Something is very wrong with my car - Please please help

[Deadrodent]

Alright everyone, I don't know what I did but something messed up. I'll start at the beginning.

Today my friend and I removed the valve cover to inspect the timing chain. When we removed the plug wires the #2 and #3 spark plug chambers were filled with oil (#2 moreso). I don't know where/how the oil got in there but the car was running fine before we did this so logically this could be have somehow messed up the car. We cleaned off the oil and checked the timing chain. There wasn't much slack and everything looked basically intact. Over the course of removing the valve cover my friend managed to drop one of the valve cover bolts deep within the engine bay where it proceeded to get stuck to the side of the block directly beneath the injectors and fuel rail. We tried moving the fuel rail around to get to it (this very act might have messed the engine up too) but were unsuccessful so we bolted up the valve cover and decided we could get one at kragen hopefully and call it a night. Well after we bolted everything together and started the car up everything seemed normal. Then I took it out for a test drive and found that the engine was surging and kinda missing. I parked it on the side of the road and my friend popped the hood. This is when we noticed a "whirring" sound ( as if something was spinning) coming from the bottom of the engine/transmission. We tried to diagnose the problem. We learned that in neutral with the clutch pressed down fully the engine would run normally. Once the clutch was released the the whirring sound would begin and fade immediately once the clutch was depressed.

So here's a rundown.

1. Some oil inside spark plug chambers (but this was cleaned out)2. Fuel rail was moved but no parts were damaged 3. Valve cover missing 2 bolts (one is deep within the engine bay - one is in my glove box - we were going to show the bolt to a kragen employee to source a new one)4. While driving the car surges/bogs and now has almost no power5. in neutral with clutch depressed engine runs fine6. in neutral with clutch out the engine surges/bogs and that whirring sound starts7. i'm going insane now and i really need some help. i thought this car was a good buy and it seemed like it was but it seems everytime i get closer to fixing a few simple problems a few more pop up and they keep increasing in significance.

So right now i'm not going to drive it until my neighborhood mechanic takes a look at it. man, this sucks.....
Modified by Deadrodent at 2:05 AM 5/30/2005

[SlowBack]

I would most certainly invest in some magnetic pickup tools. They're cheap and great to have when something falls out of reach.

As far as you problem goes, I'm not quite sure, but my guess would be that you accidentally disconnected an electical connection to one of the idle controls. I don't know why it makes a difference whether or not the clutch is engaged if the car is in neutral. I'd make sure that the transmission is actually in neutral by pretending it's in first. If the car moves forward as you give it gas and engage the clutch, then the transmission isn't shifting properly.

Hope that helps,Matt

[Deadrodent]

I don't know why it makes a difference whether or not the clutch is engaged if the car is in neutral. I'd make sure that the transmission is actually in neutral by pretending it's in first. If the car moves forward as you give it gas and engage the clutch, then the transmission isn't shifting properly.

thanks for the reply! not exactly sure what you're saying tho?

[FliMSiCaL]

my car has done the whirring thing for ages, but i havn't lost any power from it. i think i remember someone saying that the throwout bearing is the source of it, but i'm not sure. I 2nd the motion that you may have jostled a connector somewhere thats now loose and not doing right.

[Deadrodent]

alright here's an update. i pulled the #2 and #3 spark plug wires and found them drenched in oil. i cleaned them off and put em back in and ran the car. the car ran fine while i had the clutch in. next i pulled the clutch out but kept the car in neutral. the engine would rev fine under light revs. under slightly heavy loads the engine would bog and vibrate heavily and then rev. Upon doing this the idle would drop by about 100 rpmsstarting from 1000 rpms at first idle. i'm probably idling high because the engine's cold but i'm stumped over the other problems...

it's almost like with the clutch in the engine is completely freewheeling but with the clutch out the transmission isn't fully in neutral - and it feels when i rev it like someone who sucks at driving manual. the engine will shake and almost die and then rev.
Modified by Deadrodent at 3:49 PM 5/30/2005

[titanium240]

First off, oil drenching the spark plugs...heck, oil anywhere outside the block is never a good thing, try to stop that leak!

As for the whirring, i'd put money on the throwout bearing for the sound and the lack of two valve cover bolts for the bad running. Did you use RTV and/or a new gasket to seal it up when you replaced it?

Yeah, I try to sound like I know what I'm talking about but alas, it's only a guess. It's worth a try though, hope you get her running right again...

[240sx2soon]

I would imagine you fouled up the plugs pretty good with the oil in the cylinders. I would change plugs first before going to over board with the diagnosis. It's funny but whenever I do anything to my car 9 major or not ) I always tend to hear more things after I'm done than I did before. It may just be my mind telling me that I did something wrong but everything always turns out fine. I don't think your loss of power would be caused by something being wrong with your clutch , unless possibly it's coated in oil as well in which case you would know pretty quick. Try the plugs and see what that accomplishes, any problems from there then someone smarter than me needs to help you out bro

And the oil leak, if there is one may be comeing from a bad gasket somewhere ( like it says above me ) but it also could have been caused if someone else changed your oil and spilled it alover the valve cover. I can just see some ham fisted oil jockey dumping the **** all over your engine and not mentioning it, can't you?

[Deadrodent]

well i've been reading up on clutch related problems and the symptoms seem closest to a messed up throwout bearing. the weird thing is the whirring noise starts when i have the clutch out - as in i'm not stepping on it. when the clutch is depressed (i'm stepping on it) the car runs fine with no noises.hmm....interesting...

[777aaron]

This sounds like a throwout bearing to me also,they will do what you just said about making noise untill you depress the clutch.