4.0L OHV Soul crushed and seeking advice on starting problems

[TacoBelleGirl]

none of that shit matters if its for dead numbers unless you are lucky.


where you actually put the sensor is a key thing as to what the rating will work best at for actual temp control and lowest cycle times.

best to have an adjustable controller from a fixed point. that means you need to know the actual temperature of the point you choose to use....which requires a gauge of some sort

Gonna be inline with the upper radiator hose between the pump and the top of the radiator. So it should be the hottest temp essentially, direct off the engine.
I already told myself that I am likely to upgrade to an adjustable controller in the future, but for now am really hoping to just get it working to a decent degree.
Also I have one of those IR thermometers so I can use that to gauge roughly where stuff is.

of course with these things....there is such a thing as close enough.

Yeah that's part of why I ordered 2. I don't trust them to be super accurate especially since they are cheap. I figured two different ones I would probably get one that's at least good enough

 

[bobbywalter]

remember. in the upper line, its not flowing good unless the t stat is open....this can be perfect or screw ya.

 

[TacoBelleGirl]

Okay so.. I did not wire the fan up and test it but I did get everything assembled and ran it for a few minutes.. maybe 5.
This is now how she runs:

Runs much better and smoother now though not perfectly.
Also I noticed it's still idling high - was close to 2k when first started up with mid 80 degree ambient temps... I drove the truck in the winter once and even when warmed up she wanted to idle almost 2k RPMs which made me think it was a vac leak.
Within the last probably 6-8 months of sitting a new issue had developed where she will fire right off but then want to stall out and die unless you use the gas pedal.. I thought my clearly failed fuel pressure regulator would have been the root cause of that but I had the same experience today..

Not sure where to check next for that particular issue. At least the last time I had fired up the old truck she ran very very rich and that was at least fixed by the new regulator.

Didn't drive the truck.. no fan yet plus I was getting worried if the thermostat was working or not.. Gauge showed at temp but the hoses and rad weren't hot and I was questioning if the thermostat was working on not.
Well I did the wrong thing and tried to take the cap off shortly after shutting it off. Yep! Can confirm, there was pressure in the system.
tbh looking back I probably should have just let it idle for longer to see what happens.. it had probably just hit temp and I was just worried for nothing.

Hopefully tomorrow I can grab the coolant I now need more, get the fan wired up, change the oil, and finally go for a drive!

Edit: I may have left the hose that goes from the vapor canister up to the throttle body.. I'll check tomorrow when I go to the truck but maybe that's related to the higher idle

 

[RobWigglezz]

Okay so.. I did not wire the fan up and test it but I did get everything assembled and ran it for a few minutes.. maybe 5.
This is now how she runs:

Runs much better and smoother now though not perfectly.
Also I noticed it's still idling high - was close to 2k when first started up with mid 80 degree ambient temps... I drove the truck in the winter once and even when warmed up she wanted to idle almost 2k RPMs which made me think it was a vac leak.
Within the last probably 6-8 months of sitting a new issue had developed where she will fire right off but then want to stall out and die unless you use the gas pedal.. I

Even though you drove it once in the winter, the idle will need a few drive cycles to figure itself out since the battery most likely has been disconnected multiple times.

I'm not saying you don't have an issue, but I have chased my tail a few times with the revs hanging up after working on the truck.

For myself, I have disconnected the battery for 20 min or so and the revs would hang at idle and coasting with the clutch in. It would return to normal after 2 days of driving to work.

 

[TacoBelleGirl]

Even though you drove it once in the winter, the idle will need a few drive cycles to figure itself out since the battery most likely has been disconnected multiple times.

I'm not saying you don't have an issue, but I have chased my tail a few times with the revs hanging up after working on the truck.

For myself, I have disconnected the battery for 20 min or so and the revs would hang at idle and coasting with the clutch in. It would return to normal after 2 days of driving to work.

While it was driven in the winter, it was only a handful of times. Even then the battery has been connected for the whole time it's been in my friend's garage so the couple of starts would have no previous learning at all so that might be contributing like you said. I have previously messed with the set screw on the throttle body and tried replacing the IAC before ultimately going back to my OEM one.
IIRC the replacement one would cause the revs to hang when shifting and it really irked me.. Pretty sure that problem had gone away the moment I swapped back to the OEM one.
Also the high idle in the winter is a little understated... I sat in it idling for almost an entire hour (I didn't want to shut it off in case of issues) and the whole time it was between 1500 and 2k.

