Update
Well I disconnected the PCV valve hose assembly from the intake manifold and it changed a couple things:
* Idle is very high in Park or Neutral (2000 - 3000rpm)
* The idle stays around 1000 in Drive or Reverse, instead of stalling like before.
Tomorrow I'm going to get the special T for the PCV valve (and reconnect it to the manifold of course) and see if that helps.
Also, many of the hoses had been replaced when I changed the head gasket.
I used regular vacuum hose slipped over the ends of the broken plastic tubing to replace that, and reinforced tubing (slightly smaller diameter, though) to replace some other ripped tubing. I used a regular T from Canadian Tire for one of the connections, and a universal T for the PCV hose assembly (I really wish I hadn't lost the original).
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Old Update:
Well, after taking it for a test run I think the timing is right, as the engine's power seems to be back and it doesn't sputter anymore, although the idle varies some. I'll take the timing belt to get adjusted tomorrow (and the timing checked) just to make sure. I didn't try any high-rpm driving because I don't want to snap the belt or anything so there may still be problems with power above 4000rpm.
A couple of things worry me...
1) Now, when the car is stopped in drive or reverse the idle will often drop dangerously low, and the car has stalled twice on me. I'm hoping this is just an issue of the computer getting used to the old timing. I'm leaving the battery negative cable disconnected overnight.
2) Oil and coolant levels have been dropping rapidly. The car has always leaked some oil, but not at this rate, and it hasn't leaked coolant which worries me.
Old Update:
Well, I just checked the timing and the camshaft was almost perfectly dead on. The distributer base was off but that had been compensated for by turning the distributer itself. Now, as I don't have a timing belt tensioner how do I retension the belt without taking apart everything, and what the heck is wrong with my engine?
Old Post:
I just changed the head gasket on my car ('88 Dodge Shadow) and as I mentioned in that thread, the engine sputters a bit on idle but after driving the car around a bit I've noticed more.
I tried flooring it a few times close to home and sometimes the car will "lag", as if there's a delay between the pedal and the engine. Then it will go and give just about normal power between 1000 and 3000 rpm but between 3 and 4 thousand RPM the power just dissapears, and the engine won't go above 4000 RPM. IT's making a lot of noise, but the car isn't going any faster. In neutral it will rev up just fine.
When doing the timing the timing seemed to be around 10 degrees, but it was hard to tell because the timing light was messed up and only flashed occassionally when pointing at the flywheel (it flashed normal when pointing up - strange). The timing also seemed to jump around a bit.
So.. I don't get it. The PCV valve isn't solidly connected to the intake manifold (I won't have the part till monday, so I'm using a section of hose that's slightly too big and probably creates a leak) but that by itself wouldn't cause these problems, would it?
Well I disconnected the PCV valve hose assembly from the intake manifold and it changed a couple things:
* Idle is very high in Park or Neutral (2000 - 3000rpm)
* The idle stays around 1000 in Drive or Reverse, instead of stalling like before.
Tomorrow I'm going to get the special T for the PCV valve (and reconnect it to the manifold of course) and see if that helps.
Also, many of the hoses had been replaced when I changed the head gasket.
I used regular vacuum hose slipped over the ends of the broken plastic tubing to replace that, and reinforced tubing (slightly smaller diameter, though) to replace some other ripped tubing. I used a regular T from Canadian Tire for one of the connections, and a universal T for the PCV hose assembly (I really wish I hadn't lost the original).
------------------------------------------------------------------
Old Update:
Well, after taking it for a test run I think the timing is right, as the engine's power seems to be back and it doesn't sputter anymore, although the idle varies some. I'll take the timing belt to get adjusted tomorrow (and the timing checked) just to make sure. I didn't try any high-rpm driving because I don't want to snap the belt or anything so there may still be problems with power above 4000rpm.
A couple of things worry me...
1) Now, when the car is stopped in drive or reverse the idle will often drop dangerously low, and the car has stalled twice on me. I'm hoping this is just an issue of the computer getting used to the old timing. I'm leaving the battery negative cable disconnected overnight.
2) Oil and coolant levels have been dropping rapidly. The car has always leaked some oil, but not at this rate, and it hasn't leaked coolant which worries me.
Old Update:
Well, I just checked the timing and the camshaft was almost perfectly dead on. The distributer base was off but that had been compensated for by turning the distributer itself. Now, as I don't have a timing belt tensioner how do I retension the belt without taking apart everything, and what the heck is wrong with my engine?
Old Post:
I just changed the head gasket on my car ('88 Dodge Shadow) and as I mentioned in that thread, the engine sputters a bit on idle but after driving the car around a bit I've noticed more.
I tried flooring it a few times close to home and sometimes the car will "lag", as if there's a delay between the pedal and the engine. Then it will go and give just about normal power between 1000 and 3000 rpm but between 3 and 4 thousand RPM the power just dissapears, and the engine won't go above 4000 RPM. IT's making a lot of noise, but the car isn't going any faster. In neutral it will rev up just fine.
When doing the timing the timing seemed to be around 10 degrees, but it was hard to tell because the timing light was messed up and only flashed occassionally when pointing at the flywheel (it flashed normal when pointing up - strange). The timing also seemed to jump around a bit.
So.. I don't get it. The PCV valve isn't solidly connected to the intake manifold (I won't have the part till monday, so I'm using a section of hose that's slightly too big and probably creates a leak) but that by itself wouldn't cause these problems, would it?
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