The Flight of the PHOENIX !

[DOCTORBILL]

Decided to start a new thread leaving off from
"NOT the end of my '93 metro...Life after death! RINGS".

That thread is incredible!

As of this moment (11:36 AM PST 18 November 2006) it has 9,921 Views and
631 Replies. Holy Makeral!

I replaced the Spark Coil with the one I originally had and put back the original
Distributor.

I timed the engine (hot with the timing shorted at the diagnostic plug) to 5° BTDC.

Removed the shorting wire, checked everything again, and went for a drive!

What a sweet little car!

It has all kinds of power, althought I didn't push it hard - I wanted to though!

It drove 12.6 miles without any problem for 33 non-stop minutes. Never heated
up past it's normal place on the Temperature Gauge....
Idled very nicely - not one cough or putt putt.

I filled the tires to 32 psi - all were low after setting for essentially a year!

I will either make or have painted on her "The Phoenix" since she rose
out of the ashes to live again!

DoctorBill

PS - The first thing I'll do is top up the gas tank and see what mpg's I get on the "first tank" of the new era...

[DOCTORBILL]

List of Important things to Consider in Repairing Metros.

1. Buy a Compression Tester and use it!

.....If you are able to pick your nose, you can use a compression tester!
.....If the cylinder pressure is low, fix the Head and/or rings before wasting any more money.

2. If you replace the MAP Sensor, obtain a replacement with exactly the same part number!

3. Replace the PVC Valve every 30,000 miles or so....they are cheap ($5 or less) and are important
to controlling the fuel/air mixture.

To be added to as required....check back here from time to time.

DoctorBill

[Crvett69]

don't be to supprised if the first tank of gas doesn't get the best mileage. till the rings break in motor will have a little more drag.

[frets14]

DrBill, Check on the tires to see what the recommended tire pressure is. I recently was surprised to find that the 12" tire should be at 44 psi. I always maintained them at around 32 psi but it's written right on the side of the tire... 44 lbs! The car responded better at the higher pressure.

[DOCTORBILL]

Just to get in The Phoenix and drive it, I went into town this afternoon.

What a nice car....so nice to drive that Metro after my Truck Clutch, 23 mpg
Jeep Cherokee....

I topped off the tank and recorded the mileage. It has so much power!

It was hard not to 'punch it' to feel what it could do! I'm accelerating slowly and
keeping at 50 to 55 mph like some old man or an Illegal Mexican.

I spent many years in Southern California - the illegals drive really slowly in order
to not be stopped and found out - Ha! The Highway Patrol knows.....

Anyway, I felt like some old duffer driving so carefully...normally I drive the
Geo like a sports car - fast turns and punch it! Downshift, punch it!

So I put 60 miles on The Phoenix (from now on its "THE PHOENIX") and it just
runs and runs...sweet!

I will change the oil and filter at 100 miles.

Have to put the Idle Adjust Solenoid and the Bi-Metal VSV back on and hook
up the Charcoal Canister (which I haven't removed and cleaned out yet).

I bought a can of DOW CORNING "Great Stuff" foam sealant for sealing cracks
in houses (doors & windows).

When I was trying to take out the gas tank, if you'll remember, I ripped out that
foam rubber plate in the middle of the floor under the back seat thinking
there was a panel under it (dumb).

So now, the seat is still up and I will foam over that whole area to kill road
noise, then put the seat back in - clean up and The Phoenix should be quite
ready to go.

I RAINEX'ed the windows and vacuumed out all those damned Pine Needles that
had gotten into everything.

The perverse way fate sometimes is, I am very watchful now that some Butt
Head doesn't hit me and destroy the car.

Sure enough, some old guy nearly did that today! Did a U-Turn in front of me
after pulling over to the right like he was going to park!

I have only Liability Insurance on it. Plus Comprehensive for all the Deer out
here - hundreds of the dufus creatures get hit on these country roads!
150 lbs of meat & bone jump out in front of you while you are going 55 mph.

My biggest fear right now....I have two deer whistles on it - might put on another two!

My Green Arrow comes on a lot indicating that I should shift up.
That is because I have good vacuum - no?

I sure would like to have a Tachometer to know what the rpms are!

BTW - how long before I can expect the rings to be 'worn in' ? Was thinking
of doing a compression test, but will wait if it is too early yet.

I do want to take the plugs out tomorrow and see if the black soot is gone....

