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88 conquest won't run right


nekkidlad
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I have a '88 chrysler conquest tsi my dad got for free from one of his cousins...I was wondering if anyone can help me out a bit.

 

A little back story on the car..:

 

It has about 150,000mi, it was originally my dad's cousin's wife's DD, then it was their summer toy, then about 7 years ago they stored it untill about 2 years ago. In that time they took it out as a toy again, and they went to some quick lube and they didnt tighten the drain plug so the engine seized up(the shop payed for a new motor), after that it was stored again(with about 300-500mi on the new motor). They say it ran fine after it got the new motor. About 7 months ago one of their neighbors was house sitting, while they went on vacation, and he took the car out for a drive and ended up having it towed back to the house because it was stumbling and rolling the idle and such like im having, and untill about a month ago where we got this car, its been stored since that time.

 

The issue:

 

It cold starts fine but when it starts to heat up a bit the idle starts to roll, from about 1100-2500rpm (im assuming once it gets to closed loop, then something makes it roll).

 

In park or neutral, you can free rev it to redline no problems, till it starts to surge (like mentioned above), you can hold the throttle at any position and it'll still roll but only go up to about 4000rpm and then go back down and roll again back and forth.

 

If you stab the gas, wether in gear or park/neutral, it stumbles and if u leave the throttle open it stumbles and dies

 

If the car's in reverse or neutral, if u stab the gas it stumbles, if you feather the gas it revs up just enough where the boost gauge(OE) to read about 1-2 lbs of boost and then it stumbles and eventually dies if u hold it, (i havent looked at the rpms when in gear..and i've only brake torqued it).

 

What ive done so far:

 

I've checked vacuum(even tho there's a boost gauge), drained the old fuel and installed a new fuel filter(in the engine bay), and put new fuel in it and a bottle of injector cleaner(that stuff you just dump in the fuel tank...figured it wouldnt hurt any and maybe it'd help a bit), cleaned and re-gapped spark plugs, changed the oil, inspected that every connector is plugged in and all vacuum hoses connected, sprayed brake cleaner all over the engine compartment, intercooler and all intake piping looking for possible vacuum leaks. I did find the MAF was disconnected when I originally got the car so I plugged it back in, I also found the blow-off valve/wastegate was seized and not moving (I did free it up but theres no movement on it anyway with or without vacuum and I cant see with boost/pressure since it wont go into it), also I tried disconnecting the upstream 02 sensor and nothing different happened, I did get it to smooth out the idle to normal if I disconnect the MAF sensor but if I touch the gas it just stumbles, and theres another connector by the fuel mixer/TB that when disconnected smooths out the idle some, it makes it roll about 2/3 less. Im not sure exactly what the connector is for, I THINK its for the idle air motor/controller (its one of the round connectors at the mixer/TB, if I remember correctly it has 2 black wires, I think one has a white tracer on it)...

 

(Ive only spent about 3 hours "working" on it because I live at an apartment where auto repair is prohidited, I work at a car dealer as a mechanic, I rarely have time to work on it exept at the end of the day possibly 2 days a week IF we have no other cars to work on...AND if I dont need to get home to do other things right after work..AND if there's somebody else there(with more experience) I can use to help me bounce off ideas as to what we could check next to see if it may fix anything...). Recently I found an online service manual and a vacuum routing diagram...and a couple of conquest/starion forums like this one)

 

I also thought about checking the fuel pressure but, I dont know anybody with a banjo fitting that I can use(to check it at the fuel filter where it's the only location I can see to check the pressure)..my THOUGHT is that there's something wrong with the turbo or the blow-off valve/wastegate(stuck open).

 

Any other thoughts of what I could check, and how would be appreciated.

 

My manager used to be a manager at a mitsubishi dealer when the satrions and conquests were still fairly common on the streets(at least here in michigan), and he said it could possibly be the idle air motor/controller that has gone bad. He said it was soemwhat common for them to go bad and do the same thing.

 

Attached are some pictures of the car...Not that they help with diagnosis but at least you can see the car..

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post-20681-129968771661_thumb.jpg

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someone had the bumper appart once

 

as far as stumbling and dieing goes, it sounds like a bad connection on the secondary injector. pull the clip off, and use sandpaper to clean the pins in the injector and in the connector

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Sounds like the connectors to your injectors, they corrode and get crusty.

