Engine performance

[RayG1988]

First I would get the car running perfectly, check compression and make sure it's good. Here's some easy and cheap ways to gain power. (though not that much)

-60mm KA24de Throttle Body

-Boost Controller (These can be made for as little as 5 dollars)

-Electric Fans (Get some out of a V6 Taurus and get rid of yours, it should free up a few horses)

It's not a lot, but it's something. A stock L28et pushes 7psi, which is pretty conservative for this engine. Many people push the stock L28et to 10 psi, so that should awaken the little motor. If you go any higher than that I suggest an intercooler. However, those upgrades I listed shouldn't run you more than 50 dollars total.

[sblake01]

Er, Ray, a boost controller won't do him any good without a turbo. A 60mm throttle body on a stock engine....again, no good. That leaves the electric fans. Really won't free up enough hp to worry about compared to a stock, properly opeating clutch fan. He'd be better off frist finding out why plugging in the O2 sensor raises the HC reading 5 fold. I suspect that has something to do with removing the cat. The max for HC in California is 244ppm@15 mph and 213ppm@25mph. The test can't be that different for Washington so, even without the O2 sensor plugged in it would still fail. You spoke of removing the EGR valve. If I were you, I'd worry about getting the car running properly rather than looking for more hi performance. What good does that do if you won't be able to pass the emmisions test?

[RayG1988]

Er, Ray, a boost controller won't do him any good without a turbo. A 60mm throttle body on a stock engine....again, no good. That leaves the electric fans. Really won't free up enough hp to worry about compared to a stock, properly opeating clutch fan. He'd be better off frist finding out why plugging in the O2 sensor raises the HC reading 5 fold. I suspect that has something to do with removing the cat.

Sorry, misread I was sure he had a Turbo.

With those upgrades he would have gotten at least a little bit of power over stock.

[sblake01]

Like I said in my last post, he needs to first find the power that the car is supposed to have by getting it properly running the way it was built, then look for power over stock. Removing emission equipment on an electronically controlled car, even as primitive as these systems are, still requires the skills and understanding of how they work. You can't just yank parts of they system off and expect it to run like it's supposed to.

[Adam 83]

Like I said, I am not looking for daytona, I just want the car to run like it did when it rolled out of the factory. Oh, the car doesnt need to pass emissions, its an 83 and in WA if yr car is 25yrs or older you dont have to pass emmisions. So, when it comes to HC, the emissions are not what Im worried about, its fuel economy and performance.

The cat was gone when I got the car. Does the cat do much more than clean the exhaust gas and rob the engine of power? Why would it being gone affect anything? The only sensor in the exhaust that I can find is the O2 sensor, and that is located way before the cat. And to clear up any confusion, we unplugged the O2 wire connector. I didnt actually rmove the sensor from its hole. So, would a new O2 sensor possibly clear up this mess? So far, this is what Im replacing to fix my problems:

MAF sensor (done)

Fuel Pressure Regulator (done),

EGR valve

distributor

Water temperature sensor

fuel injector cleaning and testing, from this place called Dr. Injector

I bought some Dielectric grease today. I pulled of the connector to the Water temp sensor, cleaned it, and applied some grease. Then I looked at the engine and saw the many many connectors, so, of course, I begin pulling them all apart and appling the grease. I called my mechanic to tell him and he sternly says NO, get that stuff off. He says it is not good on low voltage connectors. Tells me about a transmission line cleaner that I need to get to clean the connectors with. So, I go to schucks. I ask for the stuff, then the freaking schucks guy starts getting stern and pushy with me and says he works on electric systems every day and he uses dielectric grease all the time, and that my mechanic is full of it. Who is right and why?

[DeesZ]

I think if you research the topic you will find that dielectric grease is not a good conductor of electricity. Dielectric grease is often applied to electrical connectors (not the 'connection' itself) as a way to provide a nonconductive lubricant and sealer for the rubber/plastic parts of the connector. A good example of this would be an application to the boots of the spark plug wires so that they do not stick to the ceramic part of the plug.

[Adam 83]

Yes, I understand about the grease now. So I did my compression test. each cylinder was a little different. I have no idea what these number mean, or what I am supposed to compare them to. Anyways, I started with the cylinder closest to the firewall, and just went one by one down the line until I got to the cylinder closest to the air cleaner. In the same order I tested the cylinders, here is the results: 170psi, 170psi, 178psi, 175psi, 169psi, 174psi

Is a difference of 9psi a big deal? I wonder what the psi of a L28 is suppossed to be at.

[sblake01]

The FSM says 171. Your's are not bad. Maybe a little carbon build up in the ones that are over 171 but the variance between cylinders is acceptable. What you wouldn't want to see is a cylinder or two that are much lower, say 130.

[Adam 83]

The carbon build up makes sense. When I took them out most were wet with gas and coated a with black suit. After i cleaned them the car ran better than usual at start up.

So, is there an easy way like this to test valve adjustment?

Since I am attacking this piece by piece, my next chunk of change will either be for a new distributor or to get the injectors cleaned. Which one sounds like the bigger contributor to my problems and horrid gas mileage?

[AndysPlit]

How horrid is your mileage? Any numbers?

[Adam 83]

I will set my trip meter to zero and pust a couple gallons in and get you a better answer. If I were to guess right now Id say right about 10mpg if I baby it and drive slow. The whole inside of the car smells of gas, especially when i step on it. I've been driving slow.

[sblake01]

Bad gas mileage can be caused by so many things on these systems. The fact that you smell gas, however, tells me that you need to find the source of that first. Hoses, plugged vacuum cannister, bad evap check valve, etc. Dirty injectors or a bad distributor, i.e. stuck advance mechanism, will cause lower mileage but not to that extent. You need to do the 'system components check' as outlined in the FSM. Cold start valve, thermotime switch, water temp sensor, fuel pressure regulator, etc.