1994 E420 parked for 6 years and coming back to life. Many questions

[Terraky]

Hello all,

Thank you for having this fantastic forum. I have been poring over many many informative threads and guides as I have been working on a new to me 1994 E420 with 154k miles. I bough the car in May 2022 after it sat in a persons front yard for 6 years without being run. I towed it home and began working on it and finally got it up and running in February 2023.

The things done to it based on recommendations;
new spark plugs (old wires remained, looked good)
new rotors, distributors, and insulators
new fuel pumps (Bosch), filter (Mann), fresh gas
new water pump and a few hoses. Coolant temp stays between 80-90C
all fluids changed. New oil filter and transmission filter with fluid
New Air filters and air hoses

The car runs great now. It's been driven 200 miles and sounds good and handles well. There's still a list of things that need to be figured out that have me a bit stumped with where to start.

When starting from a cold start, the car idles rough for a minute before achieving a normal Idle. It genuinely sounds like an airplane starting up with a slowly increasing frequency until it hits roughly 700 RPMS.

The fuel pumps, though new, whine very loudly. They can be heard whining in the cabin. I am not sure if there is an issue with them being defective out of the box or if there is an underlying issue causing them excessive workload. I imagine this is not normal correct?

The car smells of gas in the trunk and the cabin. I am ordering a new check valve to see if that fixes the problem. No air hissing when opening the gas tank luckily. I am thinking it may be a small fuel leak from the fuel pump replacement. Does anyone know where to source the metal washers for the pumps? They were not included with the old pumps.

The car has failed emissions with a high hydrocarbon reading. It is running at 336 Hydrocarbons PPM, the max allowable is 120. The emissions center was nice enough to show me the record for the last emission test from 2008 for the car. It failed in 2008 with 330 HC PPM (at 139k miles)

The car, while coasting at 10-15 mph at around 1000 rpms will idle inconsistently. The car will jump between 1000 rpms and 1200 rpms and the entire car sort of rocks back and forth. Lurching may be a better term for it?


I am in the process of getting a solid blink code reader (hopefully today) to go with my breakout box. Planning to get a smoke machine and do a smoke down test soon. I will be trying to diagnose and will post all of the codes present. am going to be ordering a gas vapor check valve and an o2 sensor to start. Based on reading other posts of folks with similar issues, I am looking at ordering a EGR valve solenoid, air temp sensor, charcoal canister, and a gas cap but not sure if its necessary at this time.

I have a feeling the failed emissions, rough idle, and intermittent idle bouncing are all related. I am not sure where to start in diagnosing that issue but am really hoping it is not the ETA or MAF. If anyone has ideas on what could be causing it, I would love to hear. More than happy to take photos, videos, and extra tests. It's a fantastic car that I'd to like to do right by and get reliable. Also if there are any other preventative maintenance items I should look at please let me know.

Thank you everyone!

 

[sheward]

Welcome. There are others here that will provide better advise but it seems your issue, as you suspect, may be that your fuel tank is not venting. I would not run the car until others weigh in. The pumps may collapse the fuel tank.
Semi - experienced guess. Fuel pressure regulator may be suspect.

 

[Terraky]

@sheward thank you, I'll get add a pressure regulator to the order. Do you think that would cause incomplete combustion/unburned fuel?

 

[sheward]

As I mentioned, there are others here that can provide better direction. Your comments led me to caution you about tank venting and damage. Did you replace the soft fuel lines at the pumps? They regularly develop leaks by now if original.

Once you get the blink code box pull codes. that will help folks to diagnose better.

 

[Terraky]

Thank you. The fuel lines by the pump are still original. I didn't see any signs of them leaking or any melted goop. I'll check the lines tomorrow while it's running (with the gas cap open) to make sure they're not leaking.

And yes im waiting on shipping for the code reader. Hopefully by this weekend

 

[gsxr]

The dual Bosch fuel pumps are not quiet. It's hard to tell if yours are normal without comparing to another 124.