 

Wastegate actuator moves a lever that is attached to the end of the arm to open a flapper over the wastegate path inside the turbine housing and it does that from boost pressure that overcomes the force of a spring that keeps the arm pulled in.

 

http://www.b2600turbo.com/images/WGactuator.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

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i printed out the procedure for the isc/tps reset and will do it when i get the chance..ill also check the conectors...make sure theres no corrosion or something of the sort..

 

also i found what looks like a vacuum line disconnected right by the master cylinder...it comes from the other side of the engine compartment...theres no vacuum at it and i cant find what it would connect to on the drivers side of the engine compartment...and i can't see where its coming from...(if its even plugged into anything at all...)

 

and no it's not the washer nozzle hose...i thought it was that since there was no vacuum and the hose was about the same size as a washer hose ussually is

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that may be the hose for your hvac control and cruise. it will route behind the abs controller , to the very far corner of the hood on the passenger side down to the cruise actuator and finally to a elec vac pump. is ther a "t" somewhere open that is may have been hooked or strait to the TB. a vac leak will greatly affect your idle. Edited by wrngwae
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had a minute to work on the car, i looked at that hose it comes all the way across from the other side of the engine compartment and it's attached to 2 black cylinders with like 3 diferent t's.. i did not see anything unplugged at the TB...when i get a chance to worn on it again ill take a picture or 2 and see if any1 can let me know exactly what it is and where it goes..

 

i tried the led thing to get codes and i got the light to flash 1-o2 sensor, 4-DONT KNOW, 5-TPS and 6-ISC...i was key on, engine off..(out of fuel at the moment)

(PS: if anyone knows what 4 means...let me know...my list of codes has it as N/A..)

 

also i checked the 2 connectors at the injectors one had a metal clip that locks it into place the other one has it missing...i didnit have anything to help get the clip off so i checked the one w/out and there was a bit of crud in there...sometime when i get another chance ill see if i can clean it up a bit..for now i just plugged it back in..after i clean up the connector at the injector, and hopefully do the tps/isc reset ill to disconnect the battery and hopefully have the car reset and see what happens...

Edited by nekkidlad
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single port under tyhe row of 3 at the TB?

 

UPDATE: found the port..plugged the hose in

unable to run acr at moment still out of fuel..have to get time to get gas and put it in to see how much better it runs now(hopefully better)

Edited by nekkidlad
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check trouble codes, connector is by the glove box

price a distributor advance the metal thing attached to the distributor just below the cap

replace the injector clips or and or the injectors, perhaps just have them cleaned.

 

tell us what trouble codes you have found if any, if none it probably is mechanical

 

http://www.starquestgarage.com/manuals/service/conquest/1988/88_conquest_service_nav.html

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no...no....and no....

 

ive been very busy...at work, planning my wedding, taking up my extra time getting money on the side working on other people's at work's car...among other things..

havent really had any time for the conquest in like 2 months...(xept for last week when i found the port for that one hose and the injector corrosion and the trouble code lights...wich took all of about 15 mins..)(and i left work about half hour late because i was outside in the parking lot "working on" the car...)

 

as soon as i get a chance ill put up an update...

for now the conquest stays at work hanging out in the back lot...(surrounded by jaguars...hope it doesnt get eaten)...since i live in an apartment and i cant work on it there...plus i have no tools there...

Edited by nekkidlad
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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE: finally got a chance to work on it..

 

I found an electrical connector that fits the injectors in the utility room at work..(we have random scrap harnesses for scavanging connectors and wires in there).

 

I spliced the connector in(soldered), and cleaned the injector side of the connector some and plugged it in, put gas in it and started it up. It ran fine for a while, doesnt die if you brake torque it past 0psi boost...(went up past 7psi on the OE gauge)...

 

It still rolls the idle after heating up.

Got it to drive around the block got to around 30mph...(I didnt feel very safe going that fast..or faster since the brakes are severely rusted and 3 of the tires have grooves carved into the sidewall from running flat from previous to our ownership)

 

Anyway when it rolls the idle it goes from about 1500-2500rpm. While you're driving it almost feels like the engine stalls out, but then it feels like you just floored it abut a second later if you keep your foot down.

 

I still have to do that tps/isc reset...havent had a chance yet to do that...or a hard reset...

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1. doesnt die if you brake torque it past 0psi boost...(went up past 7psi on the OE gauge)...

