I picked this 1994 SE up this passed weekend, it's was missing bad;

and the CEL was on. Owner said it needed coil packs. So I changed

all coil packs, still missing badly; took it to my mechanic Alonzo,

he said 2 injectors were bad, so I went to the salvage yard &

pulled the front rack of injectors with 3 attached, Alonzo

installed the injectors. Car runs great now & CEL went out. Slight

miss though when I shift to drive. Changed spark plugs to Bosch platnums; I now have full power while driving, When I start the car up it idles
fine @ 750rpms, then when I put it in Drive it drops down to around
600-650 rpms, any thoughts? Since I'm getting power maybe a bad
seal? Since when I suggested the seals he said no, they should
still be good. I should have know better. Any thoughts?

 

It is very possible that one of the used injectors is on it's way out also...could also be a bad coil pack/s...assuming you also replaced the originals with used ones...

in the end, its just best to buy new stuff for these cars due to their age, most of the time, the used parts are no better than the parts you are replacing :0/

 

the RPMs dipping slightly when you put it into drive is normal.

Regarding the miss, I'd avoid the Bosch plugs and get NGK brand platinum spark plugs.

 

bosh platinums? shouldve bought NGK

as for the used injectors, like greeny said one may be on its way out.

 

It gets worse; my mechanic told me to put some injector cleaner in the tank; since I have to get it to pass emissions before getting my tag, my dumb AZZ put some Guaranteed To Pass in the tank (had good results in the past; but those were German cars). Now it's hard to crank, surging up & down, I almost have to floor it to go anywhere, I just picked up some NGK's but could I now have two problems? HELP! "azz on fire!"

 

what exactly did you put in it..?

 

Guaranteed to pass: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...wPpt5imJP88r5Q

 

dude.....

fix the problems, don't put that stuff in there...i don't think that stuff is causing your current issues though...

stick a ohm meter on the injector poles...good ones will read between 11-14 ohms...any other readings will be a bad injector...

 

Yeah; already in there now, changed the spark plugs w/NKG's power is back, but still surges, fells like fuel filter is clogged. White smoke smells clean, I presume it's the product burning off?

Found the faulty injector, I will replace it next; will update.

 

Update:

Found the problem injector; & replaced, it with a used one for now. NOPI, has OEM quality injectors for our SE cars for $50 ea. by Python, AKA Venom (same company); there is a core exchange. The one's for the SE (DOHC) are not in the online catalog; you'll have to call Bobby. I just ordered (6), he said they're all new. Go figure. Or you can go with the Superflow Venom; increases fuel flow by 10%, I did not elect to go with those, but here are the details.

SUPER FLOW Hi-Performance Fuel Injectors - 3.0L SOHC VG30E Engines w/ L-JET/SFI Fuel Delivery - 10% Flow Upgrade - CUSTOM FLOW RATES AVAILABLE.

Mfg# HP630-256, NOPI# 925+1358set of (6) for $536.


NOPI
800-277-6674 - ask for Bobby Evans
bevans@nopi.com

Does anyone have a source for coil packs?

 

Well the problem has returned; guess I'll wait until I get the new injectors, I have also replaced the 3 left (2) bolt coil packs with new one's. I need (3) more for right (1) bolt. Could there be anything else I'm missing before I get started this weekend? Provided the parts come in on Friday.

 

Have you tested/checked the fuel pump/fuel pressure regulator? If you haven't already then replace the fuel filter. I would check all the vacuum lines/vacuum solenoids/valves while I was at it.

 

Greeny, no haven't checked the fuel pump/fuel pressure regulator yet, not sure how I would that; so I might need help w/that. I will pick up a filter today, and install it w/coil packs after work. Cheers man!

 

Will also need to get battery & alternator tested; yesterday while all this was going on my shifter locked itself & won't go into park, which of course locked the key in the ignition.

 

you sure it isn't possessed..?

 

Had battery tested at Autozone; who would've thought all this was the result of a bad battery not putting out enough juice.

 

keep an eye on it...

 

We can get brand new 5yr, scratched across the top batteries from interstate locations near you for $40 with core. 90 day warranty. iNSTALLED IN & i'M BACK OFF TO RACES!! NO MORE HESITATION; TURNED ON A/C & HEADLIGHTS, NO EFFECT HAVE RESTORED ALL FULL POWER.

 

If only all of our issues were this simple.

 

Got it out of park by removing the four screws in center console; moved up & out the way. removed shift console; then I pushed gear button & engaged metal tab in front of shifter mechanism. Went straight in to park. Can shift through all gears now.

BTW; went to emission station today & she passed w/flying colors.
__________________

 

Well kudos for that. Don't know why your shifter is acting up though.

