project Rentedmule

Cut off my bump stop brackets this weekend - what a crappy job! It took about an hour per side. I need to pick up some low profile stops to mount directly to the frame. Any suggestions?

gm pt no 15956547
thats what im going to use

It didn't come with a belt. The motor also came off of a no-AC truck (different pulley set up) and I have under drive pulleys on my truck so I can't even use that one.

Good call on the ZQ8 bumpstops! I had a set at one time but I think they must have gotten trashed when I swapped out my old LCAs (which I collapsed). Do you think they would be wide enough or would the axle just push them out of the way when it impacted?

It didn't come with a belt. The motor also came off of a no-AC truck (different pulley set up) and I have under drive pulleys on my truck so I can't even use that one.

Good call on the ZQ8 bumpstops! I had a set at one time but I think they must have gotten trashed when I swapped out my old LCAs (which I collapsed). Do you think they would be wide enough or would the axle just push them out of the way when it impacted?

i lined them up so that theyll hit the original bumpstop pad on the axle pad, not the axle itself. i accounted for the fact that the axle moves back a little as the spring flatens out, even though it doesnt appear that way in the pic, bad angle. it isnt directly above the pad.

I've had good luck with strap wrenchs for working with accessory drives; pulling clutch fans, crank pulleys, etc.

It didn't come with a belt. The motor also came off of a no-AC truck (different pulley set up) and I have under drive pulleys on my truck so I can't even use that one.

Good call on the ZQ8 bumpstops! I had a set at one time but I think they must have gotten trashed when I swapped out my old LCAs (which I collapsed). Do you think they would be wide enough or would the axle just push them out of the way when it impacted?

i lined them up so that theyll hit the original bumpstop pad on the axle pad, not the axle itself. i accounted for the fact that the axle moves back a little as the spring flatens out, even though it doesnt appear that way in the pic, bad angle. it isnt directly above the pad.

Ahh, that totally makes sense!  I will probably do just that!

I do have a strap wrench but it wasn't long enough to go around the pulley. It should be easy enough to get off with an extra pair of hands, I just haven't asked anyone yet.

any old belt + vice grips = strap wrench

I like that bump stop setup too.

They're $16.72 at the dealer, which is as good as any price I can find online.

But Dorman does sell an equivalent for just over $10.

http://amzn.com/B0026M9BDC

Bought those Dorman bumpstops but haven't had a chance to install yet. The truck is in getting a rusty cab corner fixed. Thanks again for the input on that guys.

I've made some progress on the turbo build plan:

Deposit is down on a turbo. I've decided to go with a ported stock sy/ty exhaust housing with a billet 20g compressor wheel and 3" inlet housing. I wanted very quick spool and relatively low boost (6-8 psi) with initial goals of around 300-325 rwhp. Lowestform (a syty.net member I know) is building the turbo for me for a great price and he helped a pile deciding on specs.  He's also sending me a stock crossover pipe with a wastegate flange already welded on. I'll be going with a 44 mm external WG to make sure I can accurately control boost with such a quick spooling turbo.

I'm also hoping to get a set of properly ported vortecs (with flow numbers) from a member on S10f, just need to figure out shipping.

Any thoughts on injector size for those power goals? I'd like to use the Wynjammer poppets to keep things simple. I'm guessing 36 lb/h won't cover it, do you think 48 lb/h will? 

And because no one likes a thread update without pics, I replaced the stock LCAs and panhard on my firebird with some Founders Performance bits. Poly bushings on the car end and rod ends at the axle. Also allowed me to center the axle which was out by about 1.5" toward the driver's side. The stock panhard bar is shockingly flimsy - I could twist it a significant amount by hand and feel like I could have folded it over my knee if I wanted to.


You should be able to push out the old bushings with your pinky finger, right? 

This place is pretty quiet...

Minor update: bought a set of ported heads from 98SS on S10F. They haven't arrived yet but these are the specs:

retainer to seal clearance .650
1.07" coilbind
.572 max lift with current springs
springs installed 118 lbs
compressed 310 lbs
intake flow at .500 248cfm @ .700 256cfm
exh flow at .500 195cfm .700 204 cfm




From the info I've been able to find, the flow numbers seem to be about the max you can get out of vortecs without damaging them. With similar heads and a Comp 270AHR cam a few have seen 230+ RWHP normally aspirated so hopefully they'll make some decent power with a turbo.

