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V1 SwerveMonkey's Street Goblin #197 - 08 Donor
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
I can jump the relay like the video guide directs. I'm sure that I've grounded the fuel pump. It's tied to the ground underneath the fuse box.
Even tried to rotate & swap the relay in case that was it, no joy.
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
I was able to hear the fuel pump grab fuel when priming it manually like in the video... from what little bit of searching I've seen the 0230 code can be either a bad relay or another electrical gremlin on the BCM side. There is an autozone near me, I'll grab their loaner fuel pressure tester.
another suspicion is maybe the signal isn't being sent at all to open the relay, Is the pump supposed to prime for a moment when the key is turned to "on" position?
another suspicion is maybe the signal isn't being sent at all to open the relay, Is the pump supposed to prime for a moment when the key is turned to "on" position?
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
Quick Update...
after some research on similar, if not the same problem, in Cobalts as well as Impalas I was able to eliminate a few "suspects"
Cobalt and Impala owners that had similar problems of not being able to turn the car over found electrical issues related to the wiring and or frayed wires. I've tested the relays, clickety-click-click, and both the fuel pump relay and the spare, AC-comp relay, work just fine.
I was able to get the engine to turn over with the help of a jumper from, IIRC, pin 30 to pin 86 on the fuse block. but this is not an acceptable solution as revving the engine seemed to be a bad news bears.
at this point I suspect that I either have a frayed wire somewhere in the loom, or something else is preventing the controls side from triggering the fuel pump relay to close.
which leads me to renew my efforts to finish my wire harnes diagram i started so long ago and complete it.
after some research on similar, if not the same problem, in Cobalts as well as Impalas I was able to eliminate a few "suspects"
Cobalt and Impala owners that had similar problems of not being able to turn the car over found electrical issues related to the wiring and or frayed wires. I've tested the relays, clickety-click-click, and both the fuel pump relay and the spare, AC-comp relay, work just fine.
I was able to get the engine to turn over with the help of a jumper from, IIRC, pin 30 to pin 86 on the fuse block. but this is not an acceptable solution as revving the engine seemed to be a bad news bears.
at this point I suspect that I either have a frayed wire somewhere in the loom, or something else is preventing the controls side from triggering the fuel pump relay to close.
which leads me to renew my efforts to finish my wire harnes diagram i started so long ago and complete it.
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
Smoking gun!
The trace on the fuse block had burnt up... fingers crossed this is the only thing holdong me up now.
The trace on the fuse block had burnt up... fingers crossed this is the only thing holdong me up now.
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
I had not even caught this the first time i pulled the fuse block out. I had only checked that the pin slots were not corroded and were still solidly soldered to the board. so I started to search for which harness wire had the relay low voltage signal to trigger the relay and ended up trying to locate the circuit on the fuse block so I could trace it back to source.
It was thanks to the post below on the YourCobalt forums that I confirmedthis problem my suspicions.
www.yourcobalt.com
Very similar situation: new fuel pump, relays were fine, no pressure at the rail with a P0230 code being pulled.
with any luck this will be the final nail in the coffin and I can bolt up the final bits of Stage One before the next stage arrives.
now that I am almost tem pages in, I really have to take some time to edit the first post and throw a Table Of Contents in there.
It was thanks to the post below on the YourCobalt forums that I confirmed
Completely Stuck, New Pump, No Start, No Fuel Pressure
Ok starting a new thread of my own. 2009 LT XFE California Car, 130k. Car previously would run for a short period of time then wouldnt start, no fuel pressure at the rail (February, literally died when I was out buying a Valentines gift for my wife, not a good day). I changed the fuel pump...
www.yourcobalt.com
Very similar situation: new fuel pump, relays were fine, no pressure at the rail with a P0230 code being pulled.
with any luck this will be the final nail in the coffin and I can bolt up the final bits of Stage One before the next stage arrives.
now that I am almost tem pages in, I really have to take some time to edit the first post and throw a Table Of Contents in there.
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
Eureka! after finding the break in the circuit
I soldered a short wire between the two most adjacent pins on that circuit.
on Key "on" position the fuel pump primes and the car no longer has the P0230 code pulled. starts up with no issue and sounds great.... until.... it started steaming up and sputtered dead.
I pulled the spark plugs and i think there is a bit of moisture on them.. looked through the oil fill cap and seems that the top is still a bit dry and i dont have a way to replace the oil filter just yet... sooo... now i just have to make sure i dont have a blown head gasket.... and a decent amount of oil in the engine. some progress is STILL progress :- )
I soldered a short wire between the two most adjacent pins on that circuit.
on Key "on" position the fuel pump primes and the car no longer has the P0230 code pulled. starts up with no issue and sounds great.... until.... it started steaming up and sputtered dead.
