86 Wonder Wedge

UPDATE. So it finally got "seasonably" cold today (near 26F or so..) and the car spit-up a code 24 (IAC code), it would idle at 400/500 RPM until warm, but still idles worse, I power off, power on, start and then the CEL disappears and idles like it has been. And the code has been intermittent in the last couple days.. happens more when it sits overnight/dead cold. Also, (newer symptom) but in 2nd gear and beyond, I WOT it and above 5K, it will just hit a wall around 5250 to 5400 RPM (varies) and I keep WOT it, it will bog like fuel cut for a rev limiter, then 1-2 sec later, it will kick back, hard and feel like I hit a nitrous shot... Haven't been able to go out and inspect the bundle connections, but the grounds are super clean, but I'm going to "temporarly" add another ground from the motor to the body to see if it makes a difference...

Timing is verified 20 BTDC on #1 (front pass side cyl) with the green connectors plugged in. And could be possible, but I run periodic SeaFoam through it and constant Shell gasoline (it's the only Top Tier fuel supplier in the area) and the fuel/induction system is SPOTLESS. No fuel staining, no oil residue, the throttle plate is still mirror-gold colored and the injector housing gaskets around the outside are dry as a bone. Resistance of the injector tests out at 1.2 ohms. I little on the high end, but still within the 0.5>2 ohm range...

I'm not familiar with those particular bulbs, but do they have the filament shield for the low beams? How do you plan on achieving the proper cutoff/light pattern without blinding the living hell out of the other drivers?

The injector, I believe, is original. I have replaced the seals/gaskets when I had the throttle body apart (if it sounded otherwise, my apologies). And as far as I look, 24 @ idle and a 20psi hold pressure are dead on for factory specs. And the hissing sounds more like when you spray a spray bottle (that "pffft" sound when you squeeze the trigger) at random times and a really short interval, like the ECU has an extra long pulse in there or the pintle moves farther away for a split second... And no, I haven't torn apart the throttle body yet to check for defects/missing/damaged parts....

I thought about a short-cut ground, but I'm worried that the ECM needs to ground it for it's own reason... but worth a shot. And I also wondered about the distro as well. I had replaced the cap and rotor @ 114K when I did the T-belts (and bought the car) with BWD stuff and just several weeks ago, I went to double check the distro shaft for play (since GD had an EA82 that was doing the EXACT same thing and this was mentioned) to account for a less than dead on 20 BTDC even with the green connectors plugged in. The shaft has ZERO play in it, but I found the screw holding the rotor was loose, so I blue loc-tite'd it in there, and it improved greatly, but still not perfect. I've yet to 2x the belt timing, but will do tomorrow... Think it might be the CAS on its way? I was considering the coil as well, but the resistances check out and it has a steady light when I put the timing light on the coil wire. But you know what, I have seen it "cut" in and out a few times, but dismissed it since the popping and the "blanking out" were independent of each other. But if the CAS is sending a dirty/bad tach pulse or open/close signal, I imagine it would affect both the transistor AND the pulse width of the injector... Hmmm.... And might be related, but at dead cold, the car takes 2x as long to initially fire than it does when warm or semi-warm. The motor kicks about half a revolution and fires when warm, but takes 3 or 4 revs before it catches when cold, then it rocks real hard for a split second while it climbs to 2200 RPM then knocks down smoothly to 1500 then 800 when it's warm on it own.

How about 5.0 V12 from a Bimmer? Or a big poncho 455. Do it.

Lol that's understandable. At least you're not a chemist.. Can't stand those guys.. On to business. Tested the intake manifold gaskets today, no dice, even cold. Rock solid vac reading and no idle fluctuations. I even bench tested the idle solenoid and that thing worked flawlessly. Little dirty on the pintle, so I cleaned it up and reinstalled, no love. Tested the MAF again and got 3.6 ohm on the ground to body, but 0.2 at the ECM plug.. Hmmm.. Also got 0.3V KOEO at the sensor voltage, and 1.35V at idle up to 2.95V at 4K RPM. Even with the green "freeze frame" connectors plugged up,it still was popping and hunting... And I'm still looking, but can't find voltage ranges for this MAF.. 1.3V seems a little high for me.. Also check for actuation of the EGR to make sure it wasn't stuck and it isn't, and the throttle body, valve cover and intake gaskets are all solid.. Still holding at 21 in.Hg with slight dip randomly... And unplugging the MAF doesn't COMPLETELY solve the popping.. Its 80% less, but still happens and then smells real rich. Now what.. :/

The 86 XT I had, had an 88 EA82T with Gen 3 heads and cracked between valves on all 4 chambers. And after the overheating, had the exhaust tunnel crack, but no evidence of water... definitely not immune, so if offered, don't overpay for gen 3 heads...

