98 Gt-T Running on 3 cylinders....

[u4dina]

Just wondering if anyone can help me....i was driving the caldina down at waitomo caves then all of a sudden i heard the exhaust backfire a little and i lost all acceleration and it started poping....it seems very much like its only running on 3 cylinders hence the power loss and poping noises....i don' think its the head gasket as the oil is still very normal and its not over heating ....i've taken out the plugs to examine them and all 4 of them are as black as....i was thinking it could be the ignition coil which sits on top of the plugs but is there anyway of testing these or if anyone else might have thoughts or probs like this before...Cheerz...

[ATOYOTA]

use a ohms meter as u would a lead and test resitanse between coils
if one is out by a bit its suspect
i had a 2azfe which was over heated and it also soundid and ran un evenly replaced with a coil that sits on top from a new camry and after that ran fine
could b sumthing else tho as this motor was overheated b4 causing the the igniter 2 fail

[u4dina]

i cleaned the plugs today and put them into the car and started it...still poping but made it a little bit better......one thing i did notice is that when i pull hard on the acelerator cable it chokes and stalls the engine and my boost guage is not at 20 as it usually is when on idle it's gone up to 10 (this is before boost)im not quite sure what that means tho.....but the idle is sitting at about the right place....it seems all the cylinders are going just its not running smooth at all cos i've tried to pull each plug out at a time and each time i pull it out the car really starts shaking.......
So the problem is the car its poping and running really rough with no power to drive just enough to idle.
and the plugs are all black so i guess this would mean its running quite rich...
Im told it could be an ecu problem......I've been told the computers on these things have been known to trip out...any help would be cool...thanks..

[fivebob]

one thing i did notice is that when i pull hard on the acelerator cable it chokes and stalls the engine and my boost guage is not at 20 as it usually is when on idle it's gone up to 10 (this is before boost)im not quite sure what that means tho.

It means it's time to do a compression or leakdown test, sounds like you may have some broken ring lands

Im told it could be an ecu problem......I've been told the computers on these things have been known to trip out..

Not that I know of. The ECU is usually reliable and rarely has a fault that would cause this problem. Most people that suggest ECU problems are usually taking a wild guess that in most cases is wrong.

[strx7]

if you need any parts hit me a PM i have coils and a lot of factory GT-T engine stuff left over from my ST185 install.

Cheers
Shane

[Dell'Orto]

How quickly does it come on boost? Does it take a while to build up to max pressure?

[kilowatts]

How about changing the plugs if they were black as , cleaning them wont do much if they are poked . Simple solution go buy some plugs and then if it still does it , then its only set you back $20 bucks.

[u4dina]

Thanks for all the response....

i don't think its the plugs they are only black as cos of how the engine is running...

I have to slowly pull on the accelerator cable before the revs goes up which takes quite a few seconds... if i do it to quickly it just stalls.....


Hey fivebob is it a big job to change the broken rings lands if that was it...the car is sitting a mates garage and i was thinking about takin it into toyota and let them have a look at it....but i can easily check the compression...what is a leakdown test..??

thanks....

[fivebob]

I have to slowly pull on the accelerator cable before the revs goes up which takes quite a few seconds... if i do it to quickly it just stalls.....

hmmm maybe a faulty injector, but that wouldn't explain the black plugs. Could even be a faulty throttle position sensor, but it wouldn't explain the rough running at idle

Hey fivebob is it a big job to change the broken rings lands if that was it

Ring Land = area of the piston between the rings. So new piston,rings head gasket and a few hours to do the job

but i can easily check the compression...what is a leakdown test..??

Leakdown test is where you connect compressed air up to the cylinder (through the sparkplug hole) and see how much leaks out. It's more comprehensive than a compression test and it will pinpoint a problem more effectively, but if it's broken ring lands then it will show up on a compression test.

[u4dina]

Ring Land = area of the piston between the rings. So new piston,rings head gasket and a few hours to do the job

Ouch that sounds expensive...!!!

I'll do the compression test before i take it into toyota for them to diagnose...is there anything i should look out for while doing the test...

Also Im not sure how important this is...but there is no oil leak comming from the car and the water level hasn't gone down any....also the exhaust is showing no sign of smoke or anything even when i pull on the accelerator cable...

[u4dina]

I just did a compression test on the caldina and all cylinders are running on about 170psi

Anyways i will take it into toyota and let everyone whos interested know the outcome for future referances...

Cheerz....

[fivebob]

In which case I would be looking at the piping to the MAP sensor (mounted on the manifold).

Make sure it's the only thing connected to the manifold on that vacuum circuit, as it sound like you have a leak in that line. If someone has connected the boost gauge to that line then disconnect it and replace the tubing with one piece from the manifold to the sensor.

[Akane]

that's only if the rings didn't jam itself between the cylinder and the piston, although it's rare it could happen, fragments of ringlands are so small that got inbetween the cylinder and the pistons, it starts rubbing, then god knows what happens from then.

Do a compression test 1st.

Then check for coil (spark)

then check for fuel.

[fivebob]

Do a compression test 1st.

I just did a compression test on the caldina and all cylinders are running on about 170psi

Then check for coil (spark)

it seems all the cylinders are going just its not running smooth at all cos i've tried to pull each plug out at a time and each time i pull it out the car really starts shaking.......

[u4dina]

Hi thanks for the suggestions...

I'll take off the boost guage 2moro cos its sitting in the work shop.....
I took the plugs out and tested them as well like sitting them on top of the engine to see if the coils were ok....

I can see the sparks but it dosn't look that strong at all and i alsoo changed new iridium plugs on it today...

Anyways thanks for the suggestions if you have anymore i will check it all out tomoro...

Thanks...

[Akane]

I can see the sparks but it dosn't look that strong at all and i alsoo changed new iridium plugs on it today...

Another fine example of self-ownage by your dearest.

[u4dina]

K took it into toyota today they pluged it into there system and coudn't find a fault in the system as in the diagnose didn't show anything....

The guy did suggest to me that io might have had a bad bach of gas as it happened approx when i refuelled the car...

I have drained out the gas and still nothing so i might try the ignition coils...the strange thing is that the boost guage is losing more and more boost...

[strx7]

take the turbo compressor inlet pipe off and make sure the turbo spins freely. They are known for giving problems, but unfortuneitly I've already sold mine.

Kinds sounds to me like a vacuum/boost leak that is getting worse.

[Mr Revhead]

the caldina turbo is fine, its the manifold part of the housing that gives issues.

[u4dina]

k here goes...i think we found the issue i took of the top cambelt cover today and tried lining it up it looks like the belt has jumped about 3 tooth or maybe more.....which could be the problem...

I only got toyota to change the belt at about 30K ago so i'm goin to give them a call tomorrow and let someone from there come out and inspect it.....

I already tired spinning the turbo no issues there...!!