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I had a VERY happy day today. I finally got around to getting a plastic bottle that I could mist water with.
I wanted to try what Eric did on the Ford Fairlane, by very slowly, pouring small amounts of water in his carburetor.
I did the “equivalent” on my fuel injected engine after it was warmed up.
Thinking about how my MAF failed after I cleaned it with MAF cleaner and let it dry for a 1/2 hour versus longer drying time the previous time . . . I decided fogging my intake before the MAF was not an option. EVAP flow also, nearly, pointed right after the MAF, so I chose the hose form my valve cover to just the throttle, removed it, and carefully, slowly misted water in.
I got a little more aggressive as it seemed to be going well, especially with a little throttle added (1/7 of my idle speed was down from the engine not getting as much blow by gasses.).
In the end I spent some minutes or maybe 15 minutes doing this, and I hadn’t moved an ounce of water down the bottle.
Prior to this, I had a leaking no. 1 fuel injector. I replaced the fuel injectors, but not all the symptoms were gone. My metal intake on cylinder no. 1 was 8 degrees Celsius hotter than the other intakes (60 degrees versus 52 degrees, honestly no. 4 tended to look a little hot on my L4 LSI engine from a 2000 Chevy Prizm). Before and after the new fuel injectors the problem remained unchanged. I believed this was caused by carbon deposits in that chamber from an injector that could have been leaking a long time.
Even if the PCM wasn’t retarding the timing to compensate for predetonation on that cylinder, the higher compression ratio would have that cylinder hotter.
After misting water in, all cylinders appeared, as close as I could measure with my infrared thermometer ran nearly identical temperatures.
I took the car for a spin and the engine was incredibly smoother! Granted, I’ve never been to a Dyno, but I feed my *Torque App all the information on my car, and in the past have verified my speedometer with GPS speedometers, so I leave GPS off now, and I went from 110 HP to 115 wheel horse power! (As far as I can tell, just getting up to legal speed on a 75 mph freeway.)
When I got back, long after any water was introduced, I checked with my laser pointed thermometer and got the same results. 🙂
* (Bluetooth android app that connects via an OBD II port)
[quote=”Chevyman21″ post=115260][quote=”ToyotaKarl” post=115259]Actually FWIW, since around 2011 Toyota has switched many of its vehicles to 0w-20….
-Karl[/quote] As a GM technician, I know GMs new truck engines also use the stuff. Its a full synthetic dexos oil and it might as well be water. Other than CAFE standards is there any reason they use the stuff? The parasitic drag on the rotating assembly can’t be that different than 5W-30.[/quote]
Mobile 1 did a big add campaign about a year ago about their zero weight oil how it belonged in everything. They acted so impressed with the mileage increases. The differences were VERY small, so small, that I ran that against my current MPG and the increased cost of the oil….guess what? The tiny bit farther that my car would go (not much) per gallon was 1/2 as good as it’s cost increase.
Paying for more…getting less.
Note: I’m an avid user of synthetic oil, feeling my car running smoother, happier, more efficient, and more powerful, so this isn’t from a guy who doesn’t appreciate fine oil.
And by the way, I like my fries, fried in Canola oil. 🙂
[quote=”Chevyman21″ post=115260][quote=”ToyotaKarl” post=115259]Actually FWIW, since around 2011 Toyota has switched many of its vehicles to 0w-20….
-Karl[/quote] As a GM technician, I know GMs new truck engines also use the stuff. Its a full synthetic dexos oil and it might as well be water. Other than CAFE standards is there any reason they use the stuff? The parasitic drag on the rotating assembly can’t be that different than 5W-30.[/quote]
Mobile 1 did a big add campaign about a year ago about their zero weight oil how it belonged in everything. They acted so impressed with the mileage increases. The differences were VERY small, so small, that I ran that against my current MPG and the increased cost of the oil….guess what? The tiny bit farther that my car would go (not much) per gallon was 1/2 as good as it’s cost increase.
