Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
06-12-2007, 05:43 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 98
Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
Well I got a big story to tell you guys.
I took my car to a different mechanic today. My regular mechanic has got me tired of his bs because everything he supposedly fixes always comes back and gives me trouble again. So I went to a new guy today and had him run some tests on my car, I told him what the problems were and what I wanted to do with the car- the problems are
I have leaks from my timing belt cover, my pcv valve grommet, my oil pan, my transmission...
got vacuum leaks
exhausts leaks
engine vibration ( engine wasn't balanced when built)
drive train vibration
transmission has broken synchronizers
runs super dooper rich
brakes don't work well
etc etc
Anyway the guy ran his tests and told me this : "you have an engine vibration that requires an engine rebuild. rebuilding the engine will get rid of most of your oil leaks, once the engine is rebuilt the transmission can be worked on and then all leaks will be gone. the cam in your car needs to come out ( E303), its making your computer think that the car is always at open throttle so you are putting out too much fuel at all times. your brakes don't work because your car doesn't not create enough vacuum due to the size of your cam to let the brake booster work properly, and your car is no where near passing smog legally."
He said that I can have the car built close to stock to get rid of all the problems that I'm having. but that leaves me with a close to stock car, and by close to stop he means that if anything, i should just put in stronger pistons and a close to stock cam, nothing else.
The rebuild he suggests is one that will leave me SMOG LEGAL, he says if i want the car to be streetable its the only way to go, because i can spend 10's of thousands on my car but if i get caught, everything that shouldn't be there needs to come out and i'm back to square 1.
To remedy the power issue, he suggested that I build the engine close to stock and have better pistons put in and add a supercharger or build a stroker, a 347 to see any significant power gains.
He said that the car comes close to 280hp from the factory build and that a 347 would put me close to 3 40 hp. and give me better gas mileagle than I have now.
I don't understand though why he tells me that i don't need to get bigger heads and a bigger intake and the regular stuff that other people do, is this because he's keeping in mind making it smog legal?
So my question is- what do you guys suggest I do? And is there anyone who knows mechanics around LA who can work on modified cars that arent smog legal.
the quotes i'm getting on good rebuilds are about 4,000. Would it be better to just get a crate engine for about the same amount of money? instead of the rebuild?
Sigh this sucks =\
I took my car to a different mechanic today. My regular mechanic has got me tired of his bs because everything he supposedly fixes always comes back and gives me trouble again. So I went to a new guy today and had him run some tests on my car, I told him what the problems were and what I wanted to do with the car- the problems are
I have leaks from my timing belt cover, my pcv valve grommet, my oil pan, my transmission...
got vacuum leaks
exhausts leaks
engine vibration ( engine wasn't balanced when built)
drive train vibration
transmission has broken synchronizers
runs super dooper rich
brakes don't work well
etc etc
Anyway the guy ran his tests and told me this : "you have an engine vibration that requires an engine rebuild. rebuilding the engine will get rid of most of your oil leaks, once the engine is rebuilt the transmission can be worked on and then all leaks will be gone. the cam in your car needs to come out ( E303), its making your computer think that the car is always at open throttle so you are putting out too much fuel at all times. your brakes don't work because your car doesn't not create enough vacuum due to the size of your cam to let the brake booster work properly, and your car is no where near passing smog legally."
He said that I can have the car built close to stock to get rid of all the problems that I'm having. but that leaves me with a close to stock car, and by close to stop he means that if anything, i should just put in stronger pistons and a close to stock cam, nothing else.
The rebuild he suggests is one that will leave me SMOG LEGAL, he says if i want the car to be streetable its the only way to go, because i can spend 10's of thousands on my car but if i get caught, everything that shouldn't be there needs to come out and i'm back to square 1.
To remedy the power issue, he suggested that I build the engine close to stock and have better pistons put in and add a supercharger or build a stroker, a 347 to see any significant power gains.
He said that the car comes close to 280hp from the factory build and that a 347 would put me close to 3 40 hp. and give me better gas mileagle than I have now.
