engine still shaking, loss of power!

[aziankingz]

Hi all,

So my car has been having some problems..the engine and car would shake after driving it around for a few minutes and sounds like a truck every time i accelerate.. I replaced my clutch fan thinking that was the cause and it still shakes and there is a loss of power! i sometimes get onto the highway and almost get into accidents bc it seems like theres no power when shifting from 3rd to 4th...i am slower than a geo metro!! i also found out that my alternator belt is loose due to the tensioner bolt which connects to the alternator had fell off...so my car has trouble starting and needs a jump start.. any ideas on what the problem could be with the engine shaking and on top of that restricting power? I replaced the plugs/wires, distributor cap/rotor, clutch fan, and fuel filter.

[21nemesis]

Might wanna check the fuel injectors. Mine was doing the same thing, becuase one of the fuel injectors was dead. Replaced it and now it's fine.

[Eikon]

Sounds like you're not firing on all 4 cylinders.

Let the car idle.. the pop the hood. Then pull the spark plug wire off of the first cylinder. If the engine bogs down even worse..then you know that cylinder was firing ok. Move on to the next cylinder until you find the one that when unplugged.. makes NO change to the way the engine is running. In other words.. the cylinder that is not firing correctly, when unplugged will no change how the engine runs because it still won't be firing...

Once you figure out which cylinder is not working.. pull the spark plug out and see how the tip looks. Replace it either way as plugs are cheap and probably the most common cause.

With a new spark plug in.. see if it runs better.

If it still doesn't improve.. then the fuel injector is the next issue to check. See if you can find a used (used, but known to work) injector on these forums rather than buying new as they are very expensive new.

hope this helps.

[aziankingz]

thanks for your input guys..i changed my plugs about a month ago. It may be the fuel injectors, so i will try to get some on this site..

[Slappy]

Check all your wiring harness connectors. All of them.

I just had this problem with my car , loss of power , shaking ect. It was a faulty main wiring harness connector.

[aziankingz]

what else could it be? wished i had a garage to really play around with it..its like 30 degrees out and dark at 4:30pm!

[Dattebayo]

Fix your alternator belt problem first to eliminate it. The motor cannot run correctly if it doesn't have the right voltages going to the sensors and everything else.

Also, check the battery and voltage regulator.

[CMG]

What about vacuum leaks, check that.

[aziankingz]

no vacuum leaks that i know of, but the last time checked was about 3 weeks ago..
Modified by aziankingz at 8:44 AM 12/2/2007

[leveloneae86]

let someone listen to your exhasu and see if its leaking. thats what cusing me to have the same symptoms as u. gluck

[aziankingz]

there is a small exhaust manifold leak because im missing a few bolts and maybe needs a new gasket, but would that cause the engine to shake after a few minutes of driving? wouldnt it start as the engine turns over? there was an exhaust leak and my friend and i used 2 gaskets to make sure it doesnt leak again. it only sounds (muscle car/truck) and feels like theres an exhaust leak (engine shaking on acceleration) after 10-15 minutes of driving. I would work on it today but its snowing and 20 degrees out

[CMG]

there is a small exhaust manifold leak because im missing a few bolts and maybe needs a new gasket, but would that cause the engine to shake after a few minutes of driving? wouldnt it start as the engine turns over? there was an exhaust leak and my friend and i used 2 gaskets to make sure it doesnt leak again. it only sounds (muscle car/truck) and feels like theres an exhaust leak (engine shaking on acceleration) after 10-15 minutes of driving. I would work on it today but its snowing and 20 degrees out

Does it constantly shake from idle thru acceleration, or only at certain rpms? If your mani is not mounted right you would have a leak pre-turbo and that could cause problems. Get that done before you start cracking stuff like me.

[aziankingz]

it only occurs while accelerating after 10-15 minutes of driving and after that happens shakes on idle as well..

[Dattebayo]

That sounds like a injector O-ring or perhaps a bad ignition coil/igniter. Also check your FPR.

How strong is the spark? Do you smell a faint smell of fuel in the motor under the hood?

[aziankingz]

i do smell fuel under the hood..the spark is fine..i took each out and it all sparked when i pulled it out..

[aziankingz]

could the timing cause this too? i think my timing is off also..

[94_240sx]

*sigh*

Just like when I had a problem with an injector for the first time... I was worried and felt really bad out of frustration. After replace bad one, BAM! problem solved. Just follow Eikon's instruction and replace the bad one. You will find plenty of write ups here. Good luck! BTW, I've replaced 3 out 4 so far since 1998...

[aziankingz]

yeah its frustrating bc its so annoying witht he shaking and drop in power isnt fun either..

[Dattebayo]

Unplug each injector while the car is idling and see which one does not affect the way the motor runs. That's your injector that has the problem.

[White Comet]

yeah it could be that ur not running on all 4 cylinders but mine ran on 3 cylinders and had no shaking (obviously it had power loss thu)

[kanecain]

I had the same problem. My car was running on three cylinders when I first purchased it (still pulled like SOB though! Go KA!). Pulled the injectors while idling, and found out it was the #3 cylinder. Replacment was about $90 at Auto Zone.

[White Comet]

(still pulled like SOB though! Go KA!)

i call bs, the ka isnt fast w/ 4 cylinders let alone 3,

[kanecain]

i call bs, the ka isnt fast w/ 4 cylinders let alone 3,

I drove the car for almost a week before noticing any power loss. It wasn't until the car starting starting vibrating more than what it usually did before I decided to pop the hood. I actually signed up here to get a answer, just like the topic creator. And I didn't mean 600whp KAT fast, I meant decent as hell for a car with 3 cylinders. Sheesh, dude. Loosen your panties.

[White Comet]

whoa calm down. im just messing w/ ya. when i post one of these its universal symbol for, JUST MESSING W/ YA!

[aziankingz]

got some sellers for injectors..so soon to replace them..hopefully that will solve the problem..since i went to 2 different forums and asked the same questions which pointed the problem to the injectors..

[Dattebayo]

yeah it could be that ur not running on all 4 cylinders but mine ran on 3 cylinders and had no shaking (obviously it had power loss thu)

If the injector for either cylinders 2 or 3 is out, the unbalanced load on the crankshaft usually won't be enough to make the motor shake. If the injector for either cylinders 1 or 4 is out, that will make the motor shake and sometimes it will shake so much that it will trigger the knock sensor and you will notice a much more extreme power loss...

[94_240sx]

If the injector for either cylinders 2 or 3 is out, the unbalanced load on the crankshaft usually won't be enough to make the motor shake. If the injector for either cylinders 1 or 4 is out, that will make the motor shake and sometimes it will shake so much that it will trigger the knock sensor and you will notice a much more extreme power loss...

^^Good point. I was going to say this and found Dattebayo already pointed out. My first bad injector was #1 and guess what? People were looking at my car at the stop light all the time. It wasn't fun.

[AutoShadow]

I had a similar problem but mine was shaking at idle, and also had a loss of power. I had to replace the fuel injectors, spark plugs, and the spark plug cap.I was prolly not much help but mine as well try...

[aziankingz]

i think my 2 and 4 are the culprits..i took out each spark plug and believe those 2 had no change when the plug was pulled..i need to check again bc it was so hard to concentrate when my belts were squeeling..

[94_240sx]

i think my 2 and 4 are the culprits..i took out each spark plug and believe those 2 had no change when the plug was pulled..i need to check again bc it was so hard to concentrate when my belts were squeeling..

Running on 2 cylinders??? Well, my 2nd and 3rd ones went out within 2 months period, so that's not a surprise. I'm waiting for the last one(#4) to go out, but it's been hanging there pretty good.