Feb 15 2010
Real World Testing
Finally started to put some real miles on the car and the car did great for its first real world performance test with me. Noticed a few minor things:
Steering wheel still pointed at 4o' clock, makes reading the non functional speedo hard, Also the steering had more slop than I wished for.
Oil pressure always good
Water temp was just below the first notch, seems lower than actual temp.
fans never kick in under normal driving and turn on at a higher temp than i'd like.
Oil level and handbrake light always glow (very low feedback to the LEDS I suspect)
Front end is squeaking alot, but not horridly
Pulls to the left a bit
Strange front end whurr, sounds like a dry speedo cable spining or rough wheel bearings
Shifter works quite nicely but getting over to the left for 1&2 requires more effot than I like
Brakes are strong but a bit numb untill you get on them which they become touchy
A few rattles from the left door on left hand turns and a near constant rattle of the exhuast u pipe heat shield
The visibility is that of an 80's exotic, even with the louvers off the rear view in minimal
March 2 2010
Ive put about 100 more miles on the car, still havent gotten the new angle drive in, im having trouble getting the old one out.
Also I thought the the fuel pump check valve had died, as I lose high fuel pressure after about 30 seconds after it shuts off. Then after the engine gets the least bit warm it will not restart unless you get out and depress the metering plate for about 3 seconds to dump some fuel at the cylinders.
I have a remote start switch in the engine bay to perform the start back there. If the engine were to stop/stall when warm and I immediatley crank it again it will start normally, still a pain. I later found this was my PPR o ring not the fuel pump.
Electrical Problems aplenty
Also ive been doing the diagnostics of getting the ISC system working again, The Idle system would be one of the biggest and longest lasting challenges I ever faced on this car. I bypassed the ISC valve over a month earlier as I couldnt get it to respond, this was making my erratic idle issue worse. The problem was electrical and power was not getting to the idle ECU. So first off I took the computer out and cleaned the pins and and grounds, next I checked the idle microswitch ( which switches on the ECU) for continuity. The switch was good but the connections looked poor, after replacing the spade terminals and cleaning the harness connections I still had no signal at the ECU, it appeared the diode was fried as well. Yet another part to order. The strangest fault was that an incorrect relay was installed to power the idle ECU. the case didnt match the other relays and it turned out that it was turning the ecu off when the ignition key was turned on, and turning the on when the key was turned off. One new relay please!
Other elctrical problems had arisen, the high beams would glow when the low beams are on, and the right turn signal blinks alternately of the right headlights, I was thinking a ground wire had broken between the lights and the frame, this was not the case, as i found later. The Tachometer ground was failing too, the more electrical load that is on the car's system the higher the tach would read, sometimes 3k rpms too high! but that is only when the lights, wipers, radio, and heater fan is on, wiggling the ground next to the radio helped but still I needed a stronger wire.
Other than those issues and alot of squeaks and a rattling center console but its driving pretty nicely, i just love how well she cruises, I could drive her all day!
Shes getting dirty out there, ive been driving in the rain too, shes not going to be a show queen!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/P2280012.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/P2280013.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/P2280014.jpg
I got the louvers back from the canoe builder friend for the crack repairs, im less than impressed with the quality so im going to have to fix it myself too. So it has been BANISHED TO SIT NEXT TO THE DRYER!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/P2280016.jpg
It may be ugly but this spring was the only way I could get the throttle arm to seat fully and allow me to have near WOT, the throttle spool needs a stronger spring, it turns out i was missing the one that wraps around the throttle spool ( I found out later that only made the throttle pedal heavier)
I would be running this ugly but functional band-aid for months
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/P2280017.jpg
March 4 2010
finally had a new angle drive in and the speedo moved for the first time in years!
Found rather badly corroded wiring up front, this was the issue with the headlights I found earlier, a temporary wiring butt connector would get the lights working until I replace the old harness.
I picked up a keyless entry system to attach to the digital lock module last time I was in houston, so I installed that too, works great! and was simple as just plugging it into the digital module
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/P3030009.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...P3010007-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...P3010008-1.jpg