'96 Century general project thread

[LeftVentricle]

Just when I thought things were going too easy...



I had no choice but to take the upper intake back off, because fuel was pissing out of the rail when I turned the key on to crank it. From here:


In between the rail and the line nut. I guess I didn't tighten it down all the way or something. And naturally I don't have a 14 mm line wrench. Had to buy one. Luckily the gasket did not tear, so I didn't have to buy another one of those.

Hopefully have a starting video soon. I will still have to replace the driver's axle before I can drive it though...

[LeftVentricle]

Finally, a break in the summer weather. I got up at 8 am to a breezy 77 degree morning. I put in a couple hours in the garage and made some real progress. Here are the results!

Alternator: Mostly on, lost a bolt.


Cruise control: uh, present. We'll see if this works. It's just sort of sitting there, with the cable attached to the ribbon.


Radiator, fan, trans cooler lines: check!


Spark plug wires: check! Thanks to my wife for wrapping the wires in loom for me. This image is an accurate representation of a finished product. I'm so close to being done I can almost taste it.


I need to go to the yard and get the missing alternator bolt, and the bolts that hold the header-side dogbone bracket, since those seem to have vanished as well. Big thanks to my dad, who's organization method was "throw everything in a bucket, sort it out later".

I filled the engine with oil and did an experimental cranking. It turned! That's good news. It means that everything is hooked up correctly. I just need to finish mounting the alternator so I can put the belt on, get a shorter bolt for the crank position sensor bracket, fill the transmission and radiator, and put the coolant overflow back in. Then I can at least attempt to start it for real. Test drive will have to wait until after I replace the driver's side axle, since I somehow managed to tear the inner boot. I already have the replacement axle on hand. I just need to get to it.

[LeftVentricle]

It's beginning to cool down a bit early in the mornings here in Las Vegas, so I should be able to finish this up soon. It's really about 90% done at this point. I got the TPS connector spliced yesterday, as well as torqued the upper intake down. I need to bolt on the alternator, buy a shorter bolt for the external crank trigger bracket, torque the crank pulley on (118 ft-lbs), put on spark plug wires, radiator back in, trans cooler lines hooked up, coolant overflow, strut tower ties, belt, fill with fluids, and replace driver's side axle. Not much left, really.

[LeftVentricle]

More random notes:

—The bolts that hold the fuel rail in place are M6 x 1.0 x 10mm. They are too short when using the rail brackets Milzy sends with the L67 injectors, because of the different shape of the nozzle end of the injectors. They don't fit completely in the bores in the lower intake. I bought slightly longer bolts (16mm) and M6 washers and slowly cinched them down to make sure I didn't crack the injector bodies. I don't foresee any problems with leaks though. I'll keep everyone posted.
—Upper intake manifold bolts get Loctite 37418 thread sealer and torqued down to 18 ft-lbs, middle ones first. Or, since my Harbor Freight 3/8 torque wrench reads in in-lbs, 216.


I received the compressor bypass pulley and spark plug wires in the mail last week, but the monsoon is setting in in Vegas, so it's damn miserable to work in my uninsulated, unventilated garage. Plus I can't find my alternator or belt, so I'm gonna have to buy a new belt and rummage through my pile of shit to find the alternator. I did find my old busted alternators though, one for the Chevy engine and one for the Buick engine, so there's that.

[LeftVentricle]

The search at the yard ended up being a bust. After spending quite a bit of time there, I found that the A-body is the only car to use this weird square connector for the cruise cable. Everything else, from Ns and Ws with Chevy engines, to Cs and Hs with Buick engines, to four cylinders, uses a round twist-lock-style connector that I'm sure most of you are familiar with. Also, the wiring appears to be different. The cruise modules all use the same ten-pin connector, but the A-body module only uses nine wires, while all the others use all ten. So my alternate plan of just using another cruise module probably won't work either. Back to square one, I suppose, of cobbling something together with the Lumina cable and my stock cable casing. At least this way I know for sure though, and it only cost me the one dollar admission.

[Purple pit]

Getting close!

[LeftVentricle]

• Drop radiator back in.
• Reconnect transmission cooler lines.
• Cooling fan.
• Alternator.
• Install dogbone bracket and compressor bypass pulley.
• Hook up all wiring and hoses.
• Fill with fluids. Oil, transmission fluid, coolant. Two bottles of Lucas for the transmission, since it will need all the help it can get.
• Belt.
• Couple more gallons of fuel.
• Battery.
• Start!
• Drive!
• Enjoy TWO HUNNERT HOARSPOWAH!

L67 injectors jammed into fuel rail.


Fuel rail back into lower intake.


One of the mounting bolts for the EGR touching one of the fuel lines. This is no bueno. I took it out and installed a shorter bolt.


Pretty much done for the day.


I still need to splice in a new connector for the throttle position sensor. The LG8/LA1 use a completely different connector than the L82. The number and colors of the wires are the same, so I just need to match them up. I am also going to the yard tomorrow to see if I can find a car that uses the same style cruise control module as my car with the new-style linkage. I really don't want to be without cruise.

Almost there!

[LeftVentricle]

After some digging around at the yard over the weekend, I have discovered the solution to my air conditioning problem. a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am 3.1L has a compressor body that will bolt to the LX9 dogbone bracket and has the refrigerant hoses in the correct position.

'96 Grand Am:


'96 Century:

[Purple pit]

That was on an L Body so your line may be different. Like to help if I can!

