Ever Victorious

Uhm... it's in there? (Haven't checked, had no idea that this was a possibility until today)

Hmm... this isn't looking so promising. Continuing on with the troubleshooting, I figured weak spark is the most likely cause (since my symptoms sound identical to ausubaru92's problems with his car, see today's thread). Replaced cap and rotor, plug and coil wires, and the coil itself. Spark STILL looks weak, and the car still won't run, does the exact same thing it's been doing. My friend brought his tools back to my garage, which included a compression tester. Test shows: #1: 140 psi #2: 60 psi #3: 135 psi #4: 80 psi Let me guess... blown head gasket? IS this also why it's not starting, or have I just uncovered another unfortunate problem?

If it's in the name of testing, and you can't get a ride up here, I'll come pick you up. You've got PM.

Hmm... I think I just need to go back to bed. For a few months. Nothing seems to be working. NOT EVEN THE FREAKING CAMERA. One shot, flash goes off, then it just sits there and beeps and won't do anything. Normally this is a sign of bad batteries. Take 2 brand new batteries and put them in... nothing. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY. (It does this every now and then, and it will usually just randomly decide to start working again) If looking at it will help you, feel free to swing by (with your spare ECU, if you've found it). I'm only a few miles up the road from you.

Not running at all. And pissing me off. I can get you some pics tomorrow. a little dark to take them right now.

Mine doesn't run. Everything's SUPPOSEDLY plugged in right.

ok, more: Spark: Finally tested all 4 cylinders. Spark on both driver's side cylinders are very weak. Tested with one of the passenger side wires hooked into a driver's side post on the disty and I think the spark was better. Or I suck. Fusible Links: Either I'm not correctly identifying their holder, or I am but am unable to open it to check. I suck. ECU: Dunno if it means anything, but the car reacts exactly the same way with the ECU disconnected. Probably meaningless.

OK... just did a little more stuff to it to try to isolate. Coil wire spark test: Spark off of coil wire is strong. Probably stronger than the spark off the plug wires. Looked inside distributor: appears clean, no broken wires or contacts. the 3 wires at the top of the disty are strongly attached to their connectors, I don't feel comfortable removing them because it is taking a lot of force. Reseated them. Cleaned the pickup (is that what it is called on the non-points type?). Reseated the distributor. Starter: Tried starting the car by bypassing the ignition switch by shorting the starter solenoid and + battery cable (which, by the way, scared the living bejesus out of me). None of these had any effect. For what its worth, when I replaced the + batt cable when I bought the car (due to the cable overheating), the digidash stopped working immediately afterward, giving the "scream of death"... even with the alt disconnected.

I haven't seen it around... any word?

I've purchased fully functional 2WD XT's from $300 to $500. Turbo 4WDs should be worth a bit more, but not with a bad turbo. I'm thinking maybe $500 if it's in good shape, and go down from there.

To answer Keltik's response (and part of this one), the fuel tank was already drained, new fuel added, and the fuel filter replaced. Also, the two passenger side injectors were replaced. I cannot get to the driver's side injectors, they're buried under the A/C system, which I do not have the equipment to remove safely. Uhm... what's a CTS? No, the car has never run for me. I'm serious when I ask if someone wants to come help me diagnose it. I am WAY over my head in this project. It was described to me as likely a simple matter of replacing the injectors and fuel rails... not realizing that this was FAR more involved than indicated. I also know someone here said they wanted the engine if I didn't want it, but I can't remember who. If said person is still interested, they can have this engine PROVIDED they supply and install a FUNCTIONAL EA81 carbed. I just want to get the damn thing running... and most of this is way beyond my knowledge.

Don't forget to be there at the end. Last Soob I bid on on eBay I put in an early (and maximum) bid so I didn't have to worry about whether or not I could snipe the car for less than I wanted to pay. Turns out with 3 hours left I got outbid. And in the last 3 hours, the top bid changed through 6 different peoples' hands. So yeah, snipers suck.

Probably a 3AT. Unless it's something funky.

Well, I just love to make things more complicated. I think the ECU codes are completely irrelevant to the problem. When I hooked up the gray wire to the coil, the ECU stopped throwing codes, and the ECS light turned off. Still hasn't changed the fact that the car won't start. Closest it will come is if I let it sit overnight, the first turn will ALMOST get the car started. Then it just sits there and turns over forever like it's missing something for combustion, take your pick. I now know for SURE that it's not fuel, since I can smell fuel on the spark plugs AND unburned fuel in the tailpipe... I know the car is getting spark. At least on one cylinder. Maybe I should go back and try the other 3. There has been debate as to whether the spark is strong enough. The car will start with ether sprayed in the TB, but dies as soon as the ether burns off. The spark I've been getting doesn't make a loud "SNAP" like I've been told it's supposed to. and, of course, I don't know my knuckes from the distributor, so if I open it up, I have no clue what I'm looking for. Anyone wanna help diag it in person?

OK... got the coil hooked back up (unless that gray wire needs to go somewhere). Turned it over, does the same exact thing it did before... and I've noticed that the longer it sits without me trying to turn it over, the more it sounds like it wants to fire the instant I turn the key. (we're talking waiting days here). Anyway, like the brilliant boy I am, I FINALLY had the brilliant idea of checking the ECU. I get: Code 11, Ingition Pulse System Code 12, Starter Switch Off What causes these failures, and could they be the reason for the no-start?

Headroom.

Though check for air suspension. If it's got one, expect to rip it out and replace it with j/y coils. But yeah, the flying wedges are a blast.

whoopsie... Turns out there's 6 wires... 2 yellow, 2 black and white, 1 black (I assume these are the aforementioned wires that go to respective terminals)... but then there's a GRAY wire?! Where's that from?

Hey, not ALL the Loyales are rustbuckets.

Excellent, I'll try that, thanks.

I saw that vehicle several days ago on the freeway. I'll keep an eye out.

An EA81 into an XT... <sigh>... blasphemy. Turbo or nonturbo?

And if you can't find the exact color of spray paint in a store, you can go to certain body shops or auto supply stores that carry GOOD paint, and have them mix the actual factory color and put it in spray cans. Will cost a bit more, but it'll be the correct color.

hmm... I don't like the looks of single rounds, terribly... does anyone know how different the conversion would be for single squares? it's the same bulb assembly I swapped into the XT, so I know the bulbs are easy.

I tend to agree with GD, it's a variant on what would be our DL or GLF hardtops of that year. For the most part, the car should conform to their specs. In the US, the 1600cc's were all manuals, so I'm guessing this one is too? So then the way to tell which one it is a variant of, I guess, would be first to check the dash to see if it looks like a DL's dash or a GL's. Then look under the hood at number of carbies to see if GD is right about that.