Abaddon's Riv

The contact poinr between the rocker arm and the valve stem changes on stock non-roller rocker as it swings. As the rocker is swung over to open the valve the distance of that contact area from the fulcrum increases causing the result rocker ratio to increase as it swings. How much is one thing I'm having trouble really figuring out. Some people are saying it goes up to something near 1.8:1 with the base lift of a big cam. That would mean I'd be seeing well over .600" with my is3 on stock rockers which doesn't really seem reasonable to me but the rocker deflection also creates a springing affect which might somehow make that acceptable if the cam is designed with it in mind. It seems to be a very popular opinion that you want stock rockers with cams like the is3 though. I thought I was doing it right with the 1.6rr but I might actually be hurting power by a fair amount

I still haven't gone to see that '97 yet. I was supposed to go last Saturday. I talked to my buddy and I got "I'm out picking up a car. I'll call you back"....it never happened.

Now I have my moms overheating '02 Monte Carlo 3.4L. It appears to be pissing (and I mean spewing) coolant from the upper left corner of the Timing Cover (closest to the bulkhead). I brought it to work yesterday and have no idea how I made it here. I pulled the Radiator cap last night and it was empty. Filled it up and pressurized the system. It literally started raining from under the car. Her FPR is leaking as well.

I just can't get time to work on the Rivi   I drove her home last night, missing belt rib and all. I had no choice really. I certainly wasn't driving the Monte again, and the Jeep was at home. I miss my car
 

Just had the chance to actually inspect INSPECT the exhaust. It's the giant flex joint on the rear header that's wasted. Too bad it's part of the header and can't be replaced   
Not a clue as to hoe to even temporarily fix it. It's coming right from where the flex pipe turns back into solid pipe. Think I should try welding it??? It's not stainless I don't believe.....

Oh, and my A/C compressor is covered in dye now   

Hold a magnet to it.I think it is SS.If not weld 'er up

robotennis61 wrote:

Hold a magnet to it.I think it is SS.If not weld 'er up

Yea, If it's even mildly magnetic, it's likely a 400 series SS and very weldable

Bro, get that thing ready for next weekend! We gotta rep the Riv!

Let's go, let's go!

I'm hoping to give it a go today. We've slowed down considerably here at work the last couple of days (it's like this every week during the summer). Fridays are usually dead. I have 1 car to align and a G6 to find a noise in the front end on, then I should be able to pull it in. I'll at least get the rotor bearings swapped out, and see what I can do about the exhaust. If it is weldable, I'll have to get creative and try not to blow a hole through the flex joint. It's seems quite thin, but it's literally right at the seam where it goes from flex to pipe. I think it might be from when I got rear-ended. I noticed that there's a lot of extra forward "pressure" against the flex joint than I remember. I'll have to figure out a way to release it first....

I've got a week. Worst case scenario, I order some header wrap and paint today, and get the new headers squared away sometime next week. Not sure what all I'll have to change or fabricate because they're different than what I have now. Eh....

Well, I spent a solid 4 hours working on it on Saturday. It's not going to be ready for anything anytime soon. The RR brakes are locked up, I have 2 bad rotor packs (bad enough that S/C oil is leaking into the case/lower intake), and I think the flex joint on the rear header has rotted from the inside out and plugged the exhaust. I did take it for a spin around our back lot, and I have zero acceleration. It's literally choking on itself.
And, to top things off, I replaced the drive belt only to have it start SCREAMING at me 5 minutes after running. At that point, I just parked it and went home. Letting it sit over the winter was apparently a bad idea. This car hates me right now.

If everything goes right, I'll have another '98 soon that I can swap everything in to. Not sure how it's going to work out because I'm going to be left with a car that has no trans, supercharger, heads, alternator, (and various other engine parts), and absolutely no suspension. I have to swap everything from underneath mine. I guess we'll see.....

Just out of curiosity, where the headers rotted was it covered in wrap? I've read a few things about how the wrap traps in water and what not to speed the rotting process but I'm a bit skeptical.

matt270avian wrote:

Just out of curiosity, where the headers rotted was it covered in wrap? I've read a few things about how the wrap traps in water and what not to speed the rotting process but I'm a bit skeptical.

Initially it was, yes. Eventually, the constant flexing tore the wrap and I was forced to remove it from the joint. The flex joint itself appears ok on the outside. It's the seam where it turns back into pipe is where it broke open. These are the SSAC headers. I don't like the design because of this exact problem....you can't replace the flex joint. The rest of the pipes on the headers are still perfect.

