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Completely stumped here...


Jhobuu

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My STE use to shudder at low RPMs and it was the Coils. in any Hanes manual it tells how to test the coils....

 

I replaced 1 of mine Fixed it for about 12K miles then the ICM went to I changed all of mine with just used ones from a Stock 3.1 including the ICM and now it Runs like a Champ agian before the Change I was only getting 12-14 now im back to my 20+ MPG.

 

I have a set of MSD's that Im going to put in but when the motor gets rebuilt..

 

PS my 15.00@90.02 mph 1/4 was on that bad coil.......

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my icm went dead about 6 weeks ago and the car ran like absolute shit just as you described. i have an automatic, but in OD and TC lockup i thought the car was going to shake apart. i would check and make sure all the plugs are firing. my vote is for the ignition problem. 35 bucks at the local JK gets you icm and 3 coil packs here in buffalo. might i add that just by running the motor in the driveway trying to figure out what was going on, and driving about 15 miles total to shops sucked about 4 gallons of gas.

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DAMN...you guys are having the same problem as me...and i think mine is getting worse with this cold weather...when i left work tonight it shook like crazy til i got up to cruising speed...then it shakes when you start to go up a lil bit of an incline...also...when i went to the track...my 1/4 mile times were HORRIBLE!!!...so, i think i'm gonna take some advice, get 1 new coil...put it on...see if it fixes the problem, if it doesnt, i'll just move the coil around to see if it does...i'm HOPING you guys are right and this solves my problem as well...

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well...i went and bought a coil today...DAMN they are expensive...lOl...$50 @ cost from NAPA...anywayz..i wanna install it and see if it solves my problem...i'm just gonna move it around til the problem goes away...or DOESNT...anywayz...i went to install it and don't have a socket here to fit it.. :lol: ...i think its 5.5mm or something...so, anywayz...guess i'll have to wait til i go to work on monday and grap a socket outt my toolbox...oh well...i'm just hoping this solves my problem! :?

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Allright. Gonna try testing the ones that I have, using the 'pull a wire' method, as I can't afford anything new for a couple of days. I'll let you know if that's it.

 

that is basically how desperate i got, pulled a wire and the thing ran exactly the same way. on mine the 3 coil packs worked perfect, it was the icm so if you decide to swap coil packs and it doesnt work i would look at the icm.

 

if you recently replaced the spark plugs during this problem, pull them out and inspect them to make sure they were firing. when i pulled the plugs out #1 and #4 had only a film and a very slight brown color. the other four plugs actually looked like they were being fired.

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I haven't had a chance to check the packs yet, holidays kinda got in the way, but there is something new. I had a friend of mine at work who does emissions with me when I started the car, and he told me that he thought the exhaust smelled rich. He hooked it up to the emi machine, and it turns out that the exhaust is loaded with unburned fuel. I'm wondering if this could be because one of the packs isn't firing. Makes sense, but would the engine still run well at idle and no load with essentially dead cylinders?

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i was dumping a ton of unburned fuel into the exhaust, the smell was horrible and there was even a point where it started to burn b4 the cat converter and made the pipe cherry red (i thought the cat was pluged). my engine kinda sounded ok at idel but you will def notice the difference once all 6 are firing. it was hard for me to notice untill it was fixed but u will def notice a difference.

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Well, I finally got a chance to get in there and pull the wires to check for a dead coil. Sure enough, the far left one (standing in front of the car) made no difference whatsoever when either or both of the wires were pulled. Guess I'm going to have my own encounter with the much talked about bottom bolt. Gonna have to wait 'til monday, though. Many thanks to all who have helped so far, you guys are great!

 

Have a merry Christmas, best wishes to you. I'll let you know how it turned out next week.

 

EDIT: Speaking of cherry red pipe... That's the main reason that I have no cat. I felt the console getting hot when I was reaching down to shift, and when I got out and looked under, I saw the cat glowing hot. Hence, straight pipe to muffler.

