i posted a different thread about my car running funny... i changed the knock sensor harness and thought it fixed it... maybe not. it just felt better i guess cuz the engine wass cold. anyways, today the car was like shaking and **** at idle and pick up lags and everything. i hooked it up to a scanner and got a code 43... is this the knock sensor?

 

I had a Code43 in my 82 TA. The book tells you that it could be either:

* Plug Wires are cut or melted.
* ECM failure.
* ESC failure.
* Knock Sensor failure.

When I would be driving and stop at an intersection, I noticed that the RPM's were dancing a bit. When I went to accelerate, it felt like it was choking to death. No power, horrible response time. When those smog pipes get hot and those Plug Wires aren't seated in there properly, it would rub off on the pipe.

I would check the simplest thing, the wires, then check the knock sensor, and so on.

 

When I installed me headers I also installed a new knock senser. I thought it would help to put some tephlon tape on it to make it less senitive. Now I am throwing a code 43 every now and then. Should I take the tape off? What should I do next. The wires are not close to the headers.

 

I dont know if the tape would reduce sensitivity because it is crushed b/w the treads but i guess its all a matter of how much you put on. Id take it off because the ecm looks for knock when it runs its diagnostics test at medium to hard loading. If it doesnt see the knock, it will set the code 43. I am a former code 43er that was caused by timing being too far retarded. Excessive knock will set the code, too.

 

i am trying to be a formet code 43er...maybe you can help..when my car gets to around 200* the timing is retarded...i have a new knock sensor and esc module...any ideas?

 

do you have winaldl (its free)? Thats the easiest way to see if you have alot of knocks, ro no knocks at all. If you see no knocks then as a bandaid fix you can advance the timing untill the code 43 vanishes. On the spark count tables you should only see a few randomly distributed knocks during driving. Looking at the tables can also tell where the problem spots are in the timing curve where knock consistently occures.

 

If it starts knocking alot at high temps, then the timing may be too far advanced or you may have alot of combustion deposits that are causing preignition knock. As for the carbon build up, there is everything from tap water to expensive treatments, and then some, to deal with that.

 

what is winaldl..where do i get it and how do i use it?

 

Youll have to make a cable but thats no biggie. Itll cost like 6 dollars to make. There should be instructions for the cable in the program itself. Heres the link

 

i may be an ex code 43er but i am not 100% sure yet. I took out the new knock sensor and cleaned off the silicon, then i reinstalled it and torqued it to 20 ft/lb. I also adjusted the timing, it looks as if it didn't set at 6 the first time but 4, so this time i set it to 8 and when i was done it had dropped down a little but i did advance it..after this i took it out and it was running better than i have seen from it, and it threw no codes...hopefully i will not see any..thanks for the input, mike.

 

My vote for a decarboning agent would be Techron by Chevron. It is well proven -- been around for at least 15 years. It's not too, too expensive.

 

i knew that the 43 was gonna back, i think it may have something to do with the tps cuz i am getting code 22 also..I have a new one and I am gonna put it on and clear the codes and also advance the timing a little more and see how it runs.

 

get winaldl and use it to make sure you dont have knock. When i decarbonized my old 305, i just dumped water into the tbi, not alot, but enough to bog down the engine. Seem to clean things up nice.

 

What are Combustion Deposits?

 

after a while,especially if an engine uses oil, carbon deposits build up in the cylenders and it causes the compression to go up and this causes knock.