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Do It Yourself (DIY) repair thread and wheel and tyre thread

537K views 293 replies 103 participants last post by  ianrandom 
#1 ·
If you can link to or post repairs, please do so in this thread. I will be "polishing up" the thread later to make it easy to follow.
 
#28 ·
Vaccum line fittings Pt. 3
I needed the min. order from my parts guy, which was 25 meters !!! of vac. hard line, we had no time to wait for the different color coded lines and will mark them ourselves, plus 5 meters of vac. rubber hose.
Below the intake manifold are two rarely seen elbow connectors.
The replacement for the vacuum check valve is a lot smaller than the original.
 

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#29 ·
#30 ·
Turbo Cleaner

I'm doing a repost here as per the request of 420SE

First of all I would like to thank our TURBO CLEANER Mr. Arthur Jaime :thumbsup: located in Taguig a small city in the Philippines for allowing me to share how you can clean your turbo and intake manifold to bring back the power from your 617 TURBO DIESEL engine in the w126 300SD or w123 300D.

By the way do this at your own risk :D

First here is Mr. Arthur Jaime he is a car nut since he was a kid and so far he have experience how to clean turbo of Pajero, Delica and 617 trubo diesel. He had cleaned 4 units of 617 so far and all are very happy.


Second you need about 8 hrs labor or more to do this and do it while the engine is cold and it's a very dirty job.

Here are the tools you need for the job.

1. No 6 Allen screw
2. Screw Driver
3. no. 10 box wrench
4. 11mm box wrench
5. 12 & 14 box wrench
6. no. 13 combination wrench
7. no. 13 box wrench with the other side saw off (this is your special tool hehehe)
8. no. 17 combination wrench
9. DEEP socket number 14
10. Your whole set of sockets as I'm not sure which is needed.
11. Air compressor
12. High temp silicon rubber gasket maker
13. Copper or brass brush (small ones)

Look for a thread here on how you can take out your air cleaner and the pipes up to the turbo. ( Pat can you find a link ) also you need to take out the exhaust pipe that is connected to the turbo.


Unscrew the 2 Allen on top that mounts the oil lubrication line to the turbo



Unscrew the 2 Allen that is located below the turbo that mounts the oil lubrication line



Unscrew the 4 bolts that hold the turbo to the exhaust manifold



Pull the whole turbo assemble towards the wheel well



Find a clean working area to lay down your turbo assembly and take this part out




Unscrew this 6 bolts that holds the housing from the air cleaner inlet side and there is a hose that is plug from this housing to the lower part remove this as well
 
#31 · (Edited)
Remove the housing to expose the turbo blades




Use the box wrench number 10 on one side and 14 deep socket on the other side and loosen the screw that holds on the exposed turbo blades.



Remove the exposed turbo blades be careful this thing is fragile!!!



Unscrew the four bolts that hold this part.



I don't know what it's called just take it out :D but be careful and do it slowly you will see something behind it like a "C" and a bearing spacer of some sort make sure you do remember how to put it back later on.




Pull this out.



This place pointed will be full of carbons the photo here are semi-cleaned already
 
#32 ·
This place pointed will be full of carbons the photo here are semi-cleaned already


You will see this small pipe connected to the turbo and tail pipe I think it's going to be carbons on this part so take it out first.



Use a brass brush to clean the blades of the turbo in the exhaust manifold side you will find many carbons in this part of the turbo especially in the housing.



Clean the areas where the oil lubrication is connected you can plug the whole screw driver in it on both sides.




Clean this part it’s where the hose is connected to the housing of the turbo.




Here I think is what they call an EGR valve (correct me if I'm wrong) remove the 2 Allens that connects it to the air intake manifold be careful not to destroy the gasket. ( Get a new one since you have lots of this in USA )

 
#33 ·
Unscrew the bolts that attach the air intake manifold




Unscrew and take out the plate that covers the EGR valve.



Unscrew the banjo bolt and the bolt that holds the ATF filling tube.




Pull out the whole intake manifold it's going to be one dirty intake manifold so clean it well.


