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Thursday, 26 September 1996 Volume 02 : Number 176
In this issue:
Re: Radio Upgrade / Ampzilla
Re: Any repair chains do front-end align
Blowing fuel pump fuses
Re: major transplant / oil pressure
zilla modules
Re: oil pressure
Re: oil pressure
Re: zilla modules
Re: oil pressure
Re: oil pressure
Re: oil pressure
Re: Blowing fuel pump fuses
Texture
Re: zilla modules
Idle
Idle story, but no help
Oil Pressure once again. Please read.
Re: Oil Pressure - DANGER
Bye Bye Windshield :(
FAST IDLE ISSUE
Re: Bye Bye Windshield :(
Re: Idle
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Marvin S. Sterling" (marv930(AT)ix.netcom.com)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 02:23:14 -0700
Subject: Re: Radio Upgrade / Ampzilla
LordWeb(AT)aol.com wrote:
>
>
> I am kind of a purist and do not think very much of the painted
> Deloreans. I have seen a couple of red cars and one black one. But if I
> ever get the urge to paint my car then I would defrinitely look into
> whoever painted Rob's car.
- ---------------------------------------
When I purchased my D (new) from Mike Sweeney, the owner of Mount Kisco
Subaru, he had one that had been painted black by KAPAC ... it was done
by electrostatic dipping ... it was mirror black including the louvres.
Had he been willing to sell it it would be mine but it was his, he did
tell me that it cost $5,000 to paint it, that was in 1984.
Regards,
Marv. Sterling
------------------------------
From: malevy(AT)lucent.com
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 8:54:45 +0100
Subject: Re: Any repair chains do front-end align
>>My DMC needs the front end aligned. Does any chain like Midas or R&S
>>do that kind of work on a D?
>I took the specs out of the owner's manual and had a Sears Automotive
>Center align all four wheels when putting on new rear tires. No extra
>charge for an "exotic" car, but who knows about other places.
I would *NEVER* take any car to SEARS... I could tell you many personal
horror stories on their alignment..... I dont think sears ever
calibrates their machines, or trains the mechanics.
When I needed my car aligned, I called PJ Grady. Rob told me that you
can only adjust the front toe, so if you paid for a 4 wheel alignment,
you may have gotten ripped off.
I found a local speed shop that works on race cars, and many exotic cars.
They normally charge $160 for a standard front end alignment (high, I
know!) but they only charged $70 for the Delorean because they only
adjusted the front toe. They also balanced the front tires, I wish they
did the back too because the car had never driven so well! I later had
the back balanced, it was even better!
Good luck,
Marc
------------------------------
From: Knut S Grimsrud (Knut_S_Grimsrud(AT)ccm.jf.intel.com)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 96 08:08:00 PDT
Subject: Blowing fuel pump fuses
"Mr. THX" writes:
> My fuse for the fuel pump keeps blowing. Has
> anoyone heard of a fuel pump creating shorts on
> that line?
I know a DMC owner that encountered a similar but more baffling
problem with his DeLorean. The fuel pump fuse blew and he pulled to
the side of the road and replaced it. Everything seemed normal again,
but the second he started moving, it blew again. His car would run
fine, excep the fuel pump fuse would blow any time the car moved.
In his case, the wiring harness near the front left wheel (where it
comes out of and is routed around the "bucket" housing the windshield
washer reservoir) was rubbing against his tire. The tire had rubbed
through the insulation and was shorting the wires when the car moved.
If you have a lowered DeLorean (and even if you don't), you might take
a quick peek in this area and make sure the harness is securely in
place and is safely out of the way from the tire.
Knut Grimsrud
DOA Chapter 41
------------------------------
From: Mike Substelny (SUBSTEM(AT)cesmtp.ccf.org)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 13:02:14 -0400
Subject: Re: major transplant / oil pressure
Brendan said:
> transmission is in pieces under the hood the
>engine has problems too.. since I am pretty tight on
>money, I want to find a REASONABLE PRICED option for
>making my Delorean driveable once again. I have seen the
>web page of the man in Washington who did the Chevy
>300hp V6 conversion. Does anyone know of anybody who
>has done conversions such as this?
You are confusing me. Are you tight on money, or do you
have a fortune to throw around? Are you under the
impression that repairing the DeLorean engine would cost a
fortune, but installing a 300hp conversion would be cheap? If
that were the case, we'd all have 300hp DeLoreans!
I don't care what is wrong with your engine, you can probably
repair it. Even if you need a whole new block it can still be
saved. You need to find out exactly what is wrong with that
engine. The knocking could be caused by many things,
some of them simple, like badly adjusted timing.
You will have a lot of trouble finding another transmission that
will work cheaper or easier than repairing the DeLorean
tranny. I would say it is impossible. Parts for the DeLorean
engine and transmission are still readily available. Sure, you
can convert to a different engine, but don't expect it to be
cheap!
