Head Repair - Page 12

July 11. 2002:  So it runs, sorta.  Today when I started Wolfy up, he decided to run without stalling like he did yesterday.  He was "idle hunting," though.  The RPMs would surge up to 2 grand or so, then drop down to about 200 and repeat the sequence.  

I let the engine warm up to operating temperature.  Hmmm... The water leak seems to have repaired itself.  Temperature gauge went to normal.  Nothing bubbling out through the overflow port on the top of the radiator.  It's not sucking in nearly enough water.  When I fix the idle problem, I'll get him off the ramps and onto my inclined driveway to burp him thoroughly.

It was at this point I noticed oil dripping from the valve cover on the repaired head.  I shut off the engine and pulled the cover to investigate.  Well, whaddya know.  I forgot to install the valve cover gasket!  That was an easy fix.

Back to the idle problem:

First thing I did was fiddle with the Oxygen sensor.  Connected or disconnected, it had no effect on the idle hunting.  Next, I disconnected the plugs from the idle stabilizer, located on the left wall of the engine compartment.  One is a male three prong connector, the other, female.  They are designed to be connected together to take the stabilizer out of the loop for trouble shooting purposes.  Naturally, this had no effect on the idle surge either.  Now it's back to looking for vacuum leaks.   Gnarlodious is going to stop over on her way from Santa Fe to NYC, so maybe she can help me.  But then... I think she drives a diesel.  We'll see.

2:00 pm:  Rachel has arrived in her 83 diesel vanagon.  When I told her of my idle hunting problem, first thing she said was, "Hmmm... Looks like you might have a vacuum leak."

That's old news.  Actually, when the engine is cold, the idle is rock solid for several minutes before it starts to hunt.  It may be the coolant temp sensor.  I'll check that later, but now my main focus is on hoses.  Idle was fine before I began work on the heads.  Odds are I screwed something up when I put it back together.


July 13, 2002:  Si Muove!

Spent most of my free time yesterday looking for vacuum leaks with no success.  Idle does seem to be smoothing out somewhat, but still hunts.  Yesterday, I took the van off the ramps and mounted the idle stabilizer on the left firewall with a homemade bracket that I JB Welded to the unit.  (The plastic bracket had broken off long ago.)   

 What a joy it was to get up this morning, go out and look under the rear of the van, and see no wet spots!  I think Wolfy is finally sealed.

I screwed my courage to the sticking point and backed him down the driveway.  Jean snapped some photos as I drove away.  Wolfy ran like a top except when I downshifted and took my foot off the accelerator... Then I experienced some bucking due to the idle problem.  The amazing thing was the lack of lifter noise.  It was a bit raucous when I first fired him up after the gasket repair job.


Today I'll work on bleeding the cooling system.  My driveway with its 20 percent grade is perfect for this.


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