New to me 83 SR5 update and questions

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:50 pm

Okay. just replaced the ball joints and outer tie rod ends on the front end. Thought about doing the CA bushings but decided against it. Here's a question, though: how many of you have had to replace the CA bushings and the inner tie rod ends, and what are the symptoms of these things going bad?

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:32 pm

coltarms -
I have to replace at least the inner tie rods as well. I noticed this when the front was raised whilst doing the brakes. The wheels/tires move about 1/8" at the o/s of the tires (seems like even movement), and there is noticeable wear on the o/s and i/s lips of both tires. Nothing weird at speed, though.
There is noticeable slop of the rack ends' balls in the inner's sockets - plus rust. I cleaned them out and regreased them, as it seemed prudent to displace the rust (I realize this is not a fix).
So - I'm guessing it would be most prudent to replace both inner and outer ends at the same time and chalk up the expense to "do it all at one time?"
Tom M.

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 11:38 pm

Tom: Any update on your RPM cycling issue?

Update for those who don't feel like reading the entire post. Since I bought the car I have:
Rebuilt Carb.
Replaced manifold gasket.
Replaced 2 exhaust head pipe gaskets.
Repaired Cat air tube.
Replaced timing and alternator belts.
Replaced ball joints.
Replaced outer tie rod ends.
Replaced front struts.
Replaced rear shocks.
Replaced D/S CV Shaft.
Valve adjustment.
Replaced plugs.
Replaced wires.
Replaced cap/rotor.
All new fluids and filters.
Typrus' "Sea Foam Treatment" several times.
Takza's "Decarbonizing Treatment" several times.
Engine oil flush with ATF and MMOIL and Seafom (one after the other, and I probably didn't need to do anything else after the ATF as the oil didn't come out black with the MMOIL or the Seafoam.)
New stereo and speakers.
Replaced 2 broken lenses.
Replaced both headlights (really dim.)
Touch up paint and primer.
Alignment.

So I've spent about $900 on a car I bought for $600. Is it worth it? Well, I am now getting 30mpg, and I can hold 55+ mph over HWY 26 from Hillsboro to Portland, in 5th gear, the whole way!

takza · Post by **takza** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 4:12 am

coltarms wrote:the inner tie rod ends, and what are the symptoms of these things going bad?

Symptom is a sort of clicking sound if you drive slowly over a lawn or down a rough path. If you take the covers off....you can see some slop in the joints.

Also need to check for side play in the end bushing that holds the rack...usually on the pass side I think.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:04 am

$400 or so on a $400 car. Worth it? Still only 27mpg, not reading compression, unalignable... lol. Still need to do most of the stuff you listed, plus rebuilding the engine. My crank from the 84's engine should be ready today. If not today then Thursday.

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:11 am

coltarms -
Nope - nothing received from Toy in CA - yet...
I still have hopes it can recommend something for the RPM cycling...
At least the actual cvycling has gone away, albeit replaced by the RPMs not dropping as far as they should between shifts, as mentioned.
Tom M.

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:51 am

She died. The "Badd Terkel," the "Golden Goat," the "Shitbox." But at least she got me home.....

My alternator died. I'm fairly certain that it's the alternator because I popped the hood when I got home and the magic smoke that makes the alternator work was coming out the back of it. Once that magic smoke comes out, it's toast. Napa qouted me $70 for a new one, and it won't be here till monday. I guess I'm stuck driving my Wrangler 'till then. Actually, I'll be driving the Fiancee's tacoma and she'll take my Wrangler. Oh well. I guess she looks better in it anyway....

Any suggestions on a new alternator? Things to look out for?

I also think that my vacuum advance is having issues as my timing curve doesn't seem to be adjusting properly. Wouldn't surprise me if the distributor was tired, too. Napa quote was (GULP) $250 for new unit. Suggestions?

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:47 pm

Check out Advance for the Cardone distributor. I fried the ignitor in June and the replacement for just that part was $135. However, ADV had the Cardone for $185 (+ core), so it was a no-brainer. Note that this was an in-store price and not on its website; I dunno if it was a special price or not. If you go this route, be sure to remove the sealing gasket and the ignitor and coil covers, as they are not included in the price.

If you get the Cardone distributor, the vac unit is included. If you decide to get the vac unit only, PM me; I had purchased a genuine new Toy unit for $120 in November, so switched that for the rebuilt Cardone one, so the latter is available for an attractive price...
Tom M.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:41 pm

The magic smoke. lol.
Make sure you get the proper Amperage and internal/external regulation.
Take a look at my recent engine bay pics. Does your alternator look bulky like mine, with a small box bolted behind the battery (voltage regulator)? Or is it smaller and more self-conatined (internally regulated)?

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 10:39 am

OK, so I'm an idiot. But not a total idiot, thank god! I brought my alternator down to Napa for testing before dropping the cash on a new one and sunofagun if she didn't test fine! Naturally, I was perplexed. Figuring now that this was a fuel delivery issue and not electrical, I began to think of what could be wrong. The carb had been rebuilt within the last 10Kmiles. I had a new fuel filter sitting in my shelf in the garage so I put it in (didn't seem like a filter issue, but what the heck....especially after having done 2 seafoam gas treatments.) I also bought a new fuel pump thinking mine may have a small enough leak to lose pressure at idle. I figured that since the fuel system pressure tester was $60 and the fuel pump was $22, I'd go with the cheaper option.

