Tommy82

Well...I really wasnt worried about the valves, I had them pressure checked and re-planed by the motor shop. They didnt say anything about the couple I had which turned white.
I had a bunch of other things going on with the car too...so I dont want to mislead you. Since the motors has been back in, I have replaced the fuel pump, filter, injectors, fuel pressure regulator rebuild kit, idle air control valves and a few other things including a new ECM and chip and a bushing job done on my TBs. My idle was all jacked up and we were chasing all these problems that needed to be corrected.
I would ask maybe DUB here in the forum about the valves being white looking....he could prolly tell us why.
But yea...I have made a ton of adjustments...but not to solve the valves turning white

Drawmain

I've done a few those things. I haven't replaced the injectors, installed bushings on the tbs, or the iac's. The car idles smooth without hunting and accelerates well and cruises fine. I've watched the iac's cycle and they move fine and I cleaned them and the openings when I rebuilt the tb's. I get good cones from the injectors with no dripping or leaks. I hope Dub chimes in on this thread about the lean issue, it was all eight cylinders.

terry82

can you tell us what cylinder the the white colored valves came from .when I opened up my intake I also cut out the large arm for the egr .I am sure that it was a big restriction for the back cylinders.

DUB

Hopefully this helps you guys out. AND it makes complete sense..if you stop and think about it....unless you are into conspiracies. And you just have to be 'one of those' who has to throw a 'stick in the spokes'. The fuel companies are in a constant search for 'this and that' that they can 'profess' is WHY we need to use their product. In my opinion. Nitrogen and what ever you can think of that they show us why their product is best. Just give me gasoline that has not been altered so much. I would love to know how the fuel companies made the fuel back when the car was made and what they make now and see the difference. I am sure it would be QUITE DIFFERENT.

REMEMBER...these cars used a fuel that was not tampered with....meaning ALCOHOL and other additives. The blends of the fuel are NOT all the same from one side of the country to the other and from the North to the South. And from what I hear...they make 'summer blends' and 'winter blends'.

Using 100% gas can help....in my mind it would. It removes a variable that is being introduced into an engine and operating system that it WAS NOT designed for.

And if you stop and think about it. Some drag racers I know who ran alcohol funny cars...had to pump serious amounts of fuel in a 1/4 mile to get the power. Knowing it takes more alcohol being burnt to equal the power gasoline can produce. LOGIC would command that IF "UP TO 10%" of your gasoline is being replaced with alcohol...it HAS TO effect something ...somewhere. IT HAS TO! And knowing that modifying the fuel system to meter in more fuel in a 1982-1984 (larger pound per hour injector like the ones for the Tuned ports and LT-1's)...and doing some things to the ECM to make it work is possible....but I feel that using 100% gasoline is best. Sometimes hard to find in some areas.

I can write this FROM EXPERIENCE.....that many times I service a Corvette that the owner has a complaint on how it runs.....I have found that FUEL QUALITY is often times a problem. The fuel quality is something I check FIRST. And you all would be amazed on how many fuel systems have WATER in them. I also can remove some parts and see what it going on and tell that in the Corvettes driving history...that CRAPPY fuel and other fluids were used or neglected in being changed. And you would be surprised on how many people 'stretch' the truth when I ask them what they use in their Corvette. NOT all of them...but many of them tell me 'stuff' that they think I wan to hear instead of the TRUTH. It is like telling your dentist that you BRUSH and FLOSS 5 times a day...but yet he is having to fill in 2 cavities.....Yeah----right!. Like people think I am 'judging' them...which I am NOT...I just need to know.

So it all boils down to things that we can not control and those things that we can control...and it is up to 'you' on what you wan to put into your car. EXAMPLE: A world class track star would not eat at a 'fast food' place for the nutrition he/she needs to be at peak efficiency. Correct? So if you are wanting your Corvette to be a really sound performance car....then I think you know what you should be putting into it.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/whi...valves.272033/

DUB

Drawmain

Dub, thank you for that very informative link and post. Terry, the white valves were in every single exhaust port. According to the link Dub gave it is because of the fuel quality we are stuck with these days.

Tommy82

I have a gas station near me that offers "Ethonal Free Gas" its the same price as premium....so that where I have been going to fill up.
I think there is a website out there that will tell you where gas stations in your area that offer it......

