Need some help...Please

[plumb4u2]

so here it goes...a few weeks ago I got around to installing my new to me Fabspeed Pre-muffler (car ran perfect before this work)

due to 29yr old bolts I had to cut nuts off with dremel...after Cat was removed I was able to get all bolts out with gentle hammer taps except the 3 on cross over pipe from right exchanger... I had to hit them with fairly hard blows ( tried heat too)

after I finally got them out and put everything back together I noticed that this actuating lever was laying on the ground


I guess I hit bolts so hard the retaining spring popped off, and you'll notice that the spring is missing I could not find it anywhere so I assume that it had popped in the past (I have new one ordered from host)

so on to my problem.....I started car and it idles perfectly as it always had, then I pulled out of garage for test drive and when i go into gear to move forward my car is jerking like crazy, it was so bad I turned right around and got back in the garage and parked it

so I have been searching pelican like crazy and everything is leading me to speed and reference sensors (CHT sensor I replaced 1yr ago new style, fuel filter replaced at time of Pre-muffler)

I pulled out my Ohm meter and I get 1k between pins 1&2 but I have no continuity between any other pins (testing from the bracket on left side intake, readings the same for both sensors)

Any ideas appreciated??

[plumb4u2]

I just removed both sensors from the car and have them on order along with that helper spring and a new clutch cable

[911Freak]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, those exhaust bolts are a PIA.

Couple of questions,
When you replaced this clutch arm after it fell off, did you install it with the correct gap between the arm face and the adjustment bolt? In other words, did you follow the book on properly adjusting the clutch, or just put it back on where it looked like it was before?

Why the new clutch cable? Be aware most of the new clutch cables are slightly longer then the older OEM cables. This is a serious PIA in that these cheaper "Made in Germany" labeled on the aluminum guide tune cables are just long enough to make you adjust the clevis all the way tight on the foot pedal assembly as well as the adjustment on the guide tube under the tranny. Forget about it if your clutch disc is worn but still usable... Pete Z has a great post on this somewhere in another clutch issue thread..

So I'd very carefully compare the lengths of the cables before install and if your new one is longer consider exchanging it for the other clutch cable offered for your MY.

Regarding the sensors, are you thinking the blows with the hammer damaged these sensors?
Are you positive the sensors are bad or just replacing parts until the car stops running poorly?

A poorly adjusted clutch can cause the jerking you describe.

Hope you get it sorted without u necessarily buying parts.

Keep us posted

[plumb4u2]

911freak....Thanks for your response

As far as the clutch arm yes I just cleaned off the shaft and slid it back on without going through readjustment
My thought was that my clutch cable looks very old and the rubber boot that covers the adjustment screws is rooted away so why not just buy new cable and then go through all the proper adjustments

As far as the sensors go, as I was under the car looking at them I could see that the insulation on cables was in very bad condition so again I thought why not just replace them (they are probably original)

I am not one to just throw new parts at a problem but my thinking is that these items are basically maintenance parts that should be upgraded

from the threads I have read my readings of 1k ohms between pins 1&2 is correct but I get no continuity between 1&3 or 2&3 and this should be 100,000 ohms?

[scarceller]

You say "my car is jerking like crazy" can you elaborate on this. Do you mean it's kangarooing / bucking once in gear with clutch fully engaged (no foot on clutch)?

Or do you mean it feels like the clutch is not fully dis-engaging and dragging?

As for the speed and ref sensors they do have three wires and as you say pin1-2 should read 900-1100ohms or so. The pin 3 is a shield and is not connected to the other 2 pins at all.
I doubt either of these sensors are your issue. These sensors usually go totally bad and not often are they intermittent. With that said I do think that replacing them if they are very old is wise. But don't be surprised if it does not fix the issue.

I have seen kangarooing \ bucking occur when fuel/air mixture is off toward the rich side. I suggest you get the base mixture set. Also disconnect the O2 sensor and see if the issue goes away. Also, if you disconnect the O2 sensor and the car runs rough it's another clear indicator that the base mixture is off, in a properly running engine you should notice very little to no difference at idle or driving with it connected or disconnected.

[scarceller]

What if you put back the original muffler? can you do that? I'm not joking here, I have seen exhaust system changes that free up exhaust flow cause lo-load lo-speed bucking.

Does this car have the stock DME with the stock Chip?

[plumb4u2]

Sal....yes with foot off of clutch in gear car is bucking and jerking badly....I drove it one block and almost got whip lash..lol

I agree sensor most likely are not issue but I feel better replacing them as a maintenance stand point due to condition

my car is all stock, I did not replace my muffler, I just removed stock Cat and installed Pre-muffler

[plumb4u2]

my CHT sensor and o2 sensor were replaced by me 1yr ago

[scarceller]

Surging and bucking can be AFM related, very expensive part. Can you get a loaner AFM from someone?

My bet is you have:
- Intake air leak
- Base mixture set wrong
- Bad AFM

Check the mixture, you need a CO meter or a WideBand02 sensor to do this.

[Ronnie's.930]

When you say "bucking and jerking badly" do you mean the engine is misfiring or is the car lurching from clutch judder?

I ask because if the clutch cable is not situated correctly on the Bowden(sp?) tube and its arc is not correct, you can get sever juddering to the point it might feel as if the car is going to shake apart (I've experienced this) . . .

[plumb4u2]

Ronnie.....I really believe this is more of clutch adjustment thing, it is kind of a lurching thing not misfire
my order from pelican is coming on Tues so I'm going to do the cable replacement and make sure everything is adjusted properly

I do not have any vacuum leaks, idle is perfect this only happens when car is in gear accelerating

[plumb4u2]

update.....My order from Pelican arrived fri so yesterday I got new parts installed (speed and reference sensors and clutch cable)

I took my time and was sure to get clutch adjusted by the book

so this morning called for the test drive

car idled perfect for a couple min in the garage then I set off to the gas station for a fill up 1/2 mile drive, let car idle while filling up so it would get warmer faster, left station and car ran perfect for maybe 3 miles then all the sudden idle drops at red light about 500 rpm light turns green I give it gas and it starts shaking and stuttering real bad.

I quickly turn around so not to get stranded and I was barely able to make it home

so I get into garage and let car idle still hovering around 500-600 rpm

light bulb in my head says "disconnect o2 sensor" so I did and bam idle went back to 880 and smooth, so I let it idle for couple more mins and thought lets try this again

left the garage and went on a 20 min run with car running absolutely perfect, came home grabbed my son and went for a further drive with not a single stutter.

so I guess my whole problem here is a bad o2 sensor correct? This sensor is only 2-3 yrs old

[scarceller]

Yup, I have seen O2 sensors do this if they go bad.

Get a new sensor but don't install it till you have the base mixture checked. If for some reason the base mixture is extremely rich then the O2 circuit won't be able to correct the mixture and you'll be exposing a perfectly good sensor to a rich mixture for extended period of time.

Also, these 3.2L engines run just fine without the O2 sensor, so no harm done running with it disconnected.

The base mixture should be set using CO monitor or a WideBandO2, the WideBand devices are more common these days than the CO meters. Here's the spec for using these:
CO Meter = 0.8% (using CO meter)
AFR = 14.2 (using WideBand)