Espritv8black

Glad to hear that you found out what the issue was. I have a 98 V8 and it always cranked slow no matter if the battery was new or if the car was cold etc. It was slower when the car was warm. Finally one day while I was filling up gas in it last summer it would just click, but no start, so I got 2 guys to give me a push to start it and then home I went. I did the same as you and took it apart and had the starter rebuilt at a local shop. When I took mine out I put it on my bench in my garage and hooked up my 12 volt charger to it to see what would happen. The starter solenoid came out and turned over.......so I thought maybe it was something else etc. I decided since it was all apart it was a good time to get it rebuilt. Once at the shop as I was dropping it off I mentioned that to the guy who rebuilds them and he looks at me and says lets check it out........He puts it on his bench and hooks it up and tries it and says very quickly that while it comes out it does not have the strength or guts to turn over the motor and that is why when it did work why it was slow. IF I remember correctly I thought he said it was a Mitsubishi starter actually. It was the original starter. He had it done looking new in 1 day and I can say once it was all finally put back together it turned over like nobodys business!!!!! All for about $150 ish Glad to hear it was solved. You can check out mine online in a few drive videos and also a rear shock video I posted on Youtube. You should get a good laugh about it. Definetly have the Close Caption on as I make a little fun of myself in the video's. HJere are a few videos.

If you are looking toward the front of the car from the rear on US spec cars the driver would be on the left, again looking from the rear, and on the right side where the battery is there is an OBDII connection that is pretty easy to get to. I use this connector versus the other connector, just easier to get to.

Mike, me too although I did start doing some.....amateur's video's on Youtube about my cars and some repairs. Passin Gas Garage is the name. You need to have on the close caption stuff.....so that I can correct my verbal mistakes. The most looked at video are the Esprit Video's. I do it all from memory and well.......... Love the tool hanger board that you have, just makes sense!!!!!!

Is that young Mike S. in picture about to pull the engine with his assistant!!!!! I'm not sure my wife would help.....even if I was trapped under the engine!!!!!!

If you test the battery with your volt meter and it is fully charged it should show 12.8 volts, you can of course while running also put the volt meter across the battery terminals and it should show 14+ volts to show the alternator is charging. Hopefully just the Battery, cause to get to the alternator.....well you know more work. I had my alternator rebuilt a few years back and was very happy with the results. Also had the starter rebuilt, it was always slow to turn the engine over and that made all the difference in the world!!!!! Each rebuild here was about $125 USD. My guess, the more I think about it is that the Battery is OK or possibly weak and the alternator is not putting out enough juice to keep the car running and also charge the battery. If the alternator was OK the car would run without a charged battery.

Chris, you are a champ takin on the project. Gets my mechanical blood going to fix some of my issues!!!!!

Chris, I would but we know the current issues. Hopefully, someone nearby has the tool for you. I cant remember what the cost was. I don't think it was outrageous, but cant remember.

Awesome, I have a older, but really pretty nice OBD II scanner. I think today will be the day. So i assume that my OBD-II scanner ....once I find the data stream that shows speed, if it is showing a speed all the time will then as you say indicate that the issue for example is after the ECU. I know that the signal also goes to the ABS. Do you know if it goes to the ABS before the ECU or after the ECU? Thanks Mark

When I did my coils due to a mis I ordered them from SJ Sportscars at the time and also got the Magnecor Wires and I also replaced my injectors. It was a few years ago. I also tried the Iridium plugs, but ultimately when back to the stock plugs. I replaced the EVAP line under the plenum up to the white check valve that sits behind the driver in the engine compartment. At the time when I did it the line on the other side of the check valve broke as it was yellowed with age and brittle. I plugged the EVAP line (Probably shouldn't have in hind sight) and only recently got around to replacing all the lines that go to the charcoal canister. When I removed the charcoal canister the canister fell to the ground ripping the lines off. I doubt that these lines were making a good seal anyway. It was tight laying on the engine to get at the lines and connections, but it was well worth it. I had the same code and popping out of my left side exhaust and some spitting and it would back fire on decelleration down hills etc. I can tell you that after I finished,,,,the other day....it is night and day better and runs smoother etc. with no spitting etc. Not that you need it but I posted a video of the fix on here. Thanks Mark

Mine leak and I did buy the tool and the seals from SJ Sportscars. I haven't done it yet. I would ask how long the operation takes, but know it is a while. Most people say that these seals are notorious for leaking and even new seals will leak somewhat quickly. What is your opinion on it Mike? Thanks Mark

Now I need to figure out why my speedometer works....occasionally. Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) was replaced and made no difference. Seems like a loose connection as sometimes when I hit bumps it comes on and then........later it just stops. It is in the right rear wheel in my 98. I tend to think it is a loose connection. I would be stoked to fix this issue. Electricity is not my strong point though other than putting in a new light bulb at home!!!!!!

I had my car out today for a longer drive after doing the replacement of all the EVAP lines and all lines going to the charcoal canister and I can tell you that it hasn't run so good as it does now. It use to pop a bit after letting off the gas and it would spit a bit and occasionally backfire after letting off the gas. It sounded kind of cool, but occasionally I would get a really big back fire. It has never run this smooth. What a pleasure. Needless to say if the line has not been replaced going under the plenum then this repair would have been much harder and time consuming. I would definitely recommend if you are pulling the plenum off for coils or wires or injectors to replace at the same time at a minimum the line from the EVAP pump up to the check valve. This was definitely worth the work.

Chris, Thanks it was actually a bit more work than I thought it would be, but I guess I didn't really understand how it was impacting the drivability of my car. My car seemed to run strong before and I liked the raspy ness of the idle, but once done I think it was smoother and just ran better.

So, I wanted to show my V8 Esprit some love. She was jealous about the time I was spending with some other cars. Last year or was it longer ago.....well I replaced my coils and wires and injectors etc, and when the plenum was off updated some of the vacuum lines underneath. I replaced the clear line that attaches under the plenum to I believe the EVAP pump. It leaves under the plenum and is routed behind the drivers head in the engine compartment to a white check valve and then it disappears into the side compartment under where the carpet is. My line broke as soon as I handled it and I plugged the line. Well I finally got around to looking at it and took it apart and replaced all the lines, there are 3 separate lines, going to the charcoal cannister. All the lines were yellow and brittle from age, heat etc. When I drilled the rivets out (4) that were holding the Charcoal cannister cover on, the canister just fell to the ground ripping the lines off. I was a bit worried at first with which line went to which port, but it turns out they are all different sizes, so I was able to figure it out and the cannister itself is marked which line is which. It took me a few days to do the repair working on it 4-5 hours a day, probably longer than most and I did not have to pull the plenum as I already had a new line attached previously. Access to the side panel is well tight, you really need to lay on top of the engine basically to get at each fitting. What I can say is that I think the car now runs smoother at idle and also less spitting etc. I think I might have had some excess fuel in the exhaust or the system as a result of the system not working correctly. I will post some picture of the repair but may be able to answer any questions for anyone looking to do this repair. I did a almost 30 minute video on the repair on a new Youtube channel on mine detailing the repair. You might find it a bit humerous, but I think it is an operation that can be learned how to fix it from the video. Here is a link to the video of the repair.

I agree. I have heard from some Ferrari and other mechanics that they worry that the belt would actually be stuck to tghe gears I guess and snap when it is tried to be started again on a vehicle that has been sitting for years. Thanks I appreciate it.