Guys, this is fuel injection, NOT a carbureted car. It requires a different approach. The Bosch L-Jetronic system was state of the art in 1981 and very reliable if maintained correctly. You need to drain the gasoline in the fuel tank! It's probably varnished smelly crap that couldn't start a barbeque much less a sports car. While the tank is empty inspect the bottom to see if it's full of crap and rusty. They normally are beyond repair and can be replaced inexpensively. In the meantime you can rig up a temporary fuel source from a boat fuel tank just to get it running. You need to test the fuel pump to make sure it isn't locked up from crud. (I never heard the buzz when starting.) Inspect the fuel hoses because they usually dry out and leak which can cause an engine fire and do a ton of damage (Fuel spray on that header is not good). Midwest has fuel line that fits so add that to your brake parts list. While the fuel hoses are being replaced you should have the injectors cleaned and flow-tested (be glad it's a four cylinder). Finally, with everything back together jump the fuel pump with ignition disconnected to test the rail pressure (cheap tool from HoboFreight every FI mechanic should have). You should see 25-30 psi steady state. Then the car "should" start.
Hi, thank you again for all this info. Part 3 is coming soon and to not give too many spoilers I'll wait till its out to comment on this fully, but the fuel tank was drained initially, and at the time a new fuel pump and and extra in-line filter was installed before the pump directly from the tank to try to keep any residual gunk from getting into the new filter. I have seen new tanks that bayless sells on their website but we decided to use the existing tank for now as it does not appear to have any corrosion (on the outside anyways). The fuel lines were replaced coming out of the tank, before and after the pump and filter, because just as you said they were basically falling apart. I haven't replaced the return line going back into the tank but its on the list. As for the injectors, stay tuned...
This was a well-cared for car---the dust shield over the reluctor wheel under the distributor cap is still there, as is the plastic cap that covers the inspection hole in the cam belt cover and the little right angle support bracket that holds the vacuum advance hose and the alt-to-starter-cable! I'm impressed.
I hope to address this later in the series, but this was essentially a one owner car with original window sticker, tons of service records, (including a timing belt done at 69,000 miles) and all sorts of extra parts. As far as i know it was stored indoors for the several years it didn’t run, so although its pretty rough I do think it was taken care of for a good chunk of time. Hoping to get it back into “hawaii” condition
Another thing I wish I did was give a more comprehensive history of the car both before and after i got it. The gas tank had been drained, new fuel pump, new fuel filter, and extra filter before the pump added, as well as new fuel lines from the tank all the way till the fuel filter after the pump. I do still need to replace the return hose. Also alternator was rebuilt, but I should have given some more context of these things when chronicling the overall project.
Janky, ya gotta look at the FI troubleshooting guide on xweb, just go step by step. Tip: the timing marks. The first pointer clockwise is 10 degrees BTDC, the second is 5 degrees BTDC, and the third is TDC. Remember the pointers are sheet metal mounted on small studs that also support the tins shielding the timing belt, so could have been disturbed if and when the belt was changed. Always double-check the pointers against the hash marks cast into the bell housing and the timing dot on the flywheel. The orientation of the distributor and the rotor looked good, so it's doubtful that timing is keeping it from starting. But funny enough the first step in the FI troubleshooting manual is confirm that the ignition is working right, so you're doing it right! :) Cratecrucher from XWeb is right, step two in this situation is drain the tank, inspect for debris, flush as much as you can out (which is made easier with an FI fuel tank since the main pickup pierces the bottom of the tank), then add some fresh fuel. Third step is to confirm proper operation of the fuel system dual relay. Remove the air cleaner-to-AFM (the correct term for L-Jet FI is airflow meter, not MAF!!!) hose, key in run, then insert a pencil eraser-end-first into the AFM and just barely move the flap. If you hear the fuel pump energizing, that's how it should be. Push flap a little, fuel pump should run, let go of flap, fuel pump should turn off. That confirms the run half of the dual relay. Confirm the start half of the dual relay with a test light across the two pump terminals. The test light should light during cranking. If you didn't have a fuel smell after all that cranking then there is a fuel delivery problem, maybe the injectors are clogged/stuck, very possible if the car has been inop for more than say 9-12 months. Use a 9v square battery and some home-made test leads to energize each injector to listen for its valve opening and closing. Tickle the injectors--meaning energize them in a rapid on-off cycle, say 2-3 times a second---don't apply voltage for more than a second at a time. If nothing when given voltage, then the injectors will have to come out for a cleaning.
