jukematt
10+ Year Contributor
- 254
- 10
- Jun 13, 2009
-
Portland Metro,
Oregon
I have been trying to diagnose this issue for over a week now but becoming increasingly stumped. I've read countless threads on the same issue but haven't found any that apply to me.
Car sits idling fully warmed up in neutral. I push in the clutch. I do not try and put it in gear, just push the clutch in while in neutral, and the RPMs drop and the car tries to die.
If the engine is cold and I start it up, pushing in the clutch causes the RPMs to SLIGHTLY fluctuate but nothing like when it is fully warmed up.
Background:
A week after I get the car up and running with a new engine (read my profile for that story), the car is running smooth without any issues. I take it into a local car audio shop to install new speakers and a new alarm system. All good, no issues. 3 days later I go back in to have them install a new amp, subwoofer, and a new deck. They call me up telling my car is ready. I go in, start up the car, the guy shows me the new audio system. When I'm ready to go, I push in the clutch to shift into gear and the car immediately dies. I start her up again, let her idle for a second, seemingly no issues, I push the clutch in, the car immediately dies. I go back in the store and tell the guy at the counter who has been my primary contact and he is baffled. He talks to the installer, who messes with it for a bit before taking it into the back to check everything for around 40 minutes or so and finds nothing. They lead me back there and I don't' see anything out of the ordinary. We try a few things like disconnecting the power cable from the battery for the new amp, checking voltage, hooking up a device that checks if the battery or alternator are bad, etc. and can't find anything that is causing it.
Thankfully, I live only a couple of miles away from the store so I limp back. I think the car is trying to compensate since now in Neutral idling it doesn't immediately die anymore when pushing in the clutch, but it heavily bogs down, surges a little, then tries to die if I keep holding it in. But when driving, RPMs drop quicker at higher RPMs when pushing in the clutch so it tries to die every time.
I don't know if it is just a coincidence that this happened after a new amp/sub/deck install or if it is something they did. I don't know what all they touched when working on the car and naturally I'm sure they aren't going to blame themselves unless I find it is something they did. But with disconnecting power from the amp and the deck, and still having the same issue, I just don't know.
Self Checks, some after reading the forums:
Years ago I unplugged the switch on the clutch pedal that prevents you from starting the car with the clutch out. Still unplugged.
I did another boost leak test but it seems to be the same as before (I did one before I first started the new engine). I have the known leak at the throttle body (I think I need to rebuild the thing). There was a minor leak at the stock fuel pressure regulator I didn't notice before, not where it bolts to the fuel rail, but the regulator itself where the "hat" portion sort of folds over. I put a bunch of RTV over it as a temporary fix and let it sit for two days before starting again just to determine if that could cause the issue. No change.
I checked my ISC and it's good, I repeatedly checked my vacuum hoses to determine if there was one they bumped and disconnected or something. I have never tuned my car in the years I've had it so it has the stock tune as far as I'm aware.
I blow checked my PCV valve before installing the valve cover on my new engine but have not checked it again since the issue started. One thing I did with the new engine is install a check valve and a metal/plastic fuel filter as a catch can in between the PCV valve and intake manifold (credit to an old thread on here that details different catch can setups), along with a Mishimoto catch can between the valve cover and air intake. But both were done prior to the new engine starting. To rule out any new issues there, I bypassed both those mods and hooked up a direct hose for each like stock. No change.
What could possibly even cause the RPMs to drop when idling in Neutral?! Maybe there is something I don't understand about our clutch system but there shouldn't be any load on the engine when pushing in the clutch in Neutral right?
I'm at a loss. Help? Please and thank you!
Car sits idling fully warmed up in neutral. I push in the clutch. I do not try and put it in gear, just push the clutch in while in neutral, and the RPMs drop and the car tries to die.
If the engine is cold and I start it up, pushing in the clutch causes the RPMs to SLIGHTLY fluctuate but nothing like when it is fully warmed up.
Background:
A week after I get the car up and running with a new engine (read my profile for that story), the car is running smooth without any issues. I take it into a local car audio shop to install new speakers and a new alarm system. All good, no issues. 3 days later I go back in to have them install a new amp, subwoofer, and a new deck. They call me up telling my car is ready. I go in, start up the car, the guy shows me the new audio system. When I'm ready to go, I push in the clutch to shift into gear and the car immediately dies. I start her up again, let her idle for a second, seemingly no issues, I push the clutch in, the car immediately dies. I go back in the store and tell the guy at the counter who has been my primary contact and he is baffled. He talks to the installer, who messes with it for a bit before taking it into the back to check everything for around 40 minutes or so and finds nothing. They lead me back there and I don't' see anything out of the ordinary. We try a few things like disconnecting the power cable from the battery for the new amp, checking voltage, hooking up a device that checks if the battery or alternator are bad, etc. and can't find anything that is causing it.
Thankfully, I live only a couple of miles away from the store so I limp back. I think the car is trying to compensate since now in Neutral idling it doesn't immediately die anymore when pushing in the clutch, but it heavily bogs down, surges a little, then tries to die if I keep holding it in. But when driving, RPMs drop quicker at higher RPMs when pushing in the clutch so it tries to die every time.
I don't know if it is just a coincidence that this happened after a new amp/sub/deck install or if it is something they did. I don't know what all they touched when working on the car and naturally I'm sure they aren't going to blame themselves unless I find it is something they did. But with disconnecting power from the amp and the deck, and still having the same issue, I just don't know.
Self Checks, some after reading the forums:
Years ago I unplugged the switch on the clutch pedal that prevents you from starting the car with the clutch out. Still unplugged.
I did another boost leak test but it seems to be the same as before (I did one before I first started the new engine). I have the known leak at the throttle body (I think I need to rebuild the thing). There was a minor leak at the stock fuel pressure regulator I didn't notice before, not where it bolts to the fuel rail, but the regulator itself where the "hat" portion sort of folds over. I put a bunch of RTV over it as a temporary fix and let it sit for two days before starting again just to determine if that could cause the issue. No change.
I checked my ISC and it's good, I repeatedly checked my vacuum hoses to determine if there was one they bumped and disconnected or something. I have never tuned my car in the years I've had it so it has the stock tune as far as I'm aware.
I blow checked my PCV valve before installing the valve cover on my new engine but have not checked it again since the issue started. One thing I did with the new engine is install a check valve and a metal/plastic fuel filter as a catch can in between the PCV valve and intake manifold (credit to an old thread on here that details different catch can setups), along with a Mishimoto catch can between the valve cover and air intake. But both were done prior to the new engine starting. To rule out any new issues there, I bypassed both those mods and hooked up a direct hose for each like stock. No change.
What could possibly even cause the RPMs to drop when idling in Neutral?! Maybe there is something I don't understand about our clutch system but there shouldn't be any load on the engine when pushing in the clutch in Neutral right?
I'm at a loss. Help? Please and thank you!