DoctorBill

PS - frets14 - I will check the tires tomorrow also - but it drives so rough with
high tire pressure!

Crvett69 - even just 40 mpg would be a huge improvement over the Jeep at 23 mpg...

[Crvett69]

look on e-bay and teamswift. a dash cluster from a LSi with tach or a convertible will fit in yours and the tach wiring is already there. just make sure its not a GT dash because then the rpms will read wrong. when breaking it in its supposed to be good not to drive it at same speed for a long time. i usually change the oil between 500-700 miles on rebuilt engines, 100 seems like quite soon. and you don't have to baby the engine, just don't floor it and run it up to 7000 rpm

[sbiddle]

Originally Posted by frets14

DrBill, Check on the tires to see what the recommended tire pressure is. I recently was surprised to find that the 12" tire should be at 44 psi. I always maintained them at around 32 psi but it's written right on the side of the tire... 44 lbs! The car responded better at the higher pressure.

44 psi indicated on the tire is the maximum for the tire, not for the vehicle. Always use the pressure recommended in the door placqard and the owners manual. At 44 psi you'r likely to wear out the middle of the tire due to overinflation.

[DOCTORBILL]

Just turned over 100 miles on The Phoenix.

The gas gauge just moved off of the Full Mark...!

Still sweet as cream! Smeeooth running.

Knock on wood.....

I'll wait till maybe 200-300 miles and change the oil.

I will leave the tires at 32 psi.

Is there any really, really good reason to put the Idle Adjust Solenoid or the
BiMetal VSV back on the engine?

W/o either the engine starts fine, idles fine and runs fine....

Was all that stuff just "over engineering" or was it some Environmental Activist thing ?

I need to drive my daughter to work, so after the engine cools a bit, I'll have a peek at
the condition of the plugs.

DoctorBill

[Crvett69]

iac valve is there to give it a higher idle when it is cold and to keep it from dying if you come to a quick stop. glad to hear its running good. i have put several of the tach dashes in the metros and its a lot nicer, the tach dashes also have a trip odometer

[DOCTORBILL]

I took out the plugs and photographed them at 100 miles elapsed distance
since I got The Phoenix running with the repalcement MAP from Crvett69.



They look Damned Good to me!

Here she is....



Have to get that left rear Hub Cap back on....

Ya - maybe I'll look into a "Tach Dashboard" once Winter is over.

What would be nice would be a Vertical LED Tachometer like I drew up below
on PhotoShop just now....
I think I have seen such Tach's.
I have also seen schematics for such things in Radio Shack Project Books.



I am so Damned glad I got this running before Winter really hit!
The heater works really nice.

DoctorBill

[Metro Mighty Mouse]

Hey doc,

I literally slapped my desk at work when I read it was running. Probably got some managers attention, but oh well. Consider it a virtual high five and congratulations. I am tempted to send you a free set of white face guage overlays with a Phoenix on them for all your hard work and documentation. You would have to have the tach cluster for the overlay to work. You might PM me if you decide to buy a cluster, just bear in mind that only 3 cylinder clusters will work in your car. A cluster from a 4 cylinder car would take some modification to make it work (requires soldering in some different resistors, the procedure is available on Team Swift).

My suggestion would be ----- If the connector has changed on a sensor, it probably indicates a physical change in the operation of the unit and cannot be altered to work with a different system.

ROLL ON DOC!!!

[JustSayGo]

44 psi indicated on the tire is the maximum for the tire, not for the vehicle. Always use the pressure recommended in the door placqard and the owners manual. At 44 psi you'r likely to wear out the middle of the tire due to over inflation.

sbiddle, you and many others believe that your advice is based on accurate information. Many years ago there was a lot more truth to what you write than there is today. This is the same advice that so many owners of Ford Explorers followed before their roll-over accident. The door stickers cost Ford and Firestone plenty. Survivors did not return to buy new Fords with their settlements. Give some thought to where and when you learned what you know about tires.

Tire specialists whom know the most up-to-date info about their tires recommend very close to maximum inflation, and above all, maintain tire pressure.

Modern tires built during the past 20-30 years are designed to maintain their figure over as wide of a load range and various inflation as possible. Tires that are aired to the max inflation are not over-inflated regardless of the weight of the vehicle. As DoctorBill reports, max-inflated tires do ride a bit more like rocks. The reason why manufactures put stickers with lower pressure recommendations on the body is to improve ride comfort.

