- Thread starter
- #341
I did! Now it was my first time doing a continuity test so maybe I messed something up, but the multimeter beeped and showed continuity so I'm fairly certain that is what this is.
First car, lx450!
- Thread starter tug123
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sbman
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That's good, hopefully the new harness will resolve the issue.
- Thread starter
- #343
Got most of the new wiring harness in, its already over the transmission all the way to the O2 sensors. Only challenge is the tiny little connector next to the two big foam ones that connects right at the start of the transmission is nowhere to be found. I'm sure it's just stuck in there somewhere, think if I can figure out what wire it's connected to over the transmission I should be able to trace it.
- Thread starter
- #344
Turns out I was looking for a non-existent connector, good times. Two quick questions on the wiring harness before I close it all up (pictures from old harness):
- (near my index finger) the double shiny plate connector is ground that screws to outside of lower intake, correct? I'm like 98% certain (it doesn't go to the starter), but realized I could short everything badly if I'm wrong.
- (between index and thumb) on my old and my new harness, on the glove box side of it right past the rubber stopper, there's this connector taped onto it - assuming I should keep it that way? cannot find anywhere I would even plug it into
- (near my index finger) the double shiny plate connector is ground that screws to outside of lower intake, correct? I'm like 98% certain (it doesn't go to the starter), but realized I could short everything badly if I'm wrong.
- (between index and thumb) on my old and my new harness, on the glove box side of it right past the rubber stopper, there's this connector taped onto it - assuming I should keep it that way? cannot find anywhere I would even plug it into
- Thread starter
- #346
I got it running again! Misfire is definitely gone, wiring harness fixed it for sure. Hope the parasitic battery drain disappears as well. I finally drove it from the street it's been parked on for the past 3 months (and I've been doing all the work on) to my (new) garage, it was about a 10 minute drive. It drives pretty smooth honestly, smoke is still there though and at stoplights it could go down to 300 RPM. Smoke is definitely oil, I think the gas was masking it making it hard to tell but it's got quite a blue tint to it and smells like oil. Smell is a little bit off from what I'd expect, my guess is that if fuel is mixed with the oil it will smell a bit strange.
Have a video of it idling, sounds like lifter tick? Would make sense if it is burning oil that it's somehow related. I think next steps on this would be replace the valve guide seals and hope that fixes the leaking oil? If it's rings that will be a way larger ordeal, so might as well swap seals before I go down that route, unless I'm missing something about what else could cause burning oil (and this ticking sound on idle).
Have a video of it idling, sounds like lifter tick? Would make sense if it is burning oil that it's somehow related. I think next steps on this would be replace the valve guide seals and hope that fixes the leaking oil? If it's rings that will be a way larger ordeal, so might as well swap seals before I go down that route, unless I'm missing something about what else could cause burning oil (and this ticking sound on idle).
Nice work! Glad it up and running.
With how much fuel was dumped into your engine I'd change the oil before anything else. Give it a few drive cycles to see if the idle improves (ECU learning) and go fill it up with fresh fuel and drive it on the highway.
I wouldn't worry about lifter tick just yet, get some fresh oil in there and report back.
With how much fuel was dumped into your engine I'd change the oil before anything else. Give it a few drive cycles to see if the idle improves (ECU learning) and go fill it up with fresh fuel and drive it on the highway.
I wouldn't worry about lifter tick just yet, get some fresh oil in there and report back.
- Thread starter
- #348
Sounds good! Good thing Wyoming has no emissions, can't imagine a cop in CA would be happy about me driving it on the highway billowing out smoke.
It's alright to drive with distilled water in instead of coolant if I go for a 20 minute drive right? I just don't want to put coolant in then have to drain it all out again and waste some money.
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Yes, you can drive it with only distilled water in the cooling system. As long as ambient temps don't get down to freezing, you'll be ok.
- Thread starter
- #350
Did the oil change (with filter), sounds way better already. Went for a drive, first 10-15 minutes no smoke, but as soon as I went up a hill (couldn't get above 20mph too) it started puffing out smoke again. It's definitely oil smoke.
