Some minor issues (end result = head gasket)

[irelynx]

Over the weekend Jon & Will fixed my oil leak (car was losing about half a qt every 50mi). If I remember right it was the oil pressure regulator? It didn't require tearing down the engine to do gaskets like expected, so that was good. In the process they grabbed a subframe from a JY to replace my rotted out one (this fixed the clunking/popping I've had for years when going over any bump). I didn't lose a drop of oil or coolant on the drive home, though I did still lose some PS fluid, but that was to be expected since that wasn't fixed.

Onto the minor (I hope) issues, all of which I've noticed since the drive home.

1. When accelerating, around 2.5-3k rpm & the 35-45mph range or so, and only while accelerating, there's a 4-5 clicks (about 1 per second) and then it stops. Doesn't happen if I'm just driving/coasting normally at that speed. Only happens during the acceleration through that point. It's not just sound, I can also feel it through the pedal.

2. There's a clicking sound when braking, but only at a certain pressure point. If I let off the brakes a little, or put more pressure on the brakes, the sound goes away. It also seems to go away after some mileage/warmup, or maybe I just stopped noticing until the next time I drive it. Is this just a warped rotor?

3. This started last week, but only happened twice. Now it seems to be all the time, once the car is warm (hasn't done it when the car is cold). I've got a mean chugging going on at idle; you can hear it & really feel it. When it happens (and each time thereafter) the oil pressure gauge drops by about 20. Idle is fine & what it normally sits at. The one time when it happened today the temp gauge shot up from 1/2 to 3/4 pretty quick. The second I start moving again the car smooths right out though, and the temp dropped right back down to 1/2. Car wasn't low on gas or anything, and though it does sometimes have trouble starting, that's only when its both low on gas (1/8 or less) and has been sitting for a couple days or more. I don't know if it matters at all, but the car has been running 10w-30 (synthetic blend) through the warmer months, and when they did the repairs Will put in 5w-30 and overfilled a bit on accident.

4. The only other thing is a nasty grinding sound when I reverse with the steering wheel turned to the right (so going counterclockwise in reverse). This used to happen alot way back before I had my shocks/struts/etc replaced. Then it mostly went away, and after new axles (complete with new alignment) it had gone completely. Now with the new subframe it's back with a vengeance. I have to do a fairly wide reverse arc (or reverse the other direction) to avoid getting the grinding. I'm assuming this is because the last alignment was done with the old rotted subframe, and now that the car sits properly with the new one, a new alignment (which I'll be getting here shortly) will fix the issue?

[3X00-Modified]

I would almost bet the grinding your hearing when turning is the wheel touching something when your at full lock, and yes with the control arm in the right position now that could exaggerate that issue.

The clicking sounds like an axle, but I didn't test drive the car at all when it was over so it's hard to know for sure, we just went to do the gaskets and had a lot of trouble finding a solid spot to even lift the car with, and then after finding the sub-frame problem we concentrated on just getting the car safe to drive and also got lucky with the oil pressure sender being the major leak.

The PS leak could be on the steel part of the cooler/return line since that was heavily rusted and is no stronger than a brake line so it could be coming from there.

I did not know about the odd idle and chugging when you were down, so I never looked into that... and that could be a lot, could be something to do with timing, could be a fuel pump on its way out and not supplying enough pressure its hard to tell, when it does chug though rpm will be affected which accounts for the oil pressure drop and also temp increase since the pump spins slower.

For anyone wondering, this is what we concentrated on fixing...






Holding the swaybar mount in place...

[Rex 2.0]

Holy Crap.

[DTMAce]

Yikes! That was a disaster waiting for a proper pothole.... :O

[irelynx]

The worst part is that it has possibly went to a couple bfests like that, as well as the area where we live being the worst about filling potholes... and our driveway.

I forgot to mention the chugging while we were there. It happened briefly a couple times (not every time the car stopped, literally twice the whole week) before we headed to your place, so it slipped my mind. Will keeps mentioning the fuel filter, since that has never been touched as far as I know. I think I remember one time way back we attempted to replace it, but didn't because the line might break... but I could be remembering the purple car.

[scannerman]

wow that is pretty crazy. i wonder how the heck it was still holding together.

