Ðead Øn Årrival
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Ðead Øn Årrival


 
HomeHomeLatest imagesSearchRegisterLog in

 

 Mechanical advice?

Go down 
+7
c0d3r
Pregnant Ferret
grievous
Thy Devourer
openfj0re
Woffle'
Quoth...
11 posters
Go to page : 1, 2  Next
AuthorMessage
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 06:10

I got this cheap '87 corolla automatic last week, as the sigma pretty much died and i needed something to get me around for the next few months.

I took it for a test drive and it went fine. Then after i buy it and I'm on the way home it starts breaking down. I'd be driving along and then there'd just be no power. I pull over and the battery and oil lights come on. It generally started again fine after I had gotten out and made sure nothing obvious had come loose. Sometimes It wouldn't start for a couple of minutes, but most of the time it did straight off.

so I eventually get home, then i take it out again, trying to figure out what might have been causing it (Ie: engine running hot, going up steep hills, going down hills and idling etc) and there doesn't seem to be any particular thing that makes it happen, it just seems random. driving along, then the engine just goes off. indicators and radio still work though.

So I call the guy I bought it from, and he says he'll come round and check it out the next day. Next morning he calls his mechanic and they reckon the ignition coil is overheating, so he buys a new one and comes in and replaces it. The car runs fine for a few days. Then over the last two days it has started doing it again.

I changed the spark plugs yesterday, but this morning it conked out on the way to take my daughter to school, about 5-6 k's from our house. So we catch a bus in, then i come back about an hour and a half later, and it drives home fine.

I'm going to get the battery checked out, but aside from that, I have absolutely no idea what it might be or what to look for. Blocked fuel filter? fuel pump? distributor?

Anyone have any ideas they can throw at me?

(oh, it recently got a new timing chain and ignition electronics)
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
Woffle'
ÐØÅ VIP




Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 06:46

didnt read it, buy a new car Razz
Back to top Go down
openfj0re





Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 07:23

I'd make sure it has four wheels. After that I'm stumped.
Back to top Go down
Thy Devourer

Thy Devourer



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 07:38

You guys are horrid, just no help at all.

Now as for your problem Quoth, i'll suggest putting in alot of time and effort to find out whether or not the "car" is actually a car.
Back to top Go down
grievous

grievous



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 07:51

Yer I unfortunately agree with Thy.

What you have described Quoth is really weird, I haven't come across anything like this in cars I have had, helped friednds out with etc. So sorry mate Sad
Back to top Go down
Pregnant Ferret

Pregnant Ferret



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 08:09

Sounds to me like the MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor is fucked. Im gathering its fuel injected and the computer takes info from the the manifold pressure, barometric pressure and revs to determined engine load. Its a small black box prolly screwed to the firewall and usually these will work fine and then fail when the engine heats up effectively starving it of fuel aka conking out.

Best answer i can come up with short of seeing/burning it, good luck.
Back to top Go down
c0d3r

c0d3r



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 08:48

Radiator is maybe borked?

Radiator = broken, radiator doesn't cool engine, too hot engine makes funny things (insert technical & mechanical terms here), engine cuts out, Quoth takes bus, engine cools down, radiator cools down, engine works again.

That or your car is haunted like facestomp's house. I suggest you take the car to a mechanic for a basic service. He'll be able to pick up anything that is horribly wrong.
Back to top Go down
Woffle'
ÐØÅ VIP




Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 09:02

Would agree with you ferret with the conking out part that it may be the map, only thing that threw me is the battery and oil lights came on. I have had a problem with the MAP before on a RB20DE engine (which they are known for bad MAP's), there was no battery or oil light coming on for me, but im no mechanic Smile

Whenever i had the problem i would say, put my foot to the floor and the engine would rev out but would only increase speed about 5km/hr. Sorta felt like the accelerator cable was slack or had come off. Also when i was at the lights there would be a funny rev, sorta like it was revving itself to keep from stalling. Hope that helps quoth Very Happy
Back to top Go down
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 11:01

yeah, I've booked it into an auto electrician, as there just seems to be too many things it could be. It doesn't seem to be being starved of fuel, as apparently you'll still get that juddering like your out of petrol, but I can't dismiss that it might be the pump or filter either.

could be bad earthing, burnt out fuses, distributor issues, leads, broken wiring, strange voltage leak or even the alternator.

