GeneralDisorder

Weird post count and last poster information - I think the forum d-base ate itself on my last post . Love this wonderful internet. GD

Run a compression test. A gauge is about $10 at harbor frieght and that will tell you right away if something is wrong beyond the bolt-on stuff at the top layer. If you have bad/weird compression, pull the outer belt covers and look for limp belts. Turn the engine over with a socket and breaker bar and make sure the belts actually rotate (the teeth can shear away without them breaking). If everything looks good on the compression in all 4 cylinders move to fuel and ignitions systems. Check for spark - if you have it move on to fuel - if you don't stop and find out why. Timing belts and water pumps require no special tools. Just regular hand tools and the willingness to read a manual. GD

Yeah - but the used compressor market is a different beast. That just indicates how well a product keeps it's value. People are willing to pay more even for a used Quincy because they know they can do an annual service on it and have basically new machine. I doubt you could even get any significant parts for the 20 year old Craftsman - their business model doesn't require supporting things that far out. Buy a 20 year old Quincy, and in anther 20 years when it's 40 years old you'll still be able to get service parts for it. I just ordered parts for a 1965 QR-370 that's going in our rental fleet after being owned by a local parks department since the early 80's. It was making 60 CFM @ 125 psi when I tore it down . GD

I'm pretty old-school myself actually. Ran a lot of carbs and still have a Weber on my hatch. It's not a matter of liking wires and sensors and such - it's a matter of wanting what fuel injection offers and then taking an hour or two to read through the factory service manual and get acquainted with the system. The SPFI is actually quite simple - it comes from an era where fuel injection was, by it's very nature, so much more efficient than carbs, that it didn't need anything "extraeneous" to satisfy the bunny hugger's. It consists of only half a dozen sensors, all of which are easily tested with a DMM in minutes. No special tools are required to make use of it's self-diagnostic system. It neatly compensates for engine wear by it's very nature. Rather than trying to force feed the engine what your seat-of-the-pants dyno thinks it needs, it receives feedback in the form of airflow, temperature, and exhaust oxygen content and gives the engine precisely what IT wants. Change to a better exhaust, or a different cam profile and NO tuneing is required. The engine will get exactly what it needs, all the time, no fuss. I gaurantee that the SPFI system will outlast any carb. No (non feedback) carb out there can compensate for engine wear, and being mechanical they will naturally break down faster. The SPFI system is well known to last 250k+ without ANY failures. I understand your unwillingness to change, but give it a chance and learn something new in the process. I like carbs too, but SPFI brings things to the table that no carb can compete with. Performance and economy with virtually no maintenance or tuning. One has to appreciate that and by all rights any gear head worth his salt should immediately want to know more. GD

The hatch can't use a two-peice due to the length. But I prefer the two peice on everything but the hatchback. The joints can be replaced with serviceable units (for a toyota), and the two peice gives better clearance under lifted rigs. There are also tons and tons of them to be had in yards in the NW so there is little reason for me to spend the money on a one peice. It's got no advantages for me. One peice units are fine also as long as you don't exceed 15 degrees on the u-joints (unlikely anyway). GD

I don't have any EA82 manifolds or I would take you up on that. But generally they aren't too expensive from a yard. Have you considered just swapping the carbbed car to SPFI? It's actually quite easy on the EA82's since there's no modifications neccesary - everything just bolts together and you run a few wires and fuses. No more difficult than installing a stereo really. GD

More likely you have a partial short in the wire TO the idle cut solenoid. It cuts the idle circuit when it does NOT get power. The wire on the end of the solenoid is often freyed with broken insulation. GD

What's wrong with your SPFI? Beleive me - you don't want the Hitachi. And it isn't just a matter of bolting it on. The electrical and fuel systems have to be changed to support a carb. The SPFI fuel pump puts out 50 psi dead-head pressure. Carbs want 2 to 3 psi. GD

