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  1. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    What a great tune. Thanks for sharing it, Martin
  2. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Exactly - such reasons are why I took the free beast. Potential spikes dreams time & time again :) I'm a guitarist & singer mainly, but I play drums, keyboard, bass, pedal steel as well. Last year I recorded an album by myself. Since then I've been practicing it with friends. I've also made...
  3. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Negative. A stripe'd break it up quite well, reckon. I have a filing cabinet ready to donate fresh metal for those rockers :D Didn't get around to it this season. Fun fun!
  4. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    You guys are a good lot here :) More updates are to come as time progresses. This summer I painted my work van with an HVLP gun & Rustoleum. You can bet my van's gettin' it too. Even leant the ol' gal to my parents last week. I'm 1 driver with 3 cars; now that sis has her license, they're...
  5. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Paw Paw, either the conversion company covered it up with carpet or I'm a bad ECM searcher :D HotRod, absolutely. Much eddjoo' in this journey. Quite very happy with this van finally. Thing's turning into a real babe. Installed new heater yesterday. That was awful! 9:00-2:00 is too long...
  6. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Cable removed, lubed up; ATF topped up (a little above full, oh well.) Taking the trip to NY in it tomorrow. TCC lockup switch makes bad contact unless pushed hard into housing. I'll keep an ear out for it disappearing tomorrow. Hope I don't get late, race-y shifting with 1000 lbs of friends &...
  7. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Found a second ground on the back of the 2-4-6-8 cyl head; guessing the harness has 2 grounds - one here & one @ the thermostat. I no longer think the problem is electrical. Can't find the ECM, btw ... where the hell is it? Anyway, if I hold the TV cable out more than @ its resting point, the...
  8. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Guess I'll start tomorrow. What a bear! Odd how the problem comes and goes for a few days' stay. It's like some sort of perveted pest ... thanks for the tip. The van did have mice at one point before. Maybe they had a nibble on the ol' harness.
  9. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    TPS checks out fine when hard shifting happens. The engine races and slams into gear far too late when the problem is present, which is not always. What could cause this intermittent behavior? I think something makes the van idle too high, but only sometimes. Problem disappeared during today's...
  10. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    This is a new, rebuilt trans though, and the erratic behavior comes and goes - just like before the trans swap. How could this be? There's no way 2 700R4's have the same oddball defect. I'd sell parts of my body on the black market if it is so!
  11. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Gotcha Jim. Took the van downtown, ~20mi each way. On the way down, its old problems resurfaced. They sure seem like trans woes, but unless it involves lockup, it can't be. Symptom is slamming into second, and late shifts into every gear. Approximate shift times: 2nd gear 20-25mph, 3rd gear...
  12. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Baby passed, yaaay. Taking it downtown tonight because I'm a little kid who wants to cruise around in a V8 rumble. Anyone know a source for new weather stripping? Power windows are both dead, which I attribute to leaky quarter window seals wetting & shorting out the motors. Plus they whistle at...
  13. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Andy - TBI 350's may share the blue collar plight: wouldn't we all like a little more timing? Ar ar ar ar. Martin - congrats on your post count collection! Lol. Fuel pressure buildup is a good theory for why the wait-then-crank method works. Jim - since the high idle problem occurs at...
  14. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Paw Paw - thanks for the welcome. A local GM comrade - most excellent :) Andy - new drive gear indeed. Much nicer than old unit. The 350 never felt so tight & responsive since I've owned it. As per the underhood emissions sticker, with the tan / bk wire disconnected, I set the timing to 0...
  15. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Also, when I reset ign. timing (new dizzy installed), the timing was jumping around by a few degrees. Attributed it to nothing worrisome, until now. Single-wire connector below dizzy was disconnected for the ign. timing reset.
  16. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Good theory, but from its behavior this is definitely ECM controlled - after a couple mins, AIR injecton starts pumpin, and the idle lowers. Trans slam disappears with normal idle. For the hell of it, I carb cleaner spray-tested for a vac leak & it's all tight. Throttle shaft is tight, too. TPS...
  17. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    D'oh! High idle problem resurfaced during today's cold start, which results in late shifts & a slam when put in drive or reverse. I wonder what is making the engine idle so high. New IACV, CTS, clean engine grounds. I've got some investigating to do. Tips? Remember it's intermittent.
  18. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Hey all - drove the van today. Weeeooo! Happy as a clam. 2200rpm stall speed & lockup in 3rd & 4th are awesome features for a big rectangle cruiser like this van is. It sure acts best when warm, though. I think that's because it idles lower, which changes the apparent transmission behavior. I'm...
  19. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Sounds like a pain. My F150 is carburetor-equipped, which I like on that. I'm familiar enough with carbs to have that truck running well, but I'd be in new territory with a carb for a 350. I like the TBI, even when it's not working :D Took today's opportunity to adjust rear brakes, and paint the...
  20. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Hehe, oh boy. Had them cleaned by Joe @ East Coast Auto Machine's, a local machine shop. He's a good dude and knows his stuff. I don't fault his cleaning method; reckon the injectors were close to done because they dripped, anyhow. Maybe the sonic cleaner just finished them off ;)
  21. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Hey all. Trying not to abandon communication here - the reassembly has been a 2-steps-forward, 1-step-back endeavor. Had no fuel spray and it turns out the injectors are frozen :( Removed them, rigged them up with 12v, but I can't get the pintle to move. I had them sonically cleaned but maybe...
  22. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Tested as described - no chafing evident, as pressure holds. The injectors appear to pulse when they should, but drip inbetween open & closed pintle positions. East coast Georgia is a better bet for this time crunch - thanks for that link. Also gonna call around to local shop friends: see if...
  23. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    I've sensed nothing here but top-notch Square Bodiedness. TBI rebuild is underway. It feels good, not wasteful, replacing parts that aren't broken yet. Reckon the van'll be back together in time for a November 16 trip to NY. Thanks for the help thus far, folks. Oh, I tried the pump manual...
  24. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    It used to run poorly at times, but now the times it runs well are a memory :D CTS read open @ 72 F. Sounds poor to me. Ordered a complete TBI gasket kit, pickup coil, coil, ign module, IAC (cause I broke it), heater core (blocked with stopleak - not my doing), and I'm having the two...
  25. brendo613

    '88 TBI 350 - multiple personalities

    Inspection - good point. I have a station who would let it slide, but it isn't "right." Witchhunter, only $22 - reckon this is what I'll do. The price is right! Fuel pump prime mode - skip over my previous post, why I oughta ... ;) Agreed the CTS could louse the mixture up, but not this...

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