I recently have been running into some problems wondering if anyone experienced something similar or could lend a hand. Car has been running strong for a long time.

Recently exiting the freeway I experienced some engine shake where the rpms would drop down to about 200 rpm and struggle but never stall. Drove home and shut the car off and turned it back on. Oddly the problem whet away and all was normal. This is the first time that the problem occurred.

All was good for about 2 to 3 weeks. Then the problem resurfaced and it happened again. This time I drove for 15 mins or so then shut the car off and did what I needed to do then came back turned the car on and the problem was back. RPM was at like 100 or 200 and the car felt sluggish/shaking. Stayed like this the whole way back home. Turned the car off and back on and all was normal again.

About a week passed with no problems. One day I turned the car on and it immediately started having the problem again. Same deal, low rpm and the car shakes like its dumping fuel. The car has never stalled during the previous incidents but this time it actually ended up stalling. I turn the car off and on again and problem goes away. Finally, today I was driving in traffic on the freeway and it starts happening again and this time it stalls and doesn't want to start back up. Took about good 10 mins to get the car turned over and off the freeway. Now the problem seems to be permanent.

Everytime I start the car, the engine shakes like hell. It feels as if its running on 3 cylinders. Has the WRX engine noise, the exhaust stinks of rich fumes, and the rpm bounce from 100 to 300 rpm. The car only stalls sometimes but runs extremely rough. I checked all the spark plugs and all are the same black color from running rich. Oddly when I pulled the spark plug from cylinder 3 I saw some light white smoke come out from the spark plug hole for the duration of the time that the spark plug was out. (car was running for a few mins prior to pulling the plugs)

I end up with codes 45, 1, 90. code 1 and 90 I've always had but the 45 is a new code. The only thing that I haven't replaced yet would be the ignition rotor and cap. I have about 32K on it right now. Here are the mods i have

I/H/E
test pipe
JRSC
RC310 injector
walbro fuel pump
hks ignition & engine management (tuned slightly rich)

Anyone know whats up?

 

do a compression test.. are you loosing coolant? what color of smoke out the back? blue - oil, white - coolant, either way you want to stop driving the car..

 

Compression check is something I'm looking into. The smoke out the back is a light colored white. Coolant is fine and oil levels are fine. They rarely fluctuate. If the symptoms come and go like I mentioned, could it be a head problem? Wouldn't the motor always have the same problem upon startup if it's something like a bent valve?

I did some searching on here and there was another poster that had similar problems. Ended up being a hole in the valve. He threw a misfire code along with his code 45. In my case the only new code is 45.

Anyone know whats up? Any clues?

 

well if theres smoke your burning something....if it was a bent valve your motor would run like crap and probably crack a valve guide. I suggest you pull the head off (hour job if you know what your doing) and take it apart, try lapping some valves and see what you get. Also check valve seals.

 

If it does turn out to be a hole in the exhaust valve will the ecu show a misfire code? Would a worn out ignition cap and rotor cause this to happen? Would it also show a code other than the ones im experiencing.

 

i would do compression test first, if anything turns out low, i'd stop driving immediatly, however, white smoke is more than likely coolant so that right there could at the minimum will damage your O2 sensor and cat.. ignition components will have an effect on idle, but your car will not smoke due to bad rotor/cap/wires or plugs

 

Do a tune up, probably gummed up injectors.

that worked on my R. but my ITR just got stolen last night... should of left the problem unfixed and let the damn thieves deal with it! !@#..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kwanjai &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do a tune up, probably gummed up injectors.

that worked on my R. but my ITR just got stolen last night... should of left the problem unfixed and let the damn thieves deal with it! !@#.. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Sorry man, make a new thread with some details about it?

 

kwanjai man that sucks dude. I hope all turns out ok.

I bought the stuff for the compression test and ill be taking a look. I'll also look into the tune up. Funny thing, left the car sitting all night and then turned the car back on and IT'S FINE?!?!?

I have no cat and o2 sensor been screwed for a long time. I don't bother replacing it because I run rich fuel mixture. As soon as I replace the o2 it dies a few days to a week or 2 later.

About the smoke. I have light white smoke coming out the exhaust. Does any kind of white smoke mean your burning coolant? It isn't thick at all.

Im at a total loss! Any more ideas?

 

It's possessed.

 

The compression was tested yesterday and the number came back clean. About 210 to 215 across all cylinders.

Im going to replace spark plugs. Where should I go from here? What is the next thing to check in my situation?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JjuuN R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's possessed. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Is that all you know? What a waste of posting.

 

Check your fuel filter and pump.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Biloxi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Check your fuel filter and pump.</TD></TR></TABLE>

highly doubt any of that is related to his problem..

32k is a bit high on rotor/cap when running tons of hp.. definately replace that, i had problems with plug wires i almost mistaken for something else, so replace rotor/cap asap.. high hp setup can go through these every 10-15k easily, thats wires/cap/rotor.. and spark plugs, i change them every oil change..

either way, none of that is related to white smoke, cause that woudl be coolant. you can further investigate by getting coolant pressure check. and leakdown. otherwise, not much more i can think of.

 

check the wires in the distributor where the spade terminals are. Pull off the cap, rotor, & cover. there is a module that has 5 wires attached with female spade's. Make sure they are tight, B-series engines have a good amount of vibrations to them, loose terminals can cause some wierd S*#@! Good Luck

 

possibly blown head gasket

 

Thanks guys for all the suggestions.

I'm going to change the rotor/cap/plug wires next. Ill take a look at the spade first when I take the unit apart for service. Ill look into fuel after that if the problem hasn't been fixed.

Let me give some detailed info on the white smoke. When the car was running normal it would let out white smoke but you could barely see it. You need to squat right next to the exhaust across from a bright light source to see the smoke come out. During driving conditions you need to apply full throttle to see the smoke. So does this still mean I have a coolant leak? Also would the coolant level slowly drop if I had a leak? Coolant level hasn't changed in over 2 years.

I'll look into the coolant pressure check. The gauge need to hold a steady psi during the coolant test, correct? If it starts to drop, I'm guessing that means I'm leaking coolant into the engine where the head meets the block, correct?

What dose the leakdown test tell me?