Need help figuring out where parts go

BuickMike

Money pit
Joined
Jun 7, 2001
It's been 5 years since my GN has been together. I am finally assembling the motor and have been banging my head over where stuff goes. I've made it pretty far on my own and with the help of searching forums, but there are some things I am clueless on.

First, where do the grounds from the wiring harness behind the motor go? I'm sure they go to the back of a head, but which one and which bolt? Do they all go on one bolt?

Second, I have a ground strap that I'm guessing goes from the head to the firewall. Is this correct? Again, which head / bolt and approx where on the firewall?

Third, I have a small heat shield that kind of looks like a L. Any idea wher ethis goes? I already figured out the starter one and the one with the triabgle on it. I'm guessing somewhere on the back of the motor or even down on the block somewhere?

Answering these questions will at least get me far enough to put the motor back into the car. I still have tons of wires and bolts to figure out. I'm really starting to miss the days of working on old muscle.
 
It's been 5 years since my GN has been together. I am finally assembling the motor and have been banging my head over where stuff goes. I've made it pretty far on my own and with the help of searching forums, but there are some things I am clueless on.

First, where do the grounds from the wiring harness behind the motor go? I'm sure they go to the back of a head, but which one and which bolt? Do they all go on one bolt?

Second, I have a ground strap that I'm guessing goes from the head to the firewall. Is this correct? Again, which head / bolt and approx where on the firewall?

Third, I have a small heat shield that kind of looks like a L. Any idea wher ethis goes? I already figured out the starter one and the one with the triabgle on it. I'm guessing somewhere on the back of the motor or even down on the block somewhere?

Answering these questions will at least get me far enough to put the motor back into the car. I still have tons of wires and bolts to figure out. I'm really starting to miss the days of working on old muscle.

All engine electrical grounds come together at location G120 as labeled in the GM service manual diagram. G120 connects to the rear of the passenger side head, see picture. Factory used two bolts.

My ground strap connects to the firewall just above the rear of the driver side valve cover and attaches to the motor under a bellhousing bolt at the top just under the drivers side of the ignition module, near the knock sensor. (May not be factory location since my motor has been out once.)

No clue on the bracket. Picture would help.

Hope this helps, Mel
 

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Thanks! That helps. I will post up a pic of that little heat shield later tonight if nobody knows which one I'm talking about.
 
the L shield goes under the lowest passenger side transmission bellhousing bolt and is placed facing forward to shield the trans cooler lines from the exhaust pipe

the ground strap goes.. small loop end to firewall under the 10mm bolt along with the powermaster ground wire , the other large loop end goes under the uppermost driverside transmission belhousing bolt
 
Take all the ground wires and attach them to the boss under the coil pack which was originally used to hold the rectangular wire loom. Take a file or sand paper and remove all the THICK paint from the top of the boss. I use this on all cars I work on. I also add a 10ga. wire from this spot under the manifold plenum and attach it to the turbo bracket so I have a known good ground to the battery ground wire. There is enough length in the stock wires to reach by cutting a little bit of the wire harness tape and pulling the wires up. Clean the pant off of the boss, spray clean the wire terminals with break clean and wipe dry, then use a 8mmX1.25 bolt or stud to attach the grounds to the back of the intake manifold. As stated above the other ground strap goes to the transmission upper belhousing bolt.
 
Thanks guys! What's the benefit of grounding to the intake vs. the back of the head? Is it just because its a neasy way to add another ground from a single spot to the turbo bracket?

BTW, I will be having a car audio shop make me new batt cables, a better ground wire to replace the strap, a new ground from the batt to the fender, maybe one from the motor to the frame, and a 4ga from the positive terminal to the alternator. I will have them make one for the rear of the intake to the turbo bracket too.
 
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