Fixed. It wasn't water, or fuel. It was the MD 5/16" plenum spacer that was taken on and off the car multiple times and the gasket was shot. Caused air leaks as it was "sandwiched" between the upper and lower halves. I removed all the paper gasket on both sides and tried to use copper spray rtv, but it wasnt thick enough I guess and I had a vacuum leak in the front. A thin layer of gray rtv onm both sides of the spacer and its all sealed up now. Along with a new pcv and some hoses, She's back.

The vacuum leak was big enough that all that un metered air was loading it up and making it surge. Next, on to the AC.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

Ever since I got this car back moving again, I've had a ringing in the exhaust. Found a loose resonator in the left test pipe. Pulled it off the car and found a crack in the stainless also, and my bank2 sensor2 oxygen sensor was soot black. A little weld creativity and I was able to reattach the resonator collar inside, and seal up the crack.

exhaust is back to a nice smooth rip without the ringing and buzzing

 

I'm getting a consistent p0441 code, always pops up again a day or so after clearing. What am I to expect for this? Is it the evap sensors in the passenger side rear in the charcoal canister?

 

I have not had to deal with that personally but from what I read, it is saying something is leaking. So it would either leak because of a stuck open, sensor malfunction, something loose, or bad hose. I feel your frustration tho, I have a airbag light and a battery and brake light that I need to get fixed lol

 

Thanks for the input. Good luck with yours

 

That code basically says the computer doesn't think enough air is being sucked up through the EVAP system. You can start at the EVAP service port, disconnect the EVAP solenoid at the engine bay, blow air through all the hoses (you'll need a barbed fitting to attach a longer piece of hose like 3' long. Don't use compressed air just blow with your mouth. You should be able to blow air back to the intake, and through the EVAP solenoid, it's a normally opened state.

Next disconnect the lines from the canister, make sure you can blow air freely from the engine bay line back to the canister. From the canister is one line that goes back to the fuel tank, unscrew the gas cap and blow air in that line as well.

The canister vent valve/solenoid won't won't throw that code unless it's stuck open.

Inspect those lines for any cracks/damage, if it's leaking vacuum pressure the pressure sensor at the canister will be reading lower than it should and the ECM will THINK it's not getting enough flow.

If all the lines blow air freely I would suspect maybe a bad gas cap if the code only shows up after you've been driving for like 20-30 minutes creating vacuum in the tank and reducing flow. If the code shows up immediately it's more likely a saturated charcoal canister, maybe a bad pressure sensor which is also mounted on the canister.

Also do a visual check of the canister, look for any wetter/dirtier looking spots where it might be cracked and leaking.

Sometimes the EVAP service port itself is the problem but as long as the cap is screwed on it should be fine. If the cap is missing just put tape over it so it won't suck air if the valve is bad.

You still have stock cams right? Higher duration cams making lower intake vacuum tends to screw with EVAP systems as well. Same thing with intake leaks though they would have to be pretty bad and you would notice other engine/performance issues.

 

Incredible info, as usual Cleric. Yes, still on stock cams and I suspect that the evap canister may be saturated. Also did find a few hoses that were plugged by mud wasps when I put her back on the road after nearly 3 years sitting. I guess I need to be more thorough and look for more. Thanks again.
Cheers

 

here we go again. Slip light, ABS light and VDC Off lights are on. I tested the power output of the alternator at 15.15V
Is this too much for the system to handle? Voltage regulator not functioning? Alternator spins smoothly with no belt, nothing visual. Is the Voltage regulator replaceable on its own? so many questions.

 

Yes the voltage regulator is replaceable on it's own, the hard part is sourcing a quality one. See if your local alternator/starter rebuild shop will sell you just the regulator. You should probably have it bench tested first though, and you should check out the secondary loop (signal) wiring to make sure it's not just getting a crappy signal back thinking it needs to increase voltage. I was just looking this up for someone and I think the signal loop is fuse 36 ?? on the fusible link. It's in section SC - Starting/charging in the FSM.

