TB removal and then some!!!

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by efnfast

Tom, what are you running for rear end gears?
I've got 3.73's and have never had any issues in 6th. I usually don't use 6th below 60.
Glad to hear she's running soooo gooood.- Steve

Steve, I'm just running the stock gears, 3.42 IIRC. In some of my very early threads where I brought up the lack of power, the higher engine temps, the lugging of the engine in 6th gear, is when some members mentioned that they felt 6th gear was a useless gear unless you had a lower ratio like your 3.73 or a 4.10 gear. Which then made 6th a more usable gear on the highway. And like yourself, I only use 6th 65 or above, whereas before I stayed in 5th 99% of the time.
The way mine is running now, I feel it is a perfectly well balanced machine for me with the performance, the ride and the handling. I couldn't be happier, all I need to do now is more detail work in the interior, under the hood and the suspension.

Btw, would be great if you and the Mrs. could make Gettysburg in Oct.

[efnfast]

Glad to hear all is well.
Wife isn't very interested in Gettysburg, I'll see what I can do.

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by efnfast

Glad to hear all is well.
Wife isn't very interested in Gettysburg, I'll see what I can do.

Thanks Steve.....
Hope she will change her mind, we already booked a room for overnight. We have been there numerous times over the years, and my wife is a Civil War buff. It will be a fun time, especially with a ZR-1 caravan!!!

[Roadster]

So from my earlier post where my lifelong high school friend Paul went for a ride and drive in the ZR-1 yesterday. His second ride, but his first drive, and he did a write up in Fantasy Garage II on his ZR-1 experience......
Thanks Paul for the story!!!

"So, yesterday this happened: our good friend Tom Mattera brought his 94 ZR-1 down to my area where we are working on rebuilding his 74 454 Vette. We took some pics of the ZR-1 for my files and then we went for a ride in the ZR-1. Tom has recently done some work to the engine, including getting the secondaries to work properly. Well, the car was a mighty beast before all this, but now it's just maniacal (in a good way of course).Tom ran the tach up on several back country roads. Unbelievable torque!!! Then a magical moment when he asked if I wanted to drive. Silly question ). I could not wipe the smile off my face. When i put my foot on the happy pedal, all hell broke loose and I actually started laughing out loud. Just wow, wow & then some more wow. I actually thought this car accelerated better than the CTS-v I recently manhandled. Looking forward to more drives. Thanx Tom!!!"

[Roadster]

The end of vacation update.....so we get back home and get everything squared away and it's time to start the 94. Uncover the car and it starts right up, except for one minor problem......the battery light is on the DIC and the volts are only registering 12.1v So the battery is over 5 years old, purchased by a PO in 2012 and I had intentions of changing it out this Fall anyway. Found a Bosch on sale at the auto store and make the switch. Btw, the Bosch is heavier than the NAPA it is replacing, so I am assuming it is a heavier duty constructed battery. Start the engine, and the same results. I was thinking maybe alternator, especially form my other thread where some owners have been experiencing very short life with the rebuilt units. I do have extras and will probably try the 200 amp one, even though others have had bad results with said unit. I think Cliff still has success with the 200 amp units that he has installed on his Z's.
But talk about short life.....its only been a few months......
Looks like I'll be busy tomorrow, although a PIA, especially after the recent plenum pull where I could have easily replaced it. At least this happen in the garage and not out on the road.......

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Originally Posted by Roadster

The end of vacation update.....so we get back home and get everything squared away and it's time to start the 94. Uncover the car and it starts right up, except for one minor problem......the battery light is on the DIC and the volts are only registering 12.1v So the battery is over 5 years old, purchased by a PO in 2012 and I had intentions of changing it out this Fall anyway. Found a Bosch on sale at the auto store and make the switch. Btw, the Bosch is heavier than the NAPA it is replacing, so I am assuming it is a heavier duty constructed battery. Start the engine, and the same results. I was thinking maybe alternator, especially form my other thread where some owners have been experiencing very short life with the rebuilt units. I do have extras and will probably try the 200 amp one, even though others have had bad results with said unit. I think Cliff still has success with the 200 amp units that he has installed on his Z's.
But talk about short life.....its only been a few months......
Looks like I'll be busy tomorrow, although a PIA, especially after the recent plenum pull where I could have easily replaced it. At least this happen in the garage and not out on the road.......

