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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 3 2011, 05:18 PM (596 Views) | |
| RoknTheFreeWrld | Nov 3 2011, 05:18 PM Post #1 |
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Fresh Fish
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Hey all, I'm now the proud owner of a '93 Metro, 3-cyl, 5-spd with 84k miles. It's a great little car, but has an issue. It starts pretty rough (cold or warm), but will smooth out on its own after 15-30 seconds, or faster if you give the throttle a little kick. After that, it runs well, but idles high, and the fuel economy on the first tank was disappointing (low 30's). It has new plugs & wires, air filter, and PCV valve. A quick check of vacuum lines looked good, and no check engine light (yet). Where should I start my search? I've seen suggestions for similar problems of EGR valve, IAC valve, TPS, .... I haven't had time to dig into things much yet, but just got a repair manual, and am anxious to get this thing running like a champ. TIA |
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| Johnny Mullet | Nov 3 2011, 08:54 PM Post #2 |
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Fear the Mullet
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If you just got the car and want to see how healthy the engine is, perform a compression test on all the cylinders and report back. |
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| allmountain40 | Nov 3 2011, 09:34 PM Post #3 |
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| RoknTheFreeWrld | Nov 8 2011, 08:54 PM Post #4 |
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Fresh Fish
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Finally had some time to do a compression test, and I don't think I'm going to get good news. Dry: 60, 60, 190; Wet: 80, 70, 190. Am I looking at a head gasket? |
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| starscream5000 | Nov 8 2011, 09:05 PM Post #5 |
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Got 70 MPG?
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You're looking at 2 partially burned exhaust valves. |
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| Bad Bent | Nov 8 2011, 09:39 PM Post #6 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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Welcome to your new forum, RoknTheFreeWrld! Not that it will matter but here is the compression test link; How To Compression Test. If you got a Factory Service Manual (click here) you have almost everything you need to do a rebuild. Or you can use the guides in this post; Engine Rebuild Links. The compression is probably causing the FE issue. You can change the vacuum lines to possibly eliminate the high idle, and perhaps the MAP hose from the Throttle Body to the MAP on the firewall above the Alternator. It coudl be a gasket leak that you could find by spraying the gaskets with Carb. cleaner and listening for an rpm change. "Good news" is that an engine rebuild would make cleaning the EGR passages through the head and manifolds easier. |
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| RoknTheFreeWrld | Nov 30 2011, 05:25 PM Post #7 |
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Fresh Fish
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So I finally squeezed in enough time over the last couple weeks to get my head rebuilt. It actually went pretty smooth with a Haynes manual and this forum, so thanks to everyone for their help. I did have 2 bad exhaust valves and a lot of carbon in the EGR passages. So when I was done yesterday, it started right up, sounding much smoother and stronger than it did before, so that's good news. I had a clicking sound after it started for about 5 seconds, which went away (lifters?). But then it started making a squealing sort of sound and smelled kind of warm. I shut it off, and I was on my way out in a hurry, so I didn't have a chance yet to investigate. I'm hoping it's just the accessory belt, but I'm worried it's the camshaft. I made sure the bearing surfaces were clean & lubricated, followed the torque specs, etc. Any thoughts or advice? I'm going to rule out the belt first tonight, then I guess pull off the valve cover and see if anything looks amiss. |
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| Bad Bent | Dec 1 2011, 12:16 AM Post #8 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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the clicking was likely a lifter but it's gone anyway so who cares right. The belt is one and you can actually run the engine without it for a little. I've had the timing belt rub on the timing belt cover a little.
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| RoknTheFreeWrld | Dec 4 2011, 04:55 PM Post #9 |
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Fresh Fish
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So I should have taken 5 minutes to investigate before my last post. The squealing was indeed the belt, I just needed to tighten it up. One of the things that made me think something else was wrong was I had some smoke in the engine compartment. I found that it's coming from the exhaust pipe before the cat. Once the engine has warmed up for a minute, it looks like it comes out of leaks in the exhaust pipe. Does that make you think I'm burning oil? Thanks for your help. |
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