Seeing as though it was so cheap to buy, I figured I'd get them to have a look at it. I hope the solution isn't to expensive, but it's a car, so it will be Sad
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
Tha Snowmann
|ÐØÅ| Leader
Tha Snowmann



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 12:26

yeah from reading that man i would suggest its something to do with with maybe faulty wiring or something. but thats really general and could be anything.

hey least your speedo works! mine still dosnt.... Sad

i hope it aint to much for ya man, but chances are its something small/obvious but knowing the mechanics they will charge a stupid amount
Back to top Go down
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 15:58

your speedo doesn't work? man that sucks, but at least the coppers or the cameras will tell ya if your wrong Wink

I am placing bets on it being the Alternator. I don't have a volt meter, and don't really want to stuff around with anything electrical, but I think if i run the fans in the car and the radio too, and run the car for very long, it may be the straw that breaks the camels back, so to speak. But really, i don't know. actually, if it is that, then I guess the battery is fucked too Sad

ah well, you buy a $600 car, you get a $600 car. It did save me $300 on rego for the old clunker though, so really it only cost me 300 Very Happy
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
rumpig

rumpig



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 16:27

man i have a 86-87 model corolla $1000 and just did 250000km's
fucking love the 4age in this bitch shame im not driving it right now
Back to top Go down
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-30, 16:49

thats another thing, this ones only done just over 200K. The sigma I had before had done about 375K lol!
If I can get this one problem fixed without too much cost, it'll end up being a much better car than the last one, and I could sell it for more, as it has been serviced and repaired often by the people who owned it as their everyday car.
Pity its an auto, and I'll miss a 2.6L engine, but given the sigma was so fucked (one cylinder shocky was gunked up with heaps of shit from the busted head gasket) The corolla seems like it has more power atm any way (when it goes Sad )
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
Pregnant Ferret

Pregnant Ferret



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-03-31, 05:55

If it is the alternator thats gay it doesnt neccessarily mean the battery is poo also, it will probably just need a charge so make sure you check before wasting another $100. Razz
Back to top Go down
47

47



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-04-04, 20:30

Have you got this fixed yet Quoth...? If it is breaking down when it gets hot there could be a number of problems... but first a few questions to help me narrow it down to what it cant be...

A) Is it a carby job or electronic fuel injection?
b) Does it have single coil pack (capacitor) that feeds the distributor with a single lead then the 4 individual leads...? or is it also electronic ignition (no points in the dizzy and self contained coil pack/ capacitor)...?
c) What are the exact sysmtoms of when it breaks down, it stops, can it be turned over at all with the key? If the engine does not turn over at all, are there any dash lights on when you turn the igition to auxilary? If not, what does the battery voltage read? Do you have access to a multi metre or a voltmetre? Perform a voltage drop test or a load test (amperage) if the battery is still maintaining charge even when it breaks down, its not the alternator, a broken voltage regulator in an alternator (the most common problem) will result in the discharge of the battery as your driving along (especially if an efi engine) if its a carby, it should run quite fine until you turn on ancilories such as lights fans wipers etc...


Ok, so its not the battery or the alternator, if... its a carby job, look at fuel injection...

A, as the engine/carby gets hot, its possible that the fuel can be evaporating out of the float bowl quicker than what the fuel pump can supply it, this happens either 1 of 2 ways... a faulty fuel pump, in most cases on carby jobs, its a simple bolt on contraption on the side of the bloack that opperates on a cam lobe, what can happen is the internal diaphram can break or leak letting air enter into the circuit and not supplying enough fuel to the float bowl, or b, your fuel filter is blocked creating a vaccum in the fuel circut and vaccum bubbles (not air) to form in the fuel line, limiting the flow of fuel...

A quick fix for this is a, remove the fuel pump and physically opperate with your hand keeping one finger/thumb over the end of the INTAKE side, if the vacum builds up and is maintained when you stop pumping then its most likey not a fuel pump issue...

