Some abnormalities after starting in a a long time

[dhong089]

Hey guys.

I haven’t drove my Ti in like 2 months or so. My starter broke, however I didn’t want to dive into the starter-replacement because I knew I was moving homes. If I had messed something up, I didn’t want to have the car stuck at my old house : /

But I finally moved into my new home as of July 1st. I was pretty much waiting for this moment!!! It has a very spacious garage (which I love; I think I’ll sleep in the garage tonight?) so I can work on the car whenever I want : )

After moving in and having all our luggage/furniture/etc. inside our new home, my brother and I drove to our old home and push-started the Ti to get it running. I was scared because it’s been 2 months since I’ve had the engine run; I was praying that the car would start…. The car was in a completely flat parking lot, so pushing it was an ABSOLUTE PAIN!!! However, luck was on my side as the car started : )

Now the reason I made this thread was because I have a list of small problems I experienced with the car. I have a slight clue on what it could be, but I would like the insight from you guys to point me in the right direction. So,

1. The car started right up from pushing it. Once the engine rolled into life, I gave it a little gas, but not too much; just to keep it running. I let the engine idle for about 3 minutes, then I drove it. I experienced a massive power drop as I was on 2nd gear, resulting in a slight jerk as well. However, my foot had not moved off the pedal. What could this be?

2. This relates to number 1; I let the engine idle again after I experienced the strong hesitation. I stepped on the pedal a bit and let the engine rev to 3k, and then to 4k, and back down. I did this for about a minute. I then saw a poof of white smoke come out of the exhaust. There wasn’t huge amounts of it, but just enough to make you know that something isn’t completely normal. However, the problem did go away. After driving the car to my new home, all the problems disappeared. However I would like to fix the problems now (it’s just that I don’t know where to look!)

3. This wasn’t ever an issue before, but I am hearing a clicking sound inside the engine bay. The clicking would increase in speed as the engine rev sped up, and the clicking sound would decrease in speed as the engine rev dropped in speed.

4. If you guys remember, I made a thread questioning if I should have used a torque wrench when putting my wheel back on. Perhaps I tightened it too much, or perhaps I made the wheel too loose. This problem relates to that a little I guess. So I never really experienced this problem before, but when I brake, I feel a slight clicking on my foot. My foot did not budge off the brake pedal, however I felt something odd. The clicking seemed to slow down as the car slowed down, and sped up if I was braking from a high speed (FYI, the clicking isn’t related to the engine bay noise!)



Anyways, whew, what a long post lol! My car is sitting in my new garage now, and I’ll probably work on it tomorrow (with the embarrassing set of tools I have).

[dave45056]

After letting a car sit for a while like you did can cause a few problems which normally go away after driving it a bit. I would go on with the starter exchange, then get it running again and see if things smooth out again.

To do the starter, you will need these non-basic tools:
wobble extensions. I think I needed about 2 feet of extensions to do this.
e-torx socket set
a friend to hold the nut on the starter (if it's original)
I'm assuming you are doing this job from below as this is by far the easiest way.

[dhong089]

Thanks for the reply,

When you say "doing the job from below," do you mean the method where you unbolt the transmission and everything? If so, I don't know if I can handle that kind of job. I was just going to take the intake manifolds off. I heard you can the to the starter this way.

Also, if you can do me a favor, where can I find the wobble extension and e-torx socket set? FIrstly, I don't know how they look like, and secondly, I went to a home-depot and asked if they had it, but they didn't.

[dave45056]

From below means you jack the front of the car up and use long extensions to to reach the 2 bolts which secure the starter to the transmission. You have to do this blind on the top bolt, so you need a spotter to see if you have the socket on the right bolt.
Your car is a 95. I'm assuming you have the original starter which has nuts which the starter bolts thread into. The later version of the starter, has threaded ears and no nuts. Hopefully, the new starter you got is threaded, too.
The trickiest part of this method is getting the starter out from below. The starter is also pinned to the transmission housing. You may need to hit it with a hammer to get that out. After that, it's a bit like a puzzle to get the starter to come out. If I recall correctly, you twist it until it's vertical, then it will wiggle out. You need to remove the dipstick tube an maybe disconnect a few plugs (to the DISA valve, maybe more) to do this.
I believe this is the easiest way to do change the starter.
Bluebimma got me started on this method. He told me he did this is a parts store parking lot. It took me 3-4 hours to get this done.

Wobble extensions can be bought at any auto parts store. I think I bought a set of 3 for 12 bucks or so at Autozone. E-Torx sockets look like this:
http://www.amazon.com/FEMALE-TORX-st.../dp/B000I45Y8Q
I bought a set made by Lisle at Sears. The O'Reilly's near me also carries them.

[cooljess76]

You can do it from underneath the car without tilting the engine(lowering the transmission). It's a little tricky because as Dave said, you're kinda working in the blind. The only way you'll be able to get a socket on the top bolt without tilting the engine is to have about 2ft of extension and guide it onto the bolt from back by the transmission output flange/flex-disc. Still way easier than doing it from up top and having to remove the intake manifold/vacuum lines etc. Make sure you have the battery disconnected and remember where the starter wires go to. You may even want to take a picture of the wires going to the front of the starter for reference.

[roadrash]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

You may even want to take a picture of the wires going to the front of the starter for reference.

... and put labels on both sides of any connection you disconnect. Use numbers, letters, colored tape, whatever; just make it simple and unambiguous. Labeling both sides of a connection "A" is far better than trying to describe what either wire/hose goes to.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by roadrash

... and put labels on both sides of any connection you disconnect. Use numbers, letters, colored tape, whatever; just make it simple and unambiguous. Labeling both sides of a connection "A" is far better than trying to describe what either wire/hose goes to.

Very true. That's a great idea, can't be too careful and I've already seen a few threads where people got the wiring mixed up and shorted out the solenoid.

See, that's proof that Roadrash is good for more than just laughs
(which was a joke btw. You're extremely helpful, just equally entertaining)

[roadrash]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

See, that's proof that Roadrash is good for more than just laughs (which was a joke btw. You're extremely helpful, just equally entertaining)

Dana Carvey as "O'Malley" in an SNL skit called "Back Page" said it best:

Why, I oughtta POUND you!!! [shakes fist]

LOL