Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)

[largeorangefont]

I have not had any issues yet either.. I am registering mine in AZ soon though so I don't have to deal with emissions.

[gc3]

LOL, you guys need to come up here.   I drove to the exhaust shop with open headers without a second thought.   Shoot, I put 1500 miles on the car with the exhaust dumping out a fender;  I've sat next to cops at lights with them on the exhaust dump side, I just look over and smile. 

I'm sure with the way they deal with that stuff out there, that had to be an, uncomfortable, few minutes.

yea, my car on open headers was definitely not one of the louder cars at woodward...
i did end up getting a ticket for "sudden acceleration" but i dont think the volume of my headers were to blame for that...

[frijolee]

All cylinders have been confirmed as getting spark with an in line light bulb checker. Need to pull plugs next. Revved it up to about 3k for a minute or so and this was the result.

[frijolee]

Thanks to 65imp on the hptuners loan and to LargeOrangeFont for helping me learn my way around that a bit. 

We cleared the DTCs and found I had a real one popping up:  P0343 Cam Position Sensor High.  In all likelihood that explains my hard start problem. 

Despite that we took a couple laps around the neighborhood and it pulled a lot harder than I remember at low rpms.  The 3.55 gears match the engine really well and I think I'm going to like the mild cam I'm running.    

[frijolee]

I'm off on a business trip in China and not much to do in the evening except research car stuff.  Learning a few things.  First, I don't actually know which version of cam reluctor I have in my engine.  It looks like they come in a few different versions and it's possible I'm once again finding the downsides of mixing and matching.

From Lingenfelter's website:


They go on to explain:
A - Single bolt 4X camshaft gear from a 2007-2014 LS2 or LS3 engine. GM part number 12591689.
B - Three bolt 4X camshaft gear from a 2006 LS2 Corvette or from a 2006-2009 LS7 Corvette engine. GM part number 12586481.
C - Three bolt 1X camshaft gear from a 2005 LS2 Corvette or a 2005-2006 LS2 GTO/SSR/Trailblazer engine. GM part number 12576407.
D - Three bolt camshaft gear from a 1997-2004 LS1, LS6 or other Gen III V8 engines. No reluctor teeth are on the timing chain gear since the camshaft position sensor is at the back of the block and senses the camshaft speed from the reluctor machined into the back of the camshaft itself. GM part number 12552953.

http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LPE&Product_Code=L200175307&Category_Code=C38#.UyAcv4ValVK

[frijolee]

Back stateside and it looks like I have the 1x cam reluctor after all.  Doesn't explain my issue, but at least I'm not pulling the front of the engine back apart.



This was run with the coil packs disconnected since I wanted it spinning slowly and it didn't know if it might puke out the open hole.

[frijolee]

Quick tangent on tools, specifically socket organizers:

I just threw down from the Craftsman 299 piece socket set.  Azar's thread about tools (http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=19096.0) had me thinking about an upgrade.  Well, they're in the mail, but I still needed good place to put the damn things.  Closest thread I found on here talking about tool organizers was some good chatter about the big Harbor Freight tool boxes. (http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1012)

That said, considering I was just overseas I spent a bunch of time looking at socket rails and organizers, I figured I should post up what I found.

I wanted to be able to grab a rail and take it to the work under the car or whatever (much like I've been used to doing with my smaller sets).  At the same time I didn't really like the all metal clip rails since it seems like they bend and/or springs wear out.  A friend has all the Snap On sockets with color coded magnetic organizers which are pretty trick.  That got me thinking and doing some reading...

My 0.02

1) Money no object, coolest organizers on the planet:
http://www.vimtools.com/store/page30.html



Rare earth magnetics let you do some interesting things but at $33 a stick for the 16" it was way out of reach.


2) Another version with serious anodized aluminum bling, but only works if you plan to store all your sockets upright and in a drawer.  This still had the possibility of dropping it and banging up the holder while scattering your ish everywhere.
http://westlingmachine.com/ToolHolders.html


3) Then there's always the classic Hanson/Harbor Freight/Grip (marked vertical post style)
There are a hole bunch of middle of the road options reviewed in a Truckin shootout article.
http://www.truckinweb.com/editorial/1307_truckin_tough/


4) I really considered the Lisle magnetic racks (see also the Truckin article).  They're almost the right size, but I'd still need a bunch of them.  http://www.toolsource.com/advanced_search_result.php?search=1&query=lisle+magnetic&x=0&y=0



These are still a contender and I still might get a couple for the sockets I grab the most.  Downside, they're bulky to store unless you stack them.

At the end of the day, I decided that the plastic ball detent style was probably my best bet for bang for the buck. Kobalt sells a really nice version (Kobalt Multiple Drive Steel Storage Tray) with multiple rows, but it'd be a bit harder to fit in a tool box and my box is small roller.



Ernst and Wright were a couple more names I ran across consistently.  They look great and fit the bill but they're still more expensive than I wanted to pay so at the end it all boiled down to a debate between harbor freight and craftsman. 

