daeron

i have never really been too worried about having the "right" battery for my car, as long as its big enough and physically fits in the spot. I guess if you are ordering it online its one thing, but the series IDs should be the same from one model of battery to the next... its sorta like tires, the way they are numbered... but I can't give you any more detail than that, my knowledge is a bit fuzzy

+1 on the flush mount seal "driver"

the fill cap has a thick rubber washer on it that makes the seal, and the only thing that screws the cap down is two small metal tabs that look a little bit like mickeymouse ears, except they are 180 degrees apart... you can bend these tabs up slightly to make the cap fit tighter, and you should check the thick rubber washer. I got a good one from a junkyard, and just played with my cap until it fit tightly.

durania: take the thickest wire going off the alternator (the charging wire) and replace it. It should go up into the fusible link block, find a place where you can make a good solder joint to splice in a new wire, and cut it off. If your battery and alternator are tested as good, and youve replaced your battery cables/terminals, adding ground straps between the battery and the chassis, block and chassis, and maybe even battery to block, and then replacing your charging wire are the next couple weak points to check.

yah good point... what octane do you normally run? if you run 87, have you ever considered simply running higher octane fuel? you could just have some pinging that a higher octane fuel would alleviate. i know i run 93 octane religiously, and i HATE having to pay for it.. NOT the "high octane" type of person, it pained me when i gave her half a tank and she ran so much better. however, once you find that your engine wants high test, its pretty hard to go back.

yah, cool. even if that were a shameless plug (just saying IF) that would still TOTALLY be kosher, in my book.

the starters are different, but they will interchange. consensus seems to be that if either one is to be preferred, it would be the automatic starter.. but it would get you home, be a great spare, etc. it should work. most everything ELSE should be the same, other than the rearend issue that jeff pointed out. the front and rear diffs need to match, and the front diff is (essentially) integral with the tranny, so you are pretty SOL there.. if it IS the same ratio (i dont know enough to know that) they would be interchangeable.. but you wouldnt care however, as long as both cars are SPFI (if the rubber tube going from the air filter box to the fuel intake looks the same, then they should both be SPFI.. MPFI looks totally different, and if one is carbureted, well.. it will have a carburetor there....) then virtually anything else should be about the same. There are differences, to be sure.. but if you are trying to decide whether or not to get this as a parts car, then its probably worth it.

great post, was this the "mirror-image" weber that you mentioned to someone with a post about clearing the P/S pump reservoir recently?? BTW, there are probably a good three or four of us on the forum who would consider installing the wiring, sensors, and computer for any EFI system onto a carbureted car, to be a HUGE mess of work more than retrofitting a non-stock carburetor onto your already carbureted car. heck, there may even be a dozen or so of us.

I got the impression Zed was talkiing about WD-40 & company... Im glad to see I wasn't the first to read that and say "but white lithium grease is the best thing to use in that situation!" thats one thing NOBODY else in my family EVER buys... they like to USE it, but i am the only one who ever thinks to BUY it. Oh well, at least they keep the shop stocked up on carb cleaner and brake fluid.

you should be able to unplug the thermoswitch, and take the plug on the car for it, and simply short it out. I made a jumper out of spade terminals to plug between the two female terminals on the car's wiring harness. Installing this jumper makes the car think that the thermosqitch is "on" all the time, so the fan runs all the time. If jumping the thermoswitch plug doesnt work, then the problem is elsewhere (relay, or something deeper.) However, if this fixes it, its no problem to leave the fan running with the key at all times.

Dave, I'm sorry to hear about your loss... had the cats been in the family for a while? it really is best to keep them out of the garage....

a rope tow is above and beyond the safest way to tow one vehicle with another... its just a PITA to be sitting in a geo storm, with all the responsibility for braking a full 1-ton chevy dually because thats whats towing you. if youve got a 1-ton pickup, its alot easier to use a dolly I still think it would be a good idea to start a sticky for some "extreme" towing incidents.. just to have the record established. It will help sort the rational from the mind-bogglingly risk-taking, when it comes to us USMB'ers, too... "You did WHAT?? with a TWO WHEEL DRIVE!???" a small boat shouldnt give any problems, should it? like i said before, if I can tow a boston whaler, I'm fine.. if not, then I guess I may as well torpedo my thoughts of a wagon and just pickup a nissan 4x4 to weberize and make my "work" vehicle.

i melted the front hubcaps on my geo storm one time when my buddy towed me off the interstate with his dually crew cab chevy 1-ton pickup... brakes got hot!!! being the tow-ee always sucks...

okay, okay, so i didnt notice macgyver down there.. I never actually saw the show, I had one of those huge old skool satellite dishes when i was a little kid and NEVER watched network TV.. so its just a cultural reference to me, and i didnt realize.. me == ign'ant.

you said you added 2 bottles of heat.. you can use plain denatured alcohol from home depot, if your buying something absurdly expensive instead.

