Hi folks,
I'm new to the forum and new to Samurais as well. Just picked one up a few weeks ago with a fuel injected 1.3 stock engine. Drove it 6 hours home and discovered it had a few issues...just a few.
The first was the idle was not all that great. At operating temps it would idle around 800 and oscillate down to where it would almost feel like stalling but wouldn't, and then go back up to 800, and do this consistently.
I then discovered the exhaust manifold had two small cracks and decided to fix this first. Couldn't find a stock replacement anywhere within 75 miles so installed a Thorley header with a 2" exhaust. I replaced the cat as well and the O2 sensor for good measure.
After this I checked for vacuum leaks and couldn't find any, but still replaced almost every one of the vacuum lines. The idle now changed...it went from an oscillating 800 to 500 rpm to an oscillating 1500 to 1000 rpm, again at operating temps. I sure can't smog it like this.
I took it to a mechanic who found that the EGR was leaking. I told him I would replace it, which I did after I brought it back home. Took it off and it while it didn't have a lot of carbon buildup it certainly had some oil on the inside of one chamber and outside on the diaphragm. Replaced it, but idle remained unchanged.
I had also asked the mechanic to adjust the valve lash while it was there, and he found a nut/bolt (can't remember which he said) was missing from one of the rocker arms, and another one was about to come off! He fixed that and adjusted the valves.
After I replaced the EGR I noticed that the a/c vsv was making a lot of noise now. I took it off and applied battery voltage to the two terminals. I could hear the solenoid click but I could not sense any air flowing from port A to B. I then tested it for continuity. It should show 24-30 ohms resistance but it showed none. I disconnected it and it ran the Sami with no change in idle.
I then got suspicious of my other components. In testing the ISC solenoid valve, Throttle Opener vsv, and EGR vsv on my multimeter, I get no resistance but they all show continuity when they shouldn't, just like the a/c vsv. I'll be rechecking these with a digital multimeter tomorrow but I don't expect any different results and am wondering just how in the world could all these components be failed at the same time?
By the way, no check engine light is occurring at the moment. Gas mileage is terrible, like 10 miles per gallon. The smell of my exhaust tells me the engine is running very rich. Spark plugs show normal on #1 but then as you go down the cylinders it shows richer burning. It has a new fuel filter, distributor cap, spark plugs and wires as well. All fuses look good.
I am nothing close to a mechanic, and am pretty much at the limit of my diagnosing ability. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could test further before I take it to a mechanic again? Sorry for the long explanation but I generally try to do as much research and work on my own as I can before asking questions.
Thanks ahead of time if you're able to help.
I'm new to the forum and new to Samurais as well. Just picked one up a few weeks ago with a fuel injected 1.3 stock engine. Drove it 6 hours home and discovered it had a few issues...just a few.
The first was the idle was not all that great. At operating temps it would idle around 800 and oscillate down to where it would almost feel like stalling but wouldn't, and then go back up to 800, and do this consistently.
I then discovered the exhaust manifold had two small cracks and decided to fix this first. Couldn't find a stock replacement anywhere within 75 miles so installed a Thorley header with a 2" exhaust. I replaced the cat as well and the O2 sensor for good measure.
After this I checked for vacuum leaks and couldn't find any, but still replaced almost every one of the vacuum lines. The idle now changed...it went from an oscillating 800 to 500 rpm to an oscillating 1500 to 1000 rpm, again at operating temps. I sure can't smog it like this.
I took it to a mechanic who found that the EGR was leaking. I told him I would replace it, which I did after I brought it back home. Took it off and it while it didn't have a lot of carbon buildup it certainly had some oil on the inside of one chamber and outside on the diaphragm. Replaced it, but idle remained unchanged.
I had also asked the mechanic to adjust the valve lash while it was there, and he found a nut/bolt (can't remember which he said) was missing from one of the rocker arms, and another one was about to come off! He fixed that and adjusted the valves.
After I replaced the EGR I noticed that the a/c vsv was making a lot of noise now. I took it off and applied battery voltage to the two terminals. I could hear the solenoid click but I could not sense any air flowing from port A to B. I then tested it for continuity. It should show 24-30 ohms resistance but it showed none. I disconnected it and it ran the Sami with no change in idle.
I then got suspicious of my other components. In testing the ISC solenoid valve, Throttle Opener vsv, and EGR vsv on my multimeter, I get no resistance but they all show continuity when they shouldn't, just like the a/c vsv. I'll be rechecking these with a digital multimeter tomorrow but I don't expect any different results and am wondering just how in the world could all these components be failed at the same time?
By the way, no check engine light is occurring at the moment. Gas mileage is terrible, like 10 miles per gallon. The smell of my exhaust tells me the engine is running very rich. Spark plugs show normal on #1 but then as you go down the cylinders it shows richer burning. It has a new fuel filter, distributor cap, spark plugs and wires as well. All fuses look good.
I am nothing close to a mechanic, and am pretty much at the limit of my diagnosing ability. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could test further before I take it to a mechanic again? Sorry for the long explanation but I generally try to do as much research and work on my own as I can before asking questions.
Thanks ahead of time if you're able to help.
