GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So my old nissan managed to suck up some mud into the poorly designed intake, it made it's way into the throttle body and I'm pretty sure into the engine. Now it will start no problem but then after a second or two sound like I put a huge cam in it and get real lopey then stutter while making a nasty ticking noise then die. The whole engine got swamped just so you know, I have no idea where to start or any idea what is wrong. More info, If I start it then press the gas it will die instantly but if I fan it on and off real quick it will run for quite awhile. Somebody please help guide me in the right direction on where to start or what to check first. All the fluid levels are normal.Thanks in advance.

Dam man, you gotta stop driving out into feilds.... lol... If you see mud in the TB, things aren't looking good, as you already know... I would start by pulling all the vacuum lines and making sure they are clean, some mud in a line and it'll throw everything off... Next thing that comes to mind, would be trying to "mist" the engine with water... Get a GOOD quality hand held sprayer, one that can do a really fine mist, get some distilled water and set it to as fine of a mist you can, and start spraying into the intake.. You might need help for this to keep it running, and it "may" help to rinse anything out, but i'm not overly hopefull about that... If you have mud in the cylinders, everytime you start it you are scoring the cylinders, so possibly pulling the heads, could be a next step.. Best I got for now... maybe more later, i'll think on it..

Hrm, I'll start with the vacuum lines, would it help to crank the engine without the spark plugs in or is that how you get water out when you hydro lock it?

Did the truck stall out in the mud? Sounds like it may have...I would not run it any more... You need to inspect and clean things first. I would start by taking off the TB and intake manifold. You should probably have new gaskets on had for reassemble. Do you have the service manual for the truck?Check the oil closely. This will tell you if there is water in the crank case or not. If so, change it and let it drain awhile before filling it back up. Remove and inspect your spark plugs and wires, this will help tell you what is happening inside the cylinders. Might even buy or try and rent a Borascope. A Borascope is a thin flexible tube that is back lit in which you stick it into each cylinder and then look through the lens so you can see if the cylinders are scored or not. You will also see any crap in the cylinders. If all looks good, go after the exhaust. You may have to disconnect parts to inspect. If the truck died in the mud garbage may be plugging the exhaust. Good luck and let us know!

It didn't stall out, it just sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders It's done that before if I get water in the distributor...I drove it for a little while like that and it just finally died and wouldn't start again. I came back in a few hours and it started right up and gave the symptoms I stated in the first post. What should I look for on the spark plugs when I check them out? Fouling? I have a chiltons manual for it, what would I look for when I remove the intake manifold?Thanks!

For the plugs since this has never happened to me I would just look and see if they are not normal looking. Or anything else out of the ordinary with them. If it has a lope sound to it and won't stay running, starting with the plugs may be a good way since if one is burned up or fouled out, you will see it quickly.Same for the intake manifold. If there is mud in it or leading into the engine, you should find it or tracks from it. If it ran for awhile after-wards then I think something got all dirty or covered with water. You should also disconnect, closely inspect and reconnect any and all electrical connectors under the hood. You may have one with water in it still.

Alright so I went out there to look at stuff and one of the vacuum lines came unhooked, I hooked it up and it turned over and started fine. It won't die now but when I get on the gas any more than like 1/8-1/4 it will sputter. When I stop and it idles, it sounds like it is missing on a cylinder or two. I cleaned out the MAF, it was full of junk...Also, I noticed it wasn't missing at all when the engine was cold but when it warmed up, it started to misfire. :Any thoughts?

You have an issue once the engine gets to Closed Loop or warmed up. Since it is running fine in Open Loop or warming up period. I think it is an ignition issue now.

What should I check first? I have no clue where to start?

I really am not sure myself but glad you got it this far. There are many things that could make it miss in Closed loop like emission or ignition parts. For example if the truck has a charcoal canister and a solenoid valve controlling it there could be an issue there. It has a distributor you said right? If so, you double checked it to make sure it was dry and the timing was set correctly at the distributor?

I have no idea how to check the timing, It has a charcoal canister, I will try to check that out. The top part of the distributer is screwed on, not clamped like most I've seen and the screws don't seem to want to come out I can't find my plug socket, so I didn't check to see if those were fouled, etc. The plug wires look alright and there is no water or mud in them. When you say "closed loop" is there any way to open the loop? Sorry if that's a retarded question but I have no knowledge of ignition systems...Thanks for all the help so far!