Gasoline odor inside the cabin is NOT normal, even with a fuel leak underneath the car. You'll need to check everywhere for leaks, but if none can be found and the odor persists, it may be a cracked gas tank. The typical symptom is a partly collapsed tank which will not hold the rated 18.5 gallons (and/or, takes substantially less than ~16.0 gallons if filled when the reserve light turns on). It is normal for air to escape when removing the gas cap, there is often (but not always) a small amount of pressure in the tank.

For the idle & surging issues, check for vacuum leaks. You may need to perform a smoke test.

High HC's indicates either a mixture issue (more likely) or failed catalysts (less likely). First get it running smoothly at idle, then before the next emissions test, heat the cats by driving with the engine at 3k-4k RPM for 5-10 mins prior to the test. These engines can return single-digit HC test results when they are running properly, with good factory cats. 300+ HC is really high, something is definitely wrong.

BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[northNH]

It is normal for air to escape when removing the gas cap, there is often (but not always) a small amount of pressure in the tank.

There was a good strong whoosh when I removed the cap from a 420 parts car that had been sitting untouched for >10 years.
I was impressed.

 

[Terraky]

Hello @gsxr, Thank you for welcoming me. Really hoped my first post was going to be about the car and not the issues haha

I have a feeling the pump sound is not normal. I am going to take a video soon. But you can hear the pumps inside the cabin with the engine on

Yeha that hc reading is excessively high. It's my priority at the moment so the can actually be driven. I'm worried it may be the cats as the car failed in 2008 with a similar reading

@northNH thats impressive. I don't think my car has made any noises when opening the gas tank yet



Also small update but I think I traced the source of the fuel smell. It existed only while driving and does not exist after the car has been sitting for a bit. I pulled off the fuel pump shield and found dried gas markings on the shield and some drippings on the fuel filter and pump.

I started up the car (20 hours since last start) and it booted up perfectly. No helicopter starting sounds, just right to a solid 700rpm idle. After it ran for a minute I checked the pump section and lo and behold, fresh gas drops. Very small but still something.

I may have to order new o-rings and new metal fuel connectors for the dual pump system. Does anyone know where to find those?

 

[gsxr]

You'll need to inspect the package and figure out what is leaking. The copper washers are inexpensive should be replaced any time they are opened / removed. The official @Klink™ trick is to use a thin coat of OE MB neon-green wheel bearing grease on the copper washers when installing. This seems to nearly eliminate leaks from the copper seals. The high pressure hose exiting the filter is a common leak point, if old/cracked or found to be leaking, replace with OE ($$$) - not aftermarket.

More info & part numbers are in this thread:

FYI - Fuel Pump and Hose Replacement Info with part numbers (Was: Fuel leak while running) | Troubleshooting and Diagnostics

ADMIN EDIT: Post #8 has the part number for high-pressure hose exiting the fuel filter (most critical to replace if original or aftermarket) Post #18 has the part number for feed hose from fuel tank/strainer to fuel pump inlet. Post #22 has the part number for connecting hose between fuel...

www.500eboard.co

 

[Terraky]

@gsxr I took a closer look at the fuel pumps. It is definitely leaking through the copper seals where they connect to the filter. The new pumps did not come with new rings (really terrible cost cutting) so the old ones were used. The pipes and hoses appear fine with no noticeable leaks or cracks, I'm going to defer replacing those until further down the line. I'm hoping that resetting the LH module ratio and a new o2 sensor will get the car to pass emissions

 

[Ascension]

On my 95 E420 I had exactly the same issue you talk about here. "The car, while coasting at 10-15 mph at around 1000 rpms will idle inconsistently. The car will jump between 1000 rpms and 1200 rpms and the entire car sort of rocks back and forth. Lurching may be a better term for it?"
Also my cruse control was inop. My issue turned out to be a bad T/LLR module but suggest you pull codes. My car is a non ASR car and if yours has the ASR it will be the EGAS module instead. As has been stated here a bad ETA or vacuum leak can also cause this issue.
It's critical that you get that fuel issue sorted out and do look hard at you tank venting system you will find a couple threads here on this issue. While you can hear my pumps on my car they are not excessively noisy so if yours are with in particular with new name brand pumps there is some thing going on. . Post a video with the noise you have if you can. I have a buzzing front pump when it first starts on my 300TE wagon from the Ebay special Chinese Bosh knock off pumps the former owner just installed before he sold the car so know the sound of a bad pump well.
Good luck sorting your car out. Mine had been badly neglected and I had a real fight in sorting mine out at first. The folks on this site were essential in helping me sort my car out so your in good hands here!

