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| 2 years of torment!; timing issues? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 30 2014, 12:58 PM (5,727 Views) | |
| nixmixin | Jun 2 2014, 05:05 PM Post #46 |
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The vacuum action had not only caused the plastic wire coating to crack, as you see in the pics, but it also caused the wire to rub just slightly, against the inside wall of the distributor. Over time, it wore away the coating there too. I have been progressively worse mpg lately and could smell my exhaust every time I stopped! Lots of unburned fuel down the pipes... The Hayne's manual shows how to adjust the "air gap" on the advance too. My gap was WAY out of spec. I put some electrical tape on the bad wire and adjusted the gap for now. It runs smoother again, with the idle back around the 850 range again! Wahoo! But, after it warmed up, it still is repeating the symptoms. I am thinking my electrical tape Band-Aid only stopped the shorting of that particular wire but the bits inside are probably toast. Ordering a new pickup coil, cap and rotor now. I looked back on my prior order from when I ordered the new distributor back in Sept of 2012. Apparently, The 2 post vacuum advance distributor was "for" the XFi and not the LSi? So, I have an LSi with an XFi distributor? Found that odd. I did check the EGR solenoid and it definitely clicked when I applied power. I also checked the Idle Valve thingy. When I pinched the vacuum line from the air filter to the valve, the idle dropped to almost killing the car. When I unplugged that power clip to that valve, the engine went really low rpm and eventually died. I think that means that valve is doing it's job? |
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| Old Man | Jun 2 2014, 05:25 PM Post #47 |
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The egr solenoil can work and 'click' even when the passages to/from it are plugged. Did you check and/or unplug the passages? also: you say you have had two years of problems. you also say it was 2012 when you 'fixed' the distributor. now you find out that it has the wrong distributor. maybe you would be better off getting the right distributor instead of rebuilding the present one again and look forward to two more years of problems. |
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| nixmixin | Jun 2 2014, 05:59 PM Post #48 |
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I just rebuilt the intake manifold/EGR system/throttle body last week. Everything is super clear and cleaned out. All vacuum lines are new and all hard lines have been checked and cleared. I just re-checked the idle air control valve and it is working at 100%. The idle speed screw is 3/4 turn from all the way in. All the fuel lines have been blown out and checked. I still can't set my timing past 2 DBTDC once it is warmed up. It still is pushing hella fuel through and spraying unburned fuel out the exhaust, once it is warmed up. So, the issue has to be in the timing or the EGR solenoid. ... running more tests. Because I found warn out wires inside the distributor, that is why I am replacing the part. I don't know if it will solve all the issues, but it needs to be replaced either way. |
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| nixmixin | Jun 2 2014, 06:04 PM Post #49 |
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It was more of a question on what distributor I have vs should have. According to RockAuto, my distributor shouldn't have 2 vacuum ports. They show the 2 port is for the XFi. If I put the "right" one on from them, then I would have no vacuum advance at all and 2 open vacuum lines. I know my intake manifold is for an LSi because it does have that vacuum line coming from above the #1 intake port. So, RockAuto is wrong. Thus adding to the confusion. |
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| nixmixin | Jun 2 2014, 06:20 PM Post #50 |
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To be honest, I done know what or how the EGR can or could play into all of it. Nor do I know if the solenoid is functioning correctly. I just know it clicked. I know it is puking fuel into the throttle body. More info... I connect the timing light, allowed the engine to warm up, and pulled the trigger on the timing light as I hit the throttle to see if the rhythm of the light changes or hick-ups when it boggs...no variation that I could see....that leads me to believe that the "juice" to the plugs are good. Whether or not they are out of time is another matter. |
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| Coyote X | Jun 2 2014, 06:44 PM Post #51 |
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the electronic parts of the vacuum/mechanical distributor and the electronic distributor are different. They look the same and will both interchange and plug in and look right but they don't work right when put in the wrong setup. Look at the picture of vacuum hose routing under the hood and if it shows the vacuum lines on the distributor then make sure to get the parts for a 90-91 fed emissions I know those are vacuum advance distributors stock. If it has no vacuum lines in the picture you need to find an electronic distributor I think 92-94 is the year range for them.
