Having hard time removing harness

[1superchevy]

Well I had already unplugged most of the harness from the engine, but now i cant get the thick part between the engine and the firewall loose. It looks like its held on by a clamp thats connected to the tranny to engine bolt. I cant seem to get the 18mm bolt to turn for anything. Its the top 2 bolts on the bellhousing. Do i need a special wrench or something to get in there? Or does the clamp come undone from up top. Its a 98 firebird 3.8 5-speed Thanks

[cam98aro]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

from what i remember, the clamp is hooked through the bolt at the top of the transmission

if im wrong about that, then regard this next thing..

but you are going to need about 2-3' of extensions (i recommend using 3/4" because they are stronger and wont twist) i used a swivel piece at the end of the extension to make getting the bolt a bit easier, but im not aware of any way to get them from the top

oh yeah, BTW those bolts are TIGHT, even my snapon extensions were twisting trying to get them out

edit* if all i said is correct, i would recommend removing the transmission crossmember to lower thetrans a bit, it makes getting the bolts out a ton easier

[1superchevy]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

thanks it worked used all the extensions i had and got them to break free.

[1superchevy]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

I have a second question now. Can i still do a compression test with the engine out of the car if i put my intake manifold back on? For some reason i couldnt get my gauge to fit. So I was going to remove the engine from the top and remove the upper intake manifold, but then decided to go through the bottom.

[Archer]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

yes, you'll have to turn it by hand. add about a teaspoon I believe of oil in each cyl to see if there is a leak. Im pretty sure this is what people do with auto engines, its what I do with cycle engines.

Archer

[cam98aro]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

yes, you'll have to turn it by hand. add about a teaspoon I believe of oil in each cyl to see if there is a leak. Im pretty sure this is what people do with auto engines, its what I do with cycle engines.

Archer

you cant turn it by hand to check the compression, it will give you false information.

the oil is only used to check for bad piston rings on cylinders with a low psi, if the cylinder psi increases then it means your rings are probably bad, if it stays the same then you are loosing compression elsewhere

I have a second question now. Can i still do a compression test with the engine out of the car if i put my intake manifold back on? For some reason i couldnt get my gauge to fit. So I was going to remove the engine from the top and remove the upper intake manifold, but then decided to go through the bottom.

you cant really do a compression check with the engine out of the car, unless you hook a starter up to it.

[1superchevy]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

Well any ideas on what would cause me to get 312 misfires on cylinder 6, 287 on cyl5, 100 cyl4, 43 cyl 3. and none on cyl1 or 2 on my way home. I happened to have the scantool hooked up. I was thinking bad intake gasket or head gasket. After I got home it would start anymore just spin over. I checked for spark and fuel both ok.

[Mogobs30th]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

Well any ideas on what would cause me to get 312 misfires on cylinder 6, 287 on cyl5, 100 cyl4, 43 cyl 3. and none on cyl1 or 2 on my way home. I happened to have the scantool hooked up. I was thinking bad intake gasket or head gasket. After I got home it would start anymore just spin over. I checked for spark and fuel both ok.

Thats a little extreme of a diagnosis for a simple problem, its possible you have an ICM, coil, plug, or wire going bad. If the fuel is ok, you gotta make sure its all firing in order, which a bad ICM could possibly jack up. Id take it out and test it.

[1superchevy]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

I had a good ICM lying around and tried it and I had also replaced spark plugs, wires and coils. I even checked the fuel injectors The only problem I was having was white smoke out the tail pipe and the thing would overheat and then I fill it up and about a month later it would do it all over again. I flushed the coolant system and changed the oil. Even changed the thermostat. I didn't have any oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. So thats why I was guessing it was one of those from reading other posts. The stupid compression tester i have i just couldnt get it go fit properly cause it kept hitting the fire wall. :-(

[1superchevy]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

Well this is what I found after I got it apart.

[flamingchicken]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

other than a bunch of doo doo all over it from lack of oil changes, i dont see any broken peices. the cyl 2 and 4 intakes look like they got some junk in em.

[cam98aro]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

i dont think the engine looks that bad

seems there was an intake gasket leak

[1superchevy]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

Yeah looking further inside i can see coolant residue all over the valves and more. Should i just change the intake gaskets and put it back or go ahead and change the head gaskets/ while i am in here? Should I sea foam it once i get it back running ?

[cam98aro]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

Yeah looking further inside i can see coolant residue all over the valves and more. Should i just change the intake gaskets and put it back or go ahead and change the head gaskets/ while i am in here? Should I sea foam it once i get it back running ?

you might as well change the head gaskets while you're right there

i would seafoam everything NOW and not when you put everything back together

let the lifters soak in seafoam and clean the block up

[1superchevy]

Re: Having hard time removing harness

then rinse with oil and drain right?