Mike LaBranche

Greetings all...

Took the red guy down to get a smog test yesterday after about a year getting it back together and running. Original exhaust through the cat, recent borla cat-back, so 30 year old cat. That leaks. lmao Oh well, I figured it was worth a shot if for no other reason than to get some idea about where I'm at with mixture. Rebuilt wur, cleaned up distributor from another engine in my garage, new fuel pump/filter, top-end rebuild, rotor/cap/wires/plugs/vacuum lines, tbelt water pump, maybe half a can of berryman's run through. And here's what it showed:

HC 1056 ppm
CO 1.19 %
CO2 11.1 %
O2 4.9 %

My smog guy didn't even lift the hood, ran a manual test at the tail pipe, probably because he knew it wasn't close to passing... So I've got a new cat enroute and I'll run it again. I also think I need to drive the **** out of it for an hour or three with another can of Berrymans. I'm obviously very rich and I'm thinking there's still gunk in the system causing high pressure at the wur, etc. maybe some sticky injectors dumping fuel. Once it clears it's throat around 3k, it runs pretty strong. Not quite 928 beast like yet, but getting there.

Cheers!

karl ruiter

Nice looking car. Very clean under the hood. Of course you need to start with getting the control pressures and idle mixture right where you want them. Not too surprising if you have to replace a cat and perhaps replace the EGR valve and such, but all that should be very doable given the attention to detail and level of effort it looks like you are able to put in.

Mike LaBranche

Thanks, Karl... it looks better from a distance. wink, wink. Poor beast has been through the ringer. It had been repainted and I did the hood. lol But it's straight, no sunroof, no passenger mirror, bone stock. It sat for quite a while before I got it and the top end was in boxes, so it's easy to make it look good when virtually all of the rubber had to be replaced, the poor PO took it apart and it crumbled in his hands. oops

I'm hoping a fresh cat and a couple of tanks of Bhwwwaaaaa will make both of us feel better.

GregBBRD

That CO shows that it is actually fairly lean. Those high HC numbers generally point towards a misfire.

Instead of an injector "dumping fuel", I'd be more inclined to think that there might be injectors that are not putting out enough fuel, at the lower engine speeds.

Mike LaBranche

Thanks, Greg. That very well could be. I couldn't figure why the co was so low and the hc so high. These numbers are at idle, ~900 rpm. Book says 2.0 - 4.0 and I'm not close. The wur is fresh from 928intl so I know it's right, and he's the usual suspect. Wish I had a cylinder temp gauge, I could locate the miscreant in no time. Really think it's just lack of exercise, another usual suspect.

Cheers!

GregBBRD

A simple way to check the injectors on a CIS car is to remove them all and then hook them back up to the injector lines (remove all of them.) Get some towels for the injectors to spray into, or 8 small containers. Make the fuel pump run and push down on the sensor plate. Light pressure on the sensor plate will simulate what is happening at idle. Heavy pressure will show you what is happening at full throttle.

Pretty easy to get a visual comparision of all the injectors, all at the same time. They all should start "spraying" at the same time and have nice even spray patterns, the shape of a cone. My guess is that you are going to have some with pretty strange/missing spray patterns at light pressure.

On injectors that have been sitting and have wonky spray patterns, sometimes pushing the plate all the way down and holding it there for 20-30 seconds will "clean" out the injectors and help with the spray pattern.

BTW.....Avoid sparks and flame, when you are spraying raw fuel around. Use plenty of towels and don't let too much fuel collect.

And, perhaps the most important thing of all:

For long term happiness, I'd suggest resisting the temptation to steal 8 similar containers, from the kitchen.

Mike LaBranche

The new CA cat ($ bohica: bend over here it comes again) arrived a couple days ago, a DEC unit. Pretty good fit, easy install. It was fitted with an O2 bung so stuffed a dead sensor in; I had run a full tank of treated gas through and it was already running better but I wasn't optimistic about passing... and damned if it didn't pass with really clean numbers. Clearly the original cat was very dead.

HC 42 ppm
CO 0.01 %
CO2 12.4 %
O2 3.5 %

Right before the test I refilled the tank along with Berrymans, during the test he does a full visual inspection and follows the emissions sticker on the hood, checks timing, which seems to take for-fing-ever at 3 grand. Argh it sounded good. At any rate, on my way home I romp on it at our exit ramp, come to the stop, and it quits. Restarts a couple times and I limp it home jazzing the throttle the remaining 1/2 mile. Bah. wtf? Damn thing will not run. So I pull the plugs (showing rich?), jump the fuel pump relay and circulate some fuel, put it back together, and it fires up. Richened the mixture. I figure some gunk came loose with all the detergent and the 5 minutes at 3k under no load and plugged or unplugged a line. Let it sit, things settled, fired right up.

The exercise has helped, I think it just needs more of the same. I may swap in another set of injectors if things don't completely clear up in the next couple tanks. It sounds great with all the leaks gone, much quieter, although my honey begs to differ...

Cheers!

tailpipe

It could be the WUR thats getting clogged I take them off and drop a few drops of muratic acid in the fuel holes to eat out all the crap I let it sit for about an hr then rinse with water. Don't pull out the screen it will not work right if you do.

Mike LaBranche

Ha! Cold start was excellent this morning, best so far. I'm getting close to some real Bwaaaaa.

karl ruiter

Its always amazing how much of what ails these cars can be cured with a little elbow grease and a little spirited driving.

jeff spahn

Isn't there an exemption for old cars or something in CA? I mean come on. It's a 79. Let it go live out its life in peace air *****.

Mike LaBranche

Amen, brother. Neglect and disuse much more destructive than anything else. As Carroll Shelby told Bill Cosby.... you gotta get the gunk out! Now where am I gonna do that? Why... any side street.

Mike LaBranche

Cut off is 75, go figure.

jpitman2

My 83 CIS did stuff like this after I got it - been standing quite a while. Everything I did made it run progressivley better - plugs, leads, cap, rotor, berrymans, filter, cleaned injectors etc. I replaced the tank and some fuel lines a few years ago, and afterwards I bridged the pump and let it run 15mins for a leak test, and it fired up first try afterwards. Never ceases to amaze me how well it drives from a stone cold start, every bit as good as any modern EFI car IMHO.
jp 83 Euro S AT 55k

Mike LaBranche

Hey jp... yeah, it's pretty basic stuff that performs amazingly well. Mechanical injection and a hefty cat and this thing is el mucho cleano. But it's a collaboration of systems, that overlap, and some are cleaner than others.... so I'm kinda chasing my tail until all the gunk is out. The cold start has sucked for awhile so to get a good one is a good sign. Gonna drive it hard for a bit. Yeah, that's the ticket.