robm

All the Loyales I had worked just like that, on purpose, as far as I could tell. In fact, the Loyales keep it at 1200+ until you coast to a stop, then drop. The only one that doesn't, has a problem with the IAC, so idle is always a bit off. I had a theory it was to keep the oil pressure up, but that is probably wrong. Maybe it is to make it easier to slide it into gear, as both the input/output/internal shafts are closer matched in speed?

It is not just the gas. There is less than 2% difference in BTU value between summer and winter fuel. 2 % is not 2 - 4 MPG. Colder air is denser, so there is more wind resistance = lower MPG. Cold engines take longer to warm up = lower MPG. Cold transmissions and wheel bearings have thicker lubricants = lower MPG. Wet roads have water on them that gets picked up and thrown around. This takes energy, = lower MPG.

Also, 4WD on tight corners = spin out. The back wheels are forced to go as fast as the fronts, and they actually trace a track that is tighter than the fronts, so they should be going slower. This will cause you to spin out, if you are not aware of the possibility.

I hate to correct such a knowledgeable and willing guy as DaveT, but aligning the 3 marks do not put the crank at TDC. I believe the pistons are halfway up the bore? In any case, follow his instructions, and all will be well.

GD, that is the 49 state version...

It is probably due to the way the cruise control feedback loop is tuned. Nothing to do with the engine, no way to retune it without reprogramming the cruise control. If it didn't do this, it probably wouldn't maintain speed as well on the hills, or it wouldn't work as well when the car is fully loaded.

Chances are you have a sedan shock on the high side, and a wagon shock on the low one. The sedan shocks give a higher ride.

Carburetor icing can be a problem at this time of year. Is the air heating system on the air filter intact, or did it get removed last summer along with the vacuum hoses? Usually, this shows up at speed, with less and less power available, more throttle required, until you have to pull over. It goes away when you pull over and wait for a few minutes, while pulling your hair out trying to figure out what is wrong. . But the 10 minutes driving fine, until it shows up, makes me wonder if this isn't what is going on.

Would a shorted ignition transistor to this? Does it have one on this model? Somewhere, there is a short between the fuse and the coil, or maybe just past the coil. An ohmmeter is useful here, put it between the fuse and ground, and unplug stuff until the short goes away.

There are 2 different latches. One is fairly easy to jigger from below, the other is not, as the guts are shielded from tampering. Once you get it open, it is simple to add a wire that sticks through the grill so you can open it from the front of the car. If you get a new cable, DO NOT PULL OUT THE OLD CASING until you have used it to pull the new cable into place.

Could be a shredded driver's side timing belt. The passenger side one is still good, so you get compression on that side. But there shouldn't be any spark if that happens. Still worth a look. Check the rotor screw while you are at it. The yellowish spark could be a sign of bad plug wires. My coil wire died once. It ran OK for 600 km, then wouldn't start. There looked to be spark, but weak and yellow. There was enough capacity in the coil wire to make a crappy spark in air, but not in the combustion chamber.

I have had my speedometer do something like this, but only at extremely cold temperatures, like -35 deg. C. And then, it was reading really high, and very noisy. A few mile of driving fixed it. I can't remember if I had heat in the car on that trip or not.

Which distributor are you running? How much mechanical and vacuum advance? Does the EFI Y-pipe have the catalytic converter in it? How about fuel mileage, and cost per mile in your part of the world?

Was it the right rear bearing? The theory is the camber of the road side-loads the bearing, and it doesn't like it much.

Iridium plugs aren't required. Plain old NGK's work as well or better than anything else. I hope you get the vacuum advance as part of the new distributor. Otherwise, you will be very disappointed with your fuel consumption.