 
#34 · (Edited)
Unscrew the bolt that clamps the EGR valve on the exhaust manifold side to take out the EGR and clean it.




CLEAN, CLEAN AND CLEAN ALL THE CARBONS AND OILS OUT

Put everything back in reverse and apply high temp silicon rubber gasket maker on the following:

This is a sample of High temp silicon rubber gasket maker


Apply high temp silicon rubber gasket maker in the Intake manifold in between the engine.


Apply high temp silicon rubber gasket maker on the square washer plate in between the Turbo and the exhaust manifold make sure both sides.



Apply high temp silicon rubber gasket maker on the gasket in between the EGR valve connecting the intake manifold on both sides.



Put high temp LOCTITE on the nut that holds the front blade of the turbo during assembly
Now good luck and don't blame me if something goes wrong since I put on 3.5 hrs just to upload the photos but if you do it correctly I guarantee you that you'll be happy with the added power.

If you have issues about Turbo blades needs to be balance during assembly I would suggest that you just remove the whole turbo assembly without taking it apart and just clean as much carbon out as you can but be sure to clean your intake manifold as it would still work wonders once your done.
 
#35 ·
Auxilliary Fan Replacement

Ok, this weekend was working on the car to get the temps down. Its been running consistently 110 w/ air conditioning on, and slightly over 100 without a/c.

One of the problems was my driver's side auxilliary fan wasn't working. I ordered one from performanceproducts4benz for $165 or so... The passenger side is almost $200, I can't figure out that price differential because they are the same fan, just built for different sides - go figure.

Anyway, this is how I would do it if I were doing it again.

Step 1: Remove Fan and Fan clutch. Easy job, just remove the 4 bolts, and it comes right off. Lift up the fan and fan shroud together.

Step 2: Loosen radiator ( you don't really want to take it all the way out, just lean the top forward to give you some working room.

There are "clips" on the radiator - big ones. Slips a screwdriver or something similar under the clip and lift the clip up. It really is like one of those big binder clips. That is all that is holding the radiator down, its actually quite ingenious, as I've worked on other cars that are bolted down and its a bit more tricky.

Step 3: Remove the bar that holds the horns in front of the two auxilliary fans. There are three bolts holding it on, remove all three and slide the bar/horns to the passenger side out of the way.

Step 4: Removing front 'cage' of auxilliary fans. This is held on by 6-8 (?) push pins/tabs. They basically look like buttons on the front of the cage. If you can think of a better way, let me know, but I just punched these out. Take a pair of vice-grips and peel away the top layer. (you'll see what I mean, it looks like one piece, but you can peel away the top 1mm which will reveal what looks like the bottom end of a plastic screw.) Then with a punch or very small phillips head screwdriver, push the center 'screw' back towards the car and it'll pop out. That will remain looks kind of like a plastic rivet, just pull that out.

Ok words of caution of here, the push tabs holding the auxilliary fan cage on are not reusable ( or don't seem to be reusable). I haven't replaced mine, but basically they are push tabs - I just need to find the right size ones. (It looks like a thumbtack, but the pin part is very thick with 'wings' on it. So when you press it in the 'wings' compress, go through the hole and then expand so you can't pull them out -- hope that makes sense). Trust me, that outerpiece is NOT going anywhere even without the tabs...but if your obsessive compulsive you'll want to replace them. Most autoparts places have these tabs.)

When I find the correct part I will post up.

Step 5: Pull the shroud away from the a/c condenser. The auxillairy fan 'cage' splits away from the a/c condenser. At this point just try to get the lower 1/4 or so away so you can reach in and unplug the fans (its at the bottom, you'll see a wire that goes from the drivers side headlight, underneath the front of the fan, and into the auxilliary fan cage. There will be two plugs, press the connection together and pull them apart. You might need to use a screwdriver to get the 'catch' to release. Also just pull out the wire from the fan shroud (there are three tabs that are reusable and go right back-in). Also pull out the grommet that goes into the shroud to pull out the two connections so you have some room to work and the wire has to come out to get the shroud off.