 

[gsxr]

Forgot to ask: What vendor did you purchase the Bosch fuel pumps from? There are a lot of Bosch counterfeits out there. If you received Borsch or Bosche, that could explain the abnormally loud pumps. If purchased from an authorized dealer or reputable vendor, they *should* be ok.

 

[Terraky]

@Ascension I think read your post on that issue. My car is ASR and does have the ASR light intermittent. I think it does get triggered when the car is doing the lurching. I took it on a test drive this morning and it does not have a functioning cruise control either. The RPM's were holding steady the at idle and while running. Hopefully with a vacuum test and some new vacuum lines the problem may be fixed without having to replace the ETA or E-GAS. I wonder if that is what is causing the car to have excess fuel.

I'll have to take a new video of the pumps buzzing, the audio was not captured very well in the last one. And thank you, the car runs great as it is, just has some small problems to take care of before it is 100% haha. This forum has been immensely helpful, it feels like every problem with the car has a solution on this site

@gsxr The pumps were bought from either FCPeuro or AutohausAZ. They did have the Bosch logo and proper spelling on them. Luckily they might still be in the return/warranty window if they are bad . Definitely ordering new copper rings this time too

 

[gsxr]

@Ascension I think read your post on that issue. My car is ASR and does have the ASR light intermittent. I think it does get triggered when the car is doing the lurching. I took it on a test drive this morning and it does not have a functioning cruise control either. The RPMs were holding steady the at idle and while running.

Non-functioning cruise control would be related to the E-GAS module, or ETA, or limp mode. If the ASR light is on you may be in limp mode, where the first half of accelerator pedal travel does nothing. If you are getting limp mode, even intermittently, that MUST be fixed to get everything else working normally. You really must clear fault codes from all modules, then check which codes return immediately.

Hopefully with a vacuum test and some new vacuum lines the problem may be fixed without having to replace the ETA or E-GAS. I wonder if that is what is causing the car to have excess fuel.

E-GAS only controls the throttle body (ETA), it doesn't affect mixture. The LH module controls fuel, EZL control spark. The closed loop system is based on the readings from the O2 sensor and MAF.

 

[Terraky]

Non-functioning cruise control would be related to the E-GAS module, or ETA, or limp mode. If the ASR light is on you may be in limp mode, where the first half of accelerator pedal travel does nothing. If you are getting limp mode, even intermittently, that MUST be fixed to get everything else working normally. You really must clear fault codes from all modules, then check which codes return immediately.

Good news is that it is not in limp home mode. Accelator works and there is no delay in travel. When the ASR light is on there is no decrease in performance or any indication anything is wrong. I'll keep an eye on it to see if anything comes up from it, my understanding is that sometimes the ASR light just comes on due to a small fault but has no real effect.

EDIT: I just remembered my dad drove the car around for a while when it first went up and running. He mentioned something about gas, and I tought he meant the fuel lines. I am now realizing I believe he adjusted the throttle cable, most likely triggering the ASR light

E-GAS only controls the throttle body (ETA), it doesn't affect mixture. The LH module controls fuel, EZL control spark. The closed loop system is based on the readings from the O2 sensor and MAF.

I do have a new O2 sensor on the way. Once it is in and I do a smoke test I will take the car for emissions again. Heres hoping its not a MAF, as that is apparently hard to find and pricey (4 or 500$ right?).

