90 sidekick plenty problems, strange setup? almost there *hoping*

[Bazooki]

Thanks again! You da man!! So got the girl back together yesterday, turned key no lights, fuel pump! ?? Spun though. Started checking, blown fuse, not the fi, problem was I got water on one of the vsv’s changing the water pump and thermostat, dryed off an all good. Fired up stronger than ever with the new timing belt. Ok great!! Still high idle about 2k after dp closes. Put the horn back on and hand over it, now sucking air again somewhere, maybe under the horn gasket but looked good, will test straight over tb to rule that. Need a better clamp on the booster line off tb, old one not cutting. 25% throttle revved great, anything else was sputtering till rpms high enough. Wot gave me a slow, sputtering rev, better than before where she just choked. Wasn’t able to get the temps up as the water pump pulley wasn’t hooked up yet, engine was warm but tb still cold, not surprised there no circ. Pouring over those docs you sent this am before some sun hits to get it fresh in my head again, a great help!! The bottom hose came off the evap cab but I think that’s the one to the tank and doesn’t matter for the vac sys. Thinking maybe the po messed w the timing, looks all the way to one side, not loose, maybe to comp for a worn timing belt, will check that after I make sure there’s no vac leaks and everything else is happy. Like I said it revs better than ever now at high rpm or soft throttled, maybe too good, possibly too lean.

[Bazooki]

You said the pump shouldn’t come on with key but it does, 3 sec or so, the injector squirts a prime charge as well, spinning crank by hand will deliver another shot. Maybe the temp sensor is pau? Which one does it use for that trick? Guessing the IAT or ECT. Always slow through deep water except when hit those road puddles, foot deep and 100” wide. Will block test iac last if I have to. Yes the dome light thing threw me, about all I can remember about it been a while there, thought might sound familiar. Haven’t checked codes, never had a light stay on. Didn’t think obd1 would store a minor fault? And have to figure out what the actual process for this engine. Going to try find the exact build date, if close to 91 may be 91 parts in there.. something else but can’t remember, time for another cup! Cheers

[fixkick]

the ecu on 89/90 has 60a suffix on the label, and useless on any 91 plus nor will it plug in.
new spark wires and plugs,
this 98 has the VR SENSOR AND INITIATOR INSIDE THE DISTRIBUTOR. THIS DISTRIBUTOR DOES ALL SPARK And many this old are bad.
2k after DP CLOSES, IS NORMAL, SAY IN NEW YORK AT 15f OR WORSE THIS IS HOW ALL IAC WORK
he colder the coolant the wider the IAC opens and very fast idle, on 50f day 1500 is par. ok?

no the 89/90 DOES not prime pulse the pump above air temps 15F . just below, 15f the FSM stats this clear and fuel pump page shows the factory qoute.
key non squire what is your air time now???? 50f in texas or -15f F in MAIN.

what is PAU? (?)
OBD1, the cell lamp must glow key on,does it
the storage RAM for DTC errors runs off the dome fuse, if the dome fuse blown the Ecu FORGETS ALL SAVED ERRORS (DTC)
SO FIX DOME FIRST. HECK all fuses, for dome, igcoil and FI must be good fuses
this is GEN1 car, not gen2, so all electrics are unique to this only.

key ,cell glow, if not fix bad lamp. (gee the engine starts so the other 2 fuses are good.
the when the engine runs all gross sensor errors set a DTC error, that flaSHES out. (via cell lamp)

the 1990 engines,has the TB top Isc with 2 naked wires, in 1991+ is now a PLUG.
the 90 has a very unique distributor, 60a series, with advancing fly weights and 1 VR COIL AND IGNITOR. INSIDE DISTRIB PLATE BASE.
VERY VERY UNIQUE TO 89/90 ONLY.
SO IF SPARK IS BAD,IT IS NEVER ECU'S FAULT.

POST ALL SYMPTOMS, FIRST.
starting takes air if the IAC is dead the engine floods when cranked
if running and misfiring check park first. us a timing light for timing check and see of the light blinks steady x4

if engine ,misfires, heard,seen felt. it is.
and most be diagnosed next
spark tops list on this old old car...

to check sensors i NEED your out door temperatures

more later, got to catch an air plane.

[Bazooki]

Mucho mahalo (thank you) PAU mean finished, kaput, the air temps here in Hawaii are about 70F. There is a small miss at idle. Went away with unplugging the o2 sensor but came back. Warmed up to temp, idle at 1k now. Was able to get her to fire right by adjusting the dizzy. Advanced to about the middle of the adjustment, was adjust toward trans side before. Plugs and wires are newer. Advancing the diz got me to 1.2k at idle, Miss slightly more pronounced. With o2 unplugged seemed to rev hardest and fastest, plugged smoother and slower, maybe smoother because slower. Cel comes on at keys on. No way to test the actual timing, light burned up in the lava flow (currently biding time on the active volcanic island here) same with my vac gauges. That’s why I’m doing all the poor mans tests, now that we are very poor. . Hopefully you’re flying to a more serene destination, with the 10,000 a day earthquakes (fact numbers) lava rivers pumping 20 dump trucks a second at 50 mph, hurricanes and floods, hard to call it paradise it’s more like liviving in a pair of dice.