Quiet unless you count the spam, but I haven't given up on this place yet!

All my S trucks are tucked away at the moment.  Spent the last several weeks getting my Audi back on the road for winter and none too soon.  Still need to get the winter wheels & tires together, but the AWD has been helping with the snow.  I can't imagine what the last week would have been like with the Isuzu on balding summer tires.

So what's left to purchase/decide for the engine build?

The major bits are a down pipe, wastegate, BOV, intercooler and piping, and injectors. I'll probably need oil feed and drain lines for the turbo and other stuff like that as well.

I will probably start in on the actual build next spring/summer but I have a mock-up engine to at least start fitting the turbo parts.

Nice flow numbers for those heads! And yeah, mine has been untouched for 6 months or so since I herniated a disk in my back. I couldn't even ride in my white blazer for about 2 months after I injured it. I'm back to driving it and have it tuned up nicely.

Mine is progressing pretty slowly too. I had to get a few rust spots fixed before the salt/snow hit so it was in the body shop for a few weeks. I picked up a Wilwood proportioning valve and the other bits necessary to delete my ABS since the module died a few months ago. That may be the next project that actually gets completed.

Picked up a  few more turbo parts:

3" Intercooler, Aeromotive A340 pump in an S10 canister, and Racetronics fuel pump hotwire harness from snowman on S10forum (he's local). All new, just installed on his truck and then taken off before he got it running.




Used 44 mm Tial Sport external wastegate


Budget is still looking pretty good - I spent $400 on all of that stuff, $250 for the manifolds, and $650 for turbo and crossover pipe. The heads were a bit pricey but I think they'll be worth it. Plus all of that is in Canadian dollars so that's only like $30 US! 

Are you sure you aren't going to get the turbo together for this next summer? 

Is that relay sealed?  I usually replace them with the OE sealed style as I've had plenty of the others fail on me.  They're on almost every S10 at the firewall for several different things, so near to free at the junkyard.



If you can't find one I've got a pile of them sitting at home and would drop it in the mail free of charge.

I could probably get the turbo on the truck as-is by the summer but I want to do the heads/cam and 5-speed swap all at the same time. After 7 or 8 years tinkering with this truck I know the limitations of my mechanical skills. I don't know if I'm ready for a DIY engine/trans swap.

I also don't know if I'll have the disposable income to wrap everything up this year. Injectors, cam, down pipe, clutch, and tune will probably be the big-ticket items (realistically another $1500+) but I'm sure I'll be nickled and dimed to death on other bits along the way (oil lines, tubing and couplers, etc.). I've dealt with boost a few times before and I know it's always more expensive than it seems like it should be!

I'll look into that relay, thanks for the suggestion and offer!

as much as i like the sealed oem spec relays, so far i havent had any issues with those skirted nonsealed relays as long as they are sitting upright and outside of any splash zone.
i have a running experiment with those on both the blazer core support behind the headlights, and on the mr2 above the radiator.
the mr2 ones i feel a little more uncomfortable with since they are non-skirted and also laying almost horizontal, but packaging constraints....

I haven't been totally idle -  a few minor updates:

A while back I mentioned I couldn't get the clutch fan off my extra motor. This was the solution to holding the pulley



I starting stripping parts off the motor and got one manifold mostly installed. It required heat and a manifold spreader and I still don't have the bolts in the back holes. At least its starting to look the part...





I'm also in the process of cutting down the aluminum power steering / AC bracket to eliminate the extra metal associated with the compressor mount.

Ratchet straps can be a beautiful thing.  I definitely want to see pictures of your cut down bracket.  I kept talking about doing it for the Blazer, but no longer have to worry about it with the 5.3 going in.

Ratchet straps can be a beautiful thing.  I definitely want to see pictures of your cut down bracket.  I kept talking about doing it for the Blazer, but no longer have to worry about it with the 5.3 going in.

The LS truck power steering bracket is a hefty hunk too