New Owner #1581 White/Red

[Torchred96]

Thanks for the links David and Thanks for the comments everyone.

After seeing the car in person, I was prepared to bid 12k for the car and that's the number I bid. Imagine my surprise when it didnt break 9k and there was NO reserve. I had to pinch myself. The seller actually got the car for 6k at auction as I recall, so he didn't lose money. I didn't notice the noise until I got home and did a hot restart...and heard that dreadful knock...HORROR struck until I read some posts on here that set my more at ease.

I can't wait to start getting my hands dirty. Kind of afraid to drive it too much because of the noise. Don't want to cause damage by running it lean.. if it's not already damaged.

I will be looking to you for you help in the near future.

Thanks again!
Sam

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by torchred96

Okay, what I know about the car besides that it has 132k miles...not too much actually. It has had two owners. The first is from McKeesport Pa. I believe I have the last name, but only the initials of the first and middle name. He, or she owned the car for 20k miles and I believe it was sold in 96 to someone in St Petersburg Fl who drove it, uh quite a bit but also did a nice job of either replacing the interior or keeping it really nice. I'm betting the seats are recovered...they just look too good for that many miles.
The seller put a Haibeck chip to have the injectors default to on because the key switch is broken. Not sure if the check engine light was on before that but it is now.

Unfortunately I have no other records of maintenance. The oil looks great, antifreeze looks great and engine overall looks to be well maintained.

Here are some of the issufes: maybe I should start a new thread..but for now:
Tach doesn't work, bounces from <0 to >8k
Interior light flickers on while I'm driving.
steering wheel is well warn, so is shift knob. I'd like to fix this one soon.
service wheel sensor light comes on.
service engine light stays on.
right turn signal doesn't work right...problem with lever on steering wheel

bigger stuff:
KNOCK at idle when car is warm. This goes away just off of idle. It also appears to have coincide with a miss. Scared the crap out of me first time I heard it.. Sounds like a rod knock..but I thought that would be at all rpms instead of just idle.
stumbles on acceleration.
secondary pump not turning on
secondary not holding vacuum (going to the engine)
Weatherstripping..doors, pillars..but I knew that.
Paint on back bumper is slightly yellowed and theres a 4" scratch on the left corner of the bumper.
Paint overall is acceptable, but definitely not what she deserves.

That's about all I have found. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile I've been busy reading all I can to learn what makes her tick. Pun intended

Interior light flickers on while I'm driving. on the doors you'll see a plunger on the door and a pad on the jam. take a small flathead screw driver and work the plunger out about 1/8" and then oil it. mine did this the other day and since i oiled it, no problems.

service wheel sensor light comes on. I'm not sure if it works the same for your car but on my 90 I can just yank all 4 sensors and not have a problem. will have to wait for verification

service engine light stays on. Pull the codes and let us know what they are

KNOCK at idle when car is warm. This goes away just off of idle. It also appears to have coincide with a miss. Scared the crap out of me first time I heard it.. Sounds like a rod knock..but I thought that would be at all rpms instead of just idle. injectors plugs wires...it's one of the three

stumbles on acceleration.
secondary pump not turning on
secondary not holding vacuum (going to the engine) you've got a vacuum leak

Paint on back bumper is slightly yellowed and theres a 4" scratch on the left corner of the bumper.
Paint overall is acceptable, but definitely not what she deserves.
find a good detailer in your area...autopia.org has a list, if not let me know and I'll see who i can find for you.

also noticed that your motor is a little dark, and you're missing the rear plate frame I'd keep an eye open if one pops up for sale. it happens with age but if you feel froggy you can get it redone. Sorry I can't help you with the rest.

[mike100]

^^^ yeah, the knock could be a side effect of an old injector or ign. miss coupled to the usual wear and tear associated with the dual mass flywheel. It sounds terrible if the idle is rough. does it knock a tad when you turn off the engine?

Mine went away when I put in new injectors.

[Torchred96]

Kevin, you're making this too easy for me...I'm a rookie, I'm supposed to get some hazing and earn my wings..

You are too kind. I can't wait to get home and start addressing some of the issues. Yeah, that license plate really bothers me. Are there any options that look good short of finding an original frame?

I like the idea of redoing the plenum. I am going to tackle that when I do the injectors.

The door switch is definitely the problem with the light..it goes off as I pull the door handle closed tight when i drive down the road. I didn't realize it was adjustable....cool!


thanks

sam

[Torchred96]

Mike...There are a few noises. One is a rattle at shut down the other is more of a knock, not like the bad gas rattle when you accelerate, but a single knock that coincides with the miss, and it's only at idle. Scary sound.

As I said though, If I bring up the idle a little to around 1200 (im guessing with no tach), the knock goes away completely and the engines smooths out with no unusual noises.

thanks for you input.
sam

[Kevin]

see how close you are to south georgia corvettes. aaron will take care of ya, but it may cost ya

[mike100]

Originally Posted by torchred96

Mike...There are a few noises. One is a rattle at shut down the other is more of a knock, not like the bad gas rattle when you accelerate, but a single knock that coincides with the miss, and it's only at idle. Scary sound.

As I said though, If I bring up the idle a little to around 1200 (im guessing with no tach), the knock goes away completely and the engines smooths out with no unusual noises.

thanks for you input.
sam

sounds like the typical dual mass flywheel rattle. if you are on power, the spring on the dual mass loads up to one side and the flywheel doesn't knock. uneven idle can cause a noticeable clank. A lot of cars have it, even the LT1 6 speeds. I tends to be a bit erratic and not exactly in cadence with the idle...but then again, mine has a lot less mileage than yours.

you could try pulling a plug wire to see if the knock follows that..it should get worse. a bearing problem usually gets quiter when removing the ign from the cylinder in question. External sources would be louder running on 7 holes- easy to check.

[Torchred96]

Good info mike, I'll try removing the plug wires one at at time and see if that knock rears it's ugly head. What causes the knock if it is indeed a spark miss. It doesn't make sense to me..I can see preignition would do that, but with no spark, there'd be no ignition, let alone preignition, right? hmm

sam

[White Bullet]

Welcome to the club. I like the white/red combo.

I got mine with 80,000 and have replaced the plugs, wires, coils, and injectors. I can highly recommend FIC for injectors if needed. I have the stainless steel set and got all of my soft parts from Jerry's Gaskets also comes highly recommended.

You will find that everyone here is very helpful and friendly. So just ask away and standby for plenty of help.

[Z51JEFF]

Originally Posted by torchred96

Good info mike, I'll try removing the plug wires one at at time and see if that knock rears it's ugly head. What causes the knock if it is indeed a spark miss. It doesn't make sense to me..I can see preignition would do that, but with no spark, there'd be no ignition, let alone preignition, right? hmm

sam

The interior in the car is original,aftermarket doesnt fit that nice.The knock is indeed caused by a mis which in turn is a bad injector,plug.The cars got some miles so I would look into....................A PLENUM PULL!Dont get nervous,as you know any and all questions you might have are right here.Does every white 91 have red interior?