What if you just took a chopsaw to the flex pipe and welded in a hard pipe?

matt270avian wrote:

What if you just took a chopsaw to the flex pipe and welded in a hard pipe?

I could, but then I'd have to chain the engine down so it wouldn't move. I imagine the mufflers and tips would smack the body every time I hammered if there was no flex joint. Every single transverse mounted engine needs one. The exhaust has to move somewhere.

Abaddon wrote:

matt270avian wrote:

What if you just took a chopsaw to the flex pipe and welded in a hard pipe?

I could, but then I'd have to chain the engine down so it wouldn't move. I imagine the mufflers and tips would smack the body every time I hammered if there was no flex joint. Every single transverse mounted engine needs one. The exhaust has to move somewhere.

But the stock system doesn't have one.

Yes it does. You remember the real long bolts that hold the down pipe to the rear manifold? The ones that had the springs on them? That's the stock "flex" pipe. The system is allowed to pivot on that doughnut gasket. If you've removed those, you're putting extra stress on your exhaust system.

Abaddon wrote:

Yes it does. You remember the real long bolts that hold the down pipe to the rear manifold? The ones that had the springs on them? That's the stock "flex" pipe. The system is allowed to pivot on that doughnut gasket. If you've removed those, you're putting extra stress on your exhaust system.

Ahhhh ok. Didn't know that. They really give that much flex?

On a side note do you recommend those SSAC headers after having them rot? They're just a bit more than a ZZP downpipe but a lot harder to install so I'm not so sure...

As far as pipe thickness and what-not, sure. They're a cheap alternative, and have a 3" DP/collector. However, I don't like the fact that you can't just buy another downpipe for it. Like I said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the rest of the header system, just that joint. Some of the other cheap header systems only have a 2-1/2" collector, but you can replace the DP. So, I guess it just depends on what you're looking for. If you can find it on the site, you can look at the dates that I wrapped and installed these headers.....

Sorry to hear about all the problems you're having man. These cars really can be temperamental bitches.

Ours has the SSAC headers and the flexpipe leaked and crap, and my bro had just the flexpipe replaced with a good stainless steel one. It's amazingly quiet now! The exhaust shop just cut out and welded in the new flexpipe.

deekster_caddy wrote:

Ours has the SSAC headers and the flexpipe leaked and crap, and my bro had just the flexpipe replaced with a good stainless steel one. It's amazingly quiet now! The exhaust shop just cut out and welded in the new flexpipe.

I would LOVE to have that happen, however I can't find an exhaust shop that will do any work at all on my car. I always get the "you don't have a Cat, we aren't touching it" line. There is one place, but it's a bit of a drive and hard to get into, especially this time of year. All the hot-rod guys go there for custom work.

Abaddon wrote:

I always get the "you don't have a Cat, we aren't touching it" line.

I'm sure the real line in their mind is "We ain't workin' on no crappy Buick with one of them sideways engines"

Ordered a complete Rotor Pack kit today....

Case Needle Bearings (which I don't need)
Rotor Plate Bearings
Rotor Plate Seals
S/C oil

Hoping the stuff gets here before the weekend so I can rebuild the plate. I've been getting extremely Riviera sick. I look at it every day when I arrive, and leave the shop   
At this point, I don't care if I have to drive open headers for a day....

Can you take note of any part number markings on both the bearings and especially the seals? It might be helpful for anyone also on this forum who might be looking for the parts to find an inexpensive source.

Karma wrote:

Can you take note of any part number markings on both the bearings and especially the seals?  It might be helpful for anyone also on this forum who might be looking for the parts to find an inexpensive source.

Absolutely. The package left Florida at 1:45am. Should be here by tomorrow or Friday.

New Bearings and seals came in today. I like the sticker on the bottle of S/C oil. It was a package deal that I bought from
www.spinningwheels-sc.com.
It came with everything you see for $85 shipped. Awesome customer service, super fast shipping. I wouldn't mind seeing a permanent link to these guys for internal S/C parts. They also told me that they have other distributors that carry various things. If we need, all we have to do is ask.


The bearings are 6203's. These are apparently new(er) and come sealed and pre-greased. I actually emailed the company, and they responded within 10 minutes. I inquired about the sealed bearings (because they aren't sealed in the S/C). They told me I could install them just the way they are, or use a small pick and remove the seals. I think I'll leave them on...


Not sure what to make of the P/N on the oil seal, but here it is.


The "new" effed up rotor pack is already sitting on my bench. I just have to scribe some lines, then take it apart. Can't say when, but I'll definitely be here Saturday to get it done. This will completely rebuild my entire S/C (except for the rotors themselves). I can't fuggin wait.

supercharger chuck....