subridersix

I had these same problems on my turbo start up. I ran a wire from my FP to the battery so I knew the pump was running and put a fuel pressure guage in the return line to make sure I had pressure. Car would still only run briefly on starter fluid. Took the hose off the 1/2" warm air injection port and the car would run. Adjusted the AFM for more air and that solved the air issue but I still needed starter fluid to get running. Pulled the injectors, flushed and reinstalled. Running great now. Hope any of this helps. Bob

I'd go to eastwood .com and buy a flanging tool, cut out the hole, flange the perimeter to stiffen the roof and weld in my patch. The flange will let you overlap all the way around without changing the roof line and keep your welds away from the edge so there is much less chance of burning thru.

I've read a lot of controversial things about seafoam. Thanks, I'll check it out

I changed the motor oil with 10W-30 Castrol as soon as I hauled it home. It took me a month to get it running and I probably have a total of 10 minutes run time on it. The second or third time I got it running I let it run at about 1300 rpm for about 5 minutes. Other than that it's been a minute or so at idle while I try to figure my ignition issues. I have NO gauges (donor dash destroyed) so I'm can't tell what oil pressure is. Mechanical gauge should be here today and once I have that I can run the motor long enough to get it up to temperature. My Question: Is there anything I can add to the oil to help clear the turbo bearings? We used to use ATF for that sort of thing. I plan to run this oil thru the first high idle warm up and then change it. Thanks, Bob

Ok, I took the cover off the AFM and found that that the wire clip that holds the gear in position was loose and the gear had loosened 5 teeth. Since that is what I had planned to do anyway I just tightened it back up where I found it. I then installed the Aux Air Valve off my 76 NA motor and plumbed it in. I crossed my fingers, turned the ignition and it started right up! Man I am so stoked, the motor sounds good and idles smoothly at about 800 rpm. I want to thank everyone who offered help and advice. Bob Oh ...anyone got a good turbo AFM cover? Mine didn't survive.

You Know I think both of you are right. The AFM is definitely the most likely culprit. I have removed the aux air valve which is suppose to provide additional air in past the TB for cold starts so....I need to lighten the AFM spring tension a bit to compensate?. I'm having trouble figuring out how to adjust the AFM when I can't drive the car or put any load on the motor. It maybe time to quit screwing around and swap the motor.

I have a 82 zxt donor car I'm tring to get running and I have a question about the turbo. The car has sat for 10 - 15 years. What should a good turbo feel like? I don't have any decernable end play but...when I reach into the compressor outlet and try to spin the blades it seems stiffer than I expected. It only freewheels about 3/4 a revolution . Is this normal?

Thanks for the suggestion but that wasn't it. I'm just not getting enough air. To prove it I removed the J tube between the turbo and the throttle body, wedged open the AFM flap 1/4" to electrically indicate "running" and even with the AFM out of the intake air stream I had the same result. I'm using a temp fuel system so the fuel relay isn't being used (no fuel cutout). I need to let in a lot of extra air either through the aux air port being open or significantly more throttle to keep to motor running. Perhaps the idle air passages in the throttle body are plugged. The other possibility that occurs to me is that the turbo isn't spinning. I don't know what kind of air I ought to be getting out of the turbo at roughly 1500 rpm and no load but with the J pipe removed I put my hand down near the turbo outlet and didn't feel much air flow. I know this much; it's 34 outside, the sun is setting and I've had enough for one day. Thanks for the help. Bob

Update: IT RUNS!! I went ahead and cleaned the injectors with B-12 and used a AA battery pack and an old injector plug to open the injector. I may have had 2 plugged injectors I'm really not sure. Put it all back together and and same old - runs on the starter fluid. Slid a screwdriver through the AFM to open the flap a bit and It almost fired. I don't have the aux air valve installed, I've actually been using that 1/2" tube to spray my starting fluid in. I found that with the AFM partially forced open and with that aux air port open it will fire right up. You need spark / fuel / air to run right. I got my spark issue fixed., finally have fuel and now I have an air problem. It's amazing to me that I actually enjoy this stuff. But hey IT RUNS!

