Traded my BROKEN Zero Turn Mower for a 86GT w/ 92k miles

[jwrape]

Got a new(to me) steering wheel for the GT.

[jwrape]

Ok.......I feel REALLY stupid.
Charlie knows about my GT breaking down at Home Depot. Well I got the car home with a tow strap and a fun pull home about 2 miles.

Anyways, on Wed. night I spent replacing the Fuel pump and troubleshooting.
I dropped the tank and pulled the pump. I saw where the pump has been changed: New clamps on every hose, the wiring was loose and the wiring looms were removed on the pump wiring. I fixed the loose wires. Either way, I pulled the pump and it looked decent and I later found out it was still working properly, but the screen was about to fall apart so I feel it might have been a year or so before it would have been pulling up the screen material through the pump.
I also changed the filter and found a lot of rust inside it. So I replaced all that and the pump still wouldn't come on with the key.
So I hot wired the pump through the diagnostic plug. It worked and then I could start the car for a moment until the fuel ran out again.

Well, I pull up the wiring diagram and see that the org/blk wire connected to the tan wire should kick it on. I crossed it over at the relay and it worked. So I pulled the 3 relays off the Sport and checked all of them as well as the A/C relay beside the Fuel Pump relay. None of them made a difference.

SO I realize then that it has to not be getting signal to turn on from the ECM. I am starting to think I have a bad ECM. Then I go and search the Pennock site (Georgia Fiero Club was down) and finally found where someone posted about the oil pressure sensor being in the middle and would cut the fuel if the oil pressure was low. I checked the dip stick and found that I was low a quart(motor Leaks a little). I poured in a quart and the car started without issue.

I FEEL STUPID at this point . I have never had a car cut off because of a quart low. Only my lawn mower does that. The car is smarter than me... Cool option when you know about it.

I know now not to worry about the fuel pump. LOL! The other one had some rust spots on it and the screen was almost apart. It was still worth it for the piece of mind.

[Fierofool]

I always thought the pressure switch circuit was a backup to the main fuel pump circuit so that if the main circuit failed, the pump would continue to operate through the oil pressure switch.  I've seen some Fieros with no oil pressure at idle and they would still run.  That's the way my old 87 engine was before I made the swap.  I used the same sending unit on my 3.4 and it seems to read normal, so I believe my readings were correct. 

Guess I was wrong.  Thanks for the education you've given us on this project.  Glad you got it going.

[jwrape]

I always thought the pressure switch circuit was a backup to the main fuel pump circuit so that if the main circuit failed, the pump would continue to operate through the oil pressure switch.  I've seen some Fieros with no oil pressure at idle and they would still run.  That's the way my old 87 engine was before I made the swap.  I used the same sending unit on my 3.4 and it seems to read normal, so I believe my readings were correct. 

Guess I was wrong.  Thanks for the education you've given us on this project.  Glad you got it going.

Yea, someone on Pennock's said that it is a back up, but the way the wiring diagram is written, it looks like it goes through the sensor and that's it. I don't know but I kinda like it that way. Makes sure I don't run it dry.
It drips about a silver dollar on the ground after sitting for about 4 hours.

[jwrape]

Well the car left me stranded the other day....
I checked the relays(checked with 5 different ones), I checked the fuse and all were good. So I replaced the Fuel pump. The old fuel pump ended up being good, but I replaced it anyways.

So after all that the car still wouldn't run unless I hotwired the FP on the diagnostic terminal in the console.

So I knew the pump worked and was connected properly. So I used a Wiring diagram I found and crossed the Org/blk wire to the tan wire and it worked at the relay. So I realized there was no signal from the ECM to tell the relay to come on. My wiring Diagram said that the power also ran through the Oil Pressure sensor so I checked the oil level and it was a quart low. I filled it up and it started immediately.

Ok... It's running. Yea, BUT I have found that the fan runs all the time now AND the car is VERY slow to start after sitting. Feels like the fuel pressure regulator is bleeding down after sitting. On the flip side, once it's started you can turn the car off and restart it just fine. It's only after it sits for over a hour or more.

It's been said (by Charlie and others) that the Oil Pressure sensor power is a secondary power source for the fuel pump and if it's running on that source then somethings wrong. Furthermore, it's been said that the Oil Pressure source is a lower power source than the primary and that would make sense why it's slow to start.

I think the ECM has a issue. I am wondering if me grounding the green and white wire on the ECM to switch the fan on and off, might have put extra strain on the EMC and burnt or broke the primary fuel pump circuit.

What do you guys think?

[Fierofool]

I'm not too sure just how importantly the oil pressure circuit plays into everything.  I've removed the sending unit and installed a mechanical unit and ran it for several days without any problems that I remember.  When I was putting RatPee86 back on the road, that's the way I had it set up.

Now, for the ECM, if you would like to swap out ECM's, I have 3 ECM's that you can swap in as a test. 

