93 DOHC GS problems

[TYL3R]

a few months ago I bought a 93 GS eclipse. ive always loved the 1g eclipses, and i found a guy selling one really cheap because it needed a tranny/clutch/idle surge/few other smaller things. So i got a new clutch, used tranny, and fixed the other things. among of the the many problems was air leak in the intake manifold. upon inspection, i learned that someone previously had taken the manifold apart, tore the gasket into like 5 pieces, and attempted to just reuse it by placing the pieces together sorta like a puzzle and put it all back together
so i fixed that, and it seemed to correct my idle surge for the most part. I put some fresh fluids in it, new oil filter, and fixed a leak in the power steering pump.
ran pretty good for a while. had to replace the thermostat a few weeks later. did a coolant flush after i changed the thermo. expecting to drain out something that resembled the color of prestone, you can imagine i was pretty...shocked, if you will, when i opened the drain plug and brownish-yellow water started dumping out.... :/
anyhow, i flushed it with 3 gallons of distilled water, and filled it up with Toyota Red coolant. that was just some background so you all know what im dealing with. now on to the real problem...
The idle surge eventually returned. i cleaned the throttle body, and have seafoamed it a few times to help get rip of the carbon buildup in the intake manifold. it ran fine for a like a day after the cleaning, then started idling like crap again. figured it was the IACV, so i replaced it. (side note: ive had the idle scew opened up a ways so it wouldnt stall out on me, especially when i used the A/C) so after i put the new IACV in, i started the car, and it immediately reved up to about 2k rpm. so i adjusted the idle screw down so it idled about 800 (my mechanic friend told me thats where it should idle, sounds right to me. correct me if im wrong) and it was already warmed up, as i had just been driving for a good hour and a half, so it was at operating temp. so it was running fine, and i was very happy! drove it around for a while, everything seemed fine. i went to m buddies house for a few hours, then when i started my car back up to go home, the idle surge was back. so i drove home and went to bed (it was like 2am at this point) next day i went to my car, stared it up, and, believe it or not, the idle was WORSE than it had ever been. which makes no sense to me at all. im about to drive this car off a cliff. ive dumped at least $1500-$2000 into it just trying to get it to run DECENT. the seller really ####ed me over on this. but i love the car still, and i just hate giving up.
what else is there that would affect the idle so much? and btw, ive never got a check engine light. i did when i had that air leak, but it went away after that.

and one other problem... the car has 191xxx miles, so i dnt expect it t run like a dream or anything, but it just started making a very interesting noise the other day. it sounds... almost glassy. im not very good at describing noises, so ill try to record it and share it so you can hear it. but any ideas there?
thanks in advance!

 

[Abe'sGST]

have you checked your plugs and wires?

 

[TYL3R]

plugs yes. they are pretty damn new, replaced them when i got the car. havent really checked the wires myself. but ive the car at my mechanics shop for some of the things i couldnt do myself (lack of lifts, certain tools, other equipment) so im not sure if he checked the wires.
btw, here is a link to a video.
MVI_0001.AVI - YouTube
not the best camera man at 7am in the dark when im freezin my ass off and tired
and i moved the camera around so much because i wasnt sure if the odd sounds was picking up at all.
hope it helps

i know the engine looks like crap. some covers are missing and whatnot. i know its not a real pretty engine. but for now all i want is for it to run decent. and if you watch the video, thats actually the best its ran after startup for a long time. it usually stalls 4 or 5 times before it will stay running

 

[Nosroxs]

hmm... just by the video it really sounds like a pulley wobbling maybe the crank pulley or exhaust cam if one of them 2 pulleys are loose the crank and cam sensors are not gonna send the same signals to the ecu causing it to idle surge like that. at least i would believe so.. but hmm it really sounds like a pulley and while watching the video you could see a little wobble in the timing belt so id check there first and make sure your crank pulley is in good working order..

 

[TYL3R]

hmm... just by the video it really sounds like a pulley wobbling maybe the crank pulley or exhaust cam if one of them 2 pulleys are loose the crank and cam sensors are not gonna send the same signals to the ecu causing it to idle surge like that. at least i would believe so.. but hmm it really sounds like a pulley and while watching the video you could see a little wobble in the timing belt so id check there first and make sure your crank pulley is in good working order..

, i feel so stupid for not thinking about that.
ill check all that and get back with results.

also, i checked my plugs and wires. wires checked out fine. 2 of my plugs were fine. one had a very small amount of oil on it. mostly right under the threads. and the other plug was fouled up, had quite a bit of black sooty crap on it.
so i know the one with oil means that cylinders rings are going bad right?
what about the black sooty one?

 

[Nosroxs]

black sooty crap on it.
so i know the one with oil means that cylinders rings are going bad right?
what about the black sooty one?

not necessarily,,at high miles, all piston rings should be bout the same "shot" no i am just kidding, oil on the plugs isnt to much to worry about just a sign your plugs aint burning enough and might just be valve seals,, as long as you dont have heavy smoke blowing out the tail pipe "correct me if im wrong guys" but i was always taught a little oil on plugs is a good sign maybe bad if its only on one cylinder "signs of plug foul" but from the video it sounds like the engine is running fine except for the idle surge which i think we might of already narrowed that down to a bad crank pulley, id do some more research and get back... good luck..