Harbor Freight sells several styles but the one I liked most is item #68101
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-14-38-and-12-socket-rail-set-68101.html#.UzEbRPldWYE

The Craftsman are notably better quality plastic and come in two colors:
http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-3-pc-socket-rack-set/p-00941849000P?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7
http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-3-pc-socket-holder/p-00941829000P?prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11

They also have the disadvantage that you'll have to but a big stack of extra clips since they only come with 10, 10, and 8 studs for 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 respectively.  Some folks steal clips from other sets, but if you want the craftsman version it's actually cheaper just to buy extra rail sets.

http://www.craftsman.com/search=studsskt?storeId=10155&catalogId=12602&viewItems=12&levels=Hand+Tools&sLevel=0&redirectType=SKIP_LEVEL

I stubbled across an article that made this exact comparison and happened to have a bunch pictures of the harbor freight jobbies used with my exact socket kit.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48117

Same set different user...  Kind nice that I get a cheat sheet on how to set these up.


Decided the cheap version was too tempting since I've already spent more than I was planning.  Ordered the same 10x socket rail kits from the Freight.  At that cost I can play with shooting a couple in powder the next time Ronin is doing powder coat and not worry if I wreck a few.  Also if they do break, I can at least upgrade the rails I'm finding I use the most.

So, there it is.  Everything you ever wanted to know (or not) about socket rails.  Hopefully I saved someone on here a few hours of reading/research that I already did.

[digitalsolo]

I have a combination of the HF metal detent ones and the HF vertical posts.   No complaints after several years of ownership, they work very well and are space efficient in the box.   You have more sockets than I do, though. 

[gc3]

magnets are really cool until that one time someone grinds steel with the drawers open.

i've been happy with the vertical hansen/harbor freight ones.
note for the same thing from Kobalt: the labels are not on the stems but in front of the trays, which is hard to see in drawers and plus the Kobalt ones go big to small as opposed to small to big which is unfortunate if you are mixing brands in your drawers.

 i do have some of the clip on plastic rails for my junkyard toolset though.

[largeorangefont]

Nice Joel! That 299 piece set is great for the price.


I have the cheap HF metal rails with metal spring clips.. I have been using them for 5 years or so and I think I have replaced 2 clips in that time, and bent 1 rail. I like that you can cut them down to any size for smaller sets, (Torx or 1/4" drive for instance that only need a few inches of rail) and they are very low profile and conserve space. It allows me to keep my sockets in the shallow drawers of my box, and on their sides for easy reference.

It works for me but I know tools and tool storage is almost a religious discussion for some people.

[frijolee]

magnets are really cool until that one time someone grinds steel with the drawers open.

Ha.  Good thought.  Definitely a downside in taking it to the work too since my garage has metal dust under the car pretty regularly.

[frijolee]

Cam position sensor issue FIXED!

Ironically, LS1tech was my source of salvation.
http://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-internal-engine/495874-damn-ls2-cam-position-sensor.html

Lead to the finding the GM may have switched some wires with keeping the connector and pins the same.
http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread.php?626014-How-to-Install-an-LS2-in-an-LS1-car

By the way that link at LS2.com above is about the most comprehensive version of the LS2 running in a car intended for LS1 that I've found.  There should be significant commonalities with LS3s and LS7s as well.

The key finding in the above is that GM in their infinite wisdom, SWITCHED two of the wires on the cam position sensor. 


Note the colors are different than shown above, but you basically just switch the outer wires, keeping constant power the same.

A little digging on youtube for how you de-pin GM connectors later:


...and... my car fire and runs beautifully.   

[frijolee]

I finally aligned the car early Sunday morning.  I wanted to caravan it to church (just to be sure it wasn't doing anything weird with someone behind me). 

In driving this around the block I'd apparently been doing so with it toed out about 1/2" (it was pure eyeballing before this).  Turn in was great and it wasn't squeeling or protesting so it surprised me that I was that far out.  I set it for zero toe front and left the rear at 1/16" in.  The downside is that the steering is a little dull by comparison.   Thinking about leaving a little toe out up front since the steering is a little numb by comparison.  Anyone have thoughts on 1/16" out front with 1/16" in rear?  I know perceptions of what works well have changed over time.

BTW my steering wheel was off by 70 degrees when aligned with equal thread engagement.  Rather than pull the linkage, I pulled the steering wheel to get it back to straight.  Now my turn signal only auto cancels in right hand turns.  I'm guessing I need to put the wheel back where it's supposed to be and adjust linkage.  Is there any way to tell whether the signal release triggers/detents are straight without pulling the cowl?

The good news is that this really is a heck of an engine.  I stood on it hard and suddenly from about 3500 rpm in third and lit up the tires while merging onto the freeway (they were cold, but still it had me grinning).  You can tell it has a cam but it also pulls from 2500 rpm where-as my last setup got going more like 3k.

[digitalsolo]

If memory serves, when you pull the wheel the tabs that stick out for the cancel should be vertically aligned.   You should just need to pull the wheel for that.   It's been a while, so I may be confused, buuuuuuuuut, those are on the clock spring, not that shaft, you should be able to pull the wheel center the shaft, align the clock spring vertically and reseat the steering wheel and have it be fine.  I do not believe anything way keyed to anything else, per se.

Like I said, it's been a while since and I have a hub adapter with a billion alignment options, so I may be reallllllllllly wrong. 

[largeorangefont]

Yes I'd run with a little toe out in the front, it will keep the turn in crisp.

I run 1/16" toe out in the front. and 3/32" toe in rear. I don't think you will have any issues with your intended settings.

I used to run 1/16" toe in rear,  but dialed in a little more a couple months ago, and the car seemed slightly more stable on exit.

I can't wait to get another ride in the car now that all the engine oddities are fixed.