The Rubi Q Build
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I have read a lot today as well. I think the valve cover baffle thing matters. I read that GM may have actually changed the valve cover design adding a baffle without acknowledging an issue. I also think I would look into the suction from the oil fil port. I am not getting that and I wonder if it is normal. I question your pcv valve or orifice.
I would definitely question the valve cover baffling. I remember having to swap mine on a new build 5 or 6 years ago due to a similar issue with the catch can getting way to much residue. They're almost impossible to get completely cleaned out where they are permanently mounted to the inside of the valve cover.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Well shoot. I took a peek in the throttle body tonight. After a bit of heart failure I removed the intake for cleaning. 
Honestly think I just forgot to clean it. I distinctly remember cleaning an intake not long ago, but I think it was on the LQ9 I built. I’m just surprised I didn’t notice anything when I put the new gaskets in place. The catch can hose going to the top of the intake was clean and dry. I couldn’t get any oil out of it. I do have oil residue in each intake valve runner. One valve that is closed is holding a small puddle of oil. Mind blowing how dumb this was.
I’ll take the driver side valve cover off tomorrow and drill the holes and clean it out.
Anyways I’m ready to loom the wiring so this will make the top end much easier to do.
Honestly think I just forgot to clean it. I distinctly remember cleaning an intake not long ago, but I think it was on the LQ9 I built. I’m just surprised I didn’t notice anything when I put the new gaskets in place. The catch can hose going to the top of the intake was clean and dry. I couldn’t get any oil out of it. I do have oil residue in each intake valve runner. One valve that is closed is holding a small puddle of oil. Mind blowing how dumb this was.
I’ll take the driver side valve cover off tomorrow and drill the holes and clean it out.
Anyways I’m ready to loom the wiring so this will make the top end much easier to do.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I’m a bit behind on updating the progress. So back to my PCV issue. I made some adjustments and the jury is still out on whether the fix is good. Below is the driver side valve cover. The small, elongated slots on the baffle are not enough to drain all the oil out so it ends up getting sucked into the PCV and into the intake manifold.
Below, you can see the extra holes I drilled out. Size and placement is a bit of a guess.
With the intake off it made finishing the wire loom easier. Speaking of the intake, I spent several days pressure washing it out and getting it cleaned up. Same with the valve cover. I was surprised how much junk was packed inside the baffle.
I rerouted my PCV lines. Now they start in the intake tube with a port I built in the elbow. They go in to the pass side valve cover. Then out the driver side cover, to the catch can and then from the can to the top of the intake manifold. With the oil fill tube cap off there is now almost no noticeable vacuum when I put my hand over the tube. I like this much better.
With the PCV done for now, it was time to move on to the tachometer issue. With the old Novak tach emulator installed the RPM gauge would sit at 1000 and then peg to 6000 on a hard pull, then stick there. I called Novak for guidance. Jeff told me those old ones had issues and he was going to send me a new updated one. I explained to him the one I had had been sitting on my shelf for over ten years. He didn’t care and sent me the new one free of charge! HUGE shout out to Novak!
This new one allows you to dial the output signal in for an exact readout. Livy reved the engine to 2000 based on what the scan tool said then I dialed in the emulator until the gauge also said 2000. Done.
I should note that on this particular engine the ECM Tach Resolution needs to be set to “7 high” and “8 low” in the tune. Otherwise the output will be outside the scope of the potentiometer in the emulator and you won’t be able to dial it in all the way correct. Mine was not set that way on the first try and I had to have my tuner make that adjustment for me.
With the new emulator installed I was able to wrap up the wire loom install. The main line across the firewall got a light wrap of tape and then loomed in place. You will also see in this pic that my new A/C accumulator has a home with a couple new hoses built. The firewall to accumulator hose was tool long for my liking so it is getting redone now.
I was curious to know how accurate my Chinese oil pan and dip stick was and since we hit the 500 mile mark it was time to drop the brake in oil and put in fresh oil. I put in exactly 6 quarts, ran it awhile and shut it down over night. This is where it showed on the stick. The F body pans are rated at 5.5 quarts. So I would say it pretty accurate. I will probably continue using all 6 quarts.
Below, you can see the extra holes I drilled out. Size and placement is a bit of a guess.
With the intake off it made finishing the wire loom easier. Speaking of the intake, I spent several days pressure washing it out and getting it cleaned up. Same with the valve cover. I was surprised how much junk was packed inside the baffle.
I rerouted my PCV lines. Now they start in the intake tube with a port I built in the elbow. They go in to the pass side valve cover. Then out the driver side cover, to the catch can and then from the can to the top of the intake manifold. With the oil fill tube cap off there is now almost no noticeable vacuum when I put my hand over the tube. I like this much better.
With the PCV done for now, it was time to move on to the tachometer issue. With the old Novak tach emulator installed the RPM gauge would sit at 1000 and then peg to 6000 on a hard pull, then stick there. I called Novak for guidance. Jeff told me those old ones had issues and he was going to send me a new updated one. I explained to him the one I had had been sitting on my shelf for over ten years. He didn’t care and sent me the new one free of charge! HUGE shout out to Novak!
This new one allows you to dial the output signal in for an exact readout. Livy reved the engine to 2000 based on what the scan tool said then I dialed in the emulator until the gauge also said 2000. Done.
I should note that on this particular engine the ECM Tach Resolution needs to be set to “7 high” and “8 low” in the tune. Otherwise the output will be outside the scope of the potentiometer in the emulator and you won’t be able to dial it in all the way correct. Mine was not set that way on the first try and I had to have my tuner make that adjustment for me.
