Major problems?? PLEASE HELP MEEE

[TurboDreamzGST]

hey...i got a 97 eclipse GST for anyone who doesn't know....tonite i was driving on the highway when all of a sudden my RPMs just dropped ridiculously low and my car shut off while driving! i got it to the side of the road and now when ever i go to start it....it WILL start but the RPMs will just drop down and the car will die if i don't rev it to keep it up...now when it is running....there is a very strong smell of gas....what could be the problem? my first impression was the spark plugs were bad and i was running on less than 4 cylinders and that gas smell was from my engine not burning off the fuel but the spark plugs are practically new.....now i was talking to the tow truck driver and he mentioned that it could be me alternator which i JUST replaced, bad spark plugs, bad fuel pump (which i dont think it could be because if it was i wouldnt be getting the car to start at all and would not get the gas smell cuz i wouldnt be getting gas to the motor) or even bad fuel injectors.....any opinions on what it could be would be VERY helpful.....THANKS!!

 

[TurboDreamzGST]

i also forgot to mention that its NOT the timing belt because we just replaced that as well and i know when the timing belt is gone usually the car will keep starting and riding rough until the belt finally breaks and in which case if you do continue driving your car you will need a new motor from bending all the valves

 

[clipse0001]

I noticed in your profile that you have an aftermarket BOV. Is it recirculated back into the intake? Did you check all the hoses and are they all connected. If this happened suddenly it is possible that a hose either ruptured or got blown off. Check the vac line that goes from the intake to the bov.

 

[TurboDreamzGST]

yea i do have a BOV and its not re-circtulated for the time being until i get the money to get the re-circ. kit but the BOV has been that way for over a month now and i havent had this problem but as for the vacuum lines...they're all connected....i was trying to check as many hoses and connections as possible to see if i noticed anything being unplugged and i didnt find anything...but thanks though....i did check those vacuum lines

 

[justin0469]

Make sure your MAS is plugged in, swap it out with a known good one if you know anyone else with a turbo 2G.

 

[wret]

Sounds like a total loss of "counted" air to me. Check all your intake hose connections. If you still don't find anything, do a boost leak check.

 

[90CherryTSI]

to what wret says. You could have someone start it and hold down the gas to keep it running and listen in your engine bay as it should be pretty obvious. When I lost my BISS screw my car did that but I could hear the air leaking inside the cabin so I knew what it was immediately.

 

[integra96]

DSM's are known for their ecm's (computer under dash in middle) I have a 91 and it used to do the same thing and drive me nutts. So i took out the ecm and replaced it, everything worked fine. The capacitors go in the computer and make your car run weird. ECM is Electronic Control Module and it is what controls the fuel flow/mixture in your car, so if it is a bad part, it either wont send fuel or wont make engine spark-causing you to smell some fuel. this part is usually $300 but you can find it cheaper, i got mine at www.cyberpart.com just click on parts request and tell em' what u need they will reply back with answer and price.

 

[TurboDreamzGST]

wow thats a lil overwhelming ....so many problems it could be....thanks a lot for the help guys....ill def. check it all out...ill let u know how i make out with it and what the problem was once i figure it out

 

[Chaddycakes21]

Ive actually had a problem quite similiar. I even eventually took my car to a mechanic to see what was wrong with it, and they had no idea. So i looked over it car again and found a huge boost leak. Problem solved. Good luck man

 

[Defiant]

i also forgot to mention that its NOT the timing belt

Yes, it is.

 

[TurboDreamzGST]

no it WASN'T the timing belt....i already said we JUST replaced that.....figured out after having someone rev my engine to keep it going and playing around with my spark plug wires that one of them is completely shot....idk how it happened but problem solved....the spark plugs HAD to be replaced because of the problem i was having with the wires....it ruined the spark plugs so i got a fresh set of plugs and wires and the car runs great now....how odd that it would just stop making the connection out of no where when i was driving on the highway but i guess the lil things matter...thanks for the help guys

 

[TurboDreamzGST]

hey i posted another thread regarding my car (97 eclipse GST)....to make it short...my car is now only running on 3 cylinders....we checked the spark plugs and they were BLACK even tho they were practically new....we replaced the spark plugs, wires, etc......thinking this would fix the problem...but for some reason im still having this problem....someone told me the cylinder itself might not be firing and it might just be that its shot now.....before i go and get a new engine or a new head at least....i wanna make sure its definitely the cylinder...anyone have any suggestions as to what it could be?? btw....the alternator, timing belt, water pump, tensioners, motor mount, and thermostat have just been recently replaced within the last 3 weeks.....just in case any one is wondering.....please help guys!!

 

[dub2gsx]

Look at your lower intercoller pipe/ upper intercooler pipe. My friends came off right after we put on his frount mount on. So the car was running with no forced induction but it still had the turbo trying to push out exaust but only getting the air of what a non-turbo would but getting the gas off full throttle. It will move but not much and not fast with a lot of gas coming out! Can't hurt to check for a boost leak around the intercooler!

 

[TurboDreamzGST]

never would have thought of that....as we speak the car is on its way to my dad's shop so we can look at it better and so its not sitting on the street racking up parking tickets.....ill def. check out that intercooler piping cuz wat u said sounded exactly like the problem im having and even when im giving it full throttle when its running right now....the most my boost gauge will read is 0 PSI....thats a huge possibility....thanks!

 

[TurboSportAWD]

Yes, it is.

I agree, when my car jumped timing I had the symptoms you described. It doesn't matter if you just replaced the timing belt or not, there are many components that can go bad that will get your car out of time. When you replaced the timing belt did you replace the balance shaft belt? Hamonic balancers are known to separate and lead to jumped timing. Do a compression test and it will reveal if it's timing related or not.

 

[lane829]

Did you check for dtc's? might point you in the right direction. my car had a simular prob. fouled plugs at anything but WOT, turned out to be bad IAT and split boost pipe (some random out of range air flow code). i swapped out the big brick that mitsu calls an air flow meter and replaced the pipe ran great, but i kept the old one man it pulls hard but wont idle on it. .