Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi Guys,

I'm really hoping someone can give me some info/guidance on some problems I'm having with my baby.

The car is a R32 GTST - RB20 stock engine. I bought it about 18months ago; it has approx 220,000 km on her. Major 200k service was completed by previous owner (according to him)

Problem 1 (first started occurring 2-3 weeks ago):

The car will start up normally, and will run normally at first. Then once it gets warm, after 40min to an hour of driving, it will start to sound like it has dropped a cylinder. It will develop a "put put" sound from the exhaust, start to backfire badly after acceleration, and would generally feel like it had no power. The car will not idle smoothly, and the idle will drop quite low (400-600 RPM). It will still get some boost, but it won't start to kick in until around 4k RPM. There is also a strong smell of fuel inside the car (with the windows up and no a/c or fans on), as well as outside the car.

The problem started out being fairly sporadic, but then became more regular (as in would occur within 30-40 min of starting the car on my drive to and from work)

Once the problem starts, it won't go away until the car is not running for a significant period (like overnight).

*First thought is to a leaky injector o-ring, and some fuel can be seen in the area around the injector. But have not removed it yet as am waiting on parts.

Problem 2 (started approx 1 week ago):

The car will start normally, and will idle normally. Then when trying to pull away in first, the car will seem normal until 2k RPM. Then it will bog down, and plateau at 2k, and will take 20 30 seconds to get to 3k RPM. The boost gauge on the dash (which is not in PSI) will read to -7, until RPM reaches 3K, and then it will come back to 0, and then start to boost up to +4 at 4.5K RPM (which is much later than normal). The same will happen in second gear, but not in any of the others.

It is hard to say if this issue occurs after a certain amount of time, or in certain conditions. It has happened straight away from starting the car, and it has also happened after the car has been running for a while.

I have had this problem go away while driving once.

So fingers crossed you guys can help! Thanks in advance, and if there is anything I can be more specific about just let me know :)

- Sheri

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/364417-rb20r32-gtst-engine-gremlins/
Share on other sites

Its seems they would have been done at 200k according to his post (by the previous owner) But that is purely taking the previous owners word for it.

Edit- Do Rb 20's suffer from the same shitty coil packs the Rb25s do? My 25 behaved similar in some instances when the coils were rat shit.

Edited by cannabiscorpse

First diagnose everything and see where you come up.

Check compression, fuel pressure, resistance across the usual sensors and diagnostic error codes.

Start with the basics, the factory service manual (FSM) can tell you all this.

Once you have checked that everything is running as it should.. Then you can start wondering what gremlins you may have.

thanks for the responses guys :)

I changed the spark plugs about a year ago (3-4 months after buying the car)

but have not yet checked the coil packs, so will put that on the to do list.

Thanks for the help so far, will update with any findings as I go :)

Ok car just died at a set of lights in peak hour traffic! So frustrating! And what is with no one stopping to help or even asking if I'm ok! And no tow trucks are available!!!! \end rant

Will be looking at it tomorrow, will be checking coil packs, sparks, leads, battery, starter everything! (was going to be looking at it anyway which makes it even more annoying)

So car still isn't starting today :(

Coil packs are fine, all 6 plugs are sparking though spark seems weak...

Fuel is definitely going into the fuel rail, so all the ingredients are there for it to start, but it still isn't.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

So car still isn't starting today :(

Coil packs are fine, all 6 plugs are sparking though spark seems weak...

Fuel is definitely going into the fuel rail, so all the ingredients are there for it to start, but it still isn't.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

My money is on the igniter. :)

^^ This. Check. (its the black box ontop of the coilpack cover. Find another one and test)

ok, so have checked the igniter pack, swapped it with a working one and no change to the car.

have been using consult cable to check dtc's, Nothing found.

did notice corrosion on injector plugs (previous owner lived on the beaches - i do not) so potentially has been like that for a year or more.

start attempts still dont sound quite right. Starter motor is turning, but i cannot feel the solanoid clicking...

so will continue investigations down that tangent...

all suggetions welcome :)

ok so in addition to that... the starter doesnt sound/feel like its clicking... but the engine is turning over...

so not having much luck....

thoughs and suggestions appreciated :)

ok so in addition to that... the starter doesnt sound/feel like its clicking... but the engine is turning over...

so not having much luck....

thoughs and suggestions appreciated :)

Engine can't turn over if the starter inst working. :P

If you can try swapping the CAS/AFM with a known working one too. Also make sure your battery has good charge as low battery voltage can mess with the electrical systems.

