i need help on a few things...

i have a 91 kr verada with a couple things wrong with it...

1.) for a while now, my car has been struggling to to the speed limit when going up hills...for eg. it struggles to do 65 in an 80 zone up hills, i then push the extra power button for more ooomph, but only increases by 5 or 10kms...its also been blowing blue and white smoke accasionally...more so when idleing... i check the oil every 3 days and it seems to be fine...no drips oil on the drive way either... i did have the bottom valve stem seal replaced in febuary with the timing belt and water pump...

i went and saw my mechanic and asked him about it... he said it could be the valve stem seals or the oil rings in the pistons, or something along those lines... he said i can get the rings done, but thats a lot of money and aint worth it...if thats the case it better to recon...i dont know if this is true or not...

i got my uncle to have a look at it...who's a self taught mec...and he said the same thing...

so any extra info from u guys would be good... its better to have more than 1 or 2 people telling u whats up...

2.) i have been hearing a murky whistling noise coming from under the car? what could this be? a hole in the exhaust? i had the the back of the exhaust replaced from the cat. conv. to the rear muffler in july cos that was stuffed (not a sport muff, just a replacement of the original). if that is the case, how much would it cost to fix? or is it better to replace the whole exhaust for a sports one?


any help would be good,

cheers stuart

To begin with, in order to diagnose a running condition to "rings" you would need to do a comp test.

For someone to diagnose "rings" for smoke at idle, then I would like to know where they learnt that!!!

There are no upper and lower valve stem seals (not having a go at you at all, I think you have been mislead). IF you are getting smoke while at idle and when you go to drive off and or at start up these are the valve stem seals.

The lack of power, has this been this way since the timing belt was done and when the belt was done did you have the cam and crank seals done and perhaps not the valve stem seals. Could be your mechanic has not set up the cam timing properly, I have seen this happen once where a Verada struggled to hit 80kmh, the cams were 1 tooth out but she idles perfectly

Also have you checked basics like fuel filter, plugs, leads etc.

You also mention a noise underneath, if your cat has blown out and the remains are in the exhaust it may be blocked and this will also cause the symptom you have mentioned

i did get the stem valves seals done (not cam and crank), cos he brought it out to me and showed me what it looked like...and it was shot...i did get a compression test done in oct... cyl (1): 180 (2): 175 (3): 180 (4): 175 (5): 175 (6): 185. i got the leads replaced too and the spark plugs... i will check them out again later to see if theres a problem there

its ok getting to 80 on flat and downhill roads, but takes a little longer on an up hill road...

it started playing up 4 months after the belt was put on...i went to ballarat in that condition and was good...just couldnt overtake cos it wouldnt go go go...if u know what i mean...so i just took it easy and watched everyone else fly bye...

and holy c%$# bout the cat. converter... would i be better off replacing with a new one and/or a new system with the cat? or just get a second hand one from the wreckers?


cheers stuart

IF the cat is gone get a new one.

You said you "saw it" in refrence to the stem seal, how many did you get shown?

i got shown 1 stem valve seal...

how much for a new cat? someone told me $400...is that sound right or too much...i thought it b too much...

New cat for $400 is a bit steep then again has to be fitted as well

1 stem seal, do you remember by any chance how big it was, just want to make sure you were shown a stem seal as there are 12 of them!!

i think the size was about...errr... 10mm in diameter and about 10mm to 15mm in length...give or take 2 or 3mm. with a small hole ( i cant remember that far back, but thats a rough guess)

in the report he gave, it said he replaced the "seals" which i assume that means more than 1.

also, i have found out that i have a "spark" jumping from what i believe is the ignition coil to the plug that connects to the dizzy cap (its half the size of a lead)...would that cause the car to perfrom bad when going up hills and getting up to speed? like in missfiring?...i am guessing here, so correct me if i am wrong...

it was a real shock to see it...it was a continuous blue spark...

cheers stuart

That will be a big part of your issue, poss a cracked coil post could be causing it or a faulty coil lead.

Sounds like the seals were done, I would say then that one or more were not done properly as these should last for several years before causing smoke again

How many k's has the engine done. I have customers with motors approaching 400k with no smoke issues, these are very long lasting engines

the engine has done 211325kms...as of today. (original motor and gearbox...i think)

how much would a new ignition coil cost? i went to repco and it woulda cost $83 with a 1 year warranty (thought it was a bit expensive)... or can i go to the wreckers and pick 1 up there?

the car did good today, got up to 80kms no probs, but it started to shudder a little! every 20secs...
its was like i little jolt back in speed then ok, it kept doing it till i got up the hill...hmmmmm...

another thing...whats the normal temp when the car is cold first thing in the morning? mine is roughly idling between 1700 and 2000revs..then bout 600 to 800 when warm.

