[prosmart]

Hi All

Posted this elsewhere but only got a deafening silence - hoping you guys can give me some advice:

I have a bog standard 94 Sierra that I am experiencing a couple of problems with - I also have a few questions.

Problem 1. Water.
Yes, I know they leak, put it appears to be worse than most - i.e. paddling. After it rains, depending on whether I park nose uphill or nose downhill, there will be between 1 and 10 cm of water in both foot wells. I can't see where it is coming in (apart from the obvious places like the missing/worn window trims etc. I did notice a couple of things though. When I washed it the other week, (yeah - I know big mistake) I noticed that there were a sh*tload of leaves in the vents beneath the windscreen and I noticed water coming in the fresh air vents into the foot wells. How do I a) clear the leaves out and b) are there any "gotchas" with trying to keep it drier? For now I'm just pulling out the bungs in the floor and letting it drain.

Problem 2. Hesitation.
When I take off, or even worse, decelerate and then accelerate, it starts to accelerate and just dies for a couple of seconds (much to the amusement of people right behind me) and then pulls away. I know there was a known venturi problem with earlier engines which was easily fixed with a drop in tube, but everything I read says that this age vehicle should not suffer from it. Even the Suzuki tech bulletins say it only affects 09/1985 to 03/1988. Apart from revving the balls off it and then blocking the top of the carburetor to suck all the crap through does anyone have any suggestions what might solve this problem?

Questions:
I really would like a little more oomph when I press the loud pedal. It's not too bad at the moment but I regularly have a three hour round trip and freeway driving leaves a little to be desired as does the 3-4-5-4-5-4-5-4-3-4-5 pattern of gear changes.

I know that given sufficient cash you can do just about anything to Zooks - but that's the problem sufficient cash

From what I have read so far, the easiest / cheapest way to get started is to look at better air filter (any suggestions?) a different carby and/or a set of extractors and a two inch exhaust. After that I presume it's the donk out of a Vitara, with the EFI being more expensive and difficult than the earlier carby motors.

Is that all correct? Is there any other mod I should think about first given limited funds?

Thanks for all your help - great source of info.

Be gentle with me - it's my first post

Nigel.

[shep]

look under the dash for a pair of rubber tube things and you will see where they poped of.
they are the drains for the vent thing.
as for the hesitation i would give it a full service and replace the plugs,cap and rotor.

[royce]

problem 1, yeah you need to get the leaves out and youll see 2 drain pipes going out the firewall, need to clear them as well

problem 2, likely the accelerator pump in the carby, rebuild is the best way to fix it up

problem 3, welcome to sierras, dont try and turn a donkey into a racehorse, you just end up with a pissed off donkey

[shep]

this might help as well
http://www.auszookers.com/index.php?nam ... t=wet+foot

[prosmart]

Hey Guys

Wow - three responses in five minutes - can't believe it.

Looks like it spanners for me this weekend.

Thanks to all.

N/

[JrZook]

prosmart wrote:

Questions:
I really would like a little more oomph when I press the loud pedal. It's not too bad at the moment but I regularly have a three hour round trip and freeway driving leaves a little to be desired as does the 3-4-5-4-5-4-5-4-3-4-5 pattern of gear changes.

How many k's on the engine? Assuming its in good nick and not chewing through the oil I could be possible that the secondaries on the carb aint opening up. The vacuum port usually gets clogged with carbon deposits. A completely stock zuk in good condition should have a descent amount of power. How steep is the hill?

[prosmart]

JrZook wrote:

prosmart wrote:

Questions:
I really would like a little more oomph when I press the loud pedal. It's not too bad at the moment but I regularly have a three hour round trip and freeway driving leaves a little to be desired as does the 3-4-5-4-5-4-5-4-3-4-5 pattern of gear changes.

How many k's on the engine? Assuming its in good nick and not chewing through the oil I could be possible that the secondaries on the carb aint opening up. The vacuum port usually gets clogged with carbon deposits. A completely stock zuk in good condition should have a descent amount of power. How steep is the hill?

It's got 200k on the clock but having said that I suspect it's maybe had a recon fitted at some stage. Doesn't burn any oil at all and starts well. All I have done so far is to fit a new water pump. Biggest problem is the hesitation so I'm starting to think it is the the carby and a rebuild might be on the cards this weekend.

The lack of power may well also be partly me - last car was a Renault Clio Sport Cup so I'm still getting used to the zook. It will cruise at 100 on the freeway (although cruise is probably not the best word but at the slightest hill the speed just starts to drop away and it needs a change down to 4th. Am I expecting too much from a 1300?

N/

[tanshi]

sounds pretty normal for a stock 1.3 to me.

[atari4x4]

shep wrote:

this might help as well
http://www.auszookers.com/index.php?nam ... t=wet+foot

this might also help getting some more heat out of the heater in winter.

http://www.auszookers.com/index.php?nam ... ves+heater

[Reubs]

prosmart wrote:

It will cruise at 100 on the freeway (although cruise is probably not the best word but at the slightest hill the speed just starts to drop away and it needs a change down to 4th. Am I expecting too much from a 1300?