As for the fuel pressure leak down, you can do a fundamental check just by removing the cap from the schrader valve on the fuel rail and seeing if you get a good strong squirt of fuel before starting the engine.  You could also cycle the switch to the on position several times to fully pressurize the system.  If you think the cold start injector is leaking down, I also have several fuel rails with cold start injectors.

[jwrape]

I'm not too sure just how importantly the oil pressure circuit plays into everything.  I've removed the sending unit and installed a mechanical unit and ran it for several days without any problems that I remember.  When I was putting RatPee86 back on the road, that's the way I had it set up.

Now, for the ECM, if you would like to swap out ECM's, I have 3 ECM's that you can swap in as a test. 

As for the fuel pressure leak down, you can do a fundamental check just by removing the cap from the schrader valve on the fuel rail and seeing if you get a good strong squirt of fuel before starting the engine.  You could also cycle the switch to the on position several times to fully pressurize the system.  If you think the cold start injector is leaking down, I also have several fuel rails with cold start injectors.

That's what I should do is put my pressure gauge on the rail and see what the fuel does as it sits. It theoretically should stay at the pressure it stops with. If it bleeds down then I know the pressure regulator is failing.

BUT on the other topic, I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect the car would die if I disconnected the pressure sensor. I will have to try it today. I drove the car to work sense my Infiniti is giving me headaches lately.

[TopNotch]

I drove the car to work sense my Infiniti is giving me headaches lately.

I heard those things catch fire.

[jwrape]

Yea, they catch fire from cutting through the air SO FAST that the friction catches the paint on fire. LOL! LOL! 

[jwrape]

Finally got to take my Driverside headlight motor apart.
It's not pretty but expected. The shaft was rusted through and the casing is a little worn out. I have to get another shaft but I MIGHT be able to fix the case with JB weld. But that is to be determined.
Yout tube video with my Country accent in it. LOL
http://youtu.be/VOfpt_uyOZg

OH yea, both the brushes came off at some pioint. So I will try to re-soldier them back on. Argh!

[Fierofool]

In your 6th picture down is where all that green junk came from.  They were original bump stops that were underneath that metal piece, held in place by the fingers.  I've found some nylon pieces that I've used as replacements and I have also used pieces of Maple dowel inserted in there. 

The lubricant that goes in the motor isn't available any longer.  If you will get yourself a tube of Sil-Glyde Disk Brake Slider Lube, it will work great.  It's high temp, doesn't melt, and protects the rubber seals on the motor.  It's used on brake sliders.  I once used the silicone grease I bought from Rodney Dickman and it melted and dripped out the bottom of the motor. 

The extra shaft I have isn't the same as you need, but I do have several repaired and repairable motors. 

[jwrape]

In your 6th picture down is where all that green junk came from.  They were original bump stops that were underneath that metal piece, held in place by the fingers.  I've found some nylon pieces that I've used as replacements and I have also used pieces of Maple dowel inserted in there.  

The lubricant that goes in the motor isn't available any longer.  If you will get yourself a tube of Sil-Glyde Disk Brake Slider Lube, it will work great.  It's high temp, doesn't melt, and protects the rubber seals on the motor.  It's used on brake sliders.  I once used the silicone grease I bought from Rodney Dickman and it melted and dripped out the bottom of the motor.  

The extra shaft I have isn't the same as you need, but I do have several repaired and repairable motors.  

Buddy Craig on youtube fills the gear with JB weld and does away with the nylon bushings. What do you think? Is that something that's ok to do. Does it put too much strain on the gears not to have the bushings in there.

I'd like a repairable one since I have a lot of good parts in this one. I'll call you later to see if your gonna be around this afternoon after work. I have all the parts with me and can most likely stop by. Let me know what I owe you.
Thanks

[Fierofool]

The bump stops are there to take up shock exerted on the teeth of the plastic gear when the headlight reaches its upper or lower limits.  Anything solid, including my nylon or wood dowels, will eventually cause the motor shaft screw gear to rip the plastic gears off. 

Aerodonamic may have a better idea.  He cleans the plastic gear very well, then fills the cavities with RTV and reassembles it onto the shaft.  I would think that for the best function in this manner is that you place the fingers of that plate into the RTV right in the center of the cavities so you have good cushion in both directions. 

McNaughton-McKay has some products that I'm going to try on my next rebuild.  Very similar to the original bump stops. 

[jwrape]

Ok, I thought the JB weld might be a little much.

[jwrape]

Ok, I got another motor to help rebuild a Driverside motor for my GT's Headlight, (Thanks Charlie) I took it apart last night and found it was in MUCH better condition on the inside of the case than my original.




I found a half tooth missing on the gear, luckily my original motor has a perfect gear.
 
Ok, I got another motor to help rebuild a Driverside motor for my GT's Headlight. I took it apart last night and found it was in MUCH better condition on the inside of the case.




I found a half tooth missing on the gear, luckily my original motor has a perfect gear.
I will have to buy another gear for the driverside probably cause it probably has teeth missing since it keeps running when it goes up or down.