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11-25-2010
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#1 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 198
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90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. The wife and I decided to take the ZR1 to the family turkey extravaganza about 15 miles up the road. It ran great all the way there and half-way back. At the half way point, things got ugly.
All of a sudden there was a loss of power and the engine was running rough. Definitely not hitting on all cylinders. Pulled up at a stop light and it didn't really want to stay running. Without giving it little throttle bursts, it would have died. There was no "drama" leading up to this. I hadn't been hot-rodding. There wasn't any bang or other indication. Gauges remained normal and no indications on the cluster. At the next light I saw that there was smoke coming out the back when I gave a little gas. We limped home and into the garage and I shut it down. It smells to me like there's unburned fuel in the exhaust. We unloaded the leftovers (mmmm... turkey....) and then came out and lifted the hood. No signs of external trauma. Nothing leaking, seeping or oozing. Oil is still full (and clean). Started her up again and it continued to run like crud. White smoke from the exhaust. Just under 28k miles. No mods save for a B&B exhaust and K&N filter from previous owner. I'm trying to reassure the wife that the car we got 3 weeks ago will be alright again. I know the injectors are notorious on these cars, but maybe it's spark. Any recommendations on where to start? Maybe this looks familiar to somebody.
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[B]1990 Corvette ZR-1 (#1930) Red/Black, Stock Engine, Henderson Performance custom ECM, FIC Injectors, B&B exhaust, Kenwood DNX6160[/B] Other Rides: 1992 Pontiac Firehawk (#010), 1967 Pontiac GTO 1998 Porsche 968, 2000 Harley Davidson FXST 1986 Pontiac Trans Am, 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Deluxe |
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11-25-2010
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Chicagoland, IL
Posts: 9,708
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Pull plugs and see which if any look like they've been steam cleaned. It may not be a head gasket. If it looks like either #4 or #3 cylinder, it can be the IH to head interface. Coolant port runs very close to the primary runners of those cylinders. Very little material separating the port and coolant. Over time it can corrupt the gasket and burrow its way under it especially during high vacuum situations like idle or decel.
Last edited by XfireZ51; 11-25-2010 at 11:10 PM. |
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11-25-2010
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#3 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 198
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Blown head gasket? Ew.
The radiator over flow bottle has water in it.... not much. It's at the "cold" line. Engine's been off for about an hour. Garage is about 45 deg. What else should I look for to confirm/deny it? And I guess next question... how hard is it to replace (find?) an LT5 head gasket? <ducking>
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[B]1990 Corvette ZR-1 (#1930) Red/Black, Stock Engine, Henderson Performance custom ECM, FIC Injectors, B&B exhaust, Kenwood DNX6160[/B] Other Rides: 1992 Pontiac Firehawk (#010), 1967 Pontiac GTO 1998 Porsche 968, 2000 Harley Davidson FXST 1986 Pontiac Trans Am, 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Deluxe |
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11-25-2010
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#4 | |
   
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Peoria, AZ
Posts: 9,155
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Quote:
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GOLDCYLON - 91 ZR-1 #2014 GOLDCYLON - 90 ZR-1 #2794, 4L60e (Formerly Schrade's) GOLDCYLON - 11 CTS-V Arizona State Director  91 WHITE/BLACK #2014. 380 P&P&PCed,Ported Heads, Jeal Long tubes, Corsa Exhaust/FIKSE FM-5s /LED TLs, LED Headlights, Front Wilwood 6 piston narrowlite calipers and rear Wilwood caliper street shop mod,CNCed Coolant Pipes,TPI Cvr,Filter cover,Stainless Bolts, DRM/DOM PROM /ZFDOC mod build #102,DRLs,BMAD with stainless Debris Screen,Coplan Air Blaster, Pioneer APP Radio 4,Brey-Krause HB,Sub Bar,Fire extinguisher seat mount,DRM Coilovers,LEDs everywhere,Compass mirror (orange),V1 DIC hidden display, Homelink sun visor, Carbon Fiber top x3 and APSIS Carbon Fiber interior, APSIS CF Steering Wheel/NAPA Leather, Banski trailing arms, Guldstrand front suspension,urethane bushings from Prothane (total suspension) ZFDoc drive shaft safety loop, raptor shift light (orange),AO engineering louver front plate, Console seat cushion, 96CE seats with black custom Sheepskins, ss billet catch can,Viper remote entry/alarm,Cragar Rear Louvers,LED side louver lights, Dewitts Radiator with SPAL fans and a Woods 160 T-Stat 90 RED/BLACK #2794. 4L60e Automatic Stage V by RPM Transmission, TCI Dedicated TCM, OBX Stainless Headers, Corsa Exhaust, SAN Secondaries and Haibeck PROM, Exotic Muscle Coil overs, LED Interior Lights, LED Tail Lights, LED Headlights, 94 Sport seats with black custom Sheepskins , Cragar rear louvers, GS Front calipers, Banski Trailing arms, APSIS Carbon Fiber steering wheel, Front and Rear Baer Eradispeeds, DRLs, Guldstrand front suspension,urethane bushings from Prothane (total suspension), Dewitt's Raditor with Dual SPAL fans and a Haibeck 170 T-Stat 11 RED/GREY CTS-V |
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11-25-2010
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#5 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 198
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Thanks Xfire751. I guess next I will need to figure out how to pull the plugs on this beast. They look well buried, and I have very little experience with this car. Dumb question: what's the "IH" in "IH to head interface"? Lucky for me... there's a shop manual in the back!
