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My knee-jerk reaction to your condition is one or more leaky fuel injectors. Especially with no codes set, your description of prior poor maintenance, and the post-cat O2 behavior you described. A leaking injector would also cause the fuel trims to go negative as the computer is trying to compensate for the extra unmetered fuel leaking from the injector(s). This is even more plausible as you say the fuel trims become less negative as the engine calls for more fuel, it doesn’t have to take away as much fuel as it did at idle.
Good to hear your system passed. You didn’t mention if you tested the cap. The cap needs to be tested separately on its own. The pressure rating on the cap is the minimum pressure it needs to hold for at least 2 minutes. The cap should open up above this rated pressure, not below it.
If it is designed to be adjusted, then yes, it can be adjusted. I would advise that you consult the service manual for your specific vehicle, as with any part designed to be adjusted, there may be a specification to follow. Under no circumstance should you attempt to grind anything. Generally, the only time grinding is permissible is when it is part of an approved service procedure.
Ensure that the pushrod between the booster and master cylinder is properly seated. If is isn’t, it can partially press the master cylinder plunger in when it is bolted down causing this exact type of situation.
Many times, when someone gets O2 codes they want to go change the O2 sensors. While the sensors can, and do, go bad, they are often not the cause of the code, but rather they are just fine, but due to some other malfunction they are not giving the expected values to the computer. It is the computer that sets the code, and the computer cannot tell if the sensor is truly bad or not, it only knows it isn’t getting the data it is expecting. With the particular combination of codes you are getting, specifically the misfire code, I would suspect largely that you have a vacuum leak. Check for cracked, broken, or disconnected vacuum lines, and ensure they are connected to the correct ports. Also don’t forget to inspect the PCV hose for breaks/cracks. The high cold idle is a conspicuous clue that there is most likely a vacuum problem somewhere.
Was the old sensor tested? Or just replaced because of the code? If the old sensor itself was not tested to confirm that it was really defective, is quite possible that the old sensor was just fine. I am suspicious that this is the case, as the new sensor did not clear the code. I am thinking there are three possible causes, in order of probability: 1) the air gap is wrong and the sensor cannot sense the wheel; 2) there is a wiring fault between the ABS module and the wheel sensor; 3) the wheel sensor driver circuit in the ABS module itself may have gone bad and cannot process the feedback from the sensor. Since the sensor was already replaced, check the air gap first. Consult for your service manual for the proper air gap specification, but they are normally somewhere around 0.015″ to 0.040″.
I still say it is probably the radiator cap. Imagine this scenario. Your cap, rated at somewhere around 15 pounds, weakens to maybe somewhere between 8-12. While driving your car, the pressure exceeds where the cap has weakened and pushes coolant past the cap into the bottle. The bottle fills up. Now, more coolant pushing past the radiator cap continues to try to go to the bottle, but it is full, so it spills out through the overflow hose onto the road. As you continue driving, and pressure is constantly changing due to load and temperature, sometimes some of the coolant gets pulled back into the radiator, and after you park, as the system cools, more coolant gets pulled back into the radiator. Because the cap is still able to maintain *some* pressure, when you test the hoses, they feel firm, and you see no leaking. However, the system has lost the coolant that spilled onto the road. And this amount that spilled may not be very much, depending on how strong the cap still is. The faint coolant smell you detect is probably coming from the wet end of the coolant overflow hose that the lost fluid passed through. The point is, you cannot measure PSI with your hands. You need to test your cap with a pressure tester, or just replace it with a new one since they are fairly cheap, before worrying about more expensive repairs. Start with the easy stuff. Test or replace the cap.
Quite possibly the radiator cap. You can have the cap tested, or just change it out and see what happens.
[quote=”andrewbutton442″ post=130673]Your nova should pull NO amps. Older cars like that have no constant draw devices unless you or somebody added one.[/quote]
The OE dash clock would have a small draw, an aftermarket radio will have a small draw for its clock/memory circuit, but those would be no more than 50mA. Certainly nothing close to 400mA.milli is the metric prefix for one-thousandth. The unit of measurement for electrical current is the ampere, usually shortened to amp, So 1 milliamp would be one one-thousandth of an amp, or 0.001 amp.
As for the draw, rust and corrosion causes electrical resistance which increases current draw. Check your grounds for rust and inside the battery terminal connections for corrosion that could cause an unexplained increase.
I currently use the Valvoline multi-purpose grease marked ‘GM-Chrysler-European-Japanese Vehicles’ primarily because my garage currently houses an ’88 Toyota Pickup, ’96 Jeep Cherokee, and ’05 Hyundai Accent, and this seems to nicely cover all of them.
[quote=”Icebeam47″ post=130630]The Temp stayed around 130-140. Witch is odd. [/quote]
Not odd for having no thermostat installed.
So With the Thermostat installed coolant is Somehow cooling but Its not Moving? (Check Video) That can’t be right.
Some coolant is supposed to circulate through the bypass circuit until the engine warms up, opening the stat, which in turn shuts off the bypass. Perhaps the bypass isn’t being fully shut off by the t-stat when it opens up (obstruction? corrosion in the seat?). If the water doesn’t get hot enough to open the t-stat, there will be very little movement, if any, visible at the radiator.