hey everyone! Well, I just (today) picked up my brand new 2008 Corolla S in Phantom Grey, Absolutely beautiful color!! Anyways, this post isn't about that.
I have a 1986 Chevy Nova 5speed (has 221000 miles, all on the stock clutch, I know cause I am the 2nd owner and I know the origonal owners) that I have had for a long time, she is my work horse, and I put about 100 miles a day on her. In the last week or so, the car has been bucking when the car is cold, and even when she is warm sometimes, but less often. It is like its missing or something. The weather has been too cold to pop the hood to try to troubleshoot, but I am thinking spark plugs and wires, I replaced the plugs, cap and rotor about 3 months ago, but didn't replace the wires, and they needed it pretty bad. I was also thinking water in the gas, it has been raining alot around here, and that is about when it started. What do you guys think???
Is there common problems like this one? I just replaced the waterpump and timing belt 2 weekends ago, and wow, what a task!!!! Took me and my brother 2 full days to do it, and we are pretty good backyard mechanics.
I love this little car, and she has never ever left me stranded. She starts (with alot of pumping) on the coldest days, and has always done her duty. My 2003 Trailblazer (that we traded for the new corolla) had more problems in the 5 yrs we had it than my Nova has ever had. That is one reason we went with another Toyota.
Its Carbed, and says 4A on the valve cover...im not sure what engine it has, although its a 1.5L or 1.6(not sure) 4cyl 5speed.....
thanks for the help!!
Last edited by swearingsailor69; 03-20-2008 at 04:24 PM.
Reason: misinformation
It does it mainly when it is cold and wet, It never did it before the snow started melting, now it does it for the first 10 miles or so to work, then after it warms up real nice it only does it randomly. My guess is spark plug wires, they are getting wet from all the condensation and precip. around here right now (spring and things are melting) and the wires are arcing back and forth, then when it gets warm things start to dry off and it doesn't do it as much. I haven't had a chance, but an easy way to check is to pop my hood in the dark while she is running and spray a fine mist of water on it, and see if I can see any sparks. I haven't had any time to check this theory out myself.
I just don't have much experience in dealing with this car, I have had it forever, but it has never given me a problem until recently. I have had to replace the waterpump and timing belt (belt was an afterthought after I found out I had to take the timing cover off anyways) and she ran great untill it started melting.....
My exhaust also developed a hole in the last few weeks, and it is getting worse. Could that have something to do with it as well????
Bucking when cold might be from a carburetor choke plate that isn't moving freely or an exhaust manifold heat riser valve (coiled wire) that does not move freely. Spray the latter with some penetrating oil from underneath the engine. Spray the former lightly with carburetor cleaner. You could get a new set of high quality factory spark plug wires from 1sttoyotaparts.com for 28% off the usual retail Toyota dealer price. Still another cause of missing is a failing ignition coil inside the distributor - but usually the bucking due to a failing coil occurs when the engine is warm rather than cold.
I have a question for you: When you replaced the timing belt, how did you gain access to the water pump pulley bolts and the lower and middle timing belt covers? Did you remove the passenger side engine mount and then jack up the engine at the oil pan to gain access? Or did you lower the engine to gain access? Thanks
I just looked at the car, and there is a wire-type hose thingy that comes from the exhaust header to the air cleaner that is broken and isn't hooked up, is that where the heat riser coil is located??? Ill do both and see if it helps.
as for your questions,
We didn't raise or lower the engine, nor mess with the motor mounts in any way. We removed all of the belts, loosened the power steering pump, took out the top bolt and pushed the whole thing as far to the rear of the car as possible, we removed the harmonic balancer, the aircleaner of course, and the mounting bracked for the alternator, then we very carefully removed the timing belt cover via some clever manipulation of various wrenches and fingers. The timing belt cover is essentially in 3 pieces, although the top 2 are connected. We removed all of the bolts, then maneuvered the top one out first around the motor mount, and with the harmonic balancer off, we removed the bottom one. To get to the pully bolts, we simply removed the water pump because that was what we were replacing in the first place, and took the bolts off while the pump was out.
I wish I would have taken pics and wrote an article about it like I have in the past with other cars.....would have been great to post on here.
It was a PITA!!! Sore hands, backs, and grease covered clothes, and finally it was done...2 days later.
I just looked at the car, and there is a wire-type hose thingy that comes from the exhaust header to the air cleaner that is broken and isn't hooked up, is that where the heat riser coil is located??? Ill do both and see if it helps.
No, to view the heat riser coil you need to jack up the front end of the car, then aim a light up through the exhaust and intake manifolds and you'll see a thermostatic type coil with a lever attached to it. The lever should move freely if you try to push it up or down, but can get rusty and stuck over time. Penetrating lube helps free it up. I'll take a picture tomorrow if you can't find it.
