what did you do to your ride today?

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Rettax3
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by Rettax3 »

Took the Yellow Indy out a couple of times recently, getting some love too... At the gas-station, the attendant came out and struck-up a conversation about the car, and at a rare night-out to a local restaurant, a group of guys were hanging around admiring the styling when we came out. NO ONE had a clue what the car was, of course! :ROFL: I even heard some praise about the exhaust-note when I thumbed the key, and to me, this is my WORST-sounding Beretta. :oops: Though still not bad... Makes me wish I had washed her and given her a fresh waxing, but that has now been a couple of years, so she is past-due. The Indy is ready for some more-than-minor touch-up work, including a chin-spoiler swap or re-repair (sink-hole in the parking-lot at my old work cracked the spoiler right where I had repaired it some years ago, so I had to remove the corner or risk losing it altogether). [Sigh] Maybe next Spring?


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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Rettax3
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by Rettax3 »

Took the GTU out yesterday for some exercise (and grins). On the way home, about 20 miles or so left to go, I noticed the steering was suddenly quite heavy -I was traveling at ~45 with gentle curves, so not a huge deal, but... Why? Yep, voltage-gauge was showing low too, about two bars (digi-dash car :wink: ) below normal. Okay, I lost the accessory belt. No problem, the battery can get me home, and I don't need power steer... PROBLEM! This ISN'T a Quad 4 car or our Toyota! I just lost my water-pump too...
The 3800 is a dinosaur iron-head engine, about as tough as they come in a GM, but I didn't want to hurt it trying to make that distance with no water-pump. I made it a little further to a safe turn-off and popped the hood. The old belt was fine -the tensioner-pulley had disintegrated... "Huh," I thought, "I didn't think I had any plastic pulleys left on this engine, I thought I got RID of them all..." Apparently not -actually I am thinking now that I had to swap one back IN due to a bad bearing on the steel one I put in there, but I don't recall for sure...
Well, there I am on the side of the road, but I have tools... I was able to swap-out the Supercharger tensioner-pulley in a few minutes, and was back on the road to home, sans Supercharger though. Definitely noticed a difference in response, even though I was driving very carefully. At one point, the engine did hiccup too, I didn't like that at all. The GTU runs flawlessly normally, so that stutter was definitely caused by the lack of SC belt. The one big problem is that I had re-routed the belts, eliminating two idler-pulleys, their friction, and potential failure, and getting shorter belts in the bargain. BUT, while the accessory-drive belt tensioner pulley is smooth, the SC belt tensioner pulley is grooved, so I had to run a grooved pulley on the smooth back of the accessory belt, not really good for it. But, the belt is quite old (about ten years old), so should be replaced anyway.

Overall, I could have done without the disruption in my pleasure-drive, but it was a nice day out, I got the problem fixed with a little Macgyvering, and that felt good, and my car got me home again. Today? I get to go spelunking through my box-o-pulleys to find a decent STEEL pulley... :P


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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woody90gtz
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by woody90gtz »

That's just called "adventure"


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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Rettax3
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by Rettax3 »

Glared at it disdainfully. The Yellow Indy is finally dying. Ran it a few weeks ago on an errand just to air it out and exercise the engine, noticed a slight hiccup during acceleration while passing a slow vehicle... When I came back out to the car to go home, it cranked fine but wouldn't start. I had NOTHING with me for tools... :oops:
I was able to verify some level of 'decent' fuel pressure, and good spark. Later verified good crank signal to the ECM. No fuel pulse. [Sigh.] Fuses are all good, of course. Found some minor corrosion on some of the ECM pins, so it may be as simple as cleaning them up, and tackling the connectors in the harness too. After the car sat a while and cooled-down, it re-started fine though, but after I warmed it up then I shut it off to tape-up the ancient ignition wire that tore at the boot when I was verifying spark, it wouldn't restart again. Did the same thing after I finally towed it home -started cold only. I had already scanned it and confirmed the CTS was good, and being a digi-dash car, the temp gauge on the dash actually registers what the ECM is reading, not an independent sensor, so that one is really easy to determine a bad CTS anyway.
Well, now it will fire and run for almost half a minute, then die out and won't restart for a while. I tried swapping-in a 'spare' ECM, that won't even run at all for some reason. So, she is finally grounded, until I get the time to swap in the Series 3 Super-Charged 3800 waiting on the engine-rack for her. And the five-speed conversion too, of course. :wink: I just would have liked to get a couple of other projects done first. I think I am going to swap in a manual in my Better Half's blue Audi TT first... That has been waiting a lot longer.
Last edited by Rettax3 on Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:25 am, edited 1 time in total.


