man on the moon

Vacuum lines?

You can't see me, so I'll tell you...I'm drooling right now. Also: don't worry too much about the tick, that's normal on the EA82. It can be gotten rid of but it's not the end of the world. Do a search for it, lots of discussion on the board. Just have fun with it!

A--I've hit in the 90s on a downhill slope. This is impressive! B--Reaching a high speed isn't the only thing, I want a little power and quick acceleration, too ;)C C--How the heck did you do that?

It sounds like you want to replace the whole shifter mechanism, and just wire the button to a new button...couple thoughts on that, if I read you correctly. 1--Why not just pull the whole thing? You have to undo two 14mm bolts holding the drive-shaft up, and lower it so you can undo the shifter handle mechanism. It's bolted from below with several 12mm nuts that you can't reach without either a really flexible wrench or dropping the drive shaft. (Don't worry, the drive shaft is super easy to reinstall). 2--If memory serves, the switch on your knob is NOT an on/off switch, it's a bi-pole switch. It operates two circuits: at all times one circuit is ON and the other is OFF. It controls a vacuum thingy that in turn manipulates the 4wd control device. If the button is up, circuit A is on and you are in two-wheel drive, if the button is depressed then circuit B is on and you are in four-wheel. Just keep that in mind when you choose the new switch.

Oh never mind, I misread your post Prwa101. I thought you were telling the OP he was chasing the wrong problem. I apologize for potentially confusing you.

There are a lot of reasons why a car could overheat, but that debate is a red herring in regards to the OP. The question is "The electric (backup/secondary/whatever) fan isn't turning on when it is supposed to. How can I get it to turn on when it needs to be on, rather than too late?". The overheating question is a good one, and it needs to be addressed, but this thread will run away if we try to go after two questions--if we want to diagnose WHY it's getting hot, let's start another thread, or at least make sure the first question is closed in the OP's mind.

If I ever get a 22 swapped in I want to spend a summer doing tornado chasing in the midwest. Not Twister style "park in front of the tornado!" stuff. More wake up (in the back of the Loyale of course) and look at weather maps. "Oh, look, let's go to Missouri!" and then check out the storms and take pictures from a conservatively safe distance. The waiting for the 22 part is just in case you DO need to get away quickly. Nothing against and EA82, but I'm not in a hurry to test it's ability to race a fast moving storm. I also wouldn't mind getting a few other toys installed, but those are for another list.

The thermoswitch plugs into the radiator. Follow the pigtail from the fan, past the connector, and it will lead you to the switch where it is screwed into the radiator tank. It is separate from the temp sensor the ECU reads to determine engine temp. As to the temp sensor on the engine, I don't recommend cutting THAT temperature sensor, the car may not start...or won't run properly. Regardless, either method should work beautifully for you, and neither is even enough labor to get your hands greasy, and can be done in an hour for under $20 (and probably for free if you poke around in enough spare/rubbish/recycle bins).

It also helps if you remove the fan shroud.

I use a pair of long handled pipe wrench or channel locks to hold the shaft of the fan, and a 10m box end wrench to work the nuts loose. Remove the four at the back of the fan, not the ones buried in the fins the front. A 22m box end will also hold the fan shaft, just make sure to grab the flattened sections and not the rounded parts of the shaft!

With the shifter skirt up, can you manipulate the rod by hand? That would tell you if it's a linkage problem or an internal problem. A linkage problem is a $10 fix you can do in an hour; and internal problem...probably isn't worth it unless you're building a rig.

I ended up wiring the electric fan up to a switch for precisely this reason. In my case, the thermo-switch that screws into the radiator had failed, and would only trigger the fan when the gauge was within a needles-width of red. There are a couple other possible failures that could cause this as others have explained. There are a couple ways to do it, I'll lay out how I set up the switch. Something similar to this should do the trick. Since it is part of the DC circuit in the car there is less need for worrying about direction of flow, if you get it backwards, it is easy to correct. You will need: Wire of a similar/same gauge as what forms the pigtail coming off the fan. I cut open a defunct extension cord and took several feet of good wire from the middle. (the plugs were busted, but the wire was good) A switch that will accept that wire gauge. Stop in to your local hardware store with a sample of wire/the pigtail Some wire connectors. You will need both wire-wire, and wire-screw ones. Tool(s) to cut, strip, and crimp smaller gauge wire Screwdriver(s) as needed Wrench for whichever size bolts you need to adjust Then approximate the following: Remove the battery from the car. There are lots of opportunities to start bad electrical events in this process, so I recommend removing the battery until you are finished. Cut the pigtail running from the thermo-switch to the fan, as close to the plug as you can. Strip both tail pieces as appropriate. Choose one of the wires in the tail, connect a length of wire to your chosen pigtail piece. Run the wire along the radiator (mine is 'trapped' in the little cavity all along the top of the rad), then along the inside of the quarter panel, and through the firewall into the passenger compartment near the brake pedal. You will see where the other wire bundles go through the firewall, just push this one through in the same spot. Give yourself about three feet of play *inside* the passenger cabin so you can put the switch wherever you end up wanting it. Come back and stand at the radiator fan again. Connect/splice a length of wire to the other piece of the pigtail, and run it along the same route as the first wire until you reach the battery. Use another wire-screw connector to fasten this wire to the ground post of the battery. Connect a length of wire from the hot post of the battery (wire-screw splice thingy, connected to the clamp, not the post) and run the other end through the firewall into the passenger compartment. There should now be two free/loose ends hanging in the passenger compartment (see #3 and #6), near the brake and/or clutch depending on your transmission. Wire these to the two fastening points on the switch. Which goes to which post on the switch is irrelevant. Double check that the pigtail has two wires connected to it, and that the battery has a wire on each post, and that two new wires go through the firewall and are connected to a switch. Replace the battery and test. If the fan blows the wrong way, simply switch the two wires at the pigtail (it's a good idea to have a second pair of splicer things if you got the crimping type). The fan will then blow the other way. Route the wires as needed to place the switch where you want it. There are several options where it can be placed. Secure the wires in the engine compartment so they don't get caught on any moving parts. That should more or less do it in ten simple steps. It would be wise to include a body ground in there, you can simply snip the ground wire near a good ground point, crimp a wire-screw connector on each snipped end, and put a screw or bolt through BOTH and fasten them to the ground point. The circuit is still complete, but includes a ground separate from the battery, which imho is always a smart idea.

