Fuel pressure

[RgrBarney]

I replaced the fuel filter a couple of weeks ago and a section of the fuel hose as well. I noticed this week that I'm not building up pressure in the tank anymore. I'm also getting horrible mileage. I checked the connections and the filter to make sure I installed it correctly. Everything looks right. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Recently, I have replaced the alternator, all belts including timing, brake pads, tires and a few other small items. I have an oil leak at the front of the engine at the head gasket. I have very low compression on the #1 cylinder too. I'm looking at replacing the engine soon. I found one with 30-40 thousand miles for $350. I guess that's a decent price. I figure I can have a "new" engine in it in a couple of days.

[geozukigti]

Well, it's probably getting horrible mileage because of a blown headgasket. Which would explain the low compression in #1. If the compression is more than 10% lower than the rest of the cylinders, it's a dead cylinder. Having a dead cylinder means the remaining 2 cylinders have to work 50% harder. In order to do this, you need to feed them more gas. Sounds like the new engine for $350 is a good investment. They're not hard at all to put in. If it's as low mileage as you say, $350 isn't a bad deal at all. You can rebuild your motor for a 0 mile engine(new bearings, gaskets, rings, hone, rebuilt head) for around $400 in parts and machine work. But it's all in the amount of work you want to do.

[RgrBarney]

Well, it's officially dead as a doornail. Driving into work two nights ago and it was losing serious power on the slightest inclines. It would drop down to about 45 MPH, then drop into 2nd gear and pull on out. When it went, it had just dropped into 2nd when I "felt" something go. At the same time, I heard something under the car like I had run over dirt, the oil light came on and I got it onto the shoulder.

Have it home now and have had a chance to check it out a little bit. No oil sprayed anywhere underneath. Timing belt still in place. A/C compressor belt is shredded and it looks like it is out of line with the rest of the pulleys. I tried cranking the car again and it ran long enough for me to be able to see the crank shaft pulley wobbling all over the place, so it looks like I will be replacing the engine sooner than I thought. Oh well, at least I'm not paying upwards of $500 a month for a car + the cost of insurance, gas and maintenance. I still don't understand how or why anybody would do that.

[RgrBarney]

Engine Swap has begun. Picked up a JDM model locally. If you're in the Atlanta area and need one, check out NAD Auto (www.nadauto.com). They had several in stock and transmissions as well. The one I got has about 50,000 miles on it and is extremely clean. I have my old engine out and have been swapping the necessary parts over, distributor, intake manifold, exhaust manifold. I will reuse some of the parts from the newer engine to save some money for now. I got to the timing belt and found that the new one has a 5 bolt crankshaft pulley as opposed to the four bolt on my old engine. Also, the camshaft sprocket is different.

Is it possible to find the correct belt for the current set up or do I HAVE to put my old sprockets on the new engine. If so, that will be a problem as my old crank shaft sprocket is messed up and wobbles, which is part of the reason I'm putting in a new engine in the first place. I hope I can find a belt that works and not have to go to a junkyard for a new sprocket.

I will replace all the gaskets and seals on the engine tomorrow. I may be able to get it in the car and at least bolted in place. We'll see.

[geozukigti]

How much shorter is the belt?? They can be quite rough to get on sometimes. Count the number of teeth on the JDM motor, vs the number of teeth on the current motor. Also, count the teeth on the crank sprocket. Make sure they're all the same. If they vary, you'll toast your motor by only switching one set of sprockets.

[crazyinkc]

Your old crank is probibly wobbling due to a loose center crank bolt. It is a very common thing if the bolt was removed (bolt does NOT need to be removed to due timing belt) at one time and was not reinstalled with loc-tight and torqued properly. I have found 2 Trackers with the same problem. When the bolt starts to loosen, the sproket starts to flop around and beat the woodruf key to death hence distroying the end of the crank and the sprocket. This could also have caused the timing belt to jump time since the belt no longer has proper tension. I should have a spare 4 bolt pully somewhere if you need it. You will need to either swap the pullies or buy a new belt for the 5 bolt pully. They are different lenghts and widths.

[RgrBarney]

I think my plan for now is to try and find the belt for the current set up. I have the original belt with the part number, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

Didn't get much done today. Replaced a couple of gaskets, but had other stuff to do

[RgrBarney]

Found the belt at NAPA. They looked under 93 Metro and asked me if it was a 4 or 5 bolt pulley. Bingo! Got the belt for the 5 bolt pulley and it fits like a charm. All I have left to do is replace the rear main seal and a couple of hoses and I'll be ready to put it in the car and see what happens.