KStretch55

I went to look up the timing belt replacement procedures that used to be in the R&M section and can't find it. Is it still around?

The ones I've salvaged are hinged on the outer side. I was able to reach to the forward front edge with my fingers and slowly pull that edge loose (the sticky stuff is pretty persistant). Then the tread part should flip toward the outside and expose the three bolt heads.

Most definitely agree with ShaunW!! You'll do more damage than good if the cylinders are installed when you try to scuff the walls up. You won't be able to remove all the grit, nor will you be able to scuff the lower end of the cylinder.

Wow, my local JY must a deluxe. The have a bunch of shiny red wheelbarrows by the backdoor. If you're gonna pull something heavy you grab a wheelbarrow on the way to the yard and cart it back in that.

Sounds like your voltage regulator in the alternator is going south, I think.

Your cylinders were bored to make them round again, since over time they become slightly oval shaped. Now, you need to run a hone through them. Go to Schucks, Harbor Freight, NAPA and buy a hone (there's two types, one looks like the object in the previous post with a bunch of stone balls on it and one has more rectangular shaped stones mounted on springloaded arms. Generally, the stone ball type is cheaper and does just as good of a job.) Don't buy the Snap-On one, it's waaaay overpriced. It only takes a few minutes so they last a long time. Basically, follow the directions that come with it. You put it in an electric drill and run it in and out of the cylinders while the drill turns. You want a nice 45 degree (if I recall correctly) crosshatch pattern. It doesn't take long at all. The reason for the crosshatch pattern is to give oil a very small place to flow and to help the rings seat.

I didn't see anyone answer your throttle position sensor question. Yes, it does have one. It's mounted to the side of the throttle body and has an oval shaped, 4 contact plug. It it's bad you "should" get a code for it. Keyword is "should".

Anything new to report?

Jupp, are you taking I-84? If you are, stop at Jalopy Jungle in Nampa, ID. I'm sure they have one and they're very reasonable pricewise. Take the first Nampa exit and turn left, it'll be about 1/2 mile on the left.

Yep, sounds like a vacuum modulator. Doesn't smoke until you're at high AT fluid flow and high vacuum on the highway. Does it seem to shift hard or late?

They aren't called "stealerships" for no reason!!

What kind of anti-freeze are you using? Sounds like something is reacting with your hoses or you've got a chaffing problem.

So, that's their own misdiagnosis, why should you have to pay them for anything to do with the sensor replacement? They should put the old one back in, charge you nothing up to that point, and move on with the ECU replacement. Personally, it sounds to me like you've been getting boned from the start and now they're just seeing how much they can get you for. I'd tell them to put the old sensor back in, since they misdiagnosed that. Pay them for labor to diagnose the ECU and leave. Then find an ECU at a JY and see if that cures your code. If not, go buy an O2 sensor and install it yourself.

If they're legal in your area get studs. They're kind of noisy, but if you drive on ice a lot they are awesome. When you wish you had them, it's too late.

If I'm not mistaken, the cap doesn't fit well enough to cause a seal anyway. It's made that way on purpose so there isn't any vacuum when the radiator cools and the coolant is sucked back into the radiator.

That reminds me of a story my Dad told me once: He had an old souped up Model A, back in the early 50s, that a neighbors dog had a habit of "relieving" itself on. Dad hooked an extra ignition coil up between the battery and the steel running boards. The next time the dog lifted it leg and whizzed on the running board......YIPE!!!! Dad said that dog would cross the street rather than go near his car after that. He said he thought about leaving it hooked up as an anti-theft device, but was afraid he'd zap a little kid or forget about it himself sometime. Besides, he had to reach through the open window and flip a switch to arm/disarm it and he didn't like leaving the window down all the time.

