I am new to the forum and looking for some pointers. I am the proud new owner of a 87 IROC. TPI 350/700r4/9b rear. The car was storm damaged on the drivers side in may of 2011 and sat until i bought it last week. The wiring harness was chewed to pieces by rats, and the fuel pump was bad. I have since fixed all the wiring i can find bad. The car starts instantly when the key is turned and idles very smooth. No service engine soon light or anything of the sort. My cooling fan relays and wiring have been hacked up by a PO, so i'll be fixing that soon, but thats not a major concern to me at this point. The motor and trans in the car have been built (and i have no idea what is in either, so that adds another level of complexity to this thing). It pulls very hard when you take off in it, but feels like it can't breathe at higher rpm. Anything over 3800 or so, its falling on its face. I intend to check my fuel pressure this afternoon, although i have no idea what it should be. IIRC the car has a adjustable fpr on it, but i would not swear to it. It has a BBK power plus series throttle body on it. If you come off the pedal some and let it shift, then lay back into it, it pulls really hard. Motor seems plenty healthy, it just acts like its either not getting proper fuel or air one. It will be getting another fuel filter soon just for good measure. Any advice on this thing would be greatly appreciated. I am a professional mechanic, but this is the first car i have ever owned (been trucks and jeeps until now). I get alot of conflicting info on it when i try to do any research, and i need help from someone who really knows these cars and what to check. Thanks in advance, this forum has been a great help to me already.

 

I can't give you a direct answer to what your problem is but since you're going to check fuel pressure, its 43.5 with the engine off-key on. At idle it will be mid 30s. WOT when the engine shows less vacuum, it'll be back to that 43.5. I'm no pro with automatic transmissions but I'd make sure the tv cable is properly adjusted since you have a shift issue. Again, I prefer manuals so it could be something else.

 

Man; If had a nickel,.......


Since you've just recently become the owner there's really no way to know the cars true history. Already you've mentioned a BBK TB ( do you know what size ) and there could be 1000 other things changed/done to the car in the past.

Use your existing knowledge to ferret out possible problems, ( clogged exhaust flow, vacuum leaks, fuel pressure/leaks, injector OHMS test - Cold & Hot - ,Tranny TV cable adjustment check, ect ) and give the car a good tune up. (new Distrb module, Plugs, rotor, "seafoam' treatment, wct..... ) I'd also recommend having the cars ECM checked by someone that KNOWS how to tune a TPI.

While TPI's are known to "fall flat" at higher RPM,.. it should be pulling pretty good till @ least 4500 or so.

 

After doing a little more playing with the car, It seems to be developing a dead miss under load that goes away after you let it idle a few seconds. A set of plugs may very well fix it. My next question: is it even possible to put plugs in one of these cars with smog manifolds on it? looks like its gonna be a motha-&*%%@ to get to them.

 

You will definitely skin some knuckles. Its easier to change the back couple plugs by putting the car on a lift and doing it from underneath IMO. The smog crap certainly is aggrevating and will be my next project to remove off mine!

 

Mine is coming off as soon as i can afford some headers. I was piddling yesterday and got all the manifold bolts broke loose on the drivers side and all i could reach on the passenger. Wonder what the chances of getting the bolts out of the y pipe in one piece is? Would it be easier to pull the manifolds to do the plugs? I could cut off and weld up the smog tubes while they are off.

 

I wouldn't risk chance of breaking off bolts on manifold to change plugs. And when you install headers put your plugs on after or you will break a good portion of em. I wouldn't weld up the smog tubes either there is information on this website as to which size plugs to put back in the holes.

 

I can't get the smog tubes out of the manifolds... Already tried. They are in there good. I have some manifold studs laying around so i may just pull the manifolds and replace the studs if they break off. That will simplify putting headers on it when the time comes. I had planned on just cutting the tubes off even with the plugs and welding them shut for the time being. Hopefully with an impact wrench and a good dose of penetrating oil they will come free. All of the bolts i have tried between the manifold and the head have come free no problem. I may just try to cut the tubes off with a hack saw where i can use a 6 point socket on the fittings and try to get them out. If the smog tubes were out of the way, it would make the spark plugs 10x easier to change.

 

Theyre a pain. This is why I haven't de-smogged my car yet. Im waiting or rather contemplating whether I wana put headers on as well. Good luck with it bro.

 

I know i want to put headers on mine, it is just that they are not cheap and i don't have a title to the car yet (i know the guy i bought it from so im not worried about getting it) but i want to get it road ready before i spend that kind of money on it. It still has a lot of unknowns at this moment. Got the cooling fans fixed on it. They run on the factory 220 or so energize wire. I got a intake gasket seeping right now too that needs addressed. Also, what does the wire go to at the base of the EGR valve? i noticed last night that its chewed off the plug on that end.

 

Also, i don't know what size the TB is, but i have the factory TB inside the BBK box in the trunk. I will look.

 

Changing the plugs from underneath saved me a lot of cussing. John nailed it on the high RPM comment. TPI just runs out of breath.

 

I feel it should make decent power way higher than it does. It falls on its face WAY worse than a tbi pickup. i realize its going to run out of breath north of 4500, but this starts well below that.

 

I got the plugs out, it was not as bad as i thought it was going to be. They look pretty horrendous. It will be getting plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and fuel filter as soon as time/funding allows.

 

Got the plugs changed, Helped a bunch, but it did not fix my problem. Plan on getting my hands on a fuel pressure gauge and a noid light this afternoon. Wonder what my chances of having a dead injector are?

 

Check the impedance of the injectors with a digital volt meter. They should all be about 16 ohms.

 

Will do. for some reason, its not running on cylinder 1 or 6. Can unplug the injectors and makes no difference at idle. Have been doing some looking, and it seems my best bet for junkyard injectors are mid 90s 460 ford injectors. They are rated 24lb/hr. Anyone seeing any issues with swapping injectors? Im putting a gauge and noid light on it this afternoon to be sure its getting power, ground, and pressure. If all that checks out, Im fairly certain it needs injectors.

 

Found the issue guys, my volt gauge is wrong. Was checking into why the windows did not work, and was only getting 8 volts on the fuses. Checked battery, 8 volts with the car running. Car was not charging. Energyze wire was not hot on the alternator. Got that fixed and the voltage gauge shot up to past 18v. Showing 14.6 at the battery. Runs like a scalded ape now. Low voltage at the injectors will make a huge difference lol. I never realized that the volt gauge was showing 14ish volts with the engine off, key on. I had not run it around long enough to get the battery down enough it wouldn start, so i never thought to check battery voltage with it running, gauge showed 14v and i assumed it was right. Thanks for all the input guys. Im sure more questions will come.

 

Good to hear. I had an alternator die a slow death once. It would only charge 10.5v unless I goosed the RMS. Changed the alt, voltage came up and the car ran MUCH better.