sewebster

I was discussing the fact that modern engines completely cut off the fuel supply when you are just coasting down a hill with a friend on the weekend. We were wondering what sensor parameters the ECU needs to determine it should do this. I guess it could look at a combination of throttle position or MAF and engine RPM to see if the RPM is higher than it would expect and therefore figure out you are going down a hill? Also, does anyone know if pathies (MPFI vg30) cut off only at zero throttle, or if they can cut off if you are very slightly on the pedal as well (you might want to coast downhill a bit faster, but not as fast as the higher gear)?

Ah, gotcha. Are there any moving parts in there other than the screw? Seems kinda weird that smacking it would really change much. I sometimes wonder if ECU controlled idle is actually a good thing... seems like it just masks problems.

I hate dumb rules about not being able to fix your own stuff.

Just read through this whole thread. Engine sounds awesome.

Probably hard to buy anything similar for the cost of the fix, but it's always a hard decision when something big goes wrong....

Glad it worked out.

What about what Kingman said... how is the bracket stopping you from pulling the engine? Is the oil pan hanging up on it?

Sounds like a good idea. Just try not to push that button unless you really have no choice. Lots of stories out there about people abusing the system. I know a bunch of people with the commercial, privately operated SPOT system, which has the ability to let people at home watch where you are. Handy if you leave a family behind on the weekend. But perhaps not quite as good just as a beacon.

Hmm, interesting. I forgot to mention that I am familiar with the concept of double clutching, but have no experience in reality. But what you guys are describing sounds easier, more simple. I guess I have it stuck too much in my head to always push the clutch all the way down, and to have zero throttle while moving the shift lever. I'll try to do it more by feel... probably I'm not causing too much of a problem as long as it doesn't feel like I'm forcing anything. Transmission needs work anyway so now is a perfect time to practice! Thanks.

So I am a new manual transmission driver (pathy is my first) and I'm wondering how to best downshift when going up a hill. What I seem to do is hit the hill in 4th or 5th and eventually realize I want to downshift. Then I do one of two things. I shift and let the clutch out slowly, but if I'm slow then I end up slowing down so much before I'm on the gas again that I need to downshift AGAIN because I'm out of the power band. OR I let the clutch out reasonably fast and there is a huge jerk as the engine is rocketed up to speed. Now my transmission is kinda hosed, so maybe that doesn't help, but does anyone have any tips here?

He isn't talking about the torque converter... he's talking about the little engine gusset plate that the starter passes through. It's basically unimportant, but it holds the engine and transmission together since it bolts into both the bell housing and engine block. You gotta figure out how you can get in there with whatever you need. You might have to remove some more stuff. Take the wheel off if you haven't already and try to go through the wheel well? Remove AT cooler lines if in the way? etc.

Looks way different on the TBI engine. I'm not sure I'd interpret the screw not doing much as a problem though. The ECU should try to control the idle at the probably speed regardless of the screw setting. Basically the computer will fight against you turning the screw to get to 750. But the valve (aac valve on MPFI) could be sticking so it can't control the idle air properly?

Well, I just re-did the brakes (new calipers, rotors, pads all 4 wheels). But maybe jacking it up and making sure everything spins freely is an easy check. The parking brakes seem like maybe they stick a bit when I first get going... (it's the little internal drum inside the rear rotor). Drivetrain... I know the transmission is screwed, lots of noise in 3rd and 5th. Maybe this is affecting things. What else would be binding? My auto hubs seem to lock and unlock ok. My driveshafts have no play in them... but the ujoints are probably pretty old. I sortof assume that there will be play if they need service but maybe I should get them done preventatively...

Filled er up again.... this time I got 16 MPG after driving mountain highways with 4 people and gear (and like 3 miles of easy 4lo). So that's way better than my 9 mpg city... maybe a fluke. Probably I'd get a few more MPG if I was driving by myself on a flat highway... so maybe I'm good. Just need to avoid driving in the city! But I knew that already...

You could drill a hole in the bolt and use a screw extractor. I'd probably torch the bolt first.

O2 sensor is new as well... checking for vacuum leaks is a good idea. Should I unplug the AAC valve (controls idle) when spraying propane or whatever around to find leaks?

Well, you could put your hilift on top of something to raise it up, but getting under the vehicle without proper jackstands isn't the greatest idea, especially if you've got some rigged up tippy hilift stack.

Maybe I am too and don't know it, heh. Seems to run well though, so I doubt it

Has new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, injectors cleaned, maf cleaned, ignition timed, engine rebuilt... not sure what else to do. I will be driving out of town this weekend (albeit in the mountains) and I expect to get way better mileage... we'll see. I've actually only driven the truck like 100 miles in the past 3 months... maybe I'm losing a lot to evaporation or something.

What stripped the head or the threads?

Pulling top and bottom on the wheel right? If you pull on the sides you'll move the steering. There should be no play top to bottom.

Filled er up. 9 MPG (city) since the last fillup, ugh.

Torsion bars don't need to come off to remove the front diff. I just did this a month ago. Follow the oil pan removal procedure at the front of the EM section. Most of it is about removing the front diff. It does take a bit of awkward wiggling to get it out once you have everything unattached. Way easier to remove then to put back in though

Hehe, true. I think it's plenty strong... I did a lot of "stop and start" welding to avoid burning through. If you were better you could get it done a LOT faster and have it look better to boot. I also think it wastes a lot of gas when restarting all the time. I get a big puff every time I pull the trigger. I already painted it and it looks way better. I am debating on whether to coat it in this rocker guard undercoat I have. I put some on the inside under the driver's feet area. It adds sound insulation but I hope it doesn't smell. I am going to put it on the underneath regardless.

Yeah... In some places elsewhere on the truck I managed to get some better looking beads. In a lot of places here though, I basically almost purposely tried to get a "thick bead" because there was some gap at the edge I was joining and I was trying to build up material... I also essentially turned down the voltage (heat) in order to minimized burning through. A bunch of the places it is really ugly is where I blasted through and then built up over the hole. Anyway, all that said, I'm sure the main reason it looks bad is because I am just learning. Thankfully it's hidden under the seat I agree that I would recommend the replacement floor pan approach in general. If you take your time matching up your edges really well you could avoid a bunch of problems. Hooray for no holes in the floor!