Jaysus Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Cars running like garbage but running .. Super low idle and dies if I don't keep pumping the gas .. Sounds like every bit of liquid in it is boiling after a short drive even with the fan always on (has a radiator out of an 84 GL ea81) ... Don't know if the temp gauge works . seems to be hit or miss .. Oil pressure gauge might be broken .. Says I have zero OP and kinda increases when I rev the engine . sometimes it doesn't move at all . Have to get a running start to make it up my driveway that's a little bit of an incline.. During a few mile test drive earlier it was popping or backfiring rapidly in 2nd and 3rd I believe .. Sounded like my car was farting ha. Was hoping someone could help me get me started on getting this beauty running good and resolving the above mentioned issues . A million thanks to those who have taken time to help me hatch stuff out so far and get this thing even rolling . I really do appreciate it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) Could be a lot of things. Probably pops and backfires beacause it is too lean. Could be a few reasons for that. Vacuum leaks,unmetered air leaks.weak fuel pump etc. I would start by checking for an unmetered air leak between the MAF and the throttle body. The large black hose gets holes in it.All the small hoses that attach to it need to be airtight too. Compression test might be a good idea. Read the trouble codes off the ECU if the check engine light is on. The oil pressure gauge sounds normal enough. Edited January 29, 2018 by naru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysus Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 I have 2 extra fuel pumps laying around ones like 40 and the other 80 psi .. Should I try to throw either of those on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 No,I would not do that w/o confirming the original one is bad w/a pressure test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) 1. if the CTS (engine coolant temperature sensor) is bad - clearly you should replace it. the title says "CTS light" so i assume that means Check Engine light, with a CTS code. But then you never actually talk in detail about what that means in the thread? this is where you're loosing traction - scattered information with little clarity and focus. *** keep in mind there are two coolant temp "sensors" - one is the sensor for the ECU and the other is a sensors/sender for the gauge. if the check engine/CTS code is on - then you need to replace the one on the intake manifold for the engine. the one on the radiator is for the temp gauge. 2. I would not drive or run the car until the overheating, or possile overheating, issue is resolved. That engine will self destruct quickly if you're running it with boiling coolant. They are not forgiving, turbo's generally are not. *Is the radiator temp sender properly hooked up and installed in that retrofitted non-EA82 radiator? a. make sure the system is filled with coolant and not leaking. b. get the temp gauge working so you know what's happening. it's only the sensor (on the radiator), some wires, and the dash gauge, there's nothing to it. c. then you can tell if it's actually overheating 3. in general those oil pressure gauges, senders, and seals in the pump are lazy and often read "zero" when in reality they're not near catastrophic. given the neglected state of the car/current information i wouldn't bet on it being "just fine", but normally it wouldn't be a huge deal and i'd probably be addressing this last if the oil is full and there aren't any massive leaks or turbo issues. otherwise i'd be replacing the oil pump seals soon because it's easy and doesn't take long. and it likely needs timing belts/pulleys to be reliable anyway. Edited January 30, 2018 by idosubaru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkyboy Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) My light reads ecs sort of like check engine? I am looking through the service manual to see what that light means I am hopeful to find a solution soon I am the new proud owner of waggybrowns xt and mine seems to have the same problem. It does seem like she isn't getting enough fuel above 3000 rpm. She will die sporadically and that is the only time that ecs light was illuminated. It seems more to me like an electrical issue with a sensor or something. Jaysus have you been able to get your xt up to operating temp lately? My temp gauge dosen't work either. It's funny because once mine is warm, she runs fine, in fact i drove her about 30 miles to get her home and i was able to rev up to about 5,000 rpm smoothly. But when she is cold she would either start coughing and sputtering around 3,000 rpm, or rev up higher and then stall lifting off the throttle. Have you tried the check connectors in the trunk? I will try that tonight along with a fuel pressure test if i can. Edited January 30, 2018 by sparkyboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Temp sensor for instrument cluster is near the thermostat housing on the engine. The “sensor” in the radiator is the Thermo fan switch, nothing more. The L series runs a two wire unit where as the MY brass radiator runs a single wire switch. Make sure your heater core isn’t blocked. It could be worthwhile dropping the exhaust off the heads and checking your exhaust ports for that cracking that GD showed in your other thread. If it’s there you need to look into another set of heads - MPFI NA heads can be used but may need some mods for the turbo. Use the cams that are in the engine now as these will be turbo specific from my understanding. Sparkyboy, you’ve got an XT (Vortex “door stop”) and Jaysus has an RX L series, while symptoms and issues may be the same the layout of the wiring and location of the ecu are very different. Just a heads up so things don’t get confusing between both of you Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkyboy Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) Ok cool Btw I seem to have fixed my issue. One of those little baby vacuum lines was leaking, and after that I adjusted the timing. I also found that my coil wire to the distributor was loose as well as the wire to the o2 sensor. I will drive her for a bit and see if any weirdness comes back, but I revved her to about 6k several times and she scoots nicely once the boost comes on haha! She feels almost as fast as my 86 GL with the ej22 swap and the xt will definitely out handle my GL Yes the xt is pretty odd overall, the ecu and check connectors are in the trunk. I have an ej22 ready, but I have to trim the wiring harness first. I want to have some fun with this ea82t though, this goofy thing makes me smile The japanese did some weird crap in the 80s :-) Edited January 31, 2018 by sparkyboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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