Well - they flashed it and the GF says it's better now. So it could have been a software issue. I'll know better when I drive it and check it out myself. GD

I wonder how much of that is related to straight mechanical design changes though. Early improvments like the 2.2 design change in 96/97, and head/valve designs. It is amazing though I know what you mean. I think it's mostly related to the ability of the huge/improved catalytic converters to burn off the stuff from running lean. Fuel burns more cleanly at richer mixtures than an engine actually needs at cruise so in the past they have had to hold back leaning the engines out to avoid excessive tailpipe emissions - the afterburning systems were not advanced enough to handle a fully leaned out cruise mixture. At least those are my theories on the matter. Turbo's are always poor on gas though - extra fuel just for cooling. Even the new WRX's aren't that great compared to the NA base Imp. GD

Yeah - it's too bad we can't go back to the early 90's systems like my SS. Simple, reliable, and built for $1.00 a gallon premium...... wait that last one makes me mad.... sorta GD

Yeah - she has an appointment tommorow morning. Unfortunately (or fortunately for them perhaps) I'll be at work. If she can't get them to make it right the next step will be to call me in. Pretty it will not be, should they attempt to brush me off. And if I'm not effective - her mother will be there. Angry japanese lady on oxygen! GD

That would work except her mother is a lung-transplant patient - can't drive around here, can't be exposed to the sun much, can't take the heat, ect, ect. But I see your point I'll get a fire lit under them. GD

No - you just use the EA82 clutch disc. Swapping over to the EA82 flywheel just buys you the ability to run the EA82T/XT6 pressure plate. You need to make sure you use the EA82 disc that has the round hub and not the semi-square one as the squarish one won't fit inside the EA81 pressure plate. GD

Why not just use the EA81 flywheel? That's what I always do. Just substitute the EA82 friction disc. GD

Good to hear. Glad it was that simple. SPFI is really quite a simple beast. Just a small box of good spare parts is all you need under the seat for trouble-free motoring in all 50 states Really there aren't that many sensors though. Take your old one apart and see if you can fix it for a spare. Might just be as simple as cleaning the wipers and the PCB. GD

A lot of people wouldn't that's true. But most of those people would likely be better served renting one when they need it. They aren't 5x the price at all. They aren't even 2x the price for comparable machines when you are talking brand new. And when you are talking about used stuff from craigslist, you have no idea what kind of use/abuse the thing has had. At least buying a 20 year old Quincy you CAN get parts and make it virtually like new again for a reasonable price. And in 20 more years when the thing is 40 years old you'll still be able to do it again. You get unlucky on a Craftsman purchase of a 20 year old compressor and you're going to eat it. The beauty of air tools is how inexpensive they are for the power/performance you get out of them. I personally don't buy the most expensive, nor the most inexpensive air tools. Generally if it's not at least $100, it's chinese crap and it's going to be non-user-friendly, won't last long, and will be impossible to get repair parts for. Also - CFM by itself is a meaningless number. It has to be CFM @ psi. Such as 4 CFM @ 100 psi. A machine that makes 4 CFM @ 90 psi will not keep up with a tool that uses 4 @ 100. CFM goes up as pressure decreases. One mistake that people make all the time is they decide they need more air for whatever reason, and crank the pressure of the machine up. That does NOTHING but make their situation worse as the machine makes less air at higher pressure. Then they come to me and wonder why. I think you are missing my point - it's better, when you are talking about a power source (compressed air is a power source, or "utility" if you wish, just as is electricity) that runs many tools in your shop, to buy the best equipment you can afford. A used Quincy IS within his budget, and would be one less potential frustration for him in the future. It also supports a company that still manufactures something of quality here in the US. Something that is worth more than merely a few hundred dollars. You can have your cheap chinese stuff - I don't want it, it's frustration, or it's implications for the US economy. I know that may sound crazy on a Japanese car forum.... but if the US actually produced a quality car anymore I would be one of the first in line for one. GD

