Captain Obvious

The bend in the hatch glass is subtle enough that I wonder if someone who knew what they were doing could silk screen that after it had been formed. I'm no silk screen expert, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could deal with that gentle bend. In my distant work past, I was a customer of several membrane keyboards and that technology typically uses a lot of silkscreen processes. I've never done it myself, but my employer bought lots of them and I got closely grazed by much of the technology.

Good to know that I'm not alone. I was under the impression that I was the only one who found it impossible to decipher instructions like that. I wonder if people in other countries have the same problem. I think those icon based instructions were supposed to make them easier to understand in all languages. I think they've done just the opposite.

Agreed. I enjoy making little stuff like that that I get to use. You might not have the right size tubing to use, but you've got a lathe. Just drill out the end of some solid stock and oval-ize it. With a few crude calculations, I think you could get close on the first try and then hit it on the second or third. If you've got tubing close to the right size but a little small, you could bore it out. And then to make it looks "proper", glue on an old screwdriver handle* on the other end. Or turn a nice wood handle on the lathe and use that. You'll be the envy of all the other Koni-ites. * You know the one... The one that's all rounded off and is pretty much useless as a screwdriver. Heat up the metal until it melts the handle a little and then yank it out. Haha!!

I don't know if it's the same issue, but it's not the first time we've seen a bent strut assembly: https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/60602-front-suspension-and-tire-clearance-problem/

I'm no suspension guy, but my thoughts on the order of events would be to do the back first. Why? Because there are some hurdles to overcome like stuck spindle pins and bearings pressing. "Harder" from that standpoint, but "easier" because you don't have to an alignment after.

Yup. That's typical galling. Here's some links that talk about such things. Some of these even specifically call out stainless nyloc nuts: https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Materials-and-Grades/Thread-galling.aspx https://www.anzor.com.au/blog/what-is-stainless-galling https://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/Ref_Thread_Galling.html The bottom line is usually... Use lots of lube and go slow. And even then, don't do stainless Nyloc on stainless threads unless you're an expert. Now I don't know if Koni's damper shaft is stainless, but it might be. Did they supply the stainless Nyloc nuts with the dampers? All those parts were in the same box? Seems they would know about the risks. Especially by now. So is the yellow tip the thing that you spin to change the damping? Seems like you could just take a small piece of metal tubing and judiciously "crush" one end to ovalize it and allow it to grip that yellow tab. If that's the case, it would be an easy way to make a longer tool to reach the adjuster.

LOL. If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that......

Will do. I'll put something together.

Yes, it is to be expected. That's normal for the signal going out to the sender units (Oil, fuel, and temp). They are pulse width modulated. I don't think it directly pertains to your issue (which sounds as if it may be a non-issue after all), but if you or someone else wants a description on how the gauges work, let me know and I'll put something together.

Stainless Ny-locs are a dangerous thing, especially if you aren't aware of the issues. Stainless is prone to galling and that's exactly what happened to you.\ If they ran a stainless nyloc onto a stainless shaft, they were asking... No, wait... BEGGING for trouble.

No, he's saying it "bottomed out" on the metal at the top of the strut tower and wouldn't reach down deep enough into the hole to get onto the adjustment spinny. He had to "lengthen" the tool to reach deeper into the hole by removing some of the finger grip knob portion from the underside. I don't think he was ever intending to leave it under the plastic cap, it was completely unusable as originally designed. Couldn't adjust the strut at all. Of course, I'm trying to translate for someone else....... @AK260

I would guess they silk screened it.

I have to ask the obvious... There's no guarantee that your new non-wobbly has everything in the exact same position as what you took out. Did you set the ignition timing back to the same point it was with your old distributor?

Thanks for the help. I was just wondering about the front struts because I saw a pair for sale on craigslist not far from me.

Excellent. Glad you fixed that one. As for the old bulbs... If I had the gauge out in my hand, I'd go ahead and just replace them all.