Tire manufactures have three objectives, safety, operating cost, and ride quality. Too much focus and priority given to any single objective adversely affects the other two.

Over-inflation may more likely cause excessive abnormal wear at the edges of the tread because construction of the belts does not allow the tire to bulge in the center like tires used to wear years ago. Imagine a belt cinched around the center of the tread that will not let the tire bulge.

In many (if not most) cases new cars that weigh half as much as early 70's vehicles come with tires that are twice as wide and max inflation has increased from 28-32lbs to 44lbs and will likely continue to increase in the future. The tire pressure stickers are information about the tires that came on the car when it was new. Teenager's like DoctorBill's Metro are full of information that may not be reliable. Following recommendations on a 14yr old sticker is not as accurate as following the recommendation on the tire.

Another concern regardless of the amount of tread remaining, is how many birthdays a tire has had. If a tire is old enough to go to school, it is time to replace it.

frets14 is correct, tires aired to the max inflation on the sidewall will perform better, provide optimum fuel economy and tread life.

[DOCTORBILL]

The 12 inch tires on The Phoenix right now are JUPITER tires made in Korea
bought from Discount Tire in Spokane.

It says the max load is 908 lbs with max pressure of 36 PSI.

So you are saying I should inflate these babies to 36 psig...?

Now that The Phoenix is running, what will I do for my daily AutoMotiveForum Fix?

DoctorBill

PS - MMM I am thinking about cutting a stencil out of poster board and spray
painting THE PHOENIX on the side of the car with Yellow Auto Paint (Spray Can).

[JustSayGo]

Now that The Phoenix is running, what will I do for my daily AutoMotiveForum Fix?

My thoughts exactly.

Speaking of your tires specifically, maintaining 32psi should be fine especially when it is so cold that your tires have the same cushion as those on Fred F's car. I aired tires on every car I worked on. Usually found them inflated to 20-22 psi, sometimes even 12psi. In those cases I always aired to the max inflation on the sidewall. Owners occasionally mentioned that their car drove so much nicer after I worked on it, how could whatever unrelated repair have effected the way the car drove. Many did not ever ask. You can bet if they thought it drove worse, they would have let me know.

What I am saying is that tires are continuing to change as they are improved even during the past five years. Look at the difference from 1965 compared to 2005. When did anyone last see a tire worn abnormally in the center of the tread?

What you should do next time you visit Costco is grab a brochure from the tire center that explains the advantages of filling tires with nitrogen. My tires are over a year old and have not lost a lb yet.

[DOCTORBILL]

"...the advantages of filling tires with nitrogen."

I have always looked upon that Nitrogen thing as just a sales gimmick.

Why not use Carbon Dioxide ? Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is much cheaper that Nitrogen.
Or maybe Methane, Butane or Propane even.... How about Kypton or Xenon - one of the
Noble Gases?

Has there ever been any unbiased, scientific studies done to prove that Nitrogen
in tires extends road life, tire strength over time, etc?

Does the 20% Oxygen in Air attack the lining of the tires - some chemical proof would
be required - like studies with Oxygen Isotopes - Electron Microscope views of the
tire's inside lining after a few years of Air usage.

You know - an awful lot of "Scientific Conclusions" are not.....

Like the guy who first found Dinosaur Bones who said that Dinosaurs were
big lumbering cold blooded, slow, dimwitted creatures.

He just said it! It has been 100 or more years and has taken a lot of work to
refute what that meatbrain said. His words were taken as fact for 60
years or more - w/o doubt people thought it made sense!

The craters on the moon were obviously due to volcanic action!

It is obvious to any fool that the Earth is flat! Use your eyes!

Drink 8 glasses of water (Minimum) per day! - No one can find any literature reference
to that absurdity! No one in the Medical Field knows where that goofy statement came from.

But every doctor and nutritionist repeats it like a robot!

Anyway - I won't walk across the street to get Nitrogen in my tires....waste of
time.

Unless I can see some hard evidence to the contrary. In the scientific or
Corporate Literature. Just like what you espouse about the car manufacturers
recommending in print versus the opinions found here by various folks who
swear to God what they heard or do is the Truth!

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to be a Wisenhiemer smartass.

Being a Chemist, I want some good studies done with large amounts of
evidence.

I am going to COSTCO today - I'll pick up their brochure on the benefits of
Nitrogen and report back..... Maybe I am wrong.

DoctorBill