a few ae92 questions

['88ROLLAGTS]

Ive got a few questions about my '88 gts. I know I could probaly spend the time to look back through all of the endless threads to get answers but i honestly cant read computer text that long, and I figure thats the point of a forum is to get the answers specific to my q's.

My first question is about lowering springs..
Ive got some spring compressors(manual type), a set of springs (cheap Intrax IX), a car that still doesnt run giving me plenty of time to install. i am wondering what tools im gunna need and mabey any other parts like a camber kit etc.?
I was also wondering if someone might be so kind to give me a breif (or not brief) explanation as to how the "strut assembely" goes in and out?

the second is about braided brake lines..
where is a cheap place to get these? is it possible to make them with all the fancy connectors n stuff? or does anyone have any that they might sell for cheap?

Third..
ive got some mild damage to a passenger side "side skirt" (stock) and noticed that it is fiberglass. can i repair it? what would it take to repair and would it make more sense to just continue the grulling search for a new set? i can post a link to a pic if it would help answer.

fouth and finnaly last..
i installed the HKS exhaust with a custom made test pipe and noticed the flattened out down pipe going over a crossmemeber. this bothers me. can a guy simply buy a down pipe alone or does he have to purchase the header with it? or should i try to make my own?

i hope this isnt too much to ask but i dont really get all these questions in my head a once so..

thanks in advance for any help.

[REN69]

1. Spring compressor, Jack, air tools would be nice, but for sure a nice set of ratchets and sockets.... camber kit? to install springs? camber kits are needed if you install springs that go really low.. you don't need it to just install springs.

2. rice shops.. online and in your town.

3. yes you can repair it, a fibreglass repair kit, yes its probably easier to buy another one.

4. not sure I understand the question.. what's flattened out? the test pipe or the pipe on your car?? why would it make a difference? exhaust still flows thru it.

Not sure if you understand, but the problem with questions like this is that 99% of the time a question has been asked before, so it makes no sense to keep repeating yourself on a daily basis when people can do a SEARCH first, then ask questions if their answer hasn't been asked before. A forum is like a library dude, you go there to READ not for someone to READ FOR YOU.

[Flashmn]

1. As ren said

2. You dont want cheap braided lines, they can burst and you dont want that. Hydraulic shops can make those lines cheaper than rice shops, which sell bad quality lines.

3. Change the whole skirt, you DONT want to play with fiberglass and make bullshit repairs, you're gonna regret it later on.

4. The flattened out pipe probably wont make a difference on your power output, I wouldnt bother with it.

Yeah and like ren said, search.

[aaron7]

1. As ren said... but Intrax are really shitty and sag like crazy... so you probably will need a camber kit LOL (I have the camber kits for the front and rear of an AE92 from Eibach. All they are is new bolts for the struts lol)

2. JC Whitney has them. The good ones!

3. Yah, changing the skirt is best, but try finding one... the last set on ebay went for a TON because AE86 people buy em to mod them for their cars! lol

4. Yah the 1.6L doesn't flow enough for that to matter, no worries.

['88ROLLAGTS]

thanks again for the help. im sorry for making everyone reapeat themselves but like i said i have a hard time reading comp text for too long, i really have only one good eye to do it with so it gets old fast to scroll down through all the posts.

i guess i made it seem like i thought i needed a camber kit to install! damn i feel dumb. is there a "rule of thumb" when it comes to lowering heights that need a camber kit? how low can i go without needing one (not that i want to discrace my yota and "slizam it") ?

I have a local shop making the brake lines now for me, not too sure what the cost will be but he said not over $40. so thanks for suggesting the hydro shop flshmn.

