Running Rough at Low RPM's after a top end rebuild

[fishrod]

I just had my Head Gasket done and got the car back but its running like a piece of Sh&*. Really struggles and has no power anywhere from 500rpm to about 2000 rpm. After that it is ok, but it means that every gear change I do it pretty much chugs along until I can get it up over 2krpm.

It used to do this ages ago but would be fine once the engine was warmed up. This is not the case. I drove it for about 45 mins and it was still doing it.

There is also a fairly strong smell of fuel coming from under the hood. It also makes its way into the cabin when I stop at traffic lights etc.

Any suggestions? Timing? Fuel leak somewhere? Its just strange that its ok after the revs go up.

Mechanic cannot really look at it til the weekend but I was planning on a 800km round trip to check out the Olympics before then.

Will this wreck the engine if I keep driving it or should I leave it until it can get looked at?

 

[drmorbius]

I just had my Head Gasket done and got the car back but its running like a piece of Sh&*. Really struggles and has no power anywhere from 500rpm to about 2000 rpm. After that it is ok, but it means that every gear change I do it pretty much chugs along until I can get it up over 2krpm.

It used to do this ages ago but would be fine once the engine was warmed up. This is not the case. I drove it for about 45 mins and it was still doing it.

There is also a fairly strong smell of fuel coming from under the hood. It also makes its way into the cabin when I stop at traffic lights etc.

Any suggestions? Timing? Fuel leak somewhere? Its just strange that its ok after the revs go up.

Mechanic cannot really look at it til the weekend but I was planning on a 800km round trip to check out the Olympics before then.

Will this wreck the engine if I keep driving it or should I leave it until it can get looked at?

If for some reason it is running too rich you may get raw gas (not atomized) going past the rings which will dilute your oil. I wouldn't drive it until it gets fixed.

 

[90toytruck.]

sounds like timing !!!! did you have shop do the work ? if the belt is off a tooth or two that will throw stuff all out of whack. any check eng lights on ? would be telling mechanic to make some time too if you had to pay for original repairs !!!!

 

[bshinn]

When I put mine back together, I got the fuel return plumbed into a vacuum port. Sounds like the same symtoms.

 

[fishrod]

sounds like timing !!!! did you have shop do the work ? if the belt is off a tooth or two that will throw stuff all out of whack. any check eng lights on ? would be telling mechanic to make some time too if you had to pay for original repairs !!!!

Yeah he was good about it. Was a home job and a friend of a friend so he made time today for it. Turned out to be the spark plug leads/lead. Spark was arcing off onto the engine block and not making it to the one of the plugs. Seemed strange that it only did it at low revs and not at higher revs. But the leads were changed and shes runnin' sweet.

As for the smell of fuel. He couldnt find any leaks. Checked all the lines, checked injectors and seals and nothing was leaking. Thinks it might be oil or WD40 or something like that burning off the exhaust manifold as he said they had to use a bit of that stuff to get some bolts undone when getting to the head gasket.

 

[the_dingman]

I've had an on-and-off fuel leak out the back of my #1 injector based on the temperature outside... That's worth looking at for the fuel smell...

 

[88T4RE]

If your coming down to see the olympics I suggest bringing beer, last night they closed down all the liquor stores at 7pm to cut down on problems also be sure to check out Atlantic house and Russia house those two were pretty sweet but expect to wait in line for hours at a time bring food too, I parked down on W 8th and broadway and rode the skytrain from there, it's your best bet if you want to avoid traffic.
Cheers! GO CANADA!

 

[88T4RE]

o ya check this out before you go it will give you a good idea of whats cool and whats not it will save you lots of time as it takes awhile to get around with all the people and the lines I ended up only seeing 1/100th of what I wanted to the first day I went so plan ahead...here is the link I found it quite helpful in deciding where to go Vancouver 2010 Olympic Free Events: "Where 2 Be for Free" from CityCaucus.com