1 more thing, the engine light comes on every time when i start it up, but only for 5 seconds, then goes away...

thanks for the help though...

cheers stuart

the engine has done 211325kms...as of today. (original motor and gearbox...i think)

how much would a new ignition coil cost? i went to repco and it woulda cost $83 with a 1 year warranty (thought it was a bit expensive)... or can i go to the wreckers and pick 1 up there?

the car did good today, got up to 80kms no probs, but it started to shudder a little! every 20secs...
its was like i little jolt back in speed then ok, it kept doing it till i got up the hill...hmmmmm...

another thing...whats the normal temp when the car is cold first thing in the morning? mine is roughly idling between 1700 and 2000revs..then bout 600 to 800 when warm.

1 more thing, the engine light comes on every time when i start it up, but only for 5 seconds, then goes away...

thanks for the help though...

cheers stuart

Engine light....havent had the car running for a while...but is that the (!) light? if so....I'm pretty sure that's normal

sorry, i meant to say "check engine" light..the red rectangle 1...only for 5secs tho

just found another problem...

i have a bad shockers and suspension now...argh!! i can sit in the car and rock side to side and see that the car is waving around.

i had them all replaced in feb with the other bits done too.. i had them replaced with monroe gt gas shocks. then i had to get the fronts ones replaced (again) cos they were shot...now, all 4 are doing it again... is this a fault with the brand or is my car too heavy for them (its a verada, so i wouldnt be surprised). they have a 2 year warranty, but i hate to go in again and say "my shocks are gone". would it be better if i got a different brand of shocks and put a good set of springs on while i am at it?

i hate it when things go wrong when u fix the problem before...there goes my money, lol

cheers stuart

hey, finally got around to taking pics of the cat converter and the pipe that connects to the front half of the exhaust...

if any of you guys think theres something wrong here, let me know...

here are the pics...

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww320/KrazyKR/100_1371.jpg

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww320/KrazyKR/100_1372.jpg

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww320/KrazyKR/100_1373.jpg

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww320/KrazyKR/100_1374.jpg

If you had the money, I would get the engine pipe re-made. I had a custom one made up out of mandrel bends and set me back under $450. And, if you ever consider it, Actually will still bolt up to a DOHC exhaust.
To me, looks fine though

i say get the cat checked and change that coil lead...

and tell the mechanic to RE-DO the stem seals because he botched the first attempt!lol

its making a murky whistly noise whe i am taking off and driving along... will get the cat checked too......

i am getting the car put in next week for tranny service and oil change. will get him to change the leads and or the coil lead. what about replacing the plug leads too, or just the coil lead if need be. i have got a second hand ignition coil out of another verada with less kms, and see if he would swap them over... it would save me getting a new 1 i guess :).

will post up after new year.

i am also getting the shocks replaced as the back and front are badly shot! again! third times the charm, rite? the shocks are still under warranty, and will be getting new springs too...

mite as well do everything at once, huh.

and tell the mechanic to RE-DO the stem seals because he botched the first attempt!lol

I had the same issue, got the stem seals done on one of my 929's (mazdas are bad for these seals going as well) and after a week or so, was pumping out more smoke than before! Turns out was a bad batch of seals as they had all hardened and broken, got another set and was all good.

well, mines not blowing smoke anymore...which is odd...but its good tho.

i can smell oil, but theres no more smoke. i checked the oil cap, there was oil dripping down the side, and i ckecked the cap and the seal was gone. i got a replacement from the wreckers with a better seal.

i am getting it checked out next week by the mec, cos its getting the oil replaced.

hopefully it stays that way, lol.

Go to Mits and get a new oil cap seal they are about 4 bucks

The Dampers will wear out quickly if the boots are shot on them. Monroe make what they call a strutt saver kit which are dust boots that seal from top and bottom.

well, mines not blowing smoke anymore...which is odd...but its good tho.

i can smell oil, but theres no more smoke. i checked the oil cap, there was oil dripping down the side, and i ckecked the cap and the seal was gone. i got a replacement from the wreckers with a better seal.

i am getting it checked out next week by the mec, cos its getting the oil replaced.

hopefully it stays that way, lol.
Wreckers? Some things I wouldnt buy from a wreckers are things like Oil caps, even if you got it for free, go to mitsu, they are about $3 each.

Sounds like its leaking oil from somewhere.
Get him to check your breather tubes (FRONT AND REAR) and make sure they are NOT blocked.

got the oil cap from the wreckers with a good seal for nothing.

i thought that was the trouble with the shocks... next week, it wont matter...geting shocks replaced (still under warranty). the only thing i will have to pay for is the springs. (i hope)