Traé’s Goblin (06’ SS/SC #501)

[Traé]

Hello All,

My name is Traé and I am from Delaware, OH. After many months of research and MUCH appreciated help from the community I have finally found a donor. I picked up an 06’ SS/SC with the G85 package and 152k miles last night.

My overall plan for the goblin is to have a fun, rewarding and informative hobby to replace 15 years of riding motorcycles. Getting older (30 yrs old ), recently married and dealing with aches and pains from a motorcycle accident I have decided to stop riding. Want something a little more safe but still open air.

My search started with the Exocet and I fell down a rabbit hole of kit cars you could build in your garage. To sum it up my choice to go with the goblin was discovering this forum and seeing the massive amount of information shared by knowledgeable individuals through their build logs. I have also experienced this first hand looking for a donor and it solidified my choice.

I’ll jumps right into it… A little about the car and my thoughts on moving forward;
Codes were pulled last night and after reviewing them they all seem to be involved with the O2 sensors and Evap leak(emissions).
Codes -
P0036
P0141
P0442
P1133
The only two engine issues I am having with the car are weird idle with the car occasionally dying as well as a stutter at high RPMs. This afternoon I removed the spark plugs and found the left (standing in front of the car) to be covered in oil or gas and the remaining 3 black as night. I previously planned to replace spark plugs tomorrow to see if that fixed the stutter but after pulling them I believe there are other issues. Research suggests various seals, O-rings, head gaskets or piston rings may be damaged and need replaced. My first thought was the begin tear down and move forward prior to having a “perfectly” running donor. I planned to disassemble the engine and replace gaskets, timing chain and inspect anyways.
Is this mindset/strategy flawed? I understand the recommendations of getting the bugs worked out before pulling the engine but some things are leading to work I’m doing anyways for the build.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Make certain you have your donor as operable as possible (for parts used in the Goblin) with as few issues as possible. It will make your first start and initial 'fixes' for any of those issues much easier.

 

[Ross]

While the engine is together, check compression, and do a leak down test. Could just be a valve. These engines are known for cam chain issues with the tensioner and guides. Spark plugs are a good place to start. The black spark plugs ... running rich I would guess. The oil covered one seems suspect... head gasket? Valve guide worn out? Bad injector?

 

[Traé]

While the engine is together, check compression, and do a leak down test. Could just be a valve. These engines are known for cam chain issues with the tensioner and guides. Spark plugs are a good place to start. The black spark plugs ... running rich I would guess. The oil covered one seems suspect... head gasket? Valve guide worn out? Bad injector?

The car is definitely rich, it smells very strong of gas from the exhaust while running. I already reached out to HP tuners to help with what I have to buy to store a tune and have them help with what I have. I was told it had a tune but may not be tuned correctly.

I will go grab a compression and leak down tester tomorrow and test both.

I’m new to engine work but eager to learn, so I appreciate the advice.

 

[Robinjo]

The oil could also be as simple as the large o-rings in the valve cover that keep oil out of the plug holes.

 

[Traé]

The oil could also be as simple as the large o-rings in the valve cover that keep oil out of the plug holes.

I was thinking that too. I would think if the head gasket was bad they would all be wet but I’m not too sure.

 

[Traé]

Compression test results
1 - 150psi
2 - 150psi
3 - 150psi
4 - 140psi

Leak Down test next

 

[Traé]

Will need to wait on the leak down. I need a piston stop or a TDC whistle. I’m not sure how else to find too dead center for each cylinder.

Does anyone have a recommendation?

 

[Ross]

I put a stick or welding rod down the spark plug hole.
Move the crankshaft until the stick barely moves down from the top, put a mark on the harmonic balancer,
move the crankshaft the other way until the stick barely moves down, put a mark on the harmonic balancer.
Halfway between the 2 marks is TDC.

Once TDC is marked on the balancer, it works for 2 cylinders, and 180 degrees from that mark will be TDC for the other 2 cylinders.

 

[Traé]

I put a stick or welding rod down the spark plug hole.
Move the crankshaft until the stick barely moves down from the top, put a mark on the harmonic balancer,
move the crankshaft the other way until the stick barely moves down, put a mark on the harmonic balancer.
Halfway between the 2 marks is TDC.

Once TDC is marked on the balancer, it works for 2 cylinders, and 180 degrees from that mark will be TDC for the other 2 cylinders.

Thank you!

 

[Traé]

Lead down test results;

Cyl. 1 - 53 PSI loss
Cyl. 2 - 2 PSI loss
Cyl. 3 - 2 PSI loss
Cyl. 4 - 4 PSI loss

cylinder 1 has the problematic spark plug covered in oil. While air was hooked up I checked air coming from radiator exhaust and oil dip stick and heard nothing. The majority of the noise is coming from the spark plug hole. Also pulled plugs while cylinder 1 was pressurized and heard air leaving cylinder 2.

not sure of next steps going forward.

