Hey guys.

Well Over the last year my EF has had a few issues like:

-Bad economy (350 to a tank, and that's using 64 liters.
-Low power, seems a lot more sluggish below 3000RPM
-Low idle when in drive (auto), idles violently and only when warm
-I noticed pulses/jutters/rough vibrations coming from somewhere in the engine/driveline when I'm cruising at 70km or 100km, although it only happened last week it was doing it often and seems to have gone away, bad fuel maybe?
-When slowing to a stop the revs will return to idle as normal, but then instantly drops to like 400RPM like it's almost stalling for around a second. Then the revs will return to normal idle speed. It also does this on rare occasions when the car is idling in Park for a period of time, and it's far worse it'll drop like to 300RPM or so, shaking farm ore violently.

It also has a vacuum leak coming from behind the glovebox that I need to remove the dash to fix. So I disconnected the climate control and plugged up the hoses (same effect as fixing it) and my economy increased to 420km out of 62 liters of BP ultimate and power also slightly increased, it didn't fix anything else though so the vacuum leak isn't causing the main issues.

I just did a full service on it, fuel pump is 30 000km old, spark leads are 50k old.
It also has a new 02 sensor and thermostat.
The diff and transmission need servicing though, but that shouldn't be giving me the symptoms I'm getting?

Would anyone have any idea on what could be causing this?

Sounds like you still may have a vac leak somewhere. is it is very doughy down lown it sounds like your BBM may be stuck on the long runners. Get a can of carby cleaner and follow the BBM vac lines while the engine is running, any leaks or cracks will show us real fast.

Check your isc reference voltage backprobe the grey/white wire on the isc while engine running. should get 11v at idle then apply a load like a/c, headlights, turn wheel and it should drop. range is 8v-11v. I had a similar problem and it was my ECU, this was after trying a spare isc solenoid.


Also check fuel pump and inlet manifold gasket

Last edited by EL___Fairmont on Sat Oct 23, 2010 3:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

Map sensor hose cracked?

slipping torque convertor?

What does doughy mean exactly? I think I know what you're talking about. Under 2300RPM, it's the opposite of responsive. The revs climb really slow up to 2300RPM or so. From an intersection I need to dip the accelerator down half like half way down to just keep up with average traffic, as though pushing the accelerator down isn't doing anything. It seems like anywhere between closed and halfway on the accelerator doesn't make a difference, but if I floor it, it will go normally up to 5000RPM but it's different, it lags then just jumps up there, Half the E series I've driven are like this, it's very common. It doesn't feel like a loss of power, like towing or anything, it feels like when you accelerate, only air is going into the motor.
But the weird thing is it changes, like for the last few days it's disappeared completely, I only tap the accelerator and the car just cruises as it should, the response is perfect. So it keeps alternating from being sluggish/unresponsive to very responsive and quick, it just drives perfect when it works correctly, so much control.

I'll have to check the ISC next week as I don't have a multimeter.

I saw slipping torque converter suggested below, could this be a symptom of my unresponsiveness/sluggishness? What are other symptoms of a slipping converter? I know the transmission in it is shifting rough and doing funny things, so maybe that's it. I've done the vacuum leak check on all the gaskets and hoses before, but I'm going to try it again tomorrow!

Thanks

have you tried replacing the coilpack?
if its missing and carrying on under load, eg 3500 to 4500
flatspotting?
if the ignition isnt functioning properly the fuel economy would suck badly and it would be upsetting the oxy sensor too. thus leading on the ecu to lean out the fuel side to correct it

my eb and a mates nl were badly missing under load before the coil let go. and the worst part was it was doing it intermittently.
moreso mine as it behaved itself when it was on the dyno a fortnight ago..