Car dies, feels bogged down, burning rubber smell, oil and metal shavings ... WHAT just happened?

[raptoranderson]

So I took my '98 2G Eclipse GST out to drop off a buddy at the Amtrak station before I headed 20 minutes south to pick up some salvage Eclipse parts from a wrecker's. It's a cold af Michigan morning and the car is a little slow to get started but it fires up after a few turns of the engine and we set off down the road.

I pull out of the side road onto the main road and get up to 5,500 rpms in first gear and drop the clutch to change into second and .... the car dies. I popped the clutch out and ... the car fires up for a second and then dies. I pop the clutch out again and .... it dies. I shift down into first and pop the clutch out and ... it doesn't feel like it's in first gear? And the car dies.

So I push it into a sideroad 25 yards down the road with my buddy steering (he had to take an Uber the rest of the way ) and I head back to my house to grab a battery charger and charge the battery. After a 10 minute walk there and back and 20 minutes of charging the battery the car fires up and I turn around to head back home.

I put the car into first gear, give it plenty of gas and ease out the clutch and the car feels bogged down? Like it's not in first gear. So I take it out of 'first', put it back into first and it feels the same way. I then try a third time and the car finally decides it likes first gear now and it drives fine so I can do a u-turn and head back.

BUT there is the unmistakably strong smell of what seemed to me like burning rubber. But that's ludicrous? I was going no more than 10mph the whole way home and I drove it more slowly and smoothly with baby-like delicacy than I have ever done in my life. When I get home I pull in and pop the hood to look for clues and find what the pictures show below: metal shavings and oil all around the cam gears and the driver's side of the engine.

What does any of this mean??

Prior issues and notes with the car:
-The car is never driven far enough for the battery to fully charge.
-The AF ratio is lean because of the bigger turbo, but there are supporting mods around the corner waiting to fix this.
-It has a stage-2 clutch and a short-shift kit: needless to say that driving is a struggle at best.

 

[raptoranderson]

Another note I forgot to add ^
-When I took the car in for its first service a year ago (only 50 miles of driving since then) the mechanic and I found metal shavings in the oil pan. But the engine had been ported, polished and the head had been milled 5,500 miles prior to this and the previous owner seems like a clueless idiot and some of the shavings clearly were from drill bits. But the mechanic described the metal flakes as being 'malleable, almost bearing-like material'.

This car is gonna be the death of me

 

[ThunderChild]

Being that it's probabaly a 7 bolt, and youre having clutch/drivability issues, it could be crank walk. have a freind look at the crank while the car is running in neutral, and see if it moves axially (from pass-to-drivers side) when you depress the clutch pedal.

Start checking around the front for areas the shavings could come from as well. are the shavings aluminum or steel/iron?

 

[raptoranderson]

Being that it's probabaly a 7 bolt, and youre having clutch/drivability issues, it could be crank walk. have a freind look at the crank while the car is running in neutral, and see if it moves axially (from pass-to-drivers side) when you depress the clutch pedal.

Start checking around the front for areas the shavings could come from as well. are the shavings aluminum or steel/iron?

Where would I look at the crankshaft from? Would I have to remove the oil pan and then have someone watch the crankshaft?

And the material was fairly tough and difficult to bend/ shape, but I think it maybe from the cam gears digging into something ... I suppose I'll thoroughly clean the engine and then keep an eye out for any metal shavings returning to the same spot.

Also the burning smell; I spoke to a mechanic today whilst messing around with spare parts at a used car lot and he said that the valve cover gasket will shrink in the cold and that oil will leak out of the engine and onto hot parts of the exhaust and engine block causing that burning smell until the gasket heats up and the leak stops. He said the only solution is just to drive the car more often. Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?

 

[ThunderChild]

Watch the balancer to see if it moves in and out.

The burning smell, we'll need to know what it smells like.

Is there a metal timing cover that got bent into the cars path possibly?

 

[boostdawd]

Check your battery voltage at idle. A bad alternator will have a huge effect on drivability if running on battery load.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Is there evidence the cam gears chewed something if you are suggiesting so? Isnyour timing belt burned anywhere (burning rubber?) look around the head gasket also.

