A better day

I swapped the right rear tire with the spare tire as planned - the spare was an unused original style Pirelli on the matching rim.  I took an early lunch to get the car re-inspected and it PASSED the safety inspection so I'm happy about that.

Regarding the emissions, I was thinking about the coolant temperature sensor.  I tested the old and new ones on the stove before installing over the weekend.  They one performed as follows:

The relatively new one from the car (maybe I put this in 2-years ago):
100 deg - 2 kOhm
170        - .41
180        - .35
190        - .32
...however as the temperature increased it started shooting up to .5 kOhm.  Clearly a problem.

The new spare I had laying around:
100 deg - 1.1 kOhm
170        - .40
180        - .34
190        - .31
...and kept dropping and the temperature increased - I put this one in the car prior to my failed emissions test and could still smell the richness in the fuel

But the dirty old one I had performed better but not much different than the previous one:
170 deg - .38 kOhm
180        - .32
190        - .30
...and also kept dropping as the temperature increased.

So, I decided to fix it to no resistance by bridging the terminals of the sensor cable and in my estimation, basically a sniff test, the started running leaner.  Note that leaving the terminals open will result in full enrichment and the car will promptly shut off.

I'm not sure what this means: Are all my sensors bad; I there an ECU issue; is there still another source of over-fueling; or the fact that I use WaterWetter which is incredibly effective at lowering my engine temperature causing the CTS to continue enrichment?

Not a good day

Going in for second, and hopefully final, attemp at inspection - emissions and safety.

UPDATE: Failed safety inspection for left rear tire - little bit of steel belt showing through - but can just swap with matching spare tire. Also failed emissions. It's not running as rich as it was but will restore the relatively new rear cat from the Black Jag. If it doesn't pass the, then I will just wait until January, 2012 when it reaches it's emissions exemption - but that wait would suck.

UPDATE: Drove the car to work today and on my way back to pick up daughter from dance class, temperature was getting hotter and hotter. Car was spewing coolant from hose at water pump. Steering belt wet and is making that tough too. Going into McGyver mode with some coolant and duct tape.

UPDATE: Made it home while running heat full blast to keep the engine cooler. My child was surprisingly content.

Back of the job

After a long hiatus, I am now ready to finish putting the car back together. I had the head machine and cleaned. In preparation, I had to remove all the valves, springs and camshafts (I'll post pictures).


Today, I borrowed Jerry's 2-ton engine hoist to ease the jobs of putting the head back on.

Also today, I drove Mark's S-Type R (400HP Supercharged V8). Wow, what a hotrod. It felt faster than the Ferrari and Lamborghini I've driven in the past - dare I say a little too fast.