2seater

Ronnie's photos are always so helpful. That one closest to the camera is the vacuum purge line from the canister and since it is outside the throttle, there is no vacuum there. The next one back with the elbow is the fuel pressure regulator and the last one on the left (front) side is the vacuum modulator. Be careful with that one. If memory serves, the steel line actually inserts into the plastic nipple with a rubber sleeve over it. The small one on the right (rear) side is for all the vacuum to run the HVAC system and cruise control, while the large line should be capped off , and be sure it isn't falling apart. Common part on the LN3 engines in the salvage yard. Others may look similar but are slightly different and may not seal to the manifold. I make my own with a small solid aluminum or nylatron blocks and brass serrated nipples. It is odd it is taking this long to track down a vacuum issue. The simplest way to eliminate the spider as an issue is to pull the bolt and lift it just enough to slide a piece of duct tape underneath, sticky side down. As for the time needed to get it to run properly, that is the opposite of what I have seen in the past. Cold engine start it runs in open loop, elevated rpm and richer than normal so it sometimes covers up vacuum leaks or other small items which are exposed when the sensors come online and take over.

There are several vacuum lines connected to a plastic box on top of the intake manifold just behind the throttle body, perhaps what they are referring to. It does get brittle with age and heat and is easy to crack or break a hose nipple if not cautious. I didn't see a year in your post but 88-90 have the PCV system buried on the right rear of the intake plenum and can also be a leaker, but less common.

This is similar to the valves I used, but are quite a bit more expensive. I found these on ebay, where I got the first ones from. You are looking for micro solenoid valves, 12v, and they must exhaust when unpowered, so three ports total. I will help if I can. https://www.amazon.com/Fincos-DS-0520ST-Position-Solenoid-discouraged/dp/B07RTMLQN9/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=12v+micro+solenoid+valve&qid=1566313474&s=gateway&sr=8-10

It lifts straight up and out. The screws are indeed a bit of a pain to get to.

I am so glad you took that car Dave. I thought about it long and hard but while I like the looks of a black car, I don't want to own one. I am sure you will treat it well. I did the rear manifold restriction modification several years ago for VV not sure if it got on the car 🤔

I have a '95 L67 on my engine stand but I haven't opened it up to see what may actually be different. I do know some of the part number differences between cranks, rods pistons etc is due to things that may or may not actually be higher performing. For example, in '91, the engine changed to a one piece rear crank seal, requiring the crank and block to be machined differently. Some later models have floating piston pins which are different rod and piston part numbers, and may or may not be stronger. I know a roller trunnion rocker appeared somewhere in the '93 and later time frame, but they won't swap into the earlier engine. I am not sure about cam profiles either, but in general from what I have seen, the cams are actually what would be called milder. In any case, most will not swap backwards into the earlier engines. The bearing diameter is larger and use a different cam retainer system.

I have been away but I certainly have used and will continue to reference ROJ.

Stock the compression ratio is 8.5:1 per the FSM, and from my actual measurements that is pretty accurate. The later L27 replacement pistons I suggested are good for right at 9:1 using the stock OE style headgasket. Without machining the block, the piston is @ zero deck, or flush with the top of the block on compression.

Negatori on the hack?

This is a comparison of the power curves between LN3 and L27. More down low power for the early engines, and to complicate the "feel", the later engine works with a lower gear ratio and taller tires. No idea of a direct head to head test, but my guess would be the early engines would jump off the line better but would be outrun by the later engine after a bit. Anyone have both to do a comparison a few times🤔

As Daniel points out and Dave confirms, you need to get into the engine internals to find -anything significant. The engine uses roller lifters but the rockers are conventional sled type. Opening the exhaust outlet as pointed out is cheap to do but not easy to access unless removed first. It even seems to sound a bit better and deeper tone too. A cone type air filter certainly sounds faster 😛. The stock muffler isn't terrible from a flow perspective but if replacing, a straight through type does flow better. While not recommending removing the catalytic converter, just about any cheap modern replacement cat flows better. The last two items sound more powerful, like the intake, but taken together, they do increase the potential for the engine to breathe. The cam can be reground but I do not know of any aftermarket support for the Reatta available engines. That said, the '88 cam does have measurably greater lift and duration, but are pretty much unobtanium. The Clevite part # 229-2211 is the correct replacement cam for the '88 if you can find one, and is a direct bolt in. One item I have found, when replacing the timing chain set is to use the factory style Morse brand chain for long term durability. It costs significantly more, but the commonly available Cloyes chain will act just like a saw against the tensioner due to the side plates riding high relative to the chain link material.

'Tis true Dave. The motor itself just unplugs from the board and is a complete bolt in, so it could possibly be salvaged from an otherwise junk controller. Of course that assume the board is talking to the motor properly. From the description it sounds like everything works except the blend door motor. Does the door stick, is the motor bad or is the board bad, all possible issues. Not uncommon for the plastic retainer to break, at least partially, on the left hand side where it attaches to the door arm.

