ProwlerGT's 3000GT Revival Thread - Start Up

[ProwlerGT]

Worked on the car from 9pm last night till 7am this morn.

Here's a thread of a TPS question I have:
http://www.3si.org/forum/showthread....60#post4551560 - "TPS at 14% with ignition on and idle"

If anyone has any answers to that I'd appreciate it.

Last night I started with a re-inspection of the ECU since I have found a bad IAC (for a fact). Luckily for me it seems (now that I know that Rubycon or Rubicon are the names of the bad capacitors used in our cars) that my ECU was not built with Rubicon capacitors. Instead it looks like it was built with Nichicon or Nihicon capacitors instead. The board looked clean and new and I was relieved and even though I do have an extra ECU I didn't want to have to use it. Gotta keep my backup inventory.

Readjusted my brake pedal height (from floor to top of pedal) to about 5.5" seeing as other NA people's have reported that same height and it was what mine was set at to begin with despite a 7.0" stated in the manual which is either a misprint or is for the TT people with bigger brake boosters than the NA's. This is always a lot of fun to do being a big guy with your head under the dash while your back is spread out and poked by the edge of the car and that wonderful pokey thingy in the side of the seat. Lucky for me I had my sister there to help me adjust the brake pedal light switch perfectly. I wanted the brake lights to shine at the slightest tap of the brake pedal and thats how it is now. As far as the popping sound that I seem to be experiencing I've come to the conclusion that its gotta be the brake pedal arm bushing(s) that are causing this noise/feeling. I have literally replaced EVERYTHING else it could be under the hood and at the wheels unless the proportioning valve is bad and while I seriously doubt it sure... why tha fuck not.... that sure as fuck could be bad too. It just would seem odd if it was the prop. valve cause that just controls flow/evening out of fluid to all calipers. I don't see how it could cause a popping sensation in the pedal itself.

Put the newly rebuilt TB together. Re-Ohmed the IAC. Did continuity checks of the TPS and followed instructions for setting the SAS. At the end of it all I was constantly readjusting the throttle cable tension cause I wanted it firm/tight, but not enough to be pulling at the throttle plate at all. I have always hated how the cable was adjusted prior to this big revival and prior to all this I never knew how to adjust it. It would always jump ahead after I'd push the pedal down a lil ways..... I could never inch along if I wanted/needed to and I think I've got it setup to where I can now.

Then I decided while I was letting my apparently completely dead ass Palm Datalogger recharge its batteries to fix up my air intake with the smanchy fancy plates I'd bought for it for support and for coverage on top (so called "cold air intake" helper.. which I believe is complete bs under a stock hood with no extra ventilation). Well take a look at the picture:



NA sports fans.... sorry, but this setup does NOT work under the hood and it took learning it the hard way. The bottom support plate does NOT mount to anything leftover from the old stock airbox setup. It does not align with anything at all. I'm using an Ebay BOMZ intake pipe (which is poorly designed if you ask me; cheap 2nd side of the pipe setup) and a Apexi Power Intake filter and adapter which cost me a pretty penny from GtPro a while back (the expensive 1st side of the pipe setup). The hood will NOT close with that nice so called cold air intake plate atop the filter as long as the support plate underneath is there and I'd much rather have that than the top cover. Took the top cover off and electrical taped (in classic professional finishing fashion ~ ta taaaa) the old air box stud and a bolt so that when the support plate bounces it'll not make a noise or scratch up the plate much. I'm going to fab something up for this later on probably, but my back is killing me.

Do I go take a bath or just go to bed? Ick.... Hmm.... dunno... back to the garage? Hmm....

Thinking of doing this to get it out of the way before I go to sleep and its nearly 8am now: Bad Ignition Switch?

After that the only thing stopping me from starting the car is me. I want to start it and set the base idle during the day when its relatively not so humid like it is in the morning. I have to rebleed the brakes still too from the booster installation, but that ain't no biggie.... just time consuming.

[ProwlerGT]

Is a Hooraaaay in order? I'm not sure yet. I stayed up. I did that ignition switch screw thing that the guy in the other thread did and it didn't seem to fix my problem I guess my switch is really going out. Thats a pain too cause I had to disassemble my freakin underdash just to get to that screw to tighten it and it was loose. It tightened the switch (that the key turns) back up, but I haven't noticed much of a difference. The one thing I do notice is that if I turn the key fast it works most of the time 1st try. Slow key turns seem to require retrys. I wonder what that means? Anyone? Anyone watching? LOL

I did decide to start her up. She sounds strong, but I cannot help but notice some sort of low bass volume popping out the tail pipes. I think I've always heard this, but I'm not sure. The car doesn't stall anymore thats for sure. I still have the original FIAV on there cause the guy who rebuilt my TB again said I had a leak in the TB shaft o-ring and we wanted to rule out that leak vs a bad FIAV. Given that the idle was not set prior to this 1st start up in several months I wasn't observing if the FIAV was working or not. I've reset the idle per the manual using Shiver's MirageCorp Hybrid logger, but again like in the past the idle on the logger does not match that of the idle on the RPM gauge in the car. I really do not understand this. I'm going to go out again in a moment to see if the FIAV is doing its thing before making another attempt to set the idle and we shall see. If this doesn't work then I'll replace the FIAV with an extra one Steve sent me (TB rebuilder guy) and if that doesn't work well then I'll probably find a big gun and go shoot some stuff.

