Almostfaster
Probationary Member
- 8
- 0
- Nov 7, 2018
-
Cassville,
Missouri
I did a head gasket replacement on my 1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse 1.8L. Now let me start off by saying the head gasket was not blown but had an external leak at the oil jacket by cylinder #4. This was creating a river of oil down the side of the block and onto the bell housing of the tranny. Since it was not blown there was no overheating or coolant in oil problems.
After replacing the gasket and getting everything to TDC I timed the ignition by ear as I'm too cheap for a timing light. After first start up the engine did not want to high idle at the 1200-1500rpms it would high idle at before the repairs. Instead it shudders around the 500rpm range until warm and the idle will eventually smooth out to the normal 850-950rpms.
But thats not all. The engine seems to have a very odd powerband now and chooses when it wants to hesitate or have power. This is really my problem it has less power and hard starts when cold.
I am hoping any 1.8 owners have ran into similar issues and diagnosed succesfully. Are these engines finicky when it comes to ignition timing? Should I spend the $30 for a budget timing light and try to get it specifically on a proper time? If so what is the degrees for BTDC on this engine? Ive used the search function and attempted to skim through literature I have access to and can't find this information.
Compression was checked after gasket replacement and was a straight 160 (+/- 2) across the board. Engine ran like a clock prior to completing this repair. Any suggestions would help. Thanks in advance.
After replacing the gasket and getting everything to TDC I timed the ignition by ear as I'm too cheap for a timing light. After first start up the engine did not want to high idle at the 1200-1500rpms it would high idle at before the repairs. Instead it shudders around the 500rpm range until warm and the idle will eventually smooth out to the normal 850-950rpms.
But thats not all. The engine seems to have a very odd powerband now and chooses when it wants to hesitate or have power. This is really my problem it has less power and hard starts when cold.
I am hoping any 1.8 owners have ran into similar issues and diagnosed succesfully. Are these engines finicky when it comes to ignition timing? Should I spend the $30 for a budget timing light and try to get it specifically on a proper time? If so what is the degrees for BTDC on this engine? Ive used the search function and attempted to skim through literature I have access to and can't find this information.
Compression was checked after gasket replacement and was a straight 160 (+/- 2) across the board. Engine ran like a clock prior to completing this repair. Any suggestions would help. Thanks in advance.
