Something the mechanic can't figure out...

93DirtyBird

Registered User
A couple weeks ago I was driving down the good ol' belt parkway in NY going about 70 when all of a sudden it felt like the car went into first gear. It started shaking badly and I couldn't get the car over 40mph. This would seem like a tranny problem but when I push the gas (no matter how hard), I dont get much more than 1000rpms and the supercharger whines like i'm racing it. At this time, the CEL would come on. Then after about 5-10 miles it would go back to normal for a couple of minutes and the CEL would go away.

I took it to the local place after seeing on the forum there were no notable SC mechanics nearby (Staten Island, NY). They replaced the fuel filter and coils and charged me a good $450 bucks and told me it still ran a little rough when it's been sitting for a while. I figured I could live with that so I took it home, but as I was on my way, the same f*cking thing happened. I took it back to them (mistake) and the next day they said that the car ran beautifully and they couldn't see anything wrong with it (but somehow when I started it up in front of them, the problem returned). I took it home, and I'm looking for a competent person to diagnose the problem before I put money into something that's not gonna fix it.

If anybody's got any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Rich
 
yup, the guy said the coils, but I'm not sure if he was being too honest with me. although he did keep what he removed in case i came back - he said he would replace what he took out and credit me the cost. it sounds to me like he didnt think he fixed the problem but told me he did.

possibly?
 
Anything's possible. have you checked the codes from the CEL to see what they are?? If the guy said the coils then it could still be related to that, just not something that simple.

I would start by running the CEL and see what you get.

Ira
 
Its kinda like shooting in the dark but if I was to guess I would start with pulling codes. A cell light will give you a code. This could be spark or fuel. Maybe a DIS or fuel pump. Fuel pumps have been known to go in and out but I don`t think you would get a cel light. Can`t rule out the balancer as this can cause problems too. Could be a sticking EGR, a wire grounding out. Check on the passanger side engine compartment just above the exhaust manifold and make sure your wires are still fastend to the strut tower. Had a 91 that the wires got down onto the exhaust manifold and melted some wires causing all kinds of problems. Hope you figure this one out.
 
I just said yep the guy pulled the code and said it was a bad coil. then he replaced it but nothing changed.
 
Almost all of my wires are original 93 - and I got this car from my aunt who had friends of hers do the work for cheap, which means cutting corners and dead end wires capped with electrical tape. There's a very good possibility it's the wiring.

However, the mechanic's theory was that maybe i have a leak in a gasket and antifreeze is leaking onto my spark plugs, causing them to misfire? I think he just wanted me to give him the car so he could charge me for 2 more $85 hours of work.

If this is gonna be a big project I think I might want to do a little bit of engine modifications, so if anyone knows where I could go that I could find peole who know about SC's...

Cheers,
Rich
 
I would take a look at the ignition switch. There can be so many problems that come and go that are related to the switch. I usually get them after a couple of shops have struck out chasing codes. They are inexpensive(if you replace it yourself) and will insure that the control systems are all getting power.
Danny
 
Heat=dis Problem

The CEL is the first place to check and pull the codes. Once you get the codes, fix the problem and go on to the next code if there is one.

Your problem sounds like a DIS problem. I'll bet you DIS needs new heat sync compound on it. Keeping that baby cool is extremely important. Either that or your DIS is bad.
 
If codes say anything about coil #1,2 or 3 failed, 99% of the time it's the DIS module. Try to find a good module to swap in to see if the problem is solved before you buy one because they are kinda expensive. Although if you just want to take a shot in the dark I think you need to replace the DIS. Make sure the mounting surfaces are clean and a new coating of heat sink grease is used between the mount and DIS. You are definately due for plugs and wires also if I read your post right.
If I ever had a mechanic tell me that "maybe antifreeze dripped down on a spark plug causing it to misfire" I would immediately look for another mechanic. Incompetant mechanics can come up with the most absurd reasons for something when they haven't a clue, which causes people to spend a lot of needless money with them. A mechanic like that is just using the shotgun approach which you can do yourself and save the hourly labor cost. Good luck, John
 
I'd say a DIS problem, same thing happened to me, it would shut down the left bank of cylinders sporadically
 
Tazer, that sounds consistent with what I'm getting I think, and I'm assuming that would be why the engine shakes so much.

I'll check it out.

Thanks,
Rich
 
Before you replace it however, remove it from the heatsink, clean the bottom of it as well as the heatsink, apply new heatsink grease to the bottom of it, and make sure to tighten it down snugly.

When I replaced mine the first time I didn't completely tighten it down and it stymied me as to why it hadn't fixed the problem. I removed it, re-applied the gel, tightened it snugly and it has been perfect ever since
 
Well, since the car had sat for a few days I just opened the hood and unplugged the DIS, wiped it clean, blew on the connectors (yes, the nintendo approach), and plugged it back in. If the problem wasn't solved I'd remove it from the heat sink and check that, BUT -

For some reason I didn't have the problem all day yesterday, which is kinda driving me a little crazy considering I don't know what was wrong in the first place and I'll just have to wait for it to happen to me again at another inopportune time...

But until then, where should I go to replace all the wires in this car? It sounds easy enough to do mostly by myself (as long as I take off the leads on the battery, duh) but I'm still very much a n00b considering this is my first car and my father would rather pay someone else to do it rather than get his hands dirty (not like he knows how to fix anything anyway).

So tell me where I should go for good wires, tell me if it's worth doing myself, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for all the feedback so far.

Cheers,
Rich
 
93DirtyBird said:
Well, since the car had sat for a few days I just opened the hood and unplugged the DIS, wiped it clean, blew on the connectors (yes, the nintendo approach), and plugged it back in. If the problem wasn't solved I'd remove it from the heat sink and check that, BUT -

For some reason I didn't have the problem all day yesterday, which is kinda driving me a little crazy considering I don't know what was wrong in the first place and I'll just have to wait for it to happen to me again at another inopportune time...

But until then, where should I go to replace all the wires in this car? It sounds easy enough to do mostly by myself (as long as I take off the leads on the battery, duh) but I'm still very much a n00b considering this is my first car and my father would rather pay someone else to do it rather than get his hands dirty (not like he knows how to fix anything anyway).

So tell me where I should go for good wires, tell me if it's worth doing myself, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for all the feedback so far.

Cheers,
Rich
Wires.. are you talking about the igition wires?
 
No No, you don't want to get involved in changing ALL the wires, too much time and way too much $$

However, ignition wires would be good thing to replace if the mechanic didn't already.
 
If you haven't worked on a car before and this is your first car I would set a day aside (seriously) to do the plugs and wires. What kind of tools do you have to work with? I'm just running stock AutoZone junk wires and Champion copper plugs in my daily driver. I've had the best luck with stock Motorcraft plug wires (last time I bought some at the dealer they were $60, but that was a few years ago). Best plugs seem to be Autolite or Motorcraft double platinums.

I know you said the codes were something related to the coil, but until we know specifically what the codes were it's difficult for us to try to diagnose. You can scan the codes yourself with nothing more than a paper clip and a sharp eye. Try searching around the tech forum, I'm sure I or someone else has posted a few times how to check for codes in this manner.

Also are you applying heat sink grease to the bottom of the DIS module or dielectric grease? There is a difference. Heat sink compound is available at Radio Shack, I've never seen it at a parts store. You can get a small tube for $2.
 
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