Engine Stutters in Gear, rough idle aswell

XJoshua · 03-19-2009, 03:12 AM

Alright Im going to try and get this all sumarized in the first post hopefully.

When it happened: 24hrs after I finally got the valve stem oils seals replaced, aswell as a well needed tune up. Before these issues arised it ran flawlsly, it was beautiful how smooth the car operated. I have a little under a 1/4 tank of gas. Right now Im poundering a clogged fuel filter, and dying fuel pump.

What does it do:
1. When in gear the tach shoots from 1k to 3k irradically and doesnt correspond to actualy RPMs.
2. When in gear it rides like a angry Bull pumped full of testosterone. When at idle, it does it regular idle bounce which has never caused any problems, but lately the bounce has more of a hesitation to it.
3. Engine only starts 0% of the time since these problems have occured. Ex. You can hear the started click in, but no crank, no other noise.
4. When key is turned to ON position, CHECK ENGINE, BRAKE, and COOLING FAN lights no longer light up. When switched to off cooling fans continue to run, and CHECK ENGINE light stays on but dim until clutch is pushed in.
IT DID THE SAME THING WHEN MY VALVE COVER GASKETS WENT OUT AND DESIDED TO REPLACE VALVE SEALS AND COVER GASKET

What have I done to the car: New Bosch O2 Sensor, new Bosch Dizzy and Rotor, New NGK V-Power Copper Plugs, New Toyota Wires, New Victor-Reinz Valve Stem Oil Seals, New Valve Bucket Shims, New Felpro Valve Cover Gaskets.

Recently fixed issues: I was getting zero compression, this was due to me having the exhaust cam installed wrong, flipped it around and got 130psi across the board. Dizzy was 180* from where it should have been, flipped it around and set my timming to 13* BTDC, and fired right up. I broke off a corroded engine block ground that looked helplessly repaired by last owner, do just for a temp setup ran a wire from chasis bolt to block and noticed no improvement, before or after the problem.

Things Ive checked: There is no oil in the spark plug valley. All connections are tight. No missing vacum hoses.

My personal issuses: To many to list, about 85% are about the car.

Any idea? The one that helps me the most will get a tasty cookie...

MR2 Drifter · 03-19-2009, 06:06 AM

a clogged fuel filter wouldn't cause your dash lights to go out, maybe that ground you fixed you didn't fix right

muffinman · 03-19-2009, 11:10 AM

The click when you try to start it definately sounds like a bad ground.

85silverna · 03-19-2009, 02:30 PM

Bosh, theres the problem lol. anyway grounds or theres a little blue connector that comes from the coil thats easy to miss, check around there.

XJoshua · 03-19-2009, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MR2 Drifter

a clogged fuel filter wouldn't cause your dash lights to go out, maybe that ground you fixed you didn't fix right

The dash lights still work, they just arent operating like they used to.

Maticuno · 03-19-2009, 07:25 PM

Sounds electrical to me. While the engine is running, take a voltmeter to the battery terminals. Should be around 14V. If it's anything less, start looking at the alternator fuses and wiring. Could also be a bad/intermittent ground. Also, probably not related to your problem, get rid of those "V-Power" plugs and get a set of standard, no frills plugs. These cars seem to be very picky with what you replace its electrical/ignition system with. If it's not a Toyota part, you're usually wasting money.

XJoshua · 03-20-2009, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maticuno

Sounds electrical to me. While the engine is running, take a voltmeter to the battery terminals. Should be around 14V. If it's anything less, start looking at the alternator fuses and wiring. Could also be a bad/intermittent ground. Also, probably not related to your problem, get rid of those "V-Power" plugs and get a set of standard, no frills plugs. These cars seem to be very picky with what you replace its electrical/ignition system with. If it's not a Toyota part, you're usually wasting money.

Im normally a Champion person when it comes to plugs, but OReillys didnt have them.

-----

As for what was wrong... Well I replaced the engine ground with a 16gauge wire and it started right up. Im in the process of getting a Jeep owner who makes battery cables for aftermarket needs, and have him make some new battery cables and a engine ground. He charges about $95 for custom wires which includes shipping. I had them on my jeep and they never corroded or went stale. As for the 16gauge wire, well the insulator is already hard, but it still cranks over.

Also forgot to RTV the cam oil seals, so I had to tear the head apart again. Ill know tomorrow if they are still leaking, but Im 95% positive they will seal and have no more oil leaks for the next year.

As for who gets the cookie, everyone who mentioned electrical gets it!

Thanks guys!

muffinman · 03-20-2009, 09:28 AM

I want that damn cookie

Quote:

Originally Posted by XJoshua

Well I replaced the engine ground with a 16gauge wire

16 gauge!

why so small?

XJoshua · 03-21-2009, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muffinman

I want that damn cookie

16 gauge!

why so small?

It was all I had laying around. It will get me by until the new battery and engine ground arrives in a couple days. All I need it to do is start and run somewhat reasonably.

Im kinda considering getting a new head though. The front cam seal oil leak is pissing me off, although I got it to not leak as much now since I pulled the cams polished the cam seal journal, and rtv'd the hell out of the seal. Also let the seal soak in stop leak for a hour hopping it would soften up the seal a little. Seems to have worked a bit. But the head looked tired and misused. Cams were burnt, had a life of being intoxicated by Pennzoil, and I think the valve stem sleeves are out of spec.

I see it as either spend $580 on oil, or have my machinist work his magic and not have any more head problems. Only problem is its a 58 mile drive to his shop. But the fact he made my 4.7L Stroker run perfectly without any defects, the cleanliness and organization of his shop, knowledgeable employees, and spotless new equiptment is worth the gas.