I did scan the car for codes and did pull the following DTC's using an Ebay obd1 blink reader. I got the following number of blinks (plus or minus some, I'm only human);

PIN#
6---21 blinks
7---6 blinks
8---9 blinks (Could not reset)
14----solid
19---3 blinks
30---8 blinks (could not reset)

I will drive around tomorrow and figure out which ones come back immediately (and double check the numbers) and go from there. Are the number of blinks for a module the total times the error has accrued or are they the digital trouble codes?

 

[gsxr]

Those are digital fault codes. Each pin can have multiple faults / codes, you keep checking until you get the same number of blinks. Also, there is nothing at pin #14. You want pin #4 (LH / fuel injection). You can ignore pins 16 (HVAC) and 30 (SRS/airbag) as those don't affect engine operation.

Read the sticky threads here:

De-Coding

Information pertaining to diagnostic codes, how to obtain and dechiper them, and how to remedy them.

www.500eboard.co

 

[Terraky]

Heck yeah. I got confused as the scanner is reffered to as a blink code reader.

Solid light Pin 14 | Troubleshooting and Diagnostics

I am trying to make sure I have no lingering codes, I can read the 19 flashes at pin 19 and clear it, one flash on the other pins.On the 38 pin connector for pin 14 the light on my home brew code reader is solid, it will get brighter when I try to read the code by pushing the switch on the...

www.500eboard.co

I read this nice thread on the 14 pin light and the fuel mixture. Sounds exactly like my issue. Need to track down the cause of the LH Adaption blowing past what it can handle

 

[gsxr]

Use the blinker box to "clear" the single blink on pin 4 (not 14) and that will reset adaptations. But if something is causing adaptation to go screwy, you'll end up with the same issue within 100 miles or so.

 

[Terraky]

Alright, update time.
I started the car today for the first time in a while and finally made a video of the fuel pumps. Its hard to hear in the video but you can hear the buzzing in the cabin. It's definitely not normal.

https://imgur.com/a/dOc7SS1

The car did great on a test drive after resetting the LH adaptation. Only things I noted was that the car would thrum and vibrate when at a full stop in D. The RPMS would jump between 500 and 550rpms while holding down the brake. The ASR light came on after just a few minutes (probably 3 or so) of the car driving. It looks like the throttle cable broke when my dad was driving it so a nub/lock was put on the end of the cable to secure it to the ETA. I'm guessing it is not fully calibrated and causing an error.

The codes that got pulled from the car after driving are;
Pin #6--->21
Pin #7---> 6 and 11 (ASR enabled car)
Pin #19 --->3, 6, and 26
Pin #30 ---> 8

I'm not too sure what to make of all these codes in conjunction. I have a feeling the LH module may be going bad or it this may all be caused by the throttle cable being maladjusted. A new O2 sensor and fuel pumps are in order as well a needed vacuum test. Weirdly enough, I did find a hard plastic hose that connects to the rear passenger side of the engine behind the airbox to have been completely disconnected. No idea what that hose was or is for

 

[emerydc8]

It is a breather/ventilation hose that ports engine/cranlk case fumes from the rear of the passenger side valve cover to the ETA. The hose is usually replaced with other sections of hose because they get so brittle that they will usually break if you try to disconnect them. IIRC there are at least three hose sections between the valve cover and bottom of the ETA. The hose sections are connected together with plastic nipples.

If you are careful and only the valve cover hose is damaged, you can just replace that one hose using a dremel tool to cut the hose (or remnants) off the nipple of the opposite end of where it connects to the valve cover. But if you‘re ordering one, you might as well replace them all. Unless you are really talented, the ETA will need to be removed to get the hose section plugged into the ETA. So order an ETA gasket as well (they’re cheap).

 

[gsxr]

Your pumps sound a bit louder than normal in the video, but not terrible. Also, you do not have the plastic cover/shield over the pumps, which is increasing the noise outside the car. Put that back on if you have it. I don't know if replacement pumps will be any quieter. Any chance you can find another 124 owner locally to compare with? Again, the dual-pump setup is NOT silent like the later models with the single pump.