The other possibility with the carby models is that the needle and seat clearacne are set wrong in the float level itself... what it is is the float litterally floats on top of the fuel, when the fuel is used, the float drops lifting the needle of its seat and allowing the fuel pump to pump more in, the same principle as a toilet cistern... if the needle is set too low, the fuel level will be low and when the automatic choke turns off*** the float cant supply the amount of fuel needed to keep up with the extra air... a good test to see if this mayby the case is... When it is stone cold, idle it and with your hand on the throttle cable or foot on the gas, stab it very sharply all the way to the floor THEN RELEASE, if it freely revs, good (please dont do this too long, most engine damage occurs with cold engines, please, its only a very quick basic test) IF!!! the car appears to want to die away very quick that would indicate not enough fuel fullstop, either mixture settings or float level... or vaccum, but il get to that later... Now perform the same test at opperating tempreture, if it freely revs, good, thats one thing eliminated form the equation, once again, if it wants to loose power and revs and die very quickly then read above...

First and easiest check is for vaccum leaks... To check for this, a can of carby cleaner is handy, if you dont have it, get it, procede to carefully spray it around vaccum areas, where ever there are rubber pipes that lead in and out of the caby/aircleaner/inltake manifold (basic areas) focus on one area at a time and give it quick short stabs in very close quaters, what this will do, is if there is a vaccum leak present, it will pick up the extra flammable gasses and draw it into the cylinder and try to burn it, it will effectuly starve the motor of oxygen and will begin to die, if this happens, spray it again to confirm the area then start inspecting hoses for leaks, once again, as the car gets hotter, the choke cloeses and the fuel gets leaner... if it makes no change its unlieky to be a vaccum leak but stil it could be vaccum related, other possibilities is a blocked/patially blocked vaccum pipe or gallery inside the carby itself, this can be checked by taking off the hoses one by one and either blowing or sucking and testing for free flowing (((PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU CHOOSE THIS OPTION FOR OBVIOUS REASONS)))

Ok, so its not a vaccum leak, it must be the needle and seat clearances, a workshop manuel is a must for this, all carbys are different and have their own procedure for correct checking and adjusting and in most cases would accompany a full overhaul including seals and valve etc, which would also include the adjustments of the mixture screws...

OK>>>>

onto the ignition side of things... HEat is the enemy of electrical current, a build of heat creates a build up in resistance, resistance IS BAD!!!! lol... what can happen is a number of things, if its a seperates coil pack/capacitor configuration, the coil can be dying, as it gets hot, the resistance becomes to great for the stressed/fatigues/coroded/cracked/borken windings inside and it fails when it gets hot... the distributor/dizzy, if it is old school points ignition, it could be a simple adjustment, once again a workshop manuel is needed and a set of feeler gauges to check, what heppens is the same diaphram that controls your choke also controls your vaccum advance, as the car gets hotter, the combustion timing must be altered to give the desired mixture (check for vacum leaks... pull off the hose leading out of the dizzy, suck on it HARD!!! the points should move and stay in position whilst you maintain vaccum, i have a vaccum tester at work that does this for me, hand pump lol) ^^^ if the capcitor is fine, the points are adjusted and moving with the vaccum acuation, look at ignition, what are the leads like? to test, you need a multimetre, simply take it off the car, place the leads at eash end an measure the resistance, a typical lenght lead will have between 4-7olhms of resistance any more tha this, replace them... the spark plugs themselves... what is the anode and the gap like? a too big a gap will make the capacitor build up too much voltage until its able to bridge the gap with a spark, this destroys coil packs and the such very quick, correct gaps are essential, too little a gap and the voltage will be too small and the resultant spark may lack the strenght to ignite the fuel as efficient... also, while your at it, check the condition of the plugs, are they built up with carbon? and moisture present? this gives a good indication of how the engine is performing, too rich or lean etc and lets you know what the carby is doing...

And thats all just dealing with carby with old school points ignition... let me know if its any diferent from what ive describbed, like efi with electric ignition etc... Cheers quoth...

Its very late, sorry if you cant follow this or its all over the place... You have me on facebook, hit me up any time, send me a pm or what ever... What ever i can do to help, cars are my thing


***(most old school chokes where a bi-metalic strip or coil that reacts to expand or contract with heat increase and decrease, they usually opperate on a diaphram wich dirreclty affects the position on the carby butterfy to allow for less air and more fuel during cold opperation)
Back to top Go down
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-04-05, 05:23

sweet 47 Very Happy Thats an awesome run down, and even makes sense to someone like me who knows very little about how the engine works!

