mountaingoatgruff

I never touched the heads so there's no reason to suspect any problems there. This engine ran fine, I put in a different wiring harness, switched some parts to OBD2, added the fuel system I described earlier and now it won't run. Like I said, I'm done . I need my spare time for welding not hopeless wrenching so the Brat will most likley be parted out to minimize my already ridiculous losses. I've been bummed as hell for months, made an rump roast of myself slaughtering an otherwise good Brat, wasted more money than I'll ever cop to and worst of all I've been short and snappy with my family for too long. I'll post an ad in the parts for sale section when I'm ready to start tearing into it. I'd also trade it and all associated parts for a TIG machine of 200+ amps with ACHF and waveform manipulation, I don't mind older units.

CTS shows about 2400 ohms with engine at outdoor temp this morning, about 70deg. Seems normal. Just like every other goddamn thing I check on this miserable failure of a project car. I give up. The Brat's for sale as soon as I figure out what I'll take for it. I'll consider a trade for a running Subaru.

Yes, the surge tank, injector pump, and canister filter were primed before I attempted to start it. I have 36psi fuel pressure at the supply line on the manifold. I also checked injector pulse with a noid light and each plug showed a bright steady flashing. Tried swapping injectors after suspecting leakage, so I've had two sets in there and that second set (the ones in there now) worked fine when they were shelved. Thank you for your suggestion, subaruguru. I'm wondering now why I'm getting white smoke out the tailpipe. ccording to my understanding excess fuel is black smoke, oil burning is blue to white, coolant vaporizing is white and you can smell the difference. My exhaust smells like burnt fuel and nothing else when I get white smoke. Anybody know what conditions would cause this?

This afternoon I hooked up a battery charger set to 55amp start assist. The engine didn't seem to have any trouble turning over and even fired a second like it wanted to start then nothing but cranking. I tried a few more times, got some backfiring, no start. White smoke at the tailpipe, normal exhaust smell.

I am confused by how the engine cranks slow with everything connected. I've only checked voltages at components with key on engine off. I recently noticed the volts drop to 10.5 at the battery while cranking and I'm not sure what the minimal voltage required is. The battery from my truck is too big to try so I'm working on getting a friend with a small car to come over so I can try his battery. I've also been thinking - even though its far fetched - could an Optima red top show 12V but not have the amps? I vaguely remember hearing of these types of batteries testing out as fine but not working so I'm just wondering. I cranked at WOT, only makes it backfire a little more. The plugs are black and reek of unburnt fuel. I tested the resistances of my coil and the secondary resistances are low for both front and rear. Spec says 17K to 24K ohms and I've got about 12K on each. Could that make a weak spark? Primaries are good, 0.6 ohms.

I am positive they're correct. I considered that possibility a while ago and rechecked them.

PCSV = pressure control solenoid valve VCSV = vent control solenoid valve I just got ahold of a scanner today, had to borrow one from a friend at school. The scanner communicates fine, shows codes for fuel temp sensor and fuel level sensor (because they're not hooked up) but nothing else. I have gone through and triple checked connections, especially the pita ones. I'll have to look up specs for the coolant temp sensor, I haven't checked that one yet... I'm wondering, just how much can I check with this scanner considering the engine doesn't run?

Even if you have a cheapo machine I'd still recommend brand name wire. With cheapo stuff you often don't get specs and when they are available they're questionable at best. AWS doesn't verify electrodes meet standards, the manufacturer just claims their electrode will perform according to AWS classification. Lincoln lists NR-211 FCAW-S wire for sheetmetal or structural fab up to 5/16" thick and for use in all positions. If you insist on running flux-core on sheet metal I'd use .030" NR-211. Almost all flux-core wires are low hydrogen and need to be protected from moisture. Flux-core wire that has been exposed to moisture for a long time can go bad. Rusty wire is garbage. Obviously, some wires have limitations like a max thickness or use only in certain positions. Its good to buy an electrode from a company that can reliably tell you how to run it otherwise you could be squirting bird poo simply because you don't know the operating parameters. Lincoln's Innershield (flux-core) welding guide: http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/en_us/Products/Consumable_Flux-CoredWires-Self-Shielded-Innershield-InnershieldNR-211-MP/c32400.pdf