Is it stock, and can you do more than 130 on a flat road? If not change oil, replace ignition components, replace air filter (with a standard one), check timing, replace fuel filter (and add another before the carby), replace oils in gearbox/transfer/diffs, get the carby tuned and you should be right. My stock coily will pull up Brisbane's Gateway bridge easily in 5th gear at above the speed limit.

There is nothing wrong with Sierra carbys that are tuned right. It is a myth that stock Sierras can't hold highway speeds. If yours can't, then something is wrong. Maybe it might be the fact that most Sierra owners don't maintain them properly turning them into buckets of crap after a few years of neglect...

[prosmart]

Reubs wrote:

prosmart wrote:

It will cruise at 100 on the freeway (although cruise is probably not the best word but at the slightest hill the speed just starts to drop away and it needs a change down to 4th. Am I expecting too much from a 1300?

Is it stock, and can you do more than 130 on a flat road? If not change oil, replace ignition components, replace air filter (with a standard one), check timing, replace fuel filter (and add another before the carby), replace oils in gearbox/transfer/diffs, get the carby tuned and you should be right. My stock coily will pull up Brisbane's Gateway bridge easily in 5th gear at above the speed limit.

There is nothing wrong with Sierra carbys that are tuned right. It is a myth that stock Sierras can't hold highway speeds. If yours can't, then something is wrong. Maybe it might be the fact that most Sierra owners don't maintain them properly turning them into buckets of crap after a few years of neglect...

Good grief! Are you serious? This thing is absolutely stock standard and absolutely flat out at 110.

The slightest - and I mean slightest - slope in the road brings it back to 4th gear and 80 - 90 kph .

Thanks for the advice - Good job I've got a few days off at Xmas. One of the things I love about this car is how simple it is to work on it - reminds me of my last 4x4 which was a Series II Land Rover.

Thanks to everyone who has chipped in - nice to meet such a friendly bunch.

Nigel.

[MacDaddy]

prosmart wrote:

Reubs wrote:

prosmart wrote:

It will cruise at 100 on the freeway (although cruise is probably not the best word but at the slightest hill the speed just starts to drop away and it needs a change down to 4th. Am I expecting too much from a 1300?

Is it stock, and can you do more than 130 on a flat road? If not change oil, replace ignition components, replace air filter (with a standard one), check timing, replace fuel filter (and add another before the carby), replace oils in gearbox/transfer/diffs, get the carby tuned and you should be right. My stock coily will pull up Brisbane's Gateway bridge easily in 5th gear at above the speed limit.

There is nothing wrong with Sierra carbys that are tuned right. It is a myth that stock Sierras can't hold highway speeds. If yours can't, then something is wrong. Maybe it might be the fact that most Sierra owners don't maintain them properly turning them into buckets of crap after a few years of neglect...

Good grief! Are you serious? This thing is absolutely stock standard and absolutely flat out at 110.

The slightest - and I mean slightest - slope in the road brings it back to 4th gear and 80 - 90 kph .

Thanks to everyone who has chipped in - nice to meet such a friendly bunch.

Nigel.

I could easily get my old 1L to cruise at 120kph, loaded up with tools, so a 1.3L should be able to get to 130kph, and cruise at 110kph... sounds like it really needs some maintenance and a tuneup, as stated above ^^^
If you do an engine oil change, which i recommend, put in a bottle of Nulon Oil Flush, to remove all the old oil deposits, its surprising how much crap comes out of the engine when you do that, makes the engine run better too... when i had the carby on my old Vit tuned up, it made alot of difference, but the person tuning it, really needs to know what they are doing... if you do all of the above, i would be very surprised if it didnt feel like a different car afterwards !

[Teracis]

Hey all, got a 1990 sierra yesterday and am having a similar problem to the op.

The bloke I bought it from said that when it was rebuilt (recently) the mechanic said the carby had issues with the float which isn't set properly.

Mine does nearly the same thing as the op in that if I come off the loud pedal it dies when I put it back on for maybe a second and then takes off when it gets fuel again.

Also, I can get the thing to 100km/h and even 110 but as the op says, hills are ridiculous. I think this is a combination of the fuel/carby problem, and the fact that it's got 31's on it (I know for a fact it has a 2 inch body lift, and the suspension has been done recently said the previous owner, though I don't know if it's had a suspension lift I'm searching for info on how to check this)
The plan is to fix the fuel problem (if that's what it actually is) which will get it running right, and then after I've put some new seats in it (or fixed the current ones because they lean back too far) I'll look at re-gearing the transfer case (gotta decide which ratio first and where to get parts)

All this is in the long run but first I need to fix this hesitation, it's driveable but annoying.
Also, first post so gday to everyone!

[Teracis]

I know double post, but it wouldn't ever be seen if I just edited my last one.

I was/am having a similar hesitation problem to the op.

I took the zook to "the car clinic" and the bloke took it for a drive and said it's either a carby problem, which requires rebuilding the carby.

