Pinto Car Club of America
Shiny is Good! => General Pinto Talk => Topic started by: Wittsend on March 07, 2009, 09:53:48 PM
Since I got my Turbo Pinto running I have had some driveability issues. The basic problem is the car will start to accelerate, stumble, accelerate again (maybe a second), then stumble again then accelerate. By the time this process has been completed it is time to shift. Also, full throttle is kind of crappy.
My first hunch was the TPS or the VAM. However, if I hold the throttle steady (in essence locking the TPS) it still happens.
Today I ran codes. I did each test twice. The KOEO was done cold. The KOER was done hot with one cooling fan cycle.
The KOER gave two codes. They were:
#25 Knock Sensor (I never struck the intake to trigger it)
#74 ??? Which does not show as a code in my manual
The KOGO was... interesting. Perhaps some issues appeared because the engine was cold? The codes were:
#14 PIP circuit failure
#18 Loss of Tach input to ECU
#41 System lean - engine running test I assume???
#42 System lean - engine running test I assume???
#65 doesn't show in my manual???
#84 doesn't show in my manual???
I do have a cylinder that is at 80 PSI (all others near 150). While that will hamper total power I'm doubting it should cause the stumbling that is consistant with the two, spaced stumbles per gear change. My 2.0 had similar readings and while down on power it didn't stumble.
Note, there is no lose of water or bubbles. I put oil in the cylinder, but still got 80 PSI. So I'm thinking exhaust valve.
Anyway, if anyone has any input it will be appreciated. I'll try and rig up a gauge to see what the fuel regulator is doing.
Thanks, Tom
Probably a cracked head with 80Lb in 1 hole they tend to crack across the exhaust seat, But it could be a head gasket.... I just pulled the head off a 89 Merkur cracked across #2 exhaust seat..
The engine will not run without PIP, so I suspect you have intermittent connections, and/or grounds, and/or loss of grounds, and/or noise pick up. From what I read over at turboford.org, the EFI systems are not tolerant of imperfect wiring and the factory wiring left a lot to be desired. If you have spare components you could try swapping distributors(PIP), VAF, and O2 sensors. The VAF does have a rheostat on the vane that can become notchy like the TPS. Below is a link to another service code list (not sure if it is LA3 specific). My $0.02, good luck.
http://www.turbotbird.com/ (http://www.turbotbird.com/)