Metal shaving after 5,500 miles is no bueno. That motor should be clean as sh!t after that much use. You will need to pull the pan and check the bearings. How long have you been driving it since you found these shavings? Did you clean the oil pan after finsing them or just drain the oil and call it good?

 

[gsxeclipse102]

Not sure if this is common with 2g's but ive seen crankshaft balancers split at the rubber bond. Causes burning rubber smell and the alternator to barely charge or not charge at all.

 

[raptoranderson]

The burning smell, we'll need to know what it smells like.

Is there a metal timing cover that got bent into the cars path possibly?

When I first smelled it to me it almost smells like burning rubber. But as I said, when I test drove an M5 yesterday just for the fun of it I smelled exactly the same smell when driving it. It must've been like 23*F outside

And there is no timing cover. Yay previous owner! So that will probably explain some of it. But the outside edge of the cam gears facing away from the engine have some notable scuffs and scrapes on them.

Check your battery voltage at idle. A bad alternator will have a huge effect on drivability if running on battery load.

What sort of voltage would be considered normal? I've always heard around about 12.5V when the car is off and roughly 13.7V when running or something along those lines ...

Metal shaving after 5,500 miles is no bueno. That motor should be clean as sh!t after that much use. You will need to pull the pan and check the bearings. How long have you been driving it since you found these shavings? Did you clean the oil pan after finsing them or just drain the oil and call it good?

When I had the oil changed and we found the metal shavings, I had the oil pan cleaned out as well as the small oil strainer which had pieces of metal stuck in it and then had the oil replaced. Since then the car has only gone 50 or so miles, if that! I told myself once it reaches another 450 miles that I'll take it back into the shop and check the oil pan again to see if the shavings have returned.

 

[oneslowwdsm]

Pull your lower timing covers and check the balance shaft belt. I'm willing to bet that is disintegrating. Could also have jumped timing. Doesn't really explain metal shavings though, could be just debris.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Your engine needs new bearings and a clean..... you can't just keep running it after you find shavings in the oil.......... sounds to me like your in for a rebuild. My oil filter backed off and poured oil all over the highway, and it started knocking, there was bearing material in the oil, the head was destroyed, but the rods and crank and pistons still looked new after bearings were taken out, anytime there is shavings the motor needs to be completely cleaned.

 

[raptoranderson]

I ran my car today to check for any wobbling gears or a moving balancer and saw nothing out of the ordinary. The oil pump sprocket seemed to be wobbling from side to side but I think this may just be the way the belt is fitted since the same sensation can be seen if looking at the cam gears from above.

However I happened to see some oil dripping down from underneath the car and found the source to be coming from side of the oilpan nearest the rear of the car. And it was significantly dripping, a good drop or so every couple seconds. New oil pan, gasket, drain plug and oil pan bolts?

Also the burning smell went away after driving the car for a while. I'll buy a new valve cover seal and see if that solves anything ....

 

[Archer Fabrications]

No you need to take the motor to a machine shop have them disassemble and clean it, if the shavings were in your pan and stuck in your pick up, you can bet it's in the block and heads oil passages, if you keep running it with contaminated oil you risk losing the turbo too. It needs to be cleaned, not just a new pan and bolts. You will be abke to see where the shavings came from when you remove the bearings and inspect. I know it's not what you want to hear but I'm sure others will agree

 

[Boomdeeze]

It is situations like this that DSMs get a bad name. You found metal shavings in your pan but continue to drive it. Your mechanic is not very good if he thinks it is ok to find metal shavings in the pan 5,500 miles after a rebuild. I would take the engine apart and salvage what you can before you detonate that entire engine.

 

[raptoranderson]

No you need to take the motor to a machine shop have them disassemble and clean it, if the shavings were in your pan and stuck in your pick up, you can bet it's in the block and heads oil passages, if you keep running it with contaminated oil you risk losing the turbo too.

Know ye of any such machine shops around the Michigan area? Specifically Detroit. I was honestly disappointed the mechanic didn't at least check the thrust bearings to see what condition they were in before simply shrugging and saying "bearing material", though he had owned several DSMs in his day. That whole garage was full of jerks anyways ...