I pulled the spark plugs and i think there is a bit of moisture on them.. looked through the oil fill cap and seems that the top is still a bit dry and i dont have a way to replace the oil filter just yet... sooo... now i just have to make sure i dont have a blown head gasket.... and a decent amount of oil in the engine. some progress is STILL progress :- )
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SwerveMonkey
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- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
Pics now, & text in a bit...
So I think I have clobbered a majority of the electrical gremlins for the time being, aside from the benign ones that don't effect anything yet...
I realized that I had, at the time, an innocuous pair of connectors that were dangling and I paired them up... not realizing that they were my primary and secondary O2 sensor plugs. I think that may explain why my ecu couldn't make heads or tails of the signal coming from them in the last few weeks.
I also tossed in the air intake to have the engine read the MAF sensor, just to see that it still reads something in the "car scanner" app... I am still getting adjusted to the Torque app.
I'll have to eventually relocate the intake cone though when it's time for stage 3.
I spent some time ensuring that the engine was not crap due to a blown gasket by using a borescope to look into the cylinders through the spark plug locations, every cylinder dry and dirty with carbon and NOT wet with coolant, whew!!
with that in mind I went ahead and did an oil change to freshen things up. Even included a treatment of LUCAS stabilizer oil treatment to help the old gal after sitting for so long. she fired up straight away and all seemed well.... only EVAP codes being pulled and the engine was purring right along....
until i saw the engine temps upward of 190 F... and the radiator fan never came on, I'll have to go back and verify that I am taping into the correct wire in the fuse box. Having that issue also makes me consider reversing the flow for the radiator and have the passenger side engine output pouring through the top of the radiator.
I will have to find a way to check that the coolant is flowing and ensure that the engine water pump has not crapped out on me.
So I think I have clobbered a majority of the electrical gremlins for the time being, aside from the benign ones that don't effect anything yet...
I realized that I had, at the time, an innocuous pair of connectors that were dangling and I paired them up... not realizing that they were my primary and secondary O2 sensor plugs. I think that may explain why my ecu couldn't make heads or tails of the signal coming from them in the last few weeks.
I also tossed in the air intake to have the engine read the MAF sensor, just to see that it still reads something in the "car scanner" app... I am still getting adjusted to the Torque app.
I'll have to eventually relocate the intake cone though when it's time for stage 3.
I spent some time ensuring that the engine was not crap due to a blown gasket by using a borescope to look into the cylinders through the spark plug locations, every cylinder dry and dirty with carbon and NOT wet with coolant, whew!!
with that in mind I went ahead and did an oil change to freshen things up. Even included a treatment of LUCAS stabilizer oil treatment to help the old gal after sitting for so long. she fired up straight away and all seemed well.... only EVAP codes being pulled and the engine was purring right along....
until i saw the engine temps upward of 190 F... and the radiator fan never came on, I'll have to go back and verify that I am taping into the correct wire in the fuse box. Having that issue also makes me consider reversing the flow for the radiator and have the passenger side engine output pouring through the top of the radiator.
I will have to find a way to check that the coolant is flowing and ensure that the engine water pump has not crapped out on me.
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SwerveMonkey
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- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
With a little research, my first step is to do the least expensive replacement part first... the thermostat.
At some point, as I interpret it, I will want to do a timing chain and water pump replacement from what I see about timing chain and mileage.
For now though, my main concern is that the driver side coolant lines never got warm, the passenger side was too hot, and there didnt seem to be any flow. Thermostats have bitten me before and at least this engine is easy to get to it and replace it.
At some point, as I interpret it, I will want to do a timing chain and water pump replacement from what I see about timing chain and mileage.
For now though, my main concern is that the driver side coolant lines never got warm, the passenger side was too hot, and there didnt seem to be any flow. Thermostats have bitten me before and at least this engine is easy to get to it and replace it.
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
New thermostat is in, and i did a bunch of others things at the same time... too many variables.
Replaced thermostat
Rotated coolant bypass
Swapped Radiator Flow
"Purged" coolant line of air
Installed Seats
disassembled shifter assembly
Replaced the thermostat with, what I believe is, an updated version for the cobalt. This one opens @ 180*F... not sure what the last one was set to, but i imagine that the OEM thermostat might have been a bit higher given the info I have seen about default temps in cobalts.
Since I drained the system to get the thermostat replaced I went ahead and swapped the Radiator feeds as well.
Driver side hose # xxx
and passenger side hose # xxx
I simply reused the provided hose from DF to have the engine outlet, passenger side, feed the radiator at the top rather than the bottom.