[fixkick]

ok 70f
easy easy easy starts, forever,
first warm engine as 180F , not 100, not 150,but 180 or even 195 thermostats sold
what does trans side mean? the cam cover has scale, see my not time spark page, 0 on the right and left is advanced, and 5BTDC is common.
the hood sticker (open hood look up see spark spec on timing.
the 1990 spark timing is fully distributor only timing , so ECU timing freeze jumper not present.
see here.' only for 1989/90
http://www.fixkick.com/IGN_timing/89-timing.html

spark gap is 0,028 inches never use out of the box,. 0.045inches,(you must set it) it will misfire easy under load
do not use spark timing to set Idle, ever
turn the screw on the throttle plate stop CCW and idle falls. to hot temp 180F 800rpm
only the IAC set cold idle ,oK, not you or me.
the whole tune is done HOT 180F never cold.
when the 180F is hit, cut the key off,]
unplug ECT sensor ( not gage, not a/c) but the actual ECT (old name cts, long ago not used that old name
the usage of a ohm meter DMM on the 2 pins of the ECT, not connected at ECT is 300 homes, (means 180f reached, seen on ECT test page, type ect in my search box, fixkick.com

no problem with tools missing I had no idea this, and so sorry!!
if I was there Id help with my tools for free. sure would.
ok with engine hot, the top radiator hose gets real hot.
in fact hand lands there and flies off , ouch in 1-3 seconds, this is the only test I have ,as the dash guage is toy grade junk.
you can test cam timing for free, type sneak a peek
http://www.fixkick.com/t-belt/sneak-a-peek.html

first is engine fully hot.'
then cam timed
the spark timed
then we work fueling and vacuum leaks.
good luck ,im in Houston now, cooling heels. waiting, waiting...

[fixkick]

I will help you all you want and need. just ask.
do not be shy , ask any questions,.. I had 3 of these cars at 1 time. in my garage.
my ex boss has a 100% restored SAMMI.
frame off restore.

[fixkick]

common failures on 90
sure hoses cracked, all can be.
1: ISC on top of TB , loves to make noise, they go bad, and rattle bad. or jam open or closed. clean it is best, first.
2: IAC death. the wax pellet inside, goes bad after 20 years of endless thermal cycling... and can not be replaced like a thermostat
3: the thermostat can fail many ways (dead) stuck open ,stuck close or like my POS stat, took 50 miles to warm up (the slug stat)
4: missing thermostat. omg
5: some PO found a relic 160f stat and and stuffed it in,,, omg 2.
omg = oh my golly gee wiz.

finding a good use TB for 1990, near impossible
so some with bad IAC we add manual air valve to help cold starts. after plugging up the IAC port for ever.... if bad, near impossible to fix on any 90.
ebay is the only parts source under $1200 each (new from suzuki TB cost)
or car-part.com
http://www.car-part.com/

[Bazooki]

Seems to be running fine, just the slight miss at idle. Could be from playing with the timing, worsens as you advance. Unplugging the o2 still makes it disappear then reappear. It’s amazing these things still run after all this time. They actually still make a brand new sammi. For “farmers” in India and New Zealand, only 6-8k depending on options. New.!!!!!That’s a shame about the tb prices, always wanted to get an carb and intake from the euro market. I hear the guys at Zuk offroad or something we’re working on a supercharger and turbo, maybe a carb setup can’t remember. Seems like a carb shouldn’t be too hard to setup. Do you know if the grand Vitara wheel hubs will fit onto these? They appear identical except for the abs ring (remove) and are half the price of a wheel bearing??!! Thanks again kick!!

[fixkick]

boosting old engine do not fly, even 5PSI, only for strong built engines.
the old carbs are junk, no parts or kits now. mostly. for sure suzuki carbs.
the HARLEY CV carb is great, but needs hand tuning by you,.
for just hubs, go to the warner hub web site, see what fits what,
what do you mean by wheel hub>?
1: 4wd hub locks. (autos or hand locked) ( only works within your generation car) warn hubs has listing clearly showing what years fit what) (the spin counts are very important here)
https://www.warn.com/truck-suv-4wd-hubs-standard
2: Disc brake wheel hubs and bearings?
3: rims (called wheel hubs by some)

see my hub page,
in 1996 they changed front axle end splines from 23 to 26. (so count your splines first, after all swaps do happen) (I guess "Warn" has lost the knowledge of this fact) 96 to 2000 years. (varies by gm/geo and suzuki year of changes)

http://www.fixkick.com/hubs/97-98spindle-locs.JPG

why not just fix this car, the TBI makes more more power that any carb.
check out that TB bore sizes, can you beat that"? I bet not.

All you need to do is fix all the bad sensors.
and tune the engine
even make sure the advance weights work inside the distributor, and tuning carb to any bad distributor is hopeless.
the distrib page is here. ( i just make sure the fly weights are not rusted up, and springs broken and flex it by hand to make sure it works) first.
http://www.fixkick.com/IGN_timing/89-timing.html

a timing light is only $20 (harbor fright(pun) has them)