And if/ when the engine does need a rebuild, is it worth rebuilding a 7-bolt engine or should I just bite the bullet then and there and get a 6-bolt? I've found forged pistons, a crank, new thrust bearings, ARP head studs and an MLS head gasket for $1500 as part of a kit. That plus a new timing kit, some machine work on the block and the head, bigger fuel injectors, bigger fuel pump, AFPR and ECMlink V3 should put me at ... $5000-6000 total?

 

[raptoranderson]

I've heard mixed reviews about Buschur racing in Wakeman, Ohio. They only build 6-bolt engines though. The first work that was done on the engine was done by Pearce Race Engines in Potterville, MI, but I honestly doubt they're a trustworthy shop since the engine is in the condition it is now only 5,500 miles after the rebuild

 

[Dsmkauai]

Hit up Brian Terhune he's in Indian, he's the mitsu man bro!

 

[raptoranderson]

Hit up Brian Terhune he's in Indian, he's the mitsu man bro!

What's the name of his shop? Lol there's probably a few Brians in Indiana

 

[Dsmkauai]

Terhune racworks. He had a website sorta but says under construction now. You can call or email him and see if he's still taking work. He's the only one I would have do work that I can't!
[email protected], 1 (317) 339-2145. If not him there's always Boostin performance in Chitown. Would be my 2 choices

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Can't really go wrong with boostin performance in chicago, you can get a good bottom end done for around 3-3500 or so

They have the fastest manual dsm in the world (mph) and they are closeish to you, theres also english racing in southern washington, they have the quickest auto dsm in the world (ET)

People holding world records id imagine know a thing or two about the 4g63, weather 7 or 6bolt

 

[raptoranderson]

I'm really liking the looks of Boostin Performance actually ... I'll have to give them a call at the start of this week.

Is there any point in all of this if the car is FWD, however? I mean, won't it be held back because of that? I was always under the impression that it would be ...

 

[Archer Fabrications]

I'm really liking the looks of Boostin Performance actually ... I'll have to give them a call at the start of this week.

Is there any point in all of this if the car is FWD, however? I mean, won't it be held back because of that? I was always under the impression that it would be ...

Nah your fine just need a good suspension and tire setup, @keltalon made 800whp fwd, and the fwd hondas are now in the 7's awd is great but at least with fwd you have less parts to break

 

[raptoranderson]

at least with fwd you have less parts to break

That is a good way to look at it I'm excited to see what the future will hold for my Eclipse! As filthy and green as it is I do love it .. I'll make sure I dig deep into my wallet to fund the project fully. I'll keep my DSM profile up-to-date as I go!

 

[Dsmkauai]

Check out @richard33's gst in the 9's bro. I was just about to 11's with my small 16g setup before the stupid balance shaft belt took out my motor . It's all about the setup and driver bro. The main things that helped me was a lsd, slicks for the track, suspension, staged boost control and Terhune racework cryoed super beefy axles and of course the most important seat time

 

[chrysler kid]

I ran my car today to check for any wobbling gears or a moving balancer and saw nothing out of the ordinary. The oil pump sprocket seemed to be wobbling from side to side but I think this may just be the way the belt is fitted since the same sensation can be seen if looking at the cam gears from above.

However I happened to see some oil dripping down from underneath the car and found the source to be coming from side of the oilpan nearest the rear of the car. And it was significantly dripping, a good drop or so every couple seconds. New oil pan, gasket, drain plug and oil pan bolts?

Also the burning smell went away after driving the car for a while. I'll buy a new valve cover seal and see if that solves anything ....

That oil pump pulley should not be moving around at all. The pulley sits over top of the oil pump shaft and there is a raised piece of the front case that the oil pump sprocket sits OVER in order to keep the oil pump shaft seal from leaking. So that pulley I call it a sprocket, has a seal behind it for the oil pump shaft. The pulley sits over the seal to keep oil from leaking, the fit is snug over the seal and the raised piece of front case for the oil pump housing shaft hole

Exterior metal shavings and power loss can be from that oil pump sprocket rubbing on the front case housing inside the pulley, restricting movement of the timing belt

Internal shavings are probably from that oil pump being installed incorrectly

And the oil leak is probably from the man front case gasket being installed incorrectly after a new oil pump was out in.

Either way that engine is running on borrowed time.

You could attempt to install a new oil pump and front case gasket, it's one of the most difficult jobs to perform on a DSM with the engine in the car