My R32 Sounds Like Wrx

[Rocky88]

Last week during a cruise on a freeway my R32 (RB20DET) all the suddenly started to sound like WRX - it got really deep sound, kinda like truck. and it became noticeably slower and its shaking like hell (there's no rattling noise or anything like that though)... First thought was faulty spark-plug, but then all the suddenly it fixed itself... It was alright for a while but then it started doing it again... It's alright at the moment but it's still happening at times, usually after driving for a while...

Should replacing spark plugs fix the issue or is it something I should be concerned about?

[blind_elk]

More likely a failing igniter module - they don't like lots of heat after a while.

Could also be a leaking injector flooding the spark plug.

[ClutchBurndout-:(]

have you checked your exhaust is all tight and no loose bolts etc? my car did the exact same thing when my cat started to disconnect from the front pipe

[RustyR32Gtst]

Coil ???

[CRoNic...]

Check coil packs, plugs, etc.

And cross your fingers!!

[Rocky88]

coils were alright... it was sparks. 

[Rocky88]

hmmm... too early to celebrate. Today my car started making the same sound but only briefly. While servicing the engine I spotted 3 studs have snapped off the manifold. I'm planning to get studs fixed and replace gasket on the manifold as soon as I can afford... I just want to know if that might be reason for the weird wrx sound and temporary loss of power.

[PUDZ 32R]

an exhaust gasket that is gone will make that noise but it will almost certainly be all the time,, not only every now and then.

[Rocky88]

an exhaust gasket that is gone will make that noise but it will almost certainly be all the time,, not only every now and then.

yea... that's pretty much what I thought. And gasket is still in fair condition and manifold is not causing any problems at the moment eithers.

[Rocky88]

So it got much worse and it's pretty much doing it all the time now... It's really annoying so I want to fix it asap. I came to decission that's it's probably stuffed coil packs. Just cant afford to spend $600 on splitfires so I wanted to know what are more affordable options out there. 2nd hand stock coil packs?

[Luciano]

Like blind elk said, try swapping your ignitor with a friends, Rok.

Still, you can't rule out the coils like you say. I found that the standard coils are actually pretty tough - mine were scorched, melted, and hammered - they weren't performing their best, so I taped them em up for a temporary fix, and they performed a lot better - got rid of some slight misfiring through rev range.

I bought a brand new set of superspark coils, installed, and found that they really don't perform a hell of a lot better (as they claim), than the standard ones taped up...

I reckon rule out the ignitor before you spend $ on coils

[shepo]

i garantee it will be the coil packs. it will be hard to find which one it is, but it will start getting worse and worse. what you can do is pull the cover off, let the car run until it starts to miss fire. then disconnect the coil packs one by one. with each one you disconnect the idle should get even rougher, until you disconnect one and the idle doesnt change. then you have found your faulty coil pack.

same thing has hapend to me with both my skylines. with my old gts-t i just replaced them one at a time as they went. but with my gtr i lashed out and got a set of splitfires.

i can highly recomend the splitfires. ive never had a problem with them.

hope this has been a help.

[Rocky88]

Like blind elk said, try swapping your ignitor with a friends, Rok.

Still, you can't rule out the coils like you say. I found that the standard coils are actually pretty tough - mine were scorched, melted, and hammered - they weren't performing their best, so I taped them em up for a temporary fix, and they performed a lot better - got rid of some slight misfiring through rev range.

I bought a brand new set of superspark coils, installed, and found that they really don't perform a hell of a lot better (as they claim), than the standard ones taped up...

I reckon rule out the ignitor before you spend $ on coils

Yea... aftermarket coil packs making more hp than stock ones is pretty much just a myth from what I heard from many people. And as long as maintained properly stock ones should also last longer than aftermarket. The only exception is probably splitfires but even they are probably not much better than stock ones.

i garantee it will be the coil packs. it will be hard to find which one it is, but it will start getting worse and worse. what you can do is pull the cover off, let the car run until it starts to miss fire. then disconnect the coil packs one by one. with each one you disconnect the idle should get even rougher, until you disconnect one and the idle doesnt change. then you have found your faulty coil pack.

same thing has hapend to me with both my skylines. with my old gts-t i just replaced them one at a time as they went. but with my gtr i lashed out and got a set of splitfires.

i can highly recomend the splitfires. ive never had a problem with them.

hope this has been a help.

Thanks man. I'll try disconnecting them when I get time to see which one is stuffed and I'll replace it with stock one for now.

[buggor34]

possibly afm. Good idea to give it a good clean with some co-contact cleaner.

[jnr_chin]

that happens sometimes because of slack connection. the result would be the firing of only 5 coils firing. the car will drive but with less power and the subi sound. the engine will become unbalanced hence unstable causing vibration

1. slack connection on the air flow meter. pins not making contact etc.

2. slack connection on one of the injector plug on

3. slack connection on the right hand side of the igniter (the end going to the plugs)

because current is flowing from pin to pin sometimes if not connected properly when the car shakes too much, it will happen and act back normal because of the arcing of the current flowing.

the best bet is when this is happening fly the bonnet and check connections one by one to see which one stops it. if you are able to use a 12 volt tester you can also check the connection to the coils itself. dont rule out any parts but i doubt those are any trouble. the muffler has nothing much to do with how the engine reacts in this situation. without the muffler the engine can feel and sound very smooth.

[Rocky88]

today i finaly had time to take off the engine cover and check the coil packs... after running the car and disconnecting one after another i found a faulty one, so its definitely a coil pack thats gone.

the only problem is that the replacement one I bought has different connector that ones found in my car. coil packs in my r32 are mcp-300 with three horizontal pins, while the one i got is mcp-200 with three vertical pins... which skyline uses ones with vertical pins?

[Rocky88]

replaced coil and its still doing it... and i have 2 hours till vehicle inspection to clear defect... can i pass vehicle inspection with car misfiring??? what is it if its not coil? loom?

[arbess]

have you considered a compression test on your engine?

Electrical issues, such as coil packs, may occur else where around the engine along the wiring. If you have read any of my post you will see my frustration in trying to find my WRX issue.

Good luck

[Rocky88]

so the problem just got even weirder... the last possible suspect was fuel injector... so i had my mechanic to take it out and clean it. after that i started car and it was running perfectly. but then after 5 minutes it started missing badly again... so i unplugged the injector to check contacts, plugged it back in and car ran smoothly again so i took it for a spin again and after driving for couple of minutes it started missing again. usually starts in 2nd gear after 2,500 revs, but not while idling, no matter how high revs... so i unplugged it, plugged it back in and again car ran perfect for short time. After plugging injector usually car runs smoothly in 1st gear, in 2nd gear it starts stuttering a bit at 2,500 revs, and then same in 3rd and 4th and then after minute or two it starts misfiring badly again.

i just dont get it cause injector connector is firmly secured with the staple-looking thing...there doesnt seem anything wrong with connection because i tested it with multimeter...

[CRoNic...]

Have you done a compression/leak down test yet on the engine?