Hi all,
Im hoping someone can help me out before I resort to getting rid of this thing! I really dont want to as I have spent about 40-50 hours on this car in the last month!
I know its a long post, but please read through it all!
Its a 98 Legnum, 167,000 kms on it. Car is completely stock mechanically. No error codes apart from SRS air bag
History of car was that it sat idle for a long time > then someone bought it to fix, but never ended up doing anything to it > then I bought it and have been working on it
Since driving the car home, IN TOTAL the car has only been driven for 5-10 minutes at a time (maybe around 3-4 times on different days), and idled in the garage for 10 mins (for about 5-6 times) .. NEVER thrashed!
Car does not seem to lack power, and operation of revving and gear changes is smooth
Items completed on car which may be contributing to my problems. Most of these things were completed around the same time as car was on jack stands and not driven
Ill list in order of completion:
- Engine oil and filter change, I used Nulon 5W-30 full synthetic
**Car started, and idled - noticed lifters were louder. MAF was disconnected when started**
- Replaced ATF fluid
- Replaced stock exhaust (turbo back) with a better condition stock exhaust. CAT was the same, had to remove O2 sensor, but put back.
**Car started, and idled. MAF disconnected - intake pipe actually had a rag covering it at the time**
- Replaced stock air filter with K&N air filter
**Car started, and idled. Performed lifter bleed. MAF reconnected**
- Throttle body cleaner
**Car started, and idled and rev'ed. MAF disconnected**
- Changed fuel filter
**Car started, and idled and taken for a drive. MAF connected**
Note that I did not purposely disconnect the MAF at above stages, it was simply disconnected because I was working on certain areas and had to disconnect to make my job easier at the time
Problem #1 - Car has small hesitation when starting for first time, but can usually start first time. Revs to over 2,000 rpm, but does lower to 1,000 rpm. I assume this is normal operation. When warm starts fine.
Have replaced battery which seemed to help alot ~600 CCA
Old fuel was stale/off, very small amount so diluted with ~35L of 98 RON and injector cleaner
Problem #2 - Car smells like it is running rich
Have had MAF disconnected and car started - Did the ECU "learn" to run rich? (See problem 4)
Problem #3 - Oil in my intake piping/turbo compressor housing
Possibly not a major problem, but wanting to find where the crankcase ventilation is, maybe it needs a catch can? Or its blocked?
Problem #4 - White smoke from exhaust, smells like it is running rich (This didnt seem to happen when I inspected the car, only noticed it after I changed the oil, air filter and used throttle body cleaner)
Yes.. I know the ol head gasket issue, but doesnt seem to have any other symptoms of a head gasket
From my experience, symptoms of a leaky head gasket are
- White smoke [check] - but doesnt smell like coolant.. smells rich
- Hard to start [maybe] - Could be plugs/running rich/host of other problems
- Loss of coolant [no]
- Oily coolant [no]
- "constant" bubbles in coolant [no]
- Water in oil [no] - Did an oil change and didnt notice anything
- Overheating [no]
Sorry for the length of post! But hopefully I have captured everything I have done
Can the ECU be "reset" by disconnecting the battery?
Thanks all in advanced