Thanks for that diagram. Hoses 16 and 17 are the ones I haven't been able to replace due to access issues (16 for sure). All others have been replaced at some point. If I had a lift, might could get to 16.
Update:
New water pump back in, belts in, timing belt in, tensioner. No leaks. Idled up to 1600, RPM's declined perfectly as warmed up. So, seems it was the seal in water pump blew out, causing lost coolant, leading to air in the system and the noted RPMs per your notes on ECM compensating in insane ways due to bad data.
Found a loose #1 spark plug also…noticed wire was wiggling way too much while running. So, a little smoother now too.
I had bought a timing belt from someone on ebay, but despite saying was a fit, seem was for a 16 valve. Way longer, wider, and chrome (not rubberized) tensioner. So now I gotta go sell that off.
Thanks for all the great debugging info, apologies if my reports and assumptions led astray, but could have been all of that too, just glad it wasn't.
I really don't want to work on cars anymore. I get too frustrated and sore these days. First time doing this 2007 or so, 127K miles, took 3 days due to being novice. Second time, because cheap water pump failed, 4 hours. This time, because older, at 184K miles, took 4 days. Ha.
Car looks equally older too…clear coat failing on hood now, bumpers chipping into cracks. 25 years old, it's ok. I need to gift it a new top for its kindness in running so nice still.
Update:
New water pump back in, belts in, timing belt in, tensioner. No leaks. Idled up to 1600, RPM's declined perfectly as warmed up. So, seems it was the seal in water pump blew out, causing lost coolant, leading to air in the system and the noted RPMs per your notes on ECM compensating in insane ways due to bad data.
Found a loose #1 spark plug also…noticed wire was wiggling way too much while running. So, a little smoother now too.
I had bought a timing belt from someone on ebay, but despite saying was a fit, seem was for a 16 valve. Way longer, wider, and chrome (not rubberized) tensioner. So now I gotta go sell that off.
Thanks for all the great debugging info, apologies if my reports and assumptions led astray, but could have been all of that too, just glad it wasn't.
I really don't want to work on cars anymore. I get too frustrated and sore these days. First time doing this 2007 or so, 127K miles, took 3 days due to being novice. Second time, because cheap water pump failed, 4 hours. This time, because older, at 184K miles, took 4 days. Ha.
Car looks equally older too…clear coat failing on hood now, bumpers chipping into cracks. 25 years old, it's ok. I need to gift it a new top for its kindness in running so nice still.