Check all the intake piping after the AFM for leaks or anything popped off or something silly like that. Very hard to diagnose a car without seeing it lol.

Has any work been done recently on the car?

Thanks jezza, haven't checked the CAS with a working one. But the car is definitely turning over, with the cam cover off you can see the gears turning.

Tried changing coil packs with working ones, but still no joy.

Even with a leak in the air intake, it should still start though right?

Hoping my boyfriend can borrow a Nissan diagnostic tool from his work tomorrow. Hoping that might pick up something that ecu talk missed.

Otherwise I think it will be time to send it to a good auto sparky . . . :(

Ok not the result I wanted. Tested injectiors using noid light/ injector test light, with a positive result. Unable to test all the injectors without removing all the surrounding mess.

Next suggestion has been fuel pressure, or something electrical.

Does anyone have any ideas or thoughts? Currently running very low on both. :(

Can you hear the fuel pump priming when the ignition is turned on?

I'm starting to think the ECU has shit itself because your problem has gone from bad to worse and now the car won't even start. If you can try a working one or get a place to test your one.

Yes fuel pump is definitely priming and pumping fuel into the fuel rail. It's unknown if it's pushing through enough pressure though.

Though that is leading to the question of where is the fuel going? As the car is pushing air out the exhaust, though doesn't appear fuely. And if it is igniting, well then what is stopping the car from starting (again leading back to electrical/ecu/unknown sensor)

Tonight I will be having a look at the ecu, unsure if testing will be possible, but will definitely try for that.

Will also be trying to swap the CAS for a known working one as well.

Hoping to have it fixed Texi in June so here's hoping something tonight works!

sounds like a flat battery if your starter wont even click over

jump start it with another car and if it turns over it is your battery, injectors etc wont stop it cranking lol, once you have it at least turning over but not starting get a consult cable and make sure all sensors are working.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Even more fun, leave all the ADAS stuff plugged in, but in different locations, hopefully avoid any codes!   And honestly, all these new cars with their weird electronics. Pull all the electronics out Duncan, and just shove an aftermarket ECU and if needed a trans controller in, along with a PDM. Make it run basic but race car styled!
    • To follow up a question from earlier too since I had the front bar off again (fking!) This is what is between the bumper and the drivers side wheel And this is the navigator side, only one thing but its a biggy! So basically....no putting coolers in the wheel arches without a lot of moving other stuff. Assuming I move to properly race prepping this car I'll take that job on and see how the computers respond to removing a whole bunch of ADAS modules
    • So I prepped the car for another track day on Wednesday (will be interesting to see coolant temps post flushing out and the larger reservoir, with a forecast of 3-14 being 20o cooler than last time I took it out). Couple of things to mention; since I am just driving the car and not taking a support vehicle, I took the rear seats out and just loaded the back up Team Trackday style. Look at all that space! To cover off removing the rear seat....it is weird (note the hybrid is probably different because it wouldn't have folding rear seats) Basically, you remove the lower seat base, very similar to a r series but it is a clip that pulls forward to release the base rather than it being bolted down. Easy Then, you need to remove the side section of the rear seat on each side. There is a 14mm head nut at the bottom of the side piece, the it slides upwards off a hook at the top to release; you also need to unhook the seatbelt from the loop at the top. Then the centre piece is weird. You need to release/fold the seats forward with the tab in the boot on each side From there, there are 2,x12mm headed bolts holding the rear of each seat to the folding bracket, under the trim between the rear seat and the boot (4x christmas tree clips there, they suck). The seat is out but you can see where the bolts attach to the bracket
    • As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them.  To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday.  Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine.  I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110.  Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year. 
    • I would put a fuel pressure gauge between the filter and the fuel rail, see if it's maintaining good fuel pressure at idle going up to the point when it stalls. Do you see any strange behavior in commanded fuel leading up to the point when it stalls? You might have to start going through the service manual and doing a long list of sensor tests if it's not the fuel system for whatever reason.
×
×
  • Create New...