[ProwlerGT]

I don't think my FIAV is bad as it seemed to perform as it should, though I am still baffled at my idle. The logger I have seems to show 200 RPM lower than what is being displayed on the gauge in the car. I don't understand it, but from knowing what the engine should sound like at the right idle it sounds as though it is idling properly at around 700-720ish, but again the gauge doesn't fit. It says I'm Idling like 920-950 or so. Very odd.

I just started a thread on this issue:

MirageCorp Hybrid Datalogger; Rear O2 0 volts; Exhaust rich; RPMs no match logger: http://www.3si.org/forum/showthread....23#post4552023

My Rear O2 does not come up with any volts and I figure it should though I don't know for sure. Have to look it up. Accelerating and decelerating seem to go smoothly. TPS is set perfectly. I get 100% throttle at WOT. No more STALLING!!!!!!!!! Idle will stay steady now, but gauge doesn't match.

Does anyone know if you fool with the throttle cable if it will affect the gauge in the dash? if not what would affect that gauge?

What would cause my exhaust to be rich (obviously more fuel; but what condition causes more fuel to be dumped)?

Anyone with a datalogger issues similar to mine using Shiver's datalogger?

[ProwlerGT]

So I probed my exhaust today..... hehe he he he... ha ha he ha heee.. ha. and found out that I only have 1 O2 sensor. Talking to others in the datalogger thread from the previous post was confusing me cause apparently most people with a TT or a Cali spec engine have more than 1. Likely they have 2 or 4. Still trying to find out what this means for reporting on the datalogger since the logger has an O2 front and O2 rear selection. My hunch is that I should only get 1 reported data value (either front or rear) and initially when I didn't know I had only 1 O2 sensor I thought this was cause for alarm thinking I had more than 1 sensor and that one of them wasn't reporting and broken. Still the exhaust does smell really rich and RPMs are not matching on the datalogger what they are on the RPMs gauge.

Does anyone have a clue how the RPMs gauge could be reporting wrong if the gauge itself has never been messed with? What makes the RPMs gauge work and where's it connected to?

[ProwlerGT]

Status/Findings:

My 1995 Hybrid year NA has only 1 O2 Sensor thus 1 O2 data result is accurate on the MirageCorp version 1.0B logger. RPMs are not represented properly on this logger either which messed with my mind (misleading) on setting the basic idle speed as I was not sure to trust the logger vs the dash tachometer, but the overruling vote is to trust the tach (which gets the RPMs signal from the Crankshaft position sensor) unless it is faulty and if it is then you'd have some other noticeable issues to fix anyway.

I can use the logger to monitor RPMs as long as I add +125 to the constant changing RPMs number (as you accel/decel the pedal) and as long as RPMs are under 1000. After 1000 its said that RPMs will report properly on the logger although my datalogging results have so far shown that the +125 variance does seem to exist above 1000RPMs so I'll just have to keep that in mind.

What is left:

1. Reset basic idle speed AGAINNNNNNNNNNN now that I know what to expect of the logger
2. Steering Rack installation with new tie rod ends (current ends do not have rubber cover on top from previous work, but are heavily lubed)
3. Maybe raise front end (Ksport struts)
4. Dremel cut off the Ksport studs that are hitting the hood when it closes
5. Resolve startup issue (no crank, no dash lights, no sounds, no nothing) when key turned
6. A/C System overhaul

As far as I'm concerned the only things left before I go take the car for a nice test drive for the first time since Katrina (besides that round the block drive I did a very long time ago) is the basic idle adjustment and cutting off of the Ksport studs. SUPER DUPER SUPER DUPER SUPPPPPPPEEERRRRR NEWS !!! I CAN'T WAIT TO GO DRIVE IT TOMORROW!!!! YIPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!! PARTY TIME.... P.... A..... R.... T.. WHY??? CAUSE I GOTTA !!!!

Too bad I leave in a week for IL. I'm debating on calling (Linebckr49) Andrew tomorrow to tackle the steering rack and possibly the A/C too.

[Linebckr49]

Rolland, you've definitely made a lot of progress. i'm free all day monday if you need a had with the steering rack or anything else. just let me know sometime today (Sunday) if you want me to come out. you have my number.

can't wait til you get to drive her.

[ProwlerGT]

Originally Posted by Linebckr49

Rolland, you've definitely made a lot of progress. i'm free all day monday if you need a had with the steering rack or anything else. just let me know sometime today (Sunday) if you want me to come out. you have my number.

can't wait til you get to drive her.

Reset the idle. The tach is now where it should be between 700 and 800. Logger reflects a lower number, but the tach is what I wanted to be right.
Cut off the Ksport studs that were touching the hood.
Filled the tires up to 32lbs of air (while fighting off mosquitoes)..... and then......