Janky do thanky Mr. Dauntless, I think we actually had a copy of the FI troubleshooting guide printed out at one point, we went into the weekend ready to change the timing belt and replace the gas tank and members of the xweb forum sort of suggested us reigned us in a bit and just starting with the basics, so in a way we’ve done that, just not super meticulous or step by step (i take all the blame for that) - the info about the timing I really appreciate and will relay that to the great Scott, who helped me. Yes the airflow meter! Its like you always learn things a week too late, a buddy of mine with an older BMW was just telling me how the L-Jetronic system works, and now it perfectly explains the airflow meter and why scott was wondering about the flap (covered in part 3, premiering soon!) Thanks for all the info, really appreciate how eager ppl have been to give advice and see this project thru.
Correction from "a car guy" that actually worked on this car; who is a car guy who may have provided misinformation... Starting fluid is not an octane booster. It is actually an octane reducer (sort of). Look it up; I'm not a scientist, but I understand it. It has ether or alcohol or cheese or butt paste or something in it.
Have not heard any content about the progress of your fiat x1/9 - I also have a 1982 model 51 k miles they are a lot of fun - by the way also live in western New York
Oh brother, you got me with this one. I very much appreciate you checking in because it motivates me, and as fate would have it I'm shooting the intro/update to the next piece tomorrow, but its been a long time coming, and the spoiler alert answer is that my aerostar buying habit and distracted mind combined with a roadblock in progress and the inertia it brings have slowed progress to a sludge. But that is changing soon as I will talk about soon. As to location I actually live in upstate NY a bit south east of western NY but you could easily mistake my channel for a WNY one, as I'm out there often. Janky do thanky for the comment, have fun and good luck with your X! what color is it? Hope you catch and enjoy the next episode coming sometime soon.
Just saw new post - please preserve these cars there are not many left only about 1050 registered in the United States -as for mine it is a 1982 Rosa red 51 k miles the same car as another TH-camr test drove - number 27 - I will checking in on you
@@johnmiranda7265 I watched that review. Got a kick out of the "hairdresser's car" concept, never heard of that before. Hubnut is a great UK channel and he drove one as well. Besides the "underpowered" line and people knocking them for rust (which I think frankly was every car in the late 70's and early 80's) you really don't hear people have a bad word to say about them. Yet somehow they continue to be largely unknown by your casual car enthusiast. Eagerly awaiting word from the shop, if November stays decent may even get a few drives in before winter. thanks again for the comment
Guys, this is fuel injection, NOT a carbureted car. It requires a different approach. The Bosch L-Jetronic system was state of the art in 1981 and very reliable if maintained correctly. You need to drain the gasoline in the fuel tank! It's probably varnished smelly crap that couldn't start a barbeque much less a sports car. While the tank is empty inspect the bottom to see if it's full of crap and rusty. They normally are beyond repair and can be replaced inexpensively. In the meantime you can rig up a temporary fuel source from a boat fuel tank just to get it running. You need to test the fuel pump to make sure it isn't locked up from crud. (I never heard the buzz when starting.) Inspect the fuel hoses because they usually dry out and leak which can cause an engine fire and do a ton of damage (Fuel spray on that header is not good). Midwest has fuel line that fits so add that to your brake parts list. While the fuel hoses are being replaced you should have the injectors cleaned and flow-tested (be glad it's a four cylinder). Finally, with everything back together jump the fuel pump with ignition disconnected to test the rail pressure (cheap tool from HoboFreight every FI mechanic should have). You should see 25-30 psi steady state. Then the car "should" start.
Hi, thank you again for all this info. Part 3 is coming soon and to not give too many spoilers I'll wait till its out to comment on this fully, but the fuel tank was drained initially, and at the time a new fuel pump and and extra in-line filter was installed before the pump directly from the tank to try to keep any residual gunk from getting into the new filter. I have seen new tanks that bayless sells on their website but we decided to use the existing tank for now as it does not appear to have any corrosion (on the outside anyways). The fuel lines were replaced coming out of the tank, before and after the pump and filter, because just as you said they were basically falling apart. I haven't replaced the return line going back into the tank but its on the list. As for the injectors, stay tuned...
This was a well-cared for car---the dust shield over the reluctor wheel under the distributor cap is still there, as is the plastic cap that covers the inspection hole in the cam belt cover and the little right angle support bracket that holds the vacuum advance hose and the alt-to-starter-cable! I'm impressed.
I hope to address this later in the series, but this was essentially a one owner car with original window sticker, tons of service records, (including a timing belt done at 69,000 miles) and all sorts of extra parts. As far as i know it was stored indoors for the several years it didn’t run, so although its pretty rough I do think it was taken care of for a good chunk of time. Hoping to get it back into “hawaii” condition
Another thing I wish I did was give a more comprehensive history of the car both before and after i got it. The gas tank had been drained, new fuel pump, new fuel filter, and extra filter before the pump added, as well as new fuel lines from the tank all the way till the fuel filter after the pump. I do still need to replace the return hose. Also alternator was rebuilt, but I should have given some more context of these things when chronicling the overall project.
