NEED HELP!

[EliteConcept]

Ok my 92xlt shes got a few symptoms that i believe may all be linked together, but i dunno...

1. Irratic idle, it comes and goes at it pleases.
2. Sputtery exaust, its hard to decribe, but its like its pulsing..also are you supposed to be able to see "smoke like" more like cloudy air, not black. air leaving your exaust when its about 50 degrees outside, and its irregular some what sputtery also.
3. Clang-Clang noise in engine bay. Just noticed this one, seems to emit from passengers side of engine bay, its not loud about once or twice every 10 seconds, but its noticable when ur standing with the hood open
4. Sometimes when i'm driving it seems like the rpms are dropping as i drive...it may just be me, but its really werid.

someone told me that it could be water in the engine..also told me to drop some oil onto the header when hot, see if it smokes or bubbles away...i did this and it smoked away, no bubbles that i seen.

please help!
thanks
ryan

 

[EliteConcept]

bump...anyone any suggestions

 

[GenerationX]

black smoke?

it may be running rich (too much fuel) you say it is running rough. it may be that unmetered fuel (or air for that matter) is getting into your engine. how many miles do you have? some thing to check: your fuel press. regulator, it may have a leak in the diaphragm (and pull un metered fuel into the intake)

#3-4a don't know..the clang-clang could be just becase your motor is rough so the exhaust is rattling

#4b as far as dropping oil on the header I've never heard of that. I could pour all kinds of stuff on my header and it would burn or fizz away

hope these suggestions help and can anyone else throw some ideas aout there...

 

[GenerationX]

pulsing? does it sound li8ke its running on all6?

 

[EliteConcept]

i dunno, it sounds like its missing when it idles down, but that usually comes and goes.

i have 118,000 miles on it

and putting oil on the headers i ment by off the dip stick, so it would be the oil that is currently in the engine.

i just hope its nothing big, i just lost my job and that sucks badly

 

[GenerationX]

ok...i think what someone meant about putting oil on the headers was to see if there's water in your oil which i think it would bubble up if there was . if it was all oil and no water from your coolant system it would just start smoking. but usually you can see bubbles right on the dipstick if there's water. Finding a miss can be frustrating, cause mine is starting to develop one. i don't know what mods you have if that has anything to do with it but if you've got the original fuel press. reg. you could leak test it, maybe some ppl here have the inch of vaccum specs for it. Just check the obvious stuff- plugs, wires, clean mass air, vacc leaks anywhere; If you have a ohm meter you could check the throttle position sensor, dang i feel bad cause i don't have any specs for this stuff...some one help me too!!
Sorry to here about your job too that sucks
gtg...
Garrett

 

[EliteConcept]

thanks, it sucks but i'll make it.

i have new plug wires, 3 new plugs (i can't even see the 3 on the passenger side let alone change them), cleaned the mass air flow sensor just recently,

I don't know how to check for vaccum leaks...if you could tell me i can check.

Also Yes i do have an ohm meter, i was planning on checking the thottle body tomrrow see if any dirt was built up on the idle plate deal in it,
would the specs for the TPS be in a Haynes manual, cuz i got that.

thanks alot man
ryan

 

[GenerationX]

checking for vacc leaks is more of a visual thing unless youv'e done any gasket work to the intake then i would check see if alll bolts are tight otherwise it is looking for those skinny plastis vacc lines broken or off or a hole in a rubber one. shoot i don't know if its in the hanes manual- probably just check for a gradual resistance as you move thru the range of the TPS.

i have new plug wires, 3 new plugs (i can't even see the 3 on the passenger side let alone change them),

the #1 & #2 spark plug aren't easy but it can be done from the top..the #3 however to do mine I had to turn the frt. wheels all the way to the left(driver's side) and go through a gap in the fender well. let me know how it goes man I'm pullin' for ya
hope i didn't insult you with any of my explanations

later
Garrett

 

[Big E]

I guess I will give my two cents on this maybe I can help other people too.

1. Sounds like you have a leaking intake gasket. Take some CARB cleaner. Not brake cleaner. Spray the CARB cleaner all around the upper and lower intake gaskets. BY doing this you should notice the engine smoothing out. If this solves the running part then just tighten the bolts down or replace the gaskets.

