Dead '88 5ktq - Help

[Lawrence C Leung]

Britt,

In your enthusiasm, you have either blown the Throttle Body to
Intercooler (a.k.a. the Michelin Man) Hose, or an intercooler end seal.
Obviously, the intercooler hose is easier to check. Take it off the car,
and poke, prod, etc around the pleats and see if there are ANY breaks.
Also, try placing your palms (use household gloves for a better seal) at
each end of the hose and perform the "accordian test" on the hose by
compressing it and listening for leaks. It takes a little practice to get
the palm seals correct, so be patient. Make sure that whatever leaks you
listen to are from the hose, and not from you hands. The intercooler end
is at least flush, so a book and a glove may help here. If you need to
replace the hose, The Parts Connection (thePartsConnection.com, I think)
has brand new ones for $35! They are the factory replacement part. 

If the hose checks out, then it may be a leak at the intercooler. Owing
to the amount of oil that ends up in our car's intake tracts (from
crankcase ventilation), an intercooler leak is not hard to detect,
although it's much more comfortable to do if the car is cool. Basically,
run your hand (or some other suitable device, including a gloved hand)
under the intercooler. If it comes up oily, you've a leak. Mine actually
had leaked for awhile, so, the body crossmember underneath the IC was
really a disgusting mess. Though some listers recommend taking off the
entire front clip (supposedly not hard to do), I found it was quite
simple to remove the intercooler by just removing the grille. Believe it
or not a Hayne's manual does a better job describing this than the
Bentley. Be certain to remove the temp sensor from your IC and replace it
in your replacement IC. I got mine from Chris Semple of Force5Auto (don't
recall his e-mail, but he's on the list quite often, if the need be,
check the archives). Another lister recommended source I know of
personnally would be DoubleZ motors in Fishkill, NY. They too have a web
site. Don't recall their address either, but they are also listers. 

When you get your replacement IC (if needed) I'd highly recommend
straping the end caps with a mega hose clamp (or two, I used two 8" dryer
hose clamps from Home Depot) or two before installing. Position the screw
head(s) facing either the grille or the rear so that you can periodically
test the tightness without removing any other parts. I personally painted
my hose clamps with Rustoleum Black Grille paint (doesn't need primer,
and has that factory satin (not flat) black look!) so that they wouldn't
be so obvious behind the grille. 

LOL,

LL - NY

On Fri, 10 Nov 2000 09:33:32 -0700 "Britt Crowell"
<britt at fortcollins.com> writes:
>Quattro Countrymen,
> HELP! On the way to work this morning while doing some considerable 
>acceleration my '885ktq bucked a little like a backfire or some thing. 
>From that point on considerable loss of power. And under 2k RPM it 
>wanted to die. Just short of work at a stop sign it died on me. So 
>only about 1/4 mile walk on this wonderful 23 degree cloudy Colorado 
>morning. So after I got her off to the side of the road I started a 
>little diag. So basically if I let it sit with the key on for about 
>30sec and try to turn it over it will jump to life for a sec and die. 
>If I immediately try to crank again it will just spin. let it sit with 
>the key on it will run for a sec., more like it just barely runs. I 
>has been running fine. Although I have noticed this week that some 
>times when  pushing in the clutch at a light it would idle low 400 and 
>then get back up to normal idle after a sec. So what should I be 
>looking for here. Dead fuel pump??? I'm at a total loss! Please some 
>one help. I did grab the hoses to see if they were blown out but 
>didn't think to look at the intercooler. Also the person that I bought 
>the car from has upgraded the Chip and turbo spring to give about 
>1.8-1.9 under high boost conditions.
>Thanks anyone that can help.
>And does anyone know of any good mechs in Fort Collins, CO?
>Regards
>Britt Crowell
>970-898-1142
>