Step 6: Removal of the shroud. This takes a bit of muscle, some patience, and some luck. The top of the fan shroud 'hooks' over the tops of the fans. So you need to lift up and get the plastic shroud over the fans. You might find some resitance, and this will be because that car horn bar you removed earlier, the wire will be pressing up on the bottom of the shroud, so an extra set of hand could come in handy to hold that out of the way. Also, on my a/c conversion, the lines ran right up against the shroud so I had to pull the shroud back and away. Not a big deal, but you have to get a bit agressive with it.

Anyway, it'll take about 10 minutes of playing with it, but it WILL come out. The other thing you WILL HAVE TO DO is to bend the tab that comes from the top down. (The tab that you bolt the bar with the horns, too.) Its about 2 1/2 inches, but pull it out towards you to get the shroud out because it will hit the plastic shroud.

Step 7:

Now that you hopefully have the shroud off the rest is cake. There are two bolts on each side for a total of 4 bolts on each side that need to be taken off and one at the 7:00 position for a total of 5 bolts all together that need to be removed.

The fan just pulls straight out and replace with new one. If you want to 'test' the fan, make sure you put in two or three of the bolts. I thought it would be sturdy enough (I know, stupid, but I was tired), and I turned on the key and made horrible crash. No damage, but that was just stupid on my part. Anyway, test it before reassembly.

Step 8: Reassembly

Bolt up the new fan, put the shroud back on, pull the wires through the bottom, connect the wires (I found it helpful to jack the car up and work from the bottom to connect the wires) then push the shroud back on, REMEMBER THE TOP PART
HOOKS" OVER THE FANS. Pull the grommet through at the bottom of the shroud (squeeze the sides and work it back into the hole) put the tabs back in with the wire that goes under the fan,) Put the horns back on, put the two bolts on top first so you can bend that tab back so you can put the bottom bolt on.

Press the a/c condenser forward,then squeeze the radiator forward and put the clips on. I found it easy to use a screwdriver to press the front of the clip forward and then press it down to secure it. Very easy

Put shroud and fan back onto engine and voila

I think the hardest part is just figuring out how it comes apart. I took a chance and fortunately it worked out. You just have to remove those push pin/tabs. Again I just peeled away the top which revealed the end of a plastic screw and just pushed out that screw by hand. No hammer or anything necessary it just pushed out.

I have some pictures and will try to post later if somebody wants to see. Not too many photos but will give you an idea what needs to be done.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Hi,

I've noticed there's only ONE vacuum diagram on the DIY section and it's not for my car but rather seems it's for the 380SEC. Then i've noticed other diagrams but they're for later versions of my car or US versions. So, after two weeks for reading the manual, here are the ENGINE VACUUM DIAGRAMS / LAYOUT / CIRCUIT for a 1982 Euro 500 SEC (C126), with explanation from yours truly.

Feel free to correct me because i know i will make some mistakes here.

First to know, for engine there are at least SEVEN vacuum connections, two on the top of the intake manifold and five on the throttle valve housing. Let's start with this diagram, Pressure Regulator Vacuum.

The pressure regulator (also known as warm up regulator regulates the control pressure that goes to the fuel distributor. More control pressure= LESS fuel to the engine. Less control pressure= more fuel to the engine.

The fuel regulator has an upper diaphragm (main diaphragm). When it goes UP, the control pressure goes UP so the mix has less fuel. When it goes DOWN, the control pressure goes DOWN so the mix has more fuel. The fuel regulator also has an thermoelectric element that will pull the diaphragm DOWN (more fuel) until heated. This is for increasing the mix when the engine is cold.

Then, the regulator also has two vacuum connections at the side, g (upper) and h (lower). This is for the lower diaphragm, located at the bottom of the regulator, which is moved by vacuum on g and h, and also influences the control pressure regulating diaphragm.

When vacuum(g)>=vacuum(h), the vacuum diaphragm on the regulator goes UP. This is the steady, normal operating state of the engine. (Thermoelectric element hot and vacuum diaphragm up==normal engine operation).

