I hate cars.

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 03/24/2016 at 16:18 • Filed to: None

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So I was all excited to run in my first rallycross on Saturday, and now I’m almost certainly going to have to cancel. My car started stalling and idling rough a while ago, and so far I’ve replaced some thing that I forgot what it was, and now it starts up fine, but it stalls when it idles for too long. Very abruptly. It’s idling fine, then it suddenly starts to shake, and the engine goes off, all in a matter of seconds without warning. I bought a can of MAF cleaner, which I personally haven’t used yet in my ownership of the car, so it’ll definitely make a difference... but probably not enough. I want to replace the TPS and the O2 sensor as well, and those will almost certainly need to come in the mail.

Also, I got my ATF flushed in December. It’s only gotten a couple thousand miles since then, and it’s dark grey now. Also possibly a bit overfilled. So I think they just pumped in a bit of new stuff and didn’t even get rid of the old stuff. So fuck them. I’m just going to let it go bad and maybe do a manual swap when that happens.

So basically, my only hope for racing this weekend is that the MAF sensor is just really dirty and everything else is nice and perfect.

pjhusa > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:21

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What is car

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:33

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Does the idle bounce around a bit before it dies? In addition to a dirty MAF, you could have a vacuum leak or possibly a crack in the intake piping after the MAF.

crowmolly > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:35

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Could be a bunch of stuff. Dirty IAC, dirty MAF, etc.

Any codes?

Dark grey ATF is bad news.

vicali > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:38

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Is this still the escort? Did you check your MAF? The symptons from your last post about it (idling way up - then down - then up, etc, etc) happened to me when I froze up my MAF. Basically the engine can’t measure the air it is getting so it gives it more fuel, then it reads too rich so it gives it less, then more, then less..

Most cars will start in open loop - meaning they know how much gas and air it takes to start and get to idle. Then they switch to closed loop where they are reading the MAF and the o2 sensor to tell how much fuel to add. If one of those sensors is dirty or shot it will run rough or even stall out as you are describing.

Colour of ATF doesn’t mean much; if it smells burnt and your shifts are hard then you have problems - otherwise you don’t/

Master Cylinder > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:40

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Sounds like a vacuum leak or faulty sensor, most likely. What kind of car is it?

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > pjhusa 03/24/2016 at 16:42

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What is love?

Rainbow > Master Cylinder 03/24/2016 at 16:42

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‘94 Escort LX.

Rainbow > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 03/24/2016 at 16:43

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It does fluctuate a bit, but only for a matter of like two seconds before dying. It’s fine up until it suddenly goes wrong.

pjhusa > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 03/24/2016 at 16:44

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What is life

Rainbow > vicali 03/24/2016 at 16:44

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Yeah, I was just taking out the MAF when it started raining. I’ll finish getting it out and looking at it later tonight.

crowmolly > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 03/24/2016 at 16:44

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Baby don’t hurt me

crowmolly > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:45

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See if you can check your IAC too. Just on a hunch.

. . > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 03/24/2016 at 16:46

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Aaaay, macarena?

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > crowmolly 03/24/2016 at 16:48

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DONT HURT ME

Master Cylinder > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:49

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Vacuum leak is not unlikely given the age of the car. I had to replace all the vacuum hoses on my ‘87 944 before it would idle properly. Try cleaning the MAF first since it won’t cost you anything more than you’ve already spent and it can’t hurt anyway.

Not sure if your car has a separate idle control valve (sometimes called an idle air valve or idle bypass valve), but it might be flaky too. Double check to make sure all the electrical connections to your sensors, controllers, and valves are all tight and clean, too.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:50

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boooooooo

uofime-2 > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 16:54

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Screw it, you don’t have to idle to rally cross, just bring jumper cables in case you kill the battery starting it so many times and not running very long. If the car is going to die, it might as well die gloriously!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 03/24/2016 at 16:54

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Baby don’t hurt me

Rainbow > crowmolly 03/24/2016 at 17:36

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That’s the thing I replaced, actually. It’s possible that the gasket got messed up, though...

crowmolly > Rainbow 03/24/2016 at 17:38

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What about the port in the TB? If it’s caked with buildup it may be wonky.

Just guessing.

Rainbow > crowmolly 03/24/2016 at 17:40

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Not sure. I suppose it’s worth looking into that.

Rainbow > Master Cylinder 03/24/2016 at 17:41

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The IAC is the thing I replaced already.

My MAF sensor is in the garage drying right now. If this rain lets up, I’ll put it back in and take a test drive tonight. Hopefully that will solve it.

Rainbow > uofime-2 03/24/2016 at 17:46

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It’s like a 5-hour drive out there and it would cost a ton to tow it home. Plus I need a car, so I can’t afford to risk it...