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intheshadows

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Everything posted by intheshadows

  1. The spark I'm getting out of the coil starts out blue and strong then fades to orange rather quickly. I have 2 coils and they both behave the same. I went and double checked the aftermarket ICM for spark, and I get no spark at the coil. Same coil that was just sparking with my old ratty ICM. Went out to the local NAPA for another aftermarket unit. Same thing, no spark. Aftermarket ICMs look to be the same manufacturer and the plug that fits into the coil just doesnt fit nicely but looks passable side by side with the old ICM. Could I have two bad aftermarket units or what the heck is going on with this no spark? I really want to try and swap the connector but I dont think theyll take it back as a return once I do that. I'm getting battery voltage at the ICM-->coil on all three ICMs across the two wires, but only the old ratty ICM creates a spark to feed the dizzy. I did the diagnostic from the FSM on the crank angle sensor in the distributor and it seems to be working fine. I did all the ignition tests from the FSM too and it passes only with the old ratty ICM, grounds, signals, OK. Still behaves the same, sputters and doesnt catch. What to try, go OEM on the ICM? Would a bad ICM cause a weak spark or is that the coils fault?
  2. Finally got back to this. Found all kinds of nasty blue copper wiring corrosion around the TBI unit for the TPS and injectors. Fixed what I could see and checked any connectors I could get to in the entire engine and cleaned them up like new. Injector O ring was crumbly and leaking, replaced and is OK now. Inspected wiring harness and SEEMS to be ok but I didnt tear all the way through. MAF replaced due to a broken filament with an OEM pull, TPS and harness/wiring (aftermarket) replaced due to heavy corrosion on the pins. Still no luck getting her up and running. Cranks mostly, catches sometimes, and it ran again ONCE after I did this work. It ran and sounded great for all of 5 seconds before it sputtered and died (RPMs were on the high side, have been fiddling with the distributor position and idle screw). It checks OK for spark to the distributor with some irregularities. Seems to cut out or act up randomly but I cant say for sure. Cap/rotor (aftermarket) swapped again. ICM and coil (aftermarket) swapped in and out with no noticeable difference. ECU also swapped in and out with no change. I'm out of ideas other than the distributor/CPS at this point. Any way to definitively test these guys out before I fork out more cash? I suppose the aftermarket parts could be pure junk as well. Very frustrating.
  3. Well it appears the problem is the mass air flow sensor (hotwire modulator?) on the side of the TBI unit. One of the filaments is damaged, so I'm guessing this is why she runs so poorly. Problem is, this part is hard to find and expensive! Got an OEM used one on order off of fleabay coming in and crossing my fingers.
  4. I figured that was the ICM, but my parts diagrams looks different. That little ICM box has been rusted and looking like crap since I got the car. She'll sputter for about 5 seconds after cranking before dying.
  5. Cranks strong, battery tests good, alternator tests good, fuel getting to the engine, no ECU codes.....gotta be ignition related right? Plugs newish, wires newish, rotor and cap newish, coil age unknown but looks like it was replaced before I got the car. She'll crank, run for a few seconds like its missing or the timing is terrible, then it dies. Gassing it will keep it running for a few seconds, but it pulsates and still dies. It ran like a boss until I parked it, and now this starting problem. I got it started and running once, and it ran and drove around the neighborhood normally but I havent been able to get it to start since. Also, my brake lights suddenly do not work. They worked yesterday, now they dont, both of em. Dont know if its a coincidence or not. I smell something burning inside the car maybe. Dont know if its in my head, but it didnt smell like that yesterday. I've been having terrible rust problems and this might be related. I yanked out my AIV after it rusted out everything beneath it, but I fear it may have done some collateral damage. I found this grounding strap on a rusted area, which probably isnt grounding too nicely, what is this for? I'm going to relocate it. That stuff is under the coil itself. Here's the coil resting on top of the intake, with the plug and the box that was connected to the coil. What is this, the transistor? Where the red outline is, its rusted like crazy, so this probably causing some problems. The broken brake lights and burning smell in the cabin I find hard to relate to this. Perhaps my ECU is fried; have you guys ever seen blown or leaky capacitors or ECU troubles cause this behavior? What do you guys think? Thanks!!
