robm

I ran into this problem. The motors seize at the output shaft. They can be a real problem to get off, as the whole external shaft, housing etc. is a mound of corrosion under a nice plastic cover that traps the water and salt. The housing that sticks through and supports the output shaft is thin aluminum or potmetal, and will break when removing the corroded mounting nut. All the ones at the wrecker were in a similar state. I paid $216 Canadian for a new one. NAPA wanted $400! The wiper drive shaft is tapered and splined. Cylindrical arms won't work. I would take mikeshoup's offer. Good deal! Reassemble with lots of antiseize, and it would be worth adding this to the yearly clean-and-lube list.

If it still won't work right, avoid GD's "shortcut" method, and do one cam at a time. GD's system works for experts, but for the extra minutes, is it worth the risk? Start with the driver's side (rear cam sprocket) lined up on the mark, and the crank at the centre of the 3 marks. The passenger side doesn't matter, it is a non-interference engine. Install the driver's side belt, adjust the tension. Turn the crank ONCE to get the 3 marks lined up again. The driver's side cam will now face down. Line up the passenger side cam on the mark, install the belt, adjust the tension. Crank it around a few times, and make sure it isn't off. It can be really easy to miss by a tooth. The nice thing about this system is it isn't necessary to retime the distributor.

Low speed, low air flow, so a new air filter is not likely to help around town. It will help at high speed, when trying to get as much air as possible through the filter. The MAF will affect operation at all speeds, but I suspect dirt will affect low speed operation more. I would expect dirt to mask subtle variations in air speed, but at high speed, the variations aren't subtle! Ignition parts usually have a harder time firing when the engine is at high pressures, i.e., putting out lots of power. Bad plugs and wires will miss at high power, and run fine at idle. So, again, more of a high speed effect. I have to agree with Virrdog.

The indicator light is a true indicator, if it doesn't go in to 4WD, it doesn't light. Chances are good it is NOT going into 4WD. The 4WD is pulled in/pushed off by vacuum. I would look into this system first. The vacuum solenoids are on the driver's side of the car, under the hood, close to the firewall. Check that they are connected electrically, and to vacuum. Check that the other end of the vacuum line is connected to the tranny. The vacuum hoses may be bad, they are pretty old. You should be able to hear and feel the solenoids clicking when pushing the button. Good luck.

A carb has no way of adjusting the mixture, unlike a FI system with an O2 sensor. Unless you change the jets, it will run WORSE. Has anyone tuned a Weber to run high percentage ethanol?

I lost 2 speeds on my Loyale's resistor block. I repaired it with solder. It doesn't stick well to the Nichrome, but sand it up and pour on the 60/40 solder. It has worked fine for the last 2-1/2 years. Getting the resistor block out is not easy. The screws rust in place. I wound up having to drill out one. A real PITA.

The price of propane is close to that of gasoline, when you look at the caloric value. Here in BC, about all we save is some taxes, maybe 20 cents/liter. 800 km round trip, at about 8 l/100 km approx., the savings would be about $12 per trip. That saving can be eaten pretty fast if the propane mixer is not as efficient as the fuel injection system it is replacing. I don't have a good idea of the current state of the art. In the days of carburettors, propane mixers were at least as efficient, but I don't know if they have kept up to the mark. Are they feedback systems now, adjusting the mixture depending on the O2 sensor? This reflects directly on the environmental aspects. If the mixer is less efficient, it will less environmentally friendly than gasoline fuel. 20 years ago, propane was cheap and just as efficient a fuel as gasoline, and conversion made a lot of sense. It is much harder to justify now, on any basis.

The vacuum applies the brakes, it doesn't release them. Could it be a hill holder problem?

Gas DOES need some head room to expand. It comes out of the ground at about 50 deg. F, and then sits in a gas tank at temperatures up to 100 deg. F. It is going to expand. If there is no head room, it will dribble out the fuel filler nozzle. We are so cheapo we are concerned about fuel mileage, there is no sense in letting it drip on the ground.

