I changed my spark plugs to NGK Irdium IX about 3000km ago and it would start up perfectly. But now when I start up my car it seems like its struggling, it would take about 2-3 seconds to turn over to start up my car. And once it starts the idle would be rough but I'm going to be cleaning up the EGR Port soon once I find time to do it. Any suggestion what the problem would be with the hard start? I've took them out and retorque them but the problem still there

 

re-check the gap on the spark plugs. check wires.

 

if they all looked good and the electrode appeared level in relation to the plug,
egr clogged is your most likely suspect--it makes it slower to start

have you seafoam'd the gas yet and cleaned the TB air plate? (do the TB with egr job plus clean IACV inside TB)

 

this is a good time of year to inspect the battery terminals and clean them, (make sure to have radio security code)
then get the charging system and battery/alt performance tested
usa at parts stores for free- Canada-- I dont know
Batteries take a beating with extra use in winter
If yours is more than 3 years old its really suspect!

my 01 is doing similar thing, 5 year old costco battery tested at only 330 cranking amps,,about 60% of what the battery is supposed to have!
Starts much better with a fresh batt and need to do my egr service too

 

Ive seafoamed both gas and the vac line but haven't cleaned the TB air plate. Where would i find the TB Air plate and how would I clean it?

 

Remove the rubber tube that goes from air filter box to TB inlet

inside the TB opening/throat is a round plate the diameter of the opening
its got a hinge pin that goes thru it,,deep creep lubes that hinge!
PCV system shoots crud at it all the time, right into that rubber tube!

carb cleaner or TB cleaner or deep creep/seafoam aerosol
Spray on- wipe up runoff, use right hand to open throttle at spring assembly
left hand use can to spray back and edges of plate with plate in the horizontal position
(if you have a buddy, they can hold the gas pedal down to open the plate)
If its really bad,, use an old toothbrush to scrub

you want the edges clean and the rest as good as possible
Its going to get covered again,,do what you can

again, wipe up runoff cleaner and crud,
expect the engine to run funny- like you have seafoam in it- at startup--there will be residue of whatever you sprayed in,, that goes thru the system
its all combustible so thats no sweat, clears right up

Make sure the hose clamps are back on tight and the various lines back in their clips and into the tube

when you do the egr system cleaning of intake manifold, there is another part on the bottem of the TB to clean,,the IACV idle air control

 

just read the start of this thread again--you plan to do egr so its all together--ck the diys here and probably youtube,,pretty basic job with a few hidden hoses on back corners

lube the throttle cables while its apart

 

run a 2nd can of seafoam with half tank of gas to really scrub the injectors and fuel system

 

Alert- Saw Seafoam SPRAY @ Meijer yesterday (not deep creep).

 

Should have taken pics.

Either way, Deep Creep is just an aerosol version of SeaFoam. Same stuff.

 

deep creep is seafoam -100%

the new seafoam spray is for cars with certain type of TB and intake
that are more sensative to oils
Its a different formula www.seafoamsales.com

We can use DC since it retains the needed lube for the TB air plate hinge

 

thanks for all the input 01tl4tl, but how exactly do i lube the throttle cable ? what would i need to buy and put on it ? Also i have another question about my fuel gauge. Whenever i start up the car it start up 2-2 1/2 bars lower than it would and slowly it would go up to its actually fuel amount

 

Like said above, your battery could be on its way out. The two symtoms you have are the characteristic of poor battery, or could be alternator, or loose cables.

 

Just FWIW

Hot weather is what kills batteries. They lose a lot of their cranking capacity when it is hot out.

Most owners don't notice the reduced starting power until it gets cold out (the following winter).

So, if possible, keep the cells filled to the bottom of the vent tubes with distilled water. (Does not apply to spiral-cell such as Optima or Oddessy brand batteries)
Don't overfill, however, you DON'T want battery acid overflowing and eating up your paint.

 

agree summer heat is the BIG enemy of the car battery
AND
all the cold weather/winter use we just went thru- where you are running headlights, seat heaters, cabin fan on high, tunes,,etc...thats a huge amp load coming out of the battery.. and being replaced with fresh power from the alternator
That heavy useage can ~burn up~ some of the fluid inside the batt, so cking the cells is a regular mait item... on batteries with removable caps--
the rest of us can only wait the 3-4 years till it dies and replace~

got 5 years from costco batt till it had 335cca,,not very good test result!
new batt makes a lot of systems seem happier

 

did a 3x3 atf drain and fill then after work to clean the TB and EGR Valve. I cleaned it for a good hour and when I put everything back together I torqued the nut to hard breaking off the engine stud nut. Now I'm waiting for tomorrow morning to head to the dealership to get the screw, was hoping to test out the car after all my work but i guess not

 

Holy dude! Thats why we have Torque-Meters....
""You dont go to war without guns""

 

I was pretty sure the ONE instruction we harp about---
is 16 foot pounds measured torque on the manifold bolts

calibrate the tool before trusting the numbers on it
see how tight the bolts are before removal

 

i know so stupid of me not having one but i went out right after and got one. I got the screws and everything put everything back its running great but one problem a CEL came up and i dont know what to do with it planning to bring it to a shop later but any suggestions?