I dont think ill bother with the exhaust anymore for a while anyways cuz like i said i only really have one good eye and it sucks ass getting rusty exhaust gunk in it!

as for the skirts i found a tn guy that sent me pics and prices for shipping and purchase, i took in all my soda cans and lifted all the couch coushins,scrapin all available funds to purchase. he sold them inbetween emails. so on i search, junkyards, egay,craigslist and so on.

now i must ask for some help on getting the car to run properly. i know that there are dozens of posts that pertain to this, i have spent alot of time pouring over them and trying some of the suggestions that were givin with no help.

heres the situation...

a year and a half ago i had my flywheel come loose while driving. fun. ive fixed this major problem and thought i was golden and ready to hit the road again. well, i have had several small problems along the way, from ehaust to cv axles. it seems everything on the car just wants to give up, so that i will fix it too. so ive got a ton of new parts and still a car that wont run right.
i have the car running a month or so ago. but the timming was off slightly. i had to have it fully advanced or fully retarted to make it run but it didnt run great. so i was resetting the timimng to the book when some how i managed to damage my dist.rotor. so the car wouldnt even give me what it had before. after dealing with all of the boneheaded local parts store guys i finally got a rotor and a cap ordered. i installed the rotor, the car ran like it did (poorly and adv or ret fully) but this time it had a bad miss. so after getting three wrong dist caps i got the correct one, installed it and fired it up. it worked better. the miss wasnt as bad but still there.

What could cause this sparatic miss?

as for the fuuly avanced or retarted...
A friend told me that it sounded like the timing chain was off a tooth since i had tried moving the dist a tooth to no help. he said that this happens when you take apart this part of the motor. thats just the thing.. i only removed the motor, i never dissasembled it. and according to the book all the cams and crank timing markers align to their proper places.

does a 4age have a timing chain?
is it possible to "slip" a tooth without tearing into the motor?

any help on this would really be appreciated!!!

i am really dying to get this car running and on the road. it is discouraging when this kind of thing keeps happening. but i sit in the drivers seat with my hand on the wheel and one on the shifter just to remember the feeling. i WILL NOT give up on this car, it MUST frolic with all the other happy yotas out there!

[freakinbox]

umm for the lowering and camber kit. For the people who have done the 1" drop they say they camber is fine without the camber kit. After that I haven't a clue

no the 4age has a timing belt not a chain. since you think it has a chain I would check to see if the belt is ok! see if it needs replacing or not

['88ROLLAGTS]

I replaced the belt and many other things while i had it out of the car. I really didnt think that it had one cuz ive seen a 4agelc durring rebuild with my own eyes. my friend said that it "has to have one" ! hes kindof a dork though so i just wanted to be sure.

[tashirosgt]

I haven't worked on the G series engines, but on the 4AF engines , it is possible to put the disributor rotor into the head 180 deg wrong. Check that. Did you have the cam gears off or the cam shafts out of the head? They must be installed in the proper relation. And of course there is the elementary question of whether the plug wires are going to the correct plugs.

[freakinbox]

thats what I don't get with the 4af and 4age. How do you set the distrubuter at top dead center. and how do you know when the engine is at topdead center? all the timming marks line up?

['88ROLLAGTS]

Im goinig to try and swap distributors from a friends car and see if that makes a difference. I was looking around at prices for remaned ones and am very dissapointed. not many places have the right ones and the places that do want a small fortune.

if i do need a new dist where would be a good place to find one?
can mine be "rebuilt" ?

[Flashmn]

umm for the lowering and camber kit. For the people who have done the 1" drop they say they camber is fine without the camber kit. After that I haven't a clue

I have 2" drop without camber plates, its fine.

[aaron7]

Would a distributor off a MR2 work? I have two, 1985 and 1986 both with the 4age (obviously).

Or is it at a different angle?

['88ROLLAGTS]

thats a good question. my girl has a mr2 (mk1). i will take a look at it to see. ithe only thing is the plugs are different. mine has two small (white) plugs. the majority ive seen for sale as remans have two large green plugs. i dont know if it is possible to "splice" in the other stlye cuz that might be an option too. but i guess id better make sure they are the same mechanically speaking first. ill let you know and mabe i can talk you out of one!

[REN69]

Originally Posted by Flashmn

I have 2" drop without camber plates, its fine.

Yeah, anything lower than a 2" drop will most likely need a camber kit.

['88ROLLAGTS]

well i tried to see i my girls dist would work but she had plans and didnt want to risk it. and my buddy never stoped by to help me out.

i checked all the timing marks again today. and tried a new set of plug wires....
NOTHING!

this is so strange. im cursed huh?