Edited by Coyote X, Jun 2 2014, 06:46 PM.
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| evmetro | Jun 2 2014, 07:02 PM Post #52 |
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I am not sure why, but this bugs me. The belt should be on the right teeth, and the distributor should be sitting in the right spot where it has room to rotate either way. Maybe this is why I keep focusing on the advance. Hanuman looks like he is wiser than me on this situation. I don't mess with that kind of stuff much, so it would probably take me a long time to diagnose it, even if it were alone with me in my shop. |
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| nixmixin | Jun 2 2014, 08:00 PM Post #53 |
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I hit a deer a few months ago. I don't have the original hood / diagram. |
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| nixmixin | Jun 2 2014, 08:10 PM Post #54 |
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I pulled the spark plug on the #1 cylinder and checked for TDC. It is exactly on the mark with the pulley. I too, am stuck on the advance timing as well as the flooding of fuel. Something is definitely missing .... hmmmmm. |
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| nixmixin | Jun 2 2014, 08:11 PM Post #55 |
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This is definitely a vacuum advance/mechanical distributor. I am certain of that. |
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| john. | Jun 2 2014, 08:19 PM Post #56 |
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Elite Member
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are you certain the bottom crankshaft mark and the camshaft mark are lined up for the timing belt? kinda sounds like it may be a tooth off. |
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| truckjohn | Jun 2 2014, 08:43 PM Post #57 |
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Go back to thinking about things that CHANGE when the engine warms up.... Timing does not change when the engine warms up.... That's a red herring... What DOES change when your engine warms up.... It uses Air temperature to add/subtract fuel It uses Engine temperature to add/subtract fuel It uses O2 sensor to add/subtract fuel Get out your Volt meter and test those 3 to make sure they are working right... For example... An O2 sensor that reads really lean will make the engine run rich... but it won't usually make it run stinky.... But.. If you have an Intake air sensor reading cold + an O2 sensor reading Lean - it WILL make it run super rich.... Get out your volt meter and test proper operation of those sensors... For example.. If once the engine is warmed up..... AND it's running super rich - Pull the plug on the O2 sensor and read it with the volt meter.... If it READS the value for Lean - you know your O2 sensor is dead.... If you pull the leads on your Air temperature sensor and check with an Ohm meter - If it's reading the resistance for a very low temperature on a nice hot day - you know that sensor is dead.... The manual will list the values you are looking for... Edited by truckjohn, Jun 2 2014, 08:46 PM.
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| Coyote X | Jun 2 2014, 09:52 PM Post #58 |
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if the pickup in the distributor is shorting out and sending erratic pulses to the computer after the pickup gets hot it can make the computer think the engine is running at a higher rpm than it is and make it run rich. A quick and easy test would be after it gets up to temperature and runs bad pour a big cup of water on the base of the distributor and cool it back off and see if the car runs better. |
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| Hanuman | Jun 3 2014, 02:30 AM Post #59 |
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"The Almighty Grounds Cleaner"
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the dumping fuel/running rich is probably why you cant get more advance. rich mixtures burn fast....require less spark advance. lean mixtures burn slow....require more spark advance. this brings us back to why are we running rich when warm? the next question to ask is...are we running rich all the time, or only when warm? .....when the engine is cold, it needs to run slightly richer. fuel requires thermal energy to evaporate, a cold engine provides less thermal energy, so a lower percentage of fuel evaporates in time to be ignited by the spark plug...thus more fuel must be added to get enough vaporized fuel in time for ignition. as the engine warms up, the computer leans it out. a rich cold engine runs much better than a rich hot engine. a lean hot engine runs much better than a lean cold engine. sensors responsible for fuel control: map sensor...warm/cold intake air temp.....warm/ cold throttle position sensor/throttle switch....warm cold coolant temp...warm/cold o2 sensor.....warm and only during closed loop operation. |
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| Hanuman | Jun 3 2014, 02:31 AM Post #60 |
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"The Almighty Grounds Cleaner"
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