Welllllllllll.......... I WENT FOR A DRIVE !!!!! (at around 10pm tonight with my sister; had her manning the logger) and I wish I could say it was the best thing ever.... but it was pretty damn close. It was kinda what I expected, but there were 3 things I didn't expect and don't like. lol

First The GOOD:
I love the way the engine sounds now with the new air pipe setup and it was wonderful riding in my car again.


Expected:
1. This was the first time I've driven on the Ksports. I had set the dampening to halfway and I think the ride (for everyday driving) was still too hard and bouncey. I believe I'll set the dampening all the way back and if that doesn't help (cause I swear I almost was getting a headache) as it needs to for my taste I may sell the Ksports and get a new set of factory shocks/struts cause I always liked the way they rode.

2. I expected some noise from underneath in the front cause the tie rod ends are missing their top covers and I think I heard a few clunks on bumps during turns. No biggie. Alignment pulls way to the left and as I got to a higher speed.

3. I expected to hear lots of squeaky noises from the tires and I did. Filled them to 32lbs before I left.

Not Expected and didn't like:
1. The squeaking which I am fairly confident is coming from my control arms is very annoying. Even though I thoroughly lubed these up and put in new ball joints what I didn't do was replace the arms themselves or the huge pivot bushings at the back of the arms. I believe it is at the point the arm pivots in this bushing that the squeaking is happening as the stud of the arm that sticks into it is malformed and no longer smooth and completely cylindrical as I'm sure it was originally. I thought the suspension grease would take care of this, but apparently not. At some point I'm going to have to break the bank again and get new or fairly new control arms and the bushing that comes with it.

2. Braking - I do still have to rebleed the lines (cheated a bit on this; brake light isn't on though), and the fluid reservoir is half full from when I pulled out the brake booster. Braking is not satisfactory and I hear the pads dragging on the discs. If after I rebleed braking doesn't improve the only things left to replace are the proportioning valve and the brake pedal assembly itself or the bushings it pivots on.

3. TAKE OFF - PUTTING THE PEDAL to the FLOOR - Just not what I expected at all. Once it catches up or finally takes a hold of the throttle it hauls ass pretty good, but it does not respond immediately or nearly immediately. As soon as I stomp the pedal down to haul it (with PWR mode ON or OFF) the engine seems to BOG down before hauling tail. I'd say this is a bog down of anywhere from 1 to 3 seconds.... maybe 1 to 2 seconds, but it does it consistently every time in lower gears. If I'm in 3rd or 4th this doesn't happen. Its only from a lower 1 or 2 gear position or from a dead stop.

[ProwlerGT]

OOOPPSSSSS I'm HUMAN AFTER ALL!

Well I have no way of knowing for sure yet if this is the area of the leak, but after my very thorough research into what vac lines I had in my car I missed the EVAP lines that runs underneath the plenum to the front of the car to the EVAP canister located probably where all of you knew it was just under the Radiator overflow container. I had however replaced the vac lines to/from the throttle body to the EVAP solenoid, but I do recall now way back when I did that I had no idea what I was plugging the new vac hoses into. I looked in the manual and come to find out this could actually relate to my startup problem as well.

I'm sure there are threads on it, but I can basically dump this thing???? Do I simply unplug the solenoid connector and cap off the air inlet at the TB to successfully take the EVAP out of the system?


I guess I put up the party favors too quickly. LOL - Oh well. It was commemorating of my first drive in a while though. I tell ya what though.... with those Ksports I might as well of had solid steel struts/shocks. It definitely makes your ride firm.

[ProwlerGT]

Just went to Autozone. They have gauge tach's with 4 wire hookup but I really don't feel like splicing my wires and getting into all that just to get a 3rd look at RPMs from a different device. There are inductive tachs on Ebay, but I don't have the time. Supposed to move this weekend. I'm going to "TRUST" an agreeable average between the logger and the tach gauge and also test my Crankshaft sensor too to be sure things are kosher. Just gonna make sure ISC goes back to 7 steps when resetting idle. I was able to obtain some 3-way vac line testing Tee's so I can do a manifold pressure check (my 1st one ever) with the neat vac gauge I bought a long time ago that is sitting doing nothing. The only thing that ever discouraged me from using it was not having a good fitting hookup to use it with and thinking the air compressor vac leak down test would be better although that didn't seem to be easy without a custom made vac tester block-off thingy. Bought some vac line caps too. These things were near the air filter section at Autozone.

[ProwlerGT]

Stayed up late last night studying the manual about the evap thingy and it kinda ruined my day cause I didn't wake up till mid afternoon. After Autozone I got sucked into a 3 part series on Star Trek: Enterprise..... I didn't like this version of Star Trek before, but lately I've seen some pretty good ones. After that it was 10pm and now I've got a headache from the drink my sister came and gave me. It was one of those surprise cocktails out of no where so I didn't want to turn it down, but I knew I'd have a headache from it later.... drank it anyway and now I'm just in a f'in lazy ass mood and its nearly 90% humidity outside which I hate working in anyway. So I'll probably deal with all this stuff tomorrow.