Compression leak problem

[Third Gear]

Well, you did some good detective work. It seems like the valves on #4 are bad. It definitely won’t hurt to take it to a reputable shop and tell them what you’ve found (like the low compression) and get their opinion._x000D_
_x000D_
It would probably help if you gave

Topic

[EricTheCarGuy]

You did some great work as pointed out.

[AdrianS]

Hi guys,

Thanks for replying. I was on a trip over the weekend (with the car) – it jolted again.
Anyway, it’s a 2001 Suzuki Jimny. It’s not sold in the US. Of course, you can import it… Anyway, I live in Europe.

Monday morning I went to a reputable car repair shop. Hearing me, the guy suggested the head gasket is off. However, after taking the engine apart (which took hours), it turned out that one of the #4 exhaust valves was cracked. So, I was right – worked by Eric’s low compression video and diagnosed it myself.
BTW, something strange happened when taking off the bolts holding the half-circles holding camshafts in place, a bit of water (coolant?) exited under pressure. This happened with all bolts on the intake side.

The shop took the cylinder head (with all the valves still mounted) to a machining shop. The guys over there are old (white-haired), good machinists and they rectify and repair engines for a living – that’s what they do all day long. I saw there a huge crankshaft – 4 feet long I guess. They told me it’s from a farming tractor.

Anyway, they take off all the valves from my engine, rectify (smoothen) the cylinder head and look closely (and measure) all valves and clearances.
Then, all broken valves will be replaced or rectified properly, and they’ll assemble back the valves and camshafts one cylinder head.

As I was typing this I got a call from the machinist: all the exhaust valves should all be replaced – they might break shortly (Intake valves are all good). Also, he recommended that I replace the compression rings. I guess I’ll end up doing a full engine rebuild, after all.
BTW, the car shop recommended I replace the gear box (it’s whistling all the time – at idle and while going, gets quiet only when I depress the clutch pedal). It looks that I’ll be repairing across the entire powertrain, after all.

[dreamer2355]

Great job in your diagnosis so far! This was a great read!_x000D_
_x000D_
Keep us posted!

[AdrianS]

I’m glad you found it great to read. My girlfriend wasn’t at all too happy about this taking so long instead of just fixing it.

Me, on the other hand, tried to fix it with my own hands and be proud. Unfortunately, the problems were too serious for that to happen. I learned a lot while trying to repair it, and I enjoyed it.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Good to have a happy ending to the story, after all that you’ll have a new vehicle.

[Wyatt Talley]

Hi guys,

New events since last post:
My engine was fixed. It now runs smoothly, and DTC P0304 never showed up again. I didn’t have any problems with the coolant – before the engine overheated and the coolant got into expansion vessel. Not any more.

That’s for the good news. The bad news is the jolts didn’t stop. If anything, they got worse. I called the service where engine was assembled (I was in vacation, away from home city) and hearing this, the guy suggested that the ignition system cannot deliver enough power, especially now that the engine with freshly fixed valves require more power. He suggested I start with replacing the spark plugs, and if needed the high tension cords.

A friend suggested that I should also take out the crankshaft position and camshaft position sensors and give them a good clean – perhaps the ECU doesn’t get all the information it needs as often as it needs.

Does anyone else have some suggestions?

Thanks,
AdrianS
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Well I just wanted to take a second to say that you should be proud of the fact that you were able to figure out that valve issue. I know “mechanics” that would have just replaced the motor because they don’t want to take the time to figure the real issues out..

It sucks that the problem is still there but this kind of thing happens from time to time. When I started reading your question I was originally thinking that you had a bad coil on that cylinder because the problem got worse when it gets hotter. This is a typical symptom of a failing coil and this could still be the issue if the symptoms are still the same. I would begin with checking the compression again just to be sure that everything is all good internally because there could possibly be a hairline crack in something that got missed in the process of fixing it last time. Hopefully it’s all good but it is always better to be sure. Next I would change the spark plugs out again and use a good set of plugs that are either the same as stock or better and check the coil on that cylinder with an ohm meter to make sure it is good. If you have another coil you could just replace it and see if it helps because a bad coil will test good sometimes until it gets hot and then start testing bad. I would also look closely at the signal wires to the coil and the injectors for signs of wear or a break in the wire. Eric has a video on checking wires for voltage drop that could really be helpful for you if this is causing your problem. Hope this helps.
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Hi JoshMc,

Thanks for looking into this. As I was reading your advices, I felt that at this point that’s exactly right.
But let me tell you what happened yesterday: I replaced the spark plugs with NGK BKR6ES-11 (a local auto parts sold them to me a few months back). The stock plugs, as per the manual were also NGK (but NGK BKR6E-11, no S). Anyway, until yesterday, I was using some BERU Ultra 14FR-7DU plugs.

