ok guys first off ive been here for about 5-6 years. first 2 years were spent researching and preparing myself for what i was getting into. The last 4 i have been enjoying the FD as it was meant to be...driven with care and never neglected or beated on ( in the wrong ways)

but now this has me stumped....and im really just looking for some experience here to chime in.

Yesterday i drove the car to school and back without a hiccup. Car sat for 2 hours and then i took it out to go shopping for food. Note it was raining ALL DAY so i spun the tires maybe once or twice earlier in the day but took it easy on the way back from shopping(full load of groceries+rain = no boost)

got home with NO problems or anything out of the ordinary in the 4 years i have owned and shut her down. Fast forward to this morning....still raining and i start her up...let her get settled (looks, sounds, smells normal as always) so i leave her to warm up for 5 -10 mins before heading to class. Well about 5 mins into the warm up i can hear from my room what sounds like a very bad idle (one rotor) so i run out to the car and see its idleing just at 500 rpms if that and its pretty shaky. See smoke but nothing outrageous that would indicate coolant seals.

I jiggled the map sensor and tps a little with no improvement. I can get in and rev the idle and it seems to smooth out.....sounds like a bridgeport but idle seems good and steady.....not shaky at all. At 500 rpms i have about 13 in of vacuum and its pretty solid...its jsut the rpm is so low that everything is vibrating.



QUESTION?: is it possible to lose a motor with the above situation? Its rainy as all helll so i cant do much but my guess might be a coil or something that got wet. In any case i am planning on doing a compression test, coil test, check plugs, ect ect its just pouring and i have no garage so all i can do is wait.

Ima try and get vids up later......i havent even let it warm up all the way to see if it smooths out because i dont want to make a big problem out of what could be a small one <------one of the secrets of life


so can somebody ease my pain or am i possibly the first unlucky owner to loose a motor while warming up?

 

forgot to add..... mods are

dp, highflow cat, rb dual catback, street port with < 25K miles, I was owner with 500 miles on new engine so it was properly broken in and didnt see more than 5 psi for the first year. Since then it hasnt EVER seen about 10 psi....i have it set at 9 psi right now with manual boost controller. Plugs were just replaced <2k miles ago but maybe thewires are bad?

i think thats about it for relative info......car was auto swapped to 5spd but has been running like that with 0 probs for about 2 years.

i want to cry.......btu this isnt the first time this car has scared me into TRACKING the problem down

 

ive had a vacuum leak for a little while but should be unrelated unless it got worse somehow or i have another leak now.

vids will be up with details shortly.......still raining tho.....thats southern illinois for you

 

dude check your plugs.

also, motors can give just driving, like you cracked a seal and it finally just cant hold anymore...been there...

i dont think you blew the motor. Start it up and let it warm up, see if it drives, relax. . .

 

think it's blown? check compression. Then you'll know.

 

I don't think it's the motor. a steady 13 inches at 500 rpm on a ported motor isn't really that bad. Check wires, leading coil, ignition amp. I'll bet it's simply an ignition problem.

 

this happend this morning and its been raining since...the second i open the hood in comes rain so probably tommorow is compression check. I realize motor can go from just driving but the last time i drove it there was nowhere near 10psi put in and when i finally came to park it the idle,vacuum, sound , was rock solid steady and normal. Something happend between the min i was there after startup and the 5 mins left unattended...

 

already goodfella that what i was thinking and will be my first line of attack,...just wanted to see if anyone has seen or experienced losing a motor from it just warming up/idling

 

sounds like a motor? I would check compresion first. get that out of the way first.
good luck hope it's not a motor

 

def

 

do you have a vented hood? if so things could have got wet. just thought I would give some hope to the blown motor issue (LOL)... Good luck!

Jeff

 

Check compression. Vacuum leak and stuck injector will cause the symptoms you are having.

Jason

 

will do...i really want to thank everyone for their insight.....it makes coming here worth it.

As soon as its nice out im going to to do a compression test and if thats good it off with the UIM for some hunting

 

Been there done that. I once started up the car pulled out of the driveway and drove to the end of the street...The car started shaking, bad motor. When they go they go...

 

ECU? Maybe try pulling the plug wires off one by one while the engine is running to see how it reacts. ...am also doubting the motor is bad.

 

My bet is a hose. Were all the hoses replaced when it was rebuilt? When/if you have driven it, is it rough or does it feel normal while driving?

 

The vacuum reading depends on how you have your boost gauge hooked to manifold vacuum...the FD has nipples dedicated to the front, or the rear, and so you can show good vacuum on one rotor even though the other one is dead. Usually though, a steady, strong (13 is strong for a low idle on a ported motor) vacuum reading will rule out a BLOWN motor, but not a weak compression one.

I'd say you fouled a plug or have a plugwire loose. Injectors that are in service never just up and fail, it's the ones that are let to sit for months on end that stick shut.

IF you dont feel like/cant change the plugs, then at least visually verify that the plugwires are in place. Start the car up and feather/pump the throttle to gradually get rpm up around 3-4krpm and hold it there for about 1 minute. Sometime in that 1 minute odds are you will hear/feel it randomly start jumping to life, and then all at once it will pretty much clear up and run normal again. When you get the plug hot and chamber pressures up, the plug cleans itself off and starts firing again.

 

^^damn thats good info. Thanks.

 

ok well....i initially tried starting today and it kinda sputtered and then died. I got a nice whiff of fuel after sticking my head under the hood right after. Upon first inspection all the wires are connected. all the hoses have been replaced but now that i have the UIM off i got a better view just have blood all over from cutting my finger in the process. I already had a little leak but im pretty sure it was coming from one of the emission solenoids that i dont really use.

I will post back with an update after i source a compression tester and check resistance on coils and verify that theres spark.

again thanks for all the comments...stay tuned

 

oh my lord....i think i just pulled out a bureq7 plug out of the top (trailing posistion)

and i just did a quick compression test
30-30-30 pulses and a max of 120-125 psi on front rotor

30-30-30 pulses and a max of 120-125 psi on the rear rotor

this was with a cold motor so im not sure if that will give higher readings or if its supposed to show lower readings..just curious about that

but i think im on the right track with the plugs now

WOW.....

 

If your method of testing was with a standard gauge just holding the button in then those readings would indicate a healthy engine.

When was the last time you changed your fuel filter?

 

fuel filter was replaced 2 years ago and was one of the first things i did. Has probably less that 10k on it

 

im still workin on gettin some new wires for her with new plugs

ill report

 

prolly flooded ted, and the plugs are fouled.

 

i m hoping its just that in 4 years of owning i have experienced a flooded engine at least 4 times and fouled plugs about 3 times. I Have even experienced a wire poping off a plug and none of those resulted in the symptoms that i have now.

i still agree that it has to be an ignition problem so today is the day i'll find out when everything goes back togetehr

i did find a small slit in one of my plug wires. I currently have magnecore wires and was wonderign if its ok to just get a replacement for the one wire from a local autoparts store? The rest of the wires are only about a year old so...