Got the front bumper removed and some miscellaneous junk.

 

[ah.b.normal]

Put a little oil in each of the cylinders and re-test. But usually leaking pressurized air from #1 into #2 shows head gasket is open between the two OR valves are open on both cylinders in that crank position.(or possibly burned/bent valves?)
It is possible to have the head gasket fail between two cylinders and NOT mix oil with coolant.
If the oil came down the plug from the valve cover all that spark plugs' threads and seal area would be wet/dirty; the seal area looks clean in your picture.
That build up on the plug looks like soot from running rich. You may have a clogged injector that will not close? If it has washed the oil out the rings too many times it can lead to cylinder and piston scoring/failure and even low compression on that cylinder. A diagnostic manual would have a simple test to prove a clogged injector.
This entire situation will require thorough and careful testing to accurately diagnose. Taking a good look into the cylinders with a bore scope could reveal much and bore scopes are getting very cheap these days! I believe there is one that works with Android phones that is about $40. I wish we had that back in the day! 30 years ago a bore scope would cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

 

[Traé]

Through advice on the forum, Facebook and info found online I ordered a new head gasket and valve cover gasket set with spark plug o-rings. I plan to pull the injectors and see what ones are installed and test them. I have an email sent to ZZP for advice on reading what tune I have in the car if any. With the smaller pulley I’m thinking the stutter under boost at high RPMs is due to the injectors not being large enough. I am thinking about sourcing a stock pulley, depending on what I find with the injectors, and get the car back to stock to see if issues calm down.

This week when more questions are answered and I receive the gaskets the head will be pulled, inspected, cleaned and reinstalled…if all is well.

I’m kind of bummed with these finding but also very excited to get to dig in and learn some shiz!

 

[Ark :D]

Don't be discouraged, no matter what you find. I am a member of the infamous "Two Donor" club because my first donor's engine needed a full rebuild and I was not at a stage of my learning yet where I was ready to take that on.

You will persevere.

 

[Traé]

Don't be discouraged, no matter what you find. I am a member of the infamous "Two Donor" club because my first donor's engine needed a full rebuild and I was not at a stage of my learning yet where I was ready to take that on.

You will persevere.

I am determined to make this one work!

 

[Markm]

don’t forget to double check what I posted on the facespace post you made. Always good to double check yourself before tearing it down

 

[ah.b.normal]

Through advice on the forum, Facebook and info found online I ordered a new head gasket and valve cover gasket set with spark plug o-rings. I plan to pull the injectors and see what ones are installed and test them. I have an email sent to ZZP for advice on reading what tune I have in the car if any. With the smaller pulley I’m thinking the stutter under boost at high RPMs is due to the injectors not being large enough. I am thinking about sourcing a stock pulley, depending on what I find with the injectors, and get the car back to stock to see if issues calm down.

This week when more questions are answered and I receive the gaskets the head will be pulled, inspected, cleaned and reinstalled…if all is well.

I’m kind of bummed with these finding but also very excited to get to dig in and learn some shiz!

Remember stuttering can be a Lean OR Rich problem! Though it is most often a lean condition. Too much fuel can put out a fire as sure as too little!

 

[ah.b.normal]

Don't be too ready to just yank off that head! How many miles does this timing chain and gears have on it? Not that I want you to rebuild this engine but IF the chain or gears gives up soon after your head gasket install you'll be doing it all over!
Get more testing done; and the bore scope may tell more of the story. With a bore scope I noticed a broken top ring land on a motor burning oil, we would have run it and probably scored the cylinder. A different fix than expected but the original fix prescribed would have been a waste of money and the block would have been toast.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

As @ah.b.normal stated, don't uncork your engine unless you know there is a definable problem. From the information you've provided so far, you're not there yet - and tearing things apart to replace a head gasket, especially based on arbitrary information from other sources for a (maybe) similar problem someone else had, is more likely to create more problems than your trying to solve in the first place. Step through the problem, making one change at a time and check results - and follow the recommendations that the knowledgeable builders who are available on the Goblin forum have to offer. Building a Goblin is a journey and must be made one step at a time.

 

[Traé]

Remember stuttering can be a Lean OR Rich problem! Though it is most often a lean condition. Too much fuel can put out a fire as sure as too little!

I think it’s rich. The plugs are black and the exhaust is coated in soot. When running it spits out black soot all over my garage floor. The probability of me being wrong is high though haha