Since it's been raining off-and-on here the last several days, and I don't like playing dodge the raindrops with corded power tools, I put the ground rod installation on hold.
So let's clean-up some of the parts I have to reinstall on the Supra!
And it all starts with hot, soapy water.
The parts in the sink are a weather seal from under the hood, and a shield that goes behind the fabled Timing Cover #3. Prior to this, I scrubbed the daylights out of the rubber air couplings used to pipe the air from the Air Flow Meter to the Throttle Body. There's three of these couplings, and if any one of them doesn't seal properly, you have an air leak between the Air Flow Meter and the Throttle Body, which throws off the Electronic Fuel Injection. It's similar to a vacuum leak on a engine with a carburetor, and makes for poor running, and failed emissions testing.
35 year old rubber air couplings like these don't age well unless they're taken care of. And very few people bother to take them off and clean them yearly. It's not on the Toyota Maintenance Schedule other than to "Inspect and Replace If Required", so they only get a brief glance, if that.
I was fortunate to get a set of used ones in good condition. I scrubbed them with soap and water, and then took a toothbrush and scrubbed in a generous amount of Eastwood "Rubber, Plastic and Vinyl Restore". This stuff is amazing. Next to the cleaned and restored piece is the one that came on the car.
It was pretty trashed, and I'd resorted to using some 3M "Super Weatherstrip Adhesive" to glue it back together and fill in the cracks.
The cracks went all the way through, so I had to use some tape to keep the adhesive in place.
Even though they "hold air" now, they're very stiff and brittle. The brown color is oxidized rubber, and will not come off with soap and water. Altogether, I'm glad I had a good replacement, which looked new after cleaning and treatment. Nice and flexible, too.
I also scrubbed and treated the two rubber seals under the hood. One is at the cowling, and keeps hot engine art from getting into the A/C system, and the other is on the bottom of the leading edge of the hood. It's purpose is to block any air coming through the grill from going over the radiator, rather than through it.
So those have been my rainy day activities, I should have Ms Swan back on the road in the next week or so, and then we can start the process of getting her properly licensed again.
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Yay for finding 'good' spares!
ReplyDeleteI got them from a Supra buddy in the PNW. They were one of the first things I bought for the car back in 2013. Now they're Hen's Teeth, and each piece goes for about $75, *IF* you can find somebody willing to sell them.
DeleteThis unusual weather we are experiencing this year is putting a lot of projects on hold. Right now the Taurus has a loose electrical connection in the HVAC system. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. YouTubers show how to remove the radio housing which gives access to the switches. Looks simple and I've order the tools ($7). Then it will go to a real mechanic. My old stiff fingers guarantee a 1/2 hour job will take three days.
ReplyDeleteI had to order some special tools to pull the radio from my son's BMW. Wound up with a whole kit of special little doo-dads to pull radios from foreign cars.
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