Anyone have 4age/ae86 experience?, Got some problems... Options

[Delta_Phoenix]

I'm working on an '86 ae86 and I'm having some trouble getting it to run. It'll start but after about 10 sec. it just dies. Planning on buying it IF I can get it to run. Looking for some advice. I'll add details if I get some responses.

[Delta_Phoenix]

Yay replies! Here's some details on what I know and what I've done to it.

So far I've installed:

New fuel pump
New ignition rotor
New fuel filter
New spark plugs
New clutch slave cylinder (irrelevant to my situation but it needed one anyway)

Hows the idle for those 10 seconds that it's running? Do you need to keep your foot on the gas to keep it running for those 10 seconds? An AFM issue would be my first guess. Are you a member of club4ag?

Idle is smooth as a baby's bottom, no misses or sputters. I don't have to keep my foot on the gas for it to start and idle. The MAF sensor looks to be in good condition; the flap opens and closes properly and the internals look good. And... no I'm not a member but I do have the page bookmarked, just haven't joined yet.

is it a 4AGE?? or is it a 4A??...SR5 or GTS?? I would say check the basics, fuel, spark, air on both. And if its GTS and has a 4age, check the connections on the fuel pump, and AFM. If its SR5, pull the air filter off and check the carb for gas. See what condition the gas is in. Smelly, burns on your fingers, dirty, etc. I have a feeling its more of an electrical problem if its 4AGE, but if its SR5 i have a feeling its a carb problem.

Also, just check for the corolla hole. Under the brake master cylinder, theres a hole that always rots out. Just check the structure of the firewall under it.

Yes it is a fuel injected 4A-GE bluetop, bigport head and T-VIS intake manifold. As far as the trim, I have no clue. It's an AE86 coupe. The previous owner, a friend of mine, said the motor was swapped in by the person that had it before him. I'm not a guru by any means on the AE86, but it hasn't been cut up or anything to allow room for the driveshaft, it looks completely factory. So whatever motor was in it before was also set up for RWD. The only evidence I've seen that this is a swap is that there are a couple plugs (one on each fender well) that aren't plugged into anything at all. The check engine light is functional but it isn't on after I start it, so I assume there's no problems recognized by the ECU. The gas was in "usable" condition. It had about a quarter tank sitting in it for a year or so and I added about 6 gallons of fresh 93 octane to it, along with some B12 cleaner. It's free of the rotting hole you mentioned


Now just some general info not covered previously. The timing on this thing is tricky, I'm still not sure if it's 100% correct. However, it does start and experiences no knock or anything, so if it's not exactly right, it's extremely close. I'm not sure if this would have the affect of causing it to die or not. It's getting plenty of fuel, and it's a good idea not to stick your hand over the intake cause it'll suck you in. I haven't tested spark at all but as I stated, it has brand new plugs and a new ignition rotor in the distributor. The distributor looks to be in good shape. The cap looks brand new. The plug wires are fairly new from what my friend tells me, so I didn't replace them.

After I start it, it doesn't want to take rev very well at all. I have to gradually give it throttle and it will rev up to about 4500 rpm before it starts to miss and dies almost instantly (timing?). After installing the new fuel filter it responded much better to throttle but still didn't solve the problem completely. There are some vacuum leaks that I'm still tracing down, but I expect them to be small and doubt this would cause the stalling. When it stalls, it's instant. There's no sputtering, missing (unless it's being revved), or vibration. It's like after 10 seconds (nearly exact every time), it stops getting spark. I could be wrong, but it seems like if it was still trying to ignite even while stalling it would sputter a bit. Giving it throttle when it stalls does absolutely nothing. That's about all I have for it... Everything works. Headlights, sunroof. Body is almost perfect, but paint needs some TLC. I really want this car to RUN!