  6. My brake light would irritate me and come on sometimes. Just the brake light itself like its warning you of low liquid or the e brake handle is up. I cleaned off the little button switch under the e brake but that didnt help. Turns out a bit of the brake fluid leaked out and got on the sensor connector under the reservoir. Took some electrical contact cleaner to it and the light has gone away for good.
  7. I just got done fiddling with the timing, but I didnt play with the idle adjust screws. I inspected my vacuum lines and they appear fine, but theyre old and crumbly looking so I dont doubt there is a leak somewhere. Havent gotten around to that yet. My timing is sitting at ~14 BTDC. Seems to run slightly smoother there than 12 or 15, but could just be in my head.
  8. 89 here, but my gauge behaves like the OP. Gauge will read full only after I just filled my tank, then after about five miles, it will be at 3/4. When it gets to exactly empty on the gauge, I'll need 16 gal or so to fill up. Took it a little past E, but still no empty gas light. The low fuel like is like a mythical creature; I've never seen it with my own eyes.
  9. Finally got around to yanking out that cancer in my engine. Looks like the funny guy that owned this car before me tried to fix this up at one point (and the rust problem that it caused). Red arrows showing removed AIV components After unbolting and removing the tubing, these two metal pipes and a vacuum line should be capped. I used some bypass cap kit from oreilly. All junk out of the engine bay. The lower AIV component had a hole in it too, not just the main filter part. Capped, even though the rubber cap fits tightly, I put the hose clamp back on it just in case. Not sure what kind of pressure/vacuum these guys are under, just to be on the safe side. I just put a little rubber plug in the left over vacuum line to seal it off that was attached to the upper AIV component. I left the bracket for the lower component attached to the car, and removed the entire upper bracket. I might use that to attach something later in the future. Who knows? I also zip-tied the metal hoses to the most secure thing next to them so they dont clang around and wobble freely. I've got an auto trans, and when I would let off the gas at speed, the RPMs would wobble back and forth when the needle dropped and you could hear the engine kind of pulsating like you get when there is a vacuum leak. After capping these guys off, no more pulsating RPMs, but the RPMs do drop rather quickly when letting off the gas. All smooth though, and is a very noticeable improvement in daily driving.
  10. I was just going to post this as well, as my idle from a cold start is about 1750, which will go down to 1200 while in park after shes warmed up. I thought this was high My truck takes forever to warm up though, even when its 80F outside. You guys in the cold must have one hell of a time getting your pathys warmed in the winter. The second I throw it into drive, it will sit around 900-1100, cold or hot. Behavior is very predictable and she drives like a dream.
  11. Yea, this is sadly the case I've run into here. Living on an island, I dont have the largest selection of parts. Even if I did find one, I almost 100% guarantee its going to be jacked up like mine. Are all the 89's california models, or did I just get unlucky with this extra junk under the hood (CA emissions sticker)?
  12. Yuck, my AIV and case are in terrible shape. The case has a hole in the top of it and makes a ticking noise, and the AIV round box itself is rusted to all hell out the bottom and took out part of the wheel well with it. I'm really not in the mood for spending more money on this truck, but the truck kind of stinks of exhaust at idle. Cant find a good replacement, and seeing even Rob's price makes me cringe so I'm going to be giving the bypass/capping method a go and report back.
  13. Yea I had a new tensioner stud to go in, but the old one looked shiny and new (not so for the tensioner itself). I should have pulled it to double check anyway, as its a damn crucial part to the operation of the belt. When I pulled the stud out, there was no thread locker on it at all which seemed like a bad idea to me. Its now stuck in there tight, hopefully it will last for the remainder of this vehicles life. Heh thanks man, that would make my mom proud I'm sure
  14. So tore her apart again. Realigned the crank pulley harmonic balancer. Took a look at the timing belt, and it jumped a tooth. 40 split on the cam and 44 on the cam/crank. I was SURE I put it back correct, so I searched for why it jupmed. Seems the tensioner stud came loose! It allowed the belt to relax enough to skip a tooth I guess. Good thing it didnt bust anything in the process. I put the stud back with some loctite, the nut I had alreadyd loctited when I changed the belt last time but I didnt take out the stud and it didnt appear to have any locker on the threads. Is it supposed to? Anyway, this 89 runs like new again, except for that damn manifold ticking....
