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#1
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Nuts?!
I decided to take the old Mopar van out for the weekend errand run today, as I hadn't started it for three weeks & figured it needed a stretch. The last few times I'd driven it I'd noticed an engine miss, or a starving for fuel, or something that made acceleraton over 40 mph impossible after a minute or two of driving, but it always "fixed itself" & as it warmed up, the problem dissappeared. This time as I tried to take off from a stop at a light, the engine died. I spun the starter for 3 seconds, & it reluctantly fired up, & I took off but the familiar sputter returned at anything above 30% throttle. Undaunted, I proceeded to travel in this ugly manner away from home because I "knew" the van had the "self-fix" option. About 2 miles out I came to another light & it stalled again. Hmmm...by now I decide it's gonna' be easier to walk 2 miles back home rather than 10, so I limp into the entrance of a park, do a U-turn & come back to the light. This time it died & wouldn't start. After each 3 second spin, I noticed a waft of white smoke drifting upward from the front of the hood. I decide to drift backward away from the light & park it about 200 feet away from the intersection. This was entertaining, as I'd forgotten the purpose of power brakes - they need power. Nonetheless I mash the brake pedal & halt is achieved. I spin it again - no start.
I get out & pop the hood. And there he was. All bright eyed and ...well, not exactly bushy tailed, because what was left of the tail was probably the source of the smoke. I'm not making this up. Mr. squirrel was sitting on top of the aluminum intake manifold, & as soon as we made eye contact, he bolted the engine bay & scrambled up a small tree in the median of the road. Now I know squirrels are smart, & can devise routes into squirrel-proof bird feeders that were built by NASA scientists, but I doubt if they can knowingly stuff moss into fuel injectors, to keep their metal home from wandering off. I checked for rodent pieces perhaps wedged into sensitive parts, but found nothing. One more try. I mash accelerator to the floor and cranked the engine. Viola! It's running. It idles smoothly. I put it in gear. I wait for the light to turn green, & floor it. The car makes it through the intersection & starts the long downhill/uphill trek back home. It's obviously fixed itself again. I pour a bottle of STP injector cleaner in the tank to be sure it stays fixed. I fire it up & decide balls outweigh brains, so I drive it to my previous destination without incident. I pick up a spray can of carb cleaner. I know the throttle body's in there somewhere, & I'll find it. The rest of the day the old thing ran better than a rental Neon. Oh...I think the question is, does this bad behavior when the engine's not fully warmed up indicate a sticky throttle body? Yeah,I know, it could be 101 other things, but should I start there? Somewhere out there is a PO'ed rodent with a scrawny tail telling his buddy, "Jeez, Chip, you ain't gonna believe this, but remember that cool nesting cubby I found? Well, first there was this raa-raa-raa noise, then.... Ron (on the road again).
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Good s**t happened. 69 was worth the wait. '92 stock semi-pristine ebony - 160K '96 Grand Caravan - 240K '01 Miata SE - 79K '07 Chrysler Pacifica - 60k - future money pit. |
#2
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Ron,
As the engine was running NBG the poor bugger must have been across a plug or two. I have read of this type of torture being in use in eastern parts. Shame on you ! That said, years ago I saw a country truck driver stop his truck by putting an arm across the plugs on his straight six donkey. They brought Ôem up tough. Regards, Trevor.
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Trevor, New Zealand. As a child, on cold mornings I gladly stood in cowpats to warm my bare feet, but I detest bull$hit! |
#3
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Ron,
Let's see, you've already checked off the "squirrel in the engine compartment" box, so you're ready to move on to the 100 other things it could be Question - just how old is the "old Mopar"? Injectors or carb? Since it runs fine once it's warmed up, I'd concentrate on aspects of the engine that are directly tied to starting when cold. Question - any problems with it once "warm", but after it has been parked for a short period of time (let's say the time it takes to eat lunch at the fancy restaurants you frequent) -Bill
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Retired NASA Rocket Scientist Most famous NASA "Child" - OSIRIS-REx delivered samples from asteroid BENNU to Earth in Sept. 2023 Center Network Member #989 '92 Fully caged, 5 speed, waiting for its fully built EG33 '92 "Test Mule", 4:44 Auto, JDM 4:44 Rear Diff with Mech LSD, Tuned headers, Full one-off suspension '92(?) Laguna, 6 spd and other stuff (still at OT's place) My Locker |
#4
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Ha, Ha, Speaking of furry tailed freinds, Yesterday I'm at a stop lite and my 3yr. old starts saying monkie and pointing out the window. I'm just like (Ok, yeah , monkie, thats nice) but he keeps saying it so I start looking around to find out what hes talking about and then I see this sqirrel running along the powerlines, and at than point I just bust out laughing thinking about a monkie swinging along the power lines in the middle of town. Maybe you had to be there, but it just cracked me up.
I did correct my son about his rodents though.