When vacuum(g)<vacuum(h); this will pull the control pressure regulating diaphragm DOWN thus increasing the mixture.

Now look at the diagram. Thermovalve 37A opens at temperatures more than 50 deg celsius. Opens==lets the vacuum pass.

Throttle housing "switchover valve" (13) normally connects C with D, unless you open the throttle all the way down; in that case, it only connects C with E.

Vacuum reservoir (14) holds up vacuum. This item perhaps is located on/under the driver's front fender. I haven't found mine yet.

Orifice (9) is just that, an orifice to change the vacuum respect to other connections.

Warm-up acceleration enrichment
So, back to the diagram. When the engine is <50ºC, thermovalve 37A is closed. Assuming throttle is not wide open, switchover valve 13 will connect C with D. On acceleration, vacuum(g)<vacuum(h) and thus the fuel mixture will be richer.

When the engine is >50ºC, thermovalve 37A effectively connects vacuum(g) with vacuum(h), so this acceleration enrichment will be cancelled.

Full throttle acceleration enrichment (temperature independent)

When throttle is wide open, C will be connected with E. This means the vacuum reservoir (13) will suck through vacuum hose H. So vacuum(g)<vacuum(h)==> FUEL ENRICHMENT!

Other connections

Connection F goes straight to the distributor for vacuum distributor timing advancement.

Connection K should go to the intake manifold for sucking the vacuum reservoir, but i still don't know where K goes.

Connection I (top of pressure regulator) should go to the "atmosphere" (and it makes sense after looking at the internals of that part) but in my car this is connected to the top of the idle speed adjusting solenoid. I assume it's almost atmosphere there. [Update: Yes, that's the right location for that connection]
 

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#38 · (Edited)
EGR vacuum connection

Now for the EGR (Engine Gas Recirculation / Recycling / Reutilization?)

(60) is the EGR valve on top of the (31) exhaust manifold.

NOTE that the EGR pipes usually get clogged over time and that's not good since in theory that means the ignition timing RETARDING effect of the EGR is cancelled thus ignition timing is more advanced than adequate, and pinging may happen. Also you're polluting more.

Throttle vacuum connection A at throttle body is supposed to be PORTED and i suspect it should have the following behavior:

Idle: Low/no vacuum -> EGR valve closed (exhaust gasses do not pass)
Normal RPMs: Vacuum -> EGR valve opened
Full throttle: No vacuum -> EGR valve closed

Look at thermovalve (37). It's not the same than 37A. Thermovalve there means that at <50ºC, the vacuum will not be connected thus the EGR valve will not open when the engine is <50ºC. Also be careful no to connect the thermovalve in the wrong way (it has a diagonal connection and a straight one, the manual tells you not to swap them!)
 

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#39 · (Edited)
Vacuum switch

Finally, connection (B) of the throttle body housing goes to the vacuum switch pictured (in red.) This is used by the idle speed control unit to sense engine load.

Note that this diagram is for my Euro non-catalytic converter car!! Other versions (USA) will not have the vacuum switch!

I hope some moderator pins this thread or adds it to the W126 DIY thread!!

Last but not least, let's make a minute of silence for the poor people at the USA who had to bear the pain of having MB engines with catalytic converters, low compression engines with low HP ratings, horrible headlights, and single row timing chains (on the 380) :(

Greetings,
Flavio.
 

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#40 · (Edited)
Removing Sheared Lug Bolts

The W126 is a technological masterpiece, but like most, has its occasional Achilles' heel. The biggest one, in my opinion, is the long-head lug bolts, prone to shear if over-torqued and also well-shrouded by the deep recesses in the wheels designed to house them. Many cars feature lug nuts rather than bolts - this is to ease repair if a lug stud shears. The stud can simply be tapped out from behind. Not so with lug BOLTS. Typically, they have the seat, or contact surface for the wheel, just below the head. The W126 lug bolt, however, has a considerable distance between the head and the seat - the result is often a sheared bolt.

