Random problems with 91 Corolla

[freakgasolinefight]

Just bought a 1991 Corolla DX sedan, 57,000 miles, automatic transmission. It has four separate issues that keep cropping up, that hopefully you guys might be able to provide some input on.

1: Hard starting after sitting. It needs a couple cranks usually, and you have to gas it. If you've just driven the car, it's fine.

2: Smoky exhaust. I see smoke when basically no other cars are smoking. It is light in color, almost white.

(Given these two, I almost want to say the dreaded 'H' word, but god knows I DO NOT want to have to replace the head gasket on a car I just bought, so if there's anything else that could cause this ...)

3: When you stop at an intersection with the car in drive and hold it with the brake it seems to run kind of rough and shake a little bit. This is ONLY in drive, if you put it in neutral it's fine.

4: The transmission will occasionally lock into park. Push the shift lock override, and you can shift fine, but it's still annoying and it really shouldn't do that.

Any input would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[SCT]

1. If it's a carb 4AF, yea, a pump a two on the gas to prime the carb will get it started. Otherwise, by just turning the key, it'll take longer since the fuel pump has to make up for the pressure that diminished over time.

2. The engine could be burning oil during combustion or is running too rich.

3. Check your brake components and vacuum lines.

4. You probably have the safety brake switch. Meaning you can't shift out of park unless you're pressing the brake pedal. The solenoid to release the lock or the switch itself may be on it's last leg. Shift Lock Override is just there so you can shift when you have problems like this or you have no key but need to move the vehicle into neutral.

Hope it helps.

[sr5punk]

91 isnt carb, its efi. i have similar starting issues with my celica. check vaccumme hoses as well as the amount of coolant in your radiator. are you hearing high pitched sounds from behind the dash? my celica does that. it got cured by adding more coolant to the car while it was running. check your oil to make sure it is still a chocolaty brown color and not a lighter brown like a milk shake. check your coolant to see if there is any oil in there. there are other tests that you can do to see if it really is a bhg. also check your idle to see if you are between the 6-900 rpm range at idle. if you are higher than that, then you can mess with the idle screw to make it where it needs to be. worst case scenario is that you have a bhg. which wouldnt be good, but it gives you a reason to do fun stuff to your car hands on. good luck!

[90 GP]

Do a compression test to confirm your suspicion of a failed head gasket.