Thread: My 86 Rangie Hiline

Well, just went for a night run to adjust the lights, but that was the least of my problems....

Started out I thought I wasn't in drive - wouldn't change up gears at all. Took a few minutes for the transmission to sort itself out, so no idea what's going on there yet. Then about 5 minutes in, noticed the temp sitting on 100. Drove home - it didn't get any hotter. Once back in the driveway, turned the lights off and noticed the temp dropped back 10 degrees straight away. Lights back on, 10 degrees hotter....

So now I have to check my wiring to see why I'm getting this difference - and to check which one is right, then figure out what the trans is doing...

2 steps forward, 1 step back....

Originally Posted by Homestar

Well, just went for a night run to adjust the lights, but that was the least of my problems....

Started out I thought I wasn't in drive - wouldn't change up gears at all. Took a few minutes for the transmission to sort itself out, so no idea what's going on there yet. Then about 5 minutes in, noticed the temp sitting on 100. Drove home - it didn't get any hotter. Once back in the driveway, turned the lights off and noticed the temp dropped back 10 degrees straight away. Lights back on, 10 degrees hotter....

So now I have to check my wiring to see why I'm getting this difference - and to check which one is right, then figure out what the trans is doing...

2 steps forward, 1 step back....

If engine temp......... bad earth to the metal somewhere where the gauges sit in the dash. Trans could be totally unrelated.

DL

Yeah, that was my first thought and I'll be checking that, but when I put the new engine in, I put all new earths everywhere - engine to body, body to body - just my luck they'll be a dodgy earth in the dash somewhere...

Trans was fine when it warmed up, just didn't shift when cold... I'm not sure I've got the kick down adjusted properly - you need to bury your foot to get it to shift back, could that cause lazy shifting uo as well?

Dash temp gauge wander used to annoy me in the early days of my P76 ownership. I ended up isolating the earth for the temp gauge and running a dedicated earth wire back to the block. It was due to the gauge illuminating globe sharing the same earth path as the sender, raising the gauge's earth voltage compared to the engine block.

As for the trans, do a fluid and filter change on it, likely very overdue. Many trans types seem to suffer from the same fate when enough fine dust is lodged in the governor valve. On my wife's P76 I plumbed an extra filter into the cooler pipes (a Z9) which extended the trans life quite well. The two Mercs we drive now also cold shift much better after a service.

Well, that was a bigger job than I expected - just stuck the long range tank in. Boy, do they make those a mm fit to make the most out of the space....

Pulled the old one out, put the new pump out of that one in the new tank, check ee the fuel sender, offered it up - nope, it is such a squeeze that the ARB rear step tow bar brackets are in the way - by about an inch... (Insert favorite expletive here)

Off with the bar, hold my tongue the right way, wiggle it around while my son was on trolley jack duty, and it goes in. Boy, I sure don't want to pull that out again - shouldn't have to though, I drilled 2 small holes on opposite corners of where the access hatch will be cut in the floor should I ever need to get to the pump again. I put a dab of silastic in them for now, but it will be easy to make the opening should I need to.

As with the factory EFI tank I fitted when putting the 3.9 in, the rear tank mount is different to the carbied models, so a bit of faring around there modifying the last braket I made to support the rear. Good job I made it out of heavy gauge material as it needs to support a lot more weight now.

Filler is in the wrong spot so needs modifying again as well... It never ends when using parts off different models.

Rear departure angle is a bit compromised by the tank hanging down, but I don't off-road much and do only medium type stuff in it, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

It's a compromise I'm happy to make, as if I get this thing running right, I plan to use it to tow the van a bit with so the extra range and not having to servo hop will be nice.

Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention earlier - the revs have been sitting high recently - the stepper motor has been sluggish, but it gave up the ghost entirely. So I didn't have to drive it around with an idle speed of 2,500RPM I decided I'd take a look at the stepper and see what makes them tick.

Ok, first up a warning - if your stepper works, do not try and pull it apart - they are not serviceable and you will **** it - full stop...

As mine was already toast, this didn't bother me, so I drilled out the 2 pins holding the cap on and opened it up - breaking 2 of the tiny wires that run to the motor in the process - they would be pretty much impossible to repair even if you tried.

Anyway, I chucked the cap and with the end of my finger, managed to turn the motor bit, extending the plunger. I then stuck it back in the car, started it and using my finger, wound the plunger in until I had a decent idle - there was a vacuum leak through the stepper, so each tme I turned it, I stuck my hand over it to check the idle.

Once happy, I tunred off the car, removed the stepper and poured a heap of 5 minute araldite down it - sorted!

Back in the car, and to my surprise, it actually runs ok at the moment - certainly well enough to drive it although when you roll up to a stop sign - you roll to a stop as the engine dies most times. Apart from that, it was a good way of getting through the weekend without a replacement. I'll grab a new one this week anyway.

Well, finally got around to buying a new stepper motor - big thanks to Dave and the Guru at BCC for their excellent and friendly service and a hot cuppa on a cold Melbourne day - and installed it.

Now the fun begins - how do I reset the idle properly? Is is just a matter of adjusting the base idle screw - I moved that quite a bit when I bodgied up the old stepper to get it to run well enough to drive, so I've got to get it back to normal.

What's the correct procedure for this? I'm assuming I just get the engune to temp then set the idle, but I'm just wondering if there's actually something specific I should (or shouldn't) be doing.

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Homestar

Well, finally got around to buying a new stepper motor - big thanks to Dave and the Guru at BCC for their excellent and friendly service and a hot cuppa on a cold Melbourne day - and installed it.

Now the fun begins - how do I reset the idle properly? Is is just a matter of adjusting the base idle screw - I moved that quite a bit when I bodgied up the old stepper to get it to run well enough to drive, so I've got to get it back to normal.

What's the correct procedure for this? I'm assuming I just get the engune to temp then set the idle, but I'm just wondering if there's actually something specific I should (or shouldn't) be doing.

Thanks in advance.

I found, getting it nice and hot on a hot day .... then adjust the base idle to where you want it .... let the stepper take care of everything else. Don't close it like both mine were when I got them ... sure it doesn't roar like buggery until the stepper does it's magic..... but then on hot day you end up with an incredibly low idle.

It is annoying the stepper seems to take a couple of seconds to drag the idle down each time you pull up at an intersection though.