Yeah, as far as I can tell it isn't fuel injection. The pump seems very shiny and new, but the filter is as dusty and oily as the rest of the engine, so I might pull it out and have a squizz to see if it has any blockages or needs to be replaced.

Aside from that, if it keeps happening, I have a mate who likes to play with old cars, so I'll take your comments to him and we might have a play around. I don't really have any tools or a volt meter, and it's always handy to have someone else who knows about engines to make sure i don't cock anything up along the way, lol.

As it stands at the moment, i took it to the auto electrician and he diagnosed it to be a faulty ignition module. Couldn't chat to him about it when I picked it up as they were leaving for the day and the bloke had gone. From what I found out though, it seems when they die, they just die, but they have been known to fail when they get too hot, then work again after they had cooled a little.

I haven't taken it on a long run yet, so I don't know if the problem is solved or not. There just seems to be so many things that could cause it. Now I have a bunch of things I can test if it happens again, so thank you 47 Very Happy
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
searley

searley



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-05, 15:03

yeh and i read that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Back to top Go down
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-05, 18:37

lol, well I did Razz

Turns out that it has a bent axel Sad the tyre on the drivers side is worn totally on the inside, so the htere is some funky shit happening right there.

I don't want to sell it knowing that shit is happening, not without being 100% kosher with a buyer. i expect that sort of thing is expensive, unless you want to do it yourself.

Aside from that it has run well so far. It's a pity about the axel. The hills and bumps we have here in hobart make me expect it to snap at any time Wink

At least it was a cheap ass car Wink
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
47

47



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-05, 20:49

hmmm... Bent axle? its very hard to say without looking at it, but yeah, im curious how you know its a bent axle... In most cases a bent axle will be obvious as the wear on the tyre will alternate at 180' from inside to out and vice versa as the wheel spins, generally, if its a solid rear diff, there is very little that can go wrong, but in saying that, ive seen some pretty weird shit, so nothing would surprise me Razz...
Back to top Go down
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-06, 08:43

It's the front drivers side wheel. Looking at the car from front on, the passenger side it is straight to the wheel, but on the drivers side in bends down.

The only reason i noticed is because I reverse parked one day and had the wheels turned out, and I noticed that the inside of the drivers side tyre was bald, but all the rest of the tyres had even wear. I'm not sure where it is bent though.
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
searley

searley



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-06, 14:16

yeh thats defs bent
Back to top Go down
Woffle'
ÐØÅ VIP




Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-06, 14:55

Its great to see that you have such insight to provide to the others gunner on nearly every post Razz
Back to top Go down
searley

searley



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-06, 15:02

haha shh woff
Back to top Go down
47

47



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-06, 16:21

well if its the front drivers side wheel it doesnt have an axle to be bent Razz, well ok, thats not true, they have a stub axle that simply supports the wheel bearings, and i supose it would be bent, that would give the constant scrubbing, but usually they tough buggers, have you looked at the lower control arm bushes? or even strut top bushes, jack it off the ground so its free floating hanging on the suspension, get a big bar and lever around the lower control arm, looking at movement in the bushes, if there ANY play (other than what they are desinged for) rooted, also a similar test to how you check lower ball joints on a falcon, lift it the same way (as above) but so there only about an inch off the ground, get your bar right under the tyre and lift, your looking for the top supports to move inside the shoccky housing... or your axle could be bent Razz have fun, lol!
Back to top Go down
Quoth...

Quoth...



Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty2010-06-06, 17:14

ahahahah, all those parts that i have no idea what they are Wink I don't know if it is the axle in particular, but I would think it is one of those joints somewhere. I'm going to change the tyre over, so while it's jacked up I'll have a poke around and see whats going on. It still sounds expensive to fix if you can't do it yourself though Sad
Back to top Go down
http://quothdesign.com.au
Sponsored content





Mechanical advice? Empty
PostSubject: Re: Mechanical advice?   Mechanical advice? Empty

Back to top Go down
 
Mechanical advice?
Back to top 
Page 1 of 2Go to page : 1, 2  Next
 Similar topics
-
» Would you like Xed's advice?
» advice for admins
» Plasma vs LCD tv advice?

Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Ðead Øn Årrival :: Off Topic :: Cars-
Jump to: