Wits End....ready to crush it-(96 Tracker miss)

[fixkick]

Thanks for your reply and time.....lots to think about here.  Wish you were here although maybe you are near???

Anyhow couple followup items-

Yes, I fell for the damn "gasket on the oil pan" issue already and had to remove the front differential in order to re-do the oil pan.  This is the first vehicle that I've ever encountered that did not want a oil pan gasket....(which you are correct-it was included in the gasket set).  The crank position sensor is the original sensor so it should be correct however I didnt really look at the one that came with the long block too closely as I assumed it would be correct.....
if you drove IT real far, and 3 times, with the oBD2 scan tool logging at least all DTC errors and CKP drops out it fails then clears fast,.  that is that very weak coil  CKP non hall sensor dropping out does,. and is not good ever,  warning on DTC some are hidden until you drive car 3 times. or do pendings  checks as you drive (2 man job or real scanner that can log to files) 
This is 2 wire shieldrf cable sensor,  CKP with very weak signals, 1v pulses and NO ELECTRONICS in the sensor, a coil of wire there.  (and a tiny fixed magnet?)
if this sensor fails P0300 codes 0 to 4 fail or even lie to you,  the ECU uses crankshaft velocity to find misfire, using only the CKP, the silly CAM sensor is too wiggly to do the famous misfire monitor.  1996 is the most dumb of all OBD2, and has weaknesses... even bugs.
The sensor is mounted to the pan flange, if sensor is not close to the block the sensor is too far from the TONE wheel teeth and the signals go way to week or even dead.
one can scope any sensor even this to see if the signal is weak or even dead, 1v is min. my rule.  
I assumed the cog on the crank end is sidekick and not G16b esteem.  or all hope ends.
a G16 engine is not the same on all cars., sorry not. used in many suzuki's and are not the same, close sure, but not the same. for sure CKP tone wheels.



Yes, in hindsight I would have replaced the fuel tank instead of trying to clean it....I used my pressure washer and got it pretty darn clean but obviously pretty hard to get it 100% clean.  One of the injectors was nearly 100% blocked and that cylinder was getting 0 fuel so that was why I replaced them all....but at that time I did not even think to check the return line so maybe I do have 4 bad injectors now but this is getting expensive....
is the filter new, or 25 years old./(sorry)_
the tank  we use computer cam bore scope ($15) to see if the tank is clean most are full of rust and huge nasty crap slag and GUM.  no EFI runs with bad tanks, ever.
Id have done that the day gas smelled like crap.  no injector made works with crap fuel.


As far as the wires/plugs-yeah they are (or were) new but I got them off Rockauto....cheap set.  At the time I didnt realize these Trackers had a crappy/goofy integral coil and never would have guessed this.... cheap plugs are great.  they always work, 1J plugs stock, always, all 96up have hidden spark coil and hiding it does not make it last longer.
the money you save on $1.50 plugs goes  TO MAG WIRES , no carbon   or silicone core wires need ever be used on these cars, they are crap. (mag is metal coiled wire , HV spark wires)
this car does not have 50,000 volt spark as COPS do about 1999. NOT HERE. that means do not read posts of cars having HIGH ENERGY IGNITION it is NOT HERE.
our spark is weak. (with good mag wire never a problem and burns more fuel and has pay back from that)

As far as the FPR-I actually did pull off the hose and blocked it with my thumb, not just pinched the vacuum line and it responded per your write up on the website.
so is not part time cure? no cure is , my guess is injector are not clogged. if not clogged causes over injections. richer.  due to 6psi more injection pressure and flow rates.


 
I'll probably end up looking closer at the OBD scan data. 
I have a cheap scan tool but didnt spend a whole lot of time looking at it.  code readers $20 are not scan tools code reader do DTC only and can not scan sensors.
a each real scan tool is all you need , as 1996 has so very fuel DTC. (first year this)

I believe it did go into closed loop but am not 100% positive. (this is key thing to check all cars 1996 to 2021) and if fails all smog tests fail in 1 second flat or CEL stuck on.

It does idle high until it warms up so I assumed it was (I even believe I saw that on the scanner but that seems like years ago now that I've been through all this other stuff and will have to do this again).

Grounds have been checked....I even ran a temporary ground from the battery to the block/chassis as a second check.  VERY GOOD.

