'91 N/A MR2 running like crap

[cakemashin']

i unplugged the tps and it runs better!! going to try to adjust it somehow. hopefully this kills the problem Rambo style

[fvillota]

hahaha u see what i mean! let me know how u adjusted it ok"? because its been 3 weeks of me trying and nothing. multimeter is sooo ****ing uncomfortable!

[cakemashin']

what is the proper way to adjust it? you have to use a multimeter? don't you also have to watch your RPMs?

[cakemashin']

ok so i just adjusted my tps. pretty sure i didn't do it correctly but i did it. after i got it loosened, i started the car and left it in park. gave it some throttle and wiggled the tps as far as it could go counter clockwise, and then as far as it could go clockwise. i did this back and forth a few times and noticed that it would kinda bog whenever it was turned counter clockwise. when i turned it clockwise it didn't seem to change from where the very beginning point (the top screw of the tps was directly in the center of the groove on the tps). so i went ahead and turned it as far as it could go clokwise just to experiment. test drove it. not really any change. it was actually a little worse maybe. when i got back, parked it and revved the motor and the RPM's seemed to drop way down, and it seemed to have an up and down idle. (RPM gauge doesn't work). so i don't know. i may need to adjust the tps back closer to where it was but just i bit off center of the screw?? sigh... i just want it to run good!!

[fvillota]

if its rpm is jumping like that adjust it little by little and test drive again. engine cannot rev up and down

[djskorch]

oxygen sensor. you cant just unplug it. you have to replace it. read my post "car bogs when cold" and you will see why. i had the exact same prob and replaced the o2 sensor (yes i tried unpluging it and it didnt make a difference) and now the car runs perfect. everyone was saying tps sensor. i tried unplugging it, adjusting it, even got a new one and it turned out to be the o2 sensor. gl

[fvillota]

well djskorch, let me ask you. this problem started and i bough another o2 sensor and it kept going. could it be that the o2 is faulty?

[djskorch]

hmmmm, well if youve already replaced the sensor, its possible that it is faulty or somehow got damaged. they are fairly fragile. also what kind of sensor did you use? do you have an af gauge hooked up to it. i noticed that my af gauge was getting feedback through my ignition wire and causing small electrical surges. i havent hooked it up to the new sensor yet as i dont want to fry it. if you have an auto store that will let you return it if it doesnt work, i would try one more sensor just to be safe. hope it works for ya. good luck

[fvillota]

i'll try that and yea i have air n fuel gauge hooked on it.

[djskorch]

you might want to unplug your af gauge from the o2 sensor one night and keep an eye on it as your driving. i would notice that on occasion, it would flicker when i would hit the brake, use my window switches, or even sometimes when the stereo was on. it was very subttle but it was doing it and i dont know if it played a part in the old sensor being bad but until i fix it, im not hooking it back up.

[fvillota]

damn u think?
that would suck! lol
i'll unplug it tonight see what it does.

[fvillota]

ok so i unlugged it and it dosent have that jumpy feeling anymore but feels soooooooooooooooooooooooo weak.

[cakemashin']

So i can just test the O2 sensor with multimeter right???? i don't even know how to do that whatsoever

[Fabulousj79]

You've had this problem for 10 months and spent over $500 in parts?

Something like this is difficult to diagnose via forums. I bet you wouldn't spend more than $150 for a diagnosis at the Toyota dealership. Odds are the techs there have seen this problem before. Once you know the problem, you can fix it yourself and save some $$$.

Quick story about DIY diagnosis:

A few years ago, a guy with an Astro Van rolls up in front of the shop I was working at. He walks inside and appears very frustrated. He says his truck runs like crap and he has been at the local parts store where they do a "free check engine light scan" where they tell you what codes the PCM has stored in memory. He had a "MAP Volts too high", "02 Sensor Rich", and a half dozen other codes. He explained he has spent $600 in parts over the past 2 weeks based on the trouble codes. He replaced the MAP sensor, 02 sensor, ECT sensor, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, thermostat, and a few other things...

