'96 Century general project thread

[Purple pit]

Did that myself. The key to stopping my leak was to make sure that the rear hose clamp was tight and that the stock tube was under tension toward the 3400's tube. Then the clamp was tightened on the 3400's tube while pulling back on the stock tube. The "leak" really was do to the nut on the stock tubes mount being loose(didn't catch the universals false feedback). That tension was an overkill safe guard.
The problem was that under WOT the tube would just pop out and spew coolant. Even with the very short rubber hose there was flex and the very slightly loose mount bolt added to that(if the tube had been welded it would have not come all the way out). That O-ring on the 3400's tube just doesn't hold very well(lol duh).
You may not even have a problem so all that is just FYI.

[LeftVentricle]

Some folks at both a-body.net and Something Awful helpfully pointed out that there is no such thing as 7/8 NPT. So I will be cutting the LX9 heater pipe off at about 1.5 inches and joining it with my stock pipe with a bit of rubber hose.

[LeftVentricle]

Work has officially commenced on the swap!

I got the replacement engine on the stand so it would be mobile, instead of just sitting on that pallet.





Here it is sneaking up on its unsuspecting victim.


Here is my dad pointing at the tensioner for some reason.




Progress for the day: alternator and power steering pump removed, upper intake yanked, replacement engine dressed. Most of the stuff I've bolted on will have to come back off, naturally.



I may have to go to the hardware store to try to find a 7/8" NPT tap. The LX9 has a heater pipe that is pressed in to the lower intake, but it's bolted in to my stock one.

[LeftVentricle]

I sent my junkyard LG8 upper to a machine shop to have it inspected for cracks, and if it checked out, cleaned. The EGR passage is a big concern, since it was pretty severely clogged on this manifold. That can cause an EGR-related check engine code to pop, which most people would probably throw a new EGR at, then be out that money when it doesn't cure the problem. I picked it up today, and was told it was fine, and it's quite clean now, including the EGR passage.

Also, I will be picking up my assistant for this swap from the airport tonight. I've hired my dad to help. Some of you may recall that I had him help me swap the transmission in this car about two years ago. This will be more or less the same procedure. While the drivetrain is out, I will be again replacing all the mounts, since at minimum, the rear trans mount is trashed again.

I ordered some 24 pound injectors from ACCEL, but will not be receiving them, due to back order. I will have to use my stock fuel rail, since the LX9 rail is returnless and not compatible with my car's stock fuel system. So I have to use stock-style injectors, which the ACCEL ones are. But after getting my order canceled twice, at ebay and Amazon, I will not be buying those. Instead, Mike at Milzy Motorsports will be sending me some 36 pound L67 injectors and some spacing brackets, since the L67s are a bit longer than the stock ones. This will also provide a bit of future-proofing, since I still want to beef this engine up a bit.

(I know this will probably be a point of contention, but I do not intend any offence to anyone here at 60v6 or WOT-Tech with my decision to make purchases from a competitor. I just feel that, for the sake of consistency, I should get everything related to this swap from the same source, since Mike is already well involved in my affairs in this job.)

[robertisaar]

most shops will either do it for nothing or for a pretty reasonable cost, but the giant spring compressors they tend to have make it a couple second job.

[Purple pit]

If it comes down to it I have a 3400 pipe, but I'm thinking that would be the wrong length. Could always measure it if needed. Got no use for it anyway.

LOL at least mine was a bit more safe. The small shop was the best suggestion. The chain store auto shops would not touch them.

Ah the fun of having an unpopular car. Well, most people know what you cars are. Still love/hate parts stores replies "A Beretta? Who makes that?".

[LeftVentricle]

Could you just use your old pipe?

Wish I could help. Had a hell of a time with the struts on the Beretta. It came down to having a person with a good amount of body weight to compress it just low enough to get the nut on. Been thinking about another set of compressors(for a total of four) to get the job done. With that said, no one else chimed in to say that they had the same problem or how they do it. Guess everyone just has one of the bench mounted compressors that cost a lot. Or they take the parts to a small shop to have them done. Not really an option for me on that one.

I don't know about my stock EGR pipe. I will check on that.

I got some joking suggestions over at Something Awful like "lots of zip ties" and use the weight of the car, with disclaimers to not actually do any of that.

I feel like if this were another Fiero or Camaro or W-body or Grand Am thread, it would be getting more attention. It's just some old man station wagon. And that's fine. I'm not documenting this on this site to have my ego stroked.

[Purple pit]

Could you just use your old pipe?

Wish I could help. Had a hell of a time with the struts on the Beretta. It came down to having a person with a good amount of body weight to compress it just low enough to get the nut on. Been thinking about another set of compressors(for a total of four) to get the job done. With that said, no one else chimed in to say that they had the same problem or how they do it. Guess everyone just has one of the bench mounted compressors that cost a lot. Or they take the parts to a small shop to have them done. Not really an option for me on that one.

[LeftVentricle]

If you get the WOT-Tech EGR adapter you can use your stock EGR and pipe. Because you are going to use your stock exhaust manifolds this should be a great help. I know it works, got the same adapter on my 3400 intake swap on the 3100.

WOT-Tech hasn't sold the 96-99 adapter for a number of years, as far as I know. I have the new style EGR anyway. I will have to figure something out, I suppose.

I fought with one of the springs for my struts for the better part of two hours on Sunday. Maybe it was the spring compressor set I rented from Autozone, but I wasn't able to get the spring scrunched down enough to put it on the strut and bolt on the mount. I looked at getting a "clamshell" style compressor, but every one I saw online said it was only useable on springs up to 7 inches in diameter, and mine are 8. Any suggestions?

[Purple pit]

If you get the WOT-Tech EGR adapter you can use your stock EGR and pipe. Because you are going to use your stock exhaust manifolds this should be a great help. I know it works, got the same adapter on my 3400 intake swap on the 3100.

[Purple pit]

Think I have another 3100 big port upper if that one doesn't work out. Sorry that I didn't bring that up sooner, but you did get the bolts that I don't have.

[LeftVentricle]

I picked up an LG8 upper intake from the yard. I will probably take it to a machine shop to be checked for cracks and have the EGR passage cleaned. I have no idea why I didn't get the EGR valve and stove pipe at the same time. I also put on the Goodwrench front valve cover. Can't even tell it's not a 3.1!

[Purple pit]

Got the PM and sent one back. I'm happy that you can use them!

[LeftVentricle]

Looks like those will work for my car! Thank you very much. I will send you a PM with my information.

[Purple pit]

Bought some GR-2 shocks for a friend at Rock Auto. Didn't know at the time that they sent the wrong ones. They are 343160. I think you can use them, but double check the number. If you can use them they will be sent to you for free. Don't need them and don't want them sitting around.