Higher pressure pumps don't help with carbs. As long as the float bowl stays full, it is enough. More pressure can't affect the mixture.

It is a lot easier to pull the axle right out, as the inner joint has to be disassembled to get the outer boot on. You may be able to do it on the car, but for the extra few minutes it takes, why fight with it?

I would definately double check the cam timing. It is easy to get a belt one tooth off. Does the car seem a bit slower than usual? If so, cam timing for sure. Another possiblility: damage to the radiator during the timing belt change? Old, corroded rad, now with enough fins missing to make it overheat when loaded by the AC? Seems unlikely, but worth considering if the cams are good. I am not sure about the puttering sound. Could it be the infamous "tick of death", lifter noise? (Don't worry, it isn't bad for the engine, it is called that because it drives those who are upset by it to the brink of suicide trying to eliminate it!)

Nipper's explanation was pretty good, but I still don't see how one small tire can destroy the car. A small tire at the back would wear the rear diff, but stop the overrunning clutch from hooking up until the speed difference was even greater, as the average speed at the diff would be higher than at the front. A small tire on the front would feed more power to the rear, as it would look like the speed was always greater at the front. I can see this toasting the front diff, but why the rear one too? Unless the dog clutch hooks up when the back end runs fast? That might explain it. I actually met the guy that was in charge of designing this system. A really nice guy, this was his last project before he retired. He was on "loan" from an Austrian company that was putting 4WD into every little econobox in Europe at the time. Everything from 10 HP mini farm tractors designed for farms in the Alps to Fiat's version of the Justy. I met him hiking. I hope I can still hike like that when I am 65. I was 1/3 his age, and had a hard time keeping up.

Maybe a dumb question, but how can one wrong-size tire ruin the differentials at BOTH ends of the car? I can see it doing in the end where it is located, and being really bad for the center diff (if so equipped), but how can it destroy both ends?

Usually, that vacuum port is well below the venturi, right above the throttle plate. Really, it is manifold vacuum you are getting, but it is valved by the throttle. No vacuum when the throttle is closed, and it appears when the throttle is open. That way, the vacuum advance is a function of LOAD, not RPM. Full throttle, low rpm is high load, low vacuum, low advance, no ping. Part throttle, high vacuum, low load, lots of vacuum advance, gives better fuel consumption. The thing about ported vacuum,is there is no vacuum advance at idle, when the vacuum is high, but there is no load at all.

I second the wheel alignment idea. I also have my timing (SPFI) cranked up to 22-23 deg. The absolute best I have ever seen, with new tires, alignment, and driving at 90 km/h was 38 MPG US. I don't think there is much more to be had from it.

There are dyno runs shown on his site that look like an improvement, but closer examination shows that in additon to grooves, they also boosted the CR by at least 1. Any improvement in power and fuel consumption can be credited to that factor. Although they do say that high octane gas wasn't required.... There is one dyno test that compared a high compression engine with and without grooves. No change. I suspect that if it has any effect at all, it will only be noticeable on side valve engines. There hasn't been a lot of development of side valves in the last 50-60 years, this may well work for them. Like Nipper says, the competition for power/torque/BSFC is so fierce, anything so simple wouldn't have been overlooked - except on an engine where development has stopped.

It looks to me like several of those were old side valves, the worst possible combustion chamber. A couple of classic "bathtub" chambers. The hemi heads sometimes have poor combustion characteristics, as the chamber often has lots of surface area and low turbulence. Squish is good, hemis sometimes don't have much. I had a look at the photos again. The hemis look like pretty good ones, lots of squish. It would be interesting to try 3 grooves, angled slightly to set up a vortex, on these heads. If one is good, is more better? This would be a really easy thing to try on aluminum heads. Grind in a groove, try it out, and weld it up if it doesn't work. If you had TIG and a mill, it wouldn't cost anything at all.

