New owner kills Corolla - help - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

1captaincrunch1 · 03-01-2007, 07:13 PM

Just bought my first Toyota. Here's the facts:

'94 Corolla DX; 175k miles; runs real good; would crank with just a bump of the key.

So . . . being so smart and all . . . . I decide to clean the engine to change filters, etc.

Go to car wash, choose "engine cleaner" (just as I have with all my cars); wash motor and rinse.

Car then cranks fine; runs about 1/2 mile and starts skipping. So, I assume water somewhere; car gets worse the longer I go. Finally, it won't even pull up a slight hill

AND, I BEGIN SMELLING SOMETHING BURNING! (not good). Cut car off and notice carpet below the shifter on both sides has melted. (I poured water on it to cool it off). This must be where the Cat Converter is.

Car wouldn't crank back up; I assumed water in dist cap or the like. Pull off the dist cap -- no water, BUT rotor has chip and cap terminals corroded. I scratched them clean and retried. Car cranked but was skipping bad. Began pulling of plug wires to check for water. One plug wire came apart.

Went to get new wires and decided to get new cap and rotor, also. Installed all new wires, cap, rotor. (this took a while to go get and install)

Car cranked right up! Yeah!! . . . . so I thought. Went to get help to drive it home. Car cranks but dies when put in gear. Car then cranks but skips and runs poorly, cutting of when put in gear. Then, it gets to where it won't crank at all.

HELP????

Why did the Cat Convert get so hot? Is it possible that the Cat is clogged up?

When the Cat Converter got so hot, did it damage a sensor or something? Should I look for more water somewhere else? Should I set it on fire and collect the insurance? (oops . . . don't have comprehensive, darn!)

Please send help . . . . .

Thanks

***REN69*** · 03-01-2007, 07:46 PM

Let the motor dry off for a day or so, you probably wet the electronics, like the ignitor, dizzy cap, wires, etc. Also use a Shopvac and suck all the water out from any place it can pool, specially from the spark plug valley area.

why wouldn't the cat get hot? there's hot gasses from the motor going through.

Next time if you wash the motor, let it dry off in the sun OR like I said.. use the vacuums.

daniel2002p · 03-01-2007, 11:27 PM

put ur car in the garage, close it and run a dehumidifier for a day and u should be set

D

VooDoo · 03-02-2007, 03:10 AM

fuel filter?

camryvibe · 03-02-2007, 03:35 AM

The catalytic converter reduces emissions by burning any incompletely combusted molecules that are in the exhaust gas from the engine. Usually this is just a small amount of material, but if your engine isn't firing properly there will be unburned fuel in the exhaust and that'll burn inside the cat making it very hot. Sounds like something in your ignition system got wet and therefore one or more of your spark plugs weren't firing properly. In addition to letting things dry out, you might want to pull the plugs to see if they're fuel-fouled and also check if you're getting a nice bright spark.

tnmk · 03-02-2007, 05:15 AM

Try using compressed air to blow dry any areas that may puddle.

1captaincrunch1 · 03-02-2007, 05:34 AM

Seems everyone is saying the same thing. Wet.

I sure hope this is the problem. I was afraid to pull the plugs on the road. There was some water in the wells that I couldn't blow out and knew if I pulled the plugs it would go into the cylinders.

Come to think of it, that probably wouldn't have been a problem. I'm a diesel guy, this is my first gas motor since 1978. With a diesel, water is a BAD NO-NO.

Your pictures look good, by the way!

1captaincrunch1 · 03-03-2007, 06:53 AM

All better now . . .
Fri morning, car cranked enough to move it around. Still running ruff.
Pulled the plugs and cleaned them. Noticed that the plug gaps were much larger than I ever remembered seeing. (Remember I'm a diesel guy and haven't seen plugs in quite a while).
Car cranked and seemed to run fine. Pulled it out and began detailing it, inside and out. I thought my problems were over.
Was going to take it to the parts place to get light bulbs, etc. Well . . . didn't even make it out of the subdivision before it began running bad again.
Went and got new plugs, installed them (didn't set the gap - don't have a guage) And . . . . low and behold . . . it runs fine! Actually took the wife out to eat last night in it.
The old plugs were eaten up. Wide gap . . . the prong was very thin. I wonder why they would have burnt up so bad.
By the way, should I try to set the gap on the plugs or is the factory setting OK?

Flashmn · 03-03-2007, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Why did the Cat Convert get so hot? Is it possible that the Cat is clogged up?

When the Cat Converter got so hot, did it damage a sensor or something? Should I look for more water somewhere else? Should I set it on fire and collect the insurance? (oops . . . don't have comprehensive, darn!)

Because unburnt fuel went in there, and then ignited inside the cat. Chances are the cats destroyed now.