Idle speed should be 500rpm in gear and 650rpm in P/N. If the throttle cable adjuster is borked, buy a new cable, they are currently cheap (<$40?), and may be NLA in the not-distant future. This isn't likely to be the cause of your issues, if the throttle cable is mis-adjusted, you WILL get limp mode. Sounds to me like your ASR light is not related to limp mode, based on your description.

Pin #6--->21 may indicate a faulty/failing ASR hydrualic unit. Search the forum for details on switch A7/3s1, if that switch is internal and not replaceable separately (which is what I suspect)... you'll have to swap the entire hydraulic unit. They are available fairly cheap on eBay, it's more of a tedious job than difficult. HOWEVER. If you haven't yet flushed the brake fluid, try that first for grins. Needs to be a pressure bleeder like Motive or SpeediBleed. Search the forum for more info.


Pin #7---> 6 and 11 (ASR enabled car), either the NSS (S16/1) is mis-adjusted, failing, or possibly have bad shift linkage bushings. Code 11 is odd. Check codes on pin 4.

Pin #19 --->3, 6, and 26: Codes 3 and 6 are related to mixture and throttle control. Again, check codes on pin 4. Lambda fault could be related to the O2 sensor. Read the forum thread about O2 sensors, the connector twist-lock is finicky and can cause problems with the new sensor if not fully locked.

Pin #30 ---> 8 is for the airbag/SRS system. If the SRS warning light is off when driving (and is only on briefly before starting the car), you can ignore this. And it has nothing to do with engine operation.


LH module total failures are extremely rare. Almost nothing here appears to be related to the throttle cable, which if misadjusted will cause limp mode, but have zero effect on fuel mixture.

The large "plastic" hose to the passenger valve cover is supposed to be soft rubber. As emerydc8 posted above, replace ALL the PCV hoses. Search the forum for a list of part numbers, buy OE/Genuine only, yes it will cost $200 for all of them. If the large hose was disconnected, this caused a large vacuum leak to atmosphere and could screw with mixture formation. This should be fixed ASAP before anything else.

BTW, the codes on pin 19 should have the CEL on. If it isn't, verify the bulb is not burned out, and also that the bulbs are not in the wrong place in the cluster. Each bulb wire is numbered, verify they are in the correct locations. Wire/bulb #1 is for the CEL.

 

[Terraky]

Hello all, sorry to have not responded for some time. I was waiting until there was more of an update to share but sadly due to shipping delays there is not much good news at this time.

The car has mostly been in a garage/sitting while I waited for parts and motivation (we had a few weeks of cold and windy weather here in New Mexico). I did some more troubleshooting and a LOT more reading. I can't do too much test driving since I am unable to get plates until the emissions is passed.

General updates: I ordered a bunch of small miscellaneous parts. A vacuum leak test was performed on all the hoses and lines noted in the emissions diagram. A few small connectors were cracked and replaced. The fuel pressure regulator was replaced as well with a new one. I did find the purge control valve is stuck open (new one on the way). I ordered a new O2 sensor which arrived after a month delay, only to find it is the wrong one (my fault for not checking the part numbers, not the fault of the company). Still waiting on the sensor as I think it is what is causing the rich running condition.

Anyways onto the bad update that I hope does not mean the end of the line.

A few weeks ago I took the car on a test drive around the neighborhood. It ran fine but felt sluggish, not driving how at 280hp car should. After watching some videos on youtube I found that it was in fact running sluggish. Not accelerating as quick as it should with pedal to the floor. I was worried that the cats were clogged or that the EGR was acting faulty, so last night I took the car out for a test drive in the neighborhood. I wanted to make sure that it runs under load going up hills and does accelerate after fixing the small issues.