It looks like a cheap and simple modification. Note that the groove seems to point at the spark plug. I wouldn't be surprised to find that it points right at the tip of the plug. I bet Sir Harry Ricardo would love it. He experimented with so many ways to create turbulence in the combustion chamber I am surprised he didn't come up with this one. I suspect the results would be really spectacular on a side valve engine, as his website relates, but less effective on an OHV, with less squish area. Aren't you a little concerned about stealing a patent? North American companies complain about technology theft by Asian manufacturers, but that doesn't confer any moral right to steal their ideas.

If you looked INSIDE the sensor and the ECU, you will probably find it is grounded at one end only. They must be serious about the shielding if they extend it right inside the sensor. Make sure it is in good shape, and the shielding in between isn't accidentally grounding. Extra electrical tape if needed.

The gutters aren't as substantial as some, but they seem to be adequate. It does help to roll down the window a bit depending on the clamp design, and other unknown factors. With my Thule racks, I have to roll down the driver's side window to close the door without hitting the rack clamp, but not the passsenger side. I have no idea why.

Another possibility might be worn back brakes, poorly adjusted. Check them while bleeding. You will need a big socket to get the drum off. Parts are easy to get at Canadian Tire or NAPA. If they carry them here in Terrace (BC boondocks), it should be easy to find parts in Montreal. CT is cheaper. I like NAPA axles, they are easier to install. Some parts from the dealership are cheaper than NAPA or CT, though! It pays to shop around, even with the dealerships. There can be 10% difference in cost between dealers.

The studs are very hard steel pins in an aluminum carrier. They stick out just a bit, like 1-2 mm. They seem to wear at about the same rate as the tread, so there is always a bit sticking out. There is enough resilience in the tire that the tread hits the ground on hard pavement, you won't be running just on steel spikes. They are not bad on dry pavement, great on ice and frozen gravel, not much different in deep snow, where it is tread that counts. They are noisy. I would check to be sure your stock tire size was the 175/70 Daeron suggested. I know here in Canada, 165/80 seemed to be commoner in those days. They are hard to find now. The difference between 175/70 and 165/80 is enough to cause you much grief in a TDR rally. 185/70 is about 1% smaller than 165/80, so that would be a better bet, if your original size was 165. Snowies wear out quickly on dry pavement at the best of times, with or without studs. Most jurisdictions have laws restricting the use of studs to the winter months, because they are hard on the roads. Some places they are banned completely.

Re: Crappie Tire (that is Canadian Tire to you non-Canadian folks) and wheel bearings. I took my AWD Corolla in to get a wheel bearing done. I knew it was the bearing, as I had hit a log in a ditch while travelling at a good rate, and had to have the suspension bits on that corner all replaced. (I was lucky that that was all that had to be repaired, and I drove it out of the ditch and 10 miles to the shop!) So when the bearing started to howl, it was no surprise. When it got to the point that it was either get a new bearing or a louder stereo, I took it to CT. They looked at it and told me the brakes were bad! They were right, so I bought brake pads to instal myself, and then told them to take the car for a drive around the block. "Oh Gee, guess you are right! Normally, we don't get complaints about wheel bearings until the wheel is loose." As if I would let it get that far! So, if wiggly wheels is their normal means of troubleshooting, jack it up and give it a shake. If it doesn't move, and doesn't howl, forget about it. So, the point about CT, is: They are in a hurry, and don't always take the time to troubleshoot properly. They are also trying to sell you more services, so always try to confirm any diagnosis they come up with.

The recommended way is one cam at a time, and rotate between, because it is hard enough to get the second timing belt on without shifting it a tooth. Even WITH the marks, it is easy to get it out one tooth, and wonder why it runs like a dog. Now, I pull it through a couple of times to make sure they are on right. I am not trying to break any records doing my timing belts, just get them on properly Subaru could have put a different mark on passenger side cam pulley, but then there would be 2 different pulleys, that had to go in just the right place, so this is probably easier.