1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
About a week ago my 87 900 turbo stumbled at freeway speed for one second, then resumed unpreturbed.
Last Friday night the car died while I was idling on a small hill. Wouldn't restart and I was close enough to home to leave it for the night. The car started up fine the next morning, but stumbled just briefly. I was suspecting the distributor because all other connections have been checking out ok while the distributor's plastic socket has been crumbling and decaying even under a nylon ziptie. It was canted at precarious angle. It had to be the reason.
But I couldn't grab any free time this past weekend to work on the car. So with a background of anxiety when dark and early this morning I gulped and started the car. It fired right up with no problems showing.
Got onto a lengthy freeway onramp and opened the throttle up, enjoying the acceleration. Life is good. Listen to that turbo whine. Watch out for these trucks over my left shoulder...
Suddenly the tach needle drops to 0 and the instrument light on that side of the panel dies. Now I'm coasting at about 65mph with red lights aglow in the dash while trying to restart the car and simultaneously merge with freeway traffic. Two key-twist attempts fail to restart the engine. I set my eyes on a streetlamp up ahead on the freeway shoulder and coast to a stop beneath the light. Some quick checks on connections and fuses all prove acceptable. I've been carrying around a new, rebuilt distributor with the later style connector for the past two months or so, planning on performing a nice, clean fancy wiring job. I've also had a new later-style plug connector in the box with the distributor. So all the new parts are in the back of the car. What better place to do the fix than on the side of a dark throbbing Los Angeles freeway with big-rigs roaring by 9 feet away?
Quite the source of motivation.
One of the roving freeway tow-service trucks stopped and the guy chuckled to see me with new parts and tools arranged on the fenderwell as I concentrated on the job. With connector installed and the new distributor fitted, the car fired up and after a tiny twist for approximate timing, the car drove away with no problem.
Why waste valuable weekend time for maintenance issues when you can do it on a freeway shoulder at 550am?
posted by 64.169.201...
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