cozye

Unless the air temp sensor gave a false ohm reading to indicate that it was below 68F

you can't go by the hatch. The hatch and/or its glass could have been replaced as part of the crash repair.

Yeah, I knew the values went up and down, I was confusing the 68 degree cut off. at 68 degrees it stops enrichment all together. I missed the part about it variably increasing enrichment as the temp got lower (on EF10) Thanks for the correction

The air temp sensor testing instructions are listed in the factory service manual under the EFI section. It's a simple multimeter test from two pins on the 35pin ECU connector. The air temp sensor is basically a switch. It only comes on below a certain temp which I cant remember off the top of my head, and will allow the ecu to richen the fuel mixture by a small amount to make up for the denser air.

wear a mask

I noticed on my cold start valve I tested it, and couldn't see it leaking. But if I drove it and got it hot, then parked it for a few, I could see down in the cold start valve hole that the manifold was wet from gas. I'm not sure you will be able to test the cold start, fuel pressure regulator, or check valve effectively. One way would be to clamp off the fuel lines going to those items, but my results when I did that were inconclusive. There is definitely a small leak down on your fuel rail somewhere.. The factory check valve is located on the fuel pump outlet, but is NLA.

What are the details of the crash damage and repair? It looks good, but looks can be deceiving ? A salvage title generally would indicate that it had heavy crash damage that would have cost more to fix than the car was worth, and on a newish car that would be a lot of damage

ok, so I'm confused a bit. I misunderstood. So you are saying that the problem happens only after you have driven it for a while, got it hot, then stopped and parked it for a few minutes, then start it back up and begin to drive? Then after you drive it for a few minutes it clears back up? Yes, this would be the hot restart issue. You are loosing pressure on your fuel rail. There are only so many ways to loose pressure on your fuel rail. leaking injectors leaking cold start valve leaking fuel pressure regulator or a leaking check valve If you want to be sure, put a fuel pressure gauge on your car, prime the fuel pump, then let it sit overnight. It should hold fuel pressure. Mine has the hot start issue, although I've resolved several of the leaks. My cold start valve was leaking only when hot. My fuel pressure holds much longer now, but I've still got a leaking injector or slightly leaking check valve. If your fuel rail doesn't loose fuel pressure, the gas won't boil as easily in it.

What makes the low VIN cars so much more desirable? I mean, I know that collectors prefer the lower vin numbers and thats the norm, it just seems illogical though seeing that the 22nd vin should be no different a car than the 500th car, etc.. Just curious for the logical explanation really..

I'm sure he fixed it, never to be seen again or report back what it was.

have you tried backing the timing down and seeing what the results are ? Odd that the mechanic would state that it wasn't running lean, however if you are backfiring through the intake, that would seem to indicate a lean condition.

It would take hours to recharge a battery running at idle if the battery was significantly drained. If you held the car at 3000 rpm's you might get it done in 30 minutes.

The vapor lock issue is a warm start issue that is common, but only if fuel rail pressure drops while sitting. You don't get vapor lock when the fuel pressure is at 32 psi normally, and you certainly wouldn't get it while the car is running as the fuel isn't in the rail long enough to get hot. The fix for the vapor lock issue is to find and fix any leaks in the fuel system so that the rail maintains pressure while shut off. What seems to be common on the 280 however is a lean running condition, theorized to be caused by drifting components in the ecu. They lean out over time. If this is your issue, the reason you notice it after the car warms up, is that during the warm up period the ECU is in "enrichment" mode and gives a lot more fuel than it does after it reaches operating temp. I've had this problem, Sarah had this problem, and there are traces of threads here and there. If you go this route though, you have to rule everything else out first, as the fix may just cover up some other symptom (like a vacuum leak) etc.. So, what is your vacuum readings how? Have you verified that you do not have any vacuum leaks? The fix is easy if this is your issue.

He's got a 78 280, and those springs are compressed about 4 inches.

Good to hear. Even though I don't have carbs, this was a very interesting thread to follow

Yeah, same question comes up with motorcycles all the time. The general consensus is to not start it unless you are going to drive it, pretty much for the reasons above. No good can come from it.

I thought the strut shaft was flattented on two sides that matched the hole in the insulator so that it couldn't spin ? I got mine off with a regular 1/2 drive socket, using a breaker bar between two of the insulator mounting studs to hold the insulator still. You have to hold the insulator still for sure.. If you somehow rounded out that "keyed" hole in the insulator, well then it's going to be a PITA. And yes, you will definitely need to compress the spring if they aren't the lowering springs, unless you want to launch that insulator in your nut sack..

In my experience, I couldn't really tell how spongy it was until I got power to the booster, so quite possibly...

factory service manuals http://www.xenons30.com/reference.html I believe the 77 may have the fuel pump shutoff in the AFM module. Not sure. In any case many of us could speculate where the problem might be, but the fastest way to find it is going to be to look at the circuit diagram, get out a multimeter and start tracking it down. Could be anything. My car had a similar issue, previous owner hooked up a relay backwards and melted the ignition power source wire. The ignition power source is different than the "Start" power source.

Sure. Just make sure the pedal is firm. If it's spongy at all, it's got air in it.

Yeah, you can't tell from the outside. The speed bleeders have an internal ball check valve. I know some bleeder screws on new stuff look the same.

Also, if you want to bleed the easy way, you can replace your bleed screws with these http://www.speedbleeder.com/ 1/4 turn, and you can pump freely with the bleed screw open. You would be able to bleed with one person and not worry about sucking air in the lines. I use them and have used them on my motorcycles as well. They work very well.

Based on this info, I'd make two passes bleeding from each wheel cylinder, you definitely put air in the lines if you took the MC off. It won't take long, you can do it with the car on the ground. After that, just take it for a drive and see how it feels.

another tip if you are worried about sucking air in around the bleed screw (which shouldn't be happening if you aren't pumping with it open), is you can put teflon tape around the bleed screw threads. This is common, but it really doesn't buy you anything and will wear out after cracking the screw 2 or 3 times.

oh, and I wouldn't worry about the groan noise when pumping the brakes without vacuum on the booster. This is normal.