Loyill Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 So a week or so ago i started my car no problems and drove out of the parking lot and about 15 seconds later it started running like crap like it was only firing on a couple of cylinders or worse and clunking pretty hard but it still drove. it was early on a cold wet morning. i drove it for a minuet later down the hill to the flats where it continued to drive like crap till i pulled over and it just died. haven't been able to start it since. i have inspected everything i can think of. its getting spark at all plugs and its definitely getting fuel from what i can tell, even sprayed some start stuff in the throttle. it turns over just fine, but wont start. as far as codes go, it had no new ones. it was throwing a knock sensor code and a water temp sensor code about a year ago and i replaced both but they both came back shortly after and still get thrown. could this be related? the car still ran fine. did a timing belt jump a tooth? i can feel the belts and they seem tight and intact.. fuel injector clog? im stumped! any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! its a 1987 RX turbo mt fulltime4wd EA82t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 My first guess would be that your non-disty-side timing belt is trashed. (Broken, stripped at the crank pulley, whatever.) The engine will run on the disty-side cylinders, but it will act pretty much as you described. It will probably sound "funny" as you crank the starter. ("Funny", as in the speed of the cranking won't be uniform, speeding up and slowing down every second or so.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Remove the disty cap and crank it over. If the rotor doesnt move, your belt is borked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Verify timing of both belts first thing. Also check that the rotor screw has not come loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zacyork Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Remove the disty cap and crank it over. If the rotor doesnt move, your belt is borked. he states that he is getting spark on all cylinders. if that rotor isnt spinning he wouldnt get spark on all cylinders. might be worth doing a compression test Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Sounds to me like one of the timing belts lost some teeth, etc. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 He should re-check the spark on all cylinders again then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 he states that he is getting spark on all cylinders. if that rotor isnt spinning he wouldnt get spark on all cylinders. might be worth doing a compression test that's the problem, the rotor DOES still spin, just not in time. When the rotor sits on the shaft, it will spin round willy nilly inside there and throw random sparks to all cylinders, Nowhere near in time, but sparks to all cylinders none the less. In my early Subaru days I had a EA82t that drove me nuts because I used that logic to rule out the rotor screw. It would spark, and even occasionally catch and fire momentarily, all very randomly. After a month (literally) of cutting open the harness to track wiring, replacing lots of parts, buying a new ECU, etc....... When I checked the rotor.....DOH! that was it. Pull the cap and check the rotor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zacyork Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 ya i guess that is possible for that screw to come off and cause problems. just never seen it happen before. guess im used to wedged on rotors. timing light could also shed light on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 +1 - could be the rotor screw. All the optical distributors have that damn screw and I too have seen them fall out. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Possibly the screw, though the one instance where I lost that screw I had 10 seconds of gradually degrading power and then nothing; my rotor just freely turned on the shaft, so it preferred to stay still with the cap on. However, definitely worth a look. The 2 times I lost a non-disty-side (US passenger side) belt were both on the highway, and power decreased significantly but still made enough to do 30-35mph on level ground with wide open throttle. Once I got to the side of the highway, it would run very roughly and only if I held the throttle open. Once I tried to let it idle, it stopped and wouldn't start, though it sounded like it wanted to do so. My opinion is still the timing belt, but that rotor scew is SOOOO much easier to check... unless, of course, you drop the screw into the gravel on the side of the road... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 ya i guess that is possible for that screw to come off and cause problems. just never seen it happen before. guess im used to wedged on rotors. timing light could also shed light on this. It happens pretty commonly on the EA82 optical disty. At least once or twice a year someone posts about it.........perhaps less now as more people are aware of the problem......and less people have EA82s:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Its happened to me a couple times :-\ Not anymore tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Its happened to me a couple times :-\ Not anymore tho! I loc-tite'd mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyill Posted December 11, 2010 Author Share Posted December 11, 2010 Thanks so much guys! funny about the rotor screw.. it was the first thing i checked as i have also had this happen to me more than once in my loyale haha. stubby screwdriver is key for that thing. so my starter was making the weird off time sound as described. after reading your replies i was positive its the timing so i decided to just tackle it. sure enough the passenger side belt had like seven missing teeth in a row!!!! and was super cracked. the other was a different brand and had been replaced which is stupid because you have to take the bad one off to get to it. someone before me was one cheep dude for sure considering those belts are not expensive haha. well four hours later in the cold rain and shes alive and running like a champ! you guys rock! While I'm at it and we're in here.. anyone have any ideas/input about the codes i mentioned in my original post? i still throw em. Thanks again everybody! so stoked to be cruising the rx again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Glad you got the car running well again. As far as solving the code issues the trouble is most likely due to a circuit problem to the sensors so make sure the wiring to them doesn't have some sort of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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