Beretta 2017 Autocross Spec D-prepared

[Koots]

The 04' Impala SS I drive (very nice taxicab) could really use one of these. I can barely apply the throttle on corners because it'll just spin and fly straight ahead. It's got awesome power, but really needs all the control it can get. I can't imagine the 5.3L versions....

[Amateur]

What an action packed summer it's been for me so far. Back in May, I failed to tighten my drivers side wheel adequately enough and headed on the highway. All was good for the first 20 minutes until the inevitable wheel vibrations started kicking in. As I was making my way to the right shoulder, the wheel decided to leave my car and at one point, I'm looking to the left and see my wheel alongside me...surreal and terrifying at the same time. I managed to get the car on the shoulder and stopped safely while my wheel was 100 yards in front of me. I was really shooken up at my complacency and how much worse it could have been. Thankfully it wasn't rush hour or anything, but still. Erich from the b.net boards happened to be driving by and noticed my car and really helped me out. Thanks again Erich!

Of course, my rotor was no longer round after being my makeshift wheel and the wheel itself, dented my fender on its way out.



So I checked all the components and all I needed was a new rotor + fender.



Looking sharp mismatched fender!



I missed Berettafest since I landed a new job at Macy's and am 1 of 2 people who are spearheading this new program at our store where people buy online and pick up in store. Needless to say, I couldn't get the time off to have fun. Do I get a refund if I paid? just kidding, I assume it went to a good cause like picnic food! I did put in a new air compressor and other components to the cooling system. Charged it and expected everything to be nice and chilly for these brutally hot summer days.



Turns out the A/C system isn't engaging the clutch for whatever reason. A cursory look and I couldn't figure out why. I can manual engage it, but that won't do me any good so I take it to a Chevy dealer service bay to figure that out for me. they had some cool cars in the staging area:




after 2 1/2 hours and two techs trying to figure out this troublesome problem, they concluded that I have a short in the wiring. I would have to trace the wires path, inside the dashboard and all to figure out which one is the problem child and fix/replace that wire. At first they figured it was the ECU, because it's a longshot, but perfectly legitimate reason to why the compressor wouldn't engage. Except, that was my thought too when I couldn't find anything wrong. Too bad, I already replaced the ECU last week with an ACdelco remanufactured one and it cost me all of $30 from Ebay.




Oh it gets better. On a particularly hot day with no A/C still, my radiator decided to implode on itself.



It's fitting that I parked the car at a funeral home to let it cool down.



So I essentially buy myself a whole new cooling system because why the hell not. New radiator, new water pump, new thermostat with a lower temp at 180 degrees versus the 190-195 that is OEM, and a new coolant cap.















Bleeding the system:



It's not over yet. Evidently my car is losing coolant still and idles rough when I start. Signs that my head gasket needs replacing as there are no visible leaks externally. I'm going to check the plugs for that white residue but I already know it's the headgasket. I just replaced it 2 years ago ughhhhh.

It's never a dull moment with this car to say the least

[Amateur]

My suspicions have been confirmed and I'm extremely lazy to do any kind of automotive but I had to get cracking.

3 out of the 4 spark plugs looked just like this:


If you notice, it's a pretty Chevy-heavy household. The white S10 is my other project I'm working on. The transmission is no good and I'm in the middle of dropping it.


....Kill....Me....


2014


Circa 2012


The cylinder head:


The gasket really didn't look that bad when I removed it, it's leading me to believe that maybe the aluminum head got warped and it's off ever so slightly allowing expensive antifreeze into the chamber. I don't have any fancy equipment to physically check if it's off but I think I'll put in a different one just to be safe.

[1988GTU]

After checking the head over for cracks, have the head surfaced then proceed to check the block/head with a straight edge using feeler gauges.

You didnt do a comp test prior to?

[3X00-Modified]

None of those cylinders show signs of coolant leaking in if you ask me... The only cylinder that may show it was number 1 but the head doesn't share that look. Coolant in the cylinder will steam clean everything in there including piston top. Look at #4 in your 2012 pic, that shows obvious signs of the piston being cleaned.

[Amateur]

After checking the head over for cracks, have the head surfaced then proceed to check the block/head with a straight edge using feeler gauges.

You didnt do a comp test prior to?

It would have been due diligence to do the comp test prior but I didn't. My plan of attack is to put in my spare cylinder head that I have in my garage from a slightly used engine. I will be using your method of a straight edge and feeler gauge as an impromptu leveler checker though, thanks!

None of those cylinders show signs of coolant leaking in if you ask me... The only cylinder that may show it was number 1 but the head doesn't share that look. Coolant in the cylinder will steam clean everything in there including piston top. Look at #4 in your 2012 pic, that shows obvious signs of the piston being cleaned.

The issue only developed 4 days ago and so I don't know how long that process of cleansing actually takes to materialize visibly. The car ate half a tank of coolant in those 4 days and there are no visible external leaks anywhere. The car after sitting overnight, has a rough idle in the morning when trying to start and it sits at a higher rpm than normal for about a minute as I presume it burns off all the built-up coolant in the cylinders. From there, it idles smoothly. My coolant temp sensor is also good (I checked). I didn't see any visible white exhaust smoke oddly enough from these start-ups. I dunno.

