What's wrong with my car?

Factual Questions
1

Hi all, my 1983 Toyota Corolla is causing me grief again, allow me to explain what is wrong with it, and hopefully someone on this board will be able to diagnose the problem.

Basically, I was driving along at about 80km/h when the car all of a sudden started chugging. After about 5 seconds, the engine died on me. So I was rolling along at 80 km/h with my engine swithced off. I restarted it, put the gear stick back in to 4th and kept going for another 5 minutes, when the same thing happenned. Car chugs for a little bit, then the engine dies.

Repeat about 3 times… and eventually the engine dies again, but this time I can’t get it restarted, so I pulled in to a side street and stopped. I spent about 20 minutes there trying to start the engine. I got it going many times, but once it got started, the longest it ran for before dying was about 30 seconds.

In the end I gave up and walked the rest of the distance home :mad:

Any idea what the problem might be? Thanks in advance.

2

Tough to say, alternator maybe?

3

Not the alternator. It’s definitely doing it’s job of restarting the engine. Definitely sounds like a fuel problem, and I’ll bet it’s something simple such as a clogged fuel filter. If the air filter is extremely dirty that could also be the problem.

4

IANAM, but the alternator’s job is not to start the engine, that would be the starter along with help from the battery. The alternator provides electrical power and charges the battery AFTER the car is already started.

My guess on it being the alternator was based on the guess that it was working somewhat, but couldn’t keep the voltage from dropping below the minimum required level. The fact that the car was easier to restart while it was moving and got worse and worse slowly made me suspect that the battery was not being sufficiently recharged by the alternator. But again, IANAM.

5

intermittent fuel starvation
blocked fuel lines
fuel pump diaphragm faulty
needle valve in float chamber sticking
blocked fuel filter
and at worst air filter clogged…not usual
if very cold and damp
icing up of venturi and main jets…
these all happened to me at various times…

6

voltaire, what x-ray meant was that the alternator had to be working, because the battery had enough charge to restart the engine.

It’s most likely what x-ray said, blocked fuel filter. Could also be one of mrcrow’s other fuel related suggestions, with the exception of icing. It’s summer in Melbourne, and hot.

7

Dirty, almost blocked fuel filter. When you stop, enough trickles through to last you a few seconds.

It will only require a couple of clamps to be undone, take it out, replace it and that should be it. If you need your car to get to a garage to get a replacement, take the filter out, blow through it backwards onto newspaper (mmmm, tasty!) and very probably you blow some crap out, put it back in and go and buy a replacement.

If replacing it doesn’t work, then what mrcrow said, or just maybe it could be electrical.

8

sounds to me like its fuel-line or fuel tank related - possibly just a build up of crud in the fuel tank.

Oh wait - i should have said that like this - not sure if you are male/female, but change the femaley bits to the stuff in brackets if you are male:

sucks in breath

i dunno luv (mate), could be a loada fings - maybe the fuel line or the tank, maybe the alterna’or.

Dats the fing wiv dese foreign cars see - don’t get the quality workmanship ya used to get. we’ll 'ave ta take it apart and 'ave a look.

Ain’t sure if we can do it this week though - 'ang on a mo…

OI! DAVE!

DAVE!

ANSWER ME WHEN I’M F*CKING TALKING TO YA!

GOT ONE OF THOSE TOYOTA’S - SUMMIT WRONG WITH THE FUEL SYSTEM!

I KNOW 'E COULD DO IT 'IMSELF BUT THIS IS FOR A BIRD YOU TWAT!

(or - I DUNNO WHY 'E CAN’T DO IT 'IMSELF MAYBE 'E IS A POOFTER OR SUMMIT.)

SO WHEN CAN WE 'AVE A LOOK?! OKAY - CHEERS MATE!

Dave says wednesday - thats the earliest we can do. Bring it in then pet (mate) and we’ll 'ave a look for you.

9

A friend of mine had the same problem. Turned out something changed the reading of her fuel gauge and it read a quarter of a tank when it was really on empty.

It would stall and restart and run a bit and stall again.

Put a gallon in if you aren’t absolutely sure there’s gas in there.

10

Fuel problem:

fuel pump…fuel pump relay
fuel filter (less likely)

Fuel pumps have a way fo working for a few minutes after resting when they go bad.

It’s likely not electrical (not alt, plugs, wires, etc)

11

Almost certainly a fuel problem. Most likely cause is bad gasoline. Did you fill up your tank while the gasoline delivery truck was filling their tank? The delivery will stir up crud at the bottom of the storage tank and can make its way into your tank and block the fuel line.

Also, if the gasoline has been cut with too much ethanol, the alcohol may dislodge corrosion and impurities in your fuel system and again block the fuel filter.

The fix is fairly simple. Replace the fuel filter. To be safe, I would suggest that you buy a couple of filters. Replace one immediately. If the problem is really bad, the new filter may clog very quickly which will require a second replacement. Even if it doesn’t clog, after running a tank of gas with no problem you may want to replace filter to make sure you have a clean system.

