Running rough / miss on cylinder

[danf]

So. My collector tagged car nearly didn't make it home the other day.

I haven't really used this vehicle much as I was waiting for parts for a few years.

It starting missing on a cylinder really badly but thankfully no smoke or anything. I'll have to check the oil and coolant etc but I don't suspect a head gasket.

Why? Well, when I looked under the hood, it looks like the entire ignition system and all vacuum hoses are original to the car (the all have kanji on them), 37 years old. 

I haven't had a chance to tear into the car yet but will hopefully on the weekend. But holy. 37 years on the original ignition system? I am hoping that's all it is but I'll have to check for vacuum leaks too.

[blockade-runner85]

one thing i might suspect could maybe be the crusty old connectors. i was cleaning my engine bay a few weeks back, then when going to start it, was missing horribly. i used a metal stick and stethescope to hear around the engine, and injector #1 wasnt ticking at all, and spotted that the connection wasnt fully seated. pushed wired back in and ran like new. (or as new as a 37 y/o car can run)

[danf]

Yeah, I was thinking about that too (listening to the injectors with my stethoscope.)

After looking at the vacuum lines I'm not sure I want to touch them without having replacements on hand, it looks like they gonna crumble... 

[blockade-runner85]

i got fresh silicone lines from lce a little while back. while doing the replacements, i noticed my power steering vac line was full of gunk. cleaning it out, i came to discover the vacuum line is sucking power steering fluid directly into the manifold. but after looping that line onto itself, car runs nicer, and the engine bay is more attractive too

[danf]

So after a whole lot of testing and ruling out mechanical and fuel system issues, I finally got around to testing the electrical.

It turns out the ignition coil's primary winding has over 10x the resistance it's supposed to have. This can make the spark weak and now that I think about it - probably not good for the igniter.

When doing testing I forgot to reconnect the wire that goes to the distributor when I went to test the igniter by triggering it manually. Holy hell, a zap from that thing sure wakes one up. 

I can't find OEM parts, local auto store has a borg-warner coil that I'm going to have to live with. Works out about the same if I got a different brand one off Rockauto, so I guess I'll use local this time...

[twotone_ra64]

An Accel breakerless coil (ACCEL 8145) is a nice upgrade if you want to go for that!

[danf]

I picked up a coil a week and a half ago but didn't get around to installing it until today. I also fixed a disintegrating valve cover gasket.

As far as tune up goes... I really think I should change the O2 sensor. It's probably original and at 135k miles.

I also noticed the belts aren't in great shape and I'm amazed it didn't throw one. The power steering belt was on the wrong crank groove (the middle instead of the outer where it should be.) I looked at the entire car front to back and I'm surprised I missed that, but then again... I've hardly driven the car because of lack of parts.

I still need to figure out how to fix the right rear caliper. It's the right rear wheel bearing that worries me. I know it's too tight but Toyota doesn't make the crush sleeve anymore. It's unobtainium. There was talk on the celicasupra forums on making a solid spacer with spacers but I don't think that got anywhere.

Other than the brakes, and the one wheel bearing though... it doesn't have any other issues. I do have to adjust the IAC so it idles up properly when cold. I will do that at some point.

After changing the coil the engine runs so much smoother now. It's still a 22re and it still is not a great idle. But before it wouldn't even idle on its own.

List of things to do on this all original car:

- Replace dizzy cap and rotor
- Replace spark plug wires with Denso set
- Spark plugs (although the ones in the car look new and aren't fouled. Undecided on this one)
- Replace O2 sensor
- Replace belts
- Replace upper and lower rad hoses
- Replace all the brake lines (they're all original  )
- Figure out how to fix the sticking rear caliper
- Figure out how to fix the RR wheel bearing with no parts... 
- Once I can sort all the above, the tires are OLD

The timing chain guides looks intact when I had the valve cover off. So leaving that for now.

[danf]

Wow.

I figured I'll tackle some easy stuff on the car. Belts, hoses, filters, etc.

Went down the the parts store and they didn't have any of it and couldn't even order it in! Not even an air filter!

Rockauto to the rescue...

Except now I have to wait!

[Teranfirbt]

Yep, that's pretty common. Good luck finding a person at an autozone who actually understands cars too. 

[danf]

Well, I fixed the leading valve cover gasket, replaced the ignition coil and the distributor cap and rotor (that was all I could find in stock...)

Car runs way better now. It felt anemic before, I thought it was old gas so I put in 1/2 tank of premium. But that didn't make any difference.

It actually revs now. Well, as good as the 22re can rev anyway lol. 

And it didn't leave me stranded! Big win right there cause when it started running badly I had to keep the accelerator pedal 1/2 way down at all times or it wouldn't run. And it had NO power whatsoever.

I do have a Denso set of wires coming, as well as spark plugs, belts, o2 sensor, some hoses.

What are people doing now for the small coolant hoses (like the ones going to the throttle body and IAC?) I doubt Toyota makes these any more, and considering they didn't even have v-belts at the store I kind of have my doubts that they'll have any of these other ones.

[1933beer]

Put a bottle of seafoam in the tank. I will have figure out all the hoses as well. We were able to get hoses for my sons 87 supra when we replaced the engine. Most anyway. It will be hard to fond a piston for the rear caliper. I found 1 on ebay 2 years ago. I found some pistons for the front on ebay this summer but their stock is gone now. You can still get real kits. You likley have fust in there i would take it apart clean up the loose rust and then put it in a bag filled with evapo rust for a few days. It will work for a few years longer if the piston isnt pitted

[twotone_ra64]

What are people doing now for the small coolant hoses (like the ones going to the throttle body and IAC?) I doubt Toyota makes these any more, and considering they didn't even have v-belts at the store I kind of have my doubts that they'll have any of these other ones.

I got the hoses as a kit from 22RE Performance. Although pricey, and listed for 1985+ only, they worked great for my '84.

[danf]

I took the fuel sender out of the tank and checked, the tank is mint. I was surprised about that.

I did get the vacuum line kit from LCE, it was expensive but replaced nearly everything.

Thanks for the tip about 22RE Performance, those were the hoses I was looking for! They were about $35-$40 each here when I rebuilt the 22re in 2008, so it looks like it's about the same.

I managed to find a rebuild kit for the caliper now (well the piston and the seal.) I just need to find the boot for the pin now.

[danf]

Toyota actually had 2 out of the 3 hoses.

I'll do some investigating to see if the last one is available elsewhere. I'd rather use OEM if I can (as the car is collector tagged.) If not I'll order from 22RE performance.

[twotone_ra64]

check megazip.net for OEM stuff. Pretty sure the stuff from 22RE Performance was OEM IIRC.