MG Sports Cars

Interesting, plus you can buy the blank material.

Jim

Maybe i missed something, but doesn't anyone have their flange surface trued once they finish welding up thier headers? If headers are puurchased in the A/M, they can still be trued. We used the Old Cyl Head machine; One side required quite a bit to be removed to achieve a flat surface.

Hey Kelly,
I build mine with the flange bolted to a spare cylinder head and haven't had any problems with sealing. I always figured I would straightedge it and use a flapper wheel to true it up if I had to. Don't even want to think about clamping it down in my mill!
Cheers,
Bill

That's a good thought Kelly. I'll put a straight edge on it to check it. I'm betting the header itself is hanging up on something and I just didn't notice it. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I did that video at the end of the day and it wasn't apparent until then how bad it was. I'll get it off the engine first thing Saturday and take a closer look at it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take Jim's advice on those manifold gaskets. They look like they will handle small imperfections really well.

So I've run the motor probably no more than 5 minutes total time and it's sounding better each time I start it. The audio recording isn't really capturing how it sounds but it is running smoothly with no obvious bad noises. Oil pressure is at 50 lbs. at idle. You never know with a junkyard engine. There was a date of October 2010 on the oil filter that was on the motor when I got it and the tiny bit of oil on the tip of the dipstick was really clean so I imagine that the car it came in was totaled not too far from that date and the engine has been sitting since. My cheap Chinese OBD2 cable gave out at the perfect time so I was unable to check for codes or take a log unfortunately. So I ordered another cheap Chinese cable to replace it. :)

I had a bit of an adventure as I was troubleshooting the no start condition. The first thing I checked were the grounds and couldn't see any issues there. I actually added another ground from the head to the body while I was at it. Next I checked the ignition wiring to make sure they were grounded and that the PCM control wires matched up to the correct cylinders. Same with the injector wiring. All was good there. I checked the voltage drop at the battery and was surprised that it was in the mid 8 volts while cranking. While trying to figure that out I noticed the ground cable eye that bolts to the body was cracked and the cable was hanging on by a thread...not good. So I replaced that with a much thicker cable and cleaned up the terminals and clamps while I was at it. That helped a whole lot. It got me to the low 11- high 10 volt range. The funny thing about it is the engine was turning over like it was a warm spring day the whole time. Anyway, I've got a battery kill switch I'm going to install and I'm going to run a cable to ground things at the transmission when I install it and that should make things even better. After all that, still no start. The next thing to check was the crankshaft position sensor which is behind the starter so that had to come off. Sure enough, two of the wires were crossed. I could have sworn I checked those. Funny thing is it was correct for the 4.3 V6 in the S-10 the harness came out of but not for the 0411 LS V8 motors. I spent time while I had things apart fixing a pesky fuel leak caused by a careless flare I did and tidying up the wiring that runs down the fender well. All things considered, all the troubleshooting was a good exercise and will result in a more reliable car in the end....all good.

The next few tasks are the throttle cable/pedal, which is in process now. Then then tweaking the transmission tunnel for the shifter...the engine is shifted back about an inch and a half from where the previous V6 motor sat. Then the fuel pump and a bunch of other small things like permanently mounting the PCM, putting the interior back together and adding the kill switch and the cable to the transmission. The largest fabrication task that is left will be the accessory mounts/brackets at the front of the motor. I've located a machine shop to handle one of the smaller tasks that I can't do myself. I'll give much more information about it as I get into it. I must be forgetting something but overall I'm closing in on it!

Gosh, as I'm proof reading this I realize I just wrote a book!

Switched sensor leads is a common issue if using a VR sensor. Your voltage drop can be a real issue with an EFI system. Not unusual to have a motor that will crank OK but not have enough voltage to fire off. I'm not sure whether this is an issue with the coils (I suspect), the injectors, the ECM or the crank sensor.