Sure, no problem! And no question is stupid! OPEN Loop is controlled by the engines computer and you cannot make the engine go into this mode.In Open loop the computer tells the engine to run at certain parameters until it is warmed up. Then in Closed loop as you can guess the parameters are different. Open loop adjusts spark, timing, air and fuel curves until it senses the change. I am not sure what else to tell you but you sound like on the right track. I mean if the mud and water got too high the canister could be full or if it has a filter like my old 1987 Cavalier had on the bottom of the canister, it too could be full of mud. What did you clean the MAF out with? Do you use brake cleaner or throttle body cleaner? Those products you can use, dry clean and do not leave a residue behind.

For the MAF, It wasn't covered with anything, it just had dried mud flakes clogging the hole that the maf is in. I just blew it out from the opposite side, I didn't actually clean it with brakeleen or anything...I'm about to go check out the canister after I finish my piece of pie Would carb/ throttle body cleaner help clean some of the stuff out of my engine? Is there anything that would? Is sublime's idea of spraying atomized water into the intake a good idea?

Quote, originally posted by wyatt89 »I'm about to go check out the canister after I finish my piece of pie Would carb/ throttle body cleaner help clean some of the stuff out of my engine? Is there anything that would? Is sublime's idea of spraying atomized water into the intake a good idea?Pie!!!! You are killing me! Is it chocolate? Do not use carb cleaner in a throttle body engine! No no! The products are not the same... If you do have TB cleaner, take the air cleaner off and then you can spray it in the TB to clean. Use a rag as well to wipe crap off the walls. The engine will take a few cranks to start after-wards but that is normal. It will burn off any junk at the combustion chambers. I would use your brake cleaner on the MAF though myself, it cannot hurt to clean it since it is designed to burn crap off the diodes (if it has heated diodes) and if mud caked or were, they cannot do their job correctly. Take the MAF apart if you can to clean it real good. Even if it does not have heated, it has diodes air must pass over and send readings back to the computer. You can also use your STP cleaner on the MAF.The water trick is an old school trick and works but if you have never done this I would stay away from it.

Lol, it's coconut creme pie, we do have chocolate though if you want to drive down I can fuel you with all the pie you want haha.I've cleaned the vibe maf before with brakeleen and it worked great, I didn't know that carb and tb cleaner were different, I just thought it was a bunch of alcohol...I'll take your advice and stay away from the water...Now it's autozone time!

Yeah, reading more now, I wouldn't bother with the water either... As toolguy has been so helpfull, I would attack the ignition, you NEED to get that distributor cap off... They are typically vented from the bottom, and you mighta got something in there... This sounds a lot like my Astro and it's ignition problems.. Make sure you check the wires again and look for signs of arcing, if they are close to something metal, that CAN arc (mine happend to be on the engine "cover" foil backed sound insulation) I can't say i've ever herd of a 4 stroke motor fouling a plug, but that's just my limited expierence talking.. somehting to check though... and as already stated, any electrical connections that might have gotten wet...

AWESOME!!!!! I cleaned out the throttle body (extensively) with stp intake and throttle body cleaner. I also sprayed the inside of the intake manifold and cleaned the pan and seal that hold the air filter. It started fine and I ran a bit of cleaner through it while it was running, it started to heat up and it never so much as sputtered. I ran it around for about 30 min and it sounds exactly like it did before I killed it. Thank you so much for the guidance Toolguy! I totally would send you a chocolate pie if it wouldn't get rancid on the way there Thanks too sublime!I need to post some pictures of the truck now that I have turned it into a flatbed >:} The driver's side bed wall was so rusty that it was held up with a ratchet strap... not anymore!!!

Congrats!!!

Quote, originally posted by wyatt89 »AWESOME!!!!! I cleaned out the throttle body (extensively) with stp intake and throttle body cleaner. I also sprayed the inside of the intake manifold and cleaned the pan and seal that hold the air filter. It started fine and I ran a bit of cleaner through it while it was running, it started to heat up and it never so much as sputtered. I ran it around for about 30 min and it sounds exactly like it did before I killed it. Thank you so much for the guidance Toolguy! I totally would send you a chocolate pie if it wouldn't get rancid on the way there Thanks too sublime!I need to post some pictures of the truck now that I have turned it into a flatbed >:} The driver's side bed wall was so rusty that it was held up with a ratchet strap... not anymore!!!You are very welcome! I have taught myself many things about vehicles but I have also learned from others and this is just a way of paying it forward to you now. Sublime nailed the vacuum hose right on too! BTW, STP cleaner is the one I use too you can use it on the MAF as well... Now go clean your Vibe's! Carb cleaner can remove sensor coatings and parts coatings on TB engines, that is the difference. Good job!

Sweet man, Always a pleasure to help from a distance... I mean come on, being able to lend a hand from 1000mi away, what more can you ask for...!!! Thanks for the props Toolguy.. I would still look over the distributor if you can though..

been gone for a lil bit, but i'm glad you were able to get it running ok. and yeah post the pics already props to todd and aaron