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Worst car on the planet!
- Thread starter Zeusv8
- Start date
Ok started it today from cold and it idled ok for 2 mins then dropped to 200 revs and barely ticked over.took engine cover off and noticed this oil deposit beside the oil filler stem where a hose goes from throttle body to passenger rocker cover
that's the PCV valve that has an oily deposit around it. Idling ok for the first couple of minutes suggests a bad sensor. When it's cold your ECU is operating in open loop mode and ignores things like the oxygen sensors and possibly even the MAF. Once it's warmed up a bit it goes into closed loop and adjusts fueling according to sensor input. You could disconnect the MAF and check how it idles, it'll put the engine light on but it'll go off again when you reconnect it and restart. If there's no change with the MAF disconnected then it may be the O2 sensors. The only way I know to test O2 sensors is replace them or find someone with a hand held code reader and monitor their values to see how they're behaving. Not sure if the disconnecting trick works for O2 sensors.
Is the oil around the pcv a problem? The maf sensor is the one connected to the intake tube with the wires? Are O2 sensors lambda sensors on the exhaust? The engine revs fine and would probably drive ok until I stopped,then it would stall which is not ideal! Sorry for all the questions but I'm at my wits end with this! Thanks,James
there shouldn't be oil round the pcv valve but it's not fresh or very much of it so it could even be a spill from putting oil in. Correct on the sensors, MAF on the intake, o2 / lambda in the exhaust and if it's those it'll be the one before the cats on each down pipe. NTK O2 sensors are reasonably priced and you're more likely to have an O2 sensor problem that doesn't put the engine light on than a MAF IMO. Of course these are just guesses, could be something else 
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- Mar 1, 2010
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I remember my dad trickling petrol on an inlet manifold when we had a poorly idling engine. Instant sucess [ no not a fire] the engine idle recovered and we found a crack in the aluminium manifold.
Frank
Frank
yes, good point Frank, if disconnecting the MAF fixes the idle it may not mean the MAF is bad, it could also mean you have a vacuum leak.
The PCV valve passes through a grommet and what looks like a crack is just a change in diameter of the valve to go through that grommet. The grommets can go hard and stop sealing though. The part that looks marked is just a foam surround that fits over the valve.
Some movement is normal, it goes through a flexible grommet, but the grommet can go hard and not seal very well. I pulled my valve out, cleaned up the mating surfaces and put it back in with a bit of RTV round it to make sure. You can get a new grommet but if you do watch out for the old one cracking when you try to get it out and bits of it dropping inside the rocker cover! The oil is normal AFAIK, it's condensate from the crank case fumes the PCV valve is designed to pass.
Fired it up again from cold and it ticked over ok for a few mins then the revs dropped off slowly so I disconnected the maf sensor and it died completely. It will not start and run unless I give it a bit of pedal! Should I just get two O2 sensors?? An I better just getting this junker to a garage and get this sorted,the AHC light is still flashing after I topped it up and it won't let me do anything with the suspension either!
you could try changing the O2 sensors, they can cause your symptoms but so can other things ... but that's what I'd do next if it were mine.
The engine check light may be because it has noticed what's wrong, or the MAF isn't plugged back in properly from fiddling with it? Not sure about the others, could be related, couldn't say for sure.
I think it hasn't reset itself from earlier or as you say it's finally noticed something is wrong. The AHC is a worry reading numerous posts about sensor failures and crapped out spheres and Toyota's prices for said parts!! Can't afford to fix it and can't sell it like this!sorry I ever bought it! Thanks a million for all your input Jon, you should be charging for your knowledge!!
Right I've changed the two lambda sensors and guess what........ It's still the same,can't believe this shit is happening to me! I have noticed a ticking noise at about 1500 revs but might be nothing. I can't see any leaks or hear any air escapes so I've only got one choice and that's to leave it in to get fixed..... And so the saga continues........