  15. I tried the easy things just doing the plugs/wires, and it didnt change. I sprayed a little mist around the distributor cap and the wires, and no arcing. Connectors/wiring have been cleaned and inspected. Must be the timing. I keep getting distracted and forget to pull any codes. I'm going to do that before I try anything else. Think I'll find any specific codes relating to the timing? My misaligned crank pulley is going to set me back some time realigning it, and while I'm in there, I'm gonna have another check of the tooth count. Think I'm more likely off a tooth or just need to tweak the distributor a little?
  16. Yea just when I get her all put back together, no leaks and nice tension on all the belts.....grrr now I get to make another coolant mess. Found this pic of the crank pulley with the timing marks and keyway for alignment reference. Can you guys confirm for me that this is the correct orientation to put it back? It looks to be, as when I had the engine at TDC, it seemed the key was at about 1030 or 11 o clock from what I recall so it would put the indicator somewhere in the timing mark range. I assume I can just remove the six bolts holding the pulley on and rotate it such that the marks line up with the keyway like above.
  17. Ok just got done checking her over again. I started the car with the rad cap and the bleed screw on the top of the rad hose open and a few large bubbles came out. I'm sure there is a little left in there somewhere, but the heater blows hot like lava now. ATF is full and looks good as it was just about a little over 3/4 in the hot hashes, but I'll check that after I actually put a few miles on the trans. I looked over all the wires/connectors that I touched, and they all look OK to me visually. No corrosion or breaks in the lines. The vacuum lines dont have any visible cracks in them, but you guys are right, they really need to be replaced as they are 1989 vintage and are petrified. I only removed the #1 plug when doing the tbelt, but the wire was pretty stuck on there the first time I pulled on the boot. The wires say sumitomo on them, is that OEM? If it is, probably another 1989 original from its appearance. Anyway, I pulled it again, and reseated it, and it just doesnt click down all the way and is loose enough where I can wiggle it and hear the metal in the wire click against the plug, but its seated as downward as possible and is relatively secure. Im gonna pick up some new wires/plugs anyway I just didnt want to change too many variables when trying to nail down the problem. The stealership doesnt have ideal prices around here, but I'd rather go OEM on the wires and I want to check it sooner than later unless you guys have some auto parts stores winner brands to let me in on. Think this is my issue or timing? So next I'm going to try a new #1 wire. Then new #1 plug. Then timing check and adjustment with the distributor. I found an unfortunate issue with checking my timing. It seems the last guy that took her apart maybe disassembled the crank pulley harmonic balancer apparatus and misaligned the timing marks as they seem to be way way off to the point where my engine would not likely run if they were correct. Ugh, should have noticed this the first time but I honestly didnt pay attention to it. Guess I'll go find some pictures of a properly assembled HB/pulley and tear the pathy down again.
  18. I had another car with a similar motor setup as this, and it behaved like this, but it ran pretty poorly at idle too. That one had crud on the MAF sensor, cleaned it off and it was good to go. Reason I didnt suspect the MAF causing the issue here is that it ran "fine" before, and it was sitting in the same spot before/after the Tbelt surgery. However, with how the rest of the engine looked, I'm sure the MAF and the entire intake system for that matter will need a thorough cleaning. Some projectile ATF may have gotten up there when the PS pump blew so I guess its not out of the realm of possibility (ATF got EVERYWHERE!!). I wanted to double-check I didnt muck anything up in the trans or timing before I started cleaning and replacing too many things and complicated the repair, but the MAF cleaning will be on the to-do list. I should have a few hours today or tomorrow to tear back into it, and I'll report back with progress. Thanks for the tips guys I'm already looking for a pathy/x for myself now
  19. Yea, the engines are similar layout, just the intake systems are different for the most part from what I understand. But as for the coming to a stop, no, she idles rock solid and it doesnt feel like its dying. If I step on the pedal slowly, I can accelerate slowly with little to no bogging/hesitation and past 2k it drives normal. However, if I step on the pedal a bit harder, it seems like the engine chokes. If I cruise at maybe 20 MPH and hit the gas hard, it will stumble.
  20. Thanks guys, checking the timing is the first thing the service manual says. But I'm going to double check on the fluids again before I do anything else and clean and inspect some of the connectors I had undone.