Paying for more…getting less.
Note: I’m an avid user of synthetic oil, feeling my car running smoother, happier, more efficient, and more powerful, so this isn’t from a guy who doesn’t appreciate fine oil.
And by the way, I like my fries, fried in Canola oil. 🙂
I see you also asked about durability. On my Toyota I was replacing platinum plugs with Bosch or NGK and was pretty happy for years, but they needed replacing about once a year or every 12,000 miles to really run as good as I felt they should.
When I switched to iridium, whatever brand for me and many of my customers, they were instantly pleased that it didn’t just run good, the car ran “unbelievably” better as my brother said, since I can hear the results after from him more, lol.
I ran my last set of Iridium spark plugs for about 70k miles versus 12k miles. Any iridium spark plugs are pretty good that I’ve tried, but a lot of times only AutoLite is available, they just aren’t as high of a grade as NGK or Bosch, but sometimes, since it’s always available, I run them. I’ll say this, that brand starts amazing, but doesn’t last amazing like better brands.
It’s good to regap any spark plug after a few days of use, they always go out of gap. Platinum and especially copper, were famous for being worse at losing their gap.
I probably end up regapping my plugs still every 6 months. Just be sure if you have to open the gap up, to not pry against the iridium fine tip!
Also, a torque wrench on new spark plugs are a good idea. That quarter term after gently tightening a spark plug in rule only works if they’ve been installed before.
I see you also asked about durability. On my Toyota I was replacing platinum plugs with Bosch or NGK and was pretty happy for years, but they needed replacing about once a year or every 12,000 miles to really run as good as I felt they should.
When I switched to iridium, whatever brand for me and many of my customers, they were instantly pleased that it didn’t just run good, the car ran “unbelievably” better as my brother said, since I can hear the results after from him more, lol.
I ran my last set of Iridium spark plugs for about 70k miles versus 12k miles. Any iridium spark plugs are pretty good that I’ve tried, but a lot of times only AutoLite is available, they just aren’t as high of a grade as NGK or Bosch, but sometimes, since it’s always available, I run them. I’ll say this, that brand starts amazing, but doesn’t last amazing like better brands.
It’s good to regap any spark plug after a few days of use, they always go out of gap. Platinum and especially copper, were famous for being worse at losing their gap.
I probably end up regapping my plugs still every 6 months. Just be sure if you have to open the gap up, to not pry against the iridium fine tip!
Also, a torque wrench on new spark plugs are a good idea. That quarter term after gently tightening a spark plug in rule only works if they’ve been installed before.
I personally feel that Honda’s are particular on what spark plug they get, but then, my complaining customer based how the car was doing based on MPG.
Saw her driving REAllY fast. Yeah, if you want to drive very fast, then whatever efficiency or power you gained won’t show an improvement at the pump.
By my ear, I think NGK does a fine product.
As for split fired versus singular, are you sure it was originally a v-powered plug? I hear that claimed more often than it’s true.
Share what Honda your asking about. The year, the model.
I personally feel that Honda’s are particular on what spark plug they get, but then, my complaining customer based how the car was doing based on MPG.
Saw her driving REAllY fast. Yeah, if you want to drive very fast, then whatever efficiency or power you gained won’t show an improvement at the pump.
By my ear, I think NGK does a fine product.
As for split fired versus singular, are you sure it was originally a v-powered plug? I hear that claimed more often than it’s true.
Share what Honda your asking about. The year, the model.
The Moog ready mounts in the back turned out positively amazing for me. I can feel them doing better than my dad’s newer same model of car…back when it was only 3 years old.
It’s very smooth. My ride height is back so my exhaust no longer scrapes exiting the driveway. I had to turn so perfectly to avoid the scrapes. At the end, it scraped with my family in the car no matter what I did.
My catback system from 9 years ago is rusted in two places, heavily on the outside of the muffler, and where it was scraping on my driveway. Only minor rust there, but still.
