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Car runs poorly. Loss Power. Sounds Like LawnMower

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triggerx

10+ Year Contributor
364
9
Aug 15, 2009
Gilbert, Arizona
So it pretty much happened out of know where honestly.
I just got done rebuilding this thing,timing belt, new seals all around, and a small 16g, but heres the weird part.
I had just started her up today and everything was pretty much perfect.
I go to work and come home a 6-8 hours later, try starting the car up and she runs like crap.
And no ones even touched the car.
When I start the car it barely idles for 30 seconds and dies. I can keep the car running if i give it gas though.

Sounds like a lawn mower honestly and there is major power loss. Car barely accelerates at all anymore.
Im assuming its running on less cylinders since it sounds like this, but why?

the cars not throwing any cel lights at all, new wires, and plugs, and gaskets pretty much all around. No noticeable vacuum leaks.

The only thing I can think of is maybe this ecu is toast? I just put it in here, but maybe the arizona heat got to it.IDK
 
sound like timing. recheck the timing due to it probably didnt have enough tension on it and jumped.
 
Make sure all of your spark plug wires are pushed in all the way, same with the injector clips. Just sounds like something came loose although an ECU issue is very possible.
 
try pulling one spark plug wire at a time while its running. if there is no change in the way its running with the wire out then that cylinder isnt firing.
 
Gotcha, ### I just replace the gaskets on my car and it has the same problem but now I can't getthe damn thing started and indont have a garage or all the tools in the world so ima tow it to a shop and see what the mechanic thinks bout it, atlases he's got tools and a garage haha

Sorry bout the bad spelling and grammar, stupid iPhone tries correcting things with out me noticing
 
I just checked the timing, it seems like its exactly where I left it. I didnt pull the lower timing cover off, so I could be wrong. But if the harmonic balancer lines up to the mark on the lower cover on the outside I should be fine.

I took the CAS off when the head is off, I didnt reset it or anything, didnt think I had to. I just bolted it right back up. Literally the car was pulling like a champ, i started it a few times in the driveway just to let it idle, and there was no problem. Im going to pull the ecu tomorrow if nothing is visibly wrong with the timing.
Thats the only thing I can think of going wrong out of nowhere.

Ive had this happen before, and it was the ecu. However it was throwing a code intermittently. This just continues to run like crap. hopefully an ecu swap solves this problem. At that point I dont what else it could be.
I checked every plug, and each one looked as clean as I put them in.

I will note that I reused an old plug wire tho since One of my NGKs broke off at the tip.(NGKs must be cheaply made because they always break taking them out) However this wire was less than a few months old. I just got a new set because the wire broke before the rebuild).

I dont think its an exhaust leak though ### it really does sound like its firing off the wrong cylinders
 
Pretty sure I do, I was looking at the book when I did it. Like I said, the car ran perfect and pulled pretty hard. I didnt get on it too hard considering I need break in this belt first a bit, but with the mbc dialed all the way down Im surprised it had the get up it did.

like you all said, it could even be the distributor, but something tells me it might just be a coincidence that the ecu went bad.
 
Yeah well hope you get that all taken care of, mines having the same issues sadly, but if you figure out what was wrong with it you should pm me on what you did so I can see if it works on my car before I decide to take it to a shop
 
So im thinking its not the ecu after swapping that. But I did notice something new.
Every time I turn the key to the on position I hear a loud clicking noise in the engine bay, and then it goes away after clicking loudly
 
mine did this after i put my last plugs in. wires were in the wrong order. itll do it if a spark plug pops out to from not being tight enough.
 
Have you rechecked your timing?

Just the timing marks on the cam shaft sprockets, and those line up just fine. But Im guessing Im going to have to pull the lower timing cover So I know for sure.

I have a mark on my harmonic balancer that I lined up to the t on the lower timing cover. After looking at it, its no longer matching up to the t. Im guessing that means my belt slipped., even tho the cam sprocket marks are dead on.

So Tonyspyder you might be on to something, ill pull the lower cover today to find out for sure.

Because I swapped ecus, Im getting spark to all the cylinders, and honestly pulling either of them out really didnt change how the car sounded.
 
Just the timing marks on the cam shaft sprockets, and those line up just fine. But Im guessing Im going to have to pull the lower timing cover So I know for sure.

I have a mark on my harmonic balancer that I lined up to the t on the lower timing cover. After looking at it, its no longer matching up to the t. Im guessing that means my belt slipped., even tho the cam sprocket marks are dead on.

So Tonyspyder you might be on to something, ill pull the lower cover today to find out for sure.

Because I swapped ecus, Im getting spark to all the cylinders, and honestly pulling either of them out really didnt change how the car sounded.

yea mines did the same thing after the head rebuild. i boost leak it, checked compression, changed tps, iac motor. everything. even checked igition timing. last thing to my head was the timing either slipped or was done wrong. took it to a dyno shopped and we found the problem. one gear was 3 degree advance and the other was 2 degree retarded. lucky i didnt damage anything. after we put the timing back correctly bam the car ran like nothing happened. take a look again. good luck
 
You guys think it could
Be a problem with his distributer?

Pretty sure I do, I was looking at the book when I did it. Like I said, the car ran perfect and pulled pretty hard. I didnt get on it too hard considering I need break in this belt first a bit, but with the mbc dialed all the way down Im surprised it had the get up it did.

like you all said, it could even be the distributor, but something tells me it might just be a coincidence that the ecu went bad.

Come on guys.. distributor... really? :ohdamn: This isn't a v8. My guess is you are not getting spark on 2 cylinders. Verify which cylinders you are getting a spark on or not. Do this by pulling one of the wires at a time and see which ones you pull change how the engine runs. It's more than likely going to be cylinders 1&4 that are not firing or 2&3 that are not. When you find out which 2 aren't firing then check back. My guess it is probably a coil pack that went bad on you. Could be numerous things though such as CAS, transistor, ECU, etc. I would start with the coil pack first since that is the easiest and cheapest to check and replace.
 
true what these guys say too. bad coil could cause this problem too. main thing to check is coil pack and timing. x out the iac motor and tps.
 
I think I figured out what my problem was.
The timing is completely off, I mean the cams are lined up perfectly, but for some reason it slipped. As for why it slipped I think I found my culprit.
After taking off the lower timing cover(which is a PITA, honestly probably harder than setting the timing) I found the oil pump sprocket bolt just chilling in the lower cover. It came loose some how, so I guess i should have used red loktite on the threads maybe? Im pretty sure I torqued it to the spec tho.
Im hoping after the crazy amount of times I started the car, the belt and the valves are alright.

So in other words the crank and the oil pump sprocket are out of time with the cams.

You guys think I messed anything up?
I turn the motor by hand just fine
 
compression test will tell you a little if you damage anything. best bet is to do a leak down test
 
I'm having the same issue also. I thought my cas came loose again but it didn't. I advanced it a little more runs way better but tomorrow I'm redoing the timing so I don't have to have it Jerry rigged to run good.
 
And btw any reason u should replace the oil pump sprocket? We tried tightening the bolt, but at a certain point it skipped a tooth or two while tightening the bolt
 
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