 

[TYL3R]

not necessarily,,at high miles, all piston rings should be bout the same "shot" no i am just kidding, oil on the plugs isnt to much to worry about just a sign your plugs aint burning enough and might just be valve seals,, as long as you dont have heavy smoke blowing out the tail pipe

no smoke at all! never has been. so that makes me feel a little better.
and with how terribly the previous owners treated this car, nothing really surprises me. i could make a pretty good list of all the stupid shit they did to my dsm. haha
but seriously man, thanks a ton! i never expected first answer to be something that will probably fix it! your my hero bro! haha

 

[Nosroxs]

don't jump the gun and thank me just yet.. can't be 100% that is what it is but that is my first guess.. i hope it is.. only a $50 fix cheaper if you buy one from a junk yard, but i am having problems with my crank pulley right now also and it made similar noises and from the wobble of the timing belt when my crank pulley went i seen wobble in my timing belt too.. keep your fingers crossed and start the car and take a good look at that crank pulley to see if it wobbles even a little bit if it does, take the 4 12mm bolts off remove the pulley and examine the rubber dampner in the pulley for sign of wear "cracks, missing chunks, looseness etc." good luck..

 

[okm12346]

that sounds like an AC pump pulley wobbling. Its common for older cars.

 

[Nosroxs]

i listened to the video again and it still sounds like a pulley , but if all pulleys check out id look into the inner parts like ac motor shaft wobble or maybe water pump bearings going out "probably not because i think you would see water leakage" alternator shaft? but i am gonna still say crank pulley/harmonic dampner..

 

[TYL3R]

well i havent been able to work on my car at all this weekend, as its my bday weekend. big 20 today. yay for halloween bday! haha

but i was thinking about what you told me to check, and i have a question.
if that pulley IS loose, and causing the a sensor to be off, wouldnt it idle bad ALL the time? because it doesnt idle surgre forever, just a few mins if you let it just sit there and idle. or if i start drivingright away, it will be fine after driving it just down the block. so the idle surge doesnt last. but it is terrible at startup.

and 2 other problem i need help with. the gas guage needle. when i first got the car, it was 1/4 off. so if i filled it completely up, it would read 3/4 tank. so one day i filled it up, took the guage cluster out, pulled the needle off, and stuck it back on at full. seemed to kinda work. although while im driving it doesnt seem to always be very accurate. then when it gets down to 1/4, it just stops. and the gas light starts blinking when i hit 1/4 tank. i replaced the tank a while back because it had a pinhole leak. then one i got was from a junkyard, and had a little bit of rust inside it. which i cleand up as best i could. but it plugged my fuel filter eventually, so i replaced it. and its starting to plug my new one. a friend of mine told me it wont just rust forever since theres gas in it now. is that true? i honestly dont know. what can i do about rust in my tank?

 

[Nosroxs]

first off happy birthday man, one more year to go till you can legally get smashed to forget about all the problems your dsm is giving you .. yes the crank dampner could just be off kilter long enough to mess with your sensor till it warms up and wobbles back into alignment seems kinda far fetched tho.. but still the sound still sounds like a pulley so maybe the 2 problems are connected maybe they are not lots of things can cause idle surge... bad maf or other sensors cps/cas, vacuum leak, clogged air filter, or the rust from your gas tank .. honestly it could be about anything... as for the needle problem on the gas gauge .. not to much you can do but first i would go down and fill the tank as much as you possibly can, then take the gauge cluster off and set the needle to the full mark, if you get close to empty "fuel warning light comes on" and it still don't go past 1/8 of a tank you might have a problem with your needle being bent or the needle shaft is out of alignment or worst it could be your fuel gauge sending unit, first thing i would do is get a new tank"rust free "... rust will only ruin more parts, injectors/fuel filter/fuel pump etc. after getting a new tank run some injector cleaner and get a new gas filter. a cheap fuel gauge sending unit is on this page
http://www.amazon.com/OES-Genuine-S...5?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1320132511&sr=1-25
or if you are getting a new fuel pump with it get this brand new combo fuel pump/sending unit
New Airtex Fuel Pump With Sending Unit Coupe Chrysler Sebring 2000 99 98 97 Auto | eBay

and a new tank will not be cheap but here is the cheapest i found $100 shipped isnt bad.

DSM Graveyard - Your #1 Source for DSM Parts! 90 to 94 Gas tank N/T

If you want to go even cheaper and get used parts check the classifieds on this site im shure someone has these parts cheap

http://www.dsmtuners.com/classifieds/search.php


Good Luck bro enjoy your b-day and dont let the DSM get to ya DSM's are pain in the asses but as nice as they are.. they are worth it


DSM FOR LIFE !!!