Marv said:
> the faster the rpms the higher the gauge reading
>with the pressure dropping as the rpms drop. If your
>gauge is continually pegged how the heck do you know
>whether you have a low oil situation.
My oil pressure gauge does vary with engine rpm, but it never
drops far below the max. In fact, this is the case on every
DeLorean I have ever seen that has the original gauge.
An oil pressure gauge will tell you if you have low oil
*pressure* (like a major leak). It will not tell you if you have
low oil *volume* in the oil pan. Your oil pressure will only
drop due to low volume when the engine is almost empty.
An oil pressure gauge is not a substitute for a dipstick.
- -Mike Substelny
------------------------------
From: Jason Winter (winter(AT)Onramp.NET)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:02:28 -0500
Subject: zilla modules
I am about to be a new 1981 DeLorean owner(4th of October). I was
wondering if anyone knows the phone number to PJ Grady for the
Lockzilla, Fanzilla, and Tankzilla modules. Also, how much do these
modules cost? Another question I had is about the stereo unit. Is the
opening standard(ie will most units fit) or does it need custom work? I
was also planning to replace the speakers in door. Does anyone have
experience with taking the door panels off?
Overall, the car is in excellent shape(no dings or scratches, leather is
in very good condition, and there are no cracks on the dash.
What other repairs/upgrades are usually needed. The owner said that
DeLorean One has just completed a major engine tune up and performed all
the recalls on the car.
I live in West Texas and was wondering who else lives around here.
I am 21, a finance major at Texas Tech, and married. My wife is pretty
excited about getting the DeLorean.
Jason Winter
winter(AT)onramp.net
------------------------------
From: James Espey (mikasa(AT)goodnet.com)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 96 18:25:27 -0800
Subject: Re: oil pressure
Mike said:
>My oil pressure gauge does vary with engine rpm, but it never
>drops far below the max. In fact, this is the case on every
>DeLorean I have ever seen that has the original gauge.
James concurs:
My '82 behaves the same way. At anything other than idle, my gauge is
nearly pegged. This is all I have ever seen in other DeLoreans, too.
James
------------------------------
From: "Mr. THX" (starman(AT)cnj.digex.net)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 22:56:48 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: oil pressure
Hi all,
Same here with my '82. Freaked me out until I read here that it's
common. I have an '82 here as well.
Mike
------------------------------
From: "Mr. THX" (starman(AT)cnj.digex.net)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 22:55:55 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: zilla modules
Jason,
By now you probably have 3 or 4 responses to the PJ Grady number.
Rob's a great guy to talk to on the phone and I plan on bringing my
DeLorean up to him as soon as I get my fuel pump from him. As for the
radio, it's a standard shaft-mounted setup. Ugh! I would have had my new
Panasonic CD player installed by now, but with my fuel pump shot, it'll
have to wait until Friday. The mechanic said that it's no problem. To be
honest, I've seen shaft-mounted radios go the way of Beta tapes. There are
RF mounted CD changers, but the quality is not the best. I was looking
into that option myself but I'm an audio nut and the quality just wasn't
there. You can fit a Blau can fit a Blaupunkt, Panasonic, or Pioneer CD
changer in the space behind the driver's seat, but make sure you measure
first!
Mike
------------------------------
From: "Marvin S. Sterling" (marv930(AT)ix.netcom.com)
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 03:26:16 -0700
Subject: Re: oil pressure
Mr. THX wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> Same here with my '82. Freaked me out until I read here that it's
> common. I have an '82 here as well.
>
> Mike
- ----------------------
I don't know ! All I can tell you is that at idle ( 750 rpms ) the
needle rests just above the mid point ... at about 35-40 mph the needle
is midway between the mid point and pegged ... at about 65 the needle is
pegged. What can I tell you. Still don't understand how you can have
adequate oil pressure unless you have the oil volume to produce the
pressure. It hasn't happened but if my gauge didn't increase as usual I
would be alerted to a lowered oil condition, but we also have the idiot
light for that ???
Best regards to all .... take care
Marv
------------------------------
From: James Espey (mikasa(AT)goodnet.com)
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 96 06:38:12 -0800
Subject: Re: oil pressure
>I don't know ! All I can tell you is that at idle ( 750 rpms ) the
>needle rests just above the mid point ... at about 35-40 mph the needle
>is midway between the mid point and pegged ... at about 65 the needle is
>pegged.
This sounds like my car, early '82. I guess the real question is, is this
accurate? Anyone know? Or if it ain't broke, don't fix it?
>would be alerted to a lowered oil condition, but we also have the idiot
>light for that ???
How's the saying go? When the idiot light is on, it's usually "lights
out" for the engine?
