OMG!
I serviced my car today at TAFE, i changed the oil, took all the wheels off and cleaned the rims, changed the oil filter, took the fuel filter off and checked it, replaced a temperature sensor and took off the air cleaner and cleaned it.

Now all of a sudden my car is doing strange things, when its driving, it goes ok until 4th gear, when it starts shuddering and surging (going a bit harder then backing off repeatedly)
i dont know why, i didnt mess around with anything i shouldnt have...

I think maybe the automatic gearbox has **** itself, but it seems ok in all gears except 4th, and i havent touched the transmission fluid either.

PLEASE HELP ME SOMEONE!, i have a really sick feeling in my stomach and its not going away until i work out whats wrong!

AussieFella

ok just to clear thing ups......was it shuddering before u done the service?

spark plugs! - thats if it happens randomly...ive had the same sorta thing happen to my car

Samurai - No it didnt happen before the service.

SG - YES! i think your right, my mate came over 5 mins ago and told me the same thing happened with his car until he replaced a spark lead, but i tried putting a spark plug into the lead, earthing it out on the manifold and starting the car, but it still sparks, so i dont know :S

Anyone else got opinons, ideas or suggestions?

could be to do with the spark plugs themselves... when my car was shudderign like that it was one 1 or 2 spark plugs that were really clogged up. (the leads were ok tho)

std proceedure for all unknown EFI problems...

1. Reset ECU
2. Hold it in 1st gear and flog the tits off it (once its warm)
:cool:

std proceedure for all unknown EFI problems...

1. Reset ECU
2. Hold it in 1st gear and flog the tits off it (once its warm)
:cool:
hes got a carby tho...... :nuts:

how do u reset the ecu, just leave the battury for 20 odd mins??

just leave the battury for 20 odd mins??

try 3hours :(

im gonna test each spark plug and see if i they are all working, while im there i will clean em!

Try changing the transmission fluid... and make sure it's the proper, correct fluid, not "alternatives"... see how you go with that...

Yeah, i need to do that, im waiting on my gregorys manual so i can locate the transmission fluid and replace it.

Update: I have taken all the spark plugs out and checked them, taken the fuel filter off and tested it, taken out the aircleaner and checked all attached pipes...

I dont know what the **** is wrong, i let my mate go for a drive down the road in it, and he reckons its something to do with brakes, although i cant see why is would be brakes if it is in top gear and it affects the tacho (forgot to mention, the tacho isnt going as high as what it should for that gear.)

Come on guys? anymore suggestions? i dont wanna have to pay to fix the damn thing...

Ok, i think im getting a general idea of what to look at, i need to know 2 things:

1. How do i check the transmission fluid levels? where should i look?

2. Whats a torque converter worth second hand?

i have one i can send you if u pay postage

I can pay postage, how much do you want for it?

And how much will postage be also? (a rough estimate will do) :D

If your gonna go to the hassle of pulling all your spark plugs out just replace them they're cheap as chips and at least that way you can rule it out for sure, just because it sparks at normal atmospheric pressure doesn't mean it will spark when its in the combustion chamber.

also i would probably wack a new fuel filter in too you might not be getting enough pressure

plugs should be replaced ever 20'000k anyway, u get a set of 4 for between $10 and $15 depending on where u shop, Bosch 8mm leads are $5 each at supersteep auto. to test spark plug leads get a multi-meter put it on the setting for up to 20k ohms or something higher and then ensured the meter is on zero when the test leads are shorted. Connect to each end of a plug lead and check it's resistance. As a rule of thumb a spark plug lead should have about 2-3k ohms resistance per ft when new. if a lead has over 20k oms resistance over it's length then it will deffinately cause a misfire problem. hope this helps :)

20 bucks and 20 bucks i reckon..


you do know how hard it is to get to a stall converter? :redface:

I had a similar problem in my old camry, it was the leads.

Ironically, it did the same thing you are having trouble with, all the spark plugs sparked out of the engine when earthed, but it would always miss and surge when in top gear. The explanation that was given to me by a mechanic was that its all about the load on the engine and that by driving in a lower rpm it induces this sort of cable failure. They tested the leads with a multimeter as well, but could not find anything wrong with them. He suggested replacing the leads as he could'nt find anything else that would cause it. I replaced the leads and bingo, it worked fine thereafter.

One test he did get me to try that may have pin pointed it to the leads, was sit by the side of the road with car in "D" and the foot on the brake for about 5 minutes or so and see if you start getting a miss or a surge in the engine. Do this when the car is already warm. Very boring excercise, but if your car starts doing this like mine did, then very likely a lead problem.

Replies to the above:

Shane: Yes, i think i will get a new fuel filter next time im in town.

Benau: I will replace the spark plugs also.

Turbo_charade: Sounds fair, and no i dont know how hard it is to get to it, wheres it located? (Had a look at your site btw, your 'about me' and 'magna' sections are not working, it gives a link to your hard drive lol)

Mark H:I will have to give this test a go, its certainly starting to look like we're on the right track :D

Thanks for the suggestions guys!!

Buy a new car.

:nuts: :nuts: :nuts: That was very sudden.....how about no.