Sorry to hear about this new issue Tom. My two pennies worth about alternators and my experience is to consider buying the good units from Jerry. He will stand behind what he sells. Best wishes and always good to hear from you.

[lfalzarano]

Get a totally refurbished alternator from Jerry's gaskets and stop wasting your time on rebuilt/fixed old units. And buy s battery tensor if it isn't a daily driver. Or keep wasting money on poor quality low priced recommendations!


Sent from my iPhone using ZR-1 Net Registry

[Roadster]

Appreciate the suggestions.....but I'm not wasting my money and I have a battery tender.....

I have a few alternators, long story, and one of them is the 200 amp unit mentioned earlier and in another one of my threads.....
So I switch out the pulley, spacers and fan and I'm ready to go.....finally wrapped things up between snacks and some drinks (water, lol) and now the big moment.....engine starts and it charges......woohoo!!!
Check the volts and I am pegged at 14.5v and it stays there.....put the AC on and it doesn't move.....put the lights on and it goes down to 14.3v and stays there.....dipped to 14.1 and then back to 14.3v Did a hot restart and 14.3v and stays there......noticed my interior lights are brighter than they were before......
With the old setup when started volts would go up to 15.1v-15.2v before settling down.....so I think I have a big improvement over what I had......going for an actual test drive after the clean up......

[Roadster]

Well when things happen, they happen......after changing out the battery and the alternator, I decided to remove some of the white grease on the throttle plates.....might not be the wisest decision I made!!!
Noticed after that, the idle crept up some, not like before up to 1100 rpm's when stopped, but more like 800-900 rpm's. Almost the same situation, if I let the clutch out some, the idle would drop. Or if I'm at a stop and I blip the throttle slightly, it will drop down. So today I put the Tech 1 on to check my IAC's and once again they are @ "0" at idle. And this time with any acceleration, they go as high as 16-17 and that is it. Other than that the engine is running great, no problem going through the gears and getting the secondaries to open up.
I even swapped out another IAC and the same result. So kind of back to square one to a point, have to get out the FSM and try to figure out what is going on. Also setting the min-air screw did not really have an effect on the idle one way or another, it just stays the same......around 725 r's or so until I drive and come to a stop.....

[Roadster]

So last night I remove the air horn and do another mini application of the dag and let it sit overnight.....throttle plates stuck this morning so opened them up and apply some white grease.....throttle plates now moving freely.......put everything back together and start the engine. IAC's are now @30 in open loop and gradually come down as the engine warms up. They slowly come down and in closed loop they are @12. Idle is decent around 750 and above....so I think this may be working out.....not so, back out of the garage and IAC's fall to "0" @idle. Make adjustment to min-air screw.....no change in idle or IAC count. Go for a ride and engine runs great......at a stop idle is 800 r's or higher and count still @0. Again going through the gears the IAC count does not go above 17. Come back and make another adjustment and get same results. I do notice however when I work the throttle at the TB itself and just touch it so slightly that the IAC's climb instantly.
For now I can live with this and looks like a winter project coming up. Apparently there is some air getting through the secondary blades or maybe the primary blade is open too much and there is no adjustment left. I do remember that when I first started with the TB, that there was what appears to have been some "dag" or other substance on the primary blade. This may have been an issue for one of the PO's or maybe it was from the factory, who knows!!!
I may attempt to "dag" the primary blade and see what happens.....sure it may stall, but I have nothing to loose by trying it.....the only thing I still am having a hard time understanding is why the IAC counts only go up to 17 no matter how much I accelerate.....and has absolutely no effect on engine performance what-so-ever.......
The learning process continues........