i HATE this f@&^%&^$%cking car!!!!

[Blazer406]

ive blown them off all the time for no special reason, put a new clamp and or hose and call it a day, runs fine after.. as a matter of fact i need to buy some new hoses, ive been using some old ones for a while that i bought @ home depot rubber B.S...... and ive noticed i only have luck with regular clamps, when i use the nice turbo clamps with the nut that you screw on i blow the hoses off pretty fast just not enough clamping on those i guess? i only have luck with cheap regular clamps thats what has been holding....my car runs fine im driving it today and i drove it yesterday, i step on it she moves great.... i have pl scanmaster and im always looking at my afr.. never had a misfire burp or fart just cheap ass hoses and alot of boost

I have never seen an issue with a t-bolt clamp.... you can squeeze and crush the pipe practically. I can't see a properly tightened t-bolt clamp allowing a hose to blow off...... unless you had some up pipes with no ridge on the end to help hold the clamp and hose on similar to factory..... I surely can't see stock radiator hose clamps being better.

What kind of t-bolt clamps have you been buying? Are they just some cheapo's possibly?

 

[87chrisss]

pep boys cheapos i guess cant recall but i have had good luck with cheapo radiator clamps

 

[trbojo]

so, here's a lesson....the $300 powerelogger would NOT have helped find the cracked plug (the one i just r+r'd)....being a tech for 25 years and using reason did....it seems all too often, the first thing someone reccomends is throwing more money at a problem instead of DIAGNOSING basic fuel/air/spark/mechanical problems.... i had a bone stock long block trapping at 122 mph and decided to do heads, cam and intake....car never ran right after, breaking up at 4900 rpm...after going over it 100 times, i figured let me take it to a "pro" to have another set of eyes look at it...i wanted it put on the dyno with a scope to rule out ignition..that's all i wanted...what i got was a $150 test drive with a wideband, and "the car is running pig rich...i reccomend you buy and let us tune a dfi for $10k"..... then i took it to another "pro", who basically beat the fuck out of the car, ran it with 4 gallons of gas, leaning it out enough to flex the crank....long story short, weak valve springs on brand new heads causing float/misfire.... my tuning tools were scanmaster, fuel pressure gauge, timeslips and me....worked well for 8 years....i moved on up to the big leagues and got a wideband last year, and will be getting a powerlogger soon

 

[trbojo]

Sell the progmatic old heap.. Get a new Mustang , Camaro, or Challenger and enjoy life

like i said in another post, the money and time i've spent lately could have bought me a 9 second nova that's definitely less problematic than these bitches.....

 

[Blazer406]

While the PL wouldn't have found the cracked plug, it would have eliminated most of the other common causes for this issue (and allowed you to use your 25 year tech experience to find what else it could be.... like a cracked plug) and it still offers a good tuning tool...... especially combined with a wideband controlled chip.

 

[Blazer406]

like i said in another post, the money and time i've spent lately could have bought me a 9 second nova that's definitely less problematic than these bitches.....

Maybe you are just not cut out for these turbo Buicks?

 

[trbojo]

Maybe you are just not cut out for these turbo Buicks?

yep, dat dere must be wut it iz,,,,,, dern wyde oben truttle ficksd ebrydin g elze i werked on.....

 

[trbojo]

While the PL wouldn't have found the cracked plug, it would have eliminated most of the other common causes for this issue (and allowed you to use your 25 year tech experience to find what else it could be.... like a cracked plug) and it still offers a good tuning tool...... especially combined with a wideband controlled chip.

well i don't know about you, but i think the most common issue for getting a misfire AFTER r+ring plugs usually has something to do with r+ring the plugs....

 

[Blazer406]

well i don't know about you, but i think the most common issue for getting a misfire AFTER r+ring plugs usually has something to do with r+ring the plugs....

In my defense.... you said "you felt something at the track" and then changed the plugs. You led me to believe you might have had some other issue prior to changing the plugs out that may or may not have anything to do with the plug gap.

Sorry for trying to help.

I may not be an old-timer yet..... but I have been around these cars a little .... for quite a few years now..... even helped tune a couple 9 sec cars...... maybe one day I'll be good enough......

 

[87-WE2]

In my defense.... you said "you felt something at the track" and then changed the plugs. You led me to believe you might have had some other issue prior to changing the plugs out that may or may not have anything to do with the plug gap.

Sorry for trying to help.

I may not be an old-timer yet..... but I have been around these cars a little .... for quite a few years now..... even helped tune a couple 9 sec cars...... maybe one day I'll be good enough......

Wow Blazer - sounds like he's just trying to be friendly. I mean, what do you know? You're just a lowly mechanical engineer!!! He's been a tech for 25 years and still doesn't know how to tighten a spark plug without breaking it!!