I have a flow master muffler ready to try out, but while the muffler looks super rusty on the outside, it’s not leaking yet. Plus, amazingly enough, this magnaflow muffler still is super shiny on the inside. So, who knows when it’ll leak, but I’m ready. No loss if I never put it on, it’ll fit on any of my cars.
The Moog ready mounts in the back turned out positively amazing for me. I can feel them doing better than my dad’s newer same model of car…back when it was only 3 years old.
It’s very smooth. My ride height is back so my exhaust no longer scrapes exiting the driveway. I had to turn so perfectly to avoid the scrapes. At the end, it scraped with my family in the car no matter what I did.
My catback system from 9 years ago is rusted in two places, heavily on the outside of the muffler, and where it was scraping on my driveway. Only minor rust there, but still.
I have a flow master muffler ready to try out, but while the muffler looks super rusty on the outside, it’s not leaking yet. Plus, amazingly enough, this magnaflow muffler still is super shiny on the inside. So, who knows when it’ll leak, but I’m ready. No loss if I never put it on, it’ll fit on any of my cars.
[quote=”barneyb” post=79914]I was contemplating a clutch job and so I consulted a forum dedicated to the vehicle I own and the replies there said it was so much easier if you had a lift. Well, no lift in my shop. Later, on You Tube I watched a video of this very job being done by a professional mechanic and viewed him struggling with the 150+ pound transmission balanced on a small jack platform above his head. I thought that this didn’t compare very favorably with how I did it – I lowered the trans to the ground with a small chain fall hoist as I leaned over the fender in complete safety.
So, at least in my case, the lack of a lift didn’t cause any inconvenience at all. I’d actually go so far as to say that I had the superior situation to the video mechanic. Well, him having the use of a lift no doubt allowed him to work faster which is important when trying to make a profit but I’d rather sit or lean over a fender at jack stand height than work with heavy things above my head.[/quote]
I absolutely agree with you. I come from a back ground as a surgical technician. One of our surgeons told us that we should never be moving more than 30 lbs. overhead. Some college had done a study and it caused back damage. I guarantee with a lot of rusted situations that I’m safely applying 4x or more than that force from the ground while above my head would just be a head ache. I mean, a back ache. 😉
My endurance with my arms above my head is the least as well. One of my less favored jobs on my back, oil pan gaskets and transmission gaskets would only be harder from a lift. I’ve done some tire tech jobs where I changed oil occasionally and just fighting the oil plug from that angle seemed to give me less power.
And Eric? I’ve had some stuck on bolts under the car. I thought of a solution to get more power behind the bolt. Immediately afterwards I realized I was using the same motion that you or briansmobile used in a similar situation. It wasn’t just how to fix the car that helped, it was the motion of the mechanic himself. That was an awesome realization moment. All my jobs sped up after this as I imitated the motions of a practiced professionals.
I worry as I want to switch from being a DIY to being a professional. Will they think I’m odd when I want to work from the ground? Will I rightly change my mind once I get there? The adventure of life will tell. 🙂
[quote=”barneyb” post=79914]I was contemplating a clutch job and so I consulted a forum dedicated to the vehicle I own and the replies there said it was so much easier if you had a lift. Well, no lift in my shop. Later, on You Tube I watched a video of this very job being done by a professional mechanic and viewed him struggling with the 150+ pound transmission balanced on a small jack platform above his head. I thought that this didn’t compare very favorably with how I did it – I lowered the trans to the ground with a small chain fall hoist as I leaned over the fender in complete safety.
