DaveT

If it runs for an hour, the coolant has to be circulating. If the headgaskets were blown bad enough to effect compression, or show wet coolant on the plugs. Or show with a coolant system pressuring check. You couldn't get more than a mile or 2 if they were that badly blown. My comments are based on what I have seen in my own cars, and many threads I've read on here. Hopefully a few others who have dealt with that specific engine will add ideas.

The air passage from the TB to the head is one round tube. The head splits the airflow between the 2 valves. I could see a vacuum leak throwing off 2 cylinders on one side more than the other 2.

The gas test is notorious for false passing. I have yet to hear of any othe cause for coolant to be pushed out of the radiator. The water pump suction side pulls from the radiator. Thermostat has to be at around 190 degrees to open. If there is no flow because of an air pocket starving the pump so the heater loop and bypasses are not flowing, the thermostat won't open. Coolant eventually boils, pushing out the overflow. Sometimes the disturbance will get some water in the pump, and some circulation will then open the themostat, pulling coolant back in.

It is a standard thread. Right = tight.

Well that proves the wires are ok. Might be worth compression checking at least one other cylinder for comparison. It is odd that it is much worse with new plugs and wires. Having a hard time thinking of how that could have bothered the disty. Any chance you cross wired 2 cylinders? I did that once, it ran like crap, but it ran. Just want to rule out stuff before going on a wild goose chase.

The wires are in the harness. They go to a relay board near the fuse box. The oem switch is on the light control stick - I bought a new one from a dealer, and the lights and the relay. Plugged them in and fog lights. With no hack job installation, or huge project to do it nicely. The only thing I'll eventually change is the way the power is routed. The oem setup makes it so you cannot have the fogs on without the headlights. Stupid this is, since in really bad fog, the whole point is to shut off the headlights.

There should be an online FSM for that, you can find every connector in those.

CTS can fail in ways that mess up drivability without causing a code. There should be a chart in the FSM that shows temperatures vs ohms. If it's not steady, and in spec, it's bad.

Put them back together with anti seize coating everything. Come apart no problem next time.

The adjustable front struts have a plate with 2 nuts under the pan that the bottom of the spring sits on.

04 with original radiator? I'd replace it.

That's odd. Try using the old wire on that plug. Or the old #1 wire. The idea is to swap out the wire, to verify that the new one isn't bad. I only use NGK wires.

try finding a factory service manual, or someone who has a link to one. There should be a step by step procedure in there. 1400 is really high, if it's all warmed up. I've never had an 80 with a carb, so I can't be much more specific.

Yes, what happened before the new radiator and thermostats?

Look up the roadkill episode of this on youtube. They did it and dyno tested it. Waste of time.

no hints? Anything look good / bad here?

any arc like you describe is going to interfere with ignition. It is not normal, it's failed insulation.

Sounds like the common high resistance somewhere in the wiring harness problem. Hard to trace / find. It's in the circuit from the start position of the ignition switch, transmission lockouts, a few connectors, and the wire to the starter. I just did the relay mod. There are a few threads on that. To test for this - just get a piece of wire, attach to the start terminal on the back of the starter, touch the other end to the + battery. If it cranks, it's the high resistance problem.

Go easy on them, if they are really stuck rock them back and forth gradually unscrewing. If it's a bolt head, heating it that hot softens the bolt. You want the heat in the aluminum so it expands more than the steel bolt.

Do DLS have the same automatic adjusters that GLS do? Gl adjusters work by hard braking in reverse.

I would take it for a good drive to get everything up to temperature. Then go right at the bolts, no torch. Based on thinking these bolts are screwed into a big hunk of aluminum. This trick has saved me from stripping many very stuck bolts on engines. Avoids risk of overheating anything with a torch also...

The second link looks like the seals you need. I have not heard any reason not to use beck arnley.

The seals are one of the main causes of lifter tick of death. The 2 o rings Can also contribute. They are the same on both sides. They should have a metal reinforced ring around them. Oil pumps are *very* rare to fail. The seals I've used came with Fel Pro lower add on kit that goes along with thier head set, for when you do a full rebuild. But only use oem intake gaskets.

I've rebuilt / resealed more oil pumps than I've replaced. It's the seals getting hard that cause the air to get in.

Trying to think of how a valve and or seat gets chewed up without there being scratches in the cylinder walls, and dents or marks on top of the piston. With they dry climate, I guess there is less worry as far as rings being rusted stuck and all. If you use the full editor for the posting, one of the icons is to attach an image.