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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woody90gtz
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by woody90gtz »

Nothing on the Beretta this week. Got hit with the flu. But I did get one of my new LSs running and tried to weld up my pathetic engine stand. It's still junk. But I can swap harness and fire the other one now.


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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Rettax3
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by Rettax3 »

...I blew it up. =@ Well, I HAD the first-ever documented (so far as I have seen) six-speed Beretta. On the way home, the GTU's transmission locked up. Jammed completely in all forward gears, I'll look into reverse tomorrow maybe. DAMN! The F40 has been a PITA from the beginning, with the third-shaft 'rattle' taking so much pleasantness away from the daily drive, the SLIGHTLY better-than "282" 5-speed ratio in the '06 (and ONLY the '06 -which is the one known for synchro problems!) F40 transmission was enough to put up with it, that and the much nicer shifting on what WAS a 0-mile NEW transmission ~9-10 years ago when I put it in...

Well, one more off the road, for now. I may rip into the F40, try to locate a salvage-yard replacement, or just go back to [sigh] a plain-old 5-speed... Hmm, I DO have a reman 284 hanging in the shop... Not that clutches are really available for that anymore, and stock won't hold up to this 3800SC anyway... Nah. A replacement F40 will either need a bell-housing swap with mine or milled-down, like mine was (had to remove 8mm off the bellhousing, and grind in a little inside as well to clear the 3800's flywheel teeth, certainly doable again, just not the funnest way to spend the time). I THINK I can swap gearsets into the '07 F40, which had a useless gear ratio, but no chronic synchro problems and probably less 'rattle'. Of course, I am stacking the deck against myself, not using one of the 80+ pound dual-mass flywheels -Yuck! Maybe the Yellow Indy will get her five-speed swap, with the Series-3 3800SC that is waiting first? I'm definitely getting backlogged here... :x


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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woody90gtz
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by woody90gtz »

No! Oof.

I locked up a 282 once, but was able to save it. It had a snap ring failure that allowed the gears to move on the shaft. Rebuilt it and I was back in business. That just blocked me out of gear with the engine running and then locked in a couple gears at once when I stopped and tried to diagnose. Originally wondered if it was a shift cable and shifted the levers by hand and locked it up.


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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Rettax3
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by Rettax3 »

woody90gtz wrote:No! Oof.

I locked up a 282 once, but was able to save it. It had a snap ring failure that allowed the gears to move on the shaft. Rebuilt it and I was back in business. That just blocked me out of gear with the engine running and then locked in a couple gears at once when I stopped and tried to diagnose. Originally wondered if it was a shift cable and shifted the levers by hand and locked it up.
Never heard of a 282 doing that before -I recall Hondas doing it, even being somewhat known for it in certain transmissions, though I have only had two-wheeled Hondas myself.

The F40 DEFINITELY locked internally. All seven gears are locked. The shift-shaft can row through them just fine, and it certainly FEELS like they are going in gear. The F40 is a little weird though, as it runs an extra shaft. Not looking forward to cracking it open, but I have already documented a procedure for pulling it out of the car even with the bigger engine -actually MUCH easier to do on the GTU, since the 3800 has enough mounting support to hold the engine by itself even with the tranny dropped out.

I am going out tonight to check out a Saab that MIGHT have a donor for me -the 9-3 and 9-5 models both came with this transmission in certain years, with a turbocharged Ecotech, I would have to swap-in my modified bellhousing, but from what I can tell mine is still fine... If not, I found a couple of used options, AND it turns out the Porsche Cayenne had this as an option in some years, potentially with a much taller FDR. That would be nice to upgrade, if I can make it work. There are a few more 'attainable' make/models out there apparently equipped with the same taller FDR too... Keeping my fingers crossed.


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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woody90gtz
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by woody90gtz »

That's interesting. Be nice to swap guts around and get an upgrade in functionality.

I think the wife's Cruze 6spd was a derivative of the F40...read something along those lines at one point. I have no idea if the guts would be interchangeable though.


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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Rettax3
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by Rettax3 »

The Saab was a no-go: slush-box. Nice little car in very clean condition in and out, even if it had the wrong 'stick' transmission I could have been interested in it for ~$100, but I have no idea what is wrong with it and I have no interest in another automatic convertible -we still have the six-speed automatic in the Audi, waiting for it to die so I can swap-in the manual I have for it.
woody90gtz wrote:I think the wife's Cruze 6spd was a derivative of the F40...read something along those lines at one point. I have no idea if the guts would be interchangeable though.
According to Wikipedia, who is never wrong (except when they are :wink: ), the 2012+ Cruze had two six-speed manual options, the F40 and the M32. Interpolating what I know of these transmissions with Wiki's info, I would guess that the 2.0 Turbo Cruzes came with the F40 (almost certain they are the exact same drivetrain as the Saab 9-3 and 9-5 2.0 Turbo Ecotec), while the 1.8 and smaller engines had the M32 transmission (possibly an F40 derivative, I have no idea) -I don't think GM would put a 400 Newton-meter rated transaxle next to a 169 N-m engine when the M32 would be more than capable of handling it. The 2.0 Turbo, BTW, according to never-wrong-Wiki, was rated at 360 N-m of torque, and I think the F40 is (or was) the only manual transmission rated to handle that much. Unfortunately, although I rarely (not never) flog on my cars, it is becoming apparent that I may need an as-yet unmade "F45" transmission for my 3800... :o