I was under the impression that some of the ECUs did not turn the fuel pump on until the key was in "start" or the engine was running... I have read that many setups other than mine are different, but i have never heard my fuel pump cut on with the key, until the engine is being cranked.

click for a thread where i talked about installing a junkyard relay for the starter.. but if you are turning the key, and all power dies, I would wager more towards fusible link problems. The two issues could well be having a chicken-and-egg session with your car, but the relay would solve the starter/ignition switch side. to check the fusible link side, try wiggling all four (but especially the rear most) fusible links in the little black box behind the battery, mounted to the shock tower. Next time it "dies," hop out and try those links, leaving the key in the on position. you should hear your radio fire back up, and any other associated noises with your car in the "on" position as soon as you find the faulty contact, and wiggle it. otherwise, try replacing the stock battery cable terminals.. the cables are OK sometimes, but the stamped-out, copper sheetmetal factory terminals need to go in the garbage after 20 years of service. Wiggle around until you find your magic wire, and replace that thing as soon as you can.

sounds like the sort of thing the SeaFoam Deep Creep penetrating lube works really good at cleaning out... I am also finding that fishing reel oil, specifically Quantum Hot Sauce, is an EXCELLENT heavier penetrating oil....... but VERY expensive. no further tips, though.. I am paying attention to this thread for tweaks to be done on my own vehicle, however :- )

Let me put it this way: _I_ might consider disassembling and examining my master cylinder first, then if it seems fine I would try a proportioning valve off a 4wheel disc vehicle. I say it like that, because i've worked on many different hydraulic systems (repair and diagnosis) so i would be perfectly comfortable taking my MC apart and (providing it passes inspection) putting it back together functioning as well as it did before i took it apart. You may feel otherwise, but thats my two bits.

i want to get a nice, cherry condition Aries or Reliant K-car and drop an SRT-4 driveline into it, find a way to give it a REALLY quiet exhaust with one phantom "hidden" muffler pipe, and try to give it a stoock looking suspension/ride.. MAYBE with some absurdly ghetto looking rims so you could throw some fat tires on it, but still just look like some fool in a K-car.... Just to smoke every tom, wongleflute, and harry out there in a mustang or camaro..... I hate Neons and all, but have any of you ever ridden in an SRT-4?? my buddy has an '05, and when he got it the PO had somehow bypassed the boost controller enntirely.. I got the pleasure of sitting in it once or twice when he accidentally pushed it all the way to the floor and unlimited boost got pumped out the turbo.. can you say, thirty pounds??? it pegged his boost gauge that went up to 24.. it had wrapped it back around to the -16 vacuum reading, which was about 6 more pounds, radially. that thing has some crazy potential. (note: my friend has since repaired his boost controller, and his car is no longer EVER achieving this kind of boost. it was a mistake made by a PO, not some sort of home 2ner upgrade by he and I:)) and, back to the topic of the thread, I motion that we make this a sticky, or make a sticky with EA-82 towing experiences on it to help define its "capacity...." Naturally such a thread would be "Read/Imitate at your own risk!" but I think it would be helpful to know what others with similar rigs were able to tow, and what kind of terrain/distance was safely achieved. I, for one, only care that I can get a soob that will tow a 13' boston whaler. I feel confident in that. Once I get/build that vehicle, though... I'm sure eventually I will wonder what MORE I can do.

you got AC?? there is an internally regulated nissan maxima alt thats 90A, i think it was like 88-92 they ran them.. fits on my SPFI, inboard AC compressor EA82. what i did was found one in the JY, and found a soob similar to mine and installed it out there to reassure myself it would fit and adjust properly.. then found an alternator shop and had them install a proper pulley. The Maxima alt. has a V-belt pulley, and the one off your alt. just wont line up at all... also, maybe i am misunderstanding, but any battery you buy will need to be replaced eventually... Ive got a local auto parts chain here that I go to alot, and they sell Exide Nascar Select batteries with 3 year full replacement warranties.. not sure of the series designation of the one I have in mind, but theres a 600+CCA battery for about 70 bucks I was gonna get. 3 year free replacement is a good enough gimmick for me. I'll even ignore the name.

no problems, 15 minutes idling with some revving, lots of whitish to grey smoke when i punched it. it was fun pulling out in front of people and having to bury the throttle with smoke pouring out the rear but it tapered off after about 5 minutes of actual driving. i dont believe the seat of my pants, but if i did id say it made her a bit more responsive.. im interested solely in longevity and efficiency, tho. standard seafoam experience :- )

gd, you realize you just pass 6,666 posts? I have been thinking about starting a pool on how long it was going to take you to go MS. i just got that vibe from you a few months ago when you were going on about something with your SPFI, i think this solenoid issue.. i thought, "how long until he throws it away, and megasquirts it?" thats my two bits. my impression of who you are, im surprised you havent done it already. I can't wait to get into it myself on the Zcar, but that miles down the road...the Zcar, she must run again and have at least all one color primer before anything along THOSE lines starts happening. so much time & money, and so little to do.....

thats crazy, i was just making a joke as you didnt call dibs on the glass yourself, just the "metal stuff" and i would LOVE to do the same in my retirement. nothing like old wood. and im NOT making a joke there, i like old wood furniture..the newest piece of furniture in my room is my desk which was given to my for christmas of... 87? 88 maybe?

I'll quit my complaining, but im not moving to colorado. Ive got enough friends who keep suggesting that to me, and they dont/cant understand whats keeping me here in FL, much less can they understand that my heart has already fallen for a mountain range, and it is of a more Atlantic persuasion. I am whining for my state in life right now, with a car needing a headgasket and a (godawful) job that isnt gonna pay for that for a few weeks, and its finding other outlets. In all honesty, i would rather enjoy flying out to colorado to buy a soob and driving it back, that would be awesome. i cant believe that the concept hadnt occurred to me before someone mentioned it the other day. SO, if i ever get my ducks in a row, thats probly what I'm a-gonna do. As I've said in the past I already have friends out there in steamboat springs, so it would be three birds with one stone. new car, vacation, see cassy candy & karen again. plus the road trip to bond me with the new ride.