Ask GTP About Your Car Problems/General Questions

My friend's Saab (And I believe Brad's Celica) had issues with the MAF that caused it to have problems at idle.

My buddy's Outback also shuddered under acceleration, and running some ATF through the fuel system helped clean the injectors a bit. But I think that issue was mostly due to the fuel filter.
 
Sounds more like a misfire to me. I would check all the plugs.

If it's easily to get to, start the car and pull out the spark plug wires one at a time and see if the idle changes any. Lots of times if you have a misfire, the car won't idle any differently when you pull the plug wire that goes to the cylinder causing the misfire, telling you which one is at fault.
 
Normally vacuum leaks just won't idle (or have a surge at idle), but often run nearly fine with some throttle.

I'm with PB and the odds of it needing plugs and/or wires, though it could also need a fuel filter. If it's got 50k on it and hasn't had a set of plugs and wires, earn a little gratitude by changing them for her at parts cost. It will take all of 15 minutes and a service station will take her for a ride on it.
 
How many miles are on this car Joey ?
While a basic tune-up + a fuel filter may remedy your problem,(hoping it does),if I'm not mistaken,those cars used a 2.2L and a 2.4L engine.These engines were known also for........(please forgive me,hoping I'm wrong),headgasket failure.Does the car blow white smoke or is there excessive moisture from the exhaust ? Does the exhaust have a sweet smell to it (burning antifreeze) ?

Really hope this is not the case,but it can't be ruled out either.Just something else for thought,(sorry).
 
No white smoke nor does it smell like it's burning anything. The car has 110K on it, maybe a bit more or less, I can't really remember. I'll let her know about what you guys suggested, thanks for the help.
 
Aside from checking the plugs and wires, try checking the EGR system. A clogged EGR valve can lead to poor idling and loss of power (from sticking open)... it's easy enough to check... find the EGR (it's usually under the intake manifold) and unplug the solenoid... if the running improves, chances are that's your issue.
 
I had her go and have the fuel filter replaced and run some premium fuel through the system to clean it out. She told me today that solved the problem. Thanks for the help guys!
 
Joey D
I had her go and have the fuel filter replaced and run some premium fuel through the system to clean it out. She told me today that solved the problem. Thanks for the help guys!
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Cool,no problem. 👍
Glad to hear it was something minor.:)
 
What about Porsche direct injection engines, how many have successfully tuned those?
 
No real idea. They're new. Maybe some have been successful in turbocharging (with a turbo, you can just add an extra set of injectors)... but I don't know about their success in reflashing or piggy-backing the stock ECU.
 
General question time.

This:
27042009544.jpg


Not my car, fortunately. It's actually the FTO I drove a while back. The gunk is emulsified oil, right? I.e. water has got into the oil and this is what results?

My question is, does this signify big problems with the motor or does it just necessitate maybe a head gasket change and an oil and filter change?

I'm not thinking of buying that FTO (the uneaven panel gaps and slightly off-centre steering led me to believe it had seen the wrong side of something solid at some point) but in general it's useful for me to know given that it's a problem that cars of the age I'm looking at will probably suffer from.
 
Yep, that's water in the oil.

It almost definitely signifies a blown headgasket, but it could be worse - cracked head. How serious a blown headgasket is depends on the car, but with water in the oil, it's usually serious. The thing is, that gunk is probably in the cooling system, but worse, the bearings have been exposed to water. Not good.

On some cars (the infamous Neon headgasket) the gasket blows externally, and the result is a slow leak of oil or water, but no mixing. When the Neon's headgasket went, you could drive the car for another 100,000 miles as long as you kept the oil level up and it didn't start mixing with the water.

But that FTO's headgasket has blown internally, which as you've guessed, is a problem. I'd stay away from a car with that symptom unless you're budgeting to tear down the engine.
 
Okay, thanks for the info Duke 👍 I was pretty sure I knew what the problem was but unsure how serious it could be, so that's very helpful.
 
If ever the day comes I see that on mine you might just see a grown man cry... on a 911 that's a new engine, which comes in about £7k.
 
Well it's been about 6 years my car has been on them and one of the rims has cracked... What are my options? I'm guessing Fix-a-Flat or tire slime won't work in this situation.
 
homeforsummer
My question is, does this signify big problems with the motor or does it just necessitate maybe a head gasket change and an oil and filter change?
I'm not thinking of buying that FTO (the uneaven panel gaps and slightly off-centre steering led me to believe it had seen the wrong side of something solid at some point) but in general it's useful for me to know given that it's a problem that cars of the age I'm looking at will probably suffer from.
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the most expensive job on a car :scared: not on the parts but the labour racks up the cost, having to take it all apart and skim the head etc. for my astra it cost £500+
its not guaranteed to happen on any car, and it happens regardless of age too. check for pressure in the expansion tank too, if it bubbles back up when you undo the cap, and if the coolant looks dodgy, plus if it seems a bit steamy out the exhaust and smells sweet.
 
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Racing Harts. I think i'll take my chances with a weld..i'll talk to the mechanic about keeping the wheels balanced.
 
They should be able to balance the wheel to a degree, you might feel a slight wobble but it should be ok. A buddy of mine welded his rims, stuck it on the back and you can't really tell unless you are pushing the car. The crack in his rim wasn't overly severe though.
 
You can weld it, one of my friends had it done recently. One of the six spokes was completely separated from the outer rim. But it was on an el-cheapo wheel which isn't hardly worth anything anyway. I suggest replacing it.
 
I got it done today, looks good i'd say. Only cost me $50. They did add weights to balance the tire, so i feel no shaking.
 
Giancarlo
Racing Harts. I think i'll take my chances with a weld..i'll talk to the mechanic about keeping the wheels balanced.
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Don't just send it to some guy with a welder. Get it repaired at a wheel repair shop - there are lots of them around. For $100-$150 they will structurally repair and refinish it.

[Edit] Oh, well.
 
@ homeforsummer - some cars just build a little water around the oil cap and on the dipstick... with nothing wrong with them, you'd need to check on the specific car, see if you can find other people with that engine that have it too.
 
TrievelA7X
@ homeforsummer - some cars just build a little water around the oil cap and on the dipstick... with nothing wrong with them, you'd need to check on the specific car, see if you can find other people with that engine that have it too.
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I'm pretty sure there's a difference between moisture around the oil cap and mud in the engine. That one there's pretty much toast.
 
niky
I'm pretty sure there's a difference between moisture around the oil cap and mud in the engine. That one there's pretty much toast.
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that pic is pretty much what the dipstick always looked like, within 500mi of every oil change, even with syntec
 
That pic is mud.
27042009544.jpg

Used oil is black, not brown. That color signifies water contamination of the oil and either means a blown headgasket or a blown headgasket. Or maybe engine sludge. Could be any of the three.

I've only ever had two cars on which the oil looked like that. Only one of them had a blown headgasket, though... the other had a cracked cylinder head... :lol:
 
Does anybody have any suggestions about what I'm doing wrong with this car polish I'm using?

I recently went out and bought some Meg's Ultimate compound. It is doing stuff to the car, but few scratches are coming out and it is bunching up pretty badly as I'm applying it. I'm applying it just like a wax, but it's still leaving behind almost all of the scratches and swirls that were there before. Do I need to use more of the stuff?

EDIT: I've seen some of the results guys have had from the stuff, and I'm pretty far from it. I know my car already is pretty shiny, but I'm still pretty disappointed. So I'm fairly sure it's a technique issue.
 

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