Restoring VIN 2784

[MountainGoat]

I found you can hold the injector in open position by sticking a solid copper 30 AWG wire under the little valve at the end of the injector. I just pull that valve open with my fingernail. Not sure if that will help you just ultrasonic cleaning but if you can get a revers pressure flow it may be good.

Good idea By the by, I've seen your website and the incredible goodies you make, but it's not clear if one can buy them or not as there's no purchase instructions on the site. Are the things on your site for sale?

[Bikercmbc]

Just send him a private Message to purchase. I bought his products and they are very good upgrades.

[MountainGoat]

I have been pretty lazy on replying, but work has continued. Weather has been really miserable and I've been away now and again, but here's where things are :

* Fuel pump is in

* Accumulator is replaced.

* Fuel filter is ready to go, but I am missing a couple of washers so I am waiting for those to show up -- should be Friday that I can finish that.

* The entire underside of the car from about the accumulator "cubby hole" on back is coated in black goo. I think my transmission may be dripping / leaking transmission fluid but I'm not sure from where. It would be an incredibly slow leak if it is -- it seems like on super humid days, it makes drips under the car, so I think maybe the humid air is contacting the black goo under the car and making it drip. No idea, but this is deeply concerning! Transmission service is going to be next after I do the fuel pump to see if I can figure out what is going on. I purchased the transmission filters from the fellow who's recreating them over on DMC Today, so I look forward to those arriving.

Hopefully by end of week I'll have my fuel system back together and I'll be able to test my injectors. This has been a lot of work and waiting for parts around "life stuff" happening. Anyway! I'll keep fighting the good fight.

[MountainGoat]

Okay!

So there's been a lot going on since I last posted. Today I had the whole fuel system completely assembled, with the injectors in mason jars ready for the big test.

I was having problems getting the fuel pump to start, though as I'm fiddling around trying to get the relay jumper right I start smelling gas. Under the car, from the fuel filter, was a spray of gas that was misting under there in a horrifying way. I quickly disconnected the battery and started my cleanup.

From what I can tell, it looks like I may have 2 leaks in my new fuel system. One at the fuel filter and possibly one somewhere up front near the pump. The one up front I can't really get a visual confirmation of, though there was wetness on the tow hook area. The accumulator (fingers crossed) doesn't seem to have leaked.

So this was a huge huge mess. I'm not really sure how to fix it yet, though after spending hours out in 104 degree heat I'm going to let my brain stew on it and come at it fresh tomorrow. The obvious answer is something's not tight enough, or maybe some teflon tape would be a good idea.

[MountainGoat]

SI got the fuel system all together, and set up to do the fuel injector test -- stick the injectors in mason jars and see how they fill.

Nothing was coming out of my injectors :P

When I took the injectors off, my mason jars were filled evenly with fuel, so I think everything's working (and no more leaks), just my injectors were bad and my cleaning attempt failed.

Well, I considered my options and I looked around. I discovered that "BWD" brand injectors are just re-packaged Bosch, but run $20 - $30 less per injector. I picked up a set from O'Reilly ... looks like I got the last ones because they're now out of stock.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...=fuel+injector

Still, if you see "BWD" brand out there -- buy 'em. I can confirm they are the exact same Bosch injectors that come in the car stock, just a different box.


...

So while I'm waiting for my injectors, I'm starting to do the transmission service. The entire underside of my car is covered in goo -- I think it's mostly (entirely?) transmission fluid. I guess I have a leak ... probably several leaks. That being said, I think it's pretty slow leaks, as when I emptied the transmission it was quite full. In fact, more full than I expected -- I suspect the PO might have overfilled the tranny ...

Considering doing a transmission / engine rebuild over the winter. We'll see!!

Yeah, yeah, and I really need to take more pictures... :P

[Lwanmtr]

Did you do a pressure test on the fuel system?