Just imagine - your tire/wheel/brake/suspension/whatever job is going along swimmingly, when all of a sudden - SNAP! The doomsday scenario. This happened to me courtesy of a previous owners lack of care and proper technique - REMEMBER, ALWAYS TIGHTEN W126 LUG BOLTS TO 80LBS WITH A TORQUE WRENCH, AND USE THREAD ANTI-SEIZE COMPOUND. It took me over ten hours of trial and error to come up with a solution, but it works fantastically well, so I thought I'd share it here, having read other members sob stories of sheared bolts.

First, this method assumes you have some bolt body left to work with. If your bolt sheared at the seat, you will need to use some type of extractor and drill out a hole - which, from my experience, may not work at all. Assuming you have some bolt body, first forget everything you know about extracting bolts or screws. First, the metal of the bolt is so hard, it is barely possible to drill into. I used 11 cobalt drill bits, as shown in the photographs. This got me a hole about half an inch deep, and took six hours. To put it bluntly, don't bother. Also note the number of extractors I demolished: five, at roughly $9 per unit. I especially like the one in the second-to-last photo. The drill bits averaged seven dollars per. Then, add one dead drill to the tally, at $65. The third photo below shows the full trail of carnage this little project left. My total in destroyed parts, prior to discovering a solution: $187.00 The total cost of the tools you actually need, besides standard ones you likely already have: about $10, and you need to consider these tools DISPOSABLE.

Here's the list of what you will need:

1) Floor jack, either scissors or hydraulic, but NOT the factory type supplied with the car.

2) Very long, very strong tube or hollow bar. Shower curtain rods aren't going to cut it. I used a support beam from a home gym, as shown. You will be applying a TON of torque to it, so make sure it is basically strong enough for you to do a pull-up on without bending it.

3) Breaker bar, the longer the better. This will probably limit you to 1/2" drive; mine was such, at 18" long. If you have a 12" or longer breaker bar with 3/8" drive, skip the next item.

4) 1/2" to 3/8" adapter

5) 3/8" driver extension, at least 6" long. Consider it disposable - these are usually only $5 or so.

6) 12-point, 11MM socket, as deep as possible. You will need to use a very hard steel socket, and it will need to be at least 1" deep - the available point surface, that is, NOT the total length of the socket. Deduct slightly more than the length of the drive bar end from the overall length to get your point surface. The longer the better. I went to Sears and got a Craftsman brand hardened steel socket of the same type for $5. Again, this will need to be considered disposable. Think a 10MM or 3/8' socket will be close enough? YOU ARE WRONG! See the last picture for graphic evidence.

7) Hammer, as wide a head as possible. I suggest a sledgehammer, or a large framing hammer (which is what I used.)

8) Patience.

9) Luck.

Procedure:

Park your car, preferably NOT on grass (as shown. Doh.) Leave your parking brake on, your transmission in Park, and blocks on both sides of as many wheels as you can block.

Line up your deep, 12-point 11MM socket on the exposed broken bolt body. Tap it gently while holding it in place with your GLOVED hand. The gloves will protect your hands from accidental blows, and will also protect your wheel from the same, most likely. Once you have tapped it in enough to hold on its' own, stand up and begin striking the socket progressively harder until it is driven at least 3/4" onto the bolt body. Make sure you guide the socket on slowly and in a straight line - you don't want an off-angled socket flying out like a bullet and hurting you, killing you, or breaking your car.

The reason this works, if you care to know, is that the lug bolt shaft is very nearly as wide as the median point of the socket points or teeth. As the socket is driven on, the bolt body is cut and compressed, and it expands to fill the gaps between the teeth. The socket will do the same, and the result is 24 interlocking teeth, fused together as solidly as if they were welded on. Mathematically, this only will work with an 11MM socket; unless you have a bolt shaft wider than the longest distance between point peaks in the socket by 50% of the length from the innermost of the point to the outermost of the point OR LESS, but not less than 1%, the materials won't split the space filled evenly, and the socket will split. The socket in the last photo was more like 75% of the differential I just described, and it split pretty damn fast. Trust me, use an 11MM.