I've been fighting an intermittant problem with the starter on my 92 Loyale AT wagon for a couple of months and think I've finally figured it out and beat it. (knock on wood) Once in a while when I tried to start the car everything was fine except that when I turned the key to "start" position I could hear the starter solenoid "clak", but then nothing. So, I heard about the magnetic switch contacts getting worn and bought a set. Replaced them, but still had the same problem. I disassembled the switch again and noted that the rather large contacts had actually very little area that really contacted. So, I adjusted the contacts to get them as level as possible for more contact surface, put it back together and WALAA..... same problem. So, I took the starter apart and checked the brushes and the gaps between the armature contacts, bearings, etc. Found nothing, put it back together and .... same thing. Took the magnetic switch back apart and noted that there was still very little actual surface contact between the center and side contacts. So, I rotated the center contact with a model airplane starter motor while holding it in contact with the side terminal contacts to make sure I had good, full surface contact worn in. Put it back together and .... same problem. Except the problem was becoming more frequent! I did a bit more troubleshooting and found that the starter worked fine if I pulled it out and hooked it up, though I had no means to put a load on it. Also, it worked fine installed when I used a remote starter switch. So, I started thinking that either the ignition switch or inhibit switch was causing enough excess resistance that the magnetic switch solenoid was not always pulling the contacts down with sufficient force to make contact and engage the motor. I pulled the covers off the steering column and discovered that a previous owner had apparently had a car alarm installed and had left part of the harness. One of the connections they had diked out was the ground from the ignition switch. They had diked it out, soldered the ends of the wires together and wrapped them with electrical tape and left the rest of the harness hanging. Apparently, they had got a cold solder joint (one that doesn't completely fuse) because, I thought I'd clean things up as I was going and replaced the solder joint with a good crimp connector and tried the starter and it worked fine. Haven't had the problem since. I found one other joint where they had joined a cut wire with an uninsulated connector and replaced it, too. Removed the remaining alarm harness and buttoned things up, started it numerous times and couldn't get it to fail. Hopefully, that's the end of that. My guess is that the cold solder joint probably had a bit of corrosion that was getting worse or the gooey adhesive from the tape was slowly getting into it as the weather got warmer, so even though it would read 12 volts on my voltmeter there wasn't sufficient amperage to consistently operate the solenoid and it was getting worse. Hope this helps someone else out sometime. Good luck, Stretch PS - Incidentally, during this process I always had trouble codes 11 (crank angle sensor), 13 (cam angle sensor), sometimes 31 (TPS). I haven't had them reoccur since. I'm presuming that the 11 and 13 occurred due to the computer "seeing" the starter engage but the distibutor wasn't turning. Hopefully, the 31 was something similar or just a spurious hit.

If you have the time and ability, I'd try cleaning it first.

Good luck! My Haynes and Chiltons say different things and niether really make much sense.

I would think that once a good spark ignites the fuel/air mixture, it's gonna burn and a bigger spark won't make it burn any faster. True?

Another method that works very well for intricate gaskets is to lay the gasket material (cardboard, cork, etc.) over the part hold it tightly in place (small parts like thermostat housing can be done with just your hands, but something like a water pump may require some spring clamps or something), then tap around all the edges of the part with a small ballpeen hammer. Take your time and be careful, don't tap so hard that you ding the part. Just hard enough to cut the gasket material. With a bit of practice you can make an exact outline of all the little nooks and crannies. Definitely use gasket sealer on a water pump and be sure to properly torque the bolts.

Perhaps a bit of clarification will help get everyone on the same page, too. What the original poster described is not "backfire". Backfiring is usually due to incorrect valve timing resulting in combustion/exhaust cycle gases coming "back" through the intake manifold/system. If it happens to you, you'll know exactly why it's called "backfire". The best way to put it out is to keep cranking the engine so it will suck the flame back into the engine. What the poster described is afterburning, results from unburned fuel getting into the exhaust system and being ignited by following exhaust gases or hot components. It can be caused by incorrect timing, faulty ignition parts, rich mixture, etc. But, as someone stated, the usual culprit is the dashpot or a similar component. The dashpot keeps the throttle from slamming closed and creating a rich fuel condition. If you watch auto racing on TV and see flame coming out of the exhaust as they go into the corners, you're seeing the same thing. It's prevalent during racing because the exhaust systems are usually set up to have little or no back pressure (headers, big pipes, no muffler or CAT). A very slight amount of back pressure is engineered into modern engines and exhaust systems. If you remove it all to "help your engine breathe", sometimes you're not helping.

Nope. Every engine is designed to run at an optimum temperature range. Too cool or too hot and it doesn't operate as efficiently. Too cool can keep your oil from reaching temp and result in excess moisture being trapped in your crankcase for one thing.

Very much agree!! Also, in my home state of Idaho and some others, if you pull your weapon just to wave it around and try to scare someone, that's called "brandishing" and it's illegal. Keep it stowed until you need it, hopefully it is THE last resort and you'll never need to.

A lot of aircraft do get hit on the ground and in the air. On the ground a lot of them are grounded, either by a ground wire or tie down chains, which helps provide a path for the charge and minimize damage to the aircraft. An aircraft getting hit in the air isn't really much different than a car getting hit. The only difference is altitude. Because the tires do insulate a vehicle, car or airplane, from the ground the vehicle is in effect a few inches off the ground. It's just the old principal of "Path of least resistance". The charge begins to jump and finds a path of less resistance than the air, the conductive parts of the vehicle. Most likely the frame and skin. I believe it's the electromagnetic pulse that's generated that wreaks most of the havoc with the electronic components, as well as can cause some metal parts to get hot (I know a pilot who had 2nd degree burns anywhere there was a zipper on his flightsuit after his F-102 was struck by lightning.). Radomes and other laminates can be damaged because the tiny air and/or moisture bubbles contained in them can burst like popcorn. (If you ever see a tree that's been hit, you will note that it has literally exploded from the moisture in the wood being instantaneously turned to steam.) The occupants of a vehicle are generally safe because they aren't grounded, therefor the charge doesn't flow through them. Once again, the path of least resistance. They are like a bird sitting on a high voltage wire, there's no path to ground so no circuit.