Okay, the bird is going again. Well, sort of. I am in need of a new MAF (new relay didn't help.. I think when I checked it out before that the freq film was warped) for sure. The probelm is, I went and got a "new" ECM unit (1227302 with factory PROM) but I couldn't tell whether the ECM was good or not, because the starter was misbehaving.. got that fixed, and now I get nothing out of the "new" ECM, which I bought through the classifieds here. I put in the old reman ECM and it runs, except for very rough idle because the timing is off and the MAF is shot. Now, I know that the old ECM has to go (code 54 and does not prime fuel pump while new one does), and since I trickle-charged the battery using an "onboard" charger/maintainer unit, the other ECM has not been the same. The charger is set to maintain a battery voltage of 14 VDC, could that have killed it, or am I just looking at more work? Should I try trading in both ECM's, keeping both chips, and getting a good one from GM? I'm totally confused as to what to do here and "catching" the right time on either ECM is a PITA, because each is different and I do not have a timing light, but I know I dropped the dist in a certain position so I would know where 10* BTDC is, at least according to the damper ring and timing scale on the block, so I could put the #1 plug wire at that spot. I know the old ECM won't work on anything but TDC and I am not sure as to where the "new" one works. Should I also try covering the air cleaner with a rag to get the mixture slightly richer? It's cold as heck out here right now and I don't know what exactly to do.

Oh, and that damn valve is at it again... it's the number five cylinder and I have to go in and tighten it when I can get it going again... I was hoping to get running so I could have the engine set for the winter with all the valves working like they are supposed to...

 

i've got a maf that i need to get rid of but i know nothing about it. you cannot "eye-ball" your timing and get it right...you can get it close but more than likely it will not be at 10* or close to it. you need a timing light definately. it will idle smoother once you get the timing set.

 

Well, I know exactly where I set 10* BTDC at, and I know where the #1 plug wire is right now, and it is nowhere near there. And yes, I do not have a timing light and have done it the same way before to the point where the engine runs the smoothest. The main problem I have right now is: I CAN"T EVEN GET IT TO START much less run so I can smooth out the timing....

 

Okay, let's try this again. It runs, like crap, I might add, I know I need a new MAF (cannot afford it from parts houses so I guess it's eBay or nothing...) I am not sure as to the condition of either ECM (newer one has not been used yet and wasn't running when I tried it, and I am using the old ECM that has it's own fuel pump probelm, so that is junk and I don't know how much longer it's going to last) and I have three exhaust leaks around the cat, one actually in the cat itself (bad weld) and two after it, which I can fill with seam sealer because of my unique situation (no flange). I also have to go back in and tighten up the rockers again, so I need the valve cover gaskets and a packet/tube of thread locking compound, and also a longer bolt for the EGR tube and it's gasket.

Other than that, it will run, and I guess it is either finally burning right or it is still way too rich in the fuel mixture because it left a three foot trail of carbon chunks behind each tailpipe.

I hope that TomP looks at this thread because I really need his advice on the mixture, and so that he knows that the final starter gap is .240 on the outboard edge and .220 on the inboard edge and running great... it doesn't take a full half minute to build oil pressure anymore!

Oh, and a new serpentine belt is in the budget too.

Edit: Oh, and exactly how long is the stock upper plenum-to-brake booster hose and what diameter is it? I had to cut four inches off of mine (makes good TB coolant hose!) and it is about a half inch too short... Results in a loud hissing noise. Could that be the source of the richness, or do I have the defective MAF to blame for that? Also, I read somewhere that I can get the ECM tested. Where?

 

TTT. Need a LOT of help here!

 

Whew! Sucks when everything goes wrong at once, doesn't it? (Been there, done that...)

Vacuum leak can make you run richer... the engine is sucking in "unmetered" air- air that computer (or carburetor) doesn't know about. So that throws everything off. Is the booster hose leaking at the booster or at the plenum tee? If it's leaking at the plenum tee, you could put a hose clamp over the hose and Lightly tighten it down to stop the leak. (I think I heard things about those Tee's being very weak)

Have you run the car with the MAF unplugged (and the three-wire connector tied up out of the way of the fan belt)? That should put the computer in limp-home mode, then you could see how it drives.

I wonder if it's just a timing issue. The dist cap rotated that far on you? (You said you know the #1 plug wire now isn't anywhere near your setting.) You might have to bite the bullet and pick up a light (late christmas present maybe?) to find out for sure. Was the following method how you set the timing without a timing light?

