S13 SR20DET Running Very Odd, Then Normal

[BlazedGlory]

Today is my day off of work. Should be a great day. But it isn't. When I was brushing my teeth this morning I somehow managed to drop the fkn thing outta my mouth - then it bounced off the counter and off my pants, leaving toothpaste on them. Then, I step out into my garage and turn my fkn foot sideways and almost sprain my ankle.

I was driving to get my hair cut and all was well. When I pulled into the parking lot all of a sudden I heard what sounded like a motorcycle behind me (like a harley or something like that). I realized it was my car. The exhaust was emitting like almost a gurgling sound (like a harley or something). Even at parking lot speeds, I realized my car was down on power. When I pulled into a spot I noticed that my car was shaking a fair amount. I decided to go in and get my hair cut and deal with it when I came out.

So then I go in and the woman fcks up my hair royally. I hate those people, they never listen to how you want your hair cut. It is way too short to comb up in the front now, and it just looks fkn stupid down - I'm not sure what she was thinking.

Anyway, I go back out to my car, start it up, and it is still shaking pretty bad. I popped the hood. The engine was rocking pretty fierce at an 800rpm idle. I shut the hood and started home. Just as I was getting out of the parking lot I noticed that it didn't sound weird anymore. I pushed on the gas a little bit, and in fact, it seemed to be back to normal. I just kind of limped it home because I don't want to fck anything up worse than it already may be.

WTF was my engine doing? Was it possibly running on 3 cylinders or something? What should I do?

I've actually been considering recently doing a small bit of internal work on critical parts before I get a bigger turbo such as maybe new pistons and rods, new valves perhaps, I dunno.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think.

Thanks!

[phroze2001]

Sounds like you were runnin on 3 could be due to a spark plug, ignitor chip, coil pack, or a million other things.

[Hijacker]

it sounds like an ignition problem. More than likely it's a coil pack or a loose connection somewhere. Double check all the plugs, and if you lengthened the ignitor chip harness, double check your connections there. finally double check the grounds.