LS4 / F40 swap - fieroguru (Page 109/216)
fieroguru SEP 07, 04:41 PM
The last of posts, don't indicate a lack of progress, just too busy.

The DBW cruise module didn't pan out, so the vendor agreed to accept it back, so I am just waiting on the return slip.

The AR Module cruise is all hooked up, troubleshooted, and still doesn't work. In another thread, Darth said that he had come across 5 that just refused to work in a fiero, but would work in his FWD car, so I am assuming the unit I purchased is either broken, or just won't work, so I purchased 3 more, and AR, a V8 and V6 tagged units for some variety. Hopefully one of these three will work.

The interior is all back in the car. I decided it has been torn apart too long, but the module is in the stock subwoofer location so I can easily swap it out with the dash in place. The car is much, much quieter now than driving it w/o the A & B pillar trim and head liner.

Took the car for several drives around town... still a blast to drive!

In other news, we had an offer accepted on a house and should close on Nov, 10th, about 1 year and 2 weeks after I transferred back to IL. It's a 5 br, 2.5 bath (3rd full bath roughed in in the basement), 3200 sq-ft, main floor master suite, partially finished basement, 3 car garage, 0.37 acres, at the end of a cul-de-sac. Its has everything Sara wanted in a house, but the lot is a little smaller than I wanted, but it will save on grass mowing time.

The subdivision covenants specify a minimum of 2 car garage, but no maximum. Only restrictions are the garage has to be attached, match the house construction, and the total house foot print can't exceed 33% of the lot sq-ft. The covenants also do not restrict running a home based business, so long term we think this house will work well.

I am hoping everything works out and I can add a 23x40 shop area behind the 3rd garage and against the kitchen wall next spring.
KissMySSFiero SEP 08, 06:56 PM
I love the Drop zone. I need that in my next house.

GL with the move.
2tone86gt SEP 12, 01:04 PM
That is a killer house. Hope everything pans out and you get up and running again. We all appreciate the break through ideas and products you make for our cars.
fieroguru SEP 13, 06:25 PM
Thanks guys! Its more house that we need, but the location, covenants, and price ($6K less than it was built for in 2005) were perfect, and most importantly it makes the wife happy. Our house in KY was 1975 sq ft, so we were looking for something in the 2500 sq-ft range with 4br to have a spare for guests and a basement for tornados/TV/movie center. But with the girls upstairs bedrooms being a little smaller than we had in KY, having the 3rd upstairs bedroom as a common toy/lounge area for them will work out well.

The drop zone is going to be cut in half and walk-in pantry added to the wall next to the kitchen including its own door from the kitchen. That, finishing the basement bathroom, staining the kitchen cabinets darker, and painting all the wood trim white are the only immediate plans for the house. I have been working on an AutoCAD layout of the garage with all my equipment, but will likely use the 3rd garage for tool/work area, and leave the cars in the 2 car bay... until I expand the garage area... hopefully next summer.

Took the rear struts off the LS4/F40 car to add some bump stops to them. There are some rough roads around here and I was bottoming out way too much. Didn't want to raise the car or get stiffer springs at the moment, so I added some rubber bump stops. My rear struts are Konis, so there is only about 1/8" between the top of the strut housing the mounting washer, so I used HELP 42324 Ford PVC grommet on each strut. They about 3/8" thick, slightly tapered, pretty soft rubber, about the OD of the strut body, and are a snug fit over the shaft so they will stay next to the upper washer. I should have taken some pictures, but didn't. So far they seem to be doing the trick.

I also used some black electrical tape to better isolate the spring from the perches/centering pieces to reduce rattles from the rear suspension. That worked pretty good, now its just the rod end lateral links that rattle because after about 20K miles, I can rock the wheel about 1/16" on both sides due to the play in the joints. I am going to start looking for some better sealed joints to replace the ones that are wearing.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 09-13-2015).]

CTFieroGT87 SEP 14, 12:08 PM
Great news Guru, congrats on the house!
Rickady88GT SEP 14, 10:13 PM
Nice
ericjon262 SEP 15, 08:48 PM
nice house, but the garage is too small...

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"The day I tried to live, I stole a thousand beggars' change and gave it to the rich."
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/119122.html

fieroguru SEP 19, 05:12 PM
Thanks guys!


quote
Originally posted by ericjon262:
but the garage is too small...



Agreed, but that can be fixed in due time!

So after a month or so of messing with cruise control, I can claim victory as it now works!!!! It took 3 AR modules to find one that actually worked, but now it does!

First I have to thank Klingon Fiero, Darth Fiero, and all the others who posted detailed information about this setup on PFF!


I wired mine up a little different than most others, wiring the brake and clutch (actually a 2nd Fiero brake switch mounted to the clutch pedal) switches in series (so either will cancel the cruise) and used 2 relays for the D & G inputs that must switch between +12V and Ground. When 1 relay is used, the ground signal when the relay is off had to go through the unpowered relay coil and had about 100 ohms resistance which wasn't as strong of a signal as I wanted. It wasn't working at the time (probably for some other reason), so I added the 2nd relay to eliminate it as the cause, but then it still wouldn't work until I got another AR module. Also, as part of the debug process, I found that my cruise stalk was bad, so I replaced it with a new one.

Here is my wiring schematic, I also added the troubleshooting info as well, so its all in one document. Use it at your own risk...


With the harness built this way, it literally was a 3 wire hook-up (power, ground, VSS) and plugging in the connectors at the brake, clutch, and cruise stalk.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 09-19-2015).]

fieroguru SEP 19, 06:20 PM
Also, I knew these guys were in Champaign, IL, but I never took the time to figure out where. As luck would have it, they are less than 2 miles from my current and future house, so someday I will likely stop by and see what they are working on. I might eventually use their dyno to dial in the timing for max torque while cruising from 55-85 mph.

http://www.scramspeed.com/
oldrock2401 SEP 23, 08:06 PM
A Fiero legend that lives only 30 miles away, how awesome. Champaign is a nice town, welcome.

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--- 86 GT, my pride and joy.

[This message has been edited by oldrock2401 (edited 09-23-2015).]