Feb 23, 2014 (continued): Re-installed MSD Knock AlertI had a long list of things to do but hunting down that fuel vapor issue took waaaay longer than expected and I was only able to tackle one other item on my list: Re-install my ol' MSD Knock Alert device.
I probably bought this thing back in 2002 and only used it for a few months. It's just been sitting around in my garage ever since. Because I am planning on increasing my boost and I have
destroyed pistons before, I've already planned for much insurance before boost'n it up. This has been in queue along with the Water-Injection hook-up (see
reply #299). Glad they are both now done before I start playing with more boost!
Pictures:
1. Found the only suitable place to install the system's standalone Knock Sensor, and here I am cleaning out the threads with a 8x1.25mm tap. It's not as high up on the block as I'd like, but it should be okay. There was another bolt hole on the exhaust side of the engine above the oil filter, but the sensor and plug is nearly touching the exhaust manifold and I don't want to take chances in ruining them. FYI this is right between the starter (at left) and S/C (at right) on the intake side of the engine block.
2. MSD uses a GM knock sensor which as you may know uses an American Pipe thread pitch. This won't fit on my Japanese engine block. Therefore, more than a decade ago I machined down and re-tapped a metric pitch directly onto the GM sensor converting it for I believe a 12x1.50mm hole. So what I did here was I welded a 12x1.50mm nut atop a 8x1.25mm bolt and simply threaded the bolt into the block. Done.
3. Now I can mount the GM Knock Sensor to the available 8mm engine block bolt hole
4. Here is the control unit mounted in the cab. I have future plans for the radio bay so I didn't want to mount it there, and I don't want to be too flashy by mounting it right up in the instrumentation area. I decided to mount it here which may only be a temporary place for now. I only had to drill one small hole to mount it here, so if I later decide to move it, I won't regret having done this.
5. I understand that mounting it up high is a good thing because you need to see it in your peripheral to know that you are detonating, but there is a built-in speaker (little hole in the flat white plastic area) which has a clear unobstructed area in this position to project to.
Updated notes after having driven with the device installed for a few days:After driving around a bit I've been able to tune it in using it's built in sensitivity dial and everything looks to be working great so far. No unusual spikes. The LEDs light from from Green, to Orange, to Red. You don't want Red. Red means "get off the gas you a-hole". It's currently configured to activate the first green light by about 4,000 rpm, and then hits the orange lights by redline. So it's set to never see any red lights. So if red lights suddenly appear, then I know for sure something is wrong -- like I've got bad gas, or a spark plug wire just bought the farm, or an electrode broke off from a spark plug, or, what happened to me in the past, the Intercooler is suddenly no longer able to maintain safe intake temps.
One thing that DOES SUCK is that with my awesome sounding intake, I CAN'T HEAR THE DANG THING
So come to find out this probably isn't the best location. I'm thinking about moving it up high to my visor next to my Radar dector, which would be perfect for my peripheral vision, and I can mount it upside down so the speaker is not obstructed and ought to blast right into my face ... but I don't want to draw attention to my radar detector so I am considering disassembling the plastic housings to dye them black. I do like the idea of it way up high by my visor. It will give me more of that Nightrider feel
