help pls - odd noise and weird hesitation in my levin ae111

[rally 'rolla]

Hi All,

I have just got me a Levin BZG ae111. I have not had it long but have noticed 2 odd things.

First. When travelling down the road at low rpm, less that 2500, and then if I put my foot flat to the floor straight away there is an odd knocking or rattle type noise which eventually disappears once the revs climb - is this the engine pinking or something more sinister? Help! How is it fixed? Note: no engine warning light. Does not do it if I accelerate smoothly (slowly).

Secondly: Driving down the road the car will do a one off jerk for no apperant reason - like today I was in 3rd gear at 80kph merging onto the motorway and it did it. It is like a sort of bunny hop (the type people do when learning) but not that big of a one, another way of describing it is sort of like a momentary hesitation. I was not accelerating or slowing just sort of going with the flow.

this car supposedly has had a new clutch kit - could it be that? Or perhaps something else. Help!!

As always any help is greatly appreciated!!

Cheers

PS: Did try searching first.....

[JT]

Hi All,

I have just got me a Levin BZG ae111. I have not had it long but have noticed 2 odd things.

First. When travelling down the road at low rpm, less that 2500, and then if I put my foot flat to the floor straight away there is an odd knocking or rattle type noise which eventually disappears once the revs climb - is this the engine pinking or something more sinister? Help! How is it fixed? Note: no engine warning light. Does not do it if I accelerate smoothly (slowly).

This is normal, flooring at low rev's where there isn't alot of torque will result in detonation, this is the pinking noise you are hearing. What petrol are you running it on. If possible run it on 98 because they are factory tuned for 100, 96 is ok, don't run it on 91.

Secondly: Driving down the road the car will do a one off jerk for no apperant reason - like today I was in 3rd gear at 80kph merging onto the motorway and it did it. It is like a sort of bunny hop (the type people do when learning) but not that big of a one, another way of describing it is sort of like a momentary hesitation. I was not accelerating or slowing just sort of going with the flow.

this car supposedly has had a new clutch kit - could it be that? Or perhaps something else. Help!!

As always any help is greatly appreciated!!

Cheers

PS: Did try searching first.....

Did you put your foot on the clutch ? It could be this if you used it at the time it jerked. Wouldn't you have been better to be crusin in 4th at 80 instead of 3rd? Maybe the VVT was engaged then disengaged quickly? I wouldn't worry about it.

[rally 'rolla]

Cheers JT,

Just a further update after going for a longer drive tonight....I actually now can say that the jerk is when cruising (speed and gear irrelevant) and I slightly lift my foot off the accelerator to slow down a little.

I have also been told that I have a worn (near shot) upper ball joint...(my car is the super strut model), could this be the problem?

Just FYI I am running this on 96.

thanks for the info, much appreciated!

[matt dunn]

Cheers JT,

Just a further update after going for a longer drive tonight....I actually now can say that the jerk is when cruising (speed and gear irrelevant) and I slightly lift my foot off the accelerator to slow down a little.

I have also been told that I have a worn (near shot) upper ball joint...(my car is the super strut model), could this be the problem?

Just FYI I am running this on 96.

thanks for the info, much appreciated!

The problem sounds to me like your throttle sensor is set wrong and it is cutting the fuel too soon on overrun. Wont cause any problems or show a fault code, it's just anoying to drive with.
You can reset it properly yourself if you can work a multimeter and know what your doing or take it to an auto elec who should be able to do it in about 5 - mins.

Matt

[rally 'rolla]

Wicked! Cheers Matt, will get it seen to!!

Is there anyway to avoid the detonation ie better spark plugs, bigger battery etc? Or just don't floor it at low rpm?


Thanks!

[JRS]

fouled 02 sensor.

[jondee86]

The "pinking" noise is related to ignition timing. It is caused by the spark being too far advanced for the load and engine rpm's. You can cure it by retarding the ignition timing, but this will reduce your high rpm performance.

Is there anyway to avoid the detonation ie better spark plugs, bigger battery etc? Or just don't floor it at low rpm?

A manual trans car does not like being floored suddenly when you are at low revs in a high gear, or in any gear when there is a lot of load (steep hill, towing etc). If you consider that pinking is a warning to change to a lower gear (get the revs up), then you will soon learn when it is safe to floor it

BTW you should get the timing checked next time you have the car in for a service.

jondee86

[rally 'rolla]

It has, today, also done the jerky thing a couple of times during mid throttle ie i was slightly deaccelerating but was not completely lifting my foot off the throttle...... please bear with me as this car is new to me...

