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It seems like I get all the "problem children." Every car that no-one else can figure out tends to end up in my lap. I am proud to say, I've only had 1 car in 20 years I couldn't figure out. A Benz that I couldn't pull the info off of alldata, mitchel, or from benz themselves. Not completely my fault, but I couldn't afford to drop 18k on a benz scanner for a 1 time use.
Anyway, I have a problem child and this time it's mine. My S-10. I wasn't sure where else to put this post.
She's a 1995 S-10 2.2L. Engine is stock. About 4 months ago the engine light came on, My EGR diaphram failed. No problem, slapped on a new one, had to get license plates anyway. Passed emission test, next day light is back. Diagnose it, and find out my cheapy, 1 year old converter is blown out (no guts). I figure forget it, don't need one for 2 more years anyway. Truck runs fine. It rains in feb. and she develops a random multiple miss. Spark plug wires are cheap too and they are a year old but arc'ing 'oh so prettily. Easy fix. Or so I thought. I swapped the wires and still got a random miss. hmmm. Must be a fouled plug. Go to pull the plugs....#4 has so much light brown powdery crap packed around the plug I can't get a socket on it. I figured this came from a back heater hose I caught the year before and didn't notice the plug. Took me 4 hours with PB Blaster and small screw drivers to chisel my way down enough to get a socket on the plug and pull it. I changed the plugs and cleaned out the plug holes. Put in new plugs and damned if I STILL don't have a random miss. shit. I'll check the injectors. SO I pull the upper plenum to get to them and ohm them out. All 4 are out of spec by 10 or more ohms. I go get new ones. I figure I should do a compression check. I pull the plugs back out while warm, and do a compression test: 1-4, 125-125-130-65. Damn bad rings? hmmmm, I run a wet compression test and slug 4 pumps up. Yep bad rings. I say screw it, I'll live with the miss for a week or 2 I need the truck. Now I only had 1 miss, So I figure since she ran decent on 4 questionable injectors she should still on 4 "new" injectors. Somewhere along the line I get a bright idea to ohm the injectors again, the new ones. They are out of spec too. Maybe my info for injector spec is wrong? While I got the injectors out my 10 year old decides she's going to hit the key. She floods the cylinders with fuel, LOTS of fuel! So I get the injectors back in, pull the plugs out, spin the motor throwing gas out the plug holes in every direction, man what a high, and then shoot carb clean down the plug holes to help dry it out. Time to wait a day, I'm tripping hard.
Put plugs back in and start.
WTF!?
no miss. Runs great. Really great. I let it warm up, I take her for a spin, a HARD spin, honestly I beat the snot out of her. 6800 gear change, side-stepping clutch, beat on it. Runs fine. Reminds me of my old truck again.
65 on slug 4 should be missing.
I go back to shop, compression check it again. 132 on slug 4. Scratching my head. It healed itself?
Screw it, it works.
next week it don't start. Then it does start. Then it don't. I suspect short in ignition switch. Check it, no short. find failing fuel pump, intermittently locks up. Swap fuel pump. Miss is back! WTF!?
Oh but it's worse now. no power, barely can chug down the road and yes the compression is back down again. Did I miss something really easy? How did the compression come back and then go way again? LOL Should I wash the cylinders in fuel again!? JK
It's got 165k on it. I have never had rings fail before from age. I have no experience watching a motor age till it died. I always rebuilt them or blew them apart well before. So I always thought when rings go, 1. it's gradual and 2. they don't intermittently give you compression. I really think I missing something here.
Anyway, I have a problem child and this time it's mine. My S-10. I wasn't sure where else to put this post.
She's a 1995 S-10 2.2L. Engine is stock. About 4 months ago the engine light came on, My EGR diaphram failed. No problem, slapped on a new one, had to get license plates anyway. Passed emission test, next day light is back. Diagnose it, and find out my cheapy, 1 year old converter is blown out (no guts). I figure forget it, don't need one for 2 more years anyway. Truck runs fine. It rains in feb. and she develops a random multiple miss. Spark plug wires are cheap too and they are a year old but arc'ing 'oh so prettily. Easy fix. Or so I thought. I swapped the wires and still got a random miss. hmmm. Must be a fouled plug. Go to pull the plugs....#4 has so much light brown powdery crap packed around the plug I can't get a socket on it. I figured this came from a back heater hose I caught the year before and didn't notice the plug. Took me 4 hours with PB Blaster and small screw drivers to chisel my way down enough to get a socket on the plug and pull it. I changed the plugs and cleaned out the plug holes. Put in new plugs and damned if I STILL don't have a random miss. shit. I'll check the injectors. SO I pull the upper plenum to get to them and ohm them out. All 4 are out of spec by 10 or more ohms. I go get new ones. I figure I should do a compression check. I pull the plugs back out while warm, and do a compression test: 1-4, 125-125-130-65. Damn bad rings? hmmmm, I run a wet compression test and slug 4 pumps up. Yep bad rings. I say screw it, I'll live with the miss for a week or 2 I need the truck. Now I only had 1 miss, So I figure since she ran decent on 4 questionable injectors she should still on 4 "new" injectors. Somewhere along the line I get a bright idea to ohm the injectors again, the new ones. They are out of spec too. Maybe my info for injector spec is wrong? While I got the injectors out my 10 year old decides she's going to hit the key. She floods the cylinders with fuel, LOTS of fuel! So I get the injectors back in, pull the plugs out, spin the motor throwing gas out the plug holes in every direction, man what a high, and then shoot carb clean down the plug holes to help dry it out. Time to wait a day, I'm tripping hard.
Put plugs back in and start.
WTF!?
no miss. Runs great. Really great. I let it warm up, I take her for a spin, a HARD spin, honestly I beat the snot out of her. 6800 gear change, side-stepping clutch, beat on it. Runs fine. Reminds me of my old truck again.
65 on slug 4 should be missing.
I go back to shop, compression check it again. 132 on slug 4. Scratching my head. It healed itself?
Screw it, it works.
next week it don't start. Then it does start. Then it don't. I suspect short in ignition switch. Check it, no short. find failing fuel pump, intermittently locks up. Swap fuel pump. Miss is back! WTF!?
Oh but it's worse now. no power, barely can chug down the road and yes the compression is back down again. Did I miss something really easy? How did the compression come back and then go way again? LOL Should I wash the cylinders in fuel again!? JK
It's got 165k on it. I have never had rings fail before from age. I have no experience watching a motor age till it died. I always rebuilt them or blew them apart well before. So I always thought when rings go, 1. it's gradual and 2. they don't intermittently give you compression. I really think I missing something here.
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