Have you lifted the shifter skirt and made sure all the bolts are in place, and the shifter shaft isn't bent too far? Dumb question, perhaps, but sometimes those are the most easily overlooked. I remember doing some drift busting after I got the d/r swapped into mine. Ready to drive, get on the road and...won't leave 4lo??? Stop, pull over, poke around. The bolt that secures the FWD/4WD shift lever to the actual push rod that goes into the transmission? Yep, that bolt was nearly slid out, just hanging (literally) by a thread and jammed the entire shenanigans until I jimmied it back into place...unlikely, but it can happen.

Can we sticky this, possibly?

I bought my Loyale in...'08? I think? Got it from one of those shady dealer places. Started driving it home and the upper radiator hose burst--towed home before I even had the title in my hand . That winter I drove it to Michigan (from San Francisco) for Christmas. That was through a 'record setting blizzard'. Averaged 30mph and 30mpg from Winnemucca, NV to Laramie, WY. In Laramie the freeway was closed, that's the only reason I stopped. On the way back to California on that trip I hoofed it--I think my time was 37 hours door to door, including a drop south to I-70 to pick up some furniture that paid my gas home (or was supposed to...it didn't, long story). I packed it full of (literally) everything I owned a year or so later when I moved. Spent several weeks going from SF, Phoenix, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver...in Denver a friend put me up (and the car eventually broke down--I took that as a sign that this was my new home). Since then I've driven to Los Angeles and back, that trip was also a 'record cold' and it was snowing to within about 30 miles of Vegas iirc. That was nuts. The heater is weak, but I've never been particularly cold (save one occasion that was...well, a lack of foresight on my part. Don't leave California in Sandals if you know you are heading to Wyoming in December...yeah...). I figure I've done at least 10k miles of road trips, and a metric **ton commuting in between. I love my car. My friends ask me why I don't have a newer car...I say...why? I love this one!

Even if you needed a ground to the radiator (and I'm not sure why you would--the fan has its own), isn't it in direct contact with a metal body part at at least one point? I took the rubber thingies off the bottom for a while because they were dust, but even with those in place, you're bolted to the metal 'header' piece at the top...and very snugly in there if mine is any indication.

goldcountrysilver: I like that scenic shot a lot! Gives me spring fever/travel fever/whatever fever!

Sweet!

Wouldn't hurt to check the ignition and fuel pump relays, too. Those are accessible if you drop the ECU (big shiny thing with a mess of wires bolted up next to the steering column). The relays are the blue and brown square fuse looking thingies, I forget which is which, but they are cheap and readily accessible from any parts store.

I second the fuel pump. Mine would do this off and on occasionally. Eventually I had to whack it with a hammer handle to get it to start. I'm not sure what a carb pressure pump runs; the FI ones are a couple hundred bucks, so a good idea to be damn sure before you replace it. That said, I always like to start with the cheapest option when there are several possible culprits. A relay is only a couple bucks. The relays are located above the knee-board by the steering column. In the Loyale there are two square relays, one blue and one brown. One ignition and one fuel (Chilton's, etc will label them). Should be similar in the earlier gens.

That's true, tombba. I am assuming there is a 4wd lever involved...

I am fond of this picture of my Loyale. I came out from work one evening to find this design 'slumped' into the snow on the windshield.

You should be able to slide into FWD. If you can, get onto dirt or gravel, and try at a low speed. If that doesn't work, try making the switch while moving in reverse. It is easiest for the car while there is some 'give' or wiggle room friction wise between the wheels, thus the gravel or sand (or snow, if you can find some). Regardless of which way you go, it is easier on the car if you do it while moving in a straight line. The transition should be easy, no significant pressure required; if you have to lean on the lever, something is wrong. Stop and try again.

what is por 15? (Some sort of rust proofing?)

So the last few months it has been not only winter (cold, snowy, wet), but I've been working six or seven days a week...not a great combination for getting things done on the car. No garage, though the current apartment does have parking off the alley, unlike the busy street street-parking at the last place! I finally come to a day off when I think it's going to be nice weather, and...it's raining. Yeah, stinkin' luck! So next time I have a day off and it's NOT raining (or I get off and it's light in the evening), these are the things I want to finally knock off the "Loyale upgrade" to-do list: Wire the running lights up as blinkers Swap out the d/r shift handle for the old pushbutton one. Just the handle, so I can have the button to do things with. Swap snow tires for all-weather tires Replace the wiper blades Pull out, clean, etc rear wiper motor (it buzzes but only moves sporadically) Figure out how to finally install a rear-hatch escape lever thingy Wash and vacuum the car I've been putting these off for months, I guess a few more days won't make a difference (but I am impatient). I probably won't finish in a day, but I should make a good start, at least! Who else has a spring cleaning/summer project list?