I think I'm about to cry. Today I was out cruising with a buddy of mine and we were just driving around some nice back roads. As we were going up a hill, I downshifted to fourth and all hell broke loose. The engine lost all power and it stalled out. Well, since the car was under 3K and no boost it shouldn't be the apex seal right? Let's hope so, as now my car has NO power, it barely idles and requires alot of throttle to get it to rev. I checked my TID and in the little light there was it looked ok and I checked all fuses. I know I should get a compression check, but the car is 30 miles away from me (at my friend's house) and I won't be able to get it until Sunday.

Anyways, what should I check before I do my compression test? Let me remind ya'll that the engine wasn't revving high or under boost at the time. This can't come at a worse time...I have essentially no job as of this Friday and I'm broke enough as is.

Thanks guys.

 

The engine will start and idle (on the shaky side). It also has NO power, I tried driving it up a hill to get out of the way and even with tons of slippage it wouldn't go anywhere.

 

Comb the car for anything. Could be a vac line or intake hose or fuel.

I would also say dont try to race the engine just to get it to run cause if you did bust a seal, you dont want to to bust a housing or your turbo.


PS. Does this mean I dont get the tape player???

 

sounds exactly like mine, although I haven't yet combed for lines or anything I honestly can't imagine it being anything but an apex. Does your motor shake like it has a busted motor mount, and sound like a briggs and straton?? Also, what about smoke? Mine spit out no smoke just burned ALOT of gasoline.

 

When I get my car back I'm going through everything. I'm hoping it's vacuum related or AFM related (when I accidently left my AFM unplugged one time it acted like the engine was, but the connector was tight today).


Saabguy...I'm still getting the tape player out. I may be forgetful sometimes, but I stick to my word.

DCamCo...It did shake and then it would be smooth. It didn't really sound like a lawnmower...more like it just wasn't running right.

 

Hey Zach.... my engine did the SAME thing when i was driving home from findlay two days ago.... when i got it back I compression tested it.... between 95-120 PSI on the rear rotor and 15-20 on the front.... shitty.... i would check ur compression. Mine blew when I only had it at 2500 RPM crusin on the highway.

Aaron

 

When my motor went out on my first car, it wasn't at high rpms. I had just got off the highway and sat at a stoplight for a minute. Turned, stopped at the next light (50 yards). Went to the next light (100 yards). Stopped, died, no power. The end.

 

Aaron don't tell me your new engine is blown.

 

Oh yeah..... defininitely blown.... shitty... im sending it back to Atkins pretty soon... and hopeufully have it back in within a few weeks.

Aaron

 

Its compressed into the rotor, but slings outward enough to seal a bit at high RPM.

This makes the engine sound right at high RPM, but has no power when under load.

Wont idle under 3000 (unless the engine is in SUPERB condition) and revs S L O W L Y at wide open throttle.

My guess is the rear rotor.

you have two rotor faces on one rotor that are not getting compression.

 

My 85 went bad at 900 rpm ideling!!! It can happen anytime! Under any load!

Usually the rear rotor is the one that goes bad, beacuse all the emission **** usually picks on it, well at least the 1st gen does. This particualr time it was the front one for me...

 

Does that mean the apex seel is just stuck (resessed) in its groove?? Isnt that what the ATF trick is supposed to fix?? I realize if the seal flew outa the car then there would be a problem, but if you are saying its stuck back in its groove, then that just means carbon has forbidden the springs to do their job. am I right???

I think the atf trick is supposed to loosen the carbon, specifically around the apex seals and springs. hmm.. Maybe you all can fix your motors if the apex seal wasnt thrown from the rotor.

I guess an apex seal could still be bent or cracked in its groove, which would make it bind all the time, ATF doesnt cure metal.

 

could the coils have gone bad? the previous owner of my T2 said they turned to **** and the car was *** slow. he said a geo metro could beat it. but i don't know the circumstances...like if it could idle or anything...

it its still holding a smooth idle i dunno how it could be blown

 

Without me suggesting anything, what he has described is EXACTLY what just happened to me.

I dropped an apex seal.

I THOUGHT i dropped a coil, but no.

The ATF trick will fix this in only SOME rare cases.

Most likely the spring is busted.

 

the ATF is only going to help if the seal is stuck down in the rotor milling....

Lets hope that all it is, cuase the ATF should fix it....

 

Thanks guys for the tips. When i get her back in my possession she's going into the garage and I'm going to check everything out with a fine-toothed comb. Hopefully, it's just a stuck seal, but with the luck I've been having lately that's not looking too likely. Either way, I'm keeping her and I'm going to throw a J-Spec into it to get her back on the road again.

Plus, having no car is making it hard to get a job...at least my parent's are cool.

 

My car did the same thing.
It starts, wakakaka, idles ok, then has no power. This was the case for cold start ups.
I did a compression test and the front seals/housings is blown. I find this sorta strange cause I was under high boost and I assumed that the rear should of blown up first.
Anyways, Zach don't give up hope, just get the compression test done and that will ultimately say whether your engine is blown or not.
Good luck.