James
------------------------------
From: ausmith(AT)pdx.oneworld.com
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 06:47:38 +0000
Subject: Re: oil pressure
> Still don't understand how you can have
> adequate oil pressure unless you have the oil volume to produce the
> pressure. It hasn't happened but if my gauge didn't increase as usual I
> would be alerted to a lowered oil condition, but we also have the idiot
> light for that ???
Oil volume makes absolutely no difference to oil pressure untill the
volume is so low that it's below the pickup that feeds the pump. At
that point the engine should have siezed making the pressure guage
useless. Use the dipstick to check your volume, that's why it's
there.
Chris
------------------------------
From: "Mr. THX" (starman(AT)cnj.digex.net)
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 10:22:31 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Blowing fuel pump fuses
Knut and all,
I checked out the wires coming into the fuel pump and they're
nowhere near the tires. I cleaned out the grass from the pump and it's
working fine now. How the grass got in there is beyond me. I found some
other organic material in that area as well. It's nothing that came from
MY property. The car's running fine now, but the wores leading to the pump
are in nasty shape so I'm keeping it off the road until my new pump
arrives from PJ Grady. I'll keep that other scenario in mind if I ever
have a similar problem.
Mike
------------------------------
From: ausmith(AT)pdx.oneworld.com
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 07:33:05 +0000
Subject: Texture
If you have places on your car that have been damaged and need to be
re-textured to match you need this tool. It's a SAND-O-FLEX model
350R. I have no idea what it costs or where I got it since I've had
it for about 15 years. I do know that it works well for small areas.
Chris
------------------------------
From: stormrider(AT)socketis.net (Chase Clark)
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 13:20:50 -0600
Subject: Re: zilla modules
>there. You can fit a Blau can fit a Blaupunkt, Panasonic, or Pioneer CD
>changer in the space behind the driver's seat, but make sure you measure
>first!
If this is the case, then you also can fit an Alpine 6-disc CD-changer in
the sam space as Alpine claims to make the world's smallest changer system.
When I got my Alpine CD receiver last year I made sure to buy one that was
prewired to handle a CD changer and control it from the radio faceplate
(just in case I ever get one).
BTW, the Alpine get very good radio reception even though my '81 D has the
windshield antenna tape instead of a shaft antenna.
~ Chase
------------------------------
From: David Hutchinson/SSI1 )David_Hutchinson/SSI1.SSI1(AT)notes-gw.tus.ssi1.com)
Date: 25 Sep 96 15:01:58 EDT
Subject: Idle
Mike Substelny wrote:
>Fast idle
>A DeLorean should idle at 800-900 rpms, although it is
>common for the idle speed control to fail intermittently. If the
>car idles faster than 1,000 rpms then it will fail emission
>tests. This is easy to repair, but the seller may not realize
>why his car has failed a test . . .
My car failed Idle emissions test and it idles high. I suspect the
idle speed control as you suggest. Can you elaborate on the
repair details or diagnostics please. Thanks, David.
------------------------------
From: Mike Substelny (SUBSTEM(AT)cesmtp.ccf.org)
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 11:13:57 -0400
Subject: Idle story, but no help
David Hutchinson wrote:
>My car failed Idle emissions test and it idles high. I
>suspect the idle speed control as you suggest. Can you
>elaborate on the repair details or diagnostics please.
I am not the one to ask. After my failed emissions test I
asked my mechanic to look at it and he told me it was easy
to fix. Naturally I could not duplicate the symptoms while he
was looking at it. He said it looked perfect to him, but if I
ever had a real problem I should bring it in again and he'd
show me how to fix it.
The idle behaved fine the next day when I had a re-test, but
to this day it is still fast sometimes when hot. Because it
passed the test I never bothered to fix it. I will fix it next
summer when I need to pass another test.
In the mean time, could someone else help David out
please?
- -Mike Substelny
------------------------------
From: Blarness(AT)aol.com
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 18:20:25 -0400
Subject: Oil Pressure once again. Please read.
As you have all noted. Your oil pressure gauges all read
as if they were pegged above 80 psi when over anything
but idle.
My 81 does it as well, but...
It did not start doing this until the last few months.
Before that it read, what I would consider, "normal".
I have only had the car since the second week of June 96
but I got at least two months of driving out of it before it
decided to wig out on me.
It started out at first to jump irraticly as if there were a
loose connection or a short occuring. Then, after about
20 more miles it stayed totally pegged at the top when
not at idle.
And just to let you know, within those few first months
I put almost 4000 miles on the car before the pressure
gauge went haywire. I am NOT convinced this is
"acceptable" just because everyone else's does it too.
There has to be a rational excuse.
It is very likely there was a flaw in this production
run of oil pressure sending units or something of the
sort.
Just because "eveyone" else's does this does not
mean there is nothing wrong with it. This oil
pressure conversation has gone on quite a few times
since the initiation of this group. One of us somewhere
has to have some advancing insight into what's going
on. Obviously it is a widespread problem. I'm sure
someone other than me believes this isn't acceptable.