[MountainGoat]

It turned out to be low battery! I think the new Special-T pump is a lot more sensitive to low battery conditions than the old pump that was in this Delorean when I started. Either that, or the Wal Mart battery that was in there is a piece of junk. The PO had complained of battery issues, so I went ahead and replaced the battery altogether just to eliminate it as a possibility.

After replacing the battery, I had good flow. My fuel distributor has issues, though, as only 5 of the 6 injectors were squirting. I'm waiting for a replacement from DMCH now. Went ahead and threw in the cold start while I was at it.

By the time I'm done, I'll have replaced every single element of the fuel system except for the pipes that run the length of the car (which are hopefully 'scrubbed' from all my testing) and the gas gauge on the dash :P This is because I've even been replacing the pipes in the engine ... removing the big, chunky, dirty looking pipes with new skinny ones that look nice and neat.

I'm hoping to have a running car soon!!

[Lwanmtr]

It balloons really fast..as do the costs....hehe.

After trying to get mine running, I finally had it hauled up to DMCNW and they got it running...of course they found some new issues and I'm
waiting to find out on those so I can get the car back.

[Mark Hershey]

It turned out to be low battery! I think the new Special-T pump is a lot more sensitive to low battery conditions than the old pump that was in this Delorean when I started. Either that, or the Wal Mart battery that was in there is a piece of junk. The PO had complained of battery issues, so I went ahead and replaced the battery altogether just to eliminate it as a possibility.

After replacing the battery, I had good flow. My fuel distributor has issues, though, as only 5 of the 6 injectors were squirting. I'm waiting for a replacement from DMCH now. Went ahead and threw in the cold start while I was at it.

By the time I'm done, I'll have replaced every single element of the fuel system except for the pipes that run the length of the car (which are hopefully 'scrubbed' from all my testing) and the gas gauge on the dash :P This is because I've even been replacing the pipes in the engine ... removing the big, chunky, dirty looking pipes with new skinny ones that look nice and neat.

I'm hoping to have a running car soon!!

Hi, and welcome to the DeLorean community. I have owned VIN 2790 since 1988 and, as a daily driver with a gazillion miles now, i have had many years of enjoyment from it. It has presented its challenges now and then, and is now on its third set of seat covers and second or third set of about every other interior part, but it has never stranded me ( not that i haven't limped home now and then, or replaced an alternator in a Walmart parking lot), except that one time a trailing arm bolt broke as i crossed a railroad track.
Sounds like you are close to getting it running; when you do, check out all the safety things first ( like trailing arm bolts; instant unexpected lane changes are not fun at any speed). Then take your time with everything else.The Delorean community is amazing and after 30 years or so of experience, there isn't much about Deloreans that isn't well covered by the forums. Drive it a lot when you can!

[MountainGoat]

Hi, and welcome to the DeLorean community. I have owned VIN 2790 since 1988 and, as a daily driver with a gazillion miles now, i have had many years of enjoyment from it. It has presented its challenges now and then, and is now on its third set of seat covers and second or third set of about every other interior part, but it has never stranded me ( not that i haven't limped home now and then, or replaced an alternator in a Walmart parking lot), except that one time a trailing arm bolt broke as i crossed a railroad track.
Sounds like you are close to getting it running; when you do, check out all the safety things first ( like trailing arm bolts; instant unexpected lane changes are not fun at any speed). Then take your time with everything else.The Delorean community is amazing and after 30 years or so of experience, there isn't much about Deloreans that isn't well covered by the forums. Drive it a lot when you can!

Thanks for the kind introduction! I'm hoping to have a near-daily driver with this Delorean once I'm finished with the restore (Winters I'll take the truck for safety reasons ...!) Once it's running in the short term, I'm not driving it much. A long overdue VIN inspection which is literally down the street (I'd say less than 1000 feet, but may as well be 100 miles if the engine doesn't run!) and then it's off to making sure it's safe.

Folks have been real helpful around here and it's a great community!