Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Car fun (not) - Part 2

So, now I can add the following to my list of remedial measures undertaken to repair my car in the previous post:
-Replaced the Throttle Body (TBI) gasket, cleansed the assembly, and completely unblocked a nasty caked port on it that went to the pcv valve.
-Replaced the Intake Manifold Gaskets. (Big job)
-Replaced Valve Cover Baskets
-Replaced the Purge Canistor Valve Solenoid
-Discovered that the vacuum pressure, which should be up between 17-22" Hg on a healthy engine, is actually closer to 8-10" Hg on mine. Can't figure out why, but we're pretty sure that's a big part of the problem. It's fluctuating a bit, too.
-Replaced the Thermostat Gasket (really a result of the Intake Manifold Gasket getting done)
-Replaced the fuel line o-rings on the Throttle Body (also a result of the Intake Manifold Gasket and the the Throttle Body cleaning, etc.)
-Replaced the PCV valve and hose.
-Performed a cylinder compression test. All cylinders are within operational bounds. The pressure is supposed to be about 150 psi with up to 20 psi variance between cylinders. Driver's side averaged about 165 with a high of 75 and a low of, I believe, 155. Passenger side averaged lower at around 160 or 155 with a high of 165 and a low of 145. This is good news as we were starting to worry about a cracked head or block or even a blown head gasket.

Not sure where to go from here. Diagnostic data doesn't seem to be giving us too many clues. We know that, around idle, the fuel/air mixture becomes fuel rich and the fuel injector "pulse width" (I'm not 100% sure what that means) spikes. This in addition to the vacuum testing I mention above. Do we delve into the fuel system from here? Measure fuel pressure? What about diagnosing vacuum on the purge canister and it's connection to the fuel tank? Is that the right direction? Maybe we should continue throwing money at it blindly, buy more part. I could imagine buying a purge canister, new fuel injectors, a fuel pressure regulator, and even a fuel pump. Why not throw in the fuel relay while we're at it?

Of course, I don't have the money to blow on these things. So, what to do? Tomorrow, I may bite the bullet and take the car to a shop. I'm thinking about Christian Brothers Automotive Repair. I've heard good things about them. Even so, I have an intense phobia of taking my car(s) into any shop. Praying for the Lord's guidance and provision along with some answers. Please pray also.

Here's some pictures from the last couple of days:





































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