 

Cheers m,an!

Dunno either but at least I know how to fix it; should it happen again.

 

If so check that shifter bushing. Wait aren't you one of those ppl recently that had an issue with it and everyone suggested u to change it? Idk I can't keep count anymore of how many ppl we tell that to.

 

No just had an issue with it once; just bought the car.

 

Well keep an eye on it, but in the mean time ENJOY!

 

Okay now it's running like it was when I first bought it; like crap. I'm about to change my whole fuel system: new injectors, new fuel pressure regulator, already replaced all new coil packs, intake cleaning & gasket replcement while I've got it apart, fuel filter. Stay tuned for an further updates.

 

Always check for vac leaks first. Most simplest fix instead of running on some wild goose chase.

 

Stop throwing parts at her...your just wasting your money on stuff you don't need. If you can't diagnose her yourself then find somebody who can.

 

My diagnosis was bad fuel injector on the intake side; so I'm having all of them replaced since I have to replace my valve cover gaskets anyway (leaking) which involves removing the IM, and I don't want to deal with fuel problems for a while; I replaced the Fuel Pressure regulator & filter yesterday did notice a difference, but still missing due to injector issue. Going to have my mechanic Alonzo do the work; he also diagnosed as bad injector, but it was my decision to replace all with new ones'.

I'll be glad when this is over so I can start modding.

 

checked all vacuum hoses replaced one that was cracked on bottom of fuel pressure regulator. To no avail.

 

Now check your spark. From there go to fuel. (Air, fuel, spark) one of them is off.

 

Thanks, Did that when I replace the spark plugs & coils; I do remember dropping one though, picked it up & examined; looked good to me. Will check again.

 

Well I decided top get my hands dirty & assist my mechanic with the job. We replaced the valve cover gaskets, upper intake manifold gasket, fuel injectors and all the air hoses since most of them were brittle & cracked. It was an all day ordeal; partially because when I seated the injectors into the rear rail I guess I overtighted the housing screws which damaged the injector seals; so we had to pull back off the manifold & houses and replaced the seals. After everything was finished we test drove her and she drove like a dream. Then after dropping off my mechanic, I headed home which is only 10 mins away.

Then she started it again hesitating while accelerating; I opened the hood to see WTF was goin' on & there was air escaping from around the EGR valve. I know that we had to replace the gasket when we pulled the IM; but maybe it's not tightened down enough or do I need a new one?

 

All that work - you should have done the knock sensor and harness. Was it just hesitating under acceleration on the drive home? That's the classic knock sensor VE symptom. Not a fun job either

Definitely refreshing seeing somebody go all out on a VE. I'm getting there on my black one. All new gaskets/hoses/injectors/everything just need to get new coil packs in the spring.

 

Then you can afford insurance to drive them? You better roll the blue one too. Lol!

 

Knock sensor? Well should air be escaping from around the EGR valve.

 

There shouldn't be any air leaks by the egr valve mating surface, you stated you use new gaskets and hoses though. Did you use torque specs in FSM? I know most guys at work almost never use torque specs...lazy.

 

Is it escaping from between the intake manifold or from the actual valve area?

You should be able to do a simple test on it to see if it holds vacuum. With the engine off, just remove the rubber vacuum line from the top of the EGR. Reach underneath the top of the EGR and push the plunger all the way up (towards the hood). While the plunger is pushed up, cover the metal nipple on the top of the EGR with a finger, then release the plunger. The plunger should stay pushed up by itself (because the vacuum holds it up by design - similar to how you can get liquid to stay in a straw by covering the top). If the plunger slides down instead then it's leaking.

Also, on a properly functioning EGR, while the engine is running, if you press the plunger up (again towards the hood) the idle speed should drop accordingly.

The knock sensor is typically the go-to culprit on a VE that is hesitating under acceleration and/or when the car warms up. Typical behavior would be the car performing like a bat out of hell when it first starts up then once it gets up to operating temp feels like it has no power/hesitates/etc . Seems to afflict every older VE I've seen/read about. It's wise to replace the knock sensor itself AND the harness. It's located under the lower intake manifold between the heads.

 

Okay, we re-torqued the EGR valve nuts; it started getting late last night so I guess in a hurry we hadn't tightened it hard enough. But from all the fuel fumes I'm smelling now; tells me that the seals have busted again. What would keep causing this; last night we coated the gaskets with grease before seating them; because the first time they were damaged when we did the entire job over. So do we have to use Vaseline brand or petroleum jelly in general? What gives? I'm picking up an entire new set seals tomorrow from the dealer.

 

It is operating like that, could the knock sensor damage the injector seals? Because I'm blowing lots of gas out the tail pipes; and fuel fumes are evident.