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  • ericjon262
    replied
    Originally posted by neophile_17 View Post
    Raven- That's interesting. Are the studs you've seen break applications where water/salt was a major factor, or just load like extreme heat or the weight of a turbo?

    Ericjon- That would be great but I'm looking for basically all the wires that connect to engine components. There are certain things that are probably the same like CLT and IAC. However cam phaser polarity, CMP, CKP, and ignition module power/signal(s) all come to mind.

    I got the cam phaser off last night so I'll be looking at how to limit it's motion soon.

    The LZ4 intake diameter is 75mm so that makes the truck TB seem like a reasonable size- maybe. I'm probably half way through machining an adaptor- smallish chunks of time make custom pieces take forever.

    I can get it for you, I'll try to do it this weekend.

    Leave a comment:


  • Guest
    Guest replied
    Well, I do live in an area where salt is used, so that may be a factor, but again, bolts in the same application seem to be a non-issue. Also many times where I see the breakage turbos are not applicable, mostly N/A applications. In my custom turbo builds I always support the turbo by other means than using the headers to support it. The only exception has been when using a stock turbo manifold on my Nissan I6, but that's a different animal completely.

    Leave a comment:


  • neophile_17
    replied
    Raven- That's interesting. Are the studs you've seen break applications where water/salt was a major factor, or just load like extreme heat or the weight of a turbo?

    Ericjon- That would be great but I'm looking for basically all the wires that connect to engine components. There are certain things that are probably the same like CLT and IAC. However cam phaser polarity, CMP, CKP, and ignition module power/signal(s) all come to mind.

    I got the cam phaser off last night so I'll be looking at how to limit it's motion soon.

    The LZ4 intake diameter is 75mm so that makes the truck TB seem like a reasonable size- maybe. I'm probably half way through machining an adaptor- smallish chunks of time make custom pieces take forever.

    Leave a comment:


  • ericjon262
    replied
    Originally posted by neophile_17 View Post
    So here are my first impressions of the LZ* series motor.

    My initial plan was not to dig into this motor too much. However, GM downgraded to exhaust manifold bolts instead of studs and I had 4 that were broken. So it was off with the heads so I could weld nuts on at work. It's nice to get MLS head gaskets for $20 each. I have to say that apart from the aforementioned bolts GM made some nice upgrades. The stock intake gaskets are metal even though coolant no longer passes through them. Compared to the LX9 the ports and valves look significantly bigger as seen in the pictures. Getting oil squirters for all cylinders was a nice bonus too. I didn't quite get the timing cover off to look at the phaser as I can't seem to find my 3 jaw puller.

    What is everyone's experience with AlldataDIY? Are they going to have the wiring diagrams I need? Ideally there would be component information like expected injector resistance as well.

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8462[/ATTACH]
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8463[/ATTACH]
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8464[/ATTACH]
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8465[/ATTACH]
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8466[/ATTACH]
    I have access to diagrams, let me know what you need, and I will see what I can do.

    Leave a comment:


  • Guest
    Guest replied
    Normally I say the same thing, except when it comes to exhaust fasteners. The extreme heat cycling in my experience causes studs to fail much sooner than bolts. I can't recall any bolts ever breaking on me when used on exhaust except for the rear exhaust bolts on my 2000 Yukon, that were broken when I got it and it's a known problem for those engines (LS), at least in the trucks anyway. I've had more than a few exhaust studs break on me over the years. Using bolts has bot been an issue. *shrug*

    Leave a comment:


  • neophile_17
    replied
    I'm curious why you say this. My experience on the four 660s I've worked with is bolts snap and studs don't. I've always read that studs were superior in terms of strength and consistency of clamping force.

    Leave a comment:


  • Guest
    Guest replied
    I see exhaust bolts as an upgrade from studs. I always replace the studs on my 660s when I'm doing anything more than just repair, as in custom turbo set-ups or installing headers.

    Leave a comment:


  • neophile_17
    replied
    So here are my first impressions of the LZ* series motor.

    My initial plan was not to dig into this motor too much. However, GM downgraded to exhaust manifold bolts instead of studs and I had 4 that were broken. So it was off with the heads so I could weld nuts on at work. It's nice to get MLS head gaskets for $20 each. I have to say that apart from the aforementioned bolts GM made some nice upgrades. The stock intake gaskets are metal even though coolant no longer passes through them. Compared to the LX9 the ports and valves look significantly bigger as seen in the pictures. Getting oil squirters for all cylinders was a nice bonus too. I didn't quite get the timing cover off to look at the phaser as I can't seem to find my 3 jaw puller.

    What is everyone's experience with AlldataDIY? Are they going to have the wiring diagrams I need? Ideally there would be component information like expected injector resistance as well.

    Exhaust_LX9_LZ4.jpg
    Intake_LX9_LZ4.jpg
    Valves_LX9_LZ4.jpg
    Timing_Cover.jpg
    Top_End.jpg

    Leave a comment:


  • neophile_17
    started a topic LZ4/Fiero Swap

    LZ4/Fiero Swap

    Hey guys,

    I was going to hold off on letting the cat out of the proverbial bag but things seem kinda slow so here we go.

    I've been looking at the LZ* series motors for a couple years and finally snagged an LZ4 on half off day at the junkyard. This will be my third swap following an LA1 and LX9 all into Fieros. Timeline is 9 months since I have a racecar to maintain/improve and an LX9 powered Fiero to enjoy.

    My impression is that people shy away from swapping LZ* motors into older cars because of limited control options. Aftermarket ECMs aren't common and VVT hasn't been implemented to my knowledge. The OEM computer requires most/all of the original subsystems making a retrofit difficult. My goal with this project is to keep as much of the LZ* motor stock and run it with a MS3X (Megasquirt 3 w/ Expansion Board). In the spirit of MegaSquirt this will be openly available to make future swaps easier.

    I feel some need to justify the MS3X since I'll be spending almost 4 times as much on the computer as the engine. While I love my 7730 powered projects chip swapping is tedious and finding information is cumbersome. I understand that I could probably do this with a MS2 but I'm trying to keep this as straight forward as possible. This philosophy helps me and anyone following a similar path get it running faster.

    I expect the first incarnation to be as follows:
    Batch Fire
    VVT mechanically limited to +3 or -2 On/Off operation
    Stock Coils with Wasted Spark
    Stock Crank and Cam Wheels/Sensors
    Early 3X00 Alternator
    Fixed Fuel Pressure (58psi) and Stock LZ* Rails/Injectors
    75mm Truck Thottlebody (might go to 4.3L 70mm for the LZ4)

    I'm interested in pursuing these features once the above is reasonably stable:
    Knock Sensing with the stock LZ* Broadband Sensors
    Sequential Injection
    VVT operation in variable mode with mechanical limits
    VVT operation in variable mode without mechanical limits
    LZ* computer controlled Alternator

    I'm hoping to get the engine cleaned up this weekend. Then there's likely to be pictures.

    The Haynes manual for the Malibu has no wiring diagrams for the engine. Anyone have a good/inexpensive source for these. My biggest concern is the CMP sensor which I gather is a Hall type but I don't know if it is 5V or 12V and which wire is power, ground, and signal.

    Thanks for reading this far.

    Sam
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