As well, I plan to do my part in researching this matter.
I mean, come on, I can't possibly be just "70 dollars"
away from the answer.
- -C2
#3876
------------------------------
From: stormrider(AT)socketis.net (Chase Clark)
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 19:03:43 -0600
Subject: Re: Oil Pressure - DANGER
>It started out at first to jump irraticly as if there were a
>loose connection or a short occuring. Then, after about
>20 more miles it stayed totally pegged at the top when
>not at idle.
C2
Be careful about this. Those conditions sound an awful lot like what
happened a couple of months before my Sunbird blew a head gasket. The gauge
became quite erratic and I chalked it up to an electrical problem as
everything "seemed" fine but that. The car now needs a new block as when
the gasket blew the engine block also was gouged!
Personally, the PRV V-6 is notorious for oil leaks around the pressure
sender units and elsewhere. I believe this causes the problem with the
"high" oil readings. Mine is never pegged, but unless idling, is always
pretty close to pegged. I wouldn't be surprised if the oil pressure should
run around 60-70 psi, but 75 psi is questionable by mine. Perhaps , one of
of should check with a Volvo mechanic or dealer to see what the Volvo V-6
runs at? This would give us a better idea of the truth.
~ Chase
------------------------------
From: stormrider(AT)socketis.net (Chase Clark)
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 19:12:54 -0600
Subject: Bye Bye Windshield :(
It finally happened...something I can't have repaired. My windshield was
hit by a rock while driving down the highway last Friday afternoon. It got
chipped up pretty good and had seven half-inch cracks radiating from the
impact hole. I had a glass shop try to repair it, but it is very noticeable
and two of the cracks spread about four inches when the repairs were done.
Naturally, KAPAC still has windshields left, although glass shops won't
guarantee installation w/o problems, BUT mine is an '81 with the radio
antenna tape inside glued to the inside of it. And none of these are
available.
Guess this leaves me with three options: Replace it with a new Lotus
windshield and have an external antenna mounted. Replace it with a NOS
DeLorean windshield and have an external antenna mounted. Or try to find a
used '81 windshield and risk having it removed, shipped and installed
without it breaking.
Any opinions people. It's not like my car is anywhere near original, but I
love the windshield antenna tape. No shafts to break or get stuck. It's
nonobtrusive and gets fine reception with my Alpine receiver.
~ Chase
------------------------------
From: "Don Gowler-CFPO01" (Don_Gowler-CFPO01(AT)email.mot.com)
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 14:12:00 -0500
Subject: FAST IDLE ISSUE
Are we talking about an automatic or manual transmission with the fast idle
problem?
On the automatics there is a control unit behind the drivers side seat area
across from the relay section. This unit has been known to fail and cause the
RPM's to increase significantly.
To test the unit on a fast idle problem pull one of the two electrical plugs
that fit into it - I believe it's the one nearest the drivers door, and the
motor should return to a normal idle if the unit is failing.
Regards, The Silver Fox
------------------------------
From: James Espey (mikasa(AT)goodnet.com)
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 96 18:04:52 -0800
Subject: Re: Bye Bye Windshield :(
>Guess this leaves me with three options: Replace it with a new Lotus
>windshield and have an external antenna mounted.
At the tech seminar in Nashville, Stephen Wynne says this windshield will
NOT fit. Your mileage may vary.
>Replace it with a NOS
>DeLorean windshield and have an external antenna mounted. Or try to find a
What the factory decided to do - would be my choice.
>used '81 windshield and risk having it removed, shipped and installed
>without it breaking.
Good luck!
Actually, I've seen a small winshield mounted antenna much like a cell
phone antenna that appears to be just a 2" square flat piece of
metallicized plastic - check you local audio store.
james
------------------------------
From: James Espey (mikasa(AT)goodnet.com)
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 96 06:58:08 -0800
Subject: Re: Idle
Mike Substelny wrote:
>>Fast idle
>>A DeLorean should idle at 800-900 rpms, although it is
>>common for the idle speed control to fail intermittently. If the
>>car idles faster than 1,000 rpms then it will fail emission
>>tests. This is easy to repair, but the seller may not realize
>>why his car has failed a test . . .
Then David wrote:
>My car failed Idle emissions test and it idles high. I suspect the
>idle speed control as you suggest. Can you elaborate on the
>repair details or diagnostics please. Thanks, David.
James adds:
My car idles about 1100 WITHOUT the A/C on, and around 900 WITH the A/C
on. I understand that the idle is NOT adjustable, and an Idle Speed
Control Unit runs a couple hundred bucks. Mike, please, elaborate on this
"easy to repair" problem.
James
------------------------------
End of dmcnews-digest V2 #176
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