Theirons84

I have not checked compression but will do that. But doesn't the fact that my rotor is pointed at the #4 cylinder mean something is definitely off? I don't see how that isn't a good indicator.

an1176

Also if your rotor is pointed at 4 you're off 180 degrees. Turn the engine by hand another rotation till it comes back to 0 on crank pulley and see where your rotor is pointing. If you're off a tooth it'll still look like you're pointing at #1.

an1176

Again turn the engine another full revolution. Rotor will point at #1. You have to pull valve cover and look at your cam gear like the picture to see if you're off a tooth.

Theirons84

Rotor is pointed at #4, 180 degrees opposite the picture posted above (which is at #1).

It has run like crap like this for a few days. I actually drove it to work yesterday, 50 mile round trip. It has about 90% of the power that it did have.

an1176

Turn the engine another 180 degrees till your rotor points to 1 like the picture. When you set your crank pulley at 0 it'll point at 4 once the next time at 1. Does that make sense?

Theirons84

Oh ok I understand. Well I would go back out there and do this but it just came a monsoon thunderstorm. So at the least I will be pulling the valve cover to see if the gear on the cam?

Also, another thing I was thinking..if it is out of time, compression should not check right? I mean if I have valves opening at the wrong time there is no way it will seal..at least that's what I'm thinking.

And another thing, I know a common symptom related to blown head gaskets is running hot. Unless my temp gauge is wrong, it has never run hot. It is actually uncharacteristicly cool. The needle barely ever comes off of the Cool line. It might warm up a tad, but not much. No more than a 1/8" past the line.

Theirons84

Can the valve cover be removed without draining the oil? I'm going to go outside and rotate the crankshaft another 180 degrees and see if the rotorngoes back to cylinder 1, and then I'm going to pull the valve cover to check that timing gear alignment mark.

Theirons84

Good news. I got the valve cover off and everything is exactly like pictured. First I rotated the crank another revolution back to zero, and then checked the rotor and confirmed it at the #1 cylinder. It was 180 degrees opposite just like you all said it would be.

I then popped the valve cover and the the timing mark was where it is in the above pictures. I then rotated the crank and watched for valve train movement. Everything is working.

So then I checked compression. Everything is good. I had around 150 psi in all cylinders with no leak down.

So now..I guess we turn to the other possibilities. I'm thinking either a stuck injector or a exhaust leak..just not sure. All pluga which are new are solid with no cracks and don't appear to be broken.

Remember, this truck sat for about five years. I had to clean a bunch of rust out of the tank and put in a new fuel pump. I'm sure I didn't get 100% of the rust and other junk out and i'm sure there was some stuff in the lines. I bet I have a clogged injector.

I had not replaced the fuel filter yet because I was hoping most of this residual stuff would blow through for a bit, and then I could replace it.

Theirons84

Just discovered that I have what I think is raw oil in the #3 intake runner. I can't tell for sure if that's what it is but it has the cinsistency of oil. It smells like gas so I can't tell if I get a hint of oil in there. Either way, obviously something isn't right.

Theirons84

I have gotten everything rebuilt. I cleaned and tested all the injectors and installed new seals when I put them back in. I also got a new fuel filter installed. The plenum and throttle body assembly is all mounted back up, and I'm pretty sure I have all my vacuum lines and hoses back in the right place. There are a few I'm not sure about.

After reading about the oil in the intake runner, the best explanation that I am finding is a vacuum leak. That would explain the truck running terribly but I am not sure where the leak is. Another symptom the truck was having was very touchy brakes once it started to run bad. I don't know if the booster was losing vacuum because of the truck running bad, or if the same vacuum leak in the motor was causing the low vacuum in the booster. Either way, that is something that I didn't even realize is obviously related.

I see that the PCV valve could be causing all of this. Is that a possibility?

After putting everything back together, I have one metal hose coming from the passenger frame rail up the firewall. I swear it had some sort of rubber hose on it, but I can't seem to find any hose that should attach to it. I am hoping that if I attach a picture maybe someone will recognize it and can tell me what should go on it.

Here it is - my finger is pointing at it.

Flash319

I have heard of the brake booster leaking, never seen it myself. Try plugging the vacuum line that goes to the booster and see if your idle smooths out. I believe the tube is a part of the evap system and goes to the fuel tank. Follow it and see where it goes.

Theirons84

The hose I was questioning was the fuel return line. Glad I found that.

The truck is running again and it has more power, but it is still doing the same thing it was. A bad clicking sound coming from the valve train (at least that's where it sounds like it is coming from) and the same rough running.

It does seem to have smoothed out a little, but there is still an issue.

I ordered a pcv valve for it and it should be in tomorrow. Aside from this, I don;t know what else to do other than start checking and replacing all the sensors and emissions controls stuff.

Also, now the brake booster vacuum issue is not there anymore. Brakes seem to be working normal. Maybe what I was experiencing was because the truck was running so rough it might not have been producing adequate vacuum to make the brake booster work correctly. So now it is like it might be, but the truck is still running pretty rough.

Theirons84

Here is a video I found - mine is doing the exact same.

Flash319

One cylinder is having a hard time. That banging just sounds like pre detonation/piston banging from bad ignition. I think you are going to have to track down what cylinder has the problem. Pull the rad cap off and run the engine and see if you are getting bubbles, head gasket issue. Seams to run good when reved up which sort of eliminates most of the controls/sensors except maybe a bad injector. Although these engine will idle very good missing a cylinder normaly, like if you pull a spark plug. They dont bang and carry on like yours though.

Theirons84

I wish I had a temp gun because I could isolate which cylinder was running cooler if that's what the issue is. I'm still curious of the throttle position sensor. I don't know how to test it. If it is a head gasket issue it definitely is not showing with a compression test.

I just wish I could find whatever issue this is. I need this truck for the fuel economy and it is doing me no good sitting in the yard.

Flash319

If you put new plugs in then just let it sit there and idle for a while i think you would see a difference in the color. If you do a leakdown test you will see the head gasket leak, not so easy with a comp test. I made a tester for leakdown out of an old spark plug. Broke off the porcelin and welded on a air tool quick disconnect. Then i get each cylinder to tdc on compression and pump some air in through the sparkplug hole. Then listen and look in the coolent for air. Your tps does nothing at idle as long as the switch on the bottom pins is closed. It is in idle mode and ignores the variable resistance of the tps.

Theirons84

I did open the radiator whike the truck was runnng and looked for air bubbles. It looks like smooth coolant. Nothing bad.

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

my take after reading through all the posts: you've got a leaking or poor injector. that would account for the rough idle yet smoother high rpm operation. it may also be occasionally not firing.

you can use a screwdriver touching each injector for a stethoscope and hear it firing. if you find one not clicking, or weakly clicking, you may have found the culprit. if it is the injector wiring, you can test that by switching the injector connectors around, and if the misfire migrates, you've found it. all of the injectors fire at the same time, which is why you can swap the connectors to check for bad wiring.

Theirons84

OK I will look at them today. The injectors seemed fine when I checked them out out but I know that isn't definite. All sprayed about equally the same and made the same clicking noise. I cleaned them with brake parts cleaner. To my surprise, they were all pretty clean. None of the screens had any foreign crap or anything.

Theirons84

Also to add, the clicking noise is definitely coming from on top of the engine somewhere, whether that be in the valve cover or on top of it. A closer inspection reveals more of a hissing sound like a vacuum leak, but I can't tell if it is only that I am hearing or if the truck is also making a physical ticking like valves or detonation pinging too. I briefly looked at some of the emissions controls electronics and vacuum hoses but I could not isolate it and I was in a hurry. I'll look closer today.