Hmmm, now why would I be currently reading through this particular page of a Hayne's manual?

You may also be having fuel issues, maybe the Throttle Position Sensor(TPS) is having a malfunction. I would reccomend doing some research into your fuel lines, how mechanically able are you? Done much shitbox wrenching before?

zero wrenching. This is my first car.

Ok then, if you plan on keeping her for longer than a year or 2 then you will definitely need to get handy under the hood, unless you really don't have the tools, time or confidence.

If you can afford it, having a real mechanic take a look at it may be the best option for you. But don't go to a shop for every little thing. If the car keeps dying and you cant fix it, have it repaired.

But if you need to do little things like replacing headlights, fixing up the interior and changing your air filter and changing your oil, do it yourself. You'll save tons of money and you will build confidence and familiarity with the car.

Btw, check all your fuses, you might have 2 or even 3 fuse boxes, usually one is under the hood and a second under the dash. Make sure they are all the correct amperage rating, replace any that appear to be missing or burnt up, and replace any that look dirty or corroded.

Is it carburated or fuel injected? Make sure to include as much info about the motor and transmission as possible when asking for help on any forums, it will help narrow down the troubleshooting process.

>Start checking vacuum lines, all of them.

So much this.

>dies at low speeds
>can't shift to neutral (park) unless giving it gas

Sounds like a low idle issue, how much rpm does it idle when engine is cold vs when it is warmed up?
Like other anons said, vacuum lines and clean out the IAC/throttle body

(((Flipping intensifies)))

Just got back from the glass shop. New windshield! Now there isn't a hueg crack right in front of my eyeballs.

the fuses are fine. I checked them yesterday. It's fuel injected... Feels like 70hp. It probably is, up here at altitude.

It's on my list!

I have no clue what it idles at, since the tach doesn't work. It sounds the same cold/hot when it *does* get going, though.

Well uhhh .... good luck, Horizon-san. What made you pick an old Chrysler for your first car? I got a 1.9tdi Jetta for my first and I love it.

It's a nice color, it's a hatchback, and it's fun. Plus my friends think it's cool - isn't that the most important thing?

Do you have any full frontal pics of it with the new windshield?
I wish I had friends to tell me that my car is cool.

I'll take a few in a bit. Currently doing four loads of laundry.

Will an ls fit?

pic

I don't think so. Unless you can seriously relocate the steering system

pic 2

tomorrow I'll take off the doors and take out the seats, for a good cleaning. Should be fun.

Word of wisdom when doing door removal and re-installation!!! I have swapped all 4 doors and bumpers on my Honda and I even put all my old doors and bumpers back onto the donor car. So I've done each twice technically.

If doing it alone, make sure you have a floor jack, scissor jack or bottle jack. Put a block of wood or a piece of plastic on top of the jack so you dont scratch up or bend the doors. I use a giant plastic block for bumpers and I discovered that folded up towels work great for my doors.

It helps a great amount when getting the door off the body without putting all the door's weight on the brackets when you're doing the last bolt.

It also works miracles for putting the door back on and lining up all the bolt-holes.

If you have no jack, and you can get a friend to help you, make sure to pick a strong and dedicated one. Those 1980's doors are heavy as fuck.

Patience is key with a 2 person door swap, I used my slightly retarded friend and his unbelievable potato-strength to do a bumper and a couple doors, he held it up and we got it perfect after like 3 or 4 adjustments.

yeah, the Haynes manual says to prop them up too. although, it's really just one big pin holding them on. No linkages or anything; it just rotates on that one pin. So you prop it, knock the pin out, and just yank it off.

Do you plan on keeping the car for very long? If you want to learn to wrench on her and make her a longtime DD, I would invest in a factory service manual, they can be expensive, but they have all the info you need. Haynes and chilton are ok manuals, but they often lack info about minor details of the work, and sometimes have incorrect information. My haynes manual lists a completely diffrent spark plug than what the sticker on the doorjam says, the gap distance is correct but the OEM reccomended spark plugs are wrong.

I wont say its the best car to learn how to work on, but it is a simple car to learn with. Parts might be expensive or cheap, not sure if you have access to a junkyard or any donor cars.

I have three donor cars, in fact. one is the same color.

Looks like actual service manual sets are one fiddy or so. I'll see how far I can get with the Haynes for now, but in the future I'll probably pick a set up.