Pull a spark plug or 2 (on opposite sides would be best) and see if they are super black, wet or full of crap. Also, check the coolant temp sensor values with a multimeter. If this is bad, the sensor will tell the ECU the motor is ALWAYS cold when it isn't. The thermostat as well could be stuck open. Last time it was replaced? Did this problem occur in the summer at all? Did the temp needle ever rise higher in warmer months?

The vac line coming off the motor, where's the line attached to? It needs to be on a manifold tap, not switched nor before/at the throttle body.

This is why I'll stick with my BS in Physics... you electronics guys believe in imaginary numbers. Something fishy there... I'll have to wait till tomorrow to test the other grounds for the TPS, and CTS and for a vac leak at the intake gaskets. Propane (unignited of course) would work just as well, yeah? But I know this may not help with the vac leak vs. MAF, but when DEAD cold, it has a considerable bog mid throttle, 1500>2500 RPM, but goes away if I WOT, then has an intermittent flat spot/bog above 4K RPM (at full throttle, no variance) but MOSTLY disappears after it's warm.

I was on the same track with the O2 (it was the original one at 126k miles) and it would read, at idle, 0.210V approx. And vary as the RPM would spike or decel. I changed it since it was cheap, AND it seemed like it couldn't be doing its job cold when it should be hot before it starts working. And fuel pressure is a rock steady 24psi at idle, 5k rpm and holds 20psi overnight. Thought about that too. Really, I'd like to test the MAF signal voltage at the ECM and/or find a CFM,RPM vs. Signal voltage table before I go writing off this MAF. And food idea about the injector pintle.. That sucker seems to have gotten louder over the last 15k miles from when I first got it... I might just pull that thing out from its housing and take a look and make sure none of the orings or that small filter isn't causing problems... Thanks again for the ideas guys! I'll keep us posted on results.

That's what I was wondering as well about that ground circuit, but was unsure. Also, the white power was on all 4 plugs and I cant see the injector's spray pattern directly (before it hits the throttle plate, SPFI). The intake gaskets did look slightly wet around the port, but my vac reads 21 in.Hg. shouldn't it be lower? Also, when I unplug the MAF, the idle stops hunting and the vac gauge holds a rock hard 21 in.Hg. With it plugged in, the vac would dip about 1-2 in.Hg when the injector would "stumble"...

Thanks for the replies guys! Nope, its a hotwire maf... 91 loyale, spfi. And the white stuff was on the arm itself, and powdery white.. Every once in a blue moon..

Before I get too deep into it, I know I'm probably gasping at straws, but off all the extensive diagnostics I've done, this is only thing that has be scratching my head. First, the problem: At idle, I get an intermittent misfire like pop from the exhaust when warm, is somewhat hesitant at part-throttle (sub 3K RPM), gas mileage has been down, and at 10k miles, the old plugs have got a white powder (like burning coolant/too lean, but no coolant loss or vac leaks (21 in.Hg at idle)), hunts at idle, studders and I can hear the injector "hiss" randomly in sync with the popping in the exhaust. Now, the CTS, IAC, injector, MAF, O2 (just put a new one in anyway, 126K) TPS (new Hitachi unit) ALL check out. System voltage @ 14.02V at idle and holding. I did have an IAC code when I bought it in May, but new throttle body gaskets solved that code. Now when I test the MAF, it gets the 14.02V, has a varying sensor voltage and starts at 0.125V, and the ground, KEOE (key on, engine off) reads 3.6 ohm (from connector to body ground). NOW. When the car is running, and MAF unplugged, ground back probed at the connector and to the body ground with my DMM, it reads 3.5, 3.6 ohm, then every 4.5/5 seconds, it flips to -16.5 ohm for a second, then back to 3.6. but if I measure it with just the ignition on, it holds steady at 3.6 ohm. WTF? Also, when the MAF is unplugged, the idle smoothes out, but smells rich, any thoughts? Is this affecting my running? is this normal?

Just threw new ORG sealed wheel bearings, seals, outer tie rods and ball joints... No more crazy vibrations! And fyi, the LBJ were still semi-tight, but had torn boots. Gotta love FHI stuff! Still had the stamp on the lower ball joint housing.. Lol

Well, expansion chambers are really meant to "backfeed" a pressure wave back to the combustion chamber to create a sort of valve to keep the new stuff from exiting the exhaust side, essentially turning it into a 4 stroke. On 4 strokes (systems with valves, lol) bouncing back the pressure wave/stalling the gases exiting doesn't help when there is a valve in a way... lol

Most remans from the retailers (either Cardone or Fenco are 90% of the readily available ones) use new cups (that are MASSIVE) and brat shafts, which are about 40% larger in diameter. The outer cups/shaft are PROBABLY originals, which see some action and probably have at-the-limit specs for the ball races... it's a crap shoot. I got lucky and found a subaru reman at a junkyard and an OEM axle and just rebooted them. But don't worry, you can still buy new NTN axles from Subaru. Just tell your kids that daddy (or mommy) needed a new shaft and they are getting less presents for christmas. Cause they run 440. each.

