Car trouble startin n hestation prob

[d3vilskid]

Hi again it might be a question you guys see alot but i have aprob with my car. When I start it up it dies. When I start it up and step on the gas it revs up a little when I let it go it idles between .5 to 1 to 1.3 rpm. When I drive the car it shakes real bad not the car but the engine. It does not drive smooth. Do you guys know what might be wrong with my car?????

[PMan_S13]

Sounds like it needs a tune up to me. Not running smooth is generally a good indicator that the ignition is missing. Think about getting new plugs, wires, cap and rotor.

Of course it could be something else... if you've modified the car it might be really rich or the like.

[s13sr20chris]

pull plugs and see if they look or smell funny. couldnt hurt to check the basics like ign timing and fuel pressure. does the prob go away as it warms up?

[d3vilskid]

Hmmmm.... the spark plugs, wires, cap, n rotors r new. The prob does not stop when the car warms up. How do I check the fuel pressure and the ign. timing it is suppose to be in the middle right, cause mine is not in the middle, when I put the timing in the middle the car dies at start up real quick.

[d3vilskid]

umm... Whats the ign timin? Well I could be wrong about that, but on the distributor, it is pulled all the way to the left, so that means the bolt is all the way on the right. But when I put it in the middle the car will start and die in less then one second.

[d3vilskid]

Oh yea forgot to add that it all started when I connect the bolt to the pivot of the water pump. So when my water pump belt was on tight the car started to act like this. Is my car running to rich or to poor? How do you find out, too?

[Prelude Guy]

I hope you have better luck than I have trying to figure out this issue. Over $300 later and a lot of time, no progress in figuring out the problem.

There seems to be A LOT of people with poor performance with their KA motors but no one ever responds "if" they figured it out. Many seem to do the swap.

Let me know if you figure it out.

[Red coupe]

so wait did you just put the distributer in and turn it to one side? you know you have to set it with a timing light right?If the spark is happening at the wrong time that could deffinatly make it run rough.

[d3vilskid]

well lets see it was at the right timing when i first had it. But it kept on dieing on me, so when I moved it to one side the car started and the engine didn't shake rough. Everything was smooth, the driving was smooth. But now its all rough and everything. I changed the vavle gasket cuz of it leaking. Is it a problem with my injectors??? Car has never been modified and I also used NGK which is the best for Nissan to. Hey Prelude guy what have you done to your car, it might help me narrow it down in my car. If I find anything I with tell.

[Red coupe]

you might want to start by properly setting your timing rather ten just guessing at it...you need a timing light, hook up to your battery and 1 spark plug wire let the engine warm up, then shut off un hook the discconect the tps (check out an fsm for its location, its like on the front right(passanger side) of the valve cover somewere(I dont remember right now but its a grey connector)point the light at the crank pully and when it flashes the far right mark should show up.

[d3vilskid]

Ok, but what did you mean about one spark and what do I need the light for. Am I suppose to check for a blinking light? And is it suppose to tell me the timing? I'm not really on this stuff, even though I know some, I dont know that much.

[S13inBatnRuge]

you shoot the timing light to check the timing off the guide. you adjust accordingly. #1 spark plug. also better to do it closer to night or not really bright outside if doing it outside.

[d3vilskid]

so if I fixed the timing position and it does the same thing, like dieing what else could it be? If I am close to it won't the car start, and could it be the O2 sensor going bad and need to be replace, what about the knock n ping snesor?

[Red coupe]

knock and ping sensors retard timing based on signs of eplosions in the combusion chambers, but first just get it timed right it could most likely fix your problem. The timing of the spark changes alot about how combustion occurs and how much power is produced, it need to be set to happen a a certain degree before the piston reaches the top of its travel so the fuel can ignite on time, if this is off the engine will run rough.

you need a it has 3 wires coming off, one goes 2 to the batt.(+ and -) one goes to the spark plug wire for the number one cylinder when ever the distributer sends current through that wire the light flashes. disconnect the TPS then point at the spinning crank pully. there are notches on the pully and a mark on the lower timing cover when the light blinks the far right mark on the pully should line up with the mark on the cover, loosen the distrubter bolts and turn till its right then tighten down re-attach TPS and you should be better.

bad pick but you get the idea...

Modified by Red coupe at 1:59 AM 3/8/2005
Modified by Red coupe at 2:00 AM 3/8/2005

[d3vilskid]

Hey thx for the pic it will greatly help me out and ah one more thing how much does that gun look a like thing cost, anyways. I am a college student so i am kinda poor.

[Red coupe]

they run about 50 bucks you might be best to try and borrow one from anyone you know who works on older cars because you wont need the timing light for much other then getting the distributer set, so start asking around, you probably know someone who owns one.

You said you twisted the distributer all the way to the right? that means your making the spark happen as late as possible and you need to be carefull with that, compressing a mixture of air fuel creates heat once the piston reaches the top of ts travel and is ready to ignite it is kinda a race between the hear causeing the mixture to explode and the spark causing the mixture to burn. The later the mixture burns the more power it will make( think of pedaling on a bike if the pedal is straight up pushing down does not make the bike go that mch faster angle the pedal forward a bit and your puch will make a lot more power) But if you wait to long the heat causes it to explode before it burns. explosions=bad. These explosions (aka detonation) sound kinda like rattling, think of a soda can filled with BB's. doh just reread all the way to the left is is probably safer unless the spark is hitting realy early causeing pre-igniton ( gasses ignite before piston reaches top of travel). Id let it warm up and then while its idling loosesen the distbuter just enough to turn and turn it just a little bit right get it to run as smoothly as possible with the distributer turned as much to the left as possible, and then get a timing gun and fget it set proper as soon as possible.(it could actualy be cheaper to have a take it to a shop and have the timing set vs buying a gun, Its not much work at all so if you cant find one to borrow it could actualy be cheaper to pay to have it done then to buy something you will only use once)
Modified by Red coupe at 11:35 AM 3/8/2005

[d3vilskid]

hey thx for da info i might jus bring it 2 da shop 2 get it fix. but first ima see if i can get it 2 run smoother first.

[d3vilskid]

Hi again its been a while but i havnt had any luck with the valve timing. When I went to go look at, and turn the dist. the car wont crank. I tried to fool around if it to make the car crank but still no crank, I hear my starter clicking and I am for sure it cant be my starter because it is brand new. So can you guys help me out with what is wrong with it????

[s13sr20chris]

the starter clicking is your starter solenoid. its very possible that your positive cable going to the starter(or the batt) cannot provide the amps needed to turn the motor over. thats why it just clicks. it could also be a bad starter or a completely open circuit. check for 12 volts at the really big wire on the starter.

[d3vilskid]

Hmmm... ok that sucks, so I have to test everything again. Hope my starter is not bad. Can it also be that the battery is bad. Forogt to check everything when I was at home.

[d3vilskid]

i know this has nothing to do with this, but do you know how much it is going to cost to get the enigne rebuilt. And if i was going to rebuilt the transmission can I get it rebuilt to be a manual(stupid question) or do I have to buy a manual?

[s13sr20chris]

cheapie overhaul is around $2000. junkyard is cheaper. you would have to buy a whole manual trans and all the conversion parts.