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Thread: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

  1. Back To Top    #51
    Senior Member chithead's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    So we started with this:



    Removed the speaker and access cover:



    And started applying dampener:



    I REALLY like this Hushmat. It is very lightweight, and did an amazing job taming the resonance on these fiberglass doors. One of my main concern on these doors was adding too much weight, and this was a perfect combination:



    Their Wave Breaker applied behind the speaker:



    And the speaker installed, sealed up with foam, then dampener over the top:



    All sealed up everywhere:



    And the precut Ensolite applied with butyl adhesive:



    Also ran the 16ga Kicker speaker wire direct into the door, right to the speakers. Had to remove a few panels to get there, but there is an access piece that made this super easy. Actually, the easiest doors I've ever ran new wire into.
    Are you not entertained?!?!


  2. Back To Top    #52
    Noob Notloudenuf's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    I wish this had made it to the meet this weekend. I want to check it out as soon as its back together. Keep up the good work.
    https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/signaturepics/sigpic150_2.gif
    2002 330Ci & 2020 Tacoma

  3. Back To Top    #53
    Senior Member chithead's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    Audio build is on hold for a bit. Need to replace the rear main seal. Also going to do a clutch and slave cylinder while it's apart. But the job is a monumental task. The whole rear end has to come out due to the design. Trans is in the back, with a torque tube going up to the bellhousing where the clutch is located.

    Was waiting to figure out exactly how to tackle that, when she decided to start making a ticking sound one morning. I drove her to work and back home, and nowhere since. Inspected the harmonic balancer, and it was wobbling a bit. These LS engines are notorious for that, due to the balancer design. So since I had to dig that far in, decided might as well do the oil pump, timing chain set, and camshaft retainer plate.

    No easy job either. Have to remove quite a bit, including the steering rack. Got super lucky for the opportunity to get one of the new QuickJack 7000TL:





    They are a lifesaver for sure. Both figuratively, and literally.

    Alright... let's get going on this balancer, baby!







    Water pump has been replaced. Interesting:



    And now, to fight this sumbeech:



    Took me three days to get that stupid bolt out. Tried everything I could think of. Ended up turning the crank enough to wedge a breaker bar against the cradle over by the driver's side control arm, and used the starter to break it loose:



    See the cracks? Failing balancer, that's what happens. Now to get this beast off:



    Had to get yet another tool just for that:

    Are you not entertained?!?!


  4. Back To Top    #54
    Noob BenevolentDictator's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    Rooting for you Daniel. Looks like you have the skillset and experience to attack it so you'll be just fine.


    Quote Originally Posted by chithead View Post
    Audio build is on hold for a bit. Need to replace the rear main seal. Also going to do a clutch and slave cylinder while it's apart. But the job is a monumental task. The whole rear end has to come out due to the design. Trans is in the back, with a torque tube going up to the bellhousing where the clutch is located.

    Was waiting to figure out exactly how to tackle that, when she decided to start making a ticking sound one morning. I drove her to work and back home, and nowhere since. Inspected the harmonic balancer, and it was wobbling a bit. These LS engines are notorious for that, due to the balancer design. So since I had to dig that far in, decided might as well do the oil pump, timing chain set, and camshaft retainer plate.

    No easy job either. Have to remove quite a bit, including the steering rack. Got super lucky for the opportunity to get one of the new QuickJack 7000TL:





    They are a lifesaver for sure. Both figuratively, and literally.

    Alright... let's get going on this balancer, baby!







    Water pump has been replaced. Interesting:



    And now, to fight this sumbeech:



    Took me three days to get that stupid bolt out. Tried everything I could think of. Ended up turning the crank enough to wedge a breaker bar against the cradle over by the driver's side control arm, and used the starter to break it loose:



    See the cracks? Failing balancer, that's what happens. Now to get this beast off:



    Had to get yet another tool just for that:

    A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his downfall

  5. Back To Top    #55
    Senior Member chithead's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    Finally! Now we can replace the oil pump, timing set, and cam plate. But wait, there's more:



    Something doesn't look right. See those cam bolts? They're all bent. And the cam gear is very loose. Guess we found out what was making all that ticking noise:



    Soon as I removed the gear, could tell this camshaft has been replaced. When ordering the cam plate, noticed there were two kinds. An early style with bolt heads, and a later style with countersunk Torx bolts. Guess what was on there:



    Someone been in here before, and put the wrong plate on. This is what the correct piece should look like:



    Not sure what cam this is. She's a little lopey, but not too bad. Guessing a Stage 2 something based on videos of other LS engines with Stage 2 cams in them:



    The problem is, those three bolts were completely stripped. Was worried I now had to replace the camshaft... but got super lucky. Happened to have a tap in the toolbox that was an exact match. Just went really slowly, couple turns, back it out, couple turns more, out, just kept working the tap and cleaning the threads until they were all back to good condition. Tested some of the timing cover bolts since they are the same thread pattern, and all three went in. Decided to order three new bolts from ARP and installed the new Melling retainer plate on there:



    Right now, the new Melling timing gear set is installed, and the new Melling 10295 oil pump. It's the standard volume, high pressure pump. Didn't want the high volume version. High pressure isn't bad though, high volume would be bad. Read multiple articles saying that high volume pump can drain all 7 quarts from the pan in under a minute with high RPM driving. Not that I plan on it, but don't want the worry either.

    Had to order three camshaft bolts. Waiting on those to arrive before we can button everything up and slip this bad boy on there:

    Are you not entertained?!?!


  6. Back To Top    #56
    Senior Member chithead's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    Video clip of the cam gear:

    https://live.staticflickr.com/video/...MzYiLCJ2IjoxfQ

    For those that haven't heard the car before, and why I suspected there was a different cam installed after buying her:

    https://live.staticflickr.com/video/...OTMiLCJ2IjoxfQ
    Are you not entertained?!?!


  7. Back To Top    #57
    Noob Salami's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    Nice work Chit!

  8. Back To Top    #58

    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    Scary how fast the "might as well" parts can add up when working on an older car. Every $300 repair on my old E38s ended up costing $1000 or more.

    Great work on the audio and mechanic sides of the build.

  9. Back To Top    #59
    Noob naiku's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    That's some really impressive work, I would not have known where to even start.
    Another white wagon.
    Instagram - eye_take_pix



  10. Back To Top    #60
    Senior Member chithead's Avatar
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    Re: Chithead's 2003 Corvette Z06

    All back together! Car runs WAY different. Better. Guessing that cam gear has been loose since buying her. Definitely has a LOT more pull through the RPM range, and is quite a bit quicker than before.



    Are you not entertained?!?!


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