When I put the car in the garage 8yrs and not started. ago I kept saying I'll get it running next spring. Well 8 years later it is now that spring. Whaen it was put away had some mechanical probs. I think fried turbo. With the fried turbo I decided to upgrade.
installed Walbro 340 and wire upgrade kit
TE44 ordered
Lucas 009 ordered
still not sure on chip
anyway, replaced all plugs,fuel filter,put in accel wires and fuel pump. Car finally turned over and started with help of starting fluid. had a little bit of what sounded like a valve knock (cam sensor?)but went away after a while. car will only run for about 5 seconds @ 2000 RPM and throttle down until it stalls. will start again but does the same thing bogs and chokes out when I hit accelarator. Also I noticed a lot of smoke coming from inside the engine ( out of dipstick tube etc.. Concerned about this. Motor only has about 8,000 miles on it before being stored. I want to make sure everything is sound mechanically before I start upgrading. What do you think is causing the smoke , and should I bring it to a mechanic to make sure oil is flowing and other things are working? or can I do this myself?
Please help...... anxious to eat up some Vette's like I used to and now I can have some rice burner with that annoying exhaust for desert. OH... And I can't forget the disbelieving wife that doesn't think it IS AS FAST AS i SAY IT IS!!
Please Help guys (already know about spring clean up post).
oil pump does sound weak, but no tthe cause of smoke. hows your PCV and EGR valve? What you need to do is start eliminating the most basic problem..
1) A motor sitting 8 years is gonna be bitchy on startup and it's possible you have bad gas and thick oil in the system. Eliminate this as a culprit before even turning a wrench.
2) Check fuel pressure. You should have 38+- 4lbs at idle at your fuel pressure schrader valve. Hook up gauge, turn key on (dont start) system should pressurize and hold. If it drops - you have a bad fuel pressure regulator or bad injectors (stuck open/leaking).
3) PCV/EGR migh need replacement. The EGR diaphragm is also yappy after sitting so long and these things are cheap to replace.
4) IAC/TPS. Possible bad IAC not letting your motor idle or TPS sensor is bad. A scantool would eliminate sensors as cause of your madness.
5) Did you install the fuel filter backwards?
6) this really sounds like a fuel restriction to me, and you've been in the tank and fuel lines..did you cross any? Did you replace the fuel filter sock? Again - check fuel pressure. If it holds on "key-on"..start the car, and monitor fuel pressure again. It should obviously stay steady.
There's still a bunch of basics you ned to cover/eliminate as possible causes of your problems, but we've all been there and are here to help you through it.
Rest assured, we will get you car running, and we also will gladly prove your wife wrong! Just be prepared to buy another GN once she feels what a REAL car can do to a set of tires!... ;)]
Keep checking, and good luck. Wake up that monster and get back to us with the results.
Thanks for the input you guys are awesome. ( still open to any suggestions)
Does the turbo spin? I may be wrong, but that seems like it could cause alot of back pressure.
I'm really concerned about the smoke in the engine. I've got everything from .... there is no oil pressure and it's the crank burning up. So change the oil pump.. Is it recommended for the TR's. Also got a suggestion that the piston rings are sticking to the pistons and use marvel mystery oil and soak them for a couple of days.By the way what do you think about a new high volume oil pump.
The engine smoke could be a lot of things. You could have let it sit all this time after your initial mechanical probs 8 years ago being bad valvesprings or valve seats, etc. Blowby through your motor but not out of the exhaust is typically valves or valve seals not doing their job. We don't know exactly what happened befpre you put the car away either, so if you aren't comfortable pulling a valve cover off and doing some checking - you'd be better off having a pro look it over or at least bring a buddy knowledgeable about engine building by as a 2nd set of experienced eyes.
Frank - if you're really worried and dont have the money to spend on a new motor (who does?)..get some help with it. It's not worth taking a chance. These cars will self destruct almost immediately when driven hard if everything's not set just right. A lot of stress is put on the parts, so you need to have all weak links checked out...preferably professionally if you've been away from the car for so long.