[irelynx]

Okay, so tonight was the first I drove it since making this thread. The car really sounds like it's struggling to stay running. The rpm's are perfectly fine though. I started it up & right away the whole car was vibrating pretty good and sounding like it wanted to stall. But the rpm's were holding steady at about 1200 like normal, and then after running for a minute or two it normally settles down to 800 or so. Giving it some gas it smoothed out a bit but you could still hear that the rhythm of the engine running sounds odd. I didn't end up driving it anywhere. I opted to borrow my parents car instead.

Could this at all be related to that EGR solenoid code it was throwing earlier in the year? It still throws a code every once in a very rare (if I'm going 55+ and let it coast to slow down, it shows up at thr 45mph point). I also know that the PCV valve probably needs to be replaced; it didn't rattle when I checked it a few days ago. Bad plugs, wires, something? lol Any hope at all that it could be one of those simple things? >.<

When I made the thread it was only doing this when the engine was warm & the car was at a standstill. Now it showed up right from a cold start.

Edit: One last thing. Could this have anything to do with there being too much oil in the engine? It's about half an inch (or half the hatchmarked section) beyond the end of the hatchmarked section on the dipstick. Would doing an oil change (or just draining some out) change anything?

[DTMAce]

EGR code will not cause this. I have had EGR codes on two cars and neither ever ran like that with the code being thrown as you slow down. That code is an EGR fail, as the breather tube from the EGR valve to the upper intake is plugged up with crap. Clean it out and poof. No more codes. I have yet to do this to the base, but will soon.

Oil change, if you are using the tall filter, should be a bit high on the stick but not that high. If you were using the short filter, you should only put in 4.5 quarts, not 5. That is what it calls for. I always use 5, as I always use a tall filter. PF52 I believe was the number of the Delco filters, not sure on numbers for other brands. I don't use Delco filters anymore though and can't tell you offhand the number of the bosch that's on it.

As for the rough... Sounds like an ignition issue. May want to reseat all the spark wires, make sure they are good and tight on both ends. I would physically unplug and reconnect each, examining the connectors for corrosion, etc. If they were just installed recently, then maybe one or two popped loose!

Can't hurt to change the oil I suppose either. What all did you guys fix on the engine stuff? I thought they were doing some seals and that originally....

[diedemus]

we only ended up changing out the bad sending unit on the engine, since that was where the oil seemed to be coming from. The only reason the oil is that high is because we put some in before we drove it to the garage and I expected to lose more than we actually did on the way there. Even then I didn't think I put enough in to bring it from half to over full, it was less than half a quart.

[ronaconda]

If the PCV valve doesn't rattle then it is no good

[3X00-Modified]

Yeah after finding the subframe issue we spent all day fixing that, had to hit a yard and pull parts then get it back together, and as will noted luckly the biggest oil leak was the oil sending unit, after replacing that and only that we called it a day. When the car was at the shop it didn't run like that at all so I didn't even notice it... Its starting to sound like it's ignition issues so you could be looking at ICM, Coils, Wires, or Crank sensor... I would start by ohming out the coils to see if any show up weird, then move on to swapping out the crank sensor since that can cause run-ability issues, you can also have your ICM tested at an advance auto or something.

I cant see the PCV or EGR causing these issues either.

And yes drain out some of that oil, I doubt that's the issue but it doesn't help having it over full.

[woody90gtz]

Whoa. How did the shop doing the alignment not see that? I thought my Z was bad.

[irelynx]

I think I'm just going to do the plugs today/tomorrow and test the coils while I'm at it. The pass rear plug is loose again (as in you can grab the boot & wiggle it), and the middle one has the slightest wiggle room. I should probably do the wires too. I just really don't enjoy taking off the coil pack assembly to get comfortable room to work. Edit: I remember why I don't enjoy it... it's the strut bar being in my way (and having been cranked down by Will, so only he can get it off). >.<

Either way, this seems like the easiest thing to start with, and they're due for a change based on how they looked the last time I checked. Plus tomorrow is supposed to be in the upper 60's, and probably the last warm day we'll get.

[3X00-Modified]

If your plugs keep coming loose then you need to get them tighter, that just shouldn't happen. And obviously if it is, then that's compression bleed off and also vac leak so it can explain the rough running.

[irelynx]

That same plug has been coming loose every so often over the past few years. The first time I noticed was after it was apparently so loose that it fired right out of the hole while I was driving it. After that I just periodically checked it. The last time it was tightened by will back in April (I think) when we were at your place. So it's not one of my "not tight enough" jobs this last time, lol. Most recent time I checked it was a few weeks ago and it sill felt tight (up until today of course). I'll take care of this tomorrow and have someone else check them for tightness after they're in.