Jono's Galant Questions (im an idiot, help :P )

[VGJONO]

So in my GD galant i have a few issues and was just wondering what other people have done to fix these issues if they are common,
First of all, my washer bottle motor seems to be dead, where can i get a replacement or what cars have a similar washer bottle that i could grab from a wreckers
also my horn doesn't work, do they have a history of this and what have you other Galant owners done to replace your horn??

Sorry for the newbie questions, i need to get these issues fixed asap for roadworthy so i thought id ask

[geezer101]

You can buy new aftermarket universal washer pumps from the usual villains (supercheap, autobarn) or adapt a complete bottle from a wrecker (if you see a bottle that looks like it'll do the job remember to take the bottle mount with it). Either way, too easy... Checking the horn - four things to look at. #1- the fuse. If the fuse appears to be good, #2 - the horn. Unplug it and rig up 2 wires from the connectors on the horn and hook it straight to the battery. If that's working, #3 - the wiring. Plug a 12 volt lamp into where the horn is hooked up and hit the horn button, if it doesn't light up (and you're sure the lamp is hooked up right) you're left with the last 2 options - bad wiring or the horn button's are stuffed. Sometimes the horn can get choked up with dirt and rust and can be resurrected with a good soaking of WD or CRC spray... Good luck with the roadworthies VG

[davetrees]

The obvious thing to check with the horn is the earth ..... where the connectors are located gets covered in road dirt/water down there on the chassis rail. Clean the spade connectors with sandpaper, put them back on & squeeze tight with pliers.

If the horn unit itself is stuffed, generic ones are dirt cheap at Supercrap etc.

[gaPhil]

I've found the most common problem with the horn can be the contacts in the steering wheel.
Take it off and give the contacts a clean/sand.

[VGJONO]

Thanks for the help
Turns out both the horn was stuffed and the connections were dead due to corrosion, new horn and cleaned up the connectors and now she works a treat
with the washer bottle though itried cleaning the connectors and checking for blockages and nothing worked, so im pretty sure the washer bottle is dead, ill go get one from autoarn next week sometime

[VGJONO]

Hey guys i have yet another question
turns out the front left brake on my car is locking up, when i first move the car after it sitting for a few days it takes quite a bit to get it moving, (wheels spin on the grass) but once the cars been moved a bit its fine untill at speed and it locks when you apply the brakes, is this a common problem and if so how to fix it? if i need to rebuild the caliper does anybody know who sells a rebuild kit?

Cheers
VGJONO

[75wagon]

Rebuild kits shouldn't be that hard to find, any parts store should be able to get them for you or ebay maybe?

is this a common problem and if so how to fix it?

It would be common in a car that hasn't been driven for a long time or suffered from lack on maintenance.
Most likely it's your calliper slides that will be the problem, a free up and lube should fix them right up.
As you have already suggested calliper rebuild kits would be the best thing you could put in them while you are freeing them up

[VGJONO]

Thanks mate, shouldn't be too hard then, just trying to get them to work so i can get it registered, I'm hoping to have the car registered in time to take it with me to Mopar Muscle weekend in warwick, i don't fancy turning up in a scummy commodore this year.

[VGJONO]

http://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=9062

[geezer101]

Had a similar problem posed by a member about high idle speed. There are 2 screws to take note of - the throttle stop screw and the fast idle adjust. Set the throttle stop first, then try adjusting the fast idle screw. A link to the post - http://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.p ... 142#p80142

[75wagon]

1 would assume, that if he has just pulled the carb apart to clean and put a kit through, then the fast idle screw adjustment would not have been touched?

[VGJONO]

the carby was pretty messed up when we started pulling it apart, it was a miracle the car ran at all with all the mud and gunk we found in it aswell as how buggered most of the seals where, we think that the previous owner has played with the tune to get it running right in the state it was, im still messing with it but to top things off i think my choke is stuffed aswell as the terrible tune

[VGJONO]

Fixed, well kinda, we have the idle down now but she still runs badly under load but some more tweaking and she should be all sweet, turns out the timing was way out, it was advanced 12.5 degrees so we dropped it back to 6 degrees advance and she started running smoother then we started playing with the carby tune

[75wagon]

it was advanced 12.5 degrees so we dropped it back to 6 degrees advance

I normally run my timing at about 8 to 10 degs. I just back it off until it doesn't ping under load.

What condition are you points, plugs, leads and distributor cap? If any of these are in poor condition (or in the plugs and points case, poorly adjusted or cleaned), then your car won't idles smoothly.

Having all your electrical side in good shape, will help you adjust your carby settings easier.

[VGJONO]

plugs and leads ect. are what i am tackling now, the car has a misfire under load aswell so im going to replace the leads and plugs as im pretty sure we checked everything else and it was all good.
lastnight we got all the last little issues fixed so the car should be getting a roadworthy early next week but sadly not in time to go to warwick

[davetrees]

If it still has ther original coil on it, I would seriously consider getting a new one of those too if you are doing everything else in the ignition system ..... that way you KNOW it's all good !

