metaruss

I re-replaced the left-front wheel bearing.  It went rather easily, considering what a pain it can be.  The assembly came out with a sledge and went in easily with a pair of C-clamps.  The only major problem I ran into was that the new rotors had rusted to the new (failed) hub assembly.  Ended up having to use a hydraulic puller and a sledge to get it off.  I think it rusted around the center of the hub, so I dabbed a little anti-seize on there.

For an encore, I went to tighten a hose clamp on the heater bypass valve when it went “click”.  Damn, and I was doing so well.  It was a Mopar unit and it was as if the plastic has broken-down.  Instead of being brittle, it had the consistency of hardened rubber hose.  It just crumbled in my fingers.  I had the spare from the Shadow, but since it had the new-style intake (bypass valve under the battery tray), the valve inlet points the wrong way.  I managed to find a nylon elbow that I could use for now.  I bought a new one at Auto-Stoned for $12.  It was the all-plastic one, like the one from my Shadow.  It lasted for over 7 years, so I won’t complain.

Had a little scare with the Daytona’s engine…thought I blew it.  When I pulled the fuel pressure regulator, the vacuum line appeared to be disconnected.  That may explain why it was running rich, but it shouldn’t run at all at 10psi of boost.  Anyway, that coupled with some apparent oil coming out of the dipstick and the fact that is was missing at idle, I thought I cracked a ringland.  Well, I snugged up the dipstick and after installing the new adjustable FPR, it seemed to run fine.  I did a compression check and it was the same as before: about 130psi on all four.  The plugged looked perfect.  I guess I’m OK, but it still starts missing on one cylinder if it is left idling for a while.  That Dawes Devices A/F gauge has rather dim green LEDs, so it’s hard to see them in the day and I don’t know if I am rich or so lean that I’m off the scale.  I might just install my old Cyberdyne so I can see what is going on.

Since it is an early-style T1 intake, I had to use a universal adjustable fuel pressure regulator from FWD Performance.  I managed to install it in the same location as the stock unit by grinding-out part of the bracket to clear the return line fittings.  I also had to bend the short pipe for the return line on the fuel rail slightly to clear the unit.  The regulator has 3 fittings: two -4 AN fittings on the bottom (outlet in the center and inlet to the side) and a 1/8″ NPT pipe fitting on the side for a pressure gauge.  I was lazy and just used two brass 1/4″ flare fittings for the inlet and outlet.  I placed an o-ring at the base of the flare fitting threads, which sealed the fitting to the regulator housing.  I also used Teflon tape on the threads so the threads were not so loose.  I then wedged a piece of aluminum between the two fittings so they would not turn when I installed the rest of the brass pipe fittings.  I enlarged the hole in the stock bracket slightly and used the 1/4″ NPT street elbow to mount the regulator to the bracket (between the elbow and flare fitting).  A 1/4″ NPT to 3/8″ hose adapter was mounted to the elbow (inlet) and a 1/4″ NPT to 1/4″ hose adapter to the center flare fitting (outlet).  In order to the fuel gauge fitting to face upwards, the elbow is rotated such that it is pointing somewhat towards the valve cover, similar to the stock regulator.  It’s a little tight between the two hose fittings, but it works and looks decent.

I haven’t driven this car at all lately.  I don’t like to drive it in the winter anyway, but real reason is that the starter solenoid was dying.  I knew it would go, since I got the car with no heat shield and the solenoid was all melted.  Well, this weekend I swapped the starter from my old Shadow in and found that my retrofit heat shield was now gone as well.  That would explain that burning plastic smell I was noticing this summer.  Luckily I had bought 2 new heat shields this fall (dealer parts), so I put one of those in along with the starter.

Haven’t done much due to time constraints.  The gas mileage is really poor, maybe due to the stock FPR being unable to dump off the extra fuel from the Walbro 192 fuel pump.  Time to put the adjustable unit in, I guess.  I also bought new GM “WeatherPack” connectors for the coolant and air charge temp sensors.  They both have broken tabs and the coolant sensor code keeps getting set.  I will also be stripping the interior from a fellow club member’s ’86 Laser with the same interior color.  The Daytona’s interior has many broken parts, so hopefully I’ll be able to get one good interior from the two.