It kinda sounds like I have a vacuum leak and I'm pretty sure I timed the engine when it was still misfiring, so I will try to get to the bottom of those two, maybe that will make it a little more stable. As for the smoke, just drive it around for a bit seeing what makes it occur and if it ever goes away?
It kinda sounds like I have a vacuum leak and I'm pretty sure I timed the engine when it was still misfiring, so I will try to get to the bottom of those two, maybe that will make it a little more stable. As for the smoke, just drive it around for a bit seeing what makes it occur and if it ever goes away?
If the timing is an unknown get that dialed in first. Start with the factory setting for now.
Do you have a way of monitoring outputs from the OBD2 computer while the engine is running? Only enough power for 20mph + smoke is not a good place to be, especially after all this work.
Do you have a way of monitoring outputs from the OBD2 computer while the engine is running? Only enough power for 20mph + smoke is not a good place to be, especially after all this work.
- Thread starter
- #352
Agreed, I also need to adjust the throttle/accelerator cables which may be part of it. I got above 30mph, I bet I could get to 40 pretty easily, it was just a steep hill and I was crawling. I need to top off the transmission fluid since it's only at half, I don't know what the old fluid in there is though so I'll probably just drain it and refill properly.
I have a reader/scanner that I can get lots of data off my phone, there are just so many things I can monitor I don't really know what I should be watching on it. O2 sensors are pretty old and I didn't replace those, so maybe that is another factor here?
In terms of the smoke, there's only two things it could be for oil - piston rings or valve seats, correct? And if it was the rings, I'd imagine I'd see that reflected in compression? I may just run a quick compression test next time I drive it enough to get smoke for peace of mind, doubt anything has changed though.
- Thread starter
- #353
My buddy came up with a bit of a hairbrained theory, but I'm inclined to believe it. I probably have a gallon, maybe two gallons in the tank right now AND I forgot to screw in the gas cap (left it unscrewed since it's been sitting for months with a bad charcoal canister, didn't want too much pressure in the tank).
His theory is that this is more of an issue that on the steep incline the tank wasn't pressurized so it wasn't delivering enough fuel, and there isn't much in there. I'll swap transmission fluid tomorrow, top it off with gas and try again. Hopefully this is just a weird edge case of lots of different factors.
His theory is that this is more of an issue that on the steep incline the tank wasn't pressurized so it wasn't delivering enough fuel, and there isn't much in there. I'll swap transmission fluid tomorrow, top it off with gas and try again. Hopefully this is just a weird edge case of lots of different factors.
The fuel tank should not be under pressure, unless the charcoal canister is clogged up. Add a new charcoal canister to your list (Autozone VC120). Steep inclines could cause a fuel pickup issue if you are nearly empty so it wouldn't hurt to fill it up with fresh fuel.
If the transmission fluid is halfway up the dipstick (between the high and low marks) that's where it should be, but if it's truly half full (meaning way below the low mark) then don't drive it at all.
The accelerator cable adjustment details are all in the FSM, be sure to get those dialed in. It would have to be an almost vertical hill if you could only 20-30mph wide open.
During these troubleshooting efforts you want to minimize all of the unnecessary variables so you can focus on what needs to be resolved. Things like low fluids, low fuel, bad charcoal canister, etc.. should all be solved first since they are the easiest. For the test drive pick an easy loop around town, it doesn't need to be the steepest hill you can find. I think you are on the home stretch.
- Thread starter
- #355
VC120 should come today, kept meaning to rehab my old one but never got around to it, oh well will keep it anyways. Transmission fluid was in between cold and hot marks so definitely well below, I drained it all and refilled. Maybe be slightly overfilled now, will have to drive it around for longer to really tell, but I'll take that over underfilled any day.