I got both of these installed and it still just died. I felt pretty bad about myself. So bad that I actually broke out my manual. I read the troubleshooting section about stalling and it said to check the EBCV hose. I have no idea what that is and couldn't find it in the manual so I looked for the most common fault, which was solenoids on the carb. I reached into the engine bay to unplug the big green connector for the throttle solenoids and as my finger lightly grazed it it fell apart! Turns out, it had backed off enough to lose contact but still looked like it was on. I hooked it up, fired her up, and she purred like a japanese econo-kitten.

I did the only thing I could, at that point..... I laughed to myself and lied my ass off to my fiancee. IT WAS A BAD FUEL PUMP!

Naw, actually, I told her what happened and she thought it was pretty funny. Then she said "sell it" and went back inside.

What is the EBCV?

Also, still haven't looked into the clunking sound, but I will report back my findings when I do.

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:42 pm

So the clunking sound was the bolts holding the ball joint on the passenger side. They had backed out but were covered with grease so they didn't look backed out. Tightened them up and VOY-OLA! the clunking sound is gone. No need for new inner tie rods. Steering is nice and tight, no play in wheel assemblies.

So now the last issue (other than exhaust) is this little timing thing.

Symptoms:
Takes a long time (4-6 seconds) to start sometimes when warm, and struggles when it finally does.....until I gas it.

Partial throttle acceleration not smooth. Feels like a power loss or hesitation, but is nice and smooth when floored.

Surging/cycling from 1800rpm to 2200 rpm when I warm it up in the morning. Choke holds it at about 1500rpm, slowly climbs to about 2200, then cycles back and forth from 1800-2200 rpms until I remove the choke (tap the gas.)

Occasional hollowish Putt Putt sound coming from exhaust tailpipe.

Sometimes just runs rough.

Timing light reveals anomaly (apparent skip) in timing notch while monitoring #1 cyl

The common link here seems to be timing and vacuum advance, and unless someone here sees something I dont, I'll be replacing the distributor and vacuum advance.

So, the question is does anyone see something that I am missing?

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:11 pm

Seems ignition related to me. The putt-putt is something I hear as well. Apparently it's a cylinder missing. Its less common for me since I put in Denso U-channel plugs... Or U-Power.. Or whatever they called them. Cheap. Also, mine are a range colder.
What is it reading? 18Deg? 8Deg? Or is it doing something like 12,10,14,9,12,etc? If its flucuating like that, it MIGHT be vacuum related.
Your carb doing well? I realize its been rebuilt, but hows it doing reguardless?
Have you removed the dist. Cap and checked the rotor and the ignition points in the cap?
If you have a vacuum-testor (Like the ones sold at Checker for about $49) then you can test the vacuum advance that way.
You don't have any loose vacuum lines or ones with pinholes in them?
Heres one test you can run- spray a bit of propane at the vacuum hoses and listen for an RPM spike as you point at various spots. And hope for no sparks.. hehehehe... I just use the old feed hose from our old propane grill. Kind of limited testing range when attached to a 50lb or so tank (its twice the typical size) but it pointed to a detached hose after I did my engine swap.

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:12 am

Carb seems to be adjusted ok. Fuel level in the sight glass is dead center. I regularly get 26-28mpg, and will get over 31-33 mpg on road trips. Choke works, but doesn't like to pull off on it's own. Will idle at 850-900 rpms per FSM.

Good idea about the propane....

I only hear that "putt-putt" sound at idle. I have held a dollar bill in front of the exhaust during these times and it almost seems as though the exhaust tries to "suck up" the dollar bill. I dunno, may just be flapping due to an inconsistant output combined with an air leak along the exhaust or Cat Air tube reed valve (for which the technical term is "chingaso.") I pulled the valve cover and watched every valve move as I hand rotated the crank shaft. None were stuck.

Is there a way to "test" a distributor? Napa hooked my alternator to a bench tester and verified it's output under different loads. Does anyone here know if the same can be done with distributors? I would immagine that over time carbon buildup and corrosion will increase resistance thereby reducing the strength of the spark and possibly causing a skip?

takza · Post by **takza** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:35 pm

I'd check the intake/exhaust manifold bolts...you can get to all but one without removing much...just don't over tighten to the point of breaking one....or you are SOL.

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 9:55 am

The manifold bolts are perfectly torques at 19ft/lb. I loc-tite-ed them when I replaced the manifold gasket, and then checked them twice, each time after 2 weeks of driving. 2 bolts needed a little snugging on the first check, but all were good on the second. The head pipe gasket was replaced at the same time and those bolts also worked themselves loose but have since been loc-tite-ed down as well.

Could cheap wires cause all this? I replaced the wires the day I brought the car home, but I replaced them with a $20 set from Autozone. I can't for the life of me remember if it had this problem before that, as it had sooooooo many problems. Oh well. I already ordered the Distrib from Kragen.......