Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 09:08 pm, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
I wonder if anyone can help me with a new issue?
I have a 1991 UZZ31 and not too long back my waterpump gave up the ghost. Quite bad! Leaked water as quick as I could fill it!
So... I have changed (for new parts) the waterpump, the cam-belt, the radiator (as that blew as well), the spark plugs, the rotors and the distributors!
Finally got it back together again and it wouldn't start! Found out I had the rotors on the wrong way round! (Should never assume). Turned the right way round and lo-and-behold it started fine. Ticked over sweet until I started to drive it! A mild vibration and a slight lack of power was noticed! As I drove it a bit further the engine warmed and the vibration got worse! Really quite bad so took it hope immediately where it was vibrating whilst idling! I waited a bit for the engine to cool down and although it is slightly noticeable, it is still there so wasn't risking in driving it again.
I thought this was a tooth out on the cam belt somewhere so have now taken the engine back so the crank is at TDC and the rotors are all perfectly lined up with their markers accordingly.
Mmm... My next thought is could it be the harmonic balancer? (used correct tools to move it originally) or does anyone have any ideas as to what it may be?
Thanks for reading this post and am very grateful for any input! Thanks, Mick.
Ian Johnston Goo Roo South Australia 1995 UZZ31, BA XR6Turbo Ute. 2007 VE GTS.
Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 09:40 pm, by: Ian Johnston(Ted)
Hi Michael, welcome to the site. Was it vibrating prior to belt change? Sounds like the timing is out, or plug gap wrong. What procedure did you use to do the belt timing? Peter Scott on Planet Soarer has a very good guide to doing the belt.
Monday, February 25, 2013 - 02:16 am, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
Hi. Thanks for your replies.
Prior to the belt change the engine didn't vibrate at all. It ran smoothly. Would the plug gap create such a vibration??
The idle was smooth and always is upon first start. All the loom connectors have been WD40'd and made sure connections are good. All the ignition leads are firmly in place.
When it idles the engine sounds perfect but as soon as I give a bit of throttle it vibrates to such an extent that the steering wheel vibrates!
I have just now put it all back together after checking all the alignment marks and it hasn't changed! I am however if more damage in the past could have happened when the waterpump went? I've placed my finger on the rim of the harmonic balancer whilst idling and that feels as smooth as ever.
Monday, February 25, 2013 - 08:41 pm, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
Thanks again guys!
I think what I'm going to do over the next couple of days is remove the spark plugs and check the gap. I replaced them originally with NGK BKR5EIX-11 of which I had been informed where of the correct gap to start with. While the plugs are out I will do a compression test on each of the cylinders and if all that pulls through then I'm going to remove the harmonic balancer and recheck that again by putting it on a lathe and spinning it at different speeds to see if it vibrates or falls apart!
The ignition leads are the correct way round as I never actually removed them out of their relative clips so they just naturally sat in place.
I'll keep you posted on what I do and if the problem eventually presents itself!
Friday, March 01, 2013 - 07:58 pm, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
You know I love forums!
Help from everyone has been bang on and muchly appreciated!
So, I removed all the ignition leads and ran a multimeter through them. One coil-pack lead was resisting at around 5000 ohms (just in) and six of the cylinder leads had no continuity!!!!! (Must have been arcing)
I reckon there's an issue!
I've ordered a new set which here in the UK has stung me nearly 130 quid. (About $190 AUD (Best price I could find with the correct serial code)). Will be worth it though I hope!
Friday, March 29, 2013 - 10:54 pm, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
Hey. Sorry it's been a while. I eventually got my leads a month longer than they should have been. Started it and it ticked over just fine but the warning light saying the 'Alternator Not Charging Battery' bonged! I checked the voltage at the battery terminals and they're reading just over 14v so the alternator is working fine!
I took it round the block to see how it ran and it has no power! Even had to kick down to increase the speed slightly! It's now worse than when I had the old leads on!
With regards to your post Daniel, how do you check the coilpacks?
Friday, April 19, 2013 - 11:03 pm, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
All coil packs are fine cheers.
Now I have reordered another set of ignition leads from Australia as the ones I got over here were bloody awful, my car isn't fixed!
I have a warning saying my battery isn't being charged but the volt meter is saying there's about 14.5 volts so it is charging. The Catalytic Converter light is showing. The car runs on limp-home mode. The rev counter only shows what revs I am doing when the accelerator pedal in pressed. Zero rpm when idling yet the engine is going. A noticeable rattling sound coming from under the car around the back/bottom of the engine area. (Quietens when revving).
Getting a bit worried about this! Please help if you have any ideas because it is a lovely car and I'd hate to scrap it!
(Could it be my catalytic converters as it hasn't been running on all cylinders for a while?)
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - 12:51 am, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
Just received a new alternator for my Soarer this morning from America and the pulley's circumference is 10mm bigger (not too much). Would that make a difference?
Thursday, June 13, 2013 - 10:13 pm, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
Okay. I will thank everyone again for help over the last few months but now I have fitted a knew alternator nothing has changed. There is still a warning light saying the alternator is not charging the battery and it is still running on limp home mode.
Friday, June 21, 2013 - 08:50 pm, by: Michael Ireland(Mrmick)
IT'S FIXED!
I wouldn't have figured it out on my own!
Firstly the spark plugs were the wrong ones. I had NGK BKR4E and they should've been NGK BKR6E. Secondly one of the coilpacks (even though I had tested them off the car and were fine) had a corroded bracket which acts as a heat exchanger and wasn't heat exchanging so the coilpack was overheating and breaking down as soon as the car was started. So it only ran on 4 cylinders.
This in turn put unburnt fuel into the Catalytic converters and has broken them down which although isn't too much of a problem (they glow and cause a bit too much back pressure) and can still drive the car. It still needs new cats (or the removal of them). BUT... It has the old power back again!!!