__________________
[B]1990 Corvette ZR-1 (#1930) Red/Black, Stock Engine, Henderson Performance custom ECM, FIC Injectors, B&B exhaust, Kenwood DNX6160[/B] Other Rides: 1992 Pontiac Firehawk (#010), 1967 Pontiac GTO 1998 Porsche 968, 2000 Harley Davidson FXST 1986 Pontiac Trans Am, 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Deluxe |
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11-25-2010
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#6 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 198
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Man, you guys are QUICK on this board. Not used to that!
 Goldcylon, the oil dipstick looked nice and normal to me and I checked within 2 minutes of pulling in the garage. I may wait till daylight for more digging since lighting in my garage pretty sell stinks.
__________________
[B]1990 Corvette ZR-1 (#1930) Red/Black, Stock Engine, Henderson Performance custom ECM, FIC Injectors, B&B exhaust, Kenwood DNX6160[/B] Other Rides: 1992 Pontiac Firehawk (#010), 1967 Pontiac GTO 1998 Porsche 968, 2000 Harley Davidson FXST 1986 Pontiac Trans Am, 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Deluxe |
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11-25-2010
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#7 | |
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Peoria, AZ
Posts: 9,155
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Quote:
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GOLDCYLON - 91 ZR-1 #2014 GOLDCYLON - 90 ZR-1 #2794, 4L60e (Formerly Schrade's) GOLDCYLON - 11 CTS-V Arizona State Director 91 WHITE/BLACK #2014. 380 P&P&PCed,Ported Heads, Jeal Long tubes, Corsa Exhaust/FIKSE FM-5s /LED TLs, LED Headlights, Front Wilwood 6 piston narrowlite calipers and rear Wilwood caliper street shop mod,CNCed Coolant Pipes,TPI Cvr,Filter cover,Stainless Bolts, DRM/DOM PROM /ZFDOC mod build #102,DRLs,BMAD with stainless Debris Screen,Coplan Air Blaster, Pioneer APP Radio 4,Brey-Krause HB,Sub Bar,Fire extinguisher seat mount,DRM Coilovers,LEDs everywhere,Compass mirror (orange),V1 DIC hidden display, Homelink sun visor, Carbon Fiber top x3 and APSIS Carbon Fiber interior, APSIS CF Steering Wheel/NAPA Leather, Banski trailing arms, Guldstrand front suspension,urethane bushings from Prothane (total suspension) ZFDoc drive shaft safety loop, raptor shift light (orange),AO engineering louver front plate, Console seat cushion, 96CE seats with black custom Sheepskins, ss billet catch can,Viper remote entry/alarm,Cragar Rear Louvers,LED side louver lights, Dewitts Radiator with SPAL fans and a Woods 160 T-Stat 90 RED/BLACK #2794. 4L60e Automatic Stage V by RPM Transmission, TCI Dedicated TCM, OBX Stainless Headers, Corsa Exhaust, SAN Secondaries and Haibeck PROM, Exotic Muscle Coil overs, LED Interior Lights, LED Tail Lights, LED Headlights, 94 Sport seats with black custom Sheepskins , Cragar rear louvers, GS Front calipers, Banski Trailing arms, APSIS Carbon Fiber steering wheel, Front and Rear Baer Eradispeeds, DRLs, Guldstrand front suspension,urethane bushings from Prothane (total suspension), Dewitt's Raditor with Dual SPAL fans and a Haibeck 170 T-Stat 11 RED/GREY CTS-V |
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11-25-2010
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#8 | |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 198
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Quote:
__________________
[B]1990 Corvette ZR-1 (#1930) Red/Black, Stock Engine, Henderson Performance custom ECM, FIC Injectors, B&B exhaust, Kenwood DNX6160[/B] Other Rides: 1992 Pontiac Firehawk (#010), 1967 Pontiac GTO 1998 Porsche 968, 2000 Harley Davidson FXST 1986 Pontiac Trans Am, 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Deluxe |
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11-25-2010
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#9 |
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 2,661
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Do you smell gas and does the smoke come out of only one exhaust pipe? If so could be a blown fuel injector. If it is you will quickly burn out the cat on the side with the bad injector. Very same thing happened to ZZZZZR-1 David.
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11-26-2010
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#10 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 198
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Re: 90 ZR1: Oh crud, did I break it?
Hey Jagdpanzer. Matter of fact, I don't smell gas. It smells sweet. Which leads me to think Dynomite was onto something from the git-go with the water. Understood on the cat though. Just went through that on a buddy's Acura.
Just looking through the service manual to get to the IH and related gaskets. Sweet Jeebuz what a PITA! Looks like it's about the same amount of labor to get to it or the head gasket. What I didn't want = project car. Too bad I'm already hooked on the thing!
__________________
[B]1990 Corvette ZR-1 (#1930) Red/Black, Stock Engine, Henderson Performance custom ECM, FIC Injectors, B&B exhaust, Kenwood DNX6160[/B] Other Rides: 1992 Pontiac Firehawk (#010), 1967 Pontiac GTO 1998 Porsche 968, 2000 Harley Davidson FXST 1986 Pontiac Trans Am, 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Deluxe |
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