'98 corolla question?? Shaky and struggles to accelerate

[rill44]

I have a '98 corolla with 206,000 miles on it. It has ran great for the 3 years I have had it, I've put a new alternator and brakes on it in the past year but other than that no problems..... I hadn't started the car in 2 weeks and when I did start it there was a weird shaking motion that I hadn't felt before. The car started right up but this shaking was steady, when I put it in drive or reverse the shaking continued and the car sounded as if it might die, although it didn't. I drove it around the block and it struggled to accelerate and the check engine light started flashing(the check engine light has been on since I've had the car). I hate to take such an old car to a mechanic, I would like to work on it myself but am not sure what the problem is. Could it be the coolant temperature sensor? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Bdub215]

Check engine light flashing + shaky car = possibly engine damaging misfire. If you know anyone that has a code reader, get the codes pulled, get some new plugs, and go from there.


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[Diaz984]

if your check engine light is flashing it is definitely a severe misfire nothing else will cause it to flash. it can damage the engine eventually from excess unburnt fuel washing oil off of the cylinder walls but it will much more quickly destroy your catalytic converter. i have seen cats get glowing hot from severe misfire in less than 15 minutes and if it gets that hot it will fail soon after. check the condition of your plugs and if they are of the correct type, condition of plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor in that order if none of those are the problem it is probably your fuel system.

[landphil]

Originally Posted by Diaz984

distributor cap, and rotor

No distrubutor cap or rotor on a '98 'rolla, but otherwise great info. Be sure to check the gap on your plugs as well as a visual check, these engines are very sensitive to too large a plug gaps due to the wasted spark ignition system they use. Check for water or oil in the spark plug tubes as well.

[TRD-Corolla-TypeS]

I'd check the ignition and fuel system. If there is an Autozone in your area, they can run a CEL error code diagnostic test for free.