Dashmaster

TC unlocks like it should when you lift the throttle, problem starts after its in an unlocked state. I have verified TC lockup with DVM. Give it gas, TC locks up, problem stops car accelerates fine, Touch break to slow down problem stops. Its only when lifting the throttle to slow down to adjust speed.

I have not tested it with it unplugged, will try tonight. I have the ECM down so I can easily get to the plugs. I have cleaned all grounds from under hood. I have not seen or done any inside the car. I will have to see which of the 3 plugs the Tan ground wire is in.

I have no problem changing out OX sensor with plugs in. I have not tried to turn off any injectors and test. I had all of them out and cleaned them on my test bench. I know this does not test them in the car. The OX reading only goes to 0 when this problem occurs, Readings look regular up and down 20's to 70's . I have been trying to think what would make an OX senor read 0

I did get a new one, installed it and ran like crap. I have not sent it back, Was supposed to be Delco but looked like a Bosch. The one it the car I got last year from the Reatta Store. I can try it again to see what it does. I am thinking the IAC may be at play here even though its rather new and been cleaned good. . Some think something is letting in to much OX when this happens since the reading goes to 0. The OX sensor seem to be responding to the condition not the cause

Put back on the original Harmonic balancer. Took it for another test drive. Still have the main issue. But did notice that when it happens the OX sensor reading goes to 0. Now can anyone tell me if 0 is lean or rich? I still see nothing from any of the ECM data items that change directly from this issue.

Car back together, No Leaks, The Dorman Balancer seems to wobble a little so I plan to put my original back on so I can have this one exchanged. Test Drives, Had bad almost stalling taking off a couple of times, main issue is still present. I have tried another ECM so it is not an ECM problem. unhooked the MAF and the stalling issue did not occur but the main issue was present. I am at a loss as what to check next. Its funny if you do wen searches for my issue and everything I have changed or checked is in those but I have not found one that ever posed a resolution. Any more suggestions???

Rendezvous is Thursday, Everyone is meeting then leaving the Fairfield Inn at 5 pm. The Dinner cost checks for the event were requested last newsletter and were asking them to be sent in ASAP.

Arriving on Thursday and will be attending the Rendezvous, The Forum Breakfast and the Show. Question is will my Reatta be there with me. If I don't have the current issue resolved by then, I may be driving a Honda Accord or 97 F250 Diesel.

Since I was waiting for some parts last weekend, I decided to take a look at things I have not looked at yet. The Car was starting and idled fine I know the cam and crank sensors were working fine. I decided to remove the front cover and inspect everything. Timing chain had almost and inch of slack, tensioner was worn out Harmonic balancer was showing some dry rot cracks. I also have not changed anything on the cooling system. This weekend putting it back together, all new cooling system hoses including heater hoses, new thermostat. New Cloyes Timing set, New style timing tensioner also Cloyes 195, Fit fine in my 88, my block does not have counter bored hole, new oil pan gasket,new cam sensor magnet. Not sure this will resolve this problem but its going to help. Those heater hoses are a pain in the hands to put clamps on.

Proper application of the varnish is needed with foam brush, I at first tried to use it like painting but that added bubbles, I found you do not wipe it on the side of the can like painting to remove excess. I messed mine up so bad, I even tried to add another coat but was bad, stripped it all off with mineral spirits, Then reapplied letting the foam brush drip the excess and all was good. Also mine was setting up fast when I did it. Temps here went from very wet and 50's to 80's the weekend I worked on it.

The Ace was the only one I could find in Clear Gloss, Listed with Rich Amber color. I tried Lowe's and could not find a Clear Gloss in what they had.

No Polish, This is just how it looked when it dried.

Those reflections are are like a mirror, when you take a picture its sees everything around you and looks like there are issues with the lens but are not. Thank You Dave, This is a great way to keep taillight looking sharp. Also I used only 1500 and then 2000 grit paper to do the wet sanding before applying the varnish.

I used Dave's technique About a month ago, Here is what I used. I have one coat on mine but I think the Varnish I used may be thicker. I had a problem with the first coat with bubbles, wrong technique on my part, stripped it and re-applied. here are some pictures. I removed my letters when I did mine that were using the original glue and figured they need to be redone anyway.

I just rapped on it, No stumble or anything. Idle was steady.

Interesting Update Ronnie, I unhooked the MAF, Car did not run as good. Drove it about a mile did not notice the issue but not running as good. Stopped and plugged in the MAF, Car Stalled, I turned off the key and restarted. Drove wonderfully, No issue at all, drove about 10 miles. On my way back I thought I should stop and turn it off for a minute or two and see if the problem is still solved, Nope Nada. Problem returned. Here is some new information, The unplugged MAF did not set a code, I unplugged the EGR earlier today, Did not set a code and EGR light was flashing notmally in the ECM data screen. The only think the ECM complain about is the Cruise, even though it plugged into a new unit. I am starting to think the ECM may be bad. What do you think?? The ECM I have, I bought 2 years ago from the Reatta store when the original would not fire the injectors.