I bought the above noted hose from local shop and routed the driver side hose to the bottom.
Purged the coolant line with the car tilted forward so that coolant would not trap any air while I filled the from the reservoir.
I thought long and fervently about how to do this single-handedly. which side to fill first, how to get rid of the air gap at the top of the rad....
I thought I could use the same technique as read before and using a blowgun to force the coolant from the bottom of the rad to the top and out the passenger side.
Success!! Fan turned on @ ~205F
Replaced thermostat
Rotated coolant bypass
Swapped Radiator Flow
"Purged" coolant line of air
Installed Seats
disassembled shifter assembly
Replaced the thermostat with, what I believe is, an updated version for the cobalt. This one opens @ 180*F... not sure what the last one was set to, but i imagine that the OEM thermostat might have been a bit higher given the info I have seen about default temps in cobalts.
Since I drained the system to get the thermostat replaced I went ahead and swapped the Radiator feeds as well.
Driver side hose # xxx
and passenger side hose # xxx
I simply reused the provided hose from DF to have the engine outlet, passenger side, feed the radiator at the top rather than the bottom.
I bought the above noted hose from local shop and routed the driver side hose to the bottom.
Purged the coolant line with the car tilted forward so that coolant would not trap any air while I filled the from the reservoir.
I thought long and fervently about how to do this single-handedly. which side to fill first, how to get rid of the air gap at the top of the rad....
I thought I could use the same technique as read before and using a blowgun to force the coolant from the bottom of the rad to the top and out the passenger side.
- With the car roughly level, I loaded up the driver side with one gallon of water until coolant dripped from the passenger side lower hose "joint"
- clamp the driver side hose to prevent further trickle out from the radiator, I used a large wood clamp, but simply stopping flow is all you need.
- having the trickle coming out of the passenger rail hose told me that the radiator is filled from the bottom to about where the lip of the passenger side hose meets the radiator. the air gap above that will get purged when forcing more coolant into the radiator
- Reconnect the passenger side lower hose to the rail hose to feed the engine outlet.
- Lower the front end of the vehicle and disconnect the small hose that leads from the engine outlet to the reservoir.
- I used the metal pipe in conjunction with a spare hose to point the overflow into a bucket
- you can also raise the rear to help with keeping the air from going back into the radiator.
- Finish loading the reservoir if the hose clamp has properly stopped flow through the radiator, the gravity potential will help.
- the slope created by angling the car will still fill with coolant if the driver side hoses are not fully clamped and coolant will flow out before the air is purged.
- I loaded the reservoir up to right below the overflow line and put the cap on hand-tight, which I used as a means to introduce compressed air to force the fluid later.
- at this point the radiator is partially filled to the brim, there is no air on the driver side of the system, & the only point open to the air is the line from engine to reservoir line.
- the reservoir could have fluid up to the point of the engine overflow point, but all that is necessary is that there is SOME fluid in there to act on the rest of the system.
- the driver side can be considered filled with coolant and the passenger side is all air waiting to be expelled
- Connect an air compressor, or other means to the engine overflow hose going to the reservoir
- the other side of this is coming from the engine, this hose should be going into a bucket or other container... sploosh!!
- don't let the coolant get too low in the reservoir, otherwise you are re-introducing air to the system...
- using short bursts I pushed the air from the top of the radiator down through the hose and burped the system in one go.
- on the downside, any remaining air may very well be left in the system
- on the upside, I know that the coolant will always be available at the lower end of the radiator to feed the engine
Success!! Fan turned on @ ~205F
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SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
Rotated coolant bypass
I had bought a new header to replace the cracked OEM manifold. when I went to put it in place i found that the manifold interfered with the coolant bypass pipe bending it and flexing it enough to make a leak in the system where it met the water pump housing.
you might be able to tell here from this pic that the sloping on the new header runs a bit closer than the OEM.
Fair warning to anyone else, I would not have ripped apart my coolant system when this happened had i know that this TAB could simply be pushed back to allow the pipe to rotate...
even more so, I would definitely held off from taking it apart had i known how difficult it would be to source a square gasket that fits around the engine outlet for the temp sensor...
ultimately I decided to just use some RTV gasket maker to reseal the engine outlet without having sourced a new gasket... still to this day neither AutoZone or Advanced Auto near me could find it in their inventories.... <shrug>
I had bought a new header to replace the cracked OEM manifold. when I went to put it in place i found that the manifold interfered with the coolant bypass pipe bending it and flexing it enough to make a leak in the system where it met the water pump housing.
you might be able to tell here from this pic that the sloping on the new header runs a bit closer than the OEM.