Well the gauge design inside is deceptively simple. Two heating elements wrapped around two bi-metal strips, and a switch between the two. The circuit is simple, but the physics is complicated. First thing you be to clean the switch contacts. Carefully open them just enough to get a piece of paper between them and pull the paper around a little to scrub the contacts. Other than that, the only other thing I can think of that might be happening is a questionable connection to one of the heating element wire ends. There are four of them (two ends on each wire) and IIRC, they are soldered at the ends. Maybe one of those solder joints is failing, or maybe one of the wires is failing right at the joint.

Nice progress! Looking at your previous pics... Do you have any idea if the 510 and Z's used the same basic front strut assemblies? They look pretty similar. The 510 doesn't have the tab for the flexible brake line, but other than that? Do you know if they shared the same springs?

All of the gauges will move around a little bit by design (that's the compensation feature I mentioned above), but they should not move around much. If everything is working properly, you can see the needles wiggling around a little if you're really looking for it, but if you're not really watching for it you shouldn't notice it. It certainly shouldn't move around by an eighth of full scale. And when you ground the yellow wire back at the sending unit, the gauge is supposed to shoot up to "F" and stay there. Solid. Have you put your meter on the Yellow/Red feed wire from the fuse box right at the gauge? Is the voltage solid steady there. And to answer your question above, I do not know where or how they make that transition from the green wire at the fuse box to the Y/R by the time it gets to the gauges. I suspect it's done inside the harness. Skipping to the end of the story... It sounds like there is an internal problem with your fuel gauge. You could pick up a spare and give it a try? To answer your question about how much current goes through the gauge for the different readings, here's something I whipped up for a later year. No guarantee that the numbers are the same for your 72, but I suspect they are. This is sender unit Ohms vs needle position:

Is it just the gas gauge, or do you see the same thing in the temp and oil pressure? Also, when you say it moves up and down,... is it regular and continuous, or is it sorta random and happens every now and then?

That's normal. The gauges internally modulate the voltages to the sender units. They do that to compensate for ambient temperature and system voltage.

Yes, the carbon monoxide percent is measured with a special meter. It sounds like you're doing pretty good. The only thing that you might still have to investigate is your idle speed and the position of your idle screw. If that screw is all the way down and you're still idling at 1000-1200, it's an indication that you've got vacuum leak(s) somewhere. I suspect it's a bunch of little leaks spread throughout the system. Rubber boots, small cracks in hoses, injector seals, throttle body and intake manifold gasket, etc. However, at this point, if it runs good and doesn't stink, you might consider taking it in for a pre-test so you know what you're dealing with. Who knows... If you've got some small vacuum leaks and you would be running a rich idle without them, maybe they'll cancel each other out and you might even pass.

So infinite resistance across the pick-up coil? If that's the case, then it certainly does sound like your pick-up is dead. Carry on, and sorry for the distraction!

Reluctor wheel grinding against the pickup face is never a good thing, but before you convince yourself that the pickup is dead, you need to ditch the "continuity" reading on your meter and use Ohms. The spec from the FSM is 720 Ohms. I don't know if that's high enough of a resistance that the "continuity" scale on your meter might not pick that up. In other words, the pickup coil could be just fine but resistance of the coil may be high enough that your meter won't consider it a connection (and won't beep on continuity).

Cool. Hope that keeps the gremlins away. And if it does come back, think of it as an opportunity to find and put a stake it for good. Haha! So remote electrical troubleshooting over the internets is always questionable. But from here, it really sounds like a poor connection in the main power branch of the car... Battery terminals and cables, starter wiring, fusible links, shunt assembly, some big ground connection near the battery... Something like that. Not the ignition switch. Hoping you already took care of it and you're good to go!

Right. One of them (the big one) goes to the starter, and the other one powers the EFI system (and only the EFI system). The rest of the car (everything except the EFI) is powered off the white wire is connected to the other end of that big (+) battery wire down on the starter.* Next time it happens, wiggle stuff around and see if you can pinpoint where the issue is. Battery terminals up on the battery. Other end of the (+) wire down at the starter. Wiggle the fusible links. Wiggle the body ground wire next to the battery below the wiper connector. Happy hunting, and here's hoping you find it. * Want proof? Disconnect that EFI spade connector and then turn the headlights on. They should light up. Then try to start the car. The starter will turn the engine over, but it won't start.