MS has always been part of the plan but I was hoping to do this project in steps.... Donor motor running, swap and wiring, turbo in my 280. Body, interior and paint. THEN MS and performance mods. That being said I am starting to get a little frustrated. This motor runs nicely at idle on starter fluid. Noid lights indicate I have injector pulse. I've now verified fuel supply at 40 psi. AFM, ECU grounds, cylinder and air temps all good by FSM tests. I can't imagine it but I've about decided to pull the injectors; is it possible they are all clogged? I can't do much for the next few days but cogitate. I'll keep those interested posted. I'm hoping somebody can benefit from my fumblings. Bob

Update: I purchased a brand shiny new CAS and BAM! we have spark! The car still won't start but it will run on a steady diet of starting fluid so I'm making progress. The injectors are getting a pulse signal according to my noid light and I'm sure I have adequate fuel at the injectors so I'm baffled at the moment. I've had enough for today but I'll figure it out eventually. I sounds might good for those few seconds! Bob

Update: Purchased a new CAS and that solved the ignition issue, I now have spark!! Squirted a little starting fluid in the intake and got a short VAROOM! and ten pounds of crap blew out of the exhaust. Unfortunately I get nothing without the starting fluid so I figure the injectors aren't firing. I crawl under the dash for several hours and everything checks OK. I finally drive 30 miles to town and rent a noid light set only to find that I've been chasing a problem that I don't have. The injectors are getting a pulse. I'm using a boat fuel tank and my NA FI pump connected directly to the fuel rail so I know I have fuel. With the wife's help I was able to keep it running for 30 seconds or so by continuously feeding starting fluid so the timing is probably reasonable..... I'll figure it out eventually.

Update: I acquired a second 82 turbo distributor, unfortunately when I tested it using the same procedure as I used before it also has a bad CAS. To further test both sensors I removed the plug from the back or the cas to gain access to the blade terminals themselves (eliminating the plug). Using female blade connectors I grounded the case and supplied 12vdc and ground to the correct terminals and again tested for a dc signal out of the cas - no signal. If anyone knows of any further testing I'd be glad to try it but I believe I do in fact have two bad sensors. I hate to spend the money when I eventually want to go with EDIS but I guess my next step is to buy a new CAS. The best price I've found so far is $172 at Napa. In the meanwhile I've started removing some of the auxiliary components out of the engine compartment to make life easier when It's time to pull the motor. A question for the turbo folks out there. I'd like to run an early intake manifold I have, deleting most of the clutter; The only device I'm considering keeping is the aux air valve for cold starting. The question - Do I need it to start on 20 degree (Texas) mornings and is it used to increase idle speeds when the a/c is running? Here in Texas the turbo is nice but the a/c is essential. Bob

Hey Bryce I'm just getting started doing the turbo swap you are planning in my 76 280. My donor car hasn't run in ten years and I'm currently hung up by ignition problems with it. My 76 was running, until I pulled the engine and transmission this morning. Over the next few weeks I plan to work on cleaning up the 76's engine compartment while continuing the battle with getting the donor up and running. Like you, I want the donor running before I start the swap. Good luck and keep in touch, maybe we can give each other a push in the right direction occasionally. Bob

Thank You, I appreciate the information. Using the 76 diz would just be a stopgap measure to get this turbo motor to fire. I know the mechanicals are good I'm trying to get a handle on the ign and FI and the lack of a trigger signal has all progress stopped on both fronts. Thanks again.