So, I went to a trip – my future mother-in-law needed to go some place, and I had refused a couple of times. Now, I offered to give her a ride – a round trip of 120 km/80 mi total (60km/40mi one way), 95% on freeway. Well, guess what: with the new spark plugs problems got even worse. Even though I was driving 60km/h (~37mph), I still got the jolts (before replacing plugs doing 60km/h was safe – as per last weekend’s trip). It was really annoying, especially that I was in a hurry on my way back – had a doctor’s appointment. As jolts started, I would pull right on the emergency lane and stop engine for a minute. I discovered that I don’t have to stop the engine, but it’s recovering faster when stopped. As I was getting closer to appointment time, I didn’t stop the car any more: I would pull right, just turn off engine while continuing moving on the emergency lane, wait for a while, then restart. This worked – even 10 seconds of engine shut down allowed it to restart and work smoothly… for a while.

In the evening I researched the symptoms on the Internet: I said, well, my engine is now mechanically sound (fingers crossed), cooling system works fine (new coolant, checked pump, radiator unplugged in April, new thermostat – as I wrote in the initial post), I have new plugs, what the heck is going on? I researched for bad high tension cord symptoms, but as I read more, it looks like it might be a coil – or coils (I’ve got two of them, COP setup).
As I understand, the cords make problems during cold weather and at idle, whereas my problems only happened when the engine has been working hard(er) for a while. So yeah, your post about coils felt just right.

So… I’ll go and replace the high tension cords because who knows how old they are and how much longer can they last. I didn’t replace them, bought the car in 2010, manufactured in 2001. It wouldn’t hurt . I spotted some NGK high tension cords at a local parts shop.
I”ll see about the coils. They are more expensive, but most likely they are to blame. My car isn’t really usable in this state, unless I want to drive as slow as a horse wagon (more or less).

Tomorrow, I’m going to Germany as a tourist for a week (not with the car). I might buy the parts there, they might be cheaper.

I’ll check the other items you suggested, JoshMc. I’ll keep the thread updated.

Thanks,
AdrianS

[EricTheCarGuy]

Your description does sound like an ignition system problem so you may be on the right track by replacing those leads. Keep us posted on your progress.

[AdrianS]

Hello,

Well, I first replaced the leads, but unfortunately nothing changed, perhaps a little bit for the worse. I suspected this.

Then, I ordered and replaced the ignition coils (both of them). Even though this time I was sure I nailed the problem, still, the car still behaves the same. Well, maybe a little better, but this might be because outside the weather is getting cooler (I noticed this in the past spring – cooler weather means less engine problems).

Therefore, I now believe that this is a problem with some electric parts, somehow influenced by temperature. Of course, I might be wrong…

I was told to check these:
– fuel pressure regulator, and replaced fuel filter and/or fuel pump if low pressure is observed under load
– signal wires to the coil and the injectors for signs of wear or a break in the wire.
– some wire(s) to the ECU might have corroded contacts and behave erratically
– on some Suzuki forums it appears that this problem is not uncommon for Suzuki Jimny (http://www.suzuki4u.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=19416 and http://www.suzuki4u.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=17805). It was suggested that this likely is the cam position sensor (or, less likely, crankshaft position sensor).

I’ll keep the thread informed. Of course, if anyone has some other suggestion, please step in.

Thanks, Adrian

[EricTheCarGuy]

Before you get ‘complicated’ try checking for spark on the suspected cylinders. It may just be that one of the coil packs is bad.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Before you get ‘complicated’ try checking for spark on the suspected cylinders. It may just be that one of the coil packs is bad.

[AdrianS]

Hi everybody,

I didn’t write for a long time in this thread, because I did nothing to the car. Because of the winter, I drove it much less often.

Last week I bought genuine Suzuki sensors: crankshaft position (angle) sensor) and camshaft position (angle) sensor. Genuine Suzuki parts are expensive…

First I replaced the upper one (camshaft), unfortunately, it didn’t help a bit with my problem.
Two days later I changed the lower one, at the crankshaft. Because of the awkward position, and some stuck nuts at the alternator, that was more work.
This time the car ran flawlessly on the freeway and on steep slopes.
I’m glad that car is now finally fixed. I can now drive the car again without worrying about having to pull right to let the engine cool.

Thanks,
Adrian

P.S. This thread can be marked as resolved, closed or however is named.

[AdrianS]

Hi everybody,

I didn’t write for a long time in this thread, because I did nothing to the car. Because of the winter, I drove it much less often.

Last week I bought genuine Suzuki sensors: crankshaft position (angle) sensor) and camshaft position (angle) sensor. Genuine Suzuki parts are expensive…

First I replaced the upper one (camshaft), unfortunately, it didn’t help a bit with my problem.
Two days later I changed the lower one, at the crankshaft. Because of the awkward position, and some stuck nuts at the alternator, that was more work.
This time the car ran flawlessly on the freeway and on steep slopes.
I’m glad that car is now finally fixed. I can now drive the car again without worrying about having to pull right to let the engine cool.

Thanks,
Adrian

P.S. This thread can be marked as resolved, closed or however is named.

[college man]

Glad you got the issue resolved. Long road.
Thanks for the update and the fix. 😉

[college man]

Glad you got the issue resolved. Long road.
Thanks for the update and the fix. 😉

[Author]

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