As pointed out, the hvac controller is vacuum operated except for the blend door, which is an electric stepper motor. If it was stuck, perhaps readjustment will cure the problem but if it doesn't move when commanded, it may need repair or replacement.

Appreciate the suggestion, and I'll bet you know all about that. Ordinarily it's just annoying but the ability to make more torque at low rpm is hard on the engine, some of which can be addressed in the programming but not cured. Overall it works well. It sure points up just how far the technology has advanced: transmission that are continuously variable or twice the number of gears, variable cam timing to vary engine output to suit the need, drive by wire etc. Cruise the same hills in a vehicle with about the same n/a hp but way less rated torque, about the same weight but worse aerodynamics, drive by wire and vvt and the hills just flatten out.

This previous weekend was the first extended trip, about 400 miles round trip, for my '90 with the original engine installed after installing Dave's donated and ported heads. This engine is also turbocharged which is a mixed blessing in this case. The temperatures were in the mid90's with a dew point of 80*, so it was also a good test of the refurbished R12 a/c system, new compressor, receiver and condenser which performed flawlessly. Fuel mileage was actually pretty good at about 24mpg, considering the terrain which is rolling hills for about 1/3 of the miles. I mention this because the rolling terrain requires increased throttle for extended periods to maintain speed, but the sluggish old style mechanical transaxle wants to maintain high gear/lockup, which coupled with the turbocharger, tries to maintain low rpm with high load. A turbocharger is load based, not rpm, so it was easy to get into knock conditions, which requires additional tuning to compensate. In those cases it was best just to pull out of overdrive to get the rpms up and it liked that. Not a complaint exactly since I created the situation :)) When I returned home after a text from my neighbor I found the power was out in much of the city, my street had police tape blocking it off due to a power line laying in the street in front of my house, so I had no power and two trees had lost large limbs, one on my house and the other on my garage. Oh joy.

Shouldn't the homeowner/mower driver be responsible?

Thanks Barney. I can think of several different uses for something like that.

The cautions above outline the situation very well. The accumulator is a silent device and will only warn you by failing to store brake fluid pressure. If this operation continues, it will also shorten the life of the pump.

This was a quote from ptt: "I installed a newWABCO STC 2784 accumulator" I believe this is a Land Rover crossover part

There is a Wabco brand out there too, similar to the large size Hydac. I don't have the thread handy but if I remember right, the price was very attractive.

It is a sort of air seal to help keep underhood air from being sucked into the HVAC air inlet at the base of the windshield.

As it turns out, a 1/4" socket to remove the central power stud nut is all that holds the entire lighter socket together. Ten or eleven pieces can be taken apart, cleaned and buffed, and reassembled. All good.

Battery connections verified, and HVAC control head disassembled, cleaned contacts and replaced. Cigar lighter fuse and wiring are good and it appears the lack of power thru the socket is due to misc. debris buildup. I made a mistake (imagine that) and the lighter itself was not stuck in the down position🤔 I have a dim memory of a latte being spilled over the top of the console many moons ago, which apparently worked its way into areas previously undiscovered and little used. The upshot is the lighter socket has a lot of buildup in the bottom and difficult to clean, so replacement would be the best option, but that is proving difficult. I cannot get the large "nut" on the bottom of the lighter socket shell to rotate. The shell is located by a single plastic tab that extends through the shell but that seems too fragile for the amount of force required but perhaps I am looking at it incorrectly? It has been ages since I have installed a socket like this and would appreciate suggestions.

10 4 on that. It hasn't been out of storage very long and the battery was replaced just a few weeks ago, but I didn't install. I will check that out. Thanks.

I have been trying to use my '90 as more of a daily driver so this weekend it was headed for the cottage. This is not a long drive, only 50 miles, but we finally had a bit of warm weather. I thought I could check a couple of things along the way, so this is more a story of what I didn't do. Leaving town, I noticed a couple of things; my gps wouldn't work, and the outside air temperature appeared to be off? First I discovered the lighter was apparently stuck in the down position, how it happened I do not know, but I would guess the fuse blew or something worse is wrong. The second thing was the temperature reading was 20*F too low, 67* to be exact, but when I engaged the a/c system, which I replaced last year, the reading suddenly corrected itself? This has never happened before to my knowledge, but I soon noticed the hvac control unit would not raise the temperature when the button was pushed. It would go down, but not up, so I went back to econ mode and sweat a bit 😛 The non-operational gps meant I couldn't check/compare the speedometer to the gps as I had planned. I had reprogrammed the pulse divider for the speedo readout when I did the chip for the present engine, and I wanted to double check I was close. I guess it's time to do a bit of exploration and repair.