Much to my enjoyment it did run beautifully. Nice hard pulls and kick downs even going up hills. Good pulls at full throttle and peppy handling in first gear. After driving for 15 minutes or so I drove past my house before continuing for another cruise. As I was driving away I saw the temp gauge rising rapidly (it had been in the 87-90 degree mark during the cruise). Once I saw the needle go past 105 or so I turned around and started heading home. By the time I got back to my house I found the temp was between 110-115. It did not reach the white mark for 120 or the red zone. I saw in front of my house a trail of coolant all over the road. Upon popping the hood I am met with some white smoke coming out of the reservoir tank due to the lack of a cap. I could see some fluid in the tank and could hear bubbling in the radiator. Upon touching the engine parts the airbox was hot hot to the touch, and the metal parts of the engine were singeing to touch. I did not have a thermometer to test the engine temp and still do not know if the engine overheated or not. My guess is two miles, maybe 5 minutes over driving since the cap popped off.

After letting the car cool off for hours I poured some water in the coolant tank to drive it onto my driveway. The check engine light was on for the first time ever. I checked for codes this morning and found nothing. I briefly ran the engine today and it sounds fine with no check engine light or codes. It holds idle fine in park, but I have been too nervous to drive it. I believe with almost 99% certainty that the coolant cap was old or not secured properly, causing it to pop off when under heavy load. It had a new radiator, thermostat, and water pump as well as new coolant about 150 miles ago. The fluid was tested with a thermometer at that time and was reading the same as the temp gauge.

I'm currently waiting to refill the system with Zerex G-05 and test drive the car again. I'm genuinely scared my Mercedes adventure will end before it can fully begin. Any words of advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated

Your pumps sound a bit louder than normal in the video, but not terrible. Also, you do not have the plastic cover/shield over the pumps, which is increasing the noise outside the car. Put that back on if you have it. I dont know if replacement pumps will be any quieter. Any chance you can find another 124 owner locally to compare with? Again, the dual-pump setup is NOT silent like the later models with the single pump.

Idle speed should be 500rpm in gear and 650rpm in P/N. If the throttle cable adjuster is borked, buy a new cable, they are currently cheap ( 6[/B] and 11 (ASR enabled car), either the NSS (S16/1) is mis-adjusted, failing, or possibly have bad shift linkage bushings. Code 11 is odd. Check codes on pin 4.

Pin #19 --->3, 6, and 26: Codes 3 and 6 are related to mixture and throttle control. Again, check codes on pin 4. Lambda fault could be related to the O2 sensor. Read the forum thread about O2 sensors, the connector twist-lock is finicky and can cause problems with the new sensor if not fully locked.

Pin #30 ---> 8 is for the airbag/SRS system. If the SRS warning light is off when driving (and is only on briefly before starting the car), you can ignore this. And it has nothing to do with engine operation.


LH module total failures are extremely rare. Almost nothing here appears to be related to the throttle cable, which if misadjusted will cause limp mode, but have zero effect on fuel mixture.

The large plastic hose to the passenger valve cover is supposed to be soft rubber. As emerydc8 posted above, replace ALL the PCV hoses. Search the forum for a list of part numbers, buy OE/Genuine only, yes it will cost $200 for all of them. If the large hose was disconnected, this caused a large vacuum leak to atmosphere and could screw with mixture formation. This should be fixed ASAP before anything else.

BTW, the codes on pin 19 should have the CEL on. If it isnt, verify the bulb is not burned out, and also that the bulbs are not in the wrong place in the cluster. Each bulb wire is numbered, verify they are in the correct locations. Wire/bulb #1 is for the CEL.

@gsxr . I can now verify that the check engine light does work. It comes on during the car's warmup and then disappears. The fuel pumps start off quiet, running at the sound normal pumps would but after a while definitely do run loud. I am guessing the LH mixture is throwing as much fuel as possible causing the pumps to work at maxium

Pin #6: The ASR symptom is most likely due to the lines being clogged. Still have not gone and bled the brakes but imagining that should fix the issue since the fluid is OLD.

Pin #11. A new NSS is on the way. I hope this will fix the weird lurching that happens while the car is in gear at a stop and seems to want to keep trying to lurch forward. It may be fixed when the new purge valve comes in stopping the one vacuum leak.