I don't understand though why he tells me that i don't need to get bigger heads and a bigger intake and the regular stuff that other people do, is this because he's keeping in mind making it smog legal?
So my question is- what do you guys suggest I do? And is there anyone who knows mechanics around LA who can work on modified cars that arent smog legal.
the quotes i'm getting on good rebuilds are about 4,000. Would it be better to just get a crate engine for about the same amount of money? instead of the rebuild?
Sigh this sucks =\
06-12-2007, 05:48 PM
#2
I ♥ Acer
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location:
Posts: 5,116
RE: Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
find another mechanic vacuum leaks can cause rich conditions, did he even bother to check tps voltage?..egr may be clogged? what is timing set?...did he bother to look at engine mounts first? or look at the balancer?..or did he just keep his greedy eyes on your wallet?
06-12-2007, 05:50 PM
#3
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Spfld, MA
Posts: 9,240
RE: Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
he's bull****tin you, just a little bit.
you can build a smog legal motor, no problem. any head that is under 180cc is usually smog legal.
that cam is not causing any problems, what so ever.
you can build a smog legal motor, no problem. any head that is under 180cc is usually smog legal.
that cam is not causing any problems, what so ever.
06-12-2007, 06:13 PM
#5
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 98
RE: Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
Yeah he hooked it up to a computer, said my vacuum is 12 and should be 18, its got a brand new harmonic balancer, the engine mounts are fine, it doesn't have anything for the EGR setup, or any of my smog equipment, the timing is 13
Well the dude is a dragster guy, he builds hemi motors, he owns a few drag cars. he charged me 70 bucks for everything- and he doesn't do engine rebuilds =\ sigh!!!!
Well the dude is a dragster guy, he builds hemi motors, he owns a few drag cars. he charged me 70 bucks for everything- and he doesn't do engine rebuilds =\ sigh!!!!
06-12-2007, 06:47 PM
#7
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 98
RE: Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
He put it on some sort of machine, stop vacuum is supposed to be 18, with all my leaks and stuff my vacuum is 12. He says that the size cam makes my computer think its always open throttle and thats why i have so much excess fuel and why my brake booster wont turn on- not enough vacuum
06-12-2007, 06:49 PM
#8
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 98
RE: Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR
ENGINE
I have numerous leaks on the engine:
The timing belt cover leaks
The PCV valve grommet leaks ( its at the back of the engine right by the firewall, there’s a hose going down to it)
There’s oil at the back of the engine where the engine meets the bell housing , so when I drive the car hard or rev high( above 3000 rpm) the car smells like its burning oil
I think the transmission leaks
I think I have exhaust leaks, they were supposed to be fix but I believe they might still be there
If I rev the car past 3000 rpm on any gear , but specially in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th , the drive train or engine shakes very badly as if something was out of balance. Once I’ve rev over 4000 rpm, the engine or drive train seems to balance itself out ( but it makes it really hard to drive with that problem because I cannot drive the car hard, or punch it, or drive at a higher rpm than 3000 (this is possibly my biggest problem) - my transmission/shifter shakes a lot when this is happening , the car also has the same vibration when its revved in neutral
The Car runs really rich, it smells really bad, gives horrible gas mileage and I think its because the car isn’t burning fuel right
My clutch is extremely stiff, it tires my leg out, its stiff to the point where I get cramps at times (my old mechanic said that it’s the clutch (but when he sold me the clutch he told me that clutch was the softest clutch available..) he also sold me everything I could have bought that would make my clutch “softerâ€- its still extremely and uncomfortably stiff)
If I drive the car and stop, it will often drop idle from 900(regular idle) or so to about 500 and 400, it will spike between both rpm’s and sometimes shut off, which causes my brake booster to shut off and that can be extremely dangerous- the battery gauge reads the needle at the first click( should be half at all times, specially with a 143 amp alternator and new battery)
My car has a sound system but its not on, I have no stereo, so I don’t know what’s causing this drain in power( could it be bad grounds?)