[VGJONO]

yer i might but right now i cant afford it, i can barely afford to do the leads and plugs after the carby kit, oil filter and oil (i dont have much money to play with) we advanced the timing today to 10 degrees i beleive and then played with the carby tuning and now she is running much better under load

[VGJONO]

Ok so thismorning i took the car up to queensland transport and got her registered but she still inst running right, under acceleration she is all sweet but when you try to keep speed she starts sputtering and carrying on, not to mention excessive fuel usage, i have been told that this possibly could be caused by the condenser so im going to try that but if that doesnt work then i figure the carby still isnt right, so what cheap options do i have for a new or second hand carby?

[75wagon]

What level does the fuel sit at in the glass window on the front of your carb?
It's not sitting too high because your needle and seat are stuffed?

[VGJONO]

im not sure where it is sitting but we did just replace the needle and seat when we did the carby change, also other than this issue and the exhuast making it sound like a go-Kart, she is a dream to drive

[75wagon]

we did just replace the needle and seat when we did the carby change

Are you confident you adjusted it correctly?

[VGJONO]

we did just replace the needle and seat when we did the carby change

Are you confident you adjusted it correctly?

now that is a possibility, i would have to ask my mate as he helped me with the carby kit, also replaced the plugs and forgot to re space them because im an idiot, i am also replacing the condenser, the coil, resistor and points in the next few days, i have already done leads, plugs and rotor button,

how do you adjust the needle and seat if i may ask?

Cheers
Jono

[75wagon]

There is a measurement that it needs to be (between the top plate and the float when it's turned upside down), I'm quietly confident that it should be 19mm? But I'd have to check. I have a carby rebuild kit in the garage (or 2) I'll have a check tomorrow for you.

[LukeAussie]

Hey guys, sounds like you haven't determined if it's an electrical or fuel issue yet... another area to look is the vacuum advance. The one on my GC just died a few weeks back, and the car went from travelling fine to absolutely dying! What made this problem worse is that you could only notice it under load/higher revs, and it would cough, splutter, let in too much air, etc. An easy way to check is to pull off the air hose to the vacuum advance, seal it up (with your finger or kink it), and see if the problem is still there. If it is, the Bob's your Aunty's lover :-)
And there's a guy in Qld (in Caboolture,I believe) who reconditions them. Just got one from him (he delivers, as I'm in Adelaide), and it seems fine :-) I can pass on the details if you like.
Good luck!

Luke.

[LukeAussie]

Oh and a couple more things... I'm pretty sure that you won't need a resistor on a new GD coil; the new ones usually don't have them (which is good... one less part to go wrong!). Change the condenser first, since it's cheap too. However, I am slightly dubious if it's a problem with these, since normally the ignition (delivery side, ie coil, condenser, points, etc) usually either work, or they don't. With this type of electrical gear, it's less likely to be intermittent (and I'm in the electronics game, where intermittent problems are the bane of my existence!) :-)
Good luck!

[VGJONO]

Thanks for your input Luke, we checked the vaccum advance and it seems to be working my issue is more of a mid range revs issue, i can accelerate rapidly fine but when you try to keep speed the car start sputtering and throwing smoke out the exhuast
Ive since replaced everything that i could in the electrical system to no avail, although i am glad i replaced them even though they didnt help as it wasnt going to be long before they started failing, we have played around with the carb some more but my mate who is helping me on the bigger things like this is very reluctant to try and set the needle and keeps telling me he set it to exactly what it was before so im going to rip it apart and do it myself as the hole the car is creating in my pocket due to fuel usage is starting to get way too big.
also my father reckons that the secondaries are coming in too early hence the sputtering and smoke, how would i go about adjusting this?

[geezer101]

The secondaries will only come on too early if the actuator cam has been savaged. If the stop screw for the secondaries was tampered with (over adjusted) the secondary throttle butterfly would be partially open at idle which would cause it to run rough at idle and low rpm. Setting the needle is a no brainer - when the bowl cover is upside down the top of the float should be parallel to the seating face of the fuel bowl cover. This is a tricky one...

[VGJONO]

Ok so its been a few weeks since ive hassled you all for your knowledge but just the other day i blew the exhaust and I am biting the bullet and getting a new exhaust but Im trying to find a set of extractors so i can have them fitted to the new exhaust, ive done a bit of searching and haven't found anything as of yet, does anyone know where i can order a set?

Thanks
Jono

[VGJONO]

just a quick question

A friend of a friend (possibly a member here for all i know) has told me that this friend of theirs has a 1.8l + 4 speed for sale that would bolt straight into my galant out of a L300
im considering the offer as my 4G32B is starting to get a bit tired and really has more problems than its worth (welsh plugs, front main seal, sump seal, lifter noise, water pump is probably dead) although im sure the 4G32B would keep running till the danm apocalypse just currently its issues are making it Non-road Friendly
just curious as to see what people have to say about it, apparently this 1.8 is from 1976-80 and i know i would have to do a manual conversion im more interestedin the engine and how common they are

cheers
Vgjono

[geezer101]

Have fun configuring a 4 speed out of an L300 - they have a remote gear shifter assembly. I think there are a few other differences too with the gear box. The 1.8 should be good though. There are a couple of sources for this 1.8 litre engine (Cordia turbo/ non turbo, Nimbus) and will need a little bit of work for a RWD application. Another option is a full drivetrain swap from an L200 - it'll get you a good 5 speed box plus a 2 litre engine. They also have extractors factory fitted so that will solve your exhaust issue.