Maticuno · 03-24-2009, 01:42 AM

Having your head rebuilt would be a good idea, especially if you suspect abuse. Have you had the head off yet?

XJoshua · 03-26-2009, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maticuno

Having your head rebuilt would be a good idea, especially if you suspect abuse. Have you had the head off yet?

I havent had the head off yet. Pepping inside the spark plug hole though you can see alot of carbon build up from the valve stem oil seal leaks. Also another reason I suspect abuse is, well I bought it with a crapy DIY paint job, APC, AEM, Jegs stickers on it, and dual wiper blades. So something tells me a retard was driving my car. Although I think the AEM sticker still puts out an extra 15HP if installed on the wedge glass....

Maticuno · 03-27-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XJoshua

I think the AEM sticker still puts out an extra 15HP if installed

I heard they dyno'd out at 20!

If you plan on rebuilding the head, that is a great time for an engine inspection to see how much abuse the car truly suffered. My car had 213K miles when I replaced the head gasket and had the head rebuilt. Other than some carbon scoring on the top of the pistons, everything looked in awesome shape. Even some crosshatching still visible on the cylinder walls. However I bought my 2 from a little old lady from Seal Beach who kept an impeccable maintenance record. If your cylinder walls are scratched up or you can see the oil pan by looking past the piston rings (exaggeration of course) then chances are good the rest of the engine is just as worn out.

03-19-2009, 03:12 AM	#1 (permalink)
XJoshua No Skills Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Pueblo, CO; USA Posts: 40 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Engine Stutters in Gear, rough idle aswell Alright Im going to try and get this all sumarized in the first post hopefully. When it happened: 24hrs after I finally got the valve stem oils seals replaced, aswell as a well needed tune up. Before these issues arised it ran flawlsly, it was beautiful how smooth the car operated. I have a little under a 1/4 tank of gas. Right now Im poundering a clogged fuel filter, and dying fuel pump. What does it do: 1. When in gear the tach shoots from 1k to 3k irradically and doesnt correspond to actualy RPMs. 2. When in gear it rides like a angry Bull pumped full of testosterone. When at idle, it does it regular idle bounce which has never caused any problems, but lately the bounce has more of a hesitation to it. 3. Engine only starts 0% of the time since these problems have occured. Ex. You can hear the started click in, but no crank, no other noise. 4. When key is turned to ON position, CHECK ENGINE, BRAKE, and COOLING FAN lights no longer light up. When switched to off cooling fans continue to run, and CHECK ENGINE light stays on but dim until clutch is pushed in. IT DID THE SAME THING WHEN MY VALVE COVER GASKETS WENT OUT AND DESIDED TO REPLACE VALVE SEALS AND COVER GASKET What have I done to the car: New Bosch O2 Sensor, new Bosch Dizzy and Rotor, New NGK V-Power Copper Plugs, New Toyota Wires, New Victor-Reinz Valve Stem Oil Seals, New Valve Bucket Shims, New Felpro Valve Cover Gaskets. Recently fixed issues: I was getting zero compression, this was due to me having the exhaust cam installed wrong, flipped it around and got 130psi across the board. Dizzy was 180* from where it should have been, flipped it around and set my timming to 13* BTDC, and fired right up. I broke off a corroded engine block ground that looked helplessly repaired by last owner, do just for a temp setup ran a wire from chasis bolt to block and noticed no improvement, before or after the problem. Things Ive checked: There is no oil in the spark plug valley. All connections are tight. No missing vacum hoses. My personal issuses: To many to list, about 85% are about the car. Any idea? The one that helps me the most will get a tasty cookie... Last edited by XJoshua; 03-19-2009 at 04:36 AM..

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03-19-2009, 06:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
MR2 Drifter No Drifting Skills Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago Posts: 948 Thanks: 3 Thanked 18 Times in 18 Posts iTrader Rating: (2/100% )	a clogged fuel filter wouldn't cause your dash lights to go out, maybe that ground you fixed you didn't fix right

03-19-2009, 11:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
muffinman U-P-G-R-A-Y-E-D-D Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sunny South Florida Posts: 5,878 Thanks: 53 Thanked 282 Times in 271 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (2/100% )	The click when you try to start it definately sounds like a bad ground.

03-19-2009, 02:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
85silverna OT's PIMP(le) Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Clarence NY Posts: 678 Thanks: 2 Thanked 33 Times in 32 Posts iTrader Rating: (6/100% )	Bosh, theres the problem lol. anyway grounds or theres a little blue connector that comes from the coil thats easy to miss, check around there.

03-19-2009, 07:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
Maticuno Park Ranging Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: California Deserts Posts: 313 Thanks: 15 Thanked 25 Times in 17 Posts iTrader Rating: (2/100% )	Sounds electrical to me. While the engine is running, take a voltmeter to the battery terminals. Should be around 14V. If it's anything less, start looking at the alternator fuses and wiring. Could also be a bad/intermittent ground. Also, probably not related to your problem, get rid of those "V-Power" plugs and get a set of standard, no frills plugs. These cars seem to be very picky with what you replace its electrical/ignition system with. If it's not a Toyota part, you're usually wasting money.

03-24-2009, 01:42 AM	#10 (permalink)
Maticuno Park Ranging Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: California Deserts Posts: 313 Thanks: 15 Thanked 25 Times in 17 Posts iTrader Rating: (2/100% )	Having your head rebuilt would be a good idea, especially if you suspect abuse. Have you had the head off yet?