I filled it up with gas, took it around and watched the OBD reader this time. Drives pretty smoothly, only thing I don't like is sounds like a knocking from the engine a bit and I think timing is still off, it can be a bit shaky a couple times every minute. On OBD reader I was watching HP just to see if power was actually an issue, I got up to 80HP (dunno how accurate it is) going up to 30MPH so I don't think power is really an issue, guessing it was a gas issue.
I think I really have three outstanding things:
- smoke still comes out, back to not smelling 100% like oil, and I think coolant level is dropping. Worried about the outcome of this one, I want to really verify that coolant is significantly dropping before I assume the worst
- is OBD #1 timing accurate? at idle it was going between 4 and 5 degrees, so a little high, but while driving it went well above that - is 3 degrees only at idle, and it varies while driving, or is that not normal?
- negative ground terminal crackles when I connect it, even saw a bit of smoke once. It still drains about 0.2V/day, assuming both are probably caused by some short somewhere else?
- Thread starter
- #356
Did combustion leak test and the poor man's glove test again, all good from that. Coolant seems to be stable too, I think it was just working its way through the system.
Took it for a drive, got up to about 50MPH and was pretty reasonable, shift points seem off though especially on hills (think I did overfill transmission fluid a bit). Same thing again, couldn't get above 25MPH up a hill, did notice a metallic sound when the foot was on the gas (stopped when I took it off). I know the term "pinging" finds its way around mud alot, not sure I would call it pinging but it was a repeated metallic tapping on acceleration. Didn't seem to happen on a level incline.
During the whole 15 minute drive, saw no smoke, then as soon as I pull into the driveway it started (right after I went up the hill). Inclines and the smoke are feeling related at this point. Smelled like oil this time, but a bit of a chemical smell as well. Also notice if I let it idle for a bit with the smoke, it seems like almost water drips out, I do have water in my coolant system. This is gonna drive me nuts.
Took it for a drive, got up to about 50MPH and was pretty reasonable, shift points seem off though especially on hills (think I did overfill transmission fluid a bit). Same thing again, couldn't get above 25MPH up a hill, did notice a metallic sound when the foot was on the gas (stopped when I took it off). I know the term "pinging" finds its way around mud alot, not sure I would call it pinging but it was a repeated metallic tapping on acceleration. Didn't seem to happen on a level incline.
During the whole 15 minute drive, saw no smoke, then as soon as I pull into the driveway it started (right after I went up the hill). Inclines and the smoke are feeling related at this point. Smelled like oil this time, but a bit of a chemical smell as well. Also notice if I let it idle for a bit with the smoke, it seems like almost water drips out, I do have water in my coolant system. This is gonna drive me nuts.
Not related to your symptoms but an overfilled transmission is as bad as an underfilled. next test drive I would get it right
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- #358
Yep I'm gonna drain 2 quarts tomorrow and fill it back up as I go till it's good.
- Thread starter
- #359
Don't want to get ahead of myself before another issue arises, but it's looking pretty solid. Drove it around all yesterday, even got it to 70mph on the highway, no smoke. Finally dialed in the transmission fluid as well, oil's perfect. Did notice some sounds with the windows down between 20-30mph while accelerating that I'll need to investigate. I timed it to 6 degrees and it runs way smoother than 3 degrees, but it makes me wonder if I'm a tooth off. Will play around with 10 degrees and see if that is even smoother, in which case it's probably a tooth off.
Gas pedal also feels off, weird resistance in certain scenarios, need to fix the cables still it doesn't feel right.
Still got the battery drain, maybe caused by the rear door actuator never properly working, but that's a lot easier. Hopefully shouldn't be too crazy to isolate now that I can exclude the wiring harness as a possible cause.
Gas pedal also feels off, weird resistance in certain scenarios, need to fix the cables still it doesn't feel right.
Still got the battery drain, maybe caused by the rear door actuator never properly working, but that's a lot easier. Hopefully shouldn't be too crazy to isolate now that I can exclude the wiring harness as a possible cause.
Fj80oregon
GOLD Star
3-6 degrees of timing is the money spot 10 degrees is playing with fire.