I'll double check the exhaust manifolds and see if there are any cracks.... (o2 sensor front must not ever see any cracks, ever, that is 20% oxygen on earth and makes the 02 go to zero volts  dead wrong real fast.) 
The 02 must swing at idle hot, if not we find out  why, but 300 DTCs causes O2  to fail too.  300 is misfire and sends as slug of more air to the 02 and makes it go nuts.

one more trick remove the 02 sensor plugs. 4pin?
and drive, now O2 pins go to 0.45volts a lie to the ECU telling it Fuel mix is ok. does misfiring end now?  

that scan tool has  nice feature called LTFT,  long term fuel trim.
if the 02 reads wrong LTFT goes WILD, as in if 02 reads 0v,  the LTFT goes to MAX RICH and spark plugs foul black.

the fuel trim must  be correct a idle this is  goal after all parked hot idling car is 10000x more easy to fix going 45mph on the road.


for sure bad ECU will make all testing fruitless.  for sure bad caps are a horror, some even blow ECU fuse later or make all relays and VSV chatter like mad,  not good that.


...or I may just crush the car and be done with it.  :(,, no way please, yet lets do cheap tests. first) testing find true causes,

CKP must work full time no be dead, nor weak. (it is not some optional sensor like read 02 is,  for most now)
checks:
02 not dead but swings and not 100,000 miles old , end of life is 100,000 miles. less if engine stuck rich or oil burning engines. NO CRACKS near 02 front means gasket too there.
the LTFT shows reasonable readings,  like -5% this means engine is only 5%rich (NICE) and ECU removed -5% to get to perfect fuel mix. double nice.
STFT is too fast for humans to watch, ignore short term.

the CKP is linear device, it is not electronic nor is ECT or IAT temp sensors.
CMP sensor  on  cam is a HALL sensor, it has an amplifier in side and needs no tuning ever. like CKP. (as in pan gasket tuning horrors)

CKP is a coil of wire like  simple school class make your own generator.... and is very very weak even day1 new.\
the CKP sends the signal to the ECU and it uses a zero crossing detector to convert it to digital and best i know, 1volts is just enough more better.
and as you race the engine CMP goes higher voltage like all real generators do even hand made in school.
the magnetic field , gets weak at the square of the distance.  this huge thick pan gasket is huge gap.  if normal gap is 50 thou (0.050' and not is 0.200 wide that is  that is 4 squared less signal. or 16 times less.  that is how the math works out Faraday laws and all that.
my point is ,nobody on earth knows at all the stand of  max distances of any CKP here,  but we do know many failed for  JUST THIS fact.

that means the coil must see the magnetic pulse from the TONE wheel teeth, if not doomed.  
this ECU unlike most others on does run ok with CKP dead, but is at greatly reduced performance. 
if doing misfire calcs and CKP drops out the back in the crank shaft velocity variances are lost. means now a big lie.


this ECU measures the power from each firing 1,3,4,2 repeat,  to see that each firing is at full energy levels.  (expected) and does that by rate of crank speed up.

The CKP is not really optional at all, sure it runs but not right.
at  toyota stalls.
see?  ours is a tad different.
if the CKP misfires it also cause the spark tables to go nuts.  with no rational reason why to the humans.

some CKP sold from other makers may far better, as in ok with the huge gap, and huge numbers of makers now CMP,  (SMP maker is tops in my book)

SMP  maker ,even markets their sensor as far better than stock, It may be. more turns of finer wire inside is one way.
every maker of a sensor has the right to make it better and some do.
some even do this so well it fits and works on 10 cars. not even only suzuki. that way less to sell unique, and higher profits.

again any cheap scan tool works on 1996
no need for $300 tool
this car does only some federal codes.
this is all it does. P0xxx is federal EPA codes mandated,. P1 are suzuki only called factor codes. p1 up are factory

https://fixkick.com/CEL/96_ALL_CEL/96_all_dtcs1.pdf


google why 95 engines fail in 96-98 sidekick/trackers.
well known. CKP



this DTC may pop and go away fast seeing it can be hard, or see it in PENDINGS.  
some error take 3 cold to hot driving cycles.

one more, the ROTOR IN THE DISTRIBUTOR (china cloned crap) fits on 3 ways, only 1 way works,  always pain this, clone crap makes. the real one has huge springclip on the bottom
that blocks hare the 3 wrong ways  and fully rotor seated or is wrong.


PO335 crankshaft position/sensor a circuit malfunction.
335s hit with 1 in 20 missing pulses( ) and may take lots of driving to see it, or 3 driving cycles. pagee v2-6e3-e118
let me look that up first.yes,.