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
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woody90gtz
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by woody90gtz »

The first-gen Cruzes had a 1.4T and 1.8n/a with the manual, and that was it. There was a 2.0T diesel that was auto only, but the next gen (16+) I think did get the manual with the diesel.


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
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Rettax3
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by Rettax3 »

woody90gtz wrote:The first-gen Cruzes had a 1.4T and 1.8n/a with the manual, and that was it. There was a 2.0T diesel that was auto only, but the next gen (16+) I think did get the manual with the diesel.
:ROFL: I totally missed that the Cruze's 2.0 was a diesel! Well, NOT the Saab Ecotech then! :roll: :oops:

Do you have the RPO Codes from the Cruze?

Edit:
Okay, spent a little time tracking down info on the earlier Cruze's 6-speed for both the 1.4T and the 1.8 (FOUR different options listed, three of them for the 1.4T -probably gear-ratios/FDR differences mostly I would guess) -definitely NOT an F40, nor similar. Looks like the diff housing splits front-to-rear on that unit, the F40's is much bigger and totally integrated in each case-half, similar to the 282. So, looks like the DIESEL ( :lol: ) 2.0T Cruze would be the F40-equipped, as I thought. Thanks for pointing to another possible source though, I am NOT looking forward to digging into this -I am 80% sure I will find seized and shattered synchronizers throughout -hopefully nothing worse than that. :no: :fool:


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
KeokeGTZ
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by KeokeGTZ »

Added the last of the gauge cluster LEDs today to the GTZ. Previously changed out the fog lights, corners lights, third brake light, footwell, dome, map lights, gauge indicators, headlight/wiper switch, HVAC, license plate to LED and put some Sylvania Silverstar Ultras into the low beams (spare backups I had for my 300zx). I'm still on the fence on changing out the front signals and the rear lights due to having to deal with the flashers or adding resistors. I'll likely take a stab at the tails though sooner or later. Gotta match the third brake light now. Forgot to get photo of the rear.

All the fogs on my cars gotta be yellow.
Image
Dome light looks a bit yellow in the photo, but they are the same temp as the rest of the interior bulbs and look fine in person.
Image
All dash bulbs but the wiper/defroster switch dim evenly. I'll most likely never dim them anyhow. They're pretty bright, but nothing in comparison to modern cars like my WK2 Grand Cherokee LCD.
Image
Image
Image

Bulbs used

Cluster/footwell/license plate & socket adapters
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0182FMWKU? ... ct_details
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07FLZBV5J? ... ct_details
Wiper/defroster switch (dimmable but not even with rest of the dash)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B06WD53Q9S? ... ct_details
Headlight switch (could be used for HVAC as well but light dispersion wasn't as even)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08G4CL737? ... ct_details
HVAC
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B016FKOGQW? ... ct_details
Map & domelight (bulbs do not face down on the map light but light output is good, tried a twisted bulb but the pc board prevented fitment in the housing)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07WLQJWFD? ... ct_details
Third brake light
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09M669QZP? ... ct_details


1990 Beretta GTZ / 1971 Datsun 240z / 1995 Nissan 300ZX turbo SMZ #15 / 2015 Jeep GC EcoDiesel / 2003 Honda CBR 954RR / 2006 GSXR 600 / 2018 Aprilia RSV4 RR
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woody90gtz
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by woody90gtz »

It's amazing the difference just LEDs make to the modernity of a car. Looks good!


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
KeokeGTZ
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Re: what did you do to your ride today?

Post by KeokeGTZ »

woody90gtz wrote:It's amazing the difference just LEDs make to the modernity of a car. Looks good!
I know right, it's the small things! Next on the list is to freshen up the sway bar end links/bushings and the beat up exhaust for CA emissions :cry:


1990 Beretta GTZ / 1971 Datsun 240z / 1995 Nissan 300ZX turbo SMZ #15 / 2015 Jeep GC EcoDiesel / 2003 Honda CBR 954RR / 2006 GSXR 600 / 2018 Aprilia RSV4 RR
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