Hard To Start While On An Incline - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Red Rider · 08-05-2007, 09:23 PM

HEY ALL, HOPE SOMEONE CAN HELP ME WITH MY PROBLEM

. I HAVE AN 88 COROLLA GTS (AE92) FWD (4A-GE) COUPE. I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WHEN I DROVE THROUGH A FLOODED ROAD LAST HURRICANE SEASON AND THE CAR STARTED SPUTTERING, THEN TWO WEEKS LATER IT WOULDN'T START

. I CHANGED THE STARTER, IGNITION COIL, WIRES, PLUGS, BATTARY, ROTOR AND CAP. I EVEN WENT AS FAR AS TO CHANGE THE FUEL INJECTORS, VALVE COVER GASKET, OIL PAN GASKET AND CAMSHAFT OIL SEAL, THINKING THAT MAYBE SOME WATER WAS GETTING IN THE ENGINE. STILL WITH ALL THOSE CHANGES IT WON'T START ON AN INCLINE

. NOW WHEN THE CAR IS LEVELED IT WILL START, THEN WHEN I DRIVE IT IN FIRST GEAR IT WILL START SPUTTERING AGAIN AND THE PICKUP IS SLOW. I WAS TOLD TO CHECK THE VACCUM LINES BUT HOW DO YOU CHECK THEM AND WITH WHAT? COULD I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE FUEL PUMP? I HAVE A FULL TANK OF GAS AND AS STATED BEFORE IT STARTED ON LEVELED GROUND. NOW WHEN THE CAR IS PARKED ON AN INCLINE WITH THE FRONT END FACING DOWNWARD, IT STARTS BUT WITH A LITTLE HESITATION. I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING POSSIBLE AND STILL I'M STUMPED

. CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP OR HAVE ANY IDEA AS TO WHY I'M HAVING A STARTING PROBLEM. OH! AND ANOTHER THING, WHEN I TURN ON THE A/C THE RPM DROP AND IT IDLES AT 1 TO 1.5 RPM. THE BATTARY HAS A FULL CHARGE. ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

RED RIDER

JamesM · 08-06-2007, 12:43 AM

I think your CAPS lock button is stuck there guy.

RE: A/C....

Every car I've seen exhibits a similar behavior. Any time you add load to an engine, it's going to affect your RPM a little. I wouldn't worry so much about that.

So, to restate the starting problem....

Nose downhill, it will start, but it hesitates.
Nose uphill, it wont start.
Flat ground, starts, but hesitates in first gear.

I'm no grease monkey, but that sounds fuel system related. After you did all the other work, did you try adding a bottle of fuel system conditioner to your tank? It could be as simple as water in your tank. It's a cheap fix if it works. If it doesn't, it still doesn't hurt to run a bottle through once a year or so.

Red Rider · 08-06-2007, 06:44 PM

Hey James M,

I Added Fuel Injector Cleaner When I Filled The Gas Tank. Still It Hesitates In First Gear. Every Now And Then I Get It To Start And Drive It Around The Block To Try And Have It Flow Through The Lines. Other Then That I Really Don't Know What Else To Do. One Question, Will The Tranny Cause It To Sputter In First Gear? I Know When I Drive For Awhile It Heats Up And It Lacks Power. These Are Some Problems That I Encounter In The Past Year. Do You Have Any Other Suggestions. All Would Be Greatly Appreciated.

Red Rider

Flashmn · 08-06-2007, 06:50 PM

Type without the caps lock, its not as annoying to read when its off.

root · 08-08-2007, 12:32 AM

Try some fuel cleaner designed specifically to get water out. It's usually type of alcohol that binds to water. I think water floats on top of gas? I forget, so maybe when tilted certain direction water is getting picked up by pump. Hopefully your fuel pump isn't going.

94_Rolla_Guy · 08-08-2007, 02:57 AM

BTW stop replacing all this unrealated stuff, just consider that you could have had it professionally fixed with all the money you have spent on unrelated parts

Also approximately how deep was this puddle as that can make quite a difference.

a couple questions and possible answers:

- reading"WHEN I TURN ON THE A/C THE RPM DROP AND IT IDLES AT 1 TO 1.5 RPM"that tells me right there there is a major issue right there whether its vaccuum or sensor realated ????

-Check the AFM sensor there is a flap in there that measures your incoming air, in theory if the car was parked on a uneven surface gravity could be opening or closing a damaged AFM flap that could be giving a wrong enough reading to cause a no-start condition, Angle shouldn't effect the AFM!!!!!!!! take it out and do the diagnostic checks at various angles to determine if theres a problem!
The reason i suggest this is because its the only sensor that could be effected by the angle its on, also it would be the first thing water would get into.

-did it stall or run rough or "change" at all going through the water - if the air intake sucked up water it may be internal engine damage causing issues,

-you ever see any flashes from the check engine light? - if so go over the sensors and check them as per a factory repair manual or like a haynes or chilton, this would be a good thing to do anyways, when hot things cool to fast they crack and break. EG. O2 sensor, catalytic converter, exhaust manifold, basically anything that gets hot.

Red Rider · 08-08-2007, 06:18 PM

The puddle went as high as the top bumper, and some of the parts that i changed out was needed. They haven't been changed in a while and is cheaper to mix them yourself then to have someone over charge you for things that are easy to fix. I don't mind putting money into the car, it beats a car payment. what is the AFM sensor? and where is it located? I add some gas treatment to the tank. will that help it?