BrianMGP

okay so its 1988 Turbo w/ 146,000 miles.
Car was bought in NY 3 & 1/2 (ride from my home in NJ) They seem to have really taken care of the car, (it was the wife's car) interior is very very MINT. Exterior, paint is pretty good 7/10 and engine bay is 9/10.

That being said it has its problems, car was sitting for 3 years, (but ran here and there) or they say.

Now at first it was fine ran perfect all the way home and then i let it sit for a couple of days. too see if it would turn over after a few days. started right up no smoke, battery held charge.

problems: before being bought
1. Gear shifter is very sloppy in neutral (will new shifter bushing fix this?)
2. Needs brakes (pads definitly, rotors? not sure yet)
3. Washer fluid light stays on

I wanted to bring it to 1 of 2 places near me to have a full tune up/check it out for major problems before i went to have it inspected but, time was running out and money was thin.

I just went threw inspection (and i thought i would fail and did).
Problems now:
Engine shaking (cant be felt inside car and seen from looking at it. (but not constantly, motor mounts? or something more?)
Clock went out after inspection?
And now i'm getting a warning beep/s when i make sharp turns (again only after emissions test)?

Emissions were:
IDLE: Standard - 220 My Reading - 502
CO% Standard - 1.20 My Reading - 1.57

HIGH IDLE
IDLE: Standard - 220 My Reading - 35
CO% Standard - 1.20 My Reading - 0.13

Now to me these readings are very bizarre - what is with the extremely low high idle
readings?

I don't want to give up on this car at all, just let me know to the best of your ability what can be some of these problems and if you can suggest things to get done.

Thank you very much!

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

Either the mounts, or it's just idling rough.

The clocks never work. The board solder joints are often cold.

Probably the low oil warning. When you get about 1/2 quart down, the oil can slosh enough in the pan to expose the level sender & trigger the warning buzzer/light.

What were the engine speeds for the high and low idle tests? We don't do idle tests over here; we do 15 and 25 mph load tests.

Idle mixture can be adjusted via the variable resistor, which is next to the pressure sensor (on the strut tower behind the airbox). It is a black oval piece with the letters R and L on it. A flat-blade screwdriver can be used to move it towards rich or lean. If your car is idling well, playing with this is generally not a good idea. But if you need to fool an emissions test, you can move it a little towards lean (L) to bring down your HC and CO numbers.

1) Jump the intial set coupler. This is a 2-wire diagnostic plug next to the leading ignition coil. This will prevent the ECU from fighting your adjustments with the BAC.

2) Note the current position of the variable resistor screw so you can move it back later (if needed).

3) Let the car idle (fully warmed), and slowly turn the variable resistor towards lean. If the engine begins to stumble, you've gone too far. You can leave it at the leanest setting that will still allow the engine to idle smoothly. If there is any missing, unburnt fuel will reduce your chances of passing.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

It does sound like it needs new bushings.

Check the thickness of the pads and the rotors. It probably wouldn't hurt just to replace all the pads and rotors at the same time.

Check the washer fluid reservoir itself and top it off as needed... if that doesn't remedy the problem the actual sensor may be bad or stuck.

Check the clock fuse, if that is good then check the clock unit board solder joints.

If oil is low, the low oil buzzer will sound off on turns at a certain oil level before it actually just sounds off constantly. Do an oil change asap if it hasn't had one done in a while.

Ok so believe it or not, as a 6+ year emissions technician, I can tell you those emissions readings are not bizarre at all. There is a good chance the problem lies with your airpump NOT dumping correctly at idle. This is very obvious by the fact that at high idle RPM testing your emissions are really clean; which also tells me your catalytic converter is good. This is a common problem with FCs, including the one I daily drive

So check the air pump system for proper operation

ace626

iTrader: (2)

Warning beep when cornering can also be cause by a low coolant level. The warning light will come on when the buzzer sounds telling you whether it is low on coolant or low on oil. Assuming your warning lights work if your clock is going they are next.