Janky, ya gotta look at the FI troubleshooting guide on xweb, just go step by step.
Tip: the timing marks. The first pointer clockwise is 10 degrees BTDC, the second is 5 degrees BTDC, and the third is TDC. Remember the pointers are sheet metal mounted on small studs that also support the tins shielding the timing belt, so could have been disturbed if and when the belt was changed. Always double-check the pointers against the hash marks cast into the bell housing and the timing dot on the flywheel. The orientation of the distributor and the rotor looked good, so it's doubtful that timing is keeping it from starting. But funny enough the first step in the FI troubleshooting manual is confirm that the ignition is working right, so you're doing it right! :)
Cratecrucher from XWeb is right, step two in this situation is drain the tank, inspect for debris, flush as much as you can out (which is made easier with an FI fuel tank since the main pickup pierces the bottom of the tank), then add some fresh fuel.
Third step is to confirm proper operation of the fuel system dual relay. Remove the air cleaner-to-AFM (the correct term for L-Jet FI is airflow meter, not MAF!!!) hose, key in run, then insert a pencil eraser-end-first into the AFM and just barely move the flap. If you hear the fuel pump energizing, that's how it should be. Push flap a little, fuel pump should run, let go of flap, fuel pump should turn off. That confirms the run half of the dual relay. Confirm the start half of the dual relay with a test light across the two pump terminals. The test light should light during cranking.
If you didn't have a fuel smell after all that cranking then there is a fuel delivery problem, maybe the injectors are clogged/stuck, very possible if the car has been inop for more than say 9-12 months. Use a 9v square battery and some home-made test leads to energize each injector to listen for its valve opening and closing. Tickle the injectors--meaning energize them in a rapid on-off cycle, say 2-3 times a second---don't apply voltage for more than a second at a time. If nothing when given voltage, then the injectors will have to come out for a cleaning.
Janky do thanky Mr. Dauntless, I think we actually had a copy of the FI troubleshooting guide printed out at one point, we went into the weekend ready to change the timing belt and replace the gas tank and members of the xweb forum sort of suggested us reigned us in a bit and just starting with the basics, so in a way we’ve done that, just not super meticulous or step by step (i take all the blame for that) - the info about the timing I really appreciate and will relay that to the great Scott, who helped me. Yes the airflow meter! Its like you always learn things a week too late, a buddy of mine with an older BMW was just telling me how the L-Jetronic system works, and now it perfectly explains the airflow meter and why scott was wondering about the flap (covered in part 3, premiering soon!) Thanks for all the info, really appreciate how eager ppl have been to give advice and see this project thru.
Correction from "a car guy" that actually worked on this car; who is a car guy who may have provided misinformation...
Starting fluid is not an octane booster. It is actually an octane reducer (sort of). Look it up; I'm not a scientist, but I understand it. It has ether or alcohol or cheese or butt paste or something in it.
Yea that butt paste is effective but you sure do have to be careful not to over-do it. With the butt paste that is
Have not heard any content about the progress of your fiat x1/9 - I also have a 1982 model 51 k miles they are a lot of fun - by the way also live in western New York
Oh brother, you got me with this one. I very much appreciate you checking in because it motivates me, and as fate would have it I'm shooting the intro/update to the next piece tomorrow, but its been a long time coming, and the spoiler alert answer is that my aerostar buying habit and distracted mind combined with a roadblock in progress and the inertia it brings have slowed progress to a sludge. But that is changing soon as I will talk about soon.
As to location I actually live in upstate NY a bit south east of western NY but you could easily mistake my channel for a WNY one, as I'm out there often.
Janky do thanky for the comment, have fun and good luck with your X! what color is it? Hope you catch and enjoy the next episode coming sometime soon.
Just saw new post - please preserve these cars there are not many left only about 1050 registered in the United States -as for mine it is a 1982 Rosa red 51 k miles the same car as another TH-camr test drove - number 27 - I will checking in on you
@@johnmiranda7265 I watched that review. Got a kick out of the "hairdresser's car" concept, never heard of that before. Hubnut is a great UK channel and he drove one as well. Besides the "underpowered" line and people knocking them for rust (which I think frankly was every car in the late 70's and early 80's) you really don't hear people have a bad word to say about them. Yet somehow they continue to be largely unknown by your casual car enthusiast. Eagerly awaiting word from the shop, if November stays decent may even get a few drives in before winter. thanks again for the comment