Which vehicle is this concerning? How much fluid is missing and over what time period/mileage? As pads and shoes wear, brake fluid will need to be topped off because the pistons in the calipers, and the brake cylinders retract to ever-increasing distances from their "new pad/shoe" location. Thus more of the system's fluid is contained inside the caliper's/cylinder's piston bore and not in the reservoir where you can see it. GD

The GF's car is doing strange things with the AC on. If you push in the clutch with the AC on the idle will hunt back and forth between 1500 and 2000 RPM with about a 0.5 - 1 Hz freqency. She called the dealer and they claim it's "normal" for the idle to change with the AC on, but she neglected to tell them the frequency of the hunting. This certianly can't be right. Also the car has never idled right to my satisfaction. It's always had a weird, rough idle that isn't solid at a specific RPM. It's in the neighborhood of 750 to 1000 all the time, but it's never the same and it feels rough. My hands are tied because the thing is under warantee so I have to light a fire under the dealers asses to do something about it. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced similar problems, what the solutions are, or what potentially I should sugest the dealer inspect should they claim there is nothing wrong. I want this foolishness fixed before the warantee runs out and it's MY problem . GD

What do you need exactly? Us members in the area have been known to help each other out for no charge. If it's simple stuff (axle change, etc) or you want an honest opinion from someone that's not financially involved you could drop by and I could take a look. I'm in West Linn - just south on 205 a peice. Ritchie is a good guy, but no one touches my cars but ME, so I don't have first hand experiences with him. Seems like a nice person at the shows and such. GD

Sure - but how many actual run hours are on it? Age doesn't matter as long as they are stored in a clean dry environment. I doubt it has 1000 hours on it. Most inexpensive reed valve machines are rated at 1000 on the valves. The Quincy reed valves are rated at 3000 hours which is typically about 3x what other manufacturers give them. GD

Oil-free recip's are TEH SUCK. When they fail, they fail in a big, nasty, loud way. Usually accomanied by a lot of smoke. You may not have oil in your lines, but one day soon you will have compressor metal and teflon in them . If you want decent oil-free, look at a scroll compressor. Powerex makes a neat little unit. http://www.powerexinc.com/index.asp?fuseaction=productDetails&product_subcategory_id=23 GD

Then you need to go to a lighter weight oil. SAE 20 is what I reccomend for cold environments. All reed valve machines make a lot of noise. It's the valves, the fact that there is just less metal in the machines, most small ones have no intercooler, and then they have use an external tank-check valve which rattles when the compressor is in operation. Then they blow-down the discharge line using a form-x pressure switch because reed valve machines are unable to start under load (discharge line to the tank must be depressurized). Then they mount them on un-reinforced tank saddles and spin them at horribly fast RPM - people want CHEAP is what it comes down to. They take a small, cheap pump and spin it very fast... it's going to be loud. People want cheap - that's why wall-mart makes so much money. Even Quincy has to compete against IR and even Craftsman. There is a market for it and unfortunately that drives UP the price of the decent machines because fewer people are buying them. Beleive me.... I know this all too well and I deal with it every day. It's sad - I'm rebuilding a 43 year old QR machine at the shop this week and besides needing a good overhaul it still performs TO SPEC! It's weeping oil from everywhere - but it still makes just as much air as it did when it was built in 1965. Try that with your Craftsman. Spin a smallish QR at a nice 750 RPM and you will know the definition of quiet. They are so quiet in operation that you can hear the disc valves clicking. Plus they have a nice low-pitched rumbble - sort of like the difference between an idleing mopar and a weed whacker. GD

Don't bring that poor Alpha owner into this. That thing's owner has enough problems without being accused of stealing your trim. GD

They did that to eliminate the field circuit (and the charge indicator lamp). By tying it back into the output they made the alt self-exciting (the output see's 12v from the battery when the alt is not making power). This way they didn't have to rev the engine past 3k to get the alt to self-excite. GD