Reply With Quotefor the last 19 years
Originally Posted by Tiger
Major Contributor
At this point in the life of the car, most rubber hoses, gaskets or o-rings would have hardened and not seal properly.
Ramon
1994 540iA Nikasil EAT Chip
Tampa Bay, Florida USA
5-10 Grand Master
for the last 19 years
all america wants is cold beer warm cat and a place to take a poop with a door on it
Thanks for the advice. Any tips on how to get the pcv plate off would be appreciated.
Sprayed MAF cleaner around the pcv plate. No changes in idle speed but I did get a strange sound kinda like a very quiet air horn for a few seconds each time I really dowsed the rear of the intake manifold.
Last edited by nearle; 03-17-2008 at 08:02 PM.
Big, Big Time Poster
Take a look through this thread. There are a few good links in there to other threads that have instructions for getting to the pcv plate. Also, if the information isn't all there try searching for "Intake manifold" or "PCV". Those should give you what you are looking for. Another thing to check is an S-shaped hose on the pcv plate. Mine developed a hole and caused my problems. While you are in there you might as well replace all of the other gaskets as well to save you from having to do it later.
How do you check if cats are blocked?
5-10 Grand Master
honking is good confirmation, heres a couple pics of one
don't forget the gasket on the throttle body as they are usually cracked on the bottom, the torx bolts are tight shallow headed and strip easily, i remove them with a hand impact driver
all america wants is cold beer warm cat and a place to take a poop with a door on it
To answer my own question, I found this in the "rough idle and ultimate shimmy guide"
If the converter is plugged, it will create a restriction in your exhaust system. The buildup of backpressure will cause a drastic drop in engine performance and fuel economy, and may even cause the engine to stall after it starts if the blockage is severe.
The easiest test for converter plugging is done with a vacuum gauge. Connect the gauge to a source of intake vacuum on the intake manifold, carburetor or throttle body. Note the reading at idle, then raise and hold engine speed at 2,500. The needle will drop when you first open the throttle, but should then rise and stabilize. If the vacuum reading starts to drop, pressure may be backing up in the exhaust system.
The previous owner confirmed that he had not changed the PCV plate so I ordered the PCV plate and gaskets for the front and rear. Is it possible/smart to do this job without taking the manifold off?
This is the truth. I have found a coolant leak coming from the coolant level sensor not sealing and a power steering leak from the fluid reservoir cap . Replace, replace.
5-10 Grand Master
possible but a royal pain in the ass and if you strip one of the dozen of so really tight shallow headed torx you are really in for fun, plus the lower gaskets can leak as they are just as old and oil hardened as the front and rear plenum gaskets
all america wants is cold beer warm cat and a place to take a poop with a door on it
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