07-03-2013, 01:55 AM
Just picked up my 87 TC 5-speed (120k) up from Blood Enterprises, who did a drive-ability inspection. Great guys down there, and I recommend them to anyone in the Pacific Northwest. In any case, I came in with the following concerns:
-Poor mileage - bad in the summer, worse in the winter (routinely 14-17 mpg)
-"Clattering" noise under load, not sure if it's pinging or what, but it was concerning.
-Hanging throttle - every 2nd or 3rd time I drive the car, the throttle likes to climb, usually building up to 3k and stays there. I can shut off the car and restart it, and it usually takes car of it. Sometimes, it goes away on its own, and, rarely, I can floor the throttle for a second and it kicks down.
When I got it back, I got this report:
"test drive, monitoring with scanner, o2 sensor input to ecm, ect, and vat all operating correctly, timing and timing control appear to be ok at this time, check for clattering, none present, throttle has not stuck, visually inspect, throttle bushings have some play, suspect they are the reason for the sticky throttle, recommend replace the throttle body and recheck."
Unfortunately, they weren't able to replicate the idle hang or the clattering noise, but that's to be expected (my car is a fickle beast). Going with their advice, what's the recommended replacement for a throttle body? Should I find a NOS unit, a rebuilt unit, or are there any swaps that people have done that work better? Addressing the mileage issue, I have more or less run out of ideas. I've tried different gas stations, played with the regular-premium switch, drove like a granny, drove like a pissed-off teenager... Doesn't seem to affect it in any way.
To summarize...
-Rebuild, replace, or swap throttle body?
-Mileage sucks, what do I do?
-How do I know if my car is pinging?
-Poor mileage - bad in the summer, worse in the winter (routinely 14-17 mpg)
-"Clattering" noise under load, not sure if it's pinging or what, but it was concerning.
-Hanging throttle - every 2nd or 3rd time I drive the car, the throttle likes to climb, usually building up to 3k and stays there. I can shut off the car and restart it, and it usually takes car of it. Sometimes, it goes away on its own, and, rarely, I can floor the throttle for a second and it kicks down.
When I got it back, I got this report:
"test drive, monitoring with scanner, o2 sensor input to ecm, ect, and vat all operating correctly, timing and timing control appear to be ok at this time, check for clattering, none present, throttle has not stuck, visually inspect, throttle bushings have some play, suspect they are the reason for the sticky throttle, recommend replace the throttle body and recheck."
Unfortunately, they weren't able to replicate the idle hang or the clattering noise, but that's to be expected (my car is a fickle beast). Going with their advice, what's the recommended replacement for a throttle body? Should I find a NOS unit, a rebuilt unit, or are there any swaps that people have done that work better? Addressing the mileage issue, I have more or less run out of ideas. I've tried different gas stations, played with the regular-premium switch, drove like a granny, drove like a pissed-off teenager... Doesn't seem to affect it in any way.
To summarize...
-Rebuild, replace, or swap throttle body?
-Mileage sucks, what do I do?
-How do I know if my car is pinging?