When I drive and take a turn, the car makes a weird thump or click when I turn the wheel, I’m not sure if its my rack and pinion or bad bushings on the control arms or what but the noise bothers me it might be something breaking or giving out
My emergency brake is useless, the car will roll backwards even on the slightest incline, I paid to have it fixed, problem is still there
My regular brakes are really bad as well, there’s a spongy feeling to the pedal( I paid to have the lines bled but it still feels spongy), the rear brakes are factory The front brakes have new rotors and pads and steel braided lines ( my old mechanic said that would get rid of the spongy feeling on the pedals- its still there)
The car eats gas like there’s no tomorrow, I get maybe 12 miles to the gallon- I don’t believe that the car is modified enough for it to waste so much gas- I think the cars air to fuel ratio is bad and it has an over all bad tune up ( the timing is 13 I believe, the mass air meter might be too big, throttle body, injectors…)
My car makes a whining noise, sort of like that of a loud supercharger when I punch it( I‘ve been told it’s the kind of intake manifold I have, I‘ve been told they all do it) - it also feels like it has no power (but then again I cannot really say that because I can’t rev the car past 3000 rpm) but it feels extremely slow - If I punch it or drive it a bit hard, once I come to a stop, the car will sit at idle revving around 1200 through 1500 rpm until I turn it off and wait a while and then restart it- Also, if I drive my car hard and do such things as downshifting and up shifting once I stop my transmission gets stuck and doesn’t want to take in the gear( this occurred even before my synchronizers broke), it will grind when I force it in- Its as if the gears freeze
My electrical wiring is a mess- its Mickey moused entirely, nothing seems to be done properly, I wonder if maybe I have bad grounds and that the wiring might be a cause for my power issue( I have air to fuel ratio gauges for the right and left side of the car, they have been wired directly to the back of the electrical board for my cars gauges, behind my dash ( behind my mph gauge, fuel gauge, oil gauge, power gauge etc etc), there’s wires that run off of the wires connected to the coil pack- there’s another location where about 6 different electrical wires run from
I have heat problems- I think my thermostat is too high for the size engine I have and how its running plus the heat it creates - the fans kick in about 200 degree’s at which point the engine reaches 205 to 210 degrees at times before the fans actually start to cool it down, they cool it down to about 195 if I’m running the car a bit hard, at which point I’ll sit close to 200 degrees - the car runs ok if I run the fans all the time but then my idle is worse because of the loss of power
There’s also a little black box, like a relay, that my fan connects to and 3 other things, well that has been taped and mickey moused because at one point it burned, I was wondering if that can be bought new or replaced by something else( my old mechanic said no)
Thats the list of all thats wrong with it!! =( am i gonna have to sell my car and buy me a subaru wrx sti?! i don't want to rice up!!!! waaa!!!
ENGINE
I have numerous leaks on the engine:
The timing belt cover leaks
The PCV valve grommet leaks ( its at the back of the engine right by the firewall, there’s a hose going down to it)
There’s oil at the back of the engine where the engine meets the bell housing , so when I drive the car hard or rev high( above 3000 rpm) the car smells like its burning oil
I think the transmission leaks
I think I have exhaust leaks, they were supposed to be fix but I believe they might still be there
If I rev the car past 3000 rpm on any gear , but specially in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th , the drive train or engine shakes very badly as if something was out of balance. Once I’ve rev over 4000 rpm, the engine or drive train seems to balance itself out ( but it makes it really hard to drive with that problem because I cannot drive the car hard, or punch it, or drive at a higher rpm than 3000 (this is possibly my biggest problem) - my transmission/shifter shakes a lot when this is happening , the car also has the same vibration when its revved in neutral
The Car runs really rich, it smells really bad, gives horrible gas mileage and I think its because the car isn’t burning fuel right
My clutch is extremely stiff, it tires my leg out, its stiff to the point where I get cramps at times (my old mechanic said that it’s the clutch (but when he sold me the clutch he told me that clutch was the softest clutch available..) he also sold me everything I could have bought that would make my clutch “softerâ€- its still extremely and uncomfortably stiff)
If I drive the car and stop, it will often drop idle from 900(regular idle) or so to about 500 and 400, it will spike between both rpm’s and sometimes shut off, which causes my brake booster to shut off and that can be extremely dangerous- the battery gauge reads the needle at the first click( should be half at all times, specially with a 143 amp alternator and new battery)
My car has a sound system but its not on, I have no stereo, so I don’t know what’s causing this drain in power( could it be bad grounds?)
