The Ev-olution continues - more lol's within

[EBOOST]

Haha I was kidding.

He probably just drove it and changed the oil every 10, 000km.
Still a good buy, after what you've spent so far is probably what others go for and you have alot of new parts now.

[ClassicAU]

All good brother!! Yep, this is what I thought of 5 minutes after my intital reaction of having a sook! Even after this weeks addtions/repairs, it's still cost me well less than $8k all up, including on roads! Can't complain about that!

[ClassicAU]

So the repairs have yet to be completed unfortunately. Parts came in late, and my mechanic pissed off early for the Christmas break. So its going back in Monday to get done. On a brighter note, the new exhaust is heaps better! It feels a little stronger in the mid range, but I don't want to push it too much till the engine is actually attached to the car! The sound is much nicer though, deeper and meaner, even without the balance pipe. Hopefully this thing will be sweet next week!

[ClassicAU]

All fixed! Feels a fair bit smoother now, the driveline vibration is all but gone! She is still a little breathless over 4000rpm, but I am just putting that down to the lpg mixer restriction and the fact it has just over a quarter of a million kms on it! Other than that, I am muchos happy with it. Getting just over 350kms to a 50l tank of lpg, which I am fine with.
Also, my mechanic said the reason for my surging on gas issue is down to a little regulator that is installed on the gas line between the converter and mixer. He said deleting this will fix my issue, anyone know anything about this? I will get a photo of it later to show what I am talking about.

Oh, and I also discovered the lsd is worn too! Pegs hard!

[ClassicAU]

[nothin suss]

That's your LPG stepper motor
It fine tunes your gas mixture according to the feedback it receives from the exhaust sensor.
I'm no expert (I'm happy to be corrected) but at WOT it won't be missed.
But at cruising and gentle driving situations your economy 'should' go to shit.

[galapogos01]

Yeah as above it's your LPG stepper. It's the closest thing to ECU control on a carby style LPG setup.

If it is working properly, keep it, as without it your fuel mixtures will need to be manually set and your LPG economy will go down a bit.

Important to make sure it is working properly though, 99% of the time those systems shit themselves due to poor installation and this is why mechanics often replace the stepper with a manual mixture screw - they're sometimes hard to diagnose. My last two LPG cars both had screws and I set the mixtures manually.

Cheers,
Jason

[misk]

as jase said, check if its working as it should.
if its not, i would replace it with the same piece.

[ClassicAU]

Thanks heaps guys! Like I've said, I don't have much experience with lpg, so thanks for the info. How do I check if it is functioning correctly? Is there a way to tell visually if I remove and inspect the unit? It's not a major concern, as I can always switch to petrol for harder driving. It would just be nice to be able to take advantage of breaks in traffic while on gas without worrying about the thing surging.

[ClassicAU]

So I haven’t had a chance to take this in to see a gas place yet, and I’m sure they can help me with my following question, but I thought I’d see if you guys know as well. I’ve had a couple of decent backfires on gas now, and the latest one over the weekend was big enough to destroy my air cleaner! The previous owner replaced the air box latches with springs to hold the lid down, so the box is saved. Also, I just replaced the filter with another cheap paper unit. I’m just worried I am doing damage to the motor? Is there any way to tune out the backfires, or does this just come with having manual car on lpg? It only happens if I try to accelerate in too high a gear. I was lazy and tried to accelerate to 80 in 5th when it popped!

[DJV8T5]

seems like it might need the gas tuned up a bit, certainly doesn't seem right to me (from when I first got the ED). I never had those issues with mine til near the end of the gas system when I blew up 3 airboxes in 2 days due to backfires

[EFFalcon]

its either gone lean, or the ignition system needs a bit of work.
given the load @ 80 in 5th, i'd go with the ignition system not being 100% upto par.

properly gapped plugs, good leads and a strong coil help significantly.