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yea ive been having the same problem with my 3.1 it pop studdurs under load (in gear) an when it in nuetral it will rev up fine an its puting out black smoke like wow an its running really rich ive replaced all 3 coil packs fuel inj. an fuel regulater an still runs the same new plugs an every thing... i had to drop my plans to go to kentucky to see my family for xmas b/c of this pos so yea i need to fix it so if any of u guys have any idea plz help i have to be there by newyears eve.... :!:

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Black smoke? I'm not all that good at diagnosis (as you can see by this thread), but I think that usually means that you are burning oil in the cylinder. Were the old plugs all gummy and black?

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Black smoke? I'm not all that good at diagnosis (as you can see by this thread), but I think that usually means that you are burning oil in the cylinder. Were the old plugs all gummy and black?

 

blue smoke means burning oil.

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yea black smoke means running really rich with gas every 1 was telling me it was my k&n cold airintake so i put the old airbox back on an no differnce. so yea like this thread says im stumpped :!: :!: :!:

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Well, got the new coil pack in, and of course, hooked the wires up backwards. Got real upset, started to drive to autozone to return it, and realized what I had done. Once I got the wires hooked up right, the engine was running a lot smoother. Less stumbling, and some power came back. I used fifth gear for the first time in almost a year this morning! Anyway, I got back some of the lost power, but I am wondering if I should use something like seafoam or the equivalent to clean out the cylinders. Would all that time not firing have left residue or varnish on the dead cylinders?

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Basically a cleaner for the upper cylinders and intake. Suck it in through a vacuum line, let the engine run like crap for a while and then spew copious amounts of smoke for a while. Last time I did it, I got pulled over and told that my engine was going to explode. Cleans all the residues and sticky bits out of the intake and cylinders. I'm just wondering if it would do any good.

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running a dead coil can kill a catalytic converter because it will cause it to overheat too often, also it can slow down the response of your O2 sensor. Dead coils are never fun.

 

Also, you may want to look into just replacing those two spark plugs, being dead in those cylinders for so long can screw them up too, or at least pull 'em out and clean 'em.

 

Also remember, your owners manual calls for 87 octane as a minimum requirement for your engine, try runnin' the good stuff for a while.

 

--Dave.

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With the engine running, the reading was around 35 psi, still too low, I think. So I replaced the fuel pump.

 

Fuel pressure is suppose to drop around 5-10 psi when the engine is running which is normal.

 

Also, get some of the dielectric grease to put on all the connections and the back of the icm where it mounts to the block.

 

Don't use dielectric grease on the back of the ICM and heatsink. Dielectric grease is use for electrical contacts (spark plug wires, bulbs contact, etc). What you need is a thermal grease compound which is used to transfer heat from Integrated Circuit to a heat sink. It is the same thermal grease compound used in CPU with heatsink. Failure to use a thermal grease compound will allow your ICM to heat up pretty good and not allow proper heat transfer to the heatsink and probably end up with a failing ICM soon.

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You can get that thermal grease at radio shack

 

My car smells really rich, but I have no cat converter. Does anyone else with no converter smell rich?

maybe my coils are dieing

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My car smells really rich, but I have no cat converter. Does anyone else with no converter smell rich?

maybe my coils are dieing

A bad Coolant Temp Sensor could be the cause, also. If the CTS reads "cold" all the time, the PCM will think the motor is still cold, therefore keeping it in "Open-Loop" mode and running it a bit rich...
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With the engine running, the reading was around 35 psi, still too low, I think. So I replaced the fuel pump.

 

Fuel pressure is suppose to drop around 5-10 psi when the engine is running which is normal.

 

Also, get some of the dielectric grease to put on all the connections and the back of the icm where it mounts to the block.

 

Don't use dielectric grease on the back of the ICM and heatsink. Dielectric grease is use for electrical contacts (spark plug wires, bulbs contact, etc). What you need is a thermal grease compound which is used to transfer heat from Integrated Circuit to a heat sink. It is the same thermal grease compound used in CPU with heatsink. Failure to use a thermal grease compound will allow your ICM to heat up pretty good and not allow proper heat transfer to the heatsink and probably end up with a failing ICM soon.

 

Hmm.. probably should have done that when I re-did the ICM/coils on the old '89.

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well...just an update on mine...i replaced the first coil (i think its 1 & 4) anywayz...the problems still there...so, i guess now i get to put that coil on and move to the next one...i've also noticed the problem is getting worse/more noticable in the cold... :?

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