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Need some advice

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Offline brentd27

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Need some advice
« on: June 10, 2007, 03:38:58 PM »
My dad has a 1995 Suzuki sidekick, stock engine (1.6L 8-Valve), manual transmission.  Over the last couple of months it seems like it has lost a majority of it's power taking off from a complete stop.  The engine seems to run a little rough at idle.  Kinda twitches back and forth while it's idling, and there is a faint gas smell to the exhaust.  We changed the plugs, changed the plug wires, checked the plug gaps, distributor, rotor, etc.  It seems to be a little better, but still not perfect.  We're planning on changing the PCV valve, O2 sensor, and the fuel filter, but was wondering if there is anything else we need to check.
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Offline nevadasmith

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2007, 03:55:05 PM »
O2 censor is a good place to start, but I would also check the cat. and adjust the valves!
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Offline brentd27

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2007, 05:19:32 PM »
Should probably mention that the cat has been cored in an attempt to see if that was the problem.  It was definitely clogged.

What is involved in adjusting the valves?

Also, should probably mention that the exhaust header is cracked in two places.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2007, 05:27:07 PM by brentd27 »
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Offline Mikerpm4x4

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2007, 07:13:46 PM »
Do a compession check. Id bet that it has a burned exhaust valve.

Mike
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Offline nevadasmith

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2007, 08:10:26 PM »
The haynes manual has good procedures for both adjusting the valves and doing a compresion test it cost ya 20bucks but it's value is priceless for repairs and maintance!

Even if you do a compression test and a cylinder shows up weak you might check the valve adjust ment, sometimes a valve/valve seat will wear faster thant the stem causing a leak like a burnt valve, and an adjustment will get you by for a long time with out having the head re built!

is your Check engine light on? is it working? If the check engine light isn't on but  comes on for a few seconds when you start it up, odds are o2 censor is fine!
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Offline brentd27

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2007, 09:14:20 PM »
Check engine light has been on since they bought the sidekick.  I haven't ever had a chance to go through the code reading procedure where you jumper the connector under the hood and watch the blinks.
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Offline Rhinoman

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2007, 04:53:27 AM »
Quote from: brentd27 on June 10, 2007, 05:19:32 PM
Also, should probably mention that the exhaust header is cracked in two places.

The O2 sensor will not work properly if there is any kind of leak around the header. You should replace the header it isn't going to run right until you do.
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Offline brentd27

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #7 on: September 22, 2007, 07:11:34 PM »
Reviving this old thread...  We've checked several things, replaced the plugs, wires, O2 sensor, distributor and rotor and it still has some hesitation in the high gears, and will "Cough" and "sputter" every now and then, but the rest of the time it seems to run OK.  The high gear thing, to me, sounds like the engine is getting bogged down by a heavy load.

I did a compression test and all 4 cylinders read the same (150 on my gauge.  I forget what the units are right now)

Replaced the timing belt this afternoon and the timing looked OK.  Don't quite have all the parts back on yet, so we haven't been able to start it up yet to see if it made any difference  One question though...  When you align the upper and lower timing cogs, which plug wire should the distributor be pointing to?  This one points to the plug wire for cylinder 4.
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Offline museboy07

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2007, 06:54:39 AM »
I think when I did my compression test the minimum compression each cylinder should have was around 175...to me it just sounds like the engine is getting old.  A rebuild would put some life back into it.  If you don't mind the loss of power just run it as it is....but it will only get worse over time...especially if its burning alot of oil
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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #9 on: September 23, 2007, 07:44:47 AM »
If it's a "all of a sudden" problem, maybe you got bad gas or have water in it.Maybe try some dry gas.
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Offline Rhinoman

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2007, 08:52:44 AM »
Have you replaced the header yet?
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OBD1 - Full diagnostics on a PC/Laptop: http://www.rhinopower.org
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Offline stosh22

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2007, 09:34:18 AM »
I had an issue with my air intake plugging up.  I cut the intake hose when I did my body lift and had it duct taped together and on a hot day the duct tape released a bit and limited the airflow.  It lost power when accelerating.
I had another issue on my van that did the same thing except it turned out to be the MAF (mass air flow) sensor that got dirty when I was using a K & N Filter.  The thing sputtered and kicked at high speed.  The 1992 1.6l 8v did not have a MAF but I think some models may have because I found a part number for it (http://www.autopart.com/mafs/MAFS1995SUZUKISIDEKICK.htm).  I was able to clean the one on the van with some electrical cleaner and a tiny brush.
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1992 Suzuki Sidekick 2dr 1.6l 8v, 3" Body Lift, 2.5" RRO Lift, 31 x 10.50 Pro Comp Mud Terrains mounted on 15 x 7 3" bs rims from RRO.  Thorley Header, K & N Filter.  Lifted Gas tank.
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Offline brentd27

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #12 on: September 23, 2007, 11:42:46 AM »
After removing the heat shield the header appears to be solid.  The cracks I was seeing were only cracks in the surface material

Yes, it was an all of a sudden thing, but it has been through several tanks of gas since then and the problem is still there. 

It has never done the missing out or backfiring when I've been riding in it, and the "hesitation" that my dad describes only seems to happen when the car is in fifth gear and going up an incline.  It's a standard transmission and due to some problems with my knee joints I can't manage the constant strain of driving a standard, so I haven't been able to test drive it myself and really put it through the paces.

One other thing I should probably mention is that there is a grinding sound shifting into either second or third gear (Can't remember which off the top of my head) and the drain plug on the transmission has had the square 3/8" drive insert stripped out to the point that we haven't been able to remove it for a long time. so there could be some issues there as well.

We put a Spectre cone filter on it first thing after the problems started thinking maybe the air flow was a problem.  That was right after coring the cat didn't solve the problem.

The engine doesn't seem to be burning that much oil, and only has some minor seal leaks.  It was getting great gas mileage before this happened too, around 29 MPG with the top up, windows down and AC off.  Now it's dropped back to about 13-14 MPG.

At this point, I'm suspecting either the MAF or the ECU. Is this a correct line of thinking or could it be purely transmission related?

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Offline museboy07

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #13 on: September 23, 2007, 12:10:52 PM »
The 8 valves don't have an MAF.  They started those in 1995 with the 16 valves
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Offline brentd27

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Re: Need some advice
« Reply #14 on: September 23, 2007, 03:10:21 PM »
Well, just got back from a test ride and according to my dad it's like driving a whole different car now, so I guess the timing did do some good.  Only one minor issue left...

This shows up mostly in low gears, but when you have the throttle at a set position the car will sort of act like it doesn't have any power for a few seconds then it picks up and and you can hear the RPMs increase and there is power to spare.  This seems most prominent at low RPMs just after taking off in first or trying to gain speed just shifting in to second.

Does that sound like a TPS sensor?
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