I haven't torn into it myself, but I think my 91 Loyale (sedan) has got the backseat support metal cast/welded into part of the unibody (i.e. even if you swap the seats, the metal framework cannot be removed w/o cutting it out) My 86 XT had fold down rear seats, but it had the hole cut out, the extra flap, and still had some "structure" around the hole to support the rear of the body.. It doesn't look like that from the trunk. It looks like my 81 Firebird (solid, but some X-bars bracing the wheel wells)... I knew Subaru had changed some of the panels/body for the Loyale, maybe this was one of them?

Now that IS interesting... mine was doing it's own popping routine at idle like it does, and I can hear the injector hiss and the motor bucks randomly (slightly) in sync with the "extra" injector pulse. Then when I unplug it, the idle raises about 200 RPM, then settles back down. Hmm... Have you checked the voltages in/out and ground resistance with the sensor plugged in and running? However, I'm also starting to suspect the TPS. I replaced mine about 3 months ago with a BWD/Intermotor part (it was actually an OEM Hitachi sensor with the Fuji symbol stamped in it! ) and was having an... interesting... time adjusting it. However, when I give it part throttle, it sort of does the flat, take-off, flat, stumble, then work flawlessly after 3k RPM... Need a needle multimeter (cause the digital one won't give me the smoothness a sweep-needle one will...) to see if the new TPS has a dead zone at all.. I wish I had a plug in monitor/factory scanner, but I can't even find the dealer service dept ones... let alone a name/model..

Honestly, I tried driving around with it unplugged once to compare driveability, and it was about the same, however, cold idle was non-existant. In fact, it stalled twice on me until it warmed up a bit.. Unplug it while it's running and see if it helps. Since all that MAF is is a calibrated wire that passes air over it, the wire could be grounding out or the element could be getting tired (i.e. not reacting to moving air as much until it's warmed up. Much like points with worn contacts...) I'm going to order a new O2 sensor along with new inner tie rods (since the good ones are being discontinued at the local parts houses.. ) and ATTEMPT to pull the old one out w/o killing the converter...

Those values for cold aren't out of range.. I believe the ECU stops "measuring" the temp with values below 2k ohms (the "yeah, it's cold" range.. lol ) Once it starts to see 100*F, it it'll kick down the idle to about 1500 or so, then when it gets closer to the hotter temp, the ohms become managable and it fine tunes the fuel trim and lets the ECU modify timing and fuel for idle... I'm also hunting a hunting idle, slight miss and low economy.. all the sensors come out, but are all original. And I'm starting to look at the O2 and MAF sensors. Does anyone have value ranges for the MAF? It works and has the starting voltage and ground specs out, but I don't know if it's feeding the ECU bad values, or what.. maybe the O2 sensor is feeding wrong voltages.. Anyway, try unplugging the MAF. OR pull the lower panel off under the dash, start it, and watch that LED. From what I've read, it should NOT blink/light/shudder when it's cold or at idle for too long. That O2 monitor lamp should only work when it's hot enough since it relies on the exhaust gas to heat the element to work. If the ECU is reading it at cold, it could be forcing a closed loop when it should be open... just spitballing..

Not that this isn't possible, but the ONLY time I've ever seen my elec fan kick on is during the summer with the A/C on (the gauge would get to half) at idle. However, I can hear the clutch fan working harder in the summer way before the electric one comes on... (i.e. when pulling away from a light, it would make the traditional "jet engine" noise then trail off as I kept moving, at a constant RPM)

, While what you say is true, there is such a thing as too much oil pressure. Its like putting your thumb over a garden hose. And also having the oil too thin or too thick at temperatures can cause excessive wear... and for this motor in general, why does subaru recommend against a 5w30 for continous highway (high RPM) operation when it should protect it? Maybe the oil, at temp, was too thin and shearing or slinging from the angular velocity of the bearings.. idk since I haven't done the math yet, but what I am saying is where is all this "mass misinfomation" in this thread? The first number denotes the ability to pour at a given temp and the second number is the "rating" of viscosity at another temp. The lower the first number, the better it flows/pours at cold and the higher the second number, the better it stays oil when hotter. Simply put...

If you can find someone with the E30 (80s BMW 3 series) rear spoiler on the leones (the short, black rubber one) please pass their info along. A little large to ship via suitcase, but a contact so I can get one would be very helpful!