Start collecting parts then, get a storage bin, start pulling sensors and wiring, hoses, bolts, clamps, anything that can be put in a ziplock bag and save it for when the old one breaks.

I like to put spare bolts in zip-locks, then put a label of what they are for on a piece of paper and seal that inside the bag with the parts. Saves me a lot of confusion when going through my messy as fuck garage.

Random question: does it have a full size spare tire or a compact one?

My wagon has a full size spare, but the sedan and coupe version only come with a compact donut. I would pull a wheel off one of those donors and switch to keeping a full size spare, its nice to know that if you get a flat you can just change it and continue driving normally.

Did you test the battery voltage yet? Both sitting and running?

And you said a random belt wasn't properly attached? Ever figure that out?

yeah, that belt was for the air pump. part of the emissions control system. I may or may not have to put it back on to pass emissions in this state.

It has a compact spare tire, but it's a pretty tight fit as is.

There is your idle/dying problem right there newfriend, put it back and see if anything changes.

Trust me, running stock in cars that don't have insane engine swaps is the way to go.

I had to replace a bunch of stuff on my Bronco 2 just to be able to pass California smog, but I left everything there, the truck no longer has as much trouble running after a cold start, and it runs smoother and doesn't die randomly 30 seconds after starting.

But the main issue for my truck was the alternator, the alternator belt, and battery, test yours and post results!

Bump for more shitbox updates

Fix that rust before it destroys the fender

Could it be the same user?

how so? I was looking at ways to rectify it. I would just swap the whole assembly out but it's welded in.
yes, just how many grey Horizon owners do you think there are on Veeky Forums?

More than swift owners?

This is no joke. I got a $100 student discount on tools when i took auto classes at college. I nearly shat a brick when the socket wrench alone is $100

Well for what its worth, Im pretty sure I saw a dark green one the other day when I was driving to work. Honestly Im amazed that yours doesnt have more rust, my Bronco is rusted to fuck, despite being a California car for most of its life.

But the previous owner did live close to a salt marsh, and he said he used to take it for ski trips up to Lake Tahoe so it probably got some road salt and Im guessing he never took the time to wash it off when he came back home.

Anyways, rust is to be expected out of most cars older than 20 years, good job for finding something with nice wheels, mine are fucking ugly but I plan on doing a little rust converter on it and seeing how it looks after a good wire brushing.

The paintjob is fucking shit, and little spots of rust are everywhere on the body. I dont give a fuck because I don't plan on selling the truck any time soon, unless someone wants to trade another 4x4 with me. Preferably a Yota or Blazer, or perhaps even a Jeep.

driver's door handle now works. Swapped it out for a non cracked one.

also, my battery connections are pretty loose. That might explain some stuff...

another pic

In my experience Honda OEM battery terminal connectors are very nice, the only time Ive seen the cables or terminal clamps corrode was when the battery attached to them was a leaky, corroded piece of shit that was probably nearly 10 years old.

See if you can get yourself some online or just cut a pair out from the junkyard and figure out how to put them on your battery cables. Or just buy new cables with clamps attached and call it a day, thats what I did with my Bronco when it was having electrical issues.

The old ones were probably fine but I decided a new battery with new cables would be a good starting point for troubleshooting. Then I learned that the alternator wasn't consitantly working, it would crank out about 13.5 volts, then i would test it later and it was running 14.5v, but after driving to the gas station it wouldn't start, I checked my voltage and it was down to 10.9v. I was lucky enough to get the starter to engage on that low voltage, and gave it a shitton of gas immediately. I checked the voltage and it was at 14.3v, drove home, turned off the truck and it was down to 8.6v on a fucking brand-new battery. At some point during my driving, the alternator was shitting itself and I was running off just the battery and supplemented charge coming from the POS alternator.

When I first got the truck it would not start and stay running, the alternator belt was so loose it was about ready to jump right off the pulley. So that was the very first thing I fixed. Even with a new battery and a properly tensioned belt, it was also the fucking internal voltage regulator in the alternator. I replaced it with a cheap re-manufactured Denso brand alternator for like $70 and haven't had charging system issues since.

Did you get a voltage meter yet? Harbour Freight has coupons for a free one with any purchase, go and buy a spare gas can and junper cables and get a meter for free!

>Pic unrelated

I already have a set of jumper cables, and a multimeter. The battery is fine, I just think that when the starter motor rotates the battery terminal wiggles enough to be intermittent. Just need new battery leads, one of the ones on it is completely crushed