You can always eliminate the basic things yourself first then go get help professionally if it doesn't work out. First and foremost - it's gotta be fixed right, but you have to worry about price 2nd. Try to find someone familiar with these cars to do the work if you can. It sounds like there are a few problems goin on with your car im afraid.
I boght a fuel guage today... checked fuel pressure... fine. during the short tome it runs fuel pressure is within parameters.
I think I figured out where the smoke is coming from... seems to be coming from the head gasket area.
I have replaced heads before on a merc. topaz before but it was years ago and with the help of a friend.
Is there a good manual I can be to service my car. I bought a Haynes today and it sucks it's going right back. Back to the motor. No ticking or knocking in the motor but it still stalls as it comes back down to idle.
Does sound like IAC? (what does it stand for)
or the throttle position sensor.
How much is a reasonable mechanic going to charge for head gasket replace?.
IAC
Idle Air Control
A tiny motor that modulates the amount of air bypassing the throttle plate at idle. It's the big black nut under the throttle body. I'm not expert in this area, but this should be an ok answer until someone else come up with something better.
OK now I'm pulling out hair.... I changed the IAC now the car won't start at all. turns over but won't spark and ignite. only for a brief second if I spray starting fluid in the throttle body.
Please help guys I gotta get this car running right.
My Lucas 009's just came today and so did my TE44
Frank - sounds like you're going ahead of the main problem - head gasket. You said it wont spark & ignite, but it starts with starting fluid. Have you verified that it's getting spark on all cylinders? If it is and it will only run with starting fluid, your injectors probably arent working. You're measuring fuel pressure in the rail, and if the injectors arent working, you will still have a pressurized fuel system, it's just not letting fuel into the motor. The injectors can be felt for pulsing when it's running or turning over - if they dont feel like theyre ticking or pulsing, you know they're not working.
I know you want to get the car running, but the headgasket/smoke issue is more important. You could also have a bad EGR letting exhaust crap into your cylinders and killing the engine since it's smokey and burning coolant. Lots of things to check still. You have new injectors and need them replaced anyway, so you can start there. I really strongly advise concentrating on the smoking issue. Blown headgaskets are common on these cars when not tuned properly. Also - for the 009's you will need a chip programmed. The stock chip is programmed for 28# injectors and it will not run right with 43# injectors.
I recommend a Thrasher chip for 009's - only $25.
Lots to do. Check the EGR and PCV as well. I wish i could hop on over and look the car over with ya. Depending on how much you know about cars in general - this could turn ugly on you real quick. We don't know what happened to it before it was parked 8 years ago, so you basically have to go through all systems and make sure each part is doing it's job. An experienced GN mechanic (or a regular one if anything) will make this a much more pleasant process.
Hope that helps. Keep your wits about ya too..i remember when i first got mine. The car kicked my butt so hard with problems that I *almost* sold it i was so frustrated. But - it all got fixed eventually.
Good luck
Frank,
I recently had the same problem with my car. We tracked it down to a loose cam sensor. Check your cam sensor to make sure it is tight and adjust it if necessary.
My TR wouldn't idle at all when i had one of the intake hoses "SLIGHTLY" off. it would run if I kept my foot on the gas. I bought some heavy duty hose clamps to hold my intakes hoses/pipes on. Next the cam sensor loosened up enough to disengage the oil pump. I hunted this down eventually and had to reinstall the cam sensor making sure it lined up right with the oil pump (I'm not driving home with no oil pressure again) It would run with the cam sensor off a bit , but it wouldn't idle or rev over 3500. So I agree with checking the cam sensor out completely. I get little bit of smoke on my driver side valve cover (leaky gasket) I will soon get this fixed. But this smoke is seen coming from the header, not from the breather like you said. So check and make sure egr / pcv are working properly. I'm new to the TR world, but I love it already. My car was someone else's basketcase, but I soon got it straighted out and enjoy driving it so much. I like revving by the ricers with the turbo spooled up. he he he. Oh the looks these cars get...........