Fair warning to anyone else, I would not have ripped apart my coolant system when this happened had i know that this TAB could simply be pushed back to allow the pipe to rotate...
even more so, I would definitely held off from taking it apart had i known how difficult it would be to source a square gasket that fits around the engine outlet for the temp sensor...
ultimately I decided to just use some RTV gasket maker to reseal the engine outlet without having sourced a new gasket... still to this day neither AutoZone or Advanced Auto near me could find it in their inventories.... <shrug>
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
Installed Seats
The stock seats are labeled SS, so of course I would assume that they would slip right in... not so much...
with help from previous posts and some tinkering, they are now installed.
some notes on application:
The stock seats are labeled SS, so of course I would assume that they would slip right in... not so much...
with help from previous posts and some tinkering, they are now installed.
some notes on application:
- I do plan to initially use the stock seat belts, but will eventually move over to 5 pt harness. I'll need to ensure that there is clearance for the bolts later and are situating all bolts to face outward to give clearance for the seats to move back and forth.
- the seat belts have been installed facing inward and are bolted in using a couple hefty donor bolts, I'm eager to source new bolts for a better aesthetic.
- The front of the seat rails have like hooks that have nubs on them, grind those away... the nubs I mean. I used an angle grinder to sort of give the rail hooks a bit of a slope to them so that they would wedge on the back end once situated and bolted down.
- looking at the size of the holes allowed for the seat bolts I figured that I'd use some beefy bolts from the donor's rear seat/seatbelts
- i snapped a few pics prior to getting the washers in place both above and below the floor to get a reference shot of how much of the inner rear rail mounting point i trimmed off to get it to fit along side the cable tunnel.
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
Disassembled Shifter Assembly
with the major stuff out of the way and the engine purring like a tiger, the shifter can do for some attention as I just recevied a gift of a short shifter for my birth anniversary. with some care I followed the instructions for a typical cobalt short throw and found that the new shifter ball joint popped a tab off the bushing cup. now I am in search of a replacement or maybe I should just 3d print another one and call it a day.... IDK
with the major stuff out of the way and the engine purring like a tiger, the shifter can do for some attention as I just recevied a gift of a short shifter for my birth anniversary. with some care I followed the instructions for a typical cobalt short throw and found that the new shifter ball joint popped a tab off the bushing cup. now I am in search of a replacement or maybe I should just 3d print another one and call it a day.... IDK
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
waiting on the next stage of the build... few things to keep in mind that i have noticed & need to research more
I'll edit with answers between each bullet point... eventually
I'll edit with answers between each bullet point... eventually
- muffler support using the standard steering rack bolt locations... something akin to sway-bar in form, but will support the muffler from below
- headlights were purchased... still have an idea to custom fabricate headlight housing for a 5.75 and projector fog lamp combination
- headlight harness was lost, sourced a new pair from Advanced Auto
- high/low headlight for a Harley, with possible combination side maker and turn signal from modified projector with "demon eye" mod
- research the necessity of a throttle response mod... pedal commander seems too good to be true and still have to understand fully how it works... i think it simply overcompensates for what is input to the ecu from the pedal
- need to source better bolts for the seat belt at the shoulder... until i get a four point harness
- steering hub and quick release purchased, will need to source a steering wheel to accompany, not yet found anything that "pops"
- wiring is separated out for the rear lights but need to test which wire to be certain which is which, poor job labeling when I disassembled the harness <sigh>
Towerdog
Goblin Guru
- Towerdog Goblin Guru
That O-ring is round until you put it in the square groove https://www.rockauto.com/?carcode=1433737&parttype=10223
SwerveMonkey
Well-Known Member
- SwerveMonkey Well-Known Member
whoa! thanks for that info.
mixed feelings right now...
stupidity for not knowing, but then again how could I have known
... and a little frustration because four out of four auto parts stores were stumped by my "problem" finding a square gasket. I hope my failure might inform others if they find this thread 
Towerdog
Goblin Guru
- Towerdog Goblin Guru
Ahh don't feel bad i stumbled across it looking for all the gaskets for the top of the engine. If they didn't have "square once installe" I prob would have passed over it.whoa! thanks for that info.
mixed feelings right now...
Desert Sasqwatch
Bigfoot Goblin
- Desert Sasqwatch Bigfoot Goblin
In regards to throttle response, many builders have commented about the very touchy throttle in the Goblin. Before put a throttle enhancement on it is advisable to drive with the 'stock' throttle, you may find it already responsive enough, but could add a program to it later on if you desire it. BTW, these enhancers reduce the electronic delay to the throttle body to more closely follow what your foot is doing to the electronic throttle pedal - which can be good and bad.