[ClassicAU]

Well the previous owner did warn me about the backfires when I bought the car, said it happened to him a few times too. It's just had a full service a few weeks ago when it went in for the engine mounts. so new plugs, oil and filter. The leads are ICE items and I was told only months old, however the coils are stock. Not sure if the have been replaced, but they are definately factory items.
My main question is, am I hurting the motor when it backfires? Does this need to be looked at as priority, or can I just leave it till next service?

[hokko]

My au used to start to backfire when the plugs leads and coil got old. Normally when starting or loaded up towing a boat up a hill. Do plugs and leads. And if that doesn't work a coil. I only got 10,000 Kay's out of plugs and leads on that car.

[galapogos01]

If it's backfiring with good plugs/leads, the mixtures must be out. Take it to a proper specialist. Sounds like your mechanic was onto something when he was going to replace the stepper.

I checked mine by removing it from the gas flow and running the car on gas, seeing whether it moved. It didn't, so I binned it. Could have been either the controller or the stepper itself. Most of the time they can get good economy and power with an old school mixture screw, but to be ADR compliant for emissions it must have a stepper with O2 feedback control.

I would do this as a priority or you will keep losing airbox springs and shitting yourself every time it backfires!

[ClassicAU]

Thanks heaps for the info Jason! From what I can see the stepper is worth less than $100, so I might as well just get a new one. Do you know if they are all the same, or am I stuck with having to buy one from Sprint for my particular system?

[ClassicAU]

So I bought a new stepper thing off ebay, said it was for an Ford eGas, so I figured it would be ok. Oh how wrong I was!! It ran fine when I swapped it out last night, when the car was warm from driving around all day. Different story this morning though. Seemed off running on gas again, then I copped another backfire that blew up the new stepper!!
Needless to say, the car is now booked in at a gas specialist next week. Best I leave it to someone who actually has a clue!

[DJV8T5]

it is a massive pita when that happens, but it does happen. If it is a recurring problem then I would look at what else could be causing it, sounds like the stepper alone might be causing the issue. Hopefully the gas people can get it sorted out properly

[nothin suss]

So I bought a new stepper thing off ebay, said it was for an Ford eGas, so I figured it would be ok. Oh how wrong I was!!

Would have been perfect if you had an EGAS car....

[ClassicAU]

The gas on this thing has been getting worse lately, backfires are happeing way too frequently for my liking. To the point I have lost all the clips off the air box, so have restored to a damn pod filter! Fully sick! Plus I am only now getting 250kms on gas when the red light comes on the dial. Still cheaper than running pulp though. Anyway, I’ve booked it in again at the gas place next Wednesday, and this time taken the day off work. So unless something drastic happens, it will be going in for assessment. I spoke to the guy about converting it to SVI, and he said he would like to check the current system first before getting ahead of myself.

[Jayedxr6]

Do you run the dedicated gas spring clips?

[ClassicAU]

I did mate, but they have all flicked off one by one and disappeared! I went for Ford, but they want $19 each!! There are a few no genuine sets of four on eBay for like $30, but I’ll just leave the pod on there till after it’s been to the gas place for assessment of my system.

[NUT347]

I'd run it on petrol until it's fixed before you pop your engine.

[Sunboost]

I spoke to the guy about converting it to SVI, and he said he would like to check the current system first before getting ahead of myself.

Finally a mechanic who's as honest with you as us. Sounds like everyone else has seen you coming with your cheque book.

[ClassicAU]

Ain't that the story of my life, hey Sunny! I was shocked when he said that too!

Are the backfires really that bad for the motor? It happened again on the way home from work, but it appears my idea of leaving the pod filter sit there without the clamp worked, just popped right off! Didn't even stall this time!

[MMD]

check for inlet manifold leaks, a very small leak at idle will exaggerate under acceleration, which draws in air and combusts in the inlet manifold.

[Commando]

Needless to say, the car is now booked in at a gas specialist next week. Best I leave it to someone who actually has a clue!

