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After 1 year and 8 months of reasonably trouble-free operation (i.e. the car hadn't been in the shop overnight since August of 2000) the Virus' old reputation appears to be returning. With 80,000 miles now on the car, 50,000 of which are on the built engine, my supercharger has self-destructed.
The charger sprang an oil leak somewhere during my 2020 mile round-trip to Chicago last weekend but I didn't think much of it and simply added another quart of Mobil 1 to fill up upon my return. I also noticed that I was pumping black smoke out of the tailpipes anytime I hit WOT but rather than fix it I just avoided using a lead foot hoping I could stall long enough to get it fixed after AIS. By the time I was leaving for AIS it had been about 2500 miles since my last oil change and all systems looked normal except a small bit of oil around the charger.
At the shootout several people commented about the oil around it and my response was something along the lines of "I need to check that out when I get back..." (famous last words...). On the return voyage we were playing with a Mustang on the road in which I downshifted to 2nd on the highway and wondered why I wasn't taking off as fast as I should be. Glancing up at the boost gauge I noticed I was registering 0 psi at any rpm. Vacuum worked fine but at WOT the needle would not go into the positive. (Infernal, this might have been why I pulled away so slowly when you were videotaping me on the interstate--I was going to say, I should have had you by more than that margin.)
As I was leaving AIS I heard a rattling sound coming from under the hood that was proportional to engine rpm. It sounded like the Almost-A-Cat was loose and rattling or something. The rattle got worse the further we went and finally in Richmond it was so bad I pulled over to check exactly what it was.
Sure enough, the rattle wasn't the cat, it was the charger. The supercharger itself was making a horrible grinding noise, the gut-wrenching sound of metal grinding on metal. I limped home the remainder of the voyage and with VLKamikaze and MissY2KFirebird's help disengaged the supercharger last night. We cut the belt (glad I have a 2-belt system!) and disconnected the intake hose so now it's completely bypassed.
www.firebirdv6.com/projectvirus/photos/disconnected01.jpg
www.firebirdv6.com/projectvirus/photos/disconnected02.jpg
The question that remained was, would the engine run NA? With the dropped compression and worked heads and cam, I had a horrible feeling that the engine wouldn't even start, let alone produce enough power to propel the car down the road. With my fingers crossed I turned the ignition--and the Virus roared to life with that Earth-shaking growl that so many people have come to expect from her over the years.
But she sounded different.
The trademark of my car, the memory every racer unfortunate enough to ever line up against me keeps forever--the telltale whine of the Procharger--was gone.
But she ran.
As of now I have pantyhose covering the throttle body and I'm looking to rig a dryer hose CAI attached to a K&N cone filter for the time being. I have to take the supercharger off, ship it to ATI in Kansas, pay possibly $600 for them to fix whatever inside it blew, and then put it back on. (Steve, Ryan, Mike93Z, and Roman, you guys remember what fun that was...) So as it stands I'm going to be NA for at least a month, and that puts my plans of the Centerforce clutch on hold again.
So the Virus lives on but her venom has been temporarily removed. I'm driving very gently and all systems seem to be in the clear otherwise. Given the **** I've put her through, I do have to give credit to GM for building these things tough.
Too stubborn to quit, too stupid to die. That's my baby girl.
And the drama continues...
[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: Stefan ]</p>
The charger sprang an oil leak somewhere during my 2020 mile round-trip to Chicago last weekend but I didn't think much of it and simply added another quart of Mobil 1 to fill up upon my return. I also noticed that I was pumping black smoke out of the tailpipes anytime I hit WOT but rather than fix it I just avoided using a lead foot hoping I could stall long enough to get it fixed after AIS. By the time I was leaving for AIS it had been about 2500 miles since my last oil change and all systems looked normal except a small bit of oil around the charger.
At the shootout several people commented about the oil around it and my response was something along the lines of "I need to check that out when I get back..." (famous last words...). On the return voyage we were playing with a Mustang on the road in which I downshifted to 2nd on the highway and wondered why I wasn't taking off as fast as I should be. Glancing up at the boost gauge I noticed I was registering 0 psi at any rpm. Vacuum worked fine but at WOT the needle would not go into the positive. (Infernal, this might have been why I pulled away so slowly when you were videotaping me on the interstate--I was going to say, I should have had you by more than that margin.)
As I was leaving AIS I heard a rattling sound coming from under the hood that was proportional to engine rpm. It sounded like the Almost-A-Cat was loose and rattling or something. The rattle got worse the further we went and finally in Richmond it was so bad I pulled over to check exactly what it was.
Sure enough, the rattle wasn't the cat, it was the charger. The supercharger itself was making a horrible grinding noise, the gut-wrenching sound of metal grinding on metal. I limped home the remainder of the voyage and with VLKamikaze and MissY2KFirebird's help disengaged the supercharger last night. We cut the belt (glad I have a 2-belt system!) and disconnected the intake hose so now it's completely bypassed.
www.firebirdv6.com/projectvirus/photos/disconnected01.jpg
www.firebirdv6.com/projectvirus/photos/disconnected02.jpg
The question that remained was, would the engine run NA? With the dropped compression and worked heads and cam, I had a horrible feeling that the engine wouldn't even start, let alone produce enough power to propel the car down the road. With my fingers crossed I turned the ignition--and the Virus roared to life with that Earth-shaking growl that so many people have come to expect from her over the years.
But she sounded different.
The trademark of my car, the memory every racer unfortunate enough to ever line up against me keeps forever--the telltale whine of the Procharger--was gone.
But she ran.
As of now I have pantyhose covering the throttle body and I'm looking to rig a dryer hose CAI attached to a K&N cone filter for the time being. I have to take the supercharger off, ship it to ATI in Kansas, pay possibly $600 for them to fix whatever inside it blew, and then put it back on. (Steve, Ryan, Mike93Z, and Roman, you guys remember what fun that was...) So as it stands I'm going to be NA for at least a month, and that puts my plans of the Centerforce clutch on hold again.
So the Virus lives on but her venom has been temporarily removed. I'm driving very gently and all systems seem to be in the clear otherwise. Given the **** I've put her through, I do have to give credit to GM for building these things tough.
Too stubborn to quit, too stupid to die. That's my baby girl.
And the drama continues...
[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: Stefan ]</p>
<br />RIP<br />1995 Chevrolet Camaro<br />3.4L V6 A4<br />Flowmaster 40 Series<br />K&N FIPK<br />Throttle Body Coolant Bypass<br />180 Degree Thermostat<br />3.42 Ring Gear<br />Steel One Piece Driveshaft<br />IAT Relocation<br />and a website <a href=\"http://www.geocities.com/jason_b298\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.geocities.com/jason_b298</a><br />New Ride 2000 S-10<br />4.3L V6 VIN W<br />auto <br />3.42 w/ LSD<br />more coming soon
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