Enough science. Next, once the socket is on, attach your driver extension. You will need your hammer here too, as the end of the socket you were just pounding will have been deformed, and the driver extension will need to be forced in - this also puts more force to work on securing the socket on the bolt head. Once the extension is in, it is not likely to come out, ever. Next, slide your jack under the extension driver and raise the jack until it is just barely holding the extension higher than level. This will prevent the socket from being torqued off the bolt. Attach your breaker bar such that it faces away from you at as close to a 45 degree angle as you can get. You can ensure this by lining up your socket properly before pounding it on, such that the bar can be attached at this angle. See the first photo. Next, place your bar or pole (the black bar shown) over the breaker bar handle. Place your foot on the extension - you are going to keep it from doing anything other than rotate. See photo #2. Pull the bar toward you rapidly - turning too slow can shear a bolt. Hopefully, if you have done this right, you will have freed the bolt. Go have a beer!
 

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#42 ·
Vacuum diagram for 1982 500 SEC euro

Hi,

Here is the vacuum diagram with explanation of how it works for the 1982 european 500 SEC. It will also be good for all Sept-1981 to 1984 euro 380 & 500 SEC cars.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w12...-vacuum-diagram-1982-500sec-500-sec-here.html

Note that the Vacuum diagram on the DIY section is for the pre-sept-1981 380SEC, and there is no warning about it.

Greetings,
Flavio.
 
#43 ·
W126 Replacement Bulb Listing

This list is from the Sylvania catalog for our cars.

I take no responsiblity for the content or accuracy of the provided listing.

If it doesn't fit call Sylvania, not me!


European High & Low Beam Headlamp
Headlamp - H4
Fog Light - H3
Citi Light - H1

US-Spec High & Low Beam Headlamp
9004
9004SU Silverstar ULTRA for Ultra Night Vision - The Whitest and Brightest Halogen
9004ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: The Whiter and Brighter Halogen
9004XV XtraVision Halogen - The Brighter Light
9004CB Cool Blue Halogen - The Whiter Light
9004LL Long Life Halogen Upgrade

Dash Bulbs (Not from the Sylvania list so probably not a Sylvania number, big thanks to Dave420 for this!!)

GE12V - W3WF475

Parking light
7528
7528LL Long Life Upgrade

Front turn signal
7528
7528LL Long Life Upgrade

Rear turn signal
7506
7506LL Long Life Upgrade

Tail light
5008
5008LL Long Life Upgrade

Stop light
7506
7506LL Long Life Upgrade

High mount stop light
7506
7506LL Long Life Upgrade

License plate
6418
6418LL Long Life Upgrade

Back up light
7506
7506LL Long Life Upgrade

Front sidemarker
7528
7528LL Long Life Upgrade

Rear sidemarker
5008
5008LL Long Life Upgrade

Glove box
6418
6418LL Long Life Upgrade

Map light
6418
6418LL Long Life Upgrade

Dome light
6411

Trunk/Cargo area
6411

Hi-beam indicator
2721

Seat belt indicator
2721

Brake warning
2721

Automatic transmission indicator
2721

Directional signal indicator
2721

- Steve
 
#44 ·
Fuel Distributor: re build attempt

I spent about an hour to find this for someone, and don't want to have to look for it again.

For more detail search pghguy517 posts.

I think this is where he sourced the O rings O-rings Online Frameset

Found this: 1990 560sel clogged fuel distributor [Archive] - ShopForum

From our DIY tread http://www.auto-solve.com/mech_inj.htm#MFI09
W126 D I Y
Go to the top od the W126 page. On the right of the bar is a search box, that will accept 2 words; pghguy517 attempted a re build,

The info is in this thread: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w12...t-not-working.html?highlight=Fuel+distributor

Make sure you read all his posts, he first replaced the O rings with an incorrect size!