 

you may have installed the topmost cover gasket `flipped upside-down`
it will fit,,, and look right- but blocks a port on the top section
possible CEL and rough running result

have to remove cover, align gasket with top cover, not the engine side,
to clear CEL ,pull the CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash

 

have to recheck the bolt torque--they will loosen slightly in 500 miles or sooner
Makes car run funny

 

just came home from work and went into my car to start it up and magically CEL didnt come on. But i probally installed the gasket upside down im going to take it off and realign everything like you said then reset the ECU. Thanks for all your help !

 

if the cel stays off and it runs good--then its together correctly-
but
it never hurts to go back and retorque the manifold bolts and ck the gasket

 

damn i thought everythig was fine but now the CEL came back on with the TCS coming on and off every 20mintues iuno whats going on and what could be the problem

 

get the codes read at parts store for free and report back
remember codes are clues,,, not diagnosis= so dont freak out at what they may say~

Lets go back in the story to the first post-- has correct new ngk plugs and seafoamed,
excellent starting point!

said you spent `1 hour on egr`--did you do the full egr passage thru the manifold passage, and each port for it?
intake manifold removed from car and placed on workbench or solvent tank?
~3 cans carb cleaner and wire coat hanger or welding rod type poker to get softened crud OUT of the manifold?

and flipped the TB over to access the IACV and clean (which I suspect now)

Plus you need to remove the egr valve to clean the ports under it, and lube its operating arm so it closes off exhaust gas from entering combustion system
Should be closed/off at idle and full throttle

 

has the electrical charging/battery system been tested as we suggested before--
need to know its got good power before digging around every system

Dont take it to a shop after you worked on it!! they charge triple for that!
acurazine is here to help you- we need to know exactly what you did to the car--your egr cleaning vs the diy procedure for example

 

i dont know how to test the battery/charges something i shouldve done before i got to work. only thing different that i did wqs left the TB on because it wouldnt come off, so i am suspected it probally has to do with one of the sensors on te TB. EGR Valve whats this ? I believe i didnt clean this out

 

parts stores will ck the battery and charging system for free- just stop by on the way home

to clarify: did you remove the intake manifold from the engine???,,but could not get the TB /throttle body unit off the manifold?
so how did you clean and rinse out the crud?
All the sensors must be removed before using any cleaner, or water to rinse out

the EGR valve is at the `front` end of the engine -on the intake manifold, the 2 holes under it are part of the system that gets clogged and needs rod poked thru to clear.

Have you looked at the diy??? or please detail what you really did,,not what name you think the job goes by
Doing half a job cleaning the egr = will result in more codes than cleaning~
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/new-official-2nd-gen-tl-diy-thread-706083/

Flipping the TB around as its attached to manifold can result in crud inside getting loose or jostled and plugs up something
Suspect the IACV on bottem of TB needs cleaning

 

Chemical reactions (battery cell) = half reaction rate for 10*C temperature change = winter: slow reaction, less power available.

Heat - evaporates cell electrolyte (water plus type of acid), deteriorates cell wafer material => battery internally starts to fall apart (come winter, it "dies" with the cold temp killing the reaction rate).

 

it was due to gasket being upside down an blocking the intake valve and couple of nuts not torqued enough. I flipped gasket to the right side and torqued everything again and now car runs without CEL or TCS light. But my car still seems to be still hard starting so i believe this would either be a battery or alternator problem ?

 

Batt. voltage w/ eng. off, no loads-?

 

glad it was just the ol flipped gasket trick~ you're not the first one to do it!!

reset the ecu by removing CLOCK fuse a minute- to clear all the codes and memory

now back to my queston on your cleaning procedure--want to be sure you really got all the important parts, or egr job is not complete

Parts stores test batt and charging systems for FREE!!!!
make sure the cables are clean and if able to remove the cell caps, ck fluid level in battery
with non-servicable being the majority of batteries sold, they boil out the fluid and self destruct every few years..what a sales racket!!

 

been to busy to reply back but i got it tested at my friend's shop and it was suppose to be long gone awhile back. I got it replaced with a new one and everything running good. thanks everyone for all your help with my problem

 

having similar problem with my 99tl...gonna try changing the cables to see if this solves the problem..every now and then engine just turns over and over, have to try about 3-4 times before actually getting it to fire up.