I am working on my son's 88 BII with 2.9. Had a bad leaking front seal, which I replaced. However I used the three piece pan gasket that came with the front cover gasket set. It looks as if the rubber gasket that goes between the pan and the front cover where the front seal must have moved (it did not have a grove for the raised section of the pan) and is now leaking. So, it looks as if I will need to drop the entire pan and put a one piece gasket in. Do I need to need to remove the intake plenum so that I can raise the engine to get the pan off? I was told that I did not need to remove the distributor, only the cap.
The second question is about a hesitation that we are experiencing when accelerating. The hesitation generally occur above 2,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm when driving and accelerating. It only last for a second or two and then the engine will continue to rev. It does not happen every time, but often. We have replaced the fuel filters and the fuel pressure at start is 40 psi, dropping to 30 psi. We have replaced the cap, rotor, plugs, wires. I am wondering about the ignition module. There does not appear to be any misfire. The rpm just drop for a second and then returns.
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Well, I was hoping someone would respond. I think you probably have an automatic. I have only owned one automatic and I noticed a lag myself in the only auto I have owned. Would feel like it hesistaes and then roar to almost 6k.

It got better with taking up the slack behind the gas pedal on both the transmission and throttle cables. It might just be normal for when the computer determines WOT and the transmission down shifts. I am not in the habit of beating on other's vehicles at WOT, so I can't really say if it is normal for all the A4LD B2s.

As for the pan/intake, wish I could comment, I have never done it in the vehicle as far as I can remember.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is an automatic. I will look into the cable slack, but this happens only under load and not always at WOT. The problem seems to be more electical, or computer/sensor related as it happens when there is a higher demand for acceleration and usually only above 2500 rpm, then the engine appears to die, the tach drops hundreds of rpm for a second and then the engine returns, the tach returns to where it dropped at and they will both continue to climb rpms. It is like the electrical/electronics stops and no fuel or combustion occurs. The problem has been with this vehicle since we have had it. The transmission has been rebuilt, but the problem is still there. It doesn't feel as if the transmission is between shifts. Thanks again.

 

Check all your ground / electrical connections to ensure they are clean and tight. Check all the wiring harness connectors for cleanliness / tightness. Check all your sensors (see the "tech info" section at the top of this forum, if it's still there - it has all the check procedures for all the sensors, etc.). Check the intake / throttlebody / IAC to see if there are deposits from the PCV lines - if they are coked up, clean 'em up. You may want to check your wiring connector(s) for the transmission - especially in regards to the solenoid(s). I can't remember the changeover month, but mid-88 and up has 2 solenoids. Does this happen from 1-2, 2-3, and/or 3-4 shifts? Could be a cr*ppy rebuild and you may want to invest some time in doing some parts upgrades. I forget the exact info, but there are a lot of little tricks to get the A4LD shifting a lot crisper and to prevent issues. A good transmission shop / mechanic would know this. It's definitely something that feedbacks to the ECU, so you will want to do an extensive check on everything you can. Slack in the throttle / kickdown cable or bad adjustment on either will also not help, that is something to look into as well. Hope this helps