FurryRoadkill

Background: My car was running great except my airpump went out and i was having an intermittent boost problem, which is what led me to check all the solenoids in the rats nest and replace the vac lines while i was in there. The job took me about 3 weeks before the car was all back together (took my sweet time) and i felt really good about it. I made very sure everything was put back together properly. I ended up replacing 5 solenoids as well as all the vac lines. Anyway, once the car was back together here is what happend. I'm not gonna leave anything out. I put about half a quart of oil in because i had removed the oil cooler to repair the fins, and i had put in as much coolant as i could with the car off and cold before burping the system. I cranked it up only to realize that i put the metal clip that holds the throttle cable to the TB between the TB and UIM. Quickly put it back where it issupposed to go and cranked it up again. This time everything was fine. So I began to burp the system before i took it for a spin. When i thought i had burped it as well as i could, i took it down the road. I was watching my water temps closely on both gauges (i have an aftermarket gauge with the sensor in the TB line) after about a minute, the stock gauge began to rise rapidly to the overheating level while the other gauge stayed at about 140F. This lasted for about 5 seconds, which i was furiously debating whether or not to turn off the car, And then the stock gauge fell back to the normal operating temp. I assume this was an air bubble. So, after that i decided to park it and let it cool down, and burp the system better once the car had cooled down again. When it had i topped off the coolant and burped it more with the car running, then replaced the cap and let it warm up before driving it again.

Heres where my problem starts: While i was letting the car warm up, it was idling perfect for about 3 minutes or so, then out of no where it slowly dropped until the car stalled. Now everytime i turn on the car, it cranks right up like normal, but then once the initial start up spark has occured and it goes to do the 3k engine warm up thing or go to idle, it just dies immediatly. It will not idle, it just stalls. I can crank it up no problem as many times as i want but it dies right away everytime. If i try to blip the throttle to prevent it from dying, it dies even faster. And thats my problem. Also, there hasn't been any smoke or anything coming out of the exhaust, not when i crank it and it dies or the first time when i was able to drive it.

possibilities?:

maybe i didn't put something back together properly or didnt connect something (i dont think so though)

maybe the plug wires got grease or something on them while doing the vac hose job.

Fouled Plugs

Flooded motor?

Fuel Filter (however i did change it about 6 months ago)

TPS

Air Bleed Screw not adjusted properly

Blown coolant seal (say it ain't so!)


I am trying to be optimistic about the situation, but I am quite worried. Any advice as to what i should check first and any other possible causes will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

-TJ

FurryRoadkill

bump.

I dont even know for sure if anything i mentioned could cause the problem i'm having. Just throwing everything i could think of out there, if any of you know for sure that something i mentioned would definitly NOT be the problem please let me know. I wont be able to work on the car again until teusday so im just trying to narrow the possibilities down for now. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks

-TJ

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Do you have any codes in the ECU?

Is your map sensor hose still connected?

How do the plugs look? When you unflood, what comes out?

Dave

FurryRoadkill

Tomorrow i will pull the codes from the ECU if there are any. And i think the map sensor hose is connected, if thats the vacuum line that goes from the black thing on the firewall (labeled boost sensor) to the side of the UIM then yes that is connected (did a quick search but couldnt find it).

Update on what seems to be the problem. I dont think the motor is flooded because it will turn on and idle perfectly. However, if i give it any gas it will stall instead of rev the motor. Also, if i turn the heat on after about 45 seconds the rpms will drop and it will stall. Any ideas on what could cause symptoms like this would be appreciated. Thanks.

Also, i had to jumpstart the car because the battery is low. But i am charging it before i do anything more tomorrow.

-TJ

FurryRoadkill

Ok, I fully charged the battery and put it back in the car today. I checked for any codes from the ECU using http://www.fd3s.net/engine_codes.html that method. And i did not get any codes from the ecu.

I started to think if there could be another problem related to the MAP sensor. And i checked the "gas filter" that is supposed to be in that line, and i have accidentally changed it with a Viton Check Valve. I had the check valve in so where air could go from the sensor to the UIM for some reason. I switched it around so air would be able to flow from the UIM to the sensor and turned it on to see what would happen. The car did start but ran very very rich and idled rough because of this. It was also smoking a little bit, but a steady amout of smoke came out. It did not have any sort of sweet or coolant smell. Are these symptoms that would be expected to happen without the "gas filter"?

My reference to find the MAP/gas filter was this map http://www.davidgeesaman.com/rx7/93v...lor.edited.jpg. It is labeled pressure sensor on the map and in my car it is labeled Sensor - Boost. Just to make sure all is clear. Thanks

-TJ

pacman74

If your car was running fine before then it's probably running weird now because of something you did while you were in the rat's nest. I would re-check all the vacuum lines, make sure none of them popped off, make sure none of the vacuum lines are pinched, and make sure they are routed correctly. I've encountered a situation before where I didn't notice a mis-routed vacuum line until I quadruple checked it.

pacman74

One other thing you might check is the seal between the UIM and the LIM. I'm sure you took the UIM off to get to the rat's nest so hopefully your gasket in between the UIM and LIM is still good. Also, make sure the 5 bolts that connect the UIM to the LIM (not counting the bolt near the throttle body) are actually torqued to the correct specs (I believe it's right under 20 ft/lbs) and start from the center bolt outwards. That's one of those things that really need the correct torque.

FurryRoadkill

The gasket between the LIM and UIM is good. It is a metal gasket and there wasnt even any wear at all on it when i took it off. Although i dont have the tools to tighten the nuts down to a specific torque, they are on very tight. As for the rats nest, i hope that has nothing to do with it because i was extremely careful when re-assembling. But if problems persist i will check them.

It seems the problem is this gas filter between the UIM and MAP sensor, what an important vacuum line. It definitely cant be switched with a check valve, and i only did so because i didnt double check that with daves diagram first. Anyway, i put in a plastic connector in its place because i wasnt able to order a new filter from ray today just to check and see what would happen. And it seemed to be the magic fix for my problems. Car turned on and idled perfect all the way up to normal temps, i could have the heat and and accessories on without it stalling. and i could rev the motor up and let it drop without it stalling. I dont want to drive it until i get the filter on there though because i dont want to dirty up and foul out my MAP sensor. I just hope that this will be the end of my problems.

Also, is this gas filter a part that must be ordered from the dealer or could it be picked up at an auto parts store? i checked today and couldnt find anything but maybe some of you might know where to look. Thanks.

-TJ

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Did you have your MAP gas filter installed in the right direction?

In any case, glad you seem to be on a track with this.

FurryRoadkill

Its official, the source of my stalling problems was having a check valve in place of the gas filter in the vacuum line for the MAP sensor. I got a new one from ray and put it in today, and now everything is back to normal. Although im still kinda confused as to how i was able to drive it even for a little bit that first time with the check valve in there....

I have the gas filter with the arrow pointing towards the UIM