1988 B2K 064 coming back to life

[sjandras]

A couple victories today. I was able to get the radiator hoses off the engine, the lower one to the water pump was difficult but I was able to do it without removing the scavenge pump.

The bigger win was getting the turbo coolant return hose out. The passenger side banjo bolt does indeed come out without turbo removal. It's tight.... I will have a local shop remake the assembly for me with some higher temp rated hose.

Also, I had noticed a periodic drip of coolant under the car in couple hundred miles of shakedown so far. When I got the banjo bolt out, there was no crush washer on the turbo side. Looking at the banjo fitting, it looks like it has been that way since new based on the face wear. All faces that had a washer were very clearly worn the same, the one without still had anodizing on the face and the banjo bolt looked untouched.

Some pics below. Much better day than last weekend! Ready to start reassembly with new rad and hoses.

[1988Callaway#16]

Hi sjandas. Welcome to the COG! Great looking 88 B2K Convertible! I have an 88 vert #16. I have to remove/replace both of those water hoses on my car. Any tips or special tools that you used to get them off? Did you check with Callaway to see if they had those hose assemblies available? My car has 55,000 miles on it and needs some work. I'm planning on bringing it to Carlisle next year for the 35th Anniversary of the first B2K Corvette. Maybe I'll get to meet you and see your car in person there. Be Well! Kevin

88 Callaway.jpeg (82.14 KiB) Viewed 1351 times

[sjandras]

Hi Kevin,

No special tools per se, but I did have to sacrifice a wrench by grinding its thickness down a bit to remove the passenger side banjo bolt. I couldn't get the right leverage angle on the bolt to break it loose with the open end and the closed end couldn't fit between frame and bolt without thinning.

I did check with Callaway on a replacement turbo coolant return assembly but didn't hear back from their parts guy. I ended up going to a local hydraulic shop and they replaced the hoses (high temp rated and flexible) for me while reusing the custom formed banjo fittings for a reasonable price.

[sjandras]

Another productive day in the garage. The car is back together and running well. The combination of new water pump, new radiator, and returning to OE coolant hose / thermostat arrangement dropped running temp by 30 deg! I had been seeing 235F coolant while cruising with AC on and 90F ambient. Now it runs just a bit over 200F.

I do have a MIL code 36 now that hadn't been there before, so will need to dig into that. MAF burn-off circuit. Hopefully I just got a ground wet and corroded while I was cleaning.... We'll see! I think I'm about done tinkering for the summer, planning to pull the trans and have the overdrive rebuilt this winter. After that, it should be pretty well mechanically sorted.

[SurfnSun]

Love it! Keep up the great work

[Jeroenvgfn]

Awesome

[sjandras]

Thanks guys!

It really is a complex car to dig into for the time, but once you're into it everything makes sense. So far I've been lucky to be able to handle all wrenching myself with an occasional "hold this right here and don't move" help from my oldest daughter (10 yrs) when I need a third hand.

I maintained my 1990 ZR1 for 18 years and 24k miles and that car was far less overwhelming than this one packaging-wise. That includes LT5 plenum pulls for starter and injector replacement.

I am dreading the transmission pull, but that's just a normal
early C4 Corvette challenge. I'm waiting until I have all winter to let it sit and take it in small bites. While it's down I also plan to have the bumpers refinished and get the hardtop I purchased locally color matched. I love that look on a C4 especially with Dymags!

[sjandras]

Hardtop is now black. I took a shot at 3M wrap and it came out pretty well. I'll eventually have it painted, but it was a fun experiment.

[SurfnSun]

Great looking car!!

[kingforward]

Ditto. Well done!