jayn1321

Alright, so I have been slacking on taking care of some problems that have recently come up.

Firstly, on a cold start-up, usually in the morning, I will put my TL into reverse and it will start to knock for about 5 seconds, then stop. I'm not sure if it goes away when its warmer since its not quite warmer here in DC yet. Any ideas?

Secondly, on a warm start-up, usually after I have driven 20 or so miles, my TL will have trouble starting. It will turn over just fine, but will not catch sometimes. I have to give it some gas in order for it to catch, and then keep applying the gas for it not to stall out or stutter heavily. The TCS light will come on when this happens, then go away. Any ideas?

Its a 00' TL with 184k on her. The tranny was replaced under the recall a while back.

I appreciate the help!

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Fillin' up 91-93 octane?

jayn1321

Nope, straight 87 all along

01tl4tl

thats a part of your problem--the TL requires 91 or higher--93/94 if thats what is sold as premium in your town,,it really matters

to remove built up crud from 87:
Add 1 can seafoam to just under half tank gas and run down, refill with 91, when down to half tank add another 1 can seafoam
thats just cleaned everything inside the engine--same as shops charge 100 bucks for

Will also need to manually clean the TB air plate, inside its throat--remove tube from air filter to engine and its right there

Could have dirt/carbon builup in the IACV idle air control valve

184!!!! congrats and--when were the spark plugs last replaced, you used the 8 dollar each NGK?
cleaned the EGR port system??--it clogs up with carbon every ~75kmiles- must remove intake manifold from engine and clean on workbench,
requires 3 cans carb cleaner and a wire rod to soften and poke free

what oil do you use? weight? change every 7500 miles?
I would suspect oil pressure issue for a knock at start
You might try this:
install a new oil filter- any cheap brand will do - add 1/2 can (8 oz) of Seafoam to oil and drive 30 minutes,, to 200 miles, to loosen crud and clean all the oil paths
Change oil and install a new good brand filter
Note:
You use a new filter to start so its got capacity to catch whats going to come loose!!
A filter near capacity/oil change due, MAY get overloaded and go into bypass mode- sealing itself off from the oil system!

that procedure should restore normal oil pressure and hopefilly get rid of knock

Might also be valve noise,,they are past due for adjustment and clatter when cold as they wait for oil pressure to reach them
Adjust them every 100-120kmiles, listen with mechanics stethascope to know if thats your problem

has valve adjust been done?,, along with the timing belt water pump job,, back around 105kmiles?

01tl4tl

tcs light should have thrown a code- see parts store for free code reading

did you really get a trans under the recall??- they found the heat damage to 2nd gear shaft and replaced the entire trans?--you can tell by the bolt heads being painted blue on trans = warranty unit

or they installed the oil jet kit on top of trans/ in the atf filler hole, from recall issued in 2004 and sent you down the road?

jayn1321

I guess I will try switching to 91 for a while and do as you noted above. I have always heard conflicting views on whether 91+ should be used or 87 can be used safely.

I plan on cleaning the TB air plate and EGR this weekend, it has been a while since it has been done. I have had the carb cleaner sitting around too to clean the EGR, I just never got around to it.

I have been using 5W-30 pretty much all along. Water pump, timing belt and plugs (NGK) all done around 110k. No valve adjustment though, that could be part of the problem.

As for the transmission...I had to look into it as the car was previously my parents. The tranny was replaced with a used one around 125k, which was then taken and retrofitted with the oil injector for the 2004 recall.

Lastly, I took it over to Autozone today because the CEL and TCS light came on and stayed on. Normally this will only happen when it gets very difficult to start and stutters badly. Oddly enough, it usually is the worst during the spring and fall (temperature change or winterized gas?). Anyway, it showed misfires at all 6 valves...most likely meaning a bad ignition coil. I really didn't think this could be the problem all along because it was so intermittent, plus I have already changed one coil out (that was easier to diagnose because my TL would shake above 50 and have trouble accelerating). But I will get one this weekend and see if I can get a clean startup by changing out one by one.

And yes...184k, rising quickly. I am a bit worried for it though as I drive around DC jobsite to jobsite, putting a lot of city miles on it. DC roads are pretty unforgiving too; the suspension is definitely getting a workout on a daily basis.

Thanks for the help though, I appreciate it!

01tl4tl

O how the story begins to clear in its description~
a dieing coil will give you fits
there are a few ways to test without doing one by one, include remove power lead and ck for rpm change

remember to reset the ecu after each move --pull `clock` fuse 1 minute

and its very much ready for a valve adjustment

jayn1321

Okay, so I am guessing the RPM will change when I pull the power leads if the coil is good, but if I pull the bad, nothing will happen? Will this be noticeable if the coil isn't completely shot?

Yeah, its odd how it hasn't thrown the code all along...but I guess it has gotten to a point where the coil is nearly shot and started throwing it.

jayn1321

Oh, and do you recommend any coil in particular? I have always had problems with Autozone and Advance parts. The coil I replaced is from Advance, but I needed that asap because my TL was nearly undriveable. I'd like to change it out this weekend, but I'd rather not buy another from these stores if I can hold out for a few days and maybe order it online?

Thanks,

phee

iTrader: (5)

this is the issue. people say using 87 wont cause any issues but they never test it in the long run.

these issues arise in engines that dont run premium. running premium "for a while until it clears up" isnt going to help if you go right back to regular afterwards..

01tl4tl

87 and problems = seafoam and 91 to cure

BECK brand iirc makes the coils for many parts stores- its close in price to dealer,,under 50 bucks either place
ck our sponsoring dealers in Vendor list
some local dealers may even match or beat online dealer pricing,, if they have the part and want to sell it!!
phone calls do wonders, tell them you are looking for the best deal
If loyal customer of the shop,, tell the parts desk that,,any way to work a discount-
5 bucks off is a free gallon of gas these days

jayn1321

When checking for the deficient coil, can I leave the car running when I remove the power lead to check for the RPM change? Thanks in advance.

acuratech1

yes you can do it with the car running just break down 1 cyl at a time...and just listen for any change in rpm you will def notice it the one that does not drop down is most likely your bad coil....

01tl4tl

have buddy watch the tach as well

jayn1321

beautiful, thanks guys

01tl4tl

remember: when you find the dead player and replace--you need to reset the ECU so it clears the codes and relearns there is no problem
pull clock fuse- passenger end of dash for a minute--the secret backup power to the ecu

jayn1321

Yeah, I replaced one coil already (the long way of pulling and replacing to find the bad coil).

So I picked up the coil and started pulling the power leads to each of the coils. The drop and engine stutter seemed to be consistent across all coils...which doesn't help me pinpoint the bad coil. Any ideas?

I think I may have to drive around for a half hour, then insert the new coil and attempt to start it until I find the bad one (usually when the engine is hot I have trouble starting it, so I figure it should fire up when I replace the bad one...granted it is time consuming).

01tl4tl

you got to do whatever it takes to replicate the symtoms

jayn1321

So I didn't have enough time to drive around and replicate the symptoms before the weekend. Over the weekend, which I had planned for a while now, I ended up cleaning the EGR port and manifold. It turned out to be a total mess and I'm glad I finally got around to it.

For the past two days, I have been driving around quite a bit for work, which should be putting enough mileage on it to replicate the symptoms that I have had. But I really haven't had much of a stutter or tough startup at all. Is it possible for the EGR and Intake to be so clogged with crap that it throws the misfire codes on my cylinders?

I know it has only been two days, but I really think it should've given me trouble by now.