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Posted by: spiritedTreiber May 22 2005, 04:55 PM

My 1.8L FI is still acting hella wierd. It likes to buck quite a bit somtimes, and then just stop bucking and run beautifully. I have no clue what it is, but I have had all the relays and what not in the engine compartment out and cleaned. Sounds like I have a vac leak, but I cant find it. I have new plugs, cap and rotor, wires, and she has crane ign. on the motor as well. I am about to pull the fuse panel out and clean all the crap off of it. Any other suggestions? I am lost.


Also, if anyone from the surrounding area wants to stop by and have a look themselves, give me a call at 253-848-8320.

Posted by: SirAndy May 22 2005, 07:39 PM

QUOTE (spiritedTreiber @ May 22 2005, 03:55 PM)

Any other suggestions? I am lost.

if i recall right, the 1.8L L-Jet required a tight seal on the oil-filler cap (yes, the cap!) to run right.

you might want to check that!
Andy

Posted by: spiritedTreiber May 22 2005, 11:19 PM

the oil cap is nice and tight, and the upper seal is in good condition. However, the lower seal doesnt look so good. It is there, but it has cracks in it.

Posted by: SirAndy May 22 2005, 11:31 PM

QUOTE (spiritedTreiber @ May 22 2005, 10:19 PM)

However, the lower seal doesnt look so good.  It is there, but it has cracks in it.

if it's the square one, made out of the corky stuff, i have a brand new one you can have ...

Andy

Posted by: spiritedTreiber May 23 2005, 12:11 AM

I think it is. The one that goes on the bottom of the cap? Much appreciated!

Posted by: rhodyguy May 23 2005, 08:26 AM

jim, i think andy is refering to the cork seal on the bottom of the oil fill tower. where the assembly meets the engine case. i have 2 new spares in my garage as well. ovals has them too. but they don't service 914s, type 4 busses? sure!!! check the seal where the funnel connects to the square piece and make sure the 2 nuts on the funnel are tight.

k

Posted by: spiritedTreiber May 23 2005, 04:33 PM

I will check that Kevin, thanks! Will post back later, shes running good now. Maybe she was sick of the bad weather? Oval's can when it comes to my car.

Posted by: spiritedTreiber Jun 2 2005, 07:37 PM

Ok. heres the update.

I have a basically stock 1.8L FI. It has a Crane Fireball ign. box on it, and thats the only engine modification as far as electrical is concerned. Just replaced the plugs and CHT sensor, recently replaced the cap and rotor. wires look good. ground connections look good. dont think there are any vac leaks.

So here is the problem. My car idles at about 2200-2400 rpm and cuts in and out at about 4500 rpm. tach needle bounces around when it cuts out and when decelerating. also sounds like there is a VERY small backfire out the exhaust. Those are all the symptoms i can think of right now.

I am totally lost to what could be causing these problems, so any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Posted by: SirAndy Jun 2 2005, 08:19 PM

QUOTE (spiritedTreiber @ Jun 2 2005, 06:37 PM)

Those are all the symptoms i can think of right now.

stupid question: what is a "spirited Treiber" ???

Andy

Posted by: ThinAir914 Jun 2 2005, 10:44 PM

Those symptoms sound like it could be the throttle positoning switch. At least on a D-Jet those are what Brad Anders describes as symptoms associated with a bad tps. I don't know if the L-Jet FI uses the same style tps. On a D-Jet you diagnose this by unplugging the tps and if the problem goes away then you know you need to replace it.

Posted by: TROJANMAN Jun 2 2005, 10:52 PM

does it happen mostly when cruising between 3rd and 4th?

Posted by: spiritedTreiber Jun 2 2005, 11:06 PM

Andy, spirited doesn't translate in German, but Treiber means driver.


I dont think the L-jet uses a tps like the D-jet. It does have a throttle valve switch though.

And this problem happens in any gear and is starting to sometimes happen around 3500 rpm.

Posted by: SirAndy Jun 2 2005, 11:19 PM

QUOTE (spiritedTreiber @ Jun 2 2005, 10:06 PM)

Andy, spirited doesn't translate in German, but Treiber means driver.

i hate to burst your bubble, but Treiber does not mean Driver in the sense of driving a automobile ...

Driver = Fahrer

spirited in this context could be translated into fast or sporty which means the right translations would be:

schneller Fahrer = fast Driver = spirited Driver
sportlicher Fahrer = sporty Driver = spirited Driver

"Treiber" is someone who herds animals or a "beater" in hunting jargon (the guys that crawl through the brush to flush out animals) ...

Andy

Posted by: spiritedTreiber Jun 3 2005, 07:47 AM

thank you Andy. I only took 1.5 years of German in HS, so I am a little rusty on those translations.

sportlicherFahrer

Perhaps a name change wiould save some people a little confusion?? How do I do that anyways.

Posted by: ThinAir914 Jun 3 2005, 09:52 AM

QUOTE (spiritedTreiber @ Jun 3 2005, 06:47 AM)

Perhaps a name change wiould save some people a little confusion?? How do I do that anyways.

You just ask an Admin - it's easy - I used to be ErnieDV.

Posted by: lapuwali Jun 3 2005, 10:48 AM

The high idle is very likely an air leak. You have to really look for this. Try plugging the hose between the AAR and the manifold while the engine is hot and see if that drops the idle. If so, your AAR is stuck open.

Ignition timing that's too far advanced will also cause a high idle. It's possible one or both of the advance springs in the distributor have broken or come off, which allows the engine to go to full advance way too quickly, and often advances way too much. This can cause all kinds of odd running behavior.

Posted by: spiritedTreiber Jun 3 2005, 06:51 PM

i am not sure if the test with the AAR hose would work, because it runs like this at ANY temp. Also, today it was idling high still, but ran great for a couple minutes and then went back to the cut out problem. Have decided to try going back to points and condensor with a blue coil to see if the Crane is messed up. and that brings up more questions.

How exactly should I time it. little difficult for me cause my pulley has surface rust or corrosion on it.

Do I time it at idle with vac line off, or at full advance, or 3500 with no vac?

any one else that wants to chime in with ideas is welcome to.

Posted by: markb Jun 3 2005, 07:08 PM

QUOTE (spiritedTreiber @ Jun 3 2005, 04:51 PM)

i am not sure if the test with the AAR hose would work, because it runs like this at ANY temp.

IIRC, the AAR starts open, and closes when warmed up. If it's stuck open when hot, it'll cause a high idle.

Posted by: spiritedTreiber Jun 3 2005, 07:25 PM

AAR is good, already tested that. 30 ohms resistance and it closes

Posted by: spiritedTreiber Jun 4 2005, 11:58 AM

I took your advice Kevin and put in stock points and condensor and a blue coil. She purrs like a kitten now! Idle is great, the needle doesnt bounce, and it doesnt cut out any more. Something inside that ign. box has messed up, or inside the dizzy. Oh well. Now all I need to do is fine tune the dwell and timing.

That was a lot cheaper than a set of carbs that wouldnt have fixed the problem anyways!

Posted by: markb Jun 4 2005, 12:20 PM