M10B18i L-jetronic with CAT

[Tzzantaru]

I know I'm new to the forum but I have a couple of problems that I just can't figure out.

The engine is an '85 M10B18 l-jetronic injection with CAT and O2 sensor.

I have just reconditioned most of the engine , replaced all gaskets including the head gasket , replaced any old fuel hoses , inspected all other fuel , vacuum and water hoses to be in good shape.
The head itselft went through a recondition process(planing , valve guides , valve seats etc).
Timing chain looks good , chain tensioner is good , valve clearances are set to 0.20.
Now with the problems :

1 : If left overnight , when I start it the first time in the day it idles for a few moments and then just chokes and dies , it completly ignores the acceleration and dies.The second start , the same and at the third start it's working normally(well minus the Nr 2 problem)
2 : It just won't idle until it's warm
3 : If left idleing for about half an hour it slowly starting to overheat until the water boils and throws it outside.If I take it for a ride and the air blows in front it's starting to cool down.
4 : I took it for a spin and I really don't like how it accelerates.It's lagging and If I try to "take off" from standing at 4k rpm it just drops to , like , 2k rpm and then starts moving...

now :

1 : I really don't know what the hell to do/check
2 : I think the ICV is working properly , it gets 12v at ignition , it clicks at ignition but at idle if I unplug it nothing happens.I tested 2 ICV and got the same result.
The cold start injector sprays fuel once , right when I start the engine and then stops , i don't know , is that good?bad?
I tried changing the 3 sending units in the divider housing and it's all the same.
3 : I bleed the system 3 times , thermostat opens , I tried 2 different fan clutches and I can stop both of them with a news paper if I insist a little.I find it a little hard to believe that both are bad.Can it be something else?
4 : I think I aligned the timing chain right.Crank pulley is at mark , camshaft sprocket is with the pin facing down on the same line with the crank pulley.
Now with the spark timing I'm a little confused.On the compression stroke(the 1st piston at TDC and the lobes on the cam down) I put the rotor on the distributor mark(without the cap there's a line engraved on the distributor case).Is that correct?
If not , how to I put it correctly?

Any ideas?
Sorry for the long ass post and thanks in advance.

[Smelser]

valve lash better set on your street car to say maybe 7 or 8 thou? not 20. that has to tick good.

timing is set properly?

[Tzzantaru]

The manual says 0.20mm cold so I did what the manual said.

Well , I think I set the timing properly , read at the bottom of the first post @ Nr 4 how I did it.

[Smelser]

use a timing light. thats just base timing i think. there is a little ball somewhere on the flywheel. I have never seen it. I just use an advancing tiing light, and the mark on the crank. can easily run 28-35 degrees depending on fuel.
or just advance it a little by ear. dont let it ping.

[Tzzantaru]

Well I asked someone to turn the crankshaft by hand(with the spark plugs out) while I watched through that little opening in the flywheel housing but i couldn't see no marks.

I am now in search of a timing light since I don't have one.Hope that would resolve at least 1 of the problems.

Thanks for the answer

Anything else for the rest of the problems?Anyone? :D

[Tzzantaru]

Ok , let's try resurrecting this thread :D

I fixed problems 3 and 4 , but No. 1 and 2 are driving me insane...Almost like it's daring me to set it on fire.

For the No. 3 problem it was the fan clutch.Resolved with a brand new one.
No. 4 0 I played a little bit with the air and set the timing with the timing tape and now it accelerates like it should....when warm.

Any ideeas for the efin cold idling??

[TobyB]

The idle control systems on these are known to be prone to failure-
sure the idle contol unit itself (green box) is working?

Air leaks somewhere will always mess up idle, and that would add to some of the other problems
you've been having.

What I got.

t

[thebutterson]

Try doing the idle control delete. I bought two expandable hose plugs and put one in the intake boot and one in the manifold. This is an easily reversible process if you don't like it. Then play with the stop on the throttle body to get the right idle rpm, you'll have to hold the idle manually for 30 seconds or so, but it should be steady after that. Mine increases a bit once fully warmed.

[Tzzantaru]

@TobyB : I have no such thing , instead I have this sucker , ICV(see pic).
It gets 12v like it should , It clicks at ignition like it should and I've tired 2 of these and it's the same.
I've checked for air leaks while the intake was out of the car.I checked every hose(vacuum and fuel) and replaced those that needed it.

@Thebutterson : I have yet to try this.Do I really have to play with the stop on the throttle body for that?I know it's not exactly recommended beacause of the TPS , as it might be a real pain to set it back.

Could it be that the ECU is so messed up when running in open loop to cause idle problems??When warm it idles perfectly , no problems at all.
And is there anyway to diagnose this , except for a new ECU?It's hard to find on here , and hell , I'm not buying a new one just to try it.With the same amount of money i'd swap to a 2.5 :))

Thanks you 2 for the ideeas

[TobyB]

Oh, hey, yeah, look at that- the fully- mechanical thermotimer warmup wonder.
Ironically, supposed to work better than the electronic gismo, that didn't, really.

I read something about those once- I seem to remember that they're adjustable.
You can look through it cold, and it should be somewhat open. Then, after you apply
power, it should slowly close on its own. Inside, there is SUPPOSED to be a little nut
(of course, they say, don't Fuch with Dat in the manual) that lets you adjust it.
We were going to L-Jet Jenn's 2002, so I found one in the junkyard and played with it
a bit.
The one I got was all gummed up, but worked pretty well once I cleaned it out.

Now I REALLY am not much help, eh?

t

[thebutterson]

The tps just has two switches, closed and wide open. I believe the closed switch activates the idle control system. So once you have that system removed, there's no need to worry about the TPS, just leave it adjusted as is. The stop on the throttle body is really easy to adjust, it takes less than 5 minutes. You'll have to play with it to get it adjusted to where you want once it's warmed up. I think mine idles around 900 rpm now, we'll see what happens when winter comes.


I was just thinking, it'd be really nice to have the idle adjustable from inside the car. I was thinking of wiring some kind of valve to a potentiometer that would control how far it opens.

[TobyB]

nah, not for him- his is like an old electric auto choke!

t

[Tzzantaru]

Yeah...I don't know about that , I'd really like to deal with this problem w/o messing with the TB and bypassing the idle.
I mean I'd like for it to run just like it's supposed to w/o any artificial modding.

It a pain in the rear to keep it reved for a couple of minutes until it warms up , but hey , is still better than not working right? :))

I'll run it like this until I figure it out...or until it blows :D
Anyway I'm taking into consideration swaping to an E36 1.8is as soon as I put the money together.

Thanks for the support guys