L31 Extreme Budget Build

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L31MaxExpress

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I put some more miles on it today. Then topped it off. Wish I could report some stellar fuel mileage, but running with 1,000-1,500 lbs of stuff I was moving, DFW traffic, all the stop lights, running 75-80+ at times spinning the engine 3,400+ rpm in 3rd gear with some mixed 15-20 mph headwinds and crosswinds ate a good bit of fuel. I was also not taking my time getting rolling, put my foot down to ~1/2 throttle and went. Calculated the MPGs and it was 13.4 on the dot. With the highway speeds we run the 3spd (I always feel like it should shift atleast one more time) is a bit annoying but it is not too bad.
 

Scooterwrench

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I put some more miles on it today. Then topped it off. Wish I could report some stellar fuel mileage, but running with 1,000-1,500 lbs of stuff I was moving, DFW traffic, all the stop lights, running 75-80+ at times spinning the engine 3,400+ rpm in 3rd gear with some mixed 15-20 mph headwinds and crosswinds ate a good bit of fuel. I was also not taking my time getting rolling, put my foot down to ~1/2 throttle and went. Calculated the MPGs and it was 13.4 on the dot. With the highway speeds we run the 3spd (I always feel like it should shift atleast one more time) is a bit annoying but it is not too bad.
Time for a four speed auto? Didn't you say that van has a 3.08 gear?
 

L31MaxExpress

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Time for a four speed auto? Didn't you say that van has a 3.08 gear?
TH400, stock torque converter from the 305 and a 3.08 gear with a ~29" tall rear tire.

Probably going to just drive it as is until the TH400 pukes and pickup that LS standalone harness. Swap to a P59, LS coils and a 4L80E all in one swap.
 

L31MaxExpress

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A guy in a NNBS did make me laugh today though. He was lagging along inconsistently 5-10 mph under the speed limit. Hit my dyno hill, stayed in the fast lane, sped up 10-15 mph thinking I was not going to pass him. Even without a functioning kickdown the old budget L31 350 passed him on steepest uphill portion in 3rd gear. You have already been climbing about 1/2 mile going into the steepest portion and then continue climbing another mile after it flattens out a bit. I was about 85 mph when I let out of it.

Going into the steepest portion, my mom's 2019 Titan has already dropped from 7th to 6th, then drops to 4th when it really bites hard. The 97s 383 usually unlocks the converter climbing this, sometimes it is in 3rd, depends on how much I am hauling inside of it, the speed I am going, wind, etc.

But the budget L31 was working hard, WOT at one point passing the joker and it was not pinging on 93 octane despite 10.25:1 compression, iron heads and full timing advance.

Dyno Hill in the Titan
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Proflow 4 Screen Capture on Dyno Hill
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L31MaxExpress

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Todays project just arrived and already have the passenger front door done. Taking a quick break but about to dig into the driver door.

Out with the old, literally crumbled removing it thanks to years of Texas sun UVs and heat.
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In with the new....

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I also have a Fairchild front glass run and felt seal combination on the way. Metro also offers one but it was about 4x the cost. The Fairchild kit was well reviewed on the newer vans like this 1987 that do not use a rivited window runs.

I have sound deadner, heat insulation aluminum backed butyl material from Siless on the way to do the front flooring and an ACC moulded Vinyl Passenger area flooring kit in medium blue on the way and should be here in a few days.
 
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L31MaxExpress

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So it is offical to me, the PF4 ECU calibration just sucks and there is no way to correct it. Will be swapping to a P59 using this LS swap harness and running the GM PCM and LS coil near plug setup on this L31 to make it run right.


Apparantly the base tuning issue I find is a common issue among the PF4 users. There are 3 of us that cannot get the system to deliver enough AE pumpshot to run the system and lack of vacuum advance at idle contributing to the stalling condition when the engine load increases at idle and my opinon voiced to the problem has rocked the boat with the PF4 fan boys. Kind of funny really that the guy probably has no clue that his system is not running the way it could and should and wants me banned, lol. The generic Edelbrock suggestion even after I explained that I am running catalytic converters is richen the mixture overall to correct a lack of pumpshot issue. It was also suggested to try to run in the area with the lean spike which itself is impossible because it is a transient spike and only occurs when the throttle is being opened or engine load increases at part-throttle due to the transmission upshifting. The self-learning is not even active during transients when the TPS and MAP are changing. To anybody considering this system or the GM ZZ6 crate engine variant, just save your money and time and buy anything else that is actually end user programmable.

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I commented this on a thread with another user having the same issue, backfiring and hesitation when attempting to accelerate. The PF4 tuning is garbage and I will be moving away from it. One fan boy was also like if it cannot be corrected, why not remove the product which was laughible considering the cost others would have wrapped up in a poorly running EFI setup. Luckily I had already kind of guessed I would be deleting the PF4 ECU but wanted to give it the benifit of the doubt and decided to just see how it ran. I pitty anyone that attempts to make this system run on an engine with a thumpy cam, more compression and more aggressive kind of setup if it can not even run a basic L31 350 that pulls near stock idle vacuum. This 350 idles like the rock of gibralter compared to more cammed up stuff and the stalling going into gear with a cammed up engine would be much more prevelant.
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L31MaxExpress

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Worked on this some more this afternoon. Replaced the a/c cycling switch that was malfunctioning and the fan clutch that was acting goofy with a Hayden 2786. Checked the engine and a/c cooling. Engine is now staying under 200F. At 92F outside and 32% relative humidity. FSM chart shows at 90F and 30% R/H should be at 51*F with R12 or 57*F with R134a and it is cooling mid 30s. AC is working far better than GMs minimum performance chart and I have not even hooked up the heater core control valve yet to stop the coolant flow to it using recirculate.
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Now taking a break from working on the next project. The nasty old front passenger area carpet has all been ripped out, floor has been cleaned, a few areas of spot rust treated and I am laying down the sound deadner heat insulating material on the floor. Stuff is dead simple to work with, cut it with scissors and use a roller to work it down. Seems to adhere very well. It is thin enough that when the jute and vinyl floor material go on, should be nice and flat still. This stuff came as ~15" x 10" rectangle cuts. 47 of them and under $50 to my door. The leftover will be going in the inside of the doors against the sheet metal to help control the empty beer can sound of GM doors typical of the era.

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L31MaxExpress

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For anybody considering purchasing from ACC do not waste your time. Opened up the vinyl flooring kit that is supposed to be a custom fit product. The jute material does not even come close to being correct and nothing is molded at all. I will call them tomorrow but their fitment is absolutely laughibly bad. They might as well have sent a kit for a Ford Econoline or some other such vehicle the fitment is so poor.

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