Car has always been in loop, since it warms up so quick its hard to test when cold. I have not tested car with MAF unplugged , Air flow reading at idle is about 6.5 to 7. I did clean the MAF the other day, But it was not very dirty because I did it last year.

TC unlocks as it should, verified with meter and ECM light, the car should coast and roll and does for a little bit, then something pulls the engine down then stops this repeats not at exact times interval. My Crank Sensor is 3 years old but I don't suspect that because it starts fast, runs smooth. My fuel pressure is showing lower than the other day, Not sure if you are supposed to pull off the vacuum line on the regulator for reading. I have not in the past. The car accelerates very well as it is now. In my last test, Car raised, got speed up to 24 mph, Started acting up, it like you would be flipping on and off a switch. The Fuel Gage was steady during this 35-36 psi.

I just put the car on stands and tested, At 24 mph on speedometer, 2nd gear the problem shows up. I had ECM data up on BLM and no major changes. It acts just link either fuel or ignition is being turned off then back on. I then hooked up my Fuel pressure gauge and its now reading 40 psi at start and drops to 35 psi running. The gauge held steady at 35 psi when the problem happens. I am not sure what the fuel regulator does with fuel pressure on the rail. When I tested rail pressure last week it was just barley in spec 40 psi. Since I did not see pressure drop even that its low, it does not seem fuel is being cutoff. The fuel pump in the car is about 3 years old and was a Delphi pump. Any thought on something that could shutdown ignition in cycles?

Here is the list of things tried so far, I did make the car run better I was staring to get low speed miss\hesitation. The Main Issue still exists!!!! All Grounds are Clean ICM, Swapped with old Magnavox Original: No Change Plugs and Wires: No Change OX sensor swap, No Change TPS Swap, No change IAC, cleaned it was one year old anyway: No change MAF, Cleaned: No change Trans Vacuum Modulator: No Change (better shifts though) Fuel Regulator: No Change EGR, Cleaned, was 1 year old, tested ok: No Change, (even test drove with it unhooked) TCC monitor with meter: No Change (TC is working properly) Cleaned Fuel Injectors: No Change Check Vacuum Lines, all Ok: No Change Unhooked ABS: No Change TC engages in 3rd at about 40mph, and 4th gear at about 50mph. Engine runs smooth, accelerates well and is smooth and stable at idle. I have been in the ECM Data screen and do not see any parameters that directly cycle with this problem. BLM is around 125 to 130. Injection PW 4.0 to 4.4, I have not seen this cycle with the problems. Something commanding fuel shutoff could be an issue. The cycle that it does it varies, could be every other second or sometime longer, The pulse when RPMs drop also varies some. The RPM drop is 400 or more sometimes. The problem always can be tested in 4th or 3rd gear, In throttle TC locked, Lift Throttle and the TC unlocks then the problem will start, accelerate or brake it stops. I really at my wits end in this one.

Barney I do agree about the hinge use. I just tested it to see what affect it would have but it did fit perfectly and did not move around. I did not test it long( one test drive) but adding anything there is under loads of tension, and I do not think the spring tip moves much on the pad or there would be wear issues on the spring tip. Adding any shim there will increase the spring pressure on the A arm. If you look at the setup all the angles are fixed. A Arm pivot point is fixed at the knuckle, Top is fixed by Strut. I also agree I do not think they are needed since everything I have seen says optional. Anyone thinking of using a metal hinge you are doing at your own risk. I only posted the information based on a test I did. to give the OP another idea he could use as a test. Or Solution if they wanted. Its is not something I run on my car.

The 89 FSM also lists this part as optional. I have also not seen any reference for its purpose. Add thickness in this location will raise ride height in the rear. I think the part may have been used on cars with 16 inch wheels to add tire to body clearance. This is purely speculation. I Hope you parts turns out the way you want and does what you want. I can say my 88 did not have them from the factory, because I removed the whole rear suspension to do rust remediation and had it all apart.

Here are some pictures when I tried it. The Hinge wont move or slide out, I did test drive my car with them in and saw that they did not move, make noise or damage the spring. I pulled them out because I did not like the ride height and had originally thought it could affect alignment but they don't.

The rear shim will only change ride height, will not change alignment angels. When getting my car aligned I had to add taper shims at the hubs to change alignment angles. I did see about the shim listed and found a 4 inch door hinge fits perfect, I did test it on my car and hinge worked fine, but all it did was raise the ride height so I removed them. I did take pictures of the hinge installed but can't post them now.

Installed Modulator and did not solve problem but it shifts better than before. But a couple of times when parking after a run it will idle really bad for about a minute, I have checked ECM when is happens. Its very random but may be linked. The only part I have not changed with a new part is the Fuel Pressure Regulator. The one on the car is the original, When I got the car running I swapped the rail with injectors and regulator from a junk yard. I did clean and test all injectors then. Car ran on that setup last year but had hesitation issue and found fuel in the regulator and swapped the original back on. Since the fuel regulator is vacuum run and at idle vacuum drops, this could be causing both issues. New regulator is supposed to arrive Friday. I hope this is the fix.