No clue what it might due today. I actually still haven't picked up more coolant after my mishap but for sure tomorrow I will be doing so and then getting it bled and verifying the cooling system is functioning..
Then test drive

I forgot to attach them in my previous post.. here's what I was talking about on the lower rad hose. I get the feeling this hose will essentially be a literal wear item lol
(sorry for the bad pics btw)

 

[bobbywalter]

lots of traffic in your area? city? if you are rural and low traffic you probably dont even need a fan if you can keep moving.

theres quite a few things that can make the throttle a kick in the pants..
those linkages bind up and sometimes the cable gets and issue internally...

lube all of the linkages in the throttle with some clp if you have some.. make sure there are no leaks from the maf.

sometimes unplugging the maf and forcing it to default can help point out issues.

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

@TacoBelleGirl
I am a ture believer in working bolts in and out a few times to get them to free up and thread in or out easier.

As for the starter being good that's a 2 sided thing.
One side is good because the starter is good and you don't have to spend any money and
You know the starter is not the problem.

The other side the starter is good and you are frustrated because now you know the starter is good and you still can't figure out what's wrong. So you have to try your best to move onto the next thing that is possibly the problem.
And you might to pay some money for something else.
And so on and on and on.....

I wish you good luck like always.

 

[TacoBelleGirl]

Alrighty I got the coolant filled back up and once again started the truck up so I could check the cooling loop.
Good news is that is for sure working, I was able to let the truck idle for about 15 mins without it overheating and that was without the fan still. I was able to confirm that the thermostat opened right around when the gauge hit operating temp.
Small leak around the little switch (idk what to call it really) that grounds the fan relay. My friend told me I don't need Teflon tape for that.. I think my friend was wrong

Still very high idle.. though it did NOT stumble and almost stall when starting so I am guessing the vacuum leak I had Monday was to blame, but I feel like the truck still misses a bit at idle, though I have heard that these generally don't have the smoothest idle so maybe that's part of what I am noticing.

Let it cool down a little bit, changed the oil, and then took it on maybe 5 or 10 min drive just around a couple blocks and WOW. I can hardly hear the engine anymore when sitting in the cab it is a hugely quieter engine with those new pushrods and rocker arms. From under the engine bay I could tell it was much better but still hear some engine noise. In the cab though I mostly only hear the exhaust and the transmission itself. I don't even have a carpet in there right now.

lots of traffic in your area? city? if you are rural and low traffic you probably dont even need a fan if you can keep moving.

theres quite a few things that can make the throttle a kick in the pants..
those linkages bind up and sometimes the cable gets and issue internally...

lube all of the linkages in the throttle with some clp if you have some.. make sure there are no leaks from the maf.

sometimes unplugging the maf and forcing it to default can help point out issues.

Yeah you would seem to be correct. I drove around a little bit (max speed of 25mph) in just a neighborhood with stops or yields basically every block and it didn't at all get hot.
Before I parked it back in my friend's garage I did see the gauge creeping up just a tiny bit but I had honestly seen it move towards the hot side before doing all the work and with that clutch driven fan spinning away.

The throttle seems to move smoothly, but I do seem to remember reading that it can be a problem wit the linkages introducing vac leaks on these? Not sure if that's the case, I haven't come across anyone talking about rebuilding them or anything like that.

@TacoBelleGirl
I am a ture believer in working bolts in and out a few times to get them to free up and thread in or out easier.

As for the starter being good that's a 2 sided thing.
One side is good because the starter is good and you don't have to spend any money and
You know the starter is not the problem.

The other side the starter is good and you are frustrated because now you know the starter is good and you still can't figure out what's wrong. So you have to try your best to move onto the next thing that is possibly the problem.
And you might to pay some money for something else.
And so on and on and on.....

I wish you good luck like always.

Are the bolts in question the starter ones? I took the time to hit them with a brush wheel before installing the starter. They went in pretty smooth after that.
But yes I was hoping for a smoking gun on the starter itself. Now.. I am not really sure what to check next honestly. I'm kinda just figuring I need another flywheel because I do know it had damage from the starters I had before. But idk maybe it can kinda work for now

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

I was referring to any bolts in general.
However clean threads on the bolt and the bolt hole does make a difference.

Keep at it.
You're getting there one step at a time.