I had a little sympathy for the guy and told him I would fix his van for $20 and I would only use a hammer. He thought it was a joke at first, but after he figured out I was dead serious, he said what the hell, what's another $20? I walked outside tapped the EGR valve with the hammer, and the engine smoothed out. I knew the EGR valve was stuck open 30 seconds after he walked in the shop because I have seen that issue a 100 times.

Morale of the story: He could have paid $60 for a diagnostic fee, replaced the EGR valve for $30 and had the problem resolved for under $100.

[cakemashin']

Originally Posted by Fabulousj79

You've had this problem for 10 months and spent over $500 in parts?

Something like this is difficult to diagnose via forums. I bet you wouldn't spend more than $150 for a diagnosis at the Toyota dealership. Odds are the techs there have seen this problem before. Once you know the problem, you can fix it yourself and save some $$$.

Quick story about DIY diagnosis:

A few years ago, a guy with an Astro Van rolls up in front of the shop I was working at. He walks inside and appears very frustrated. He says his truck runs like crap and he has been at the local parts store where they do a "free check engine light scan" where they tell you what codes the PCM has stored in memory. He had a "MAP Volts too high", "02 Sensor Rich", and a half dozen other codes. He explained he has spent $600 in parts over the past 2 weeks based on the trouble codes. He replaced the MAP sensor, 02 sensor, ECT sensor, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, thermostat, and a few other things...

I had a little sympathy for the guy and told him I would fix his van for $20 and I would only use a hammer. He thought it was a joke at first, but after he figured out I was dead serious, he said what the hell, what's another $20? I walked outside tapped the EGR valve with the hammer, and the engine smoothed out. I knew the EGR valve was stuck open 30 seconds after he walked in the shop because I have seen that issue a 100 times.

Morale of the story: He could have paid $60 for a diagnostic fee, replaced the EGR valve for $30 and had the problem resolved for under $100.

yes i have spent around that much... going off hunches from some friends and dad that got me nowhere. and i shouldn't have done that, but it is what it is.

THE reason i didn't take it anywhere is I CAN NOT TRUST ANY SHOP AROUND HOUSTON, TX. but my boss recommended me to his mechanic and he turned out to be legit. about 95% of the places around here try to screw you or just simply do not know what they are doing. i have taken it to several places and very few of them knew that the engine is in the rear of the car.

My Stories:

I took my car to a Toyota dealership in the houston area (Fred Haas Toyota Country) to have them check out a noise it was making. they told me the noise was internal and they were going to have to tear the engine apart. and that was going to cost around $450 just to tear it apart. i knew it wasn't internal and demanded my keys back. a week or so later i took it to a little muffler shop... turns out it was a heat shield rattling... the guy tack welded it up free of charge.

I had my drivers side axle changed by a reputable shop in the area about a year ago.... the axle is now leaking where it meets up to the tranny (this may not be their fault or installation error, but who knows... it wouldn't surprise me if it is, and i am willing to bet that it is).

Took it to another place for the problem i am still having and they "couldn't find the problem". and i payed for them not finding the problem

I had my car aligned today because it was pulling slightly to the left... now it is pulling to the right.

And there is more too

But i just got my old job back like 2 months ago so hopefully this issue gets resolved soon.

Moral of my story:
Very few shops around here know what the hell they are doing and will try to screw you in the process of their incompitence... but i guess that makes me and them even because i don't know what i'm doing very often either it's hard to trust people

[fvillota]

its driving me crazyyyyyy!
lol lol this blows!

[cakemashin']

Originally Posted by fvillota

its driving me crazyyyyyy!
lol lol this blows!

change your o2 sensor!! i changed mine 2 weeks ago, and it runs so much better dude.

they are only like 50 bucks if you get it from twosrus.com

good luck. mine isn't running as good as i expected it to, but at least it isn't bogging or anything. it may nedd something adjusted on it?

[fvillota]

maybe. if u messed with the tps before hand u need to ut it back how it was.

[cakemashin']

Originally Posted by fvillota

maybe. if u messed with the tps before hand u need to ut it back how it was.

word

[bretleg]

im going to work on this it might have solved my strange problem we shall see