Pin #19: the only code still showing after this afternoon is #3 for the Lambda sensor. No codes on Pin #4 amazingly.

Pin #30: glad to hear it, no SRS light has come on except during startup.

A new PCV hose is on the way as the old one is slightly cracked. Some point down the line all the hoses will be replaced.

 

[gsxr]

That was a scary test drive. However, I wouldn't panic just yet. Refill and install a new OEM/Reutter cap and see what happens. If you drain the system, refill the block by disconnecting the upper hose from the radiator, and pour into the hose until the block is full. Then reconnect the hose, and fill the rest at the plastic tank. When the t-stat opens the level will drop, and it may need another 1 quart after it cools down completely (overnight). Normal level is right at the tank seam.

The fuel pumps run at basically the same volume/pressure all the time, it's a closed system where excess fuel returns to the tank. I wouldn't worry about the sound of the pumps, yet. In the meantime, start soaking the old O2 sensor in Kroil or your favorite penetrant, if you haven't already. Old ones can be a bear to remove.

 

[Terraky]

Started flushing the coolant system today with just fresh water to prep it for the switch to zerex g-05, following the procrdure @gsxr recommended. I'm not as worried that the engine cooked because there was a lot of old coolant that came out. Even with 1.5 gallons of water added the coolant exiting was still nice and colorful. After flushing it a few times with fresh water and the thermostat open it's finally coming out clear. Im guessing probably half the tank leaked out\evaporated on the test drive. car seems to idle and run fine (650rpm in park and 500 in gear). I've got a large order of parts on the way that hopefully will fix all the major issues with the car by next week. I'll definitely update with what part fixes what. Priority is to pass emissions and then deal with the fuel pumps, surging idle, and ASR light.

Haha I've read the horror stories about the o2 sensors getting stuck. Its had multiple soaks of pb blaster over the past 2 weeks

 

[northNH]

If you give up on the PB Blaster, try 50/50 ATF/acetone; more effective, dirt cheap.

 

[Terraky]

On a good note, I have some positive updates today.

I cracked down on the car this morning and finally swapped out the fuel tank vent valve (I had been using an old gas cap that did not hold pressure in the meantime) and adjusted the throttle linkage per FSM, following this lovely post as reference

Throttle linkage | M119 Engine

Hi all, I was checking my 93 500 throttle linkage today because I have a code related to it and the ASR light is on and I found two FSM adjustment procedures and I am not sure which one to use. One says "ENGINE 119.97 except CODE (471a) acceleration slip regulator (ASR)" and the other says...

www.500eboard.co

I adjusted the transmission linkage cable as well and the car shifts much smoother. It would kick from first into second gear previously as it would shift at around 2200 rpm to 1k, now it's 1500 to 1k. Very smooth. I did find I am missing a kickdown switch as well.

I can now describe the lurching that occurs in the car a bit better and why I believe a NSS would cause it. At around 1k rpms while coasting downhill, the car seems to retard itself where the rpms won't idle higher and the speed remains the safe. It almost feels like the clutch keeps partially engaging and disengaging, causing a lurching motion. Will post how that changes when the new NSS and purge valve is installed

 

[Terraky]

Hello all,
I did want to give an update on the car. After getting some Kroil and some very long breaker bars the O2 Sensor was finally replaced. It took 2 months for the sensor to arrive (ordered 03/02/23) and it arrived at the end of april. Fixing the sensor and the vacuum, PCV and gas vent valve allowed the car to pass emissions with flying colors. It passed all criteria at about 10% of maximum allowed.

I did find that the lurching in the car is due to either a bad shift cable or to an idle control contact switch. The car will jump RPMS and stumble while my foot is on the pedal while cruising. No issues if throttle is applied or if foot is off the pedal. The rproblem definitely got better after adjusting the throttle linkage.

Anyways the car is now being driven daily and is a great car to ride around in. Still a lot more steps to get it running fully but should be fun! Thank you for everyone's help with the car so far!