So, at least in my case, the lack of a lift didn’t cause any inconvenience at all. I’d actually go so far as to say that I had the superior situation to the video mechanic. Well, him having the use of a lift no doubt allowed him to work faster which is important when trying to make a profit but I’d rather sit or lean over a fender at jack stand height than work with heavy things above my head.[/quote]
I absolutely agree with you. I come from a back ground as a surgical technician. One of our surgeons told us that we should never be moving more than 30 lbs. overhead. Some college had done a study and it caused back damage. I guarantee with a lot of rusted situations that I’m safely applying 4x or more than that force from the ground while above my head would just be a head ache. I mean, a back ache. 😉
My endurance with my arms above my head is the least as well. One of my less favored jobs on my back, oil pan gaskets and transmission gaskets would only be harder from a lift. I’ve done some tire tech jobs where I changed oil occasionally and just fighting the oil plug from that angle seemed to give me less power.
And Eric? I’ve had some stuck on bolts under the car. I thought of a solution to get more power behind the bolt. Immediately afterwards I realized I was using the same motion that you or briansmobile used in a similar situation. It wasn’t just how to fix the car that helped, it was the motion of the mechanic himself. That was an awesome realization moment. All my jobs sped up after this as I imitated the motions of a practiced professionals.
I worry as I want to switch from being a DIY to being a professional. Will they think I’m odd when I want to work from the ground? Will I rightly change my mind once I get there? The adventure of life will tell. 🙂
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=97534]I’m with the group, I’m thinking it could be flooding. This may be the result of a coolant temp sensor that’s starting to go bad. It may not be bad enough to set a code, but it might be bad enough to mess up the fuel mix when you try and start it warm.
If you have access to a scan tool you might want to read the live data the coolant temp sensor is putting out. If it doesn’t match engine temp, meaning it shows 60º when you know the engine is warm, replace the sensor and recheck for the problem.
Also, when the engine is cold, the coolant temp and intake air temp should be the same reading. If not, this could also indicate a problem.
Good luck and keep us posted.[/quote]
Nice, next time I visit my mom. She probably having a pressure regulator problem on a 1999 Mercury Sable. Thanks Eric. I’ll check with this diagnostic concept in addition to the other ideas I was thinking of matching what is above. She also has identical symptoms with also no trouble code.
Totally worth having that live scanner again! My advice: you can get an inexpensive one on ebay but I chose one that didn’t have bad reviews.
One that worked for me, but will not work for all – they have websites where people list if it worked for theirs: Bluetooth Car Code Reader Compatible with Android / Droid / Torque
I can post a buyable link for amazon if it’s desired, but I don’t want to be too much of a salesman. Note: everywhere I looked the price doubled with shipping so they’re hiding some of the price in the shipping.If you already have a Android based phone or tablet let it’s processor do the work rather than buy a scan tool and processor.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=97534]I’m with the group, I’m thinking it could be flooding. This may be the result of a coolant temp sensor that’s starting to go bad. It may not be bad enough to set a code, but it might be bad enough to mess up the fuel mix when you try and start it warm.
If you have access to a scan tool you might want to read the live data the coolant temp sensor is putting out. If it doesn’t match engine temp, meaning it shows 60º when you know the engine is warm, replace the sensor and recheck for the problem.
Also, when the engine is cold, the coolant temp and intake air temp should be the same reading. If not, this could also indicate a problem.
Good luck and keep us posted.[/quote]
Nice, next time I visit my mom. She probably having a pressure regulator problem on a 1999 Mercury Sable. Thanks Eric. I’ll check with this diagnostic concept in addition to the other ideas I was thinking of matching what is above. She also has identical symptoms with also no trouble code.
Totally worth having that live scanner again! My advice: you can get an inexpensive one on ebay but I chose one that didn’t have bad reviews.
One that worked for me, but will not work for all – they have websites where people list if it worked for theirs: Bluetooth Car Code Reader Compatible with Android / Droid / Torque
I can post a buyable link for amazon if it’s desired, but I don’t want to be too much of a salesman. Note: everywhere I looked the price doubled with shipping so they’re hiding some of the price in the shipping.If you already have a Android based phone or tablet let it’s processor do the work rather than buy a scan tool and processor.