Anyway, I’ve booked it in again at the gas place next Wednesday

What did your gas guy do after Jan 24? It's good that he's honest with not jumping straight into SVI and charging you bulk dollar, but did he leave you with an itemised invoice of what he did or did he verbally explain what he did the last time to sus out the gas issue?

[ClassicAU]

Haven't been yet. Had to cancel the first appointment because my boss sent me up to Bacchus Marsh last minute for work. I’ve taken the day off next week for the new appointment, so hopefully don’t have to cancel again! Sorry, probably should have mentioned that! Haha!

[ClassicAU]

Scrubbed up ok yesterday!

[DJV8T5]

just saying you missed a few spots on the passenger side doors (below the trolley strip). Car looked really good otherwise mate, scrubs up really nice

[ClassicAU]

I didn't miss anything dude, the blokes I payed to clean it did! Sounds like I didn't exactly get my moneys worth then hey! Living in an appartment building means I now have an excuse to not wash my car, underground carpark doesn't have taps extra drains.

[DJV8T5]

I only noticed them cos they were the not shiny spots. Car looked really good though.

[ClassicAU]

Just got back from picking the car up from the lpg mechanic. First impression, brilliant!! It drives almost perfectly on gas now! Not going to know if the economy has improved till I go through the current tank, but driveability is far improved! No more pissing and farting when pushing it, starts first time, and hopefully the backfire problem is all but gone.
I was told the issue was mostly an electrical fault, as the converter was not getting a strong enough signal therefore not feeding in enough gas. He said most of the system was out, but gas starve was the main problem. He also said he applied a trick he has of adding a small alloy strip down the middle of the mixer to help with airflow or something. I'll have to pull the intake pipe off and see for myself when I have a little less cbf factor! Oh and he also reinstalled the airbox lid and panel filter, as the pod was fucking things up too. All in all, so far I have fallen in love with this car again!

If anyone is looking for an excellent lpg specialist over this side of town, I definitely recommend:

John at J. W. AUTOGAS
29 Lock Avenue Werribee
Ph. 03 9742 3234
http://www.jwautogas.com/

[ClassicAU]

So the gas is still running pretty sweet, which is nice! Getting just on 300 around town, and got 380 with a bit of freeway driving this weekend. There is still a bit of hestiation, but I am putting that down to being a restrictive system. Still waiting to hear back from the boss about a company car, hopefully in the next month I should get some news. If I get a no, the most likely outcome will be keeping this and getting SVI installed. I have had thoughts of selling and replacing with an R33 GTS-T, but that is just a whole nother world of problems I have no idea about!

Anyway, it appears a different little issue has come up that I have not experienced before, started happening on the way home from the beach last night. The steering has like a heavy spot now just off centre, about a quarter turn mostly to the right. It feels like it is hitting something, or the power assistance gets jammed? I looked under the guard, nothing there. The power steering reservoir is still full, and there are no noises or squeeks. Anyone have any idea what this could be?

[EFFalcon]

check if the intermediate shaft is binding on the firewall in the engine bay.

[ClassicAU]

Gees, that sounds serious! I assume I can check that without a hoist? I'll have a quick look when I get home tonight. It doesn't feel too bad at the moment, but I'd hate to lose steering in the middle of the road somewhere!

[EFFalcon]

Yeah, you can see it in the engine bay.
the knuckle near the firewall

[chrispie123]

Or a collapsed or partially collapsed balljoint happened to both au I have owned

[ClassicAU]

Booked in at the Pedders on Friday across the road from my work for a safety check. Spoke to the bloke and told him what's up, said he'll check the steering and front end for me. Right now it's sitting at home, while I'm kicking it in an apartment in Bris-vegas, up here for work till tomorrow night!

[nstg8a]

Lol peddlers will give you a page and a half of stuff that needs doing.... If your lucky they might even fluke it and write down the right fault.