Jim

Jim,
From what I'm reading, when you get to around 10 volts you start having difficulty firing the coils. The injectors seem to "fire" with a 9 volt battery so they may be more forgiving. A crank sensor signal is required for a start so I had a couple of issues going on. I'm anxious to see what it does once it gets into closed loop which won't happen until the cooling system is in place. Lots of details which is part of the fun.

Scott, At minimum get your exhaust leaks taken care of between heads and 02 sensors. Its not as bad behind the 02 sensors to get it on the road, and get all the other stuff dialed in with the swap. That way your computer can do its job to keep it running smooth and idle right. Are you running a vss (vehicle speed sensor) sensor on your transmission? That can change idle once the cars starts to roll. Just some thoughts I went through.

More good advice, thanks Calvin! Yes, I wouldn't even think about not using a VSS. I'm doing a home brewed one off the differential flange. Mounting it is one of those many small tasks that need to be done yet. I'll post some details about it when I get to it.

Scott, Your swap is quite an achievement! As far as I know, the first LS4 RWD with block mounted starter! Others will soon follow.

Seems to me you'd be better with a VSS mounted to the driveshaft near the transmission as it would not be moving around all over the place like the diff will. But then I suppose it will be moving forward and back. And a cable speedo would mean you can't use the electronic plug-in at the tailshaft. I think there was a combo cable drive VSS pickup but have no further info.

Jim

Jim N., Thank you, I really appreciate it!

Jim B., As always, I appreciate your input! The approach to mounting the VSS on the differential isn't my idea at all. A vendor, I think it was Jag's That Run, was offering a kit that used a GM sensor. I took their idea and did the same thing for my V6 swap. Ran that for almost 10 yrs. with no issues. I don't see any reason for changing the approach at this point. I've got it all wired up, just need to build the mounts. You bring up some interesting points though.

Just a thought, I believe your VSS pulse is what an electronic speedometer uses. The Autometer speedo is what I have used, needs that pulse. I guess that is how your setup works too? Are you using electronic or mechanical speedo?

Calvin,
I'm using the stock gauges so a mechanical speedo. The main reason I'm including the VSS is because the PCM needs to know if the car is moving or not. Another reason is I'll be installing factory cruise at some point so it will be needed there as well. I'll be using a 4 tooth "reluctor" and Sinister configured code to work with it. Actually, I believe the PCM needs the number of pulses that will be generated per mile with your rear end and tire size. Sinister Performance sends a fairly long questionnaire you fill out before he does your PCM. Both the sensor and "reluctor" wheel will be mounted to the rear end so the gap will be static if I do my job correctly and make the mount ridged enough.

Kelly was exactly right. The header flange is warped. It bows out in the middle so the middle two cylinders are leaking like a sieve. Need to address that soon. Made good progress on the throttle pedal yesterday. I'll share it when it is complete. Here's a shot of how the starter fits. Been meaning to get one of it for a while and finally had the chance yesterday.

On the BOPR it is possible to separate the port flanges once the header is made, which goes a long way to eliminate the warpage problem. MLSS gaskets are a great option if they are available.

Jim

Scott, The machine we used was a giant Belt sander (rather than a circular stone on a table). Course medium and laid the flange flat on the belt and removed material until the pattern was even accross the entire surface. Size- 2'W X 4'L- pretty large belt sander :-)

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On the BOPR it is possible to separate the port flanges once the header is made, which goes a long way to eliminate the warpage problem. MLSS gaskets are a great option if they are available.

Jim, that's an interesting idea. I could split it in half but not into fourths because of the way the bolt pattern is laid out. I'm going to think on that one.

Kelly, I'll figure something out. I don't have access to a belt sander like that though. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction! How's that Jag doing? Can't wait to see it!

Scott, Maybe a hydraulic press to straighten?

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Scott, Maybe a hydraulic press to straighten?

Thanks Jim! That's exactly what I was going to try next time I get out in the garage. Won't cost anything and won't take long do, worth a shot!

Cut the middle two tubes, straighten flange, bolt flange to two full length pieces of angle iron, & reweld center tubes. :)