My apologies, terminology issue. I'm refering to the pickup module in the distributor that detects the outer rings 360 slots (rpm) and the inner rings 6 slots (cylinders)

Be forewarned this is a no spark discussion! OK I've got an 82 turbo donor car, parked many years ago for an "electrical" issue. I want to get the donor motor running before I swap it into my 76 280. There is no spark. I believe I've isolated the problem to the dizzy. With the dist. removed but still electrically connected and the housing grounded. At the dist. connector - I have 12vdc & gnd on the red and black wires and no voltage to grd on either of the pickup wires while manually spinning the dist. With the dist disconnected resistance from case to either the two pickup blades or the ground blade are equal. Bad CAS right? I acquired another identical distributor and got the exact same results. SO.... I either have two bad crankshaft angle sensors (which is what I believe) or I'm missing something. Any thoughts or suggestions? As an alternative I'm considering using my 76 dizzy in the 82. The factory engineers apparently believed a distributor upgrade was needed for 82 either for the turbo or something else. Is anyone aware of the issues with using my earlier distributor in this application. I haven't got the wiring diagrams for my 76, they are currently unavailable at carfiche.com but I assume I could wire in my early dist. just like an edis. Anyone happily using an earlier dist. in a 28et setup?

Ok, I removed the distributor and manually spun it while still connected via the harness. I used a pin probe and an analog multimeter and tested for signal on the connector at the base of the CAS. I had ground and 12VDC on the black and red wires respectively. Between ground and either pickup wires I had nothing. No pulse, no 5v zip! Just for grins I also plugged in the noid light I rented an guess what ..... no injector pulse; I assume because I have no pulse input to the ECU. Thank you Bernardd for your help, I greatly appreciate it. While I'm twiddling my thumbs getting parts I wonder if it would be possible to "fake" a pulse signal to the ECU and see if I get a pulse signal back out of it to the coil. What do you think would happen if I put a couple d cells in series and applied a 4.5v pulse to the YG lead off the dizzy with the ignition on? The ECU was disconnected and laying in the back went I bought the car so I'm suspicious. Anyone have a known good compatible turbo ECU they want to part with? I really wanted to get this motor running before I swapped it into my 76 but at the moment I'm really tempted to try EDIS and mega squirt.

Thanks, I'll go try it as soon as I get back home. Bob

Does anyone know of a way to test the pickup in a 82 dizzy without an o-scope? Would a noid light work for example?

I dragged home an 82 turbo donor car last week. I plan to put the motor and pwr steering in my 76 280. I've got it turning over nicely, compression is fairly even around 145 and I have clean fuel feeding the fuel rail from a temporary tank and my 280 fuel pump. The car reportedly hasn't run for 10 years after some undefined electrical issue parked it. I have no spark. The coil is ok. I have 12v on one side of the transistor on the coil bracket - no indication of a pulse on the yellow lead (I'm using a 12vdc test light). Testing the dizzy - at the harness connector I have 12vdc and Gnd and again no indication of a pulse on the other two leads (1deg and 60 deg i believe). I am unsure that my test light is capable of "seeing" the pulse to begin with and my wiring diagram does not match the wiring at my ECU. The only GB lead I can find on my ECU is not even on the plug indicated by the diagram. I'm using the FSM off carfiche.com. I need to prove wether my problem is lack of a pulse into the ECU or coming out of it. I don't have access to a o-scope, I'm wondering if a home made LED test light would "see" the pulse signal I'm looking for? I'll keep ya'll posted on my progress (I'm assuming there will be progress) as I go. Merry Christmas everyone

Looks like you did a beautiful job. I'd like the dimensional information for injector spacing and so forth. I think this is a project worth trying. Is there anything you would do differently after running this mod for a couple of months? Bob

My bumper was hung off a pair of shock absorber type mounts which I removed . They went through the outer most oval shaped patches on the pic in my orginal post. The semi-rectangular patches just inside of those cover the brackets on the inner rails; they were not used. I have no idea what the long horizontal depression in the middle is for.

Mopar, I know the brackets you're talking about. At the bottom they are about 6" below the bottom of the rear frame rails. Maybe an "X" patern would work? Lower bracket to top of opposite frame x 2. I'll check it out. Like CandyBlue says "I hope I never find out" but I always like to CMA.