Escapepilot’s 06 SS/SC Ext Track Build - COMPLETED

escapepilot

Goblin Guru
Has anyone else had issues getting a good seal between the brass fitting on the pex and the rubber hoses? Thought I had the leak fixed but found another puddle in the front.
 

Sluggonaut

Goblin Guru
Has anyone else had issues getting a good seal between the brass fitting on the pex and the rubber hoses? Thought I had the leak fixed but found another puddle in the front.
The leak I had I thought was from the front, but it was actually in the rear and ran up the tunnel and out the front. I had water wetter in there so it was very hard to see the fluid in the tunnel. So make sure it is the front fitting and not coming from the back and just looking like it is leaking in the front.
 

escapepilot

Goblin Guru
The leak I had I thought was from the front, but it was actually in the rear and ran up the tunnel and out the front. I had water wetter in there so it was very hard to see the fluid in the tunnel. So make sure it is the front fitting and not coming from the back and just looking like it is leaking in the front.
Probably this. I finally had time yesterday to pretty much start over on the heat exchanger plumbing. I removed the pex lines and disconnected the hoses from the heat exchanger and at the engine. I noticed a little coolant and the engine end of the pex that apparantly dripped onto the brake line T and then ran along the bottom of the brake line to the front. That's why I couldn't see it in the tunnel before. When I reassembled, I connected the hoses to the pex lines first while I could ensure a good fit and tight clamps from hose to pex then connected the hoses to their respective components. I also removed the plastic 90s and reapplied teflon tape. If I get any more leaks in that system, it should be from the pex to hose connections now.
 

escapepilot

Goblin Guru
Checked under the car this morning and a tiny coolant spot (dime sized) under the front. I think it is from one of the plastic 90s. I put 5 wraps of teflon tape on them but they weren't as tight as I wanted. Turning them further to tighten looks like it would lead to bottoming out on the hex portion before being in the proper orientation.

Any tips here?
 

escapepilot

Goblin Guru
Ugh…I think I have the dreaded LSJ wiring issue. I didn’t have time to troubleshoot but when checking to see if the throttle body moved with the pedal before starting, the answer was “no”. The heat exchanger fan did kick on with the key, so I guess that’s good. I was hoping to see if the intercooler pump functioned…does it come on with the key or after engine start?
 

Sluggonaut

Goblin Guru
My IC pump comes on with key on. Mine is a 2007 SS/SC and I'm using the stock harness connections for the IC pump.
 

escapepilot

Goblin Guru
I feel like I’m making progress but…

Still not cranking but fuel pump and everything else seems to work ok. So I checked the most basic thing and found the 30A crank fuse was blown. Replaced it and ‘pop’ blown again. So went to the starter (fun experience on an LSJ) and the purple wire has continuity to ground. Well that’s not good. Disconnected the purple wire and checked again, and no continuity. OK. Checked the stud where the purple wire attaches and continuity to ground.

In my limited mechanical experience, I don’t think that’s supposed to happen but I can’t find confirmation of that on the net. So…do I have a bad starter or other wiring issue in that area or is that normal?
 

Ross

Goblin Guru
That purple wire energizes a solenoid, which appears to be bad. The starter motor might still work. Test it by shorting the 2 big bolts on the back of the starter. If the sparks fly, and then the engine cranks, the starter motor is good... just replace the solenoid/bendix.
 

escapepilot

Goblin Guru
Well, Ross, looks like the whole starter is bad. Jumping those posts did nothing but create sparks. I double checked to make sure the engine still turned over so it’s definitely in the starter.

My other puzzle tonight is that the intercooler pump runs but doesn’t seem to be moving any coolant.
 

Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
The hot side of the control side of a relay will show continuity to ground such as the where the purple wire connects to the starter. It’s basically a coil of wire that causes a magnetic field to close a switch when power passes through it to ground. The resistance should be greater than zero though.
 

Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
I think the failure rate of the pumps is pretty high.

You do have the pump mounted low so will get coolant to start with? The pump isn’t self priming.
 

escapepilot

Goblin Guru
I think the failure rate of the pumps is pretty high.

You do have the pump mounted low so will get coolant to start with? The pump isn’t self priming.
Yes, it’s low. And I purged as much air as I could from the system. It feels like it’s moving some coolant on the output hose but it doesn’t appear to be moving fluid when watching from an open fill cap. I suppose it could have some air trapped and be cavitation.
 
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