KStromberg
VIII looking for 8s
This Saturday I worked with a couple friends on the upper plenum gaskets and the lower IMRC gasket(stupid Ford parts guy only gave me one) in an attempt to fix a very large vacuum leak that I have been having. My good friend Russ also hooked me up with some o2 extensions so that we could fix the hacked wiring job my installer and former friend did. We ended up replacing both sensors, and you'll see why in the pics. Trust me.
This was something I should have done a long time ago, but we managed to get it done this last Saturday. I have managed to make a couple great friends during this whole process. If any of you are familiar with Russ a.k.a "Quicvick30" who frequents CVN, he is the good man who helped me out with this job and also kicked my ass on Central Avenue last year when I was bone stock. That was the first time I ever saw the guy and now he's wrenching on my car! I offered him $100 because he said he didn't want much for helping me out. He declined and handed me back 2 $20 bills and said, "Nah, $20 for the o2 extensions and $40 for the work. I have to tell ya, this guy sweated his ass off on my car in the blistering heat for well over the allotted 3 hr. time to get this done. We had to find tools and have some beers in between ya know.
Here is the doozie of it all. We found a suspicious looking plug with an o-ring and a torx head that fell into one of the cylinders landing directly on top of the valve as he pulled the passenger side runner off. We both collectively looked at each other and said wtf is that?!! We got a magnet and retrieved it. For the sake of everything holy, we couldn't figure out where the blasted plug goes. So, we reluctantly put everything back together after Dan the Vic Man cleaned the crap out of my throttle body and intake runners which were absolutely CAKED with carbon deposits!
So the moment of truth comes. It's all back together and I start it up. The hiss is still there as loud as ever!! So, he pulled the upper plenum off and put some rtv on the two oval holes that run into the lower intake just to see if it was a bad gasket there although everything looked pretty sound. Once again, the hiss is still there!!
After staring at it for awhile, we just gave up and called it a night and both collectively came up with the idea of me posting a picture of this infamous plug on the forums to see if I come up with anything.
Here's how the story turns out. I am told to check the underside of my throttle body for a plug that may have came loose by a guy on another forum. Sure enough, the next day I take the throttle body off and there it is! An empty hole! I put that sucker in and the hissing was gone. HUGE vac leak resolved! Had we not took off the intake, fuel rails, etc. we would have never found this plug because it worked its way down in between the rails and didn't even make its presence known until we heard it fall!
I talked to Dan the next day, and Russ was texting him all pissed off that night that he didn't fix my vacuum leak. This guy, unlike my installer, is not concerned about money but the well being of my car and getting things done right. I am amazed at the unselfish attitude that he has. What a friend!
The o2 sensors were shot as far as I am concerned even though only one side was scorched by the headers. What kind of wiring does that look like to you in the pics?
Between the gaskets, cleaning of the throttle body/IMRCs and new o2 sensors the car runs SO much better! Duh, right?
After going to a car show local and Russ managing to win himself a plaque, Quickvic texted me and asked "how's the car running". I said, "Good". He texted back saying, "60 roll?" I thought back to a year ago when I was bone stock and he stomped me on Central avenue and still had those same fears that day that I did a year ago. Mind you, this is a 13.4 second Vic with cams, forged internals, dumped exhaust, Edelbrock Victor intake, etc.
So, we met up and did a few runs. We did 3 60 mph rolls and one 5 mph roll. To my surprise, I ran door to door with him with the exception of one of the 60 rolls when I messed up my shifting!!! We were dead even side mirror to side mirror with each one of our noses doing the teeter totter back and forth. That close! A much different story from a year ago and his recent intervention has helped me get this car running like that. I can't wait for a track run!
Ok, now the pics. Dirty IMRCs(yes, the butterflies are supposed to be brass-colored), hacked o2s with one scorched, and the throttle body cleaning. Before and after.
This was something I should have done a long time ago, but we managed to get it done this last Saturday. I have managed to make a couple great friends during this whole process. If any of you are familiar with Russ a.k.a "Quicvick30" who frequents CVN, he is the good man who helped me out with this job and also kicked my ass on Central Avenue last year when I was bone stock. That was the first time I ever saw the guy and now he's wrenching on my car! I offered him $100 because he said he didn't want much for helping me out. He declined and handed me back 2 $20 bills and said, "Nah, $20 for the o2 extensions and $40 for the work. I have to tell ya, this guy sweated his ass off on my car in the blistering heat for well over the allotted 3 hr. time to get this done. We had to find tools and have some beers in between ya know.
Here is the doozie of it all. We found a suspicious looking plug with an o-ring and a torx head that fell into one of the cylinders landing directly on top of the valve as he pulled the passenger side runner off. We both collectively looked at each other and said wtf is that?!! We got a magnet and retrieved it. For the sake of everything holy, we couldn't figure out where the blasted plug goes. So, we reluctantly put everything back together after Dan the Vic Man cleaned the crap out of my throttle body and intake runners which were absolutely CAKED with carbon deposits!
So the moment of truth comes. It's all back together and I start it up. The hiss is still there as loud as ever!! So, he pulled the upper plenum off and put some rtv on the two oval holes that run into the lower intake just to see if it was a bad gasket there although everything looked pretty sound. Once again, the hiss is still there!!
After staring at it for awhile, we just gave up and called it a night and both collectively came up with the idea of me posting a picture of this infamous plug on the forums to see if I come up with anything.
Here's how the story turns out. I am told to check the underside of my throttle body for a plug that may have came loose by a guy on another forum. Sure enough, the next day I take the throttle body off and there it is! An empty hole! I put that sucker in and the hissing was gone. HUGE vac leak resolved! Had we not took off the intake, fuel rails, etc. we would have never found this plug because it worked its way down in between the rails and didn't even make its presence known until we heard it fall!
I talked to Dan the next day, and Russ was texting him all pissed off that night that he didn't fix my vacuum leak. This guy, unlike my installer, is not concerned about money but the well being of my car and getting things done right. I am amazed at the unselfish attitude that he has. What a friend!
The o2 sensors were shot as far as I am concerned even though only one side was scorched by the headers. What kind of wiring does that look like to you in the pics?
Between the gaskets, cleaning of the throttle body/IMRCs and new o2 sensors the car runs SO much better! Duh, right?
After going to a car show local and Russ managing to win himself a plaque, Quickvic texted me and asked "how's the car running". I said, "Good". He texted back saying, "60 roll?" I thought back to a year ago when I was bone stock and he stomped me on Central avenue and still had those same fears that day that I did a year ago. Mind you, this is a 13.4 second Vic with cams, forged internals, dumped exhaust, Edelbrock Victor intake, etc.
So, we met up and did a few runs. We did 3 60 mph rolls and one 5 mph roll. To my surprise, I ran door to door with him with the exception of one of the 60 rolls when I messed up my shifting!!! We were dead even side mirror to side mirror with each one of our noses doing the teeter totter back and forth. That close!
A much different story from a year ago and his recent intervention has helped me get this car running like that. I can't wait for a track run! Ok, now the pics. Dirty IMRCs(yes, the butterflies are supposed to be brass-colored
), hacked o2s with one scorched, and the throttle body cleaning. Before and after.
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