[Money pit Beretta]

Man you had a run of bad luck. I have a set way of doing things when it comes to wheels.
1. torque to 100 ft/lbs
2. even if only one or two wheels were taken off torque all lugs
3. never take a torque wrenches first offer, recheck all again
4. recheck again in one week and the 2nd week too

Lets just say this all started when a friend and I forgot to tighten the lugs on his car. Long story, but lets just say a head swap(on V8) is a bit distracting.

[woody90gtz]

Berettas...don't you love em!

I heard about your incident from Cack at Bfest. Had that happen with a friend's car in high school...it is comical and scary at the same time.

My neighbor's LSX build this week just had a brand new headgasket fail while just idling. And that showed two pistons completely clean with 0 miles. I'd think that would show more...

[Amateur]

Man you had a run of bad luck. I have a set way of doing things when it comes to wheels.
1. torque to 100 ft/lbs
2. even if only one or two wheels were taken off torque all lugs
3. never take a torque wrenches first offer, recheck all again
4. recheck again in one week and the 2nd week too

Lets just say this all started when a friend and I forgot to tighten the lugs on his car. Long story, but lets just say a head swap(on V8) is a bit distracting.

I will be stealing this process. I've changed out/installed more wheels than I can count that I no doubt got lax and complacent doing it and it bit me. This is a good way to ensure I stay on top of my game when I do it again and the good thing about having a process, is that you get that consistency that guarantees a good results every time.

Berettas...don't you love em!

I heard about your incident from Cack at Bfest. Had that happen with a friend's car in high school...it is comical and scary at the same time.

My neighbor's LSX build this week just had a brand new headgasket fail while just idling. And that showed two pistons completely clean with 0 miles. I'd think that would show more...

If I just put in a new headgasket to have it fail from the getgo, I think I would cry. That LSX build has to be wild, that engine is pretty much a full blown race engine in itself...Has science gone too far!?!!



I didn't get a lot done today because of responsibilities like work and wearing pants. But I did manage to slap on the new headgasket and stuff.





As an added bonus, I put this spiffy valve-cover I got from a board member on here many eons ago:

[woody90gtz]

Sorry, LSx, not "LSX". LQ9 originally I believe. Put LS6 heads on it and a cam. Cheap Chinese head studs were his problem though.

[Amateur]

Sorry, LSx, not "LSX". LQ9 originally I believe. Put LS6 heads on it and a cam. Cheap Chinese head studs were his problem though.

LQ9 is still no slouch with 364 cu in. of goodness. Seriously, I love how the LS family still maintain the pushrod layout when everyone and anyone else went with the overhead cams for high performance. The new Stingray LT1 engine is to die for.


Finally got my car going today. It drives beautifully, probably since I did a tune-up while I was at it. One thing down, several more to go. I have a broken vacuum line and the A/c still needs to get sorted out as well as pulling the trouble code for the ABS light that I've had intermittent issues with. It comes on and off and my brakes get all sorts of messed up when that happens.

I also have to do some follow-up work on my thermostat housing to the cylinder head assembly as I broke the head off one of the six bolts. Those bolts are so tiny and corroded! I snapped one last time I did the headgasket and was especially careful this go not to repeat history. oh well, The stud is out enough that I can still pull it out with a locking wrench.

vroom, vroom



And alas, my rental car goes back tomorrow. I really liked this Chevy Captiva...one might say, it 'captivated' my heart.

[Money pit Beretta]

Boy you got that up and running quick!
My process is a bit of overkill, but it sure works. For me it just a habit now and I don't even have to think about it. The car is locked in place until the "process" is done. Glad to hear that you have taken it up.

[weba]

2.2 cylinder heads tend to warp because of the EGR is located at the transmission side end of the cyl.head. Causes uneven heat-up and eventually coolant leak to cylinders. Bad\Cheap design, complete EGR removal would help.

[1988GTU]

Just disconnecting the feed tube at the EGR to the exhaust would be enough to prevent that warpage.

Ever discover the culprit to the coolant issue?

[Amateur]

Boy you got that up and running quick!
My process is a bit of overkill, but it sure works. For me it just a habit now and I don't even have to think about it. The car is locked in place until the "process" is done. Glad to hear that you have taken it up.

When it's my daily driver, I have no choice but to work quickly. I should really invest in a second car especially since I don't want this poor thing to go through another brutal winter. It's still trying to recover from the last one that destroyed my pristine California undercarriage.

2.2 cylinder heads tend to warp because of the EGR is located at the transmission side end of the cyl.head. Causes uneven heat-up and eventually coolant leak to cylinders. Bad\Cheap design, complete EGR removal would help.

I hate that EGR with a passion. It's a parasite that's got to go! On that note, GM has never had a good track record with EGR placement and collateral damage...Never forget, GM 3800 series II engines R.I.P. Those things would melt the intake plenum gasket and kill the engine very quickly unless you upgraded to a metal gasket. Also, GM Dexcool is terrible. There, I said it.

ust disconnecting the feed tube at the EGR to the exhaust would be enough to prevent that warpage.

Ever discover the culprit to the coolant issue?

I'm going on a limb and saying it was the headgasket. I kept the original head because it was straight as an arrow using the feeler gauge/ straight-edge method (Thanks!). It runs no problem, and isn't eating my antifreeze so that must of been it. I took picture of the old headgasket I removed. I really didn't see anything bad with it unless I'm blind and can't see the obvious: