Black TL

Hi All,

I got sick of my engine running so rough and I read a thread on this site about someone cleaning out their manifold and afterwords, their engine ran a lot smoother. Therefore, I decided I would give it a try on my 99 TL.

First, I removed the engine cover, battery cover, and intake. Next, I unbolted the 6 or so screws to loosen the manifold and a few more bolts to disconnect the hoses that ran into it. I then unbolted the throttle (whole piece not the cables) so I could completely remove the manifold. Everything went smoothly.

When I removed the manifold, I saw that it was pretty filthy inside. One small hole (about 1/2" diameter) was almost completely clogged with some crusty stuff. I even had trouble inserting the carb cleaner needle (which had a needle about 1/8" in diameter).

Once I cleaned everything out, I replaced the rear left spark plug because I didn't do it when I replaced the other 5 a couple of months ago because I couldn't get the darn thing out!

When I put everything back together (which seemed pretty straight forward), I started the car up and I now have a couple of problems:

(1) For some reason, my power steering is making noises. When I turn the wheel, I hear a whining noise. This noice is very noticable and if I give the car some gas, it gets louder.

(2) I hear some sort of knocking coming from my dashboard. I was thinking that this knocking could be coming from the rear left spark plug I replaced. This sound is also very noticable and varies with engine RPMs.

None of the above two issues occured before I messed with the car so I'm pretty certain I screwed something up.

I would appreciate if anyone could provide some input as to what I might try to correct these problems or what I should check . I will out of the country for 6 weeks starting Jan 21st and I was thinking of just taking my car to the dealer when I return. I know they'll probably rape me on the bill but I don't think I have a choice now.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Rosh

P.S. The engine is a LOT smoother after I cleaned it (minus the above two problems of course). I would definately recommend trying this if you feel like your engine is getting a little rough. Just make sure you know what you are doing (unlike me!).

fsttyms1

well as for the steering making noises that has no relation to any thing you did. the only thing i can think of is you have a vacum leak?

if its alot smother i dont think it has any thing to do with the plug you replaced.
you may want to narrow down where and what are making the noises for more help to be given

TeknoKing

which DIY did you follow?

Black TL

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe I forgot to plug a hose back in or something. I'm going to check this weekend now that I have time.

I'll update everyone when I look into it.

fsttyms1

cool. let us know

fast-tl

Well, what was the fix? Surely your ride hasn't been in this shape for 4 months?