Hey everyone we just put in the motor on saturday and it was up and running fine yesterday but today it went bad. I was driving along and got on it and then pop pop pop it shutsof and sounds like it isrunning on 3 cylinders or something. stumbling around and the it shut off. I cant get it to run all it does is crank and pop real loud when I crank it. please anyone have any ideas.

start with teh basics: go from there.

Check plugs, wires, check your MAF reground job, distributor, etc etc.

where does it sound like its coming from, is it a pinp or a poping sound. will it run or idle for an amount of time or does it just crank, pop then stop?

Popping from the exhaust?


Timinig, plugs, wires

I can crank the starter but it wont turn over at all it just pops. real real loud.

That's not good at all. I feel horrible for you, Nick. Ben just emailed that he was talking to you about how this happened. I truly must tell you it makes me sick. After all of that work we put in and to have this happen---God!

I am not sure what to suggest---but am willing to help if you need it.

Curt B. Shumaker
"SHUMAX"

Thanks man we may have to go into Motor Swap Madness Part II . The Inside Story

i would almost bet money its the MAF. sounds like the maf connector is off, ground is bad, or MAF got damaged. try reving past 3000 just to check. and is it like almost impossible to keep it running without keeping your foot on the gas? then its more than likely the MAF. I would start there if you put new plugs in, new wires, cap, rotor.

BOWLCUT---what you described there is EXACTLY what we went through around 11:45pm on Sat. night with the engine. He solved that as best we could tell. As soon as he properly grounded that beast, it smoother right out.

I hate to say it, but it sounds worse to me. I mean, what sensor can make something go *BANG* in an engine the way he described it?:(

Good luck and let us know what happens. Honest, if you need more help, I am cheap labor:)

Curt B. Shumaker
"SHUMAX"

I'm with Kevin on this one. Got to the MAF first.

My SE-R had the same trouble 2 years ago. The car would turn over, but not start. If it *did* actually run, it was incredibly rough and popping.

One of the wires that goes into the MAF connector had basically worn in two. I soldered it heavily back onto the stock connector, and all is well. It's not pretty, but it runs and has run for 2 years without fail.

Check every wire on that MAF, Nick. If that's not it, then we'll move forward from there.

Its the head gasket :( I did a compression test and on 1- 160 , 2- 155, 3-150,4-150. and plugs 2,3,4 all had oil covering them :( I'm thinking of renting a uhaul and dolly to come up next weekend to Bens.

sakerocket1
Its the head gasket I did a compression test and on 1- 160 , 2- 155, 3-150,4-150. and plugs 2,3,4 all had oil covering them I'm thinking of renting a uhaul and dolly to come up next weekend to Bens.

Damn. where did the motor come from. Please don't tell me SOKO. I am right around the corner from swapping mine, this gives me the jitters. Good Luck Bro!

Wait, a little oil on the top of the plugs? If so thats just the valve cover gasket....

And the compression test isn't THAT bad, since your supposed to do it after getting the motor at operating temp....

Maybe its not as bad as you think....
Or maybe I'm talking out my ass...

Guys?

Chris

the valve cover did hav a leak in it. I pulled it yesterday andcleaned it again, and put RTV around it. But I did forget to rtv around the spark plugs Hmmmmmmmm I wonder if I pull that and clean it again re do it and change the plugs if that would work?

do you have access to an air compressor? If so, remove the valve from the hose that screws into the spark plug holes. Now, hook the airhose to the hose screwed into the spark plug hole, and see if any air leaks out. A leaking head gasket won't keep the engine from starting. You can run 0 compression on 1 cylinder, and the car would run. Check the MAF wires. Did the car run yesterday?

SOrry to hear that man, i know how it feels.

Good luck to you:)

Actually a blown head gasket would smoke like crazy. My brother owns a 7mgt so Ive witness first hand how it actually is. Just clouds of white smoke cause the coolant is burning and you smell it through your exhaust as well.

Originally posted by SucKit
Actually a blown head gasket would smoke like crazy. My brother owns a 7mgt so Ive witness first hand how it actually is. Just clouds of white smoke cause the coolant is burning and you smell it through your exhaust as well.

Bzzzt wrong. Not necessarily, its depends on where it blew. If it blows over to a coolant hole then yes you will get smoke. If it blows between cylinders it will NOT smoke at all. But rest assured it's JUST as bad. When that happens you will have equally low compression on those 2 cylinders.

Here's what I think. Oil on the plugs is leaking VC inner gasket, in which you mentioned fixing by using RTV. Don't. Buy a new gasket. Your only supposed to use RTV on the half moons. The gasket is probably shrunken or hardened.

I don't think you've got a blown head gasket. Those numbers sound good COLD. Plus like Eric said it would still crank up even if you had blown one, and I agree completely that's true. You have another issue, perhaps Bowlcut is right.

Remember you got one tough engine there mechanically, so it's probably something electrical.

Good luck.

Dude, check your injectors. I had the same thing happen to me on a JDM engine... twice! Both times it was bad o-rings and the injectors preventing them from spraying correctly. Car ran like shit! Stumbled, was running on three cylinders, smoked... it did it all! It's either that or an ignition problem (the way you describe the popping); either bad wires or switched wires....

Originally posted by Thomas Reynolds


Bzzzt wrong. Not necessarily, its depends on where it blew. If it blows over to a coolant hole then yes you will get smoke. If it blows between cylinders it will NOT smoke at all. But rest assured it's JUST as bad. When that happens you will have equally low compression on those 2 cylinders.


Good luck.
Thomas, whats the chances that it blows in between the cylinders? Your more likely to blow up around the cylinders, which causes a slow leak and allows the coolant to eat away the gasket. Regardless I agree and believe its not a head gasket considering the 100+lbs of torque is required to do the head.