Car off, engine cold (so you don't burn yerself). Find #1 plug wire on the dist cap, and Remove dist cap. Make some kind of mark (somewhere on the body of the distributor, maybe the flat plate?) that sorta shows where #1 should be. I guess you could also just keep putting on/removing the dist cap over and over again. I've heard of some guys taking an old dist cap and cutting a "window" in the center (I guess removing the coil terminal) so they could see the rotor's position.

Turn motor to #1 (front passenger cyl of course) top dead center. Put your finger over the #1 plug hole so you know you get #1 of compression stroke- when you feel air trying to push your finger out of the hole (haha), that's the compression stroke. Stick a phillip's head screwdriver into the #1 plug hole so when the screwdriver stops rising, you've got TDC.

Check the balancer mark, make sure it's aligned at 0 degrees. If not, make a new mark on the balancer with a scratch awl (and make a note to replace the balancer.) Take a look at the dist, and see if the rotor's pointing anywhere near the #1 cap terminal. Slowly turn the crank clockwise so the TDC #1 mark lines up with 10 degrees retarded. Check out the distributor, and see where the rotor's pointing now. Now loosen the dist hold-down bolt, and spin the dist housing (since you can't spin the rotor, haha) so that when the dist cap is put back on, the rotor will be pointing directly at the #1 cap terminal.

Then tighten the dist hold down bolt and put the cap back on. I think that will get you very near 10 degrees BTDC.

Now try going for a ride (or just starting the motor) with the MAF unplugged. I don't think having the MAF unplugged will make you run that rich so as to shoot carbon out of the tailpipes.

That's odd about the trickle charger. I thought those were okay to use. The alternator puts out 13.8 volts when the engine's running, so you shouldn't have fried the computer unless the charger was at fault. Was it old? Is the charger still on warranty? Maybe do a google.com search for something like "trickle charger fried computer" and see if you get anything. Oh hell never mind, you get a ton of results back about cell phones and laptops and other junk. Maybe that's a question for the electrical forum on thirdgen.org?

Exhaust leaks can also screw up the oxy sensor... they create a vacuum that can pull in fresh air. The oxy sensor reads that, and thinks it's running lean, so the car adds more fuel.

As to the computers... don't know. You're running on the newest computer now? Did you ever pull your PROM chip out from your old computer, and put it into the newest computer? (Don't have any static electricity on you, and don't touch any pins on the chip.) Do the computers have the same part # on them? Do they even have that part # sticker anymore?

Glad to hear you got the starter thing fixed... how'd you measure inboard and outboard clearance?

 

Okay, let me rerun through this.

The MAF is totally disconnected, both from the computer and the engine.

The booster hose is about an inch too short, and is leaking as a result, and it is also old so I guess I should just go get a new one. I already have teflon tape wrapped around the plenum tee to seal that up, and I know ALL the rest of the hoses are good because they are brand new and I installed them myself in July.

I can't drive the car because I have no ins or registration at the moment because I went broke with the repairs.

I'm going to reset the timing when I redo the valve lash with the locking compound, so maybe the noise will finally leave me for good. I always mark the plug wires before I install them with Testors paint markers so the marks are nice and visible, and I know which is the #1 wire. I should try that cap trick, but I know precisely where I want the rotor to point at/before TDC, and if it don't point there, I just lift the dist until I'm at that mark.

The charger is brand new. It is only about two weeks old and is regulated to stop charging at 14 VDC.

The cat convertor is leaking like heck at one of it's welds, luckily I can have my neighbor take it to work and have it re-welded, and at the front and back joints, which I am going to seal up with seam sealer.

The car is using the OLD ECM at the moment! I don't know whether the "new" one was fried the first time I used the batt charger or not, but it wasn't working, so I slipped the PROM back into the old one (which was running even with the "new" PROM in it) and now it is running great, but that ECM definitely has to go (code 54- bad f/p priming circuit inside the ECM-fixed by swapping in new ECM, that's how I know it is the ECM)

And as for the starter, I used a 5/32" allen wrench in between the center shaft of the armature (the way the instructions say to) and pinched it in between that shaft and the flywheel teeth. Then after having done the above process at the three TC/flywheel joints (easy to measure) I took and measured the recommended gap with a 1/8" allen wrench at six points around the flywheel to check the clearance and all is hunky-dory now.

And my late xmas presents are coming in a couple of weeks, they would be the EGR tube gasket and valve cover gaskets, thread locking compound, a new serp belt, and some other stuff I cannot recall at this point in time.. including the timing light.

I do not have the money for the balancer at the moment, would the repair sleeve do me until I can get a new one?

Take one step forward and a dozen back... This stinx royally... Hopefully I can get up on time tomorrow and get me that job at JiffyLube....

Also, now that I am running super rich, (I don't have to worry about e-check, so I'm not that worried about it) is my cat toast?