[LeftVentricle]

One thing you may have to watch out for is that the fuel line can hit the EGR's port(because it goes under the intake on the big port). Makes it a bit tough to line up the uppers bolt holes if you don't know what's going on.

I didn't see any interference with the fuel lines during my last test fit, but I will keep an eye out for that. Thanks.

[Purple pit]

They are nice and make things so easy.
One thing you may have to watch out for is that the fuel line can hit the EGR's port(because it goes under the intake on the big port). Makes it a bit tough to line up the uppers bolt holes if you don't know what's going on.

[LeftVentricle]

Made a little bit of headway today. I went to a speed shop and picked up this silicone coupler to join the throttle body and mass air flow sensor body. For reference, it is a 3" to 3-1/4" coupler. I spent more than I wanted to, but it fits perfectly.



And here is probably the last mock-up I will do. This is more or less complete in appearance.

[LeftVentricle]

Okay, so summer swept into Las Vegas over the last week, so it's been too damn hot to get much of anything accomplished. I did receive the last of the custom parts from Milzy, so I put a bit of work into the car, including installing the new computer (I'll post pictures of the PCM location later) and figuring out some other A-body-specific hangups. I've made a list of everything I can think of offhand below.

My notes for A-bodies:
-Several wiring modifications must be made...
--Extending the coolant temperature sensor harness if you have a three pin sensor. Mike does not supply a three pin extension, despite it being an option on the website. See below for a different approach.
--The mass air flow sensor wiring has to be modified. The connector is the same, but the B and C wires must be swapped.
--The throttle position sensor connector must be changed over to the new style. The stock TPS will not work on the new throttle body.
-Unless you can make yourself a throttle body adapter, you have to use the "new-style" throttle body. The stock throttle body will not bolt on to the new intake, and the cables will not work, since the linkage is totally different.
-I decided on a throttle cable from a '97 Lumina, and I had Mike send me a 56 mm LA1 throttle body with a matching Lumina linkage. No need to try and find a '96 van in the yard. The only modification that needs to be done is in the firewall where the cable enters the cabin. The stock cable uses a square clip, but the Lumina's is round. You'll need to "massage" the opening so the connector fits. Once you hook the other end of the cable to the bracket on the throttle body, there's no need to worry about length. It pulls the throttle open fully with no issues.
-Cruise control appears to be trickier, assuming you want to retain it (you do). The Lumina cable has a different clip style where it enters the cruise module, again being round where the stock one is square. I'm still working out a solution, but it will probably involve removing the cable from the Lumina sheathe and putting it in the stock one, and using a cable end clamp (HELP! part number 03336, $3 from any Autozone) on the throttle end.
-The dogbone bracket is incompatible with the LX9 block. It will not bolt on. None of the lower bolt holes line up with anything on the block. The bracket Mike sends in his swap kit will bolt on to the block, but since the A-body's AC compressor is "old-style" and bolts to the bracket, whereas the "new-style" compressor bolts to the block, you won't be able to use your stock AC compressor. A temporary solution is purchasing an AC bypass pulley for a W-body Century (2001 as an example) and removing your stock compressor, and just dealing without AC for now. It may be possible to adapt the new-style compressor, but it seems like it will need either custom refrigerant hoses, or hoses cribbed from another car. The A-body compressor's refrigerant hoses enter the compressor housing from the back, and the new-style ones enter on top.
-Mike recommends using the LX9 upper intake and teeing various lines off the single vacuum port available. I'm not really a fan of that idea. I am using an LG8 3100 upper, since it has vacuum nipples in all the stock locations and keeps a stock appearance.
-Using an LG8 upper, LA1 throttle body, and new-style mass air flow sensor, you can use your stock air cleaner housing and intake hose in the stock location to maintain a stock appearance. You will need a silicone coupler to mate the throttle body to the mass air flow sensor. I measured the MAF opening at about 3-1/4, and the maximum diameter of the TB opening (it is oval) at about 3-3/8. Try to get a black one to minimize riciness.
-The L67 (supercharged Buick V6) fuel injectors I got will clip into the stock harness, but they will need to be modified to work with the stock fuel rail. On the stock injectors, there is a groove in the upper portion of the body where the little metal clip that holds it into the rail is seated. This groove exists on the L67 injector, but it does not extend fully around the body. Naturally, the groove is missing in the exact position needed to use the stock metal clips. I will need to extend the groove in these areas.
-Use your stock heater tube, which is the black metal pipe that pokes out of the top of the water pump housing. If you get a junkyard engine, like I did, the one that comes with the engine will probably be clipped off and unusable anyway. This allows you to run the stock heater core hoses in the stock locations.
-Using the stock water-pump-side and LX9 lower-intake-side heater tubes, there won't be anywhere for you to run the TB heater hoses. Don't bother. It's not really necessary, unless you live somewhere incredibly cold. If so, just have the lower intake tapped to match your stock piece.
-If you've removed the LIM to tap that, you might as well go ahead and drill and tap for the coolant temperature sensor in the stock location, which is just next to where the thermostat is installed. Check your stock LIM for reference. That's the only reason I have to mess with my stock CTS wiring. I don't know what size it is. Take a new stock sensor with you to the machine shop. They should be able to figure it out from there.

[neophile_17]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-03336/overview/

It's a Dorman part so there are many sources. Also it appears you get a pair of each of the three sizes.

[LeftVentricle]

I've been able to merge throttle cable styles successfully by adding a bolt/nylock or buying a throttle cable barrel from one of the performance supply houses. They make a 3 pack with all the common styles for a reasonable price.

Would you happen to have a link to this?