 

[DoubleD]

Thread title should be changed to "I hate this wrench that I broke a sparkplug with" or "I'm too F!@&*%&^%$@#ing strong!"

 

[Ttype6]

like i said in another post, the money and time i've spent lately could have bought me a 9 second nova that's definitely less problematic than these bitches.....

You mentioned a burp or some kind of anomaly that caused you to think the fire might be blowing out that led you to tighten the plug gap. Have you had a chance to see if it was the gap or maybe the plug had a small crack before you removed it. I think it would be a good idea to gap them at .035" and see how it runs. I don't know how much boost you're running,but I don't notice (what I perceive to be) blowout until 27-28 lbs of boost. I run .035" gap.

I've always used factory style hose clamps.
I'm sure that since you no longer have dynamite exploding in your intake manifold your hose clamps will have new found strength.

 

[trbojo]

Wow Blazer - sounds like he's just trying to be friendly. I mean, what do you know? You're just a lowly mechanical engineer!!! He's been a tech for 25 years and still doesn't know how to tighten a spark plug without breaking it!!

No jackass....my original point of starting this thread was to vent some frustration at how often these cars seem to give you problems....then some people come on here and post wise ass comments such as "doing the same thing over and over is insanity",etc etc etc, which does NOTHING to help solve the original problem, which took me all of 10 minutes to find...as far as engineer vs. tech, I've actually found, and helped re-write several errors found in G.M. service manuals written by ENGINEERS....trying to squeeze around aftermarket headers is what got me the cracked plug.....

 

[trbojo]

You mentioned a burp or some kind of anomaly that caused you to think the fire might be blowing out that led you to tighten the plug gap. Have you had a chance to see if it was the gap or maybe the plug had a small crack before you removed it. I think it would be a good idea to gap them at .035" and see how it runs. I don't know how much boost you're running,but I don't notice (what I perceive to be) blowout until 27-28 lbs of boost. I run .035" gap.

I've always used factory style hose clamps.
I'm sure that since you no longer have dynamite exploding in your intake manifold your hose clamps will have new found strength.

had them gapped at .032 and pulled to tighten gap...don't know if there was a small crack before or not at this point...i doubt it...running 25+ psi.....

 

[Blazer406]

snip....then some people come on here and post wise ass comments such as "doing the same thing over and over is insanity",etc etc etc, which does NOTHING to help solve the original problem, ......snip

Re-read my post..... (see below) I was picking at you..... hence the last sentence that began with "Seriously"..... you took it wrong.

You've been a tech for 25 years..... have one of these tempermental women.... and you don't have a datalogger?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over..... and expecting a different outcome.

Seriously, troubleshooting one of these cars is 10x easier with a $265 powerlogger.

I apologize and forget I even posted up in this thread.

 

[pdzz]

I've been a tech to long to remember..but, one thing I do know. If it ran fine before I touched it and now it doesn't.... I screwed something up!!! Side note ,is that a Bosch platinum??? I've had nothing but bad luck with those. Glad you found it!! Phil.

 

[jdsgnx]

Just for what it's worth
I love autolite 23 plugs and gap at 28 I run more then 25lbs of boost .
have had GREAT LUCK with these plugs for over 20 years.
Glad you found the issue, these cars are a love hate relationship!!!

JD

 

[highboostgn]

sounds like its time to park it, Get a 6 pack or maybe 24, brainstorm and admire it in the garage.

 

[Pronto]

Hum, let me see, you break a sparkplug, the car backfires and ruins a coupler, then you come on bitching at the car and people that offer advise (some relavent some not). I can understand being mad at others that may have worked on your car and messed it up but your own error caused the issue. You wouldn't have looked like an ass if you just said, I'm a dummy and messed up cracking a plug. That's happend to everyone that ever changed plugs on a car. Maybe working on cars for a living and have a performance car for hobby is just too much car stuff.

 

[trbojo]

Hum, let me see, you break a sparkplug, the car backfires and ruins a coupler, then you come on bitching at the car and people that offer advise (some relavent some not). I can understand being mad at others that may have worked on your car and messed it up but your own error caused the issue. You wouldn't have looked like an ass if you just said, I'm a dummy and messed up cracking a plug. That's happend to everyone that ever changed plugs on a car. Maybe working on cars for a living and have a performance car for hobby is just too much car stuff.

Ok...let's try this AGAIN...i DID NOT start this thread for technical advice, merely to vent frustration....re read the FIRST sentence....the only people who i bitched at were those with smart remarks ...406 "I was picking at you".....NOT what you need when you're already torked up....I did not hear the plug crack, nor was it falling in pieces...if so, there wouldn't have even been a need for this thread.....