12

It could possibly be the alternator. I had a similar problem with an old Toyota, what was happening when I started the car, the fuel pump was powered by the battery, then, after the car started, the power was supplied by the alternator. With the alternator not putting out, the fuel pump wouldn’t pump. I think mine was an '81 Celica, I don’t know if yours has the same system or not though.

13

While the above possibilities are all plausible, it’s also possible that an electronic ignition part (most likely the igniter) is failing.

It’s tricky to diagnose auto faults without actually testing the car because many common performance symptoms can be caused by a number of different things. A description of symptoms is a necessary starting point, but seldom the end of the line in diagnosis.

That being said, if you’re going to try to do something on the roadside, replace the fuel filter first. It’s inexpensive, easy, and a likely suspect. Just be aware it’s not a certainty that that’s all you need.

14

Thanks guys.

I’m hoping it’s the fuel filter, and not the fuel pump, as the filter is pretty cheap.

Hopefully I’ll get a mechanic to look at it tomorrow.

15

Well almost a month on, I’ve fitted a new fuel filter, but that didn’t work, so I took it to a mechanic who scribbled on a bit of paper

“Cleaned out carby and reset”

“Reset points and ignition timing”

“Road test ok. $55”.

Grrrr.

It’s possible to give my car a ‘quick fix’ by pulling the top off the carby and pouring fuel directly in to it. I can usually get my car restarted and keep driving for a little while when I do this. I drive it around for a good 2 hours after the mechanic “fixed” it, before it died on me again.

What’s wrong with it :frowning:

16

If it consistently restarts when fuel is poured into it, it’s a virtual certainty it’s a fuel delivery problem. My next thought is the fuel inlet strainer. This is a screen device attached to the pick-up pipe in the tank, essentially another fuel filter. Other likely possibilities are a crack or hole in the pick-up pipe (allows air instead of fuel to be sucked in by the pump) and the fuel pump itself. It’s time for a thorough fuel delivery test.

The work you had done may very well have been called for, so you didn’t necessarily pay for something you didn’t need. Obviously, though, the problem you wanted fixed was not dealt with. This may be because the symptom is intermittent, and may be because the problem was not tested for rigorously. I suspect both factors were involved.

To get by temporarily, you may find that a spray can of starting fluid (ether) will suffice to restart the car. It’s a heck of a lot easier than pouring liquid fuel into the carb.

17

I had a problem just like this once with a vented gas cap that no longer vented.

I’d fill up the tank, drive for a while, and it would starve out gradually just like you described (vacuum in the tank eventually prevented the pump from delivering enough fuel). After a bit if sitting (or tinkering), off we’d go again for a shorter time before it would die again.

Eventually I realized the signifigance of the WHOOOOOSSSH I heard when I removed the cap, and tried dirving with the cap loose. No problems.

I don’t know that that is your problem, but if you hear a WHOOOOOSSH when you open the cap, try driving with it loose.

Good luck…

18

General agreement.

Okay, obviously if you pour a dab in to get it restarted, it’s a fuel delivery problem, but an intermittent one. The dab you pour in would only last seconds at best, or maybe a minute or two if you actually filled the float bowl (by carefully pouring the gas in the correct vent tube.)

So if you prime it, it restarts and the fuel system kicks back in for some indeterminate length of time.

Fuel filters tend to clog and stay clogged, so you likely wouldn’t get it restarted. The screen in the tank is a possibility, but again, those tend to collapse and stay collapsed.

Check the gas cap as mentioned above. '83 should be more or less still in the vented-cap days, but possibly not. If not, you’ll have a feed line, a return line, and a vent line coming off the tank. The vent line will lead to a charcoal cannister type device under the hood. (This absorbs various petrocarbon vapors and cycles them back to the engine.) If that vent line is crimped, clogged or plugged somewhere, the vacuum formed in the tank will keep the pump from being able to draw fuel.

I can’t recall if the Toyota of that vintage had an engine-mounted mechanical fuel pump or not… Just to be on the safe side, check you oil. No, really- on mechancial, engine-driven diaphragm pumps, if the diaphragm tears, it stops pumping- or at least as well- and fuel is allowed to leak into the body of the pump, and therefore into the engine sump.

This, as you can imagine, is not a good thing.

Personally, here’s how I’d do it, in my nonexpert way: I’d spring for a new fuel pump (even if it turns out it’s not the problem, it’s cheap insurance.) While it’s off, I’d use both compressed air, and a vacuum pump (like a MityVac, obviously not at the same time) to make sure both feed, return and vent lines are all clear.

You can, before doing so, have the shop put a pressure gauge on the fuel line, and get a reading. You should see 4 to 10 psi, depending.

19

I don’t know if your car is equiped with a PCV, but if it’s clogged that could cause the problems that you are having.

20

YES!!

Are you talking about the fuel cap?!

Whenever I unscrew it to pour in some more fuel, a HEAP of air gets sucked in (out?), or “WHOOOOOSSH” as you like to describe it. I just assumed this was normal?!