03-31-2015, 07:15 PM | #1 |
Ken
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,834
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December's New 3.5L Motor
It's been a long terrible winter and I've put far too few miles on my Legend since Matt installed a rebuilt 3.5L motor in my car last Fall, but after 130 days in hibernation I finally got the car out. I cut the video up for maximum auditory enjoyment.
Turn up the volume and enjoy the rumble. https://vimeo.com/123564902
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04-01-2015, 05:08 AM | #2 |
grill master
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: long island NY
Posts: 4,519
Real Name: brian
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You need to bring that sexy bitch to the meet next month
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04-01-2015, 06:51 PM | #3 |
The Mad Scientist!!
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Inside the LAB!! ;-) Near Magic City Alabama
Posts: 6,822
Real Name: DUH The Mad Scientist!! A.K.A. Chaka
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Okay did I miss the whole 3.5 swap story? Anyway congrats on being "assimilated" into the 3.5 fold! Now I'm not usually the type to stir the whole 3.2 vs 3.5 "discussion". So in your own mind what are your likes and/or dislikes from your personal review of the two? That's kinda how I look at it when reflecting on my current vs prior power train.
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3.5 Type II Hybrid Club Member!
The Mad Scientist!! |
04-01-2015, 07:55 PM | #4 |
grill master
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: long island NY
Posts: 4,519
Real Name: brian
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This aint his first 3.5 swap chaka he had the old canterbury 6sp 3.5 that now legend to grave (eric) owns now
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04-02-2015, 12:03 AM | #5 |
Ken
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,834
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The meet is on my radar. It's hard for me to say whether or not I can make it right now.
You didn't miss the 3.5 swap story. At the time, I was more ashamed of my failure to prevent a BHG than I was excited to share a new swap story so I made no fanfare about it. Long story short, my legend first had it's HGs replaced in 2003 and no one cleared out the intake manifold until me in 2011 by which time I'm sure the damage was already irreversible. SHG started really showing in Fall of 2013 and I failed a leak down test in January 2014. I would had rather put off repairing the car for a year or more but I got word that Matt was getting out of the business and I didn't want to find out how much any other shop would want to charge for a 3.5 swap. As smooth states, this is not my first 3.5. My old canterbury coupe had a type II hybrid with a stage 2 chip and absolutely nothing else. It was a monster. I very much did not want to have another tire shredding monster on my hands. I didn't want another 3.5 at all, in fact. But as much as I didn't want another 3.5, I didn't want to ever replace head gaskets again more. So I went with the a plain type I hybrid with a type II intake manifold bolted on, not hoping to add horsepower, but hoping to suppress low end torque. My fears were unfounded, as it turns out. The coupe had shorter 6 speed gears, a light 5 speed flywheel, and the stage 2 ECU in addition to it's type II parts. I've lived with a type I, a type II, a 3.5 type I stealth hybrid, and a 3.5 type II stealth hybrid. In terms of power delivery, the 3.5 type II hybrid was easily the best. It had lots of usable power everywhere; it's somewhat reminiscent of a 3rd gen TL but with a slight top end bias and a much more guttural sound. The type I has a solid mid-range which is great for daily driving because it's the best compromise. The type II is fun because you just get more and more power as you let the revs climb. The 3.5 type I hybrid is odd because there is loads of torque below 4000 revs and the power peters off hard after that. I know the top end is at least as powerful as the ordinary type I it replaces but the contrast fools you. And you can hear it in the video. The guttural noises stop when the high flow VIS valve opens (4100 rpm). If the redline weren't so high, I might say it resembled the power delivery of a pickup truck. In terms of sound, I'm torn. December was my first legend and my first car. I grew up with it's character. I was hugely relieved to discover that the type I cams in this new 3.5 account for most of the tone the engine makes. I needed that part of the character to be retained. And yet... the 3.5 type II hybrid is so obviously the best sounding motor of the four. No question. It is in fact my favorite sounding v6 of all time. Listen to it! https://vimeo.com/119562443 Above all else, it's nice to have a running legend but I am especially happy with the extent to which the motor was rebuilt for me. The donor motor I got had good news and bad news. The valve covers had an apple juice glaze of oil on them and there were no metal shavings to be found in the oil pan, but the oil pan seal had been leaking, and an oil passage had been leaking through the head gasket. Those aren't the greatest attributes in a donor motor, but it means that every seal and gasket down to the head gaskets was replaced including... (drumroll) the valve seals. I can not tell you how much I love having brand new valve seals. Lets face it, a 1999 RL motor with 104k miles is not exactly factory fresh. I got my first 3.5 in 2011 while donor motors generally had 80ish thousand miles and were as young as 7 years old. It's four years later. The youngest motors are 10 years old and the average mileage is over 100k. Woof. I can't ever recall reading about a bottom end legend problem, so again, super happy with the top end engine rebuild. To sum up here, my overall feeling with the new type I hybrid motor is positive. I'm glad the car works, and I'm glad the motor is so thoroughly rebuilt, and I'm surprised by how mild the bump in power was. I love the booming tone that's been added on top of the type I cam drone but wish, somewhat, that it had the type II hybrid tone. I'm exceptionally uninterested in paying some butcher mechanic to take apart my top end to put in different cams and springs so a type I stealth hybrid the car will stay. I am interested, however, in getting a stage 2 ECU. This is partly because Matt is out of the business now and that could make his ECU's scarce in the future, and partly because, lets face it, December is still plenty slow. The 0-60 pull shown in the first video clocks in at 7.7 seconds. Like, geez, did I remember to hoist the boat anchor? Is that everything? Oh yea, my donor motor came out of a police bait car.
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