‘03 base - rough idle

1.8-liter VVTL-i (2ZZ-GE) and VVT-i (1ZZ-FE) engine, transmission, exhaust, intake, and performance tuning discussions
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Rexter
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:04 pm

‘03 base - rough idle

Post by Rexter »

2003 base, 278K on it.

Back story: cooling fan blade assembly come off the motor. Put on an Import Direct unit from O’Reilly. 2 weeks later, that one decided to disintegrate, and poked a few holes in the radiator. I had to add some stop-leak since I was 150 miles from home. Ordered a Denso radiator, hoses, and t-stat. Installed those last Saturday. I removed the upper half of the air box to get to the upper hose clamp. Job went smoothly, but it cranked over slowly before starting. The idle was loping pretty bad.
On Tuesday, I disconnected the MAF sensor while on the road, and it straightened up by 95%. Tuesday afternoon, I stopped for a few. When I got back in, it wouldn’t crank over. Fast-forward to hitting the solenoid with a 4-way and it started. Drove my Camry out of town. This morning, it started, but would barely idle. Cleaned the MAF and throttle body, checked for vacuum leaks with brake cleaner….no joy. If you give it a gnats-hair of throttle, it smooths out. While fooling with it, I unplugged coils going across the board, and it didn’t seem to make a difference no matter which cylinder was dropped.

The frustration level is high at the moment.


I’m going to clean the IAC and drop some new plugs in, as I think they have about 120k on them.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.



The starter is dragging really bad, so that will be replaced today.
cptnsolo77
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Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by cptnsolo77 »

Since you removed the air box, double check to see if you reconnected the vacuum hose that's on the bottom of it. Its common for people to forget to reconnect it. Keep us posted and good luck 👍
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Rexter
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:04 pm

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by Rexter »

Still no joy on the idle issue. Had a friend over to double-check my work, and do some work on his ‘08. Went over everything I did with the air box lid, electrical connections, etc.

I cleaned the t-body, MAF, and IAC, and she still lopes like a top-fuel car. The slightest touch of throttle makes it smooth right out. Unplugging the MAF will kill it, so that seems to pass the test. I think I’ll replace the IAC since the issue is at idle only.

The rest of the day was replacing the starter, front struts,, and front brakes on mine. The other car got front brakes and rear struts.
zbyers
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Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by zbyers »

Is the CEL on? If so, what are the codes?
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB

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Rexter
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:04 pm

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by Rexter »

Long weekend. Installed a green-label IACV yesterday. It helped but didn’t cure the ill. Fired it up this morning and the idle jumped to 2500 for a few seconds and then dropped to 1700. I could hear a slight sputter. Left the house and it smoothed out. Drove 50 miles no issues. Had stop at a light and the idle was loping. Got a CEL with misfires across the board. Cleared that and it was fine for another 80 or so miles. Stopped at a house and got the same stumble and loping idle with #4 misfire.
SSizler
Posts: 144
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:06 pm
Location: Urbandale, Iowa

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by SSizler »

Did it get hot when the radiator emptied?
These engines are unforgiving when it comes to overheating.
Also, is your PCV valve rattling freely?
I had an idle problem that cleared up when I replaced a plugged solid PCV valve.
2003 Vibe Base / Frosty Mono / Moon & Tunes / Auto / 206k mi / Total Loss 1-23
2006 Vibe AWD / Lava Mono / Loaded w/Leather and Sport Pkg / 150k mi
Many other 2 & 4 wheel toys :mrgreen:
40 years with a wonderful woman / 2 adult kids
Rexter
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:04 pm

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by Rexter »

Been a minute. Came down with Corovid last week.

I can clear codes, and as soon as it stumbles I get misfires across the board. I futzed around with it a few minutes ago, and it seems to run best with the MAF sensor unplugged. I guess I’ll order another one and see if it helps.

It didn’t run dry….never pegged the temp. What baffles me is that it ran perfect until I replaced the radiator and hoses, which was a solid 2 weeks after the fan poked holes in the radiator. I ran those 2 weeks with stop-leak, and all was good.


It didn’t want to start after putting it back together, and has run like crap since.

The only things I fooled with were rad/fan, hoses, and removed the upper half of the airbox and inlet tube from the throttle body (to get at the upper hose clamp).

Since it went south, I’ve cleaned the throttle body, replaced the IAC valve, cleaned the MAF sensor, and changed plugs. I’ve checked all of the vacuum lines for cracks. I’ll try a new MAF sensor next. If that doesn’t help, maybe I’ll run it off in the river.
zbyers
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Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by zbyers »

What are the actual codes?
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB

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Rexter
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:04 pm

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by Rexter »

P0171 lean
P0300 misfire generic
P0301 misfire 1
P0302misfire 2
P0303 misfire 3
P0304 misfire 4
P0505 idle speed incorrect
andrewclaus
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Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by andrewclaus »

I think the P0171 problem is causing everything else. There was mechanical damage near the intake manifold from the fan blades, and you did some work in that area. Something could be leaking. The manifold on mine is plastic. I'd check there. Use a length of heater hose to listen.
zbyers
Posts: 1767
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by zbyers »

andrewclaus wrote: Fri Oct 08, 2021 7:04 am I think the P0171 problem is causing everything else. There was mechanical damage near the intake manifold from the fan blades, and you did some work in that area. Something could be leaking. The manifold on mine is plastic. I'd check there. Use a length of heater hose to listen.
x2
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB

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Rexter
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Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 9:04 pm

Re: ‘03 base - rough idle

Post by Rexter »

Been a minute. Got a new phone and lost all my passwords, and had issues getting back on here. Anywho…..


Gave up and took her to a shop. $90 fix, which the paperwork said was a broken vacuum line to the purge canister allowing unmetered air into the system. I didn’t get to question the mechanic, as he left the day before I picked up the car, and never returned.
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