Help I'm stuck on the side of the road 1987Tercel 4wd wagon

antiparticle · Post by **antiparticle** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:19 pm

OK, some backround info: The car smokes a bunch (blueish smoke)after it has been siting and idleing for over a minute then reving the engine, and smokes a little while accelerating after stop sign. will not pass deq because of hydrocarbons and smoke. has 198,000 miles. When I slowly depress the accelerator in neutral, at 2000 rpm the revs bounce down a couple hundred rpm then back up to 2000 repeadedly untill I give it more gas; I get a simmilar effect while in gear in the same rpm range except it doesnt repeat. The car has a smooth idle at the propper 800 rpm. When in neutral if I depress the brake pedal repeadedly my car wants to stall. I just bought this car from people I no longer trust, 10 days ago.

I started the car up today no problem, and hopped on the freeway. After driving smoothly for about 2 miles started going up a hill, after about a quarter mile I went to pass someone and lightly pressed the gas, accelerated for a second and then lost all power. I pulled over to the median. Starter and all electrical components work, engine turnes over but won't start. I eventualy contacted a friend who came out with new plugs and tools. I changed the sparkplugs(they had very heavy deposits and the contact surfaces were black, and on one I could smell gas and see oil), checked the rotor cap and two of the 4 contacts are flush with the plastic.

Does anyone know anything that might be a quick fix posibility in this scenario?
Either that or I need to get it towed very soon. It is sitting on the side of a city freeway, please help.

Thanks. AA

Mickey_D · Post by **Mickey_D** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:54 pm

If it's been failing for high hydrocarbons and is blowing blue smoke, you've probably clogged the catalytic converter.

Either that or you cooked the O2 sensor.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:56 pm

Clogged kitties do all kinds of nightmarish things. Remove the exhaust system from the manifold and drive it around briefly to see if it alleviates the issue, and if so, its your cat. Just don't leave it open-manifold for long. Valves can warp.

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 2:57 am

Check for spark by holding a plug wire near a ground with heavy gloves on or using insulated pliers. Put a new cap and rotor in it. New wires in the right order. New plugs.

Then I'd flush the oil and change it and the filter. Do a general tuneup. Take a look at the float level in the sight glass.

Iain · Post by **Iain** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:51 am

takza wrote:Check for spark by holding a plug wire near a ground with heavy gloves on or using insulated pliers. Put a new cap and rotor in it. New wires in the right order. New plugs.

Then I'd flush the oil and change it and the filter. Do a general tuneup. Take a look at the float level in the sight glass.

At the side of the freeway? LOL

Mickey_D · Post by **Mickey_D** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 8:14 am

Iain wrote:
takza wrote:Check for spark by holding a plug wire near a ground with heavy gloves on or using insulated pliers. Put a new cap and rotor in it. New wires in the right order. New plugs.

Then I'd flush the oil and change it and the filter. Do a general tuneup. Take a look at the float level in the sight glass.
At the side of the freeway? LOL

I've changed the following at the side of a freeway before:

Head gasket
Oil
Windshield
U-joint
Complete exhaust
Complete ignition system (from the fuse to the plugs)

Funny that none of it was ever on my Tercel....

takza · Post by **takza** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 4:48 am

Iain wrote:
takza wrote:Check for spark by holding a plug wire near a ground with heavy gloves on or using insulated pliers. Put a new cap and rotor in it. New wires in the right order. New plugs.

Then I'd flush the oil and change it and the filter. Do a general tuneup. Take a look at the float level in the sight glass.
At the side of the freeway? LOL

Weeeeelllll. The general idea being to do what's needed to get it home...then do the rest.

Might be the ignitor? Maybe it got hot and is failing. Could have contaminated oil?

neonsport · Post by **neonsport** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:21 am

Nobody has mentioned the timing belt yet. That'd be the first thing I looked at.

BTW, I've replaced timing belts on the side of the road a couple of times, years ago. I'd do it again if the need arose, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

antiparticle · Post by **antiparticle** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:02 pm

It was the timing belt. Thanks for the help everyone. As for the blue smoke, I will keep ya'll updated

AA

neonsport · Post by **neonsport** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:28 am

To help the blue smoke problem, replace the valve seals. I replaced mine last year, and the difference was amazing. Not only did I go from using a quart every 300 miles or so (5w30) to about a quart every 1500 miles, but I never see the dreaded blue puff at stop lights or when decelerating from highway speeds in gear.

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 4:33 am

Clean the ring pack? My car tends to smoke a little when first started, when hot and after sitting a while. Still does 5K miles per quart though...knock on the oil can.