When I drive and take a turn, the car makes a weird thump or click when I turn the wheel, I’m not sure if its my rack and pinion or bad bushings on the control arms or what but the noise bothers me it might be something breaking or giving out
My emergency brake is useless, the car will roll backwards even on the slightest incline, I paid to have it fixed, problem is still there
My regular brakes are really bad as well, there’s a spongy feeling to the pedal( I paid to have the lines bled but it still feels spongy), the rear brakes are factory The front brakes have new rotors and pads and steel braided lines ( my old mechanic said that would get rid of the spongy feeling on the pedals- its still there)
The car eats gas like there’s no tomorrow, I get maybe 12 miles to the gallon- I don’t believe that the car is modified enough for it to waste so much gas- I think the cars air to fuel ratio is bad and it has an over all bad tune up ( the timing is 13 I believe, the mass air meter might be too big, throttle body, injectors…)
My car makes a whining noise, sort of like that of a loud supercharger when I punch it( I‘ve been told it’s the kind of intake manifold I have, I‘ve been told they all do it) - it also feels like it has no power (but then again I cannot really say that because I can’t rev the car past 3000 rpm) but it feels extremely slow - If I punch it or drive it a bit hard, once I come to a stop, the car will sit at idle revving around 1200 through 1500 rpm until I turn it off and wait a while and then restart it- Also, if I drive my car hard and do such things as downshifting and up shifting once I stop my transmission gets stuck and doesn’t want to take in the gear( this occurred even before my synchronizers broke), it will grind when I force it in- Its as if the gears freeze
My electrical wiring is a mess- its Mickey moused entirely, nothing seems to be done properly, I wonder if maybe I have bad grounds and that the wiring might be a cause for my power issue( I have air to fuel ratio gauges for the right and left side of the car, they have been wired directly to the back of the electrical board for my cars gauges, behind my dash ( behind my mph gauge, fuel gauge, oil gauge, power gauge etc etc), there’s wires that run off of the wires connected to the coil pack- there’s another location where about 6 different electrical wires run from
I have heat problems- I think my thermostat is too high for the size engine I have and how its running plus the heat it creates - the fans kick in about 200 degree’s at which point the engine reaches 205 to 210 degrees at times before the fans actually start to cool it down, they cool it down to about 195 if I’m running the car a bit hard, at which point I’ll sit close to 200 degrees - the car runs ok if I run the fans all the time but then my idle is worse because of the loss of power
There’s also a little black box, like a relay, that my fan connects to and 3 other things, well that has been taped and mickey moused because at one point it burned, I was wondering if that can be bought new or replaced by something else( my old mechanic said no)
Thats the list of all thats wrong with it!! =( am i gonna have to sell my car and buy me a subaru wrx sti?! i don't want to rice up!!!! waaa!!!
06-12-2007, 07:18 PM
#9
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 3,768
RE: Help finding mechanic in LA,CA
Jesus! Anyway, just one comment: Your clutch stiffness may very well be due to the type of cable you have. I tried a brand newaftermarket, adjustable number, and it was so stiff, I put my oem cable back in within a few hours of driving the thing.
Oh, also, if you're looking for a mechanic to help troubleshoot your issues, you may try Umberto at GRC Performance in Mission Viejo. It's a little far from LA, but Umberto specializes in 5.0s.
Oh, also, if you're looking for a mechanic to help troubleshoot your issues, you may try Umberto at GRC Performance in Mission Viejo. It's a little far from LA, but Umberto specializes in 5.0s.