 

2. Got it to drive around the block got to around 30mph...(I didnt feel very safe going that fast..or faster since the brakes are severely rusted and 3 of the tires have grooves carved into the sidewall from running flat from previous to our ownership)

 

3. Anyway when it rolls the idle it goes from about 1500-2500rpm. While you're driving it almost feels like the engine stalls out, but then it feels like you just floored it abut a second later if you keep your foot down.

 

I still have to do that tps/isc reset...havent had a chance yet to do that...or a hard reset...

1. hope you know a good trans builder if you keep that up.. also, the stock gauge is worthless for reading with any accuracy.. you might have made 2psi in actuality, it doesn't make any real boost unless your driving it.

 

2. you don't trust the brakes OR the tires on the car so you drive it.. you trying to kill someone?

 

3. take every connector you find in the engine bay, including ground straps, clean with some 600/800 grit sandpaper and a nail file if necessary. fix brakes, steering, and tires for yours and other's safety..

 

4. Read the FAQ and PQ's SOS those will probably answer every minor question you have.

 

after all this, you probably won't need 85% of the help you think you need.

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^^I know its not very safe to drive the car int hat condition and its not the best idea to brake torque the heck out of it, but its the only things I can do at the moment...no, I'm not trying to kill anybody, I made sure to go down an empty street with no cars, and that I know theres very few people...its an industrial drive..

 

I dont have the time to work on it much more...at least untill it gets warmer out..I dont feel like standing outside in the cold and wind working on the car...all I'm trying to do with the car is make it my dad's halfway decently reliable daily driver...

 

After about 3 months of having the car sit outside work, I figured out a guy I work with every day used to be a conquest/starion tuner back in the day..(of course it's the only guy I didnt ask about the car, I asked the other 4 guys I work with tho...he's kind of a d-bag, but he knows his stuff)

 

Also after I get the car running "normally", I'm getting all new pads, rotors, brake fluid, coolant, and tires...(hopefully it doesn't need calipers). He doesnt have much money to fix the car...(I hope this thing is not going to be a pit...being an '88, and some parts being so hard to find and get, etc...)

Edited by nekkidlad
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  • 2 months later...

i had the mass airflow sensor sent out to be rebuilt by a company...(i tried to buy a new one but they didint stock it anymore they just sent me the instructions and reduced the price to rebuild intead of buying a new one)

 

got it back last week all freshly rebuilt....same problem..(obviously i spent $150 on nothing)

also replaced the o2 sensor...

did a hard reset..(well it sat outside without a battery in it while it charged for a week and a half)

still havent done the tps/isc reset..havent been able to go out n find an analog volt meter..

 

ir runs ok if i leave the maf sensor disconnected, but it idles high and it GUZZLES gas...took about 3 hrs total of idling over a 2 days for it to use 2 gallons of gas..

 

 

any thoughts?

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i had the mass airflow sensor sent out to be rebuilt by a company...(i tried to buy a new one but they didint stock it anymore they just sent me the instructions and reduced the price to rebuild intead of buying a new one)

 

got it back last week all freshly rebuilt....same problem..(obviously i spent $150 on nothing)

also replaced the o2 sensor...

did a hard reset..(well it sat outside without a battery in it while it charged for a week and a half)

still havent done the tps/isc reset..havent been able to go out n find an analog volt meter..

 

ir runs ok if i leave the maf sensor disconnected, but it idles high and it GUZZLES gas...took about 3 hrs total of idling over a 2 days for it to use 2 gallons of gas..

 

 

any thoughts?

 

Yeah the MAS,s seldom go bad and there is an abundance of those here as many people upgrade to a 1st gen turbo eclipse mass.

 

Chances are after the motor was built they did not correctly set/reset the tps and Isc. You can get a cheap analog meter at auto zone or the like for like ten bucks. Do it Before you drop anymore money on another part you don't need.

 

Oh yeah here is a link to the factory service manual.

WWW.starquestgarage.com

Use it.

Edited by Hoosierquest
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already have it bookmarked but thanks for the link to the manual.

 

also have printed instructions from one of the threads in here for the tps/isc reset, for whenever i can find a meter..

 

i know mafs seldom go bad but i figured its over 20 years old anyway...probably a good idea regardless...(even tho it didint fix anything...)

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already have it bookmarked but thanks for the link to the manual.

 

also have printed instructions from one of the threads in here for the tps/isc reset, for whenever i can find a meter..

 

i know mafs seldom go bad but i figured its over 20 years old anyway...probably a good idea regardless...(even tho it didint fix anything...)

walmart, $10

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