The correction can be found here http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w12...s/1240098-500sec-fuel-injector-problem-4.html

Another link he used ... http://www.cfmstudios.com/928fueldistributor/ AudiWorld Forums: Fuel Distributor Rebuild
 
#47 ·
High Idle Visual Assistance

This is an issue that just takes patience to track down. Basically, an air leak in the idle air distribution system (idle control valve (ICV) and its associated air distribution hoses) or in a vacuum line means a high idle. Diagnosing a high idle probably starts with the ICV, which is just in front of the breather cover, and has two black hoses attached, about 3/4" diameter. If these hoses, and the ones underneath the cover (laying on top of the valve covers) and the connection that goes underneath the fuel distributor, are of any significant age, they should be replaced. The cost, as I recall, was under $100 total for all hoses. The ICV might be another $100, but sometimes cheaper from a boneyard or off ebay. After replacing these, you can search for hours through various high idle threads to get other ideas.

Good luck!

Dave

PS. Thanks to Brucemendel for the background pic (from his SEC ad on ebay)-- I hope he doesn't mind!
 

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#48 ·
High Idle - revisited

Well, I've had the idle issue for quite a long time and I've become somewhat of an expert (not really) when in comes to high idles on our cars. I know for a fact that the following is NOT a complete list of possible idle problems with our engines, so if you can't figure out what the problem is, don't come crying to me. :p I've studied a lot about the idle problems and my knowledge of high idles are as follows:
  • Idle Control Valve - Clean in good carb/choke cleaner. Valve usually gets sticky after the car has sat for a while. You should hear the inner piston move back and forth when shaken in a rotary fashion. Looks like the following:

  • Idle Control Unit - Located in the passenger footwell. Unbutton carpet and remove. There is a black wall, take that off with a 10mm-11mm socket and I.C.U should be at the top. Take the casing off of the unit, and put it back in place WITHOUT the casing. Start your car and twist your Idle Unit back and forth. If you get mixed signals, you have a bad solder. Usually can be fixed by redoing the respective solder joints.

  • Vacuum Leak - One of the vacuum lines have been disconnected, or deteriorated. I can't find a diagram for you, but you should check into your vacuum system.
  • Ignition Control Unit - Located on the driver's side in front of the wheelwell in the engine bay. It looks like a big rectangular type of box. Looks like the following:

  • Throttle Switch - Information not available, as that wasn't my problem, but it usually a problem for very few cars.
  • Cold Start Valve - this is situaded at the front right side on the inlet manifold and has a loom connected at the side, with fuel pipe on top. The wiring loom is secured to the cold start injector by a small metal wire retaining clip. With the car at operating temp. remove this clip using a thin flat face screwdriver and pull off the loom. If disconnecting the loom lowers the idle, then your thermo time switch is faulty, as it's not shutting off the cold start injector.
  • Overload Relay - Fuse is out, replace the fuse. Or you may have a completely blow OVP relay. Suggest you replace immediately, as high idles on the cars usually mean a lot of tranny wear.
  • Distributor Cap and Rotor - Usually blows after replacing spark plug wires and spark plugs. Best to replace whenever changing the spark plugs. They look like the following:
    and


This was just a few things that might be wrong with your car. If not, then there might be something else with car. Check your throttle linkage, it might be bent after some mechanic removed the throttle body. Take off the air cleaner and flash a light into the air intake and check the air metering plate which the throttle controls. If it is slightly open then that's the problem with your high idle. Try bending back your throttle linkage to the original position, BUT ONLY IF THE THROTTLE BODY WAS REMOVED BEFOREHAND!!!

Good luck,
Allen
 
#50 ·
Quick, and free, leaky oil cap repair

While playing around today, I decided to pull the gasket off mine, took a small screwdriver, I mean a tiny tip, got underneath it enough to get a finger under it, then pulled it past the locking tabs on the main part of the cap.

I simply flipped it over, put the gasket back under the tabs, and poof, no more leak.

This likely isn't ultra-long-term, but the underside of the gasket is fresh, so it may last five years. The bonus is you don't need to go anywhere for parts.
 
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