All welding machines operate on the same principles of electricity. With wirefeed processes, the electrode is not large enough to carry welding current very far without overheating because it's small diameter creates too much resistance. A longer stickout means more resistance, which ultimately means more heat. The idea that longer stickout allows the wire to cool more is unfounded - the wire doesn't come out heated, its heated by the arc. Stickout is one of many variables a skilled welder uses to control the weld. I don't think I've ever seen a 110V wirefeed machine that won't run below a 220V. Sheet metal is about the only thing a 110V GMAW machine is preferable for IMO. For the most part, FCAW-S wires are available in the same sizes as solid core wires down to .030 while solid wire goes down to .023 that I've seen. The difference between an .023 and an .030 wire can easily be overcome with practice. Its the differences in the processes that make FCAW such a turd for sheetmetal.

Slag removal is tedious, not impossible. An angle grinder with wire wheel makes it easy if you can lay uniform beads. If you can't lay a relatively uniform bead chances are you can't recognize cold lap and shouldn't be welding on a motor vehicle in the first place, in which case more practice and technical understanding is needed. There's no such thing as true MIG with 100% CO2. CO2 is reactive, not inert. That's why the AWS designation was changed from Metal Inert Gas to Gas Metal Arc Welding, to include solid wire/reactive gas combinations. Also, an argon rich shielding gas will run "cooler" and have less penetration and less spatter than 100% CO2. Depending on other variables, you will likely have more puddle control with an argon-rich gas, a big deal for hobby welders attempting out of position welds. C25 (75% argon, 25% CO2) is most popular for hobby welding. I use GMAW with .023 wire and C25 gas for thin sheet. Flux core is a nightmare on thin sheet as the process is simply not designed for that application. It should also be mentioned that you need clean, bare metal to weld. Welding over paint, rust or oil can contaminate the weld, cause critical defects and make control impossible because the arc is erratic.

Still haven't given up... Most recently I visually verified that I have spark on each plug and used a noid light to verify injectors are receiving pulse signal, both check out okay. According to my understanding (which seems to be very little at this point) an engine needs air, fuel, correctly timed spark and compression to run. I have no obstructions in air intake or exhaust fuel pressure within spec, injector resistance in spec, injector pulse visually checked by noid light on each injector, fuel in cylinders (wet plugs, unburnt fuel smell in exhaust) spark visually checked on each plug compression within spec on each cylinder t-belt checked and dead on, crank and cam sensor resistance within spec no open, shorted or mixed up wires in engine or computer side of harness except for uninstalled emissions parts like PCSV, VCSV, fuel temp sensor, etc. Still it cranks and occasionally sputters, sometimes bucks, but never starts. What else could possibly prevent it from running? I don't know what else to check.

Compression checks out okay, tested twice. cyl 1 - 152,155 cyl 2 - 152,156 cyl 3 - 163,170 cyl 4 - 170,170 Ignition coil, ignitor, cam sensor and crank sensor wires all verified by continuity, no shorts. I'm still completely lost with this.

Yes That hose attaches to the fresh air inlet of the evap air filter which is run into the frame rail to protect from water.

I didn't spray and crank simultaneously but probably sprayed too much. Also I guess setting the can down is a good practice. T-belt was not touched at all during OBD2 switch. There's no reason to believe the valves are bent, before switching to OBD2 it ran well despite having no CEL or ECM fuel pump control then failed to start because the fuel pump went out maybe because of how I rigged it. I think the problem is in the harness but I'm not sure where to look. I used the whole Legacy harness. I deleted a/c, auto trans, power windows & locks, srs, abs, rear defog, remote mirrors, extra doors, and EGR, added M/T neutral switch, starter interlock relay, second fuel pump relay then spliced the whole Legacy harness into the Brat switches, lights etc. I have yet to install and connect the fuel tank pressure sensor, evap solenoids and fuel temp sensor but everything else is in and connected.