Drawmain

There are two here in Valdosta, both are pricey. I'm looking into an alternate ECM that I can tune to richen the mixture. But that will happen after the rebuild.

F4Gary

One of the Corvette restorers in the DFW area was having a problem getting an old fuelie to run right. They decided to check the fuel in the tank and it had more than 10% ethanol. So then they decided to test some of the gas stations in their area (Plano). They found a few had 10%, and some had up to 30% ethanol. These were NAME BRAND gas stations. The 30% sample was from a TEXACO mini-mart.

One of the guys in my club now washes his gas with distilled water for his 57 Nomad.

DUB

I am assuming that he is using distilled water so it attaches to the alcohol. And then with 2 layers showing in his container ...he pulls out the gas that is on top.

Makes sense...kinda I guess....but...heck if it works....seems like he may be on to something.

30% is pure B.S.....meaning that if it is 30% alcohol....I have to wonder sometimes why I have a hard time getting things to run 'tip-top'.

Freaking fuel company rat-bastards!!!

DUB

cardo0

It now becomes a flex fuel vette.

What the heck, if i didnt have to replace my entire fuel system why not just go with E85. Can a qjet handle alcohol? I wondering because when mixed with water the alcohol makes a small amount of acid that attacks any aluminum it contacts. So even if your fuel system is OK for alcohol the qjet may not handle it (for long).

I think upgrading a crossfire EFI to E85 would be much more difficult than a carb'd C3.

BTW turbos and superchargers like E85/alcohol.

Drawmain

I think the hardest part would be getting the mixture right, the lines are easy to make alcohol compatible. There isn't a lot of E85 around here yet, mostly E10 for now. I think it's time for me to do a little research on ethanol blended fuels to see what the best adjustments would be once I get a programmable ECM in the car.

cardo0

E85 is close to 9 a/f ratio and E10 must be < the straight gas 14.7:1 ratio. To burn correctly programming your own chips would be the way to go. A chip burner for the crossfire early EFI is <$100 and u could burn a chip for each type of fuel u burn. I dont know where the software uses the a/f ratio (or lambda) but it must be in a table somewhere.

Drawmain

I didn't realize that the programming for the crossfires had been hacked. In any event I'm thinking to get the a/f ratio where it needs to be I'll need a wide band O2, as the narrow band only "sees" 14.7:1 by noticing swings as the a/f passes stoich. That means I'll need an ECM that can utilize a wide band O2 sensor. I'm looking at the EBL Flash from Dynamic EFI.

cardo0

There's a truck of information on the early OBD I EFI for the crossfire. At least 3 software tuning programs that i know of. The problem is the time it takes to sort it all out. U shouldn't have to change the ECM - unless u want to - but will be able to burn integrated circuit "chips" u can just plug it to change the tune. A wide band would be a good idea though but be ready to spend 400 bucks for an Innovate WB meter and u can just add on another sensor bung for it by itself as u dont need it for the ECM continued operation.

scorpion18z

My '82 seems to running fine as is (original), but I often wonder if I should be upgrading the ECM chip or ignition module to present day standards. I don't want to mess with anything that is currently working, but if fuel mileage or unforeseen performance improves then I would be interested. Please advise.

Drawmain

Do you have any links to share? If I can keep the stock ECM that would be good.

Drawmain

First pics of the insides:













I was hoping for better, but you work with what you have.

cardo0

Here's a link with plenty more links (look towards the bottom): http://www.aldlcable.com/. Thats enough to keep u busy for quite a while. Try some google searches yourself too.

Looks from your piston tops u had an oil burner. Those look like forged pistons. I assume the crossfire motors were 305's but yours looks like a forged L82. To bad those piston have to go as the flat tops make good compression for your aluminum heads. Unless u can just rehone and rering the cylinders.

terry82

crossfires were 350

Drawmain

More pics of the tear down:

LIfters. One wasn't spinning, three others were severely worn.



Cam. Three wiped lobes.







Crank looked good. All bearings were in good shape, small amounts of wear.

I caught it in time. The block will have to be bored, but .030 should be plenty. This is gonna be a fun engine when it's back in the car and running. I think the pistons are hypers, but in any event they will be replaced because of the impending bore enlargement. I feel better about things now, the block looked good once we tore it down. Strangely, the motor didn't smoke at all, but it sure looks like it was burning oil.