WRX running on 2 Cylinders!
Discussion
Hi all, after a bit of advice.
I have a 2001 WRX wagon. On Friday my mechanic mate and i changed the timing belt. It all went to plan, all the marks lined up perfectly and nothing was amiss, turned over by hand several times. He had to head as it was getting late so i put back on the timing covers and re-installed the radiator, filled the coolant, bled the air etc etc.
Having since started it, it only seems to be running on 2 cylinders. It starts readily with no hesitation but the engine rocks from side to side a bit and its clearly not running smoothly. If i unplug either of the coil packs on the drivers side the engine doesnt change at all. If i unplug either of the ones on the passenger side then the engine drops in rpm and after a few secs it stalls.
Ive taken out both plugs on the drivers side and they are wet and smell strongly of fuel. I've dried them and restarted but no change.
So, is there anything else i can check? My mate can't come back over till tues night and i'd like to sort it asap.
We are both 100% that the timing is set correctly, is it just coincidence that 2 coil packs have packed in? The front pack may have got damp when i removed the radiator but i don't think it actually got soaked. Any way of testing coil packs with a multimeter or insulation resistance tester?
Any advice?
I have a 2001 WRX wagon. On Friday my mechanic mate and i changed the timing belt. It all went to plan, all the marks lined up perfectly and nothing was amiss, turned over by hand several times. He had to head as it was getting late so i put back on the timing covers and re-installed the radiator, filled the coolant, bled the air etc etc.
Having since started it, it only seems to be running on 2 cylinders. It starts readily with no hesitation but the engine rocks from side to side a bit and its clearly not running smoothly. If i unplug either of the coil packs on the drivers side the engine doesnt change at all. If i unplug either of the ones on the passenger side then the engine drops in rpm and after a few secs it stalls.
Ive taken out both plugs on the drivers side and they are wet and smell strongly of fuel. I've dried them and restarted but no change.
So, is there anything else i can check? My mate can't come back over till tues night and i'd like to sort it asap.
We are both 100% that the timing is set correctly, is it just coincidence that 2 coil packs have packed in? The front pack may have got damp when i removed the radiator but i don't think it actually got soaked. Any way of testing coil packs with a multimeter or insulation resistance tester?
Any advice?
I presume you have managed to touch the valves on the drivers side and they are slightly bent and not sealing now.
Easy check. Unplug the crank sensor (above crank pulley below alternator brown with grey plug). Crank the engine and it wont start. All four cylinders should sound the same.
Or compression test.
Cant believe its coilpacks faulty and you shouldnt have unplugged anything else to cause it
Easy check. Unplug the crank sensor (above crank pulley below alternator brown with grey plug). Crank the engine and it wont start. All four cylinders should sound the same.
Or compression test.
Cant believe its coilpacks faulty and you shouldnt have unplugged anything else to cause it
No, the coil packs have a specific loom going to each of them, they were never disturbed.
Jgm, do you mean the valves have touched the pistons? The timing is deffo set right so I assume you mean that turning the cams by hand to line up the timing marks has done this?
Thanks for the advice so far, have a compression tester at home, will check tonight. What values should I be looking for?
Jgm, do you mean the valves have touched the pistons? The timing is deffo set right so I assume you mean that turning the cams by hand to line up the timing marks has done this?
Thanks for the advice so far, have a compression tester at home, will check tonight. What values should I be looking for?
What a barsteward, Ive just finished mine and Scoobys are real simple setup, should be straightforward, just take your time.
Strip the tat again, check the belt and re-fit it to be sure its aligned correctly. Try using a mobile/camera to photograph the alignment marks etc and then triple check everything is correct once idler is tight.
Look for the Manual online as it has got the belt procedure in detail and it tells you the # of teeth between the pulleys.
Wouldnt hurt to check the coil pack wires have not been cut/nicked whilst fitting the cam covers etc???
Good luck,,
Strip the tat again, check the belt and re-fit it to be sure its aligned correctly. Try using a mobile/camera to photograph the alignment marks etc and then triple check everything is correct once idler is tight.
Look for the Manual online as it has got the belt procedure in detail and it tells you the # of teeth between the pulleys.
Wouldnt hurt to check the coil pack wires have not been cut/nicked whilst fitting the cam covers etc???
Good luck,,
Yes thats what I meant.
Its easy to plug coils or injectors in wrong but assume you wont have disconnected them.
