dirty, old and rusty: a tale of a $600 meatball - Page 3

esmth · 10-18-2020, 07:06 PM

Rebuilt alt going in

Added a 2 gauge ground. I ended up moving it to one of the motor mount bolts as I was concerned about the wire getting too hot by the studless exhaust port.

I fired it up, but the car didn't charge. I assumed it was the new brushes needing to be worn in so I just let it run. I soon noticed an odd smell and realized the alternator was getting rediculously hot. Shut the car off and pulled the alt back out. I pulled all the newly installed parts back off, tested each diode and they all checked out. I put it back together, freshly sanding each electrical connection point to fresh metal. When I was installing it back, the terminal crimp thing for the B+ terminal just fell off the cable into my hand. Whoops. That loose connection was probably the problem all along

Slapped it back together, running a new B+ wire straight to the battery with 4 gauge, and it charges perfectly and stays cool.

Only 0.03~0.04 vac ripple

I pulled the old B+ cable through the harness and removed the other side from the starter. The other end was not in much better shape.

Super low tide sunset for your pleasure

esmth · 01-12-2021, 10:44 AM

I forgot to update this thread so here is the gist over the last 2.5 months

There is/was a break in the harness that I'd occasionally have to jiggle to get the car to run that bugged me enough to try to figure out why. It turned out to be the rpm signal from ezk to lh boxes was intermittent and was causing the lh box to not want to hold the fuel relay on. I've recieved another harness from Cwazywazy the other day and that will be going in.

I moved the wasted spark loot from the strut tower to the firewall. I want to switch to coil rear plug so this will be revised again soon.

The power steering pump has been making annoying noises so i got another from the junkyard and rebuilt it. I have yet to install this one.

The distributor wasn't doing anything and I wanted an additional crank case breather location so I pulled it. It was stuck in there good and did not want to come out. I ended up removing the intake piping and airbox and got a hammer under the lip to pop it out.

I installed a mann pro vent 100 in that new additional breather spot. It works really well. I temporarily plugged the other breather spot to see how well just the pro vent works without the stock breather box doing anything. It works crazy well.

I installed a mini battery. Odyssey PC680. It works well, cranks the car over fine every morning in 10F degree weather. Haven't had to test reserve capacity yet though!

The panhard bar mount to the axle had a failure, the stud itself snapped off the axle! I was able to limp it to work and had my friend come by after hours and weld on a new stud. Not sure how the original one failed, there was not significant corrosion in the area or anything, plus that stud should see no side loading.

Cleaning the wideband sensor. My controller died and I left the sensor in the exhaust stream unpowered for months. It seemed slower to respond than before and maybe this helped? not sure. Cleaned it off physically though

Bought some e codes, have yet to install.

My shifter is just a 14mm rod so i spruced it up with some mcmaster collars and bushings lol

Permanently installed an antenna mount in the roof. Feeding the coax through the headliner without removing it was terrible, but the install is so clean now.

Got some ipd strut brace goodies. I wanted the kaplhenke full strut brace but after waiting for 1.5 years now I gave up. I'll still buy one though if they're made again

redblockpowered · 01-12-2021, 11:54 AM

The panhard rod failed while driving? Scary, and weird. Maybe it had been overtorqued and compromised at some point?

esmth · 01-13-2021, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redblockpowered

The panhard rod failed while driving? Scary, and weird. Maybe it had been overtorqued and compromised at some point?

yeah, suddenly the back end just went wobbly as I goosed it from a stop sign into a turn. Either it was over-torqued and compromised as you mentioned or possibly the nut itself loosened and the panhard bar migrated to the threaded part and the hard turn snapped the rest of it off. not sure. I've since re-torqued all the rest of the suspension component fasteners just in case, haha!

esmth · 02-09-2021, 10:25 AM

no wonder my parking brake didn't work

Installed the e codes finally. I should have gotten before pix. the difference is unreal. I can actually see ahead!

I saved some of the catch can stuff in a jar to see exactly what it was. I still don't know. This is about 500 miles worth of highway driving.

I got a cheap compression tester. I think it reads high but the small range between cylinders seems great.
183-179-179-182

I plowed though a massive puddle and water went into the maf which dumped fuel and fouled the plugs. It would misfire a ton on cold start. New plugs fixed it. Here are the old ones:
4321

wasnt me

redblockpowered · 02-09-2021, 01:54 PM

What bulbs did you put in the e-codes?

esmth · 02-09-2021, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redblockpowered

What bulbs did you put in the e-codes?

whatever came in the box

If I recall it was a barebones osram H4 bulb 55/65 watt

fatcatbestcat · 02-10-2021, 12:00 AM

Evidence of donuts?