  21. Hello NPORA!! First post and hello from Hawaii! Sorry for the long post, I'm a thorough guy Vehicle in question is an 89 auto of unknown maintenance lineage with 107k miles. The main seal on the power steering pump exploded and made a huge mess, prompting me to do the timing belt. With the help of this forum, I mustered up the courage to replace the timing belt, tensioner, water pump, thermostat, and anything else rubber pretty much at the front of the engine. Most of the hoses/clamps appeared to be original 1989, and were either frozen solid or cracked on removal. Everything went relatively smoothly through the tear-down and re-install using a mix of OE parts and gates belts. After getting her buttoned up, I nervously cranked it and she runs like a champ. I had some smoke coming off the exhaust manifold that I believe was ATF that I spilled on there, that has burnt off after a few minutes, but other than that, she idles much quieter and smoother than before the surgery. The timing belt in there I replaced was in good shape, but it was a bit loose as were most of the belts. The crank seal was slightly leaking, and the cam seals were OK but I swapped them out anyway. Now, the issue is that when I took her around the block for a drive, she bogs down and stumbles at low RPMs (up to 2k I guess), and past that, she is OK. I only took her up to 35 mph or so around the block before shutting her down to have a look in case I missed anything. I did change and unplug/replug (I hope), a lot of things while inspecting the engine and I believe to have everything hooked up correctly. Below are a few other things to note about the vehicle and my ideas for getting her running correctly. 1. Before the PS pump blew, the engine was running fine (well, it DROVE normal before lets say) 2. Timing was not adjusted in any way. Distributor cap and plug/wire #1 were pulled when I confirmed TDC, and the plug was OK shape, and the wire seemed OK, but old. I cleaned the plug, reinstalled, and attached the wire, which doesnt appear to attach as tightly as before onto the plug. Maybe its my imagination. I removed the cam sprockets, but neither turned at all, and the old and new belts had a perfect 40/43 split on the teeth so I was fairly confident the timing was not affected by this. Timing marks at TDC were 99% lined up maybe a 1/4 tooth off on the RH sprocket. 3. I replaced the radiator as the fins on the old one literally crumbled into pieces when I removed it. I also replaced the ATF cooler lines and had them open and hanging into a bucket while I cranked the engine using the 27mm socket and cheater bar when confirming timing alignment. Because of this, I would say a noticeable amount of ATF had left the system through whatever was left in the radiator being removed, the volume in the lines, and some that had flowed out due to manual cranking. However, when I went to check the levels of the ATF, all indications were that the level was overfilled so I only added a little back into the system as I had read that too high a fluid level is bad. 4. I let the car warm up to operating temperature (I think), and drove it around for a while, but I have a suspicion that there are bubbles in my cooling system after replacing virtually everything related. I know there is that purge valve on the top of the engine. Is there a procedure for bleeding without burning myself and making a huge mess? How can you be sure there are bubbles or air cavities in there? Also, if there are bubbles, could the coolant or engine temp sensor be causing this stumbling as the ECU gets wonky? 5. The fuel filter in the engine bay on the pass side was old and nasty, and I had a spare OEM one. Before I did the PS pump and timing belt, I swapped the fuel filter and let her run in the driveway for a few minutes to make sure the fuel filter was OK. It ran and idled fine before the surgery. I know I'm second guessing myself, but I believe to have installed it the correct way with the flat portion (outlet) facing upwards. 6. I had a big hole in the intake plastic piece around where the distributor is, and I patched up the hole with some exhaust tape. The car ran fine with this giant hole in the intake, but its before the air filter, so I would guess that this shouldnt be an issue unless the tubing BEFORE is plugged up somewhere else. That would mean the crack would be the default route of air intake through the middle of the engine compartment I have not taken apart the intake tubing as of yet. Could the ATF being low cause my stumbling/bogging? How do I measure the ATF level if my dipstick always says high (even while cycling through gears sitting still with the engine running). It seems the dipstick I have in there is kind of damaged/kinked and the previous owner had pried the bastard off with a screwdriver (probably was stuck). I'm hoping I didnt do any serious damage to the trans. I havent pulled any codes yet from the ECU, but the power light acts normally when I start her up so I dont think the trans is holding any codes. At idle in park, she purrs like a kitten and I can rev to the sky and there is no missing/stumbling through any of the RPM range. She'll run about 1200 RPMS when cold, then settle in at around 800 RPMs when warm with the A/C off. I'm sure I dont have to tell you guys, but this truck is a blast to drive and I want her healthy again!!
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