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Hello,
My car has been progressively getting worse over the past 6 months but the past two days has been so terrible to the point i thought i might not make it home... symptoms as follows:
- Main thing I can be sure of is over fuelling, the spark plugs are always getting black and the exhaust stinks of fuel...
- From cold, idle sometimes fine or sometimes wobbly all over the place. Doesn’t matter if it's a nice day or chucking it down with rain I’ve witnessed all...
- once up to temperature sometimes idle 900-1000rpm which I’m generally happy with and the engine feels smooth, but sometimes up to temperature the idle is like 1300rpm.
- most recently the cold idle wobbles from 500-1400rpm regularly, nearly stalling out to revving up and down, maybe the sudden surge is ECU to compensate for nearly stalling...?
- Spark plugs are constantly turning black over fuelling like this: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/runningrich/carbon_plug.jpg
- Yes I do change them, I use ngk-bkr8es gapped at 0.7mm.
- no fault codes and when I hook up datascan on the laptop I must admit I’m not 100% sure what things should say so nothing stands out to me, someone else may say otherwise if they looked...
- The smell of fuel coming out the exhaust has got to the point that it smells like a petrol station!
- once up to temp and been driving a bit the idle settles down, but still wobbly between 900-1200rpm rather than 500-1400rpm
- When I put my foot down it pulls well, smooth acceleration, feels as powerful as ever. If i drive like i stole it all seems well. if i drive carefully dealing with rush hour it's terrible.
- if I hold a steady road speed at any RPM in any gear then the car freaks out, not always as bad each day but you feel a wobbly wave of power in general. Sometimes when it's behaving really badly it coughs and splutters on steady throttle and road speed.
Things I’ve done:
- changed ALL vacuum pipes I think...
- changed spark plugs. all equally black (Every couple of months I check and they are black, maybe every few days they would be the same)
- New rotor arm dizzy cap (probably no point as the old one looks clean and it's less than 15000 miles old)
- New spark plug leads + coil leads
- Different MAF admittedly not a new one so it is possible that both are fooked! (I have taken them apart and delicately cleaned the sensors with acetone)
- When the engine is running I’ve grabbed various pipes and wires and given them a shake, nothing seems to make things better or worse...
- I’ve tried idle screw all the way in and a few turns out, no difference once up to temperature.
- changed dump valve for recirc one. (both baileys)
What do i do next? (luckily i pick up a spare car tomorrow, 1988 celica convertible, so pulsar goes in garage for fixing, i was getting the celica to paint the pulsar in my spare time but now fixing it is first...)
- pull all this shite apart: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/repairinfo/repairguide/repairGuideContent.jsp?pageId=0900c152801ce42f#hd1-1-4
- find a MAF that definitely works? Or re-earth my wiring...
- change lambda sensor? Does this make a big difference at temperature?
- fuel pump/regulator?
- coil
- ignition amp
- it's over due an oil change but doubt that causes such crazyness
- push it off a cliff and claim it was stolen?
Does anyone have any great words of wisdom here?
Many thanks!
Adam
My car has been progressively getting worse over the past 6 months but the past two days has been so terrible to the point i thought i might not make it home... symptoms as follows:
- Main thing I can be sure of is over fuelling, the spark plugs are always getting black and the exhaust stinks of fuel...
- From cold, idle sometimes fine or sometimes wobbly all over the place. Doesn’t matter if it's a nice day or chucking it down with rain I’ve witnessed all...
- once up to temperature sometimes idle 900-1000rpm which I’m generally happy with and the engine feels smooth, but sometimes up to temperature the idle is like 1300rpm.
- most recently the cold idle wobbles from 500-1400rpm regularly, nearly stalling out to revving up and down, maybe the sudden surge is ECU to compensate for nearly stalling...?
- Spark plugs are constantly turning black over fuelling like this: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/runningrich/carbon_plug.jpg
- Yes I do change them, I use ngk-bkr8es gapped at 0.7mm.
- no fault codes and when I hook up datascan on the laptop I must admit I’m not 100% sure what things should say so nothing stands out to me, someone else may say otherwise if they looked...
- The smell of fuel coming out the exhaust has got to the point that it smells like a petrol station!
- once up to temp and been driving a bit the idle settles down, but still wobbly between 900-1200rpm rather than 500-1400rpm
- When I put my foot down it pulls well, smooth acceleration, feels as powerful as ever. If i drive like i stole it all seems well. if i drive carefully dealing with rush hour it's terrible.
- if I hold a steady road speed at any RPM in any gear then the car freaks out, not always as bad each day but you feel a wobbly wave of power in general. Sometimes when it's behaving really badly it coughs and splutters on steady throttle and road speed.
Things I’ve done:
- changed ALL vacuum pipes I think...
- changed spark plugs. all equally black (Every couple of months I check and they are black, maybe every few days they would be the same)
- New rotor arm dizzy cap (probably no point as the old one looks clean and it's less than 15000 miles old)
- New spark plug leads + coil leads
- Different MAF admittedly not a new one so it is possible that both are fooked! (I have taken them apart and delicately cleaned the sensors with acetone)
- When the engine is running I’ve grabbed various pipes and wires and given them a shake, nothing seems to make things better or worse...
- I’ve tried idle screw all the way in and a few turns out, no difference once up to temperature.
- changed dump valve for recirc one. (both baileys)
What do i do next? (luckily i pick up a spare car tomorrow, 1988 celica convertible, so pulsar goes in garage for fixing, i was getting the celica to paint the pulsar in my spare time but now fixing it is first...)
- pull all this shite apart: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/repairinfo/repairguide/repairGuideContent.jsp?pageId=0900c152801ce42f#hd1-1-4
- find a MAF that definitely works? Or re-earth my wiring...
- change lambda sensor? Does this make a big difference at temperature?
- fuel pump/regulator?
- coil
- ignition amp
- it's over due an oil change but doubt that causes such crazyness
- push it off a cliff and claim it was stolen?
Does anyone have any great words of wisdom here?
Many thanks!
Adam
