nicolaselias

Hi everyone, for the last few weeks this has been happening for the first 10 or 20 seconds after starting the car, particularly on cold starts..

My mechanic apparently found some oil leaked onto the spark plugs, so he changed both the upper and lower seals. The oil possibly killed my distributor as well so we installed a new one..
My ignition, fuel and air systems are in top condition so this is something of a puzzle to me...

Why would I have this misfiring and sputtering only when I just start up..

The only thing that seems unusual on the engine to me is that the pcv valve is pretty loose.. I don't think its enough to cause a vaccuum leak, but it still feels looser than I remember it being..
Other than that, everything is in good condition..

Any ideas?

I was thinking IACV as well, but as I said the problem is only for 10 or 20 seconds when I first start the car..

BlUAc

you said uur fuel is in top condition, so you replaced the fuel filter. that was the first thing that popped in my head.

nicolaselias

yep, changed the fuel filter same time I changed the spark plug seals with a purolator filter...

That said, I always figured a clogged fuel filter will show up higher up in the revs than at idle..

poorman212

Do a leak down test, a small HG leak will allow coolant into the cyl when cold. The "sputtering/rough idle" would be the coolant being burned off.....

nicolaselias

hmm, definitely something that I havent considered... I will get that checked out..

I never really think about HG's having minor failures, normally you think about something BIG when it happens..

Thanks

andzac

vaccum leak

nicolaselias

I was thinking vaccum but where should I check for it?

Assuming that it isnt the pcv, then what can it be?

CDelgado220

Did they also change out the valve cover gasket? Have you cleaned out the egr ports?
Possibly one of the tubes was knocked or dislodged when they replaced the gaskets.