Uh-Oh - Engine Dead ? (Lanos)

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:16 am

Shit,driving along quite happily,suddenly lose power and car coasts to a standstill. Tried re-starting but sounded like it was choking and wouldn't start. Starter turns fine but sounds like there is no ignition at all.Not sure if its something to do with the ignition system or if my engine seized.Oil level is good(and clean),and there was some coolant,although it was lower than what it should be(not dry though)What would happen if the engine suddenly seized while driving,would it come to a sudden quick stop? This didnt happen. It just sounded like there was no firing. I'm hoping something simple like the distributor or some shit like that which decided to die on me. Tell you what though,if its the engine,the car is being parted out and junked,not worth it to replace it.

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:57 am

look and see if it has spark, if not its prolly the coil pack. did your temperature raise above the normal point that it is normally at? i cant remember, how old is the timing belt?

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 5:54 pm

Check timing belt/alternator.

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:38 am

OK,been away for a few days,now I can look into this crap a bit more. I checked the timing belt,and it is still intact. It was only replaced 5000 miles ago. Alternator was replaced recently also,battery is fine and cranks up the motor like a champ.
I took off the oil fill cap and tried to start it,the valvetrain turns (phew!). I checked for sparks and I am getting sparks from the plugs.
Someone else suggested to take off the air cleaner,and pump the gas pedal and smell for gas,if no gas smell,then the problem could be fuel pump or filter. Now that I think of it,the car was stuttering and spluttering when it had come to a stop,as if only a small amount of gas was getting through and then stopped completely. Is the fuel filter one of those things that needs replacing often ?

Any other ideas ?

Post by **PrecisionBoost** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 1:36 am

First of all whom ever told you to pump the gas pedal and smell for gas is obviously only knowledgeable about carbureted vehicles.

I know this because I've build a couple of carburated V8 motors.

Pumping the gas will do absolutely nothing... the injectors are controlled by the ECU.... and they only fire when the ECU decides to do so.

Only two things can stop an engine from running.... spark and fuel.

You've verified you have spark so it must be fuel.

The fuel filter should be replaced on a regular basis.... I'd suggest every 40,000 miles.

Some people will say 10,000 miles or once a year but I think that is a waist of time and money.

Sure you can sometimes go 150,000 miles without replacement.... but if you do.... your simply lucky.

A blocked fuel filter can end up destroying your engine because it's possible for it to run very lean just before the filter completely plugs up.

It's such a simple thing to replace and they are not expensive.... so it's really a waist if you don't do it on a regular basis.

If your tank was nearly empty when this happened it's most likely a situation where the fuel filter picked up crap from the bottom of your fuel tank and plugged up.

So..... first off replace your fuel filter.

The other thing it could be is a dead fuel pump or a fuel pump relay.... both will end up doing the same thing.

Hopefully it's your filter or relay.... fuel pumps are not cheap.

Good luck... hope this helps.

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 1:45 am

Thanks for that PB. I noticed that the gas is almost on empty,maybe a third of the way between empty and the quarter mark.
I swapped out the fuel pump relay for one of the identical relays in there and tried it,but same result. I guess that relay could have been dud too so ...

Would any of the faults you mentioned show up on OBD II ? If so I could get hold of a reader and see what fault codes i get.

cheers

Post by **PrecisionBoost** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 2:09 am

A reader most likely will not pick up on a dead fuel pump or a clogged filter..... most OBD codes are related to electrical signals from sensors, relays, valves ect.

If you have a bad fuel filter the pump will produce the correct fuel pressure.... it's just that it won't be getting to your injector rail.

I guess the last option to consider is the ECU..... but I'd have to guess fuel pump or filter first of all.

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 7:01 pm

OK,I got a new fuel filter with the intention of changing it first before enything else.. Is there a special tool required to get the old one off,because one side has a plastic clip which comes off easily(pass side) but the drivers side inlet pipe does not seem to want to come off,it is fitted on to the filter different from the outlet side. I don't want to tug on it too hard in case it breaks
Help !!

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:06 pm

you basicly need to just pull it straight off. its a PITA and be prepaired to mess you nuckles up if you arent carefull.

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:03 pm

Yeah the knuckles was what I was thinking of at the time. I was looking to see where my hand would end up if I pulled too hard and it slipped off !!

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:43 pm

yeah thats what happens if your not carefull.

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:45 pm

Luckily I didn't do it yet,so knuckles are still intact (for now at least!)

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:30 am

Just put the new filter in,and I managed to get the car started,although it won't start every time,but it coughs and stalls when i only have slight pressure on the gas pedal.If I put my foot down it revs along nicely.A also noticed that the inlet pipe(I think its the inlet) kinks badly when the filter is set in its holder. I took a pic of the bit that bends. I left it off the holder dlip so that the pipe could be straighter,but it didnt make any difference. In the pic you can see the point where it bends,(white arrow) even though it shows straighter in the pic because it's not set in its correct position.Once i set it in its holder,it bends to almost a right angle.

Well It's better than it was,at least it starts,but why does it cough and splutter at low revs ?

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:10 am

get new spark plugs adm then give it a try. how old is the gas?

naznomad · Post by **naznomad** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:25 am

Gas was only put in the day before it happened,so 3 weeks maybe. I'm going to re-check the plugs again,make sure they are all sparking before i go buy new ones

The original daewootech forum

Uh-Oh - Engine Dead ? (Lanos)

Uh-Oh - Engine Dead ? (Lanos)

Replacing the fuel Filter