120 to 160 depending on model and condition and tester but to get nothing from the cylinders I would expect it to rear 50 or less psi.
Check against otherside and really need all the plugs out to do it
Its easy to plug coils or injectors in wrong but assume you wont have disconnected them.
120 to 160 depending on model and condition and tester but to get nothing from the cylinders I would expect it to rear 50 or less psi.
Check against otherside and really need all the plugs out to do it
Thanks for the help so far chaps!
Front right was 50psi, rear right was 0! Spoke to my mate about it, he reckons there's no way we could have bent valves by turning the engine over by hand.
He said that on higher mileage engines it sometimes the case that the shims/buckets can drop away from the valves ( due to the cams etc being effectively on their side, compared to in I4 engine)once the belt has been removed. Have you experienced this in the past? If it is this, what's the procedure to replace them, any diagrams or links would be handy!
Front right was 50psi, rear right was 0! Spoke to my mate about it, he reckons there's no way we could have bent valves by turning the engine over by hand.
He said that on higher mileage engines it sometimes the case that the shims/buckets can drop away from the valves ( due to the cams etc being effectively on their side, compared to in I4 engine)once the belt has been removed. Have you experienced this in the past? If it is this, what's the procedure to replace them, any diagrams or links would be handy!
Nope he is talking out his bum.
Cams are bolted on with cam caps, the shims can fall out if the valve opens because it touches the piston or there is an explosion in the exhaust.
Did you rotate the cams to line it up far?
I cant think of a reason other than you now have bent valves. If the timing is wrong to give that compression and therefore timed wrong it must be far enough out to touch the valves.
Cams are bolted on with cam caps, the shims can fall out if the valve opens because it touches the piston or there is an explosion in the exhaust.
Did you rotate the cams to line it up far?
I cant think of a reason other than you now have bent valves. If the timing is wrong to give that compression and therefore timed wrong it must be far enough out to touch the valves.
He did rotate the cams but I'm not sure if he moved them a full rotation or just moved them a wee bit to line up the timing marks. Find out this eve when we whip off the cam covers!
So, just to clarify, if he rotated the cams a full turn then the valve hitting the piston could cause the shims to drop out?
So, just to clarify, if he rotated the cams a full turn then the valve hitting the piston could cause the shims to drop out?
You either imho have bent valves or have bent valves and knocked a shim out.
I think it is impossible to get no compression without bent valves.
The cambelt on one of my engines jumped two teeth on left bank and i still had compression just lower. To get no compression I think you have to have bent valves.
Simon
I think it is impossible to get no compression without bent valves.
The cambelt on one of my engines jumped two teeth on left bank and i still had compression just lower. To get no compression I think you have to have bent valves.
Simon
Finally got a chance to strip it yesterday. It seems that in the rush to beat the rain/darkness and midges we got the timing marks on the drivers side inlet can mixed up, it was a full 180 deg out!
Re-timed it properly and all is back to normal, phew!
Having removed the cam cover to check the shims it is now dripping a bit of oil onto the exhaust manifold. Can the cam gasket be reused or should I buy a new one?
Thanks for everyone's help :-)
Re-timed it properly and all is back to normal, phew!
Having removed the cam cover to check the shims it is now dripping a bit of oil onto the exhaust manifold. Can the cam gasket be reused or should I buy a new one?
Thanks for everyone's help :-)
Shut it Olie, i still wake up in cold sweats having nightmares about that car!
I have duly ordered the gasket and sealer but have dropped one of the rocker cover bolt sealing washers, literally spent hours looking for it! Is there a non subaru generic replacement i can use or does anyone have one kicking about that would save me buying a full set?
I have duly ordered the gasket and sealer but have dropped one of the rocker cover bolt sealing washers, literally spent hours looking for it! Is there a non subaru generic replacement i can use or does anyone have one kicking about that would save me buying a full set?
Update, gasket replaced & missing washer replaced and all seems well.
It still smells of hot oil when you stop in traffic but
I presume that the oil still on the heat shields. The smoke has stopped & its using no oil so I'm fairly confident its sorted!
Thanks to all those that gave advice, time to start tuning it now!!
It still smells of hot oil when you stop in traffic but
I presume that the oil still on the heat shields. The smoke has stopped & its using no oil so I'm fairly confident its sorted!
Thanks to all those that gave advice, time to start tuning it now!!
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