Approved.

esmth · 02-15-2021, 11:39 AM

regapped the plugs from 0.030 to 0.045 for experimentation reasons. First impressions, i think the car lopes less when started cold and maybe very low loads are smoother? probably placebo. I want to see if running it a little lean for cruising is helped. Plugs definitely looked a little lean but that is expected, ~750 miles on them. Bosch W7DSR silver. 1234:

fatcatbestcat · 02-15-2021, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esmth

regapped the plugs from 0.030 to 0.045 for experimentation reasons. First impressions, i think the car lopes less when started cold and maybe very low loads are smoother? probably placebo. I want to see if running it a little lean for cruising is helped. Plugs definitely looked a little lean but that is expected, ~750 miles on them. Bosch W7DSR silver. 1234:

We urgently await the results.

esmth · 02-22-2021, 11:20 AM

trying to squeeze a w917 underneath the header and behind the alternator was a chore so I found a 10mm shorter filter that should do the job. 10x easier to get in/out

my ostrich ribbon spontaneously combusted

10-18-2020, 07:06 PM	#51
esmth Board Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: MA/NH	Rebuilt alt going in Added a 2 gauge ground. I ended up moving it to one of the motor mount bolts as I was concerned about the wire getting too hot by the studless exhaust port. I fired it up, but the car didn't charge. I assumed it was the new brushes needing to be worn in so I just let it run. I soon noticed an odd smell and realized the alternator was getting rediculously hot. Shut the car off and pulled the alt back out. I pulled all the newly installed parts back off, tested each diode and they all checked out. I put it back together, freshly sanding each electrical connection point to fresh metal. When I was installing it back, the terminal crimp thing for the B+ terminal just fell off the cable into my hand. Whoops. That loose connection was probably the problem all along Slapped it back together, running a new B+ wire straight to the battery with 4 gauge, and it charges perfectly and stays cool. Only 0.03~0.04 vac ripple I pulled the old B+ cable through the harness and removed the other side from the starter. The other end was not in much better shape. Super low tide sunset for your pleasure __________________ 1991 244 LH2.4 M46 349k miles Last edited by esmth; 01-19-2021 at 12:07 PM.. Reason: https

01-12-2021, 10:44 AM	#52
esmth Board Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: MA/NH	I forgot to update this thread so here is the gist over the last 2.5 months There is/was a break in the harness that I'd occasionally have to jiggle to get the car to run that bugged me enough to try to figure out why. It turned out to be the rpm signal from ezk to lh boxes was intermittent and was causing the lh box to not want to hold the fuel relay on. I've recieved another harness from Cwazywazy the other day and that will be going in. I moved the wasted spark loot from the strut tower to the firewall. I want to switch to coil rear plug so this will be revised again soon. The power steering pump has been making annoying noises so i got another from the junkyard and rebuilt it. I have yet to install this one. The distributor wasn't doing anything and I wanted an additional crank case breather location so I pulled it. It was stuck in there good and did not want to come out. I ended up removing the intake piping and airbox and got a hammer under the lip to pop it out. I installed a mann pro vent 100 in that new additional breather spot. It works really well. I temporarily plugged the other breather spot to see how well just the pro vent works without the stock breather box doing anything. It works crazy well. I installed a mini battery. Odyssey PC680. It works well, cranks the car over fine every morning in 10F degree weather. Haven't had to test reserve capacity yet though! The panhard bar mount to the axle had a failure, the stud itself snapped off the axle! I was able to limp it to work and had my friend come by after hours and weld on a new stud. Not sure how the original one failed, there was not significant corrosion in the area or anything, plus that stud should see no side loading. Cleaning the wideband sensor. My controller died and I left the sensor in the exhaust stream unpowered for months. It seemed slower to respond than before and maybe this helped? not sure. Cleaned it off physically though Bought some e codes, have yet to install. My shifter is just a 14mm rod so i spruced it up with some mcmaster collars and bushings lol Permanently installed an antenna mount in the roof. Feeding the coax through the headliner without removing it was terrible, but the install is so clean now. Got some ipd strut brace goodies. I wanted the kaplhenke full strut brace but after waiting for 1.5 years now I gave up. I'll still buy one though if they're made again Last edited by esmth; 01-19-2021 at 12:06 PM.. Reason: https

01-12-2021, 11:54 AM	#53
redblockpowered cone dodging dilettante Join Date: May 2015 Location: In bed, probably	The panhard rod failed while driving? Scary, and weird. Maybe it had been overtorqued and compromised at some point? __________________ 1993 944 B230FT/M90 thread here: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=345277 2x 1991 245 B230F/M47 (LeMons car, street car) I sell chips for LH 2.4!

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02-09-2021, 10:25 AM	#55
esmth Board Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: MA/NH	no wonder my parking brake didn't work Installed the e codes finally. I should have gotten before pix. the difference is unreal. I can actually see ahead! I saved some of the catch can stuff in a jar to see exactly what it was. I still don't know. This is about 500 miles worth of highway driving. I got a cheap compression tester. I think it reads high but the small range between cylinders seems great. 183-179-179-182 I plowed though a massive puddle and water went into the maf which dumped fuel and fouled the plugs. It would misfire a ton on cold start. New plugs fixed it. Here are the old ones: 4321 wasnt me

02-09-2021, 01:54 PM	#56
redblockpowered cone dodging dilettante Join Date: May 2015 Location: In bed, probably	What bulbs did you put in the e-codes?

02-15-2021, 11:39 AM	#59
esmth Board Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: MA/NH	regapped the plugs from 0.030 to 0.045 for experimentation reasons. First impressions, i think the car lopes less when started cold and maybe very low loads are smoother? probably placebo. I want to see if running it a little lean for cruising is helped. Plugs definitely looked a little lean but that is expected, ~750 miles on them. Bosch W7DSR silver. 1234:

02-22-2021, 11:20 AM	#61
esmth Board Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: MA/NH	trying to squeeze a w917 underneath the header and behind the alternator was a chore so I found a 10mm shorter filter that should do the job. 10x easier to get in/out my ostrich ribbon spontaneously combusted