Good work!

Got the new tires mounted and balanced. Also took it in for an alignment and found out it has negative caster on the front right corner. It drives much better but still pulls to the right so I might try swapping some a-arms or something to correct the caster.



Also got a check engine light, the oil/temp light came on and the Speedo is dropping out occasionally. I'm thinking there might be some electrical gremlins to work out yet. I already had to replace the overhead light connector because it corroded and was shorting out causing the courtesy lights to stay on. That is to blame on the leaking sunroof!

Getting all the little gremlins worked out...

Before getting the tires on I had noticed a change in the way it was running and a code 45 indicating it was running a little rich. Well on the way back from the alignment shop I could tell it was running really rich. Used WinALDL and figured out that the MAP sensor want quite in range and also now had a code 33. Went poking around and found this...

I then got creative with some V6 vacuum tubes I had laying around and came up with this...
Needless to say that it runs much better now and I took it 110 miles from home without an issue. Also appear to have cured the temp/oil light by cleaning a little crud out of the temp sender connector and found out that the Speedo issue was in the connector as well. Only remaining issue is that the odometer is still not working and I want that such that I can track my mileage.

Well, I've been driving the car and it's been doing fine other than using a little more gas than I expected. I've been averaging around 25-27 MPG which is a little lower than the 35 I was hoping for. I know it's winter and my fuel mileage will suffer for multiple reasons but I was getting that kind of fuel mileage with my V6 4spd. Also this vehicle was purchased with the intention of being cheap enough to own and operate that it would overall be a positive change to our household budget over driving my truck daily. Lower gas mileage than expected = longer time till paying off the initial investment!

So I did a data log with WinALDL and found a few interesting things. First of all BLM's are around 140-160 and during WOT the O2 is fluctuating significantly. The car isn't acting like it is leaning out or running poorly so I'm at kind of loss as to what is going on. I'm thinking about trying a different O2 sensor but thought I would put the info up here to see what others thought.

quote Originally posted by Jefrysuko: Well, I've been driving the car and it's been doing fine other than using a little more gas than I expected. I've been averaging around 25-27 MPG which is a little lower than the 35 I was hoping for. I know it's winter and my fuel mileage will suffer for multiple reasons but I was getting that kind of fuel mileage with my V6 4spd. Also this vehicle was purchased with the intention of being cheap enough to own and operate that it would overall be a positive change to our household budget over driving my truck daily. Lower gas mileage than expected = longer time till paying off the initial investment! So I did a data log with WinALDL and found a few interesting things. First of all BLM's are around 140-160 and during WOT the O2 is fluctuating significantly. The car isn't acting like it is leaning out or running poorly so I'm at kind of loss as to what is going on. I'm thinking about trying a different O2 sensor but thought I would put the info up here to see what others thought.

Stole this reasonably good explanation because I'm too lazy to type one myself.

"BLM: The block learn multiplier, aka long term fuel trim, is a value the PCM stores to adjust the injector pulsewidth based on accumulated (or "learned") oxygen sensor feedback. BLM's usually change fairly slowly, if at all. The PCM limits the range of BLM from 108 to 160. Here's a frequent source of confusion: A BLM of 128 means that the PCM is calculating the right injector pulsewidth. A BLM below 128 means that the PCM has to take out fuel to get the mixture right (the PCM calibration is too rich). A BLM above 128 means that the PCM has to add fuel to get the mixture right (the PCM calibration is too lean).
One way to remember which is rich and which is lean requires that you can remember that 128 is ideal. You get numbers less than 128 by subtracting - when the BLM is less than 128, the PCM is subtracting fuel. You get numbers above 128 by adding - when the BLM is above 128 the PCM is adding fuel.
Another misconception: In general there is nothing wrong with the BLMs not being 128. As long as they don't reach their limits of 108 or 160, the PCM will be able to get the fuel mixture just right."

So, either the engine is not getting enough fuel, or the O2 sensor is not adequately responding to the fuel that is there.

[This message has been edited by KurtAKX (edited 01-27-2013).]

The removal of the cat probably increased the airflow through the engine and might have been enough to cause the BLM's to show a lean condition, or you could have an exhaust leak, or a weak fuel pump/regulator, clogged fuel filter, an O2 issue, some ground issue, or the timing retarded too much.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: The removal of the cat probably increased the airflow through the engine and might have been enough to cause the BLM's to show a lean condition, or you could have an exhaust leak, or a weak fuel pump/regulator, clogged fuel filter, an O2 issue, some ground issue, or the timing retarded too much.

The timing is right on (verified yesterday with ALDL jumped, at 8 degrees).

We checked the fuel pressure when we first un-mothballed the car (12 psi at the time), but it's possible that the pump is reaching the end of it's life or the coupler in the tank has started to rupture.

Thanks guys,

I happened to have an O2 sensor that wasn't being used which came to me on a V8 exhaust that I have never managed to use (Look familiar Guru?)

I hate throwing parts at a problem but at least I'm using stuff I already have.



I figure that I'll drive the car a few days with the new O2 and see if anything changes. I also probably should change the fuel filter considering that this car sat for quite some time so I'll probably do that later in the week sometime.

quote Originally posted by Jefrysuko: Thanks guys, I happened to have an O2 sensor that wasn't being used which came to me on a V8 exhaust that I have never managed to use (Look familiar Guru?) .

Of course you haven' managed to use it yet- if you can't keep 4 cylinders running properly, imagine the trouble you'll have with 8!

Kidding!

Well, different O2 didn't make a difference so we replaced the fuel filter and checked the fuel pressure again.



Is kind of hard to see but it's staying constant at about 11-12 psi. I guess if I notice a change in the BLM's we'll know the old filter was restricting flow.