Connecting the wire type hose from the exhaust header up to the air cleaner will improve cold engine drivability. There's a flap type valve near the opening to the air cleaner that could benefit from some penetrating lube too because sometimes the flap gets stuck in the open or shut position due to corrosion in the linkage.
It's really amazing to hear you managed to find enough working room to replace the timing belt without raising or lowering the engine to gain clearance. In fustration I was almost thinking off drilling some big holes in the fender to gain working room for wrenches!
I agree with drilling holes!! There really isn't much room at all, and we were contemplating a torch! lol....it was very difficult to say the least. I will get some lube and carb cleaner this weekend and if weather permits do the lubing of the valves and clean the carb. It is snowing and sleeting tonight, and it is going to be a busy weekend with the circus coming to town, and my nephew's birthday party and then I fly to New Hampshire (Im from South Dakota) at noon on sunday.....ill be there a week! ARG!! I don't wanna go....stupid work anyways.
I'm pretty sure that I have seen what you are describing in the exhaust, and I will do a thorough job of lubing it up to see if it fixes the problem. I am probably going to seafoam the engine too, and plug wires too eventually....all depending on weather and time. In the mean time, I will enjoy my brand spankin new Phantom Gray Pearl Corolla S!!!!! I get to drive it for the first time tomorrow.....can't wait! lol We actually brought it home yesterday, but I was at work and my wife picked it up from the dealer and I didn't get to drive it.....oh well, tomorrow is here right now actually!! just a few more hrs....
I took my first drive in my new corolla S today and it is a very nice car. We had a 2003 Trailblazer LTZ that had every available feature, so I will miss things like memory seats, heated leather etc...but I won't miss the $70 gas fullups just to go about 260 miles....it was rediculious.
The car is very tight, with almost no road or wind noise (compared to my nova and the trailblazer) and it is almost quiet enough inside at highway speeds to fall asleep!! We had about a 20-30mph crosswind today while I was heading east at about 65-70 and the car didn't rock back and forth or try to pull into the ditch like my Nova does, and was a blast to drive. We are going for another 200plus miles tomorrow to various functions, circus, birthday party, then to drive me to the airport...I actually look forward to the drives now!! Only problem is having to let my wife drive every once in awhile....ugh...
Wow I've rented lots of 2003-2008 Corollas and did not feel nearly as enthused about them as you are. To me, my 1986 Nova is unbeatable at soaking up road bumps. It just smothers them with it's soft, long travel 4 wheel indpendent suspension. The 2003-2008 Corolla doesn't have independent rear suspension so rear seat passengers feel the road jolts.
I also feel the high commanding driving position of the Nova is unbeatable and its seats kept me comfortable on long drives. Alot of people think the comfort of the 2003-2008 Corolla seats is mediocre.
I never felt the 2003-2008 Corolla was real quiet and certainly not quiet enough to put me to sleep. I put fiberglass sound insulation inside the doors of my Nova and it made a big difference in ambient noise. I also installed some floor insulation to cut the road noise.
I never had a problem controlling my Nova in cross winds. In fact I took delivery in 1986 in the midst of a terrible wind storm and I was grinning all the way home about how secure the car made me feel.
I have a Nova CL and to me it's interior looks and feels more luxurious than any modern Corolla. Much of the interior of the Nova CL is silky velour whereas the surfaces on modern Corollas are mostly hard plastic.
One area where the 2008 Corolla is clearly superior to the Nova is its cornering capability.
I also own a 1991 Lexus LS400. Now that car really does put me to sleep. I don't drive it much because I can hardly stay awake in it, plus it's a real walet buster if anything mechanical goes wrong. To change the starter, for example, costs $1000
Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, and in my opinion, my new corolla is a great car! I love just about everything about it, and the only thing i don't like is the fact that the steering wheel is a little bit far away from the driver. The interior doesn't feel cheap, and the seats are more comfortable than my trailblazer's seats were, but you are right, the Nova does have comfy seats, but its a toss up between the corolla and the nova. My Nova is effected by cross-winds very very much, it is all over the road when the wind is blowing, which is constant around here, and the corolla is about as steady as I've ever driven. My (ex) trailblazer didn't get effected by the wind as much as my nova does, but the corolla you hardley even feel the wind.
The rear suspension is a little bouncy when you have only one person in the car, but we use it as a family car, and with 4 people in the car, it isn't bouncy at all. Thank you for your input, and your help with my Nova!
Sailor, I think it's time you replaced the struts in your Nova with some KYBs. Might take care of the wallowy handling in windy conditions. 200,000+ miles is quite a ways to go.
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"Crush enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!" - Conan the Barbarian, on what is good in life
Yea, Im sure that alot of things need replacing, but like you said she has 200k + on her and replacing something that costs more that she is worth isn't something Im going to do right now. I will probably drive it the way it is until it dies completely, replacing some things along the way that can't be overlooked (ie waterpump and timing belt) and if the ride gets even worse, than I may replace them, or ill look for another cheap car.
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