KhanArtisT

iTrader: (2)

I'm gonna go mess with the car tomorrow and would love to save some time by getting help from the pros

I have a coolant leak, I can see it dripping from under the passenger side door, right where the factory jacking point is. it looks to be seeping down from somewhere, heater core maybe? any input?

Gauges: sometimes after the car has sat for a few hours and I start it up the voltage gauge stays down, the temp gauge shoots up to over H ( ) and the gas guage shoots up to over F, if I smack the cluster everything goes back to normal. Common? cluster itself going bad or a wiring issue?

all help is appreciated, I really would like to take a break from this car...

scrip7

iTrader: (6)

As for the coolant leak, perhaps heater core, pull back the carpet on the pass. side up underneath the dash and check for coolant there. A drain hose should be visible at the firewall on the engine compartment side, but clear water should drip from it with the a/c on. (condensate drain).

As for the cluster, if you are able to get it to cooperate when tapping on it, that means you have an intermittent poor connection or corrosion at the circuit board or connectors, possibly corroded screws where the gauges attach to the circuit traces. Because all of your gauges are affected, my bet is a ground circuit fault . I would suggest removing the cluster surround, then remove the 4 cluster mounting screws, disconnect the speedo cable so you can get the cluster out enough to access the wiring connectors. Turn the ign key to the on position, and carefully flex the wiring connectors on the back of the cluster while watching the gauges. If you wiggle a connector that makes a change in the readings, you have at least narrowed it down to an area on the board, whether it's corrosion on the connector pins or a bad circuit trace or whatever.

KhanArtisT

iTrader: (2)

Thanks a LOT for the informative response, it leaks a full reservoir of coolant in about a week so its pretty slow. I did pull the carpet off by the heater core and didn't see a drop of coolant. This started like a month after I replaced my heater line (engine->heater core) so maybe I over tightened the clamps (?) I'll have it pressure tested soon..

The cluster I'll mess with later, seems to be alright for now. Random question though, I just swapped a good (same series) tranny into my car and didn't mess with the clutch pressure plate/disc, just used the TOB from the other tranny. The clutch engages very late now and slips a little under high RPM shifts. Did I just not bleed it enough? should I adjust the engagement point from the clutch master?

scrip7

iTrader: (6)

Coolant might be coming from one of the heater core tubes where the hoses are clamped on, and running down the firewall from the engine side. One of the tubes might be a little "deformed", sometimes it happens when changing hoses. You might need to remove a hose to check the tubes. If one is misshaped, I use the drive end of a socket extension to "massage" the tube round again so the hose will seal better, and be careful when tightening. As for the clutch, was the TOB properly installed on the lever? if not, it can make it not release fully.