mods that you made to the engine, especially since the issue that lead to the rebuild of the engine.

Cheers,
Dom.
 
dcioccarelli said:
Hi Hussein,

I have been following this thread with interest, but would you be so kind as to detail all the mods that you made to the engine, especially since the issue that lead to the rebuild of the engine.

Cheers,
Dom.
Click to expand...

Hello Dom

Do you mean just hardware mods to the engine internal components that differ from stock US 1500?
 
Looks like I have a bad starter - it was OK, but now it cranks slow once hot. I doubt the starter relay mod would have any negative impact or hasten the demise. Pouring cold water on it brought it back to normal cranking speed. I did paint the bell housing, so maybe paint on the mating surface is affecting the starter casing ground? I have a new starter, just didn't see any need to replace it prematurely :rolleyes2:

Need to work out warmup & acceleration enrichment. It's too lean (according to my WB) during warmup, and doesn't fatten up under acceleration, so I haven't pushed it.

I need to make an adaptor so I can fit a stock 026 CTS in the existing gauge sensor bung - the euro head has no port for it. I'm using a later CTS from a Motronic 4.4 setup, which should provide appropriate scaling, but perhaps not....

I made an butterfly bypass circuit, so I was able to properly set the base adjustment * 1/4 turn & set the TPS accordingly. Then I used the bypass to bring the base idle up to 800rpm.
 
Finished matting the spare wheel compartment.

Made an adaptor to fit the 1332396 coolant temp sensor in the gauge sensor bung (12x1.5) I had added to the T/stat housing.

Removed the starter bolts one at a time & scraped the seat area of the bell housing. If that doesn't fix it, I'll have to replace the starter.

Also rechecked timing - after driving it around today, it just felt kinda 'doggy' off the line & coolant temp was a little high at idle - found that the dist was not fully locked down & timing had retarded to about 4ºBTDC. Put it back to 10º, and idle quality & idle vacuum somewhat improved.

Also found that the original Volvo 544 ECU was replaced by 554, with alterations for improved cold start - which is exactly the problem I was having. Hoping that installing the 554 ECU along with the correct CTS will be what it needed. Have to recheck the MAF adjustment tomorrow, since it may well be different with the new CTS & revised ECU.

Added the stock aluminum heat shield back on top of the dynaliner in the exhaust compartment.
 
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