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92 SVX #772 140k 6speed, ECU Tune stage II, Koni/Ground control, 3,270lbs. 91 Legacy Turbo 5spd. FMIC, crappy stock turbo, ACT clutch. 78 BRAT (New toy) (Soon to be EJ22T powered) 90 240 SX. RB25 powered!! DRIFT!!!111!!! (GF's car) To many cars to spend time on teh web! |
#5
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It's an '88 Voyager with the 3.0 fuel injected V6 with 171K on the clock. Today it started right up, so I drove it to Wal-Mart & bought some Penzoil as it's been two years (jeez) since I last changed the oil. In two years I put less than 3K on it though. So - I checked the air filter: clean. I thoroughly carb cleaned inside the throttle body (It was filthy) & spritzed all visible cables around the throttle body. It started & ran fine. So...let's see what letting it sit a few days will do. Yes, I'll do a rodent check first. Ron.
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Good s**t happened. 69 was worth the wait. '92 stock semi-pristine ebony - 160K '96 Grand Caravan - 240K '01 Miata SE - 79K '07 Chrysler Pacifica - 60k - future money pit. |
#6
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That must prove he WAS the problem. Give him credit after all that pain. Trevor, *<)
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Trevor, New Zealand. As a child, on cold mornings I gladly stood in cowpats to warm my bare feet, but I detest bull$hit! |
#7
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Must be, Trevor. So from now on if someone says their car is running squirrelly, we'll know exactly what they mean. Ron (shaking a tail feather).
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Good s**t happened. 69 was worth the wait. '92 stock semi-pristine ebony - 160K '96 Grand Caravan - 240K '01 Miata SE - 79K '07 Chrysler Pacifica - 60k - future money pit. |
#8
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I'm trying to figure out which experience scared the poor little critter the most:
Engine cranking/whirring of components? Getting tail ripped off by whirring components? SEEING RON!?!?!?
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Randy Johnson 3rd Registered Member 02-21-2001 First Member to Reach 10,000 Posts First to arrive at the very first Reading Meet Subaru Ambassador 1992 SVX PPG Pace Car Replica 110+k 1993 White Impreza L 240+K miles 2001 Legacy Outback Limited Sedan 250+K miles 2013 Deep Indigo Pearl Legacy 3.6R 49+K miles "Reading is my favorite Holiday" Mike Davis -- at Reading VI |
#9
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LMFAO.
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92 SVX #772 140k 6speed, ECU Tune stage II, Koni/Ground control, 3,270lbs. 91 Legacy Turbo 5spd. FMIC, crappy stock turbo, ACT clutch. 78 BRAT (New toy) (Soon to be EJ22T powered) 90 240 SX. RB25 powered!! DRIFT!!!111!!! (GF's car) To many cars to spend time on teh web! |
#10
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Trevor ( Shaking a fist ) Best regards.
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Trevor, New Zealand. As a child, on cold mornings I gladly stood in cowpats to warm my bare feet, but I detest bull$hit! Last edited by Trevor; 09-15-2003 at 06:43 PM. |
#11
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Worse than all of the above, Randy. I think losing his nuts in the fan blades was a real bummer. Ron ("What, Chip? Why am I walkin' funny"? "Well, 'ya see....").
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Good s**t happened. 69 was worth the wait. '92 stock semi-pristine ebony - 160K '96 Grand Caravan - 240K '01 Miata SE - 79K '07 Chrysler Pacifica - 60k - future money pit. |
#12
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That is quite amazing that the little bastard didn't die... You'd think that he would have died after a few miles inside an engine bay... I bet it was a funny sight though to see him like that!!!
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2020 Subaru Outback Touring - Wife's first Subaru 2005 Volvo V70R - 5-cylinder love! :Heart: ** SOLD **1998 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT Wagon - MOST RELIABLE car I've ever owned ** SOLD **2006Subaru WRXSTi (Former "Boxer4Racing.com / Continential Tire" STi) - Built EJ22t block / EJ207 JDM STi "big port heads" - 9,000rpm MONEY PIT!!! ** SOLD ** 1995 "Tree-Hugger Green" SVX L AWD(5 MT) --- "Gumby" 130K miles #399 in MY95, my original love... |
#13
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I guess that's better than you losing yours by having to walk home. Randy
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Randy Johnson 3rd Registered Member 02-21-2001 First Member to Reach 10,000 Posts First to arrive at the very first Reading Meet Subaru Ambassador 1992 SVX PPG Pace Car Replica 110+k 1993 White Impreza L 240+K miles 2001 Legacy Outback Limited Sedan 250+K miles 2013 Deep Indigo Pearl Legacy 3.6R 49+K miles "Reading is my favorite Holiday" Mike Davis -- at Reading VI |
#14
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As a follow up, because "cars is cars". After the throttle body purification (10 minutes & three bucks) & the injector cleaner enema, the old van runs like new. I've had it on the road for three weekends since the above work & the rodent exorcism. No drivability problems. Something here may apply to SVXes. Ron (fluid mechanic).
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Good s**t happened. 69 was worth the wait. '92 stock semi-pristine ebony - 160K '96 Grand Caravan - 240K '01 Miata SE - 79K '07 Chrysler Pacifica - 60k - future money pit. |
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