silverhelme

You are still having problems with the MAF. I had the same problem with one of my 88s. I found that there was a broken wire IN the MAF and had to replace it. It has run and idled almost perfect since.

I'm not sure how much room there is without wading through 2 ft of snow out to my dead 84 but in my EA82 wagon I put it under the front seat to the back. No one ever sits behind me because I have the seat so far back so I don't have to worry about it being kicked.

Just as a plug for sythetic I have an 88 Bronco II that I bought with 65000 on it in 1991. First thing I did was change to Castol Syntec. At 305000 I lost a Water pump and cracked a head so I completely overhauled it. When I tore it down there was no appreciable wear on anything internal ( per my mikes and dial gauges) everything was within factory specs including the bores. I did however bore it ( new O.S. pistons are actually $5.00 cheaper per hole) and put in new crank and rods along with new heads. I expect to get at least another 300000 out of it using the Syntec ( I'm already at 105000 ) and this is on a 2.9 L that are not known to generally go past 150 k.

I have used Castrol Syntec in various vehicles since it came out. The 5/50 is what I use in everything I own including all my subs that don't leak like sieves ( only one does that and I keep waiting for it to die so that I will have to replace the motor) and have not notice any excess leakage. I have noticed less oil usage and easier starts even down to -20. I change filters about 3-4000 and oil at 6-8000.

Had the same problem with NAPA stats over the past year in my turbo. 3 bad ones all ran hot at times and one nearly caused an overheat. I finally bought a Stant from Shucks and it is perfect. If you are sure about your radiator being alright then yes you can suspect the NAPA part.

Is it the tumblers or the switch itself causing the problem? If it is the switch all you have to do is pull the plastic cover (5 screws?) and undo the two screws that hold the switch to the tumbler assembly. If it is the tumbler assembly there are two breakaway bolts that hold it in. You can sometimes break them loose with a very small chisel but you should cut a slot in the heads before you reinstall.

Try reajusting the 2-3 band. I have had this happen on a couple of sube autos. It is fairly easy to do. The only " special " tool you need is a torque wrench if you do it by the book but I have had good results doing it by feel for the initial torque.

I was not suggesting that he do it himself but have a competent shop do it IF that is the problem. Our shop has done about 20 in the past 2 years with NO come backs or leakage. Also you are correct about setting preload.

Check the bearing retainer seals. I've had to replace several for customers on both autos and manuals. I have seen them lose as much as a quart a week. If that is the problem remember to replace the o-ring on the outside of the retainer ( usually the problem anyway )

Having finally purchaced an 88 GL10 Turbo last spring because I wanted more power I expected it to get something similar in gas mileage as the rest of my subes ( 24-30 ) but it only made 17 at the best. Most of the rest of my subes have 3 spd auto and the 88 has a 4 spd. I found that the intermediate band in the trans was misadjusted. I adjusted it to factory specs and low and behold 26 mpg hiway 22 around town. It is something to check because it also made my trans shift a lot better.

Having rebuilt 3 of these tranys I would say that yes the reverse 2-3 band has either failed or is out of ajustment. You could try ajusting it and see if that helps. I use the method that is in the Haynes manual. It is an easy procedure done with the car on jackstands.

Just did one that yes it hit 125 in 1st gear. You have to remove the dash pod then disassemble to remove the speedo then disassemble the speedo to clean out the gunk that has built up over the years. Then you need to LIGHTLY oil the shafts as you reassemble. I used graphite oil and have done several and it solves the slow response also.

Just as a tip on the "weld the nut on" trick. Builod up the center of the broken bolt to about 1/8 to 1/4 above the surface then set a washer that has a slightly larger center on this and weld it on (center only) then put the not on top of the washer ond weld the center of the nut to the built up area and tack the nut around the edge of the washer. Put as much heat as the nut will take without melting when welding the center. As it cools let it get to orange or slightly cooler ( not black ) before using a wrench on it. The washer gives you more weld to work with and doesn't shear off the bolt as easy. I have even gone as far as to shot it with PB as it cools.

Sorry misspoke mine was actually the pickup in the dist. On the older (83-84) this tends to happen when somebody hokes up the coil backwards.

The idler pulley can be repaired. Remove it and on the back is a snapring, remove it and the bearing will come out (may have to drive it with a hammer and drift ) go to napa or a good bearing place and get a new bearing to put in. It should be run with both belts as you will wear the one out quite quickly if you leave it as is.

I went through almost the same thing with my wife's 84. It would die and by the time I got there to rescue her it would restart. I have actually run into this several times, it turned out to be the igniter in the distributor. It is ceapest to by a good junk yard dist than to get an igniter or rebuilt dist.

Yes check your bolts also check the other small hose going in I always change that while I'm in there. The reason it probably leaks after shutdown is that is when you build the most preasure.

Did you replace the O-ring on the pipe or reuse the old one? As a mech I've have 3 different subs come in with leaking new waterpumps and all it was is they use the old O-ring.