420a air/fuel problem w/ video

[jakelandry]

I cranked my car this morning and noticed it was idling very choppy. Then when i took off it just bogged down. After a while of driving it will eventually straighten out and run a little better... its like the ecu lags or something.. The video's description has some info and the video has some captions. Sorry the vid is so bad, im in desperate need of help and my dad is threatening to have my car towed and put in the junkyard. Being as im in college and have a job, i have to get this fixed soon so any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated in advance.

YouTube - Dsm problem

 

[BIRDCLAWTSi]

It definatley sounds like an ignition missfire. (Plugs, Wires And coils), Spray water on the spark plug wires and coils and look for sparks(Easiest in the dark), Pull out the spark plugs and examine them. See if one plug is black and the others are good ,Visually inspect the wires. You need to find out if there is spark at each plug.You can do this by pulling one wire off at a time(car off) and stick a screwdriver into the end, Rest it against the valve cover or something metal, Start the car and see if there is arching going on at the screwdriver. Do this for all 4. If you dont find it to be an ignition problem ,It could be a big vacuum leak, Check all of the vacuum lines, There should be a vacuum line routing diagram under the hood. You can also unplug one injector at a time while the car is running and see if the idle changes. If you pull one and it does not effect the idle then you know which cylinder you are dealing with. I would also suggest a compression test. If you have a vacuum gauge i would throw it on there just to see if it is a valve timing issue,(Belt skipped, Burnt valve, Etc...)Let us know how you make out. Good luck
-Dave

 

[jakelandry]

It sounds like a missfire. It could be in the ignition, (Plugs, Wires And coils), Spray water on the spark plug wires and coils and look for sparks(Easiest in the dark), Pull out the spark plugs and examine them. See if one plug is black and the others are good ,Visually inspect the wires. You need to find out if there is spark at each plug.You can do this by pulling one wire off at a time(car off) and stick a screwdriver into the end, Rest it against the valve cover or something metal, Start the car and see if there is arching going on at the screwdriver. Do this for all 4. It could be a big vacuum leak, Check all of the vacuum lines, There should be a vacuum diagram under the hood. You can also unplug one injector at a time while the car is running and see if the idle changes. If you pull one and it does not effect the idle then you know which cylinder you are dealing with. I would also suggest a compression test. If you have a vacuum gauge i would throw it on there just to see if it is a valve timing issue,(Belt skipped, Burnt valve, Etc...)Let us know how you make out. Good luck
-Dave

Well i thought plugs, wires, vaccume too. But if i drive the car very slowly only pushing the pedal a cm at a time it it goes away after a while, all of those problems would be continuous. As for compression i just assume i have good compression cause my exhaust drips water which ive always been told is a sign of good compression. So the only thing i can think of to be a problem is a sensor, but my check engine light hasnt come on. If the car corrects itself after a while of driving it must be an ecu issue, or at least that seems to make the most sense. About a week ago i put a bag over my intake and pressure washed the grease off my motor so i assume i just completely demolished all the electronics and learned a lesson the hard way. however i am still open to suggestions of any kind. thanks for your reply though dave.

 

[BIRDCLAWTSi]

Water in the exhaust is a sign of moisture, not compression, I have seen cars that had good compression with coolant in the exhaust. From what i see in the video, It is a dead miss. It could be an internal coil failure, I would be suspect of the ignition systemm Unfortunately i cant see it in person cause i would have fixed it by now. You just have to do some detective work while it is acting up. I see alot of cars all day every day and the only way to fix them is to gather evidence, And do some testing. Good luck.

 

[jakelandry]

Water in the exhaust is a sign of moisture, not compression, I have seen cars that had good compression with coolant in the exhaust. From what i see in the video, It is a dead miss. It could be an internal coil failure, I would be suspect of the ignition systemm Unfortunately i cant see it in person cause i would have fixed it by now. You just have to do some detective work while it is acting up. I see alot of cars all day every day and the only way to fix them is to gather evidence, And do some testing. Good luck.

Well im about to go do all your first suggestions and wake the neighbors up. Thanks once again.

UPDATE:! after shocking myself repeatedly, i ckeked all the vaccume lined and plug lines again, and as i was tracing a vaccume line i saw a small single wire that branched from a group of wires and ran to the front of the object driven by pulley nearest the front of the car. It diddnt completely fix it but it seemed to help tremendously.