Blah!! It's been a stressful week.
Alright, so I'm getting frustrated with the car again. There is a slight misfire at idle, as well as a surging idle with a rhythmic pattern. It jumps from 700 to 1,700 or so, and about 3-4 seconds later drops down to 700 again, only to climb about 1 second later.
No loss of power anywhere in the RPM range, and my fuel economy is right where it should be.
On top of that, I ran completely out of gas last night after noticing 2 issues:
1) The last time I filled the tank I reset the trip meter, and drove 10-12 miles before noticing both the trip meter and the odometer were not clocking miles at all. Pushing the reset button again caused both to start turning as normal... This was the first time I've ever experienced this, and I log my mileage for fuel economy and monthly fuel cost analysis, so I would have noticed if it happened previously.
2) My gas light no longer comes on as of about 3 weeks ago, and it typically came on very early anyways(3.2 gallons, exactly 10 to fill when the light held steady, for all 3 years that I've owned it).
This, coupled with the leaking valvecover, oil-soaked alternator, squeaky hatch, and annoying "bouncing" in the front left strut assembly, are souring my mood quite a bit.
When I finally source the right KLG4 for my swap, I'll be prepared to take the car off the road for 2 weeks to fix everything that is currently an issue.
To-Do list during downtime:
Front Wheel Bearing x 2
Inner tie-rod end x 2
SRD Crossmember/Tie-Bar
KLG4 Prep:
- Gaskets from head gasket up
- Reseat oil-pan w/ gasket maker
- Timing kit
- Water Pump
- Clean stock Alternator
- Sexy PowderCoated ValveCovers/FuelRails
KLG4 Swap
Bolt Headers on loosely, test fit 2.5" pipe/take measurements
MegaSquirt:
- VAF Delete(Still waiting on IAT sensor)
- Coilpacks w/ 36-1 Crank Pulley for now
Intake:
- True cold-air
- Sealed and insulated against heat-soak
- Fed from left fog-light hole(MS)
- Sexy black silicone couplers will come later
Filled Motor Mounts
New Fuel Filter
New Plugs:
- Gapped
- Indexed using an "extra" set of heads
MSD 8.5mm Plug Wire Kit(V8) - Inspired by FowlJesse
New Belts
New Hoses
Coolant Flush:
- 60/40 mix Distilled Water and Anti-Freeze for cold months
Engine Oil:
- Fresh Mobil1 5w30 full synthetic
- NAPA Gold ZR1 Filter
Gear Oil:
- Redline MT90(IIRC)
- 75w90, non sulfur
That pretty much sums it up... I'll have to finish the exhaust later, as finding the "right" muffler and resonator for my application will break my already tight budget.
Still, It's nice to finally have this looming so close... I'm about $500 away from every bit of this happening, and I start my new job on the 26th. Estimated date for the actual swap will be New Years, a little later than I was hoping, but better late than never...