Also, the engine bonding jumper from the timing chain cover to below the coolant reservoir might be corroded or damaged, check that out as well.

As for those lights, probably not related to voltage, start with the obvious stuff like BRAKE FLUID, see if your local auto parts house can scan for C (chassis) codes with their OBD2 scanner. If you can pull the specific code it's that much easier to troubleshoot.

 

Thank you Cleric. I'll work on that. Been meaning to check and clean up all the grounds. Should have thought of that first thing. I changed out the brake and clutch fluid when I put it back on the road, so probably not going to be that I'd guess. Have a great weekend

 

Just fyi about voltage, it's not until about 17.5-18vdc that your 12v stuff starts to misbehave. It's pretty common nowadays on higher end track-only drag cars to delete the alternator and run a 16v battery system. You just charge up with a portable charger between hits, after a pass you lose 1-1.5 volts. All the other electronics stay the same, your starter LOVES cranking at 16vdc btw

 

Gotcha. So good possibility the alternator/voltage reg is performing normally. Just dirty signal. Got my sandpaper and dielectric grease to rehab these ground points. Thanks as always.

 

If it's pushing more than 14.5ish volts then something is wrong and needs corrected. What's going to pay the price from higher voltage is the BATTERY since it's not designed to store that charge. Those 16vdc drag cars use a battery that has an extra 2v cell, they're literally designed as 16vdc batteries.

 

Updates, and a request. Swapped out the charcoal canister out back bc it was swelled and smelled like rotten dead gas. Swapped out the evap purge control sensor off the back of the manifold, had a spare. After all this and still getting consistent p0441 code. I decided to go all the way thru the evap plumbing from start to finish. I figured maybe a weak hose so I changed that one out from the evap service port to the hardline on the passenger side. In doing that I looked at the evap service port itself. I don't know how I missed it, but the outlet side of that port had a mud plug, tiny little plug from sitting so long and those oppportunistic wasps. Now no more p0441.

I wish that were the end of the story, but then I pulled a p0327 (knock sensor) code. That opened up another whole raft of problems, as I had to pull the entire intake manifold to get to the knock sensor in the valley. The plug disintegrated when I went to pull it off, so I was feeling pretty good that I found the issue. No way was I not replacing the the sensor too though with the top end of the engine off. I had another knock harness from the old engine, good continuity (no broken wires) but the connector to ythe knock sensor was brittle, so I swapped that for another I had, and I popped that in too. I was feeling pretty good and put it all back together, unfortunately with the old gaskets ( a big no no) even sprayed with copper rtv spray gasket. The MD spacer again presented problems, and I tried to do several coats of the copper spray as a gap filler (didnt work..I should know better) but I didnt have enough gray rtv to apply to both sides of the sandwiched manifold spacer. Of course I had leaks... and rough running. And most concerning, even after the ECU reset procedure.. still pulling that knock code. I've had to drive the car, but with no knock signal, the timing is pulled and it feels choppy and rough, and is chewing thru gas.

I've bought the gaskets and rtv I need, and tomorrow I'm going back into it. But here is the request. I want to know if there is a test Ohms spec for the knock sensor, the proper orientaion of that plug, and the big one.. an ecu pinout diagram so I can check continuity from the knock plug all the way to the ecu pin. I will add a shielded wire if I have to.

Thanks for any input as always.

 

Oh and I'm hesitant to add this.. I missed retightening a LOT of the harness grounds when I installed the new engine, after I pulled the engine out almost 4 years ago and removed the grounding wires kit from Sean. I had the main engine ground not attached to the engine, the driver side body ground on the side of the engine bay loose..etc etc.. This poor car never had a chance.. now its all put together though, I found the install instructions from when I first installed the kit in 2015, and what do you know..all the body ground points were still loose (DOH!) Even with the knock sensor issue, I can tell it WILL be better now.. you know since its actually grounded. getting old sucks