Was fun for 1 day

Jwilks

Low Mileage
Hello All,
Just picked up my 81 X1/9 on Saturday by trailer. Was my grandfather's car and I've had my sights on this gem since I was born. So excited to keep it in the family and bring it to it's younger days. Took it out for a test spin once I got it home and she ran good. Gave it a wash to assess the rust and that's when it all began. Will start just fine but won't rev over 1,000rpm. As soon as I give it throttle it pops and sputters and will eventually die if I keep trying to give it gas. If I let off it idles down and will run. Just can't give it any fuel ☹️. Dang I was so excited to cruise around and now I am stuck, so I just sit in it smelling old car smell. Any clue what I did? Ignition coil got some water on it but is it really that sensitive? Appreciate any advice!
 
If it has sat for a long time the injectors could easily be gummed up. Pour some new gas and a couple of cans of Techron techroline into the tank. And patiently give revs to clear them. Just went through this with my new to me 87.

Mine would start on the cold start injector and run on 1 or 2 cylinders. It took a while and is still missing at idle.

It's easy to get water in the distributor. Presuming that is part or all of your problem, you should also pull the distributor cap to see if anything got wet under there, perhaps tidy up the edge of the rotor and any of the contacts that have corrosion. Be sure to note the order of the plug wires before you pull things apart.
 
If it has sat for a long time the injectors could easily be gummed up. Pour some new gas and a couple of cans of Techron techroline into the tank. And patiently give revs to clear them. Just went through this with my new to me 87.

Mine would start on the cold start injector and run on 1 or 2 cylinders. It took a while and is still missing at idle.

It's easy to get water in the distributor. Presuming that is part or all of your problem, you should also pull the distributor cap to see if anything got wet under there, perhaps tidy up the edge of the rotor and any of the contacts that have corrosion. Be sure to note the order of the plug wires before you pull things apart.
Thanks, kmead. It has sat off and on over the last year. Has had some miles on it but could probably use a good injector cleaning. I'll start with fresh gas and some injector cleaner. I should probably replace the leads anyways so I'll check the plugs and distributor for water a little closer. Thanks again! I really want to get it going by this weekend
 
All good suggestions so far. Mine is check for clogged fuel filter and check for cracked fuel line between pump and gas tank. Sucking air into a cracked fuel line can cause popping and lack of power.
 
Thanks all! This is a great site and the first forum I've belonged to. I'll keep everyone updated on progress.
 
If you washed it really well you may have drowned the ignition module - it's in the right well under the plastic cover. The drains clog & any large volume of water will fill the well & immerse the module...
 
Tonight is apparently my "check the aux valve and hose advice night"
The car is pretty old so the rubber lines are all suspect. Some you can get away with having little issues but the aux valve will cause extreme problems with running. It is located on the front side of head near #4 or on the transmission end. There is a hose the runs from the valve to under the big hose that goes to the plenum. There should be a weird hooky clamp device that holds the hose on the valve. Probably because you really want this on there. Make certain that the hose does not leak and both ends are tight.
Welcome to the forum and I hope you have this sorted quickly!
Regards
 
If you washed it really well you may have drowned the ignition module - it's in the right well under the plastic cover. The drains clog & any large volume of water will fill the well & immerse the module...
God I hope not. I've been biting my nails at that thought and afraid to mention that as a possibility. Any way to check that or is it process of elimination first?
 
well you could put water in that pocket to see if it drains out quickly (just don't re-soak the brain box if it does not drain fast)
 
well you could put water in that pocket to see if it drains out quickly (just don't re-soak the brain box if it does not drain fast)
Well I found one for a reasonable price if in fact that is the case on Midwest Bayless for about $140. I don't think any water pooled in there but it's possible it got to the connections since the wires are exposed slightly.
 
Just pulled the ignition coil and the top is full of blue corrosion. Not sure how it can get any spark out of that. Sending my wife to Napa tomorrow while I'm at work :). For $20 it should probably be replaced anyways in its condition.
 
You can open the hood and see if the drain on that side is clear. If it is not you might still have some water standing in there. If it drains some you are probably OK. The void is not so small that it would fill up as you spray over it. Even if you spray over a couple times.
Regards
 
Whenever I get a new/old car part of my bring it back online includes new cap, rotor, plugs and wires. They don't cost that much and it is not a bad idea to check the condition of the old plugs. They can tell you of you have a problem with a particular cylinder. The blue stuff might just be some sort of contact grease and not a problem. Did you wash inside the engine bay? If so did you use hose pressure or a pressure washer? If you did wash in bay you could have knocked something off or loose... This is where Papa Tony would tell you not to do anything without posting here so we can help prevent these things! :)
You will get this and when sorted the FI is really reliable. My '86 ran 265k and was still strong when parked!
Regards
 
Whenever I get a new/old car part of my bring it back online includes new cap, rotor, plugs and wires. They don't cost that much and it is not a bad idea to check the condition of the old plugs. They can tell you of you have a problem with a particular cylinder. The blue stuff might just be some sort of contact grease and not a problem. Did you wash inside the engine bay? If so did you use hose pressure or a pressure washer? If you did wash in bay you could have knocked something off or loose... This is where Papa Tony would tell you not to do anything without posting here so we can help prevent these things! :)
You will get this and when sorted the FI is really reliable. My '86 ran 265k and was still strong when parked!
Regards
I'll definitely replace all those components tonight hopefully. I didn't wash the engine bay but was surprised to see how much water got in there after washing the exterior. The coil was soaked.
 
The engine cover is not that kind of cover... It keeps some debris out but even that seems to love gathering in the voids between inner and outer sections. The water goes right through so the engine and components can and do get wet. This should not be a problem if everything is in decent shape and properly attached/installed. With the age on our cars the rubber is really aged out of service but most, myself included, tend more to fix when broke vs maintain preventively.
I just replaced the entire cooling system, not the hard tubes, but everything else and I was amazed to find what appeared to be factory installed components. They do last but they were way past needing replacement. The matrix of hoses up top are subject to higher heat cycles and need checking as well. The problem is vacuum lines do not spray or ozze stuff out so you have to actually test them with a vac/pressure tester. Some are more trouble when failed then others but when you get everything fairly sorted you will have a very fun, reliable classic to enjoy!
Good luck!
Regards
 
Before I get into the project this weekend- it couldn't be the ECU, could it? Under the dash got wet too. Noticed water came in from behind the dash and pooled up on the passenger side floor.
 
The fuse panel is above the pass foot well, so you need to drop the panel and make sure it isn't wet. Is there rust around the windshield or do you think the water came in around the side window. It came in from somewhere.
 
Before I get into the project this weekend- it couldn't be the ECU, could it? Under the dash got wet too. Noticed water came in from behind the dash and pooled up on the passenger side floor.

ECU is in the spare wheel well, not under the dash. Water can track through the engine harness from the engine bay, but if you didn't spray much water over the engine cover/tray it would seem a stretch. Not hard to remove the connector & look for water stains though.
 
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