Goodbye.  Jason came and picked up the old girl today.  I stripped everything off that I thought I could use for the CSX or maybe sell at some point.  The power train came out fairly easily through the bottom.  I will probably put it in the CSX before that motor seizes, while I build up a good one for it.  Well anyway, it’s all over now….

Fixed a few odds and ends on the days I had off from work.  The big thing was the driver’s side door.  It has a new latch, new pins and bushings, and I repaired the door jam wiring.  The window still gets cocked funny on the way up, which causes it to hang up.  The rubber is in really bad shape, so I’m sure that is not helping.  It’s nice to have a fully-working door, though.  Removing the lower door pin is a real PITA.  After trying several approaches, I had to Dremel part of the bottom tip off so that I could get a C-clamp in there and press it out.  There is no way to punch it out with those damn Turbo Z ground effects in the way.  I supported the door with rope strung over the garage ceiling rafters, looped through two holes in the door frame.

Got the fuel tank to stop leaking, finally.  The lock ring was definitely not tightened all the way, but I decided to drop the tank anyway and fix it right.  The gasket was still in good condition, but I flared the sealing surface out a bit to make it squeeze the gasket harder, just in case.  Also fixed the alignment tabs so the sender was oriented properly.  I still need to do something about the connectors, as the gauge never shows full and I never get more than 10 gallons in when empty.  There is also a grounding problem back there, I think, which may have something to do with it.

Fixing various odds and ends: fuel gauge sender, rear view mirror, hatch struts, more wiring, etc.  Still leaking gas from the sender gasket, but it’s probably because the lock ring isn’t fully tightened.  Once the tank is near empty again, I’ll drop it and try to snug it up.  I also decided to do a compression test after I noticed that it sounded like it was missing consistently at idle.  Results were 127-130-127-135.  That’s a little higher than I would expect, particularly for a high mileage motor that consumes oil, but I feel better about the bottom end in this thing.  I have a feeling that this turbo may be on the way out…the oil is going somewhere besides on the ground.  The plugs also looked good, though they were quite eroded.  I replaced them with a set of Autolite 64s I had, which should hopefully quell the occasional pinging I hear at part throttle/high boost.  The vacuum lines were a mess, so I addressed those.  We’ll see how it is, but the MAP sensor line was very loose, possibly causing lean-out (who knows).  I put the WCV (Grainger valve) from my Shadow in it, so we’ll see how that effects lag.  This motor idles funny and seems to hesitate when accelerating from a full stop, so I’m not sure what is going on.  Once I get all the fittings I need for my adjustable FPR, I’ll be able to put the 804 injectors in and monkey with the fuel to get the mixture right.  There is definitely something screwy with the mixture on this thing, but it may be due to electronics.  It runs rich when it doesn’t need to and lean in boost on certain occasions.  I’d like to convert it to ’87 electronics in order to unify it with my CSX.  Need to find an ’87 T1 LM for that….

I managed to fix the driver’s side door and the passenger side window (regulator tape cut too short).  The door wouldn’t open because the striker bolt hammered out the steel on the latch housing, causing it to mushroom and bind up the latch itself.  I soaked the whole thing in gasoline to clean the grime, used a Dremel to remove the mushroomed metal, and oiled the latch with motor oil.  The door opens fine now, but still doesn’t exactly “pop” open the way it should.  The worn hinges may have something to do with that.  The doors need weather stripping as well.  The driver’s side window tends to bind sometimes on the way up.  Looks like it’s not being guided properly.

I cleaned the armrest when I put the door back together and it no longer matched the rest of the dirty interior.  So, I took some time to clean the dashboard, center console, steering wheel, etc.  Looks much better now.  I also fixed the power mirror wiring and properly attached the center console to the dashboard.  There are a lot of broken pieces in there, so hopefully I’ll get them from Bill’s Lazer.

Drove it to work today.  I stopped for gas on the way and was greeted with more gas leaking from the tank.  Now it appears to be coming from the fuel sender unit (which isn’t working), so I get to drop the tank again.  I’ll let it run/leak down before I mess with it though.  I fixed the radio-related wiring, so I at least have some tunage now.  I also put the stock intake setup back on so I don’t have to listen to the throttle body noises.  I tried adjusting the door handles (they are hard to open), but they seem to be adjusted as far as they will go.  Guess I’ll have to take the door apart.  I’m trying to find replacement striker bolts, with no luck yet.