Cheers all!!

[jondee86]

As Matt said, this is most likely just the fuel cut trying to make up it's mind If the ECU thinks you are de-accelerating (using the engine braking to slow down) it will cut the fuel off. This is done to save fuel for better economy. When you hit the accelerator again, the ECU turns the fuel back on.

However, if you are feathering the throttle, for example, when trying to hold a constant speed on a gentle downhill slope, the ECU can get confused The engine is neither accelerating nor de-accelerating, so you are right on the switching point. This means a very small movement of the throttle can turn the fuel cut on and off, causing the car to hesitate or "jerk".

It's more noticable on some cars than others, but quite normal. You will probably learn to drive around it by using a higher gear. This will put a bit more load on the engine and keep you away from the fuel cut point.

jondee86

[AceSniper]

Also Sounds like your timming should be checked and put back to factory spec ...

[LvnLver]

hi dude did you find a solution to your car problem? because my car is doing the same thing and only does it while i am crusing as well. i ased a tech question about it...... but was wondering if you had figured out what was wrong
cheers

[rally 'rolla]

Ah, well sorta not really if you get my drift.

From what i can tell it is probably the fuel overrun (cheers to whoever up there mentioned that!!). Have found a place that charges about $65 an hour and hooks it up to the computer etc..... mine also does it while cruising which is bloody annoying but when the revs climb a little its fine...

Once I get down to this place I will post the results, if you find anything sooner let me know.

Cheers

[Graphite]

I have exactly the same issues with my BZ-G, however i've got used to it now, had the car 6months.
Just seems to be something they do.

[ROBODISCO_20v]

The sudden jerking of the engine can also be caused by dirty throttle bodies. North Shore toyota said it was one of the most common faults with 20v's. Its not so much a fault as one of those things that happen over time. It can be easily fixed by removing the phlenum cover and trumpets and cleaning with some throttle bodie cleaner, i think crc or wynns do it. You can use brake clean if you cant find the others, just remember to spray it afterwards with a lube like crc or inox.

[rally 'rolla]

Cheers, will try it this weekend and see how I get on, posting results after a test drive or two!!

[LvnLver]

hi dude did you try the cleaning thing??? could you let me know if it worked.....cheers

[Andy from the block]

hi dude did you find a solution to your car problem? because my car is doing the same thing

Yeah me too. It was kinda not that noticeable when I first got my car but seems to have goten worse lately. Ive got pretty recent spark plugs (NGK irridium) and leads (champion) that have travelled less than 12,000kms and Ive cleaned the intake manifold part jst after the butterfly valve that leads to the pod filter.

The sudden jerking of the engine can also be caused by dirty throttle bodies.

Can u explain what part the throttle body is? Im not too clear on this one.
cheers.

Someone had a previous topic similar to this one and some people said that lossening the throttle cable can sometimes work. What do u guys think?

[rally 'rolla]

Still working on this one... From what the wynns throttle body cleaner says you actually spray into the throttle body and butterflies while the car is warm and then again while it is running!!!!. My biggest prob is getting my hands around the back to undo the alan key screws (F%$#en tight space to work in).....

[nobbie]

hey my ae111 is doing the same, let me know if you find out whats wrong. I took mine to TOyota and they rest drove it and said there was nothing wrong

I know there is, I just cant figure it out....

[Flannelman]

to get the plenum off, get the 5mm allen key and a 6 inch cresant. once the key is in the bolt head slip the allen key into the cresants end hole and use the cresant as leverage to turn the bolts. the longer the allen key the easyer it is.
with the top off, the trumpets should be exposed. (Mine has two black and two brown trumpets. I think the black ones are on cylinders 1 and 4, brown are on 2 and 3.) to get these off, use a 10mm socket and undo one at a time. The drivers side trumpet is first as it hides the lower bolts of the other trumpets.
Once all trumpets are off, the butterflies are exposed. while your there, get a rag and clean out the bottom of the plenum. mine had a large pool of oil in it.
if the lower part of the plenum needs to come off, there are two vacuum hoses and a bolt at the intake end. Remove these and the plenum base will be free.
Remember to refit these as they are bloody impossible to put on when the trumpets have been fitted.
hope this helps