[AMC-List] Flashback - Bungs and boring.

["Brien Tourville" <hh7x@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

spent the two days before Christmas at
friend Terry & Liz's home in the Town of
Newburgh, where my Kammback & GTO
are stashed:

 my '89 Cherokee was on it's
last legs - surging at idle - dumping raw fuel all over
the exhaust manifold from #3 injector body - which
negated using my newly resuscitated interior HEAT - 
seal leaking - mileage  measured in 
tens of dollars........

we'd a Haynes manual for the Cherokee Terry'd
picked up at Parts America - not one 'Spec' could
be found on any page - O2 sensors shown with
the Universal single wire - no sizing of anything - 
 forget finding a plug gap. 


gonna' relocate that manual right next to the dumper
in the washroom where it can apply said collective
expertise -;)      :-  ...... ....... ........ 


the O2 sensor is 'Original' ......with 174K miles on it -
outdoors & up on a floor jack, we ran the engine after
disconnecting the sensor pigtail - not much difference -
the ECm hunted but overall that O2 sensor was shot -
and frozen...

Terry builds custom Homes & holds a Masters in Geology -
his idea of a relaxing weekend is in mountain caves, hauling bags
of equipment on a rope  -

took him 15 min. to m'oose' out the O2 sensor - and the threads
..........were gone right down to the barrel.> Nightfall .

Christmas Eve day we hit car friends - Sears and every auto parts 
store in the
region numerous times collecting parts & looking for a Tap & Die
set for that then unknown size O2 sensor.

after thawing my brain over a java -  I commandeered Liz's Dell & ran 
a search on STROKERS at yahoogroups:

came up in one odd post on using a generic Chevy O2 sensor and making
bungs to fit:  "the 18mm FORD spark plug size O2 sensor..." > 
[GM is crucial with AMC in some peoples' minds...]

I'd seen an 18mm thread chaser in a  Parts store we'd been at 
the day before > now
on our 6th run for the morning - > Terry reconned the FORD F-150 to 
the > coffee & 'organic' cigarettes store for bolstering supplies.

the Parts store counter girl was pretty sharp, chewed chaw tobacco 
from a tin - her younger manager fresh out
of high school knew his store and JEEPs cold, he ....gets a Gold 
Star.

getting at that O2 sensor orifice is NOT a fun job - on a rocky dirt
drive - floor jacked & a slab of plywood that didn't stay in place -
wind chill was single digit - and blowing the sun out of the sky -
Hudson River Valley style.

getting a thread chaser started where there are no threads - there
 are no words......but Terry chose:  "...this Whore..."...

chaser went in - about 3 threads worth - AMC for '89 placed that
bung on the exhaust manifold - not the header pipe - point being :

it would cost more than my Cherokee is worth for a shop to pull
the manifolds for a heli-coil....... easier to find a Cheep Cherokee
& swap out the tires than split the manifold with the hardened 
chaser.

should that O2 sensor blow out - I figured it'll hit whoever is
passing me just above their pelvis - as my engine compartment
ignites.....

Mark Price sent me a set of injectors he'd swapped out for a
freebie new set - these came with roughly 84K miles on them -
some 90K miles less than what I was running - THANK YOU MARK !

how cold was it ?   the new injector seals were splitting when
installing - had to salvage some of the  2 month old seals off the 
outgoing injector rack - and apply dishwashing liquid to grease
them into the injector rail cups & manifold seats .

fired her up - > ran much better - still rich at an unusual idle -
and #1 injector body had some w'eepage' just below the plastic 
ceramic top - not a lot - but noticeable .

another coffee run & the weepage seems to have ceased for 
the time being - she's A1-A.

the distributor cap & rotor & wires were next - yeah baby ......
Terry spun the head off the cap bolt - leaving a rusty shaft.

the rotor had rust on it - the cap contacts had hard white oxidation 
stuff
covering them, with a single black dot in the centres...... 

machinists wire'd the one side of the cap down - thank you
Rube Goldberg.

another coffee run - and a $20 for the tank:

Cherokee making nice power in a much crisper fashion -
idle still sucks:

above 1K rpm - the engine is fine.

below at idle, it drops to near stall - surges - stabilizes
then falls again....... and runs rich.

we hunted all vacuum lines - they seem fine, no splits
or rot -  ..... every so often, I get a 'hard pedal' for the brakes
which might be the master cylinder vacuum taking a hike -

but overall - a two day  X-mass Eve I'talien Army field service' - 
time well spent........


my thanks go out to Terry - Mark Price and his meretriciously
packaged 6 injectors - a Tobacco chewing counter girl -
her way sharp store Manager - Erve Hamilton for searching
his barn in freezing evening weather for a Tap & Die set - 
American Spirit Organic Lights smokey treats - and the
Mobil Convienient Store coffee supplier - Liz for her
great Lasagna dinner amongst Christmas Trimmings that
brought back early memories and a smile.

For laughs, I thank 'Paulie' - Terry's African Grey bird,
who correctly imitates doors squeeking, handles turning,
phones ringing, answering machines, and Terry's smokers
cough & early morning nasal congestion > I nearly fell
off the couch laughing........

for sneers, ...... the mouse currently inhabiting my Kammback.

NEXT	week, that sucker better be on a flight to West Palm
before I hit town ;)




        =Bt=
  milnersXcoupe
   "The Heretic"




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