still need to clean the spark plugs but i cant find my wire brush. i may just end up buying a new set for peace of mind

Since you just bought new ones just clean them.

Good to hear it's running. Think battery connections were your dying issue? 

 

Plugs can probably straighten out themselves if just a little dry & sooty after the short drives you put it through. Don't be surprised if they aren't black anymore. If they are "wet" and black or oily after all this driving, that can be something else.

 

The bad idle can be a vacuum leak. Take it up to Auto Zone or whatever, and get 6' of vacuum line (or thereabouts need to estimate on your own) and try and match up the smaller vacuum lines and replace one hose at a time. If anything is attached to a plastic nipple and doesn't easily come off, score the outer rubber carefully like you are whittling a stick to break the seal while exposing the nipple. Can use a drop of WD-40 to loosen hose by getting some to drip into the area your scored away, then gently twisting, and also add a drop to reconnect new hose so it slips over plastic easily w/o breaking.

 

Conversely, vacuum lines can harden and expand over nipples, creating a loose connection and thus leaking but "appearing" OK. Other times they can harden (on bends especially) and even split like on the bottom of the hose, and be completely invisible to the eye. Or it can get soft in a small spot and dry rot, creating a hole or small leaks. Mine had several suspect hoses and idled better after taking care of all of them. It's so cheap to do, it doesn't hurt.

 

Some lines are a little tricky to get at, like under the passenger intake runner are a few short lines. I unbolted the sensor they were attached to, then was able to pull away to remove and replace. Just do one hose at a time as some hoses go right by each other and are easy to mix up.

 

Also, some hose are factory offset differently on each end by a couple mm. Why they didn't just make the plastic "T" connector different sizes on each end is baffling as it means you either need a factory replacement (good luck), or need to add a little WD-40 and stretch the donor a little bit. Only remember a couple ends being like this. Since it's not a show car and doesn't hurt performance, I opted to stretch the hose end a little bit to fit.  GL.

Edited June 30, 201510 yr by Bushwick

Good to hear it's running. Think battery connections were your dying issue? 

 

Yes it seems like it, no problems since.

 

 

 

 

The bad idle can be a vacuum leak. Take it up to Auto Zone or whatever, and get 6' of vacuum line (or thereabouts need to estimate on your own) and try and match up the smaller vacuum lines and replace one hose at a time. If anything is attached to a plastic nipple and doesn't easily come off, score the outer rubber carefully like you are whittling a stick to break the seal while exposing the nipple. Can use a drop of WD-40 to loosen hose by getting some to drip into the area your scored away, then gently twisting, and also add a drop to reconnect new hose so it slips over plastic easily w/o breaking.

 

Conversely, vacuum lines can harden and expand over nipples, creating a loose connection and thus leaking but "appearing" OK. Other times they can harden (on bends especially) and even split like on the bottom of the hose, and be completely invisible to the eye. Or it can get soft in a small spot and dry rot, creating a hole or small leaks. Mine had several suspect hoses and idled better after taking care of all of them. It's so cheap to do, it doesn't hurt.

 

Some lines are a little tricky to get at, like under the passenger intake runner are a few short lines. I unbolted the sensor they were attached to, then was able to pull away to remove and replace. Just do one hose at a time as some hoses go right by each other and are easy to mix up.

 

Also, some hose are factory offset differently on each end by a couple mm. Why they didn't just make the plastic "T" connector different sizes on each end is baffling as it means you either need a factory replacement (good luck), or need to add a little WD-40 and stretch the donor a little bit. Only remember a couple ends being like this. Since it's not a show car and doesn't hurt performance, I opted to stretch the hose end a little bit to fit.  GL.

 

Thanks for the info. Vacuum lines are next on the list. Also the lines coming off the intake, and a some coolant lines that seem to be deteriorating.

The air lines coming from the intake into the pcv valve are pretty dirty, lots of build up on the sides. I didnt want to scrape it off, thinking that it may be bad if some of the crud gets sucked into the valve. Will do the pcv valve at the same time.