OR

The IDLE SOLENOID, more specifically the ground/earth/negative of this solenoid.
I was told to work out which one of the two wires was the ground and cut it and ground it externally (e.g. straight to the carb) the problem I have is that mine's already done and I checked it with a meter to only be 0.13 ohms between the cable lug and the battery negative. This is exactly the same as the carby to the battery negative and means I have a carby problem.

They quoted me nearly $450 for a carby rebuild and fitting it back on e.t.c Which would no doubt fix the problem, but I don't want to spend that much for a slight hesitation when coming off and back on the throttle.

For future reference (for anyone using the search or such) ground wire on MY Idle solenoid is the black and white one.

If I'm wrong correct me please, just quoting what I was told, as far as I can tell it's the solenoid on the motor side of the carby with two wires coming out of it.

[royce]

110 with 31's is an achievement, not a problem!!!!

idle solenoid has nothing to do with anything other than idle, mechanics should of jsut said sorry I dont know about these things

[Teracis]

royce wrote:

110 with 31's is an achievement, not a problem!!!!

idle solenoid has nothing to do with anything other than idle, mechanics should of jsut said sorry I dont know about these things

Hah the first thing he said as we took off (he had to take of for a drive to check what I was talking about) was "the tires are too big" to which I replied "yeh, I'm going to get smaller ones or new transfer case gears."

I wondered about the idle solenoid, I don't think we're all talking about the same thing, I think he's talking about the one that stops dieseling when you turn the key off. He seemed to think the "idle solenoid" took over when you came off the gas and it wasn't actuating properly when I got back on the gas. I don't see how this could be the case and I just thought it was a carby issue from the outright.
It's most noticeable in second (I assume because of the lower load on the motor letting it rev hard when it does take off again) It's still only like a second or so.

Also, as I posted in the other thread I dug up, my IDLE UP SOLENOID works just fine. Idle rises when I turn on the lights, drops back down when I turn them off.

EDIT: I'm not entirely sure if I actually have 31's, that's what I was told, but throwing the details into a tyre size calculator says 29's.

The tyres are 235/75R15 Mudstar Radial M/T

Any Ideas?

[Ben_Sierra]

235/75/15 are 29 inches, not 31...

But even still, transfer case gears will make a huge difference on the highway... I've got 29s with 4.16 gears and they're sweet.

[Teracis]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

235/75/15 are 29 inches, not 31...

But even still, transfer case gears will make a huge difference on the highway... I've got 29s with 4.16 gears and they're sweet.

Well there you go, I don't know why I thought they were 31's, apologies to anyone who believed me.

I had planned to get the 6.5 reduction gears, now I'm not so sure. Might have a look at what else the trail crawlers come in.

That or I could just go the 6.5's anyway because they'd be 20% reduction on the highway (my speedo is 10% out anyway) which would leave me room to go bigger tyres in the future, and some hectic reduction in low.

[DMAC]

Teracis wrote:

Ben_Sierra wrote:

235/75/15 are 29 inches, not 31...

But even still, transfer case gears will make a huge difference on the highway... I've got 29s with 4.16 gears and they're sweet.

Well there you go, I don't know why I thought they were 31's, apologies to anyone who believed me.

I had planned to get the 6.5 reduction gears, now I'm not so sure. Might have a look at what else the trail crawlers come in.

That or I could just go the 6.5's anyway because they'd be 20% reduction on the highway (my speedo is 10% out anyway) which would leave me room to go bigger tyres in the future, and some hectic reduction in low.

And your speedo will still be 10% out.

I run 29" with 6.5s all good. Revs about 200rpm more at 100 km/hr. Great for rock crawling.

[royce]

to address a few points youve made

idle solenoid, thing screwed into the right hand rear corner of the carby looking at it as you stand at the front of the car, its for anti dieseling, not the idle control at the front

your problem may be the accelerator pump, plunger thing that pushes down into teh carby when you open the throttle, the linkage that pushes via the spring can be improved by stretching the spring, but the plunger wears and can cause the same

[Teracis]

royce wrote:

to address a few points youve made

idle solenoid, thing screwed into the right hand rear corner of the carby looking at it as you stand at the front of the car, its for anti dieseling, not the idle control at the front

your problem may be the accelerator pump, plunger thing that pushes down into teh carby when you open the throttle, the linkage that pushes via the spring can be improved by stretching the spring, but the plunger wears and can cause the same

Yep, first part is exactly what I thought.

I'll have to have a look at the second one.

[neofitou]

When I got my car it wouldnt even rev past 4300 rpm.
changed the oil and it was rough at 4300-4400 then was fine again to about 5500.
a few services and a little work later and its smooth as silk all the way to red line, with 31s and 6.5s I can sit on 120km/h down the highway.

To those people who just say, "just use whatever cheap supermarket oil is on sale, its only a zuk": suck my balls.

[mnemonix]

royce wrote:

welcome to sierras, dont try and turn a donkey into a racehorse, you just end up with a pissed off donkey

Quote of the year.