2. You will be albe to see some "smoke" when it is running. It is condisation built up from when you shut the truck off, the cat is hot and when it cools condisation builds up on the inside. Nomally you will notice it more when it is cold out side but it could happen at 50 degrees.

3. The clang clang could be a number of things. Could be more like a ticking noise which is a lifter noise normally. Could be more like a "knock" noice or a rattle noise, both of these could be a rod bearing failing.

4. The loss of power could be a few things. Your cat could be plugged giving you the loss of power and could make it run bad.

It sounds like to me there is a big problem. I am thinking maybe you have a cracked head. All the anti-freeze has mixed with the oil. The lifters are no pumping up as they should giving you the clang noise. Then when the lifter does not pump up all the way you get the loss of power and the poor idle. Or you could have a blown head gasket causing the lack of power.

Things to check out.

remove the oil fill cap. Does it look milky? If it does then you got water in oil. How full is the oil? Is it really full? If so then you got water in oil again. Check the coolant level. Is it full? Take a coolant pressure tester and pressurize the radiator and see if the pressure drops off. If so look for leaks. If no leaks are found the you got a internal problem.


Hope this helps.


Sorry to be so long.


Eric

 

[EliteConcept]

cool thanks

but i'm not that engine inclined, where are the intake gaskets located...it maybe a dumb question but i don't know much about engines.

thanks again
ryan

 

[newexplorerguy]

hope this helps......

Hi;
You have recieved some helpful tips from some of the members of the board; but here are some more.
1. since you say you are about to do a tune-up; hopefully it is just a fouled spark plug or a bad plug wire, and the tune-up will fix it. you say that you are not too mechanically inclined; so maybe some tips that most of the members already know will be in order. remember to gap those plugs correctly.
2. if the tune-up does not help; find a friend or a shop that will help diagnose the problem for you.
3. if you think there is excess moisture coming from the tailpipe; do a compression test on it. if you find one or two cylinders that have lower compression than the others, you might have a blown head gasket or a cracked head.
4. if the compression test does not show the problem, pressurize the coolant system; sometimes you can even hear the leak through the intake or exhaust this way.
5. another member suggested spraying carb cleaner around the intake; this is a very good way to find out if you have a leaking intake gasket or a cracked vacuum hose.
6. above all else, don't get discouraged; even after 8 years of building engines and working on cars, i still would miss something fairly obvious sometimes.
Hope this helps.
George

 

[EliteConcept]

sounds good, soon as i get a bunch of money i'll have to do all those....i'm broke for the time being, lousy economy.

i had an idea, probalby not the answer but i have a cone air filter, and intake tube on the truck along with a flow master 40 series muffler, is it possible that i may need to run 89 octane gas instead of "the cheap stuff"
i dunno just a thought, like i said i know next to nothing about how engines function.

I am first going to get my spark plugs on the passenger side replaced, unsure how long they've been in there....probably long since they designed it so no one can get to them....Then if problem still is there, i'll have a complete tune up done, and go from there with compression tests.

damn i hope its not a cracked head or something i can't afford that ...

any other help is appericated!!!!

 

[EliteConcept]

Hey guys i did this today, still runs ruff but i did these things..

1. Checked TPS Voltage - it read 4.81, it supposed to read about 5volts...not sure if thats a big problem.

2. Checked and cleaned the IAC- boy was it nasty, much better now.

3. Quickly checked for vaccum leaks, not sure what i was doing but i looked for holes in the tubes.

4. There were no Bubbles on my dipstick.

5. There is no milky light brown color under the oil fill cap.

6. I checked the voltage to the Mass Air flow sensor , and it was fine.

7. I also cleaned some guck off the throttle plate

8. Checked and added some oil to the engine

9. Cleaned my cone air filter

The things that I don't know how to do are:
1. Check the O2 Sensor.
2. Check the EGR valve.
3. Where are the upper and lower intake gaskets, so i can spray some CARB cleaner on them.

thanks guys

 

[EliteConcept]

Ok i'm getting the 3 passenger side spark plug changed next week.

Also, if i'm getting great gas milage like 16/city 20/highway, is it still possible that i could have a mailfunctioning piston or whatever...??

thanks
ryan