With the new emulator installed I was able to wrap up the wire loom install. The main line across the firewall got a light wrap of tape and then loomed in place. You will also see in this pic that my new A/C accumulator has a home with a couple new hoses built. The firewall to accumulator hose was tool long for my liking so it is getting redone now.
I was curious to know how accurate my Chinese oil pan and dip stick was and since we hit the 500 mile mark it was time to drop the brake in oil and put in fresh oil. I put in exactly 6 quarts, ran it awhile and shut it down over night. This is where it showed on the stick. The F body pans are rated at 5.5 quarts. So I would say it pretty accurate. I will probably continue using all 6 quarts.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I went ahead and installed the two heater hoses yesterday as well. The intake manifold had a port ready for the vacuum line to the HVAC. That was easy to set up. While running the heater and testing out all the functions I noticed an interesting thing with the coolant temps. The scan tool was hooked up and I noticed the temp was sitting at 215. The dash gauge showed just over the 210 mark. For fun I reved the engine to 2000 and the temp dropped instantly to 195. I was surprised. Now it has me wondering if I have a coolant flow issue.
My first thought was that I have an air flow issue. I actually removed the skirts on the front fenders to see if I could push hot air out. We’ll see how that goes. I may also look into a hi flow water pump as well.
I also swapped out the 18psi radiator cap for a 13psi unit. The main hope is that it will help the heater core live longer.
My milage to date. About 500 miles on the drivetrain.
My first thought was that I have an air flow issue. I actually removed the skirts on the front fenders to see if I could push hot air out. We’ll see how that goes. I may also look into a hi flow water pump as well.
I also swapped out the 18psi radiator cap for a 13psi unit. The main hope is that it will help the heater core live longer.
My milage to date. About 500 miles on the drivetrain.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Time for another update. I can’t remember what I’ve noted recently. I got the A/C lines built after figuring out the now mounting location of the accumulator. I gave the system a good long suck down to make sure I got any moisture out of it. Then charged it. As my luck would have it the clutch would not engage. Looking into it I found the GM ECM was not switching the clutch relay. Jumping the relay would engage the clutch and the system got nice and cold. The Tap N Cruise module controls the A/C and tells the GM ECM what to do. Working with Bob at OE Controls we found the programming was not right. He walked me through making an adjustment to the TNC and now the A/C is functioning perfectly, using the factory Jeep controls.
While talking with Bob I found out that the right side CC buttons will still operate normally during CC while the shifter is in D. Then once it’s shifted to M those switches now function as tap up and down. I loved this. I went to a junk yard and found some new CC switches that looked great. I installed them and am now happy with the switch set up. Just need to figure out something for the worn and sticky leather on the wheel.
At some point my front driveshaft hit the exhaust just below the header. It ripped the wrap just a bit and dented the tube. No leaks though. I noticed the front end was sagging a bit so I decided to grab some Tera spacers and also install the extended bump stops that came with my lift but didn’t use.
Hard to see here but the front is riding a bit lower compared to the rear. Actually right on an inch and a half.
The Tera LCG came with both the extended bump stop spacer and also the axle mounted extended bump stop pad. I used the bump stop spacer originally. The axle mounded pad is a little bit longer. I removed the bump stop spacer and put all that back to factory and then drilled the axle pads and bolted in the extended pad. While I was in there I installed the Bilstien shocks that were originally on the jeep with the old lift.
The jeep now sits perfectly level, after gaining just under an inch and a half of lift on the front end.
I was worried how the ride would be affected by the lift. Turns out it is great. The shocks are stiffer which it really needed. I’m super happy with it. The lift did throw the steering wheel off a bit which I now need to adjust.
Lastly, my local Chevy dealer had a new, old stock engine cover in stock at the same price as eBay specials. I snagged it and had Livy do some painting
With a new overflow bottle installed the engine cover in place, I’m calling the engine bay done!
I still don’t have the tap functions working yet. At this point Bob thinks my TNC module may have bad programming in it that can only be fixed back at their shop. I hope to hear from him in the next couple of days on that.
Till then, both of my daughters fight over driving it and I have to ask them to have a turn.
While talking with Bob I found out that the right side CC buttons will still operate normally during CC while the shifter is in D. Then once it’s shifted to M those switches now function as tap up and down. I loved this. I went to a junk yard and found some new CC switches that looked great. I installed them and am now happy with the switch set up. Just need to figure out something for the worn and sticky leather on the wheel.
At some point my front driveshaft hit the exhaust just below the header. It ripped the wrap just a bit and dented the tube. No leaks though. I noticed the front end was sagging a bit so I decided to grab some Tera spacers and also install the extended bump stops that came with my lift but didn’t use.
Hard to see here but the front is riding a bit lower compared to the rear. Actually right on an inch and a half.
The Tera LCG came with both the extended bump stop spacer and also the axle mounted extended bump stop pad. I used the bump stop spacer originally. The axle mounded pad is a little bit longer. I removed the bump stop spacer and put all that back to factory and then drilled the axle pads and bolted in the extended pad. While I was in there I installed the Bilstien shocks that were originally on the jeep with the old lift.
The jeep now sits perfectly level, after gaining just under an inch and a half of lift on the front end.
I was worried how the ride would be affected by the lift. Turns out it is great. The shocks are stiffer which it really needed. I’m super happy with it. The lift did throw the steering wheel off a bit which I now need to adjust.
Lastly, my local Chevy dealer had a new, old stock engine cover in stock at the same price as eBay specials. I snagged it and had Livy do some painting
With a new overflow bottle installed the engine cover in place, I’m calling the engine bay done!
I still don’t have the tap functions working yet. At this point Bob thinks my TNC module may have bad programming in it that can only be fixed back at their shop. I hope to hear from him in the next couple of days on that.
Till then, both of my daughters fight over driving it and I have to ask them to have a turn.