Got a Quick, Technical Question?

bill78

The oil pressure light/indicator light on my '89 Mitsubishi Magna remains on. I have replaced the sensor, checked the light with hot and cold motor and nothing seems to change. The tappets are noisy, especially #1 inlet but no noise from bottom end where I would have expected the noise to come from. Sump is full.

pgilbert

I have a '92 Previa in excellent condition; 210 000 km, and still runs like new because most of miles are highway. Engine is in excellent condition - but the oil reservoir slowly loses volume, about 2 liters every 5 to 6 months and/or 10 000 km. There is no oil on the garage floor, and the engine is certainly not burning a trace of oil. The dipstick shows full all the time, and I have never added any oil at the dipstick access tube between oil changes. Anyone know how this safety oil-reservoir interfaces with the engine oil, and how it could slowly be losing oil?

Mr_Shiftright

You are probably burning it and a quart every 3,000 miles is certainly within limits for a car of this age.

highroller

This is a newbie question, but today i wanted to see how high the rpm would go on "D" gear of my truck. I never had the chance to max out an rpm before in any gear or in any car so hopefully this may not sound so silly.

I floored my "D" gear to 5.8k rpm and the needle dropped down with my foot still on full-throttle or still depressed all the way to the floor.

It seemed like i overrevved it, but im just guessing that my 5-speed auto is just selecting another gear for me to do full-throttle on. Is this normal or should i be more careful? Again, i never revved this high before and dont know what to expect.

High

crankshaft

sounds to me like your tranny upshifted.your actions remind me of a quote from forrest gump,"stupid is as stupid does".why anyone would want to do this is beyond me.

highroller

Well, what ill effect will this have on the tranny? thanks.

highroller

In addition, isn't there a rev limiter for all the gears in an auto tranny? i would thought that the tranny is shifting to a higher gear to fit my throttle and acceleration?

It's like that ps2 gran tourismo game that i played... i chose auto for my car and when it was time to go racing.. i floored it and when it reaches the highest rpm it can go, it shifted to a higher gear for more acceleration.. :confuse:

High

highroller

I hope that all i was sensing during my full throttle was that my 5spd auto tranny was just upshifting after it hit 5800 rpm on the tachometer.

So i guess my real question to ask is there any possible way to over rev an engine using the normal "D" gear on an automatic tranny?

thor6

thanks for the reply. Did exactly as advised & all is well.

Best regards

lance

pgilbert

Agreed - guess it stands to reason the reservoir is there in order to keep the oil-level I see at the dipstick always at 'full' ....and the consumption is within specifications. Thanks.

Mr_Shiftright

nothing wrong with a little oil burning--in fact, burning a bit of oil up top in the combustion/valve area is probably a good thing, if it is not excessive. You are probably sucking it down through old valve stem seals or slightly worn valve guides.

luckyford

sorry if i'm interupting, but i am new to the forum and need some help.

luckyford

i have a 1999 ford superduty. the door ajar light and the interior light as well as the cargo light will not go out after i close the door.

Mr_Shiftright

Okay this sounds like a defective switch in the door jamb area or in the door lock that is supposed to turn off these lights...the only other thing I can think of is that your car has some switch on the dash or stalk or headliner that allows manual lighting of these lights---and this has inadvertently been left on.

highroller

From my earlier posts, did it seem that there could be any damage done from my high rpm full-throttle using "Drive"?

I got some response like cut-off and upshifts, but nothing about if there could be any damaging effects done to the pistons, etc.

Do you think that there could be any damage done to the transmission or internal engine components?

High

qbrozen

everything is fine. My question is, why would anyone NOT use full throttle once in a while? Heck, I buy relatively fast vehicles for this very reason.

I have no idea why that one poster commented on it being "stupid." Are there really drivers who have NEVER used full throttle? The car is designed to do this. The redline has been set well within the vehicles limitations and, especially in an automatic where it will shift for you when it feels its needed, there is NOTHING wrong with hitting that max rpm point. I suggest doing full-throttle acceleration on a regular basis (let's say once a week, for the sake of an argument) for both your personal enjoyment and the long-term healthiness of the vehicle.

highroller

Amen. Couldnt agreed with you more. Plus thanks for verifying the cutoff point on the tachometer with my auto tranny doing full throttle on drive.

high

alcan

The door switches are built into the latches, and as the grease on them ages it hardens and holds the switches open. Try spraying a liberal abount of WD40 or equivalent into the latches to free the switches up. Sometimes takes a day or so to work.

cob

On todays computer controlled engines and transmissions it is impossible to over rev the engine. Even if you put the gear shifter in first gear and floor it the trans will shift to second before the redline. In fact you can leave it in first with your foot to the floor and it will shift all the way up to overdrive or until the top speed limiter kicks in. Beware, if you leave it in first and let off the gas it will down shift back to first around 30-40 mph depending on the gear ratio of your vehicle. The drive line doesn't always appreciate that and would probably cause more damage over time than running wide open.

crankshaft

there is nothing wrong with giving full throttle once in a while.to forcefully take an engine to redline is foolish.
1.unnecessary engine wear and possibly failure.
2.you can't convince me that this is good for the tranny.
3.you create an unsafe condition for others on roadway.
4.if you lose control,i doubt most people will be able to recover control of their vehicles.
5.health care costs are high enough with out some nascar wannabe requiring long term care because he went into a tree.

Mr_Shiftright

The problem is that engines want to destroy themselves, and will do so if allowed to rev uncontrollably. With modern rev limiters, it's theoretically difficult to hurt an engine but at those "redline" speeds, you really never know what will happen. The stresses on pistons and other moving parts is impressive.

However it is always worse to rev an engine at idle to redline than in gear because in gear the engine is "working" and is therefore somewhat restrained.

All this also depends on the type of engine. Some engines are very comfortable at redline all the day long and some you had better not do that.

kitties

I have a 1990 Dodge Shadow that just died on me today and won't start. It turns over, just won't kick in. I need to know the location of the fuel switch in case it might be the problem. Thanks. =^..^=

alcan

There isn't one. Remove the distributor cap, crank it over, and make sure the rotor is turning. If not, the timing belt's broken.

kitties

Ok, thanks for letting me know my car doesn't have a fuel switch..............Now another question......

I tried later on after it died to start it again. It cranked up but lasted only 2-3 seconds and then died again. It did this twice. The car is getting air and gas, FYI. Any input? Again it's a 1990 Dodge Shadow. Thanks. =^..^=

qbrozen

well, the poster did say he/she was in Drive while doing this.

crank - i'm not sure what you are differentiating when you say "nothing wrong with full throttle" and "don't forcefully take an engine to redline." What do you mean by forcefully? We're simply talking about using full throttle and hitting the shiftpoint (redline) in an auto trans car while accelerating. I don't see how this is "forceful", so maybe you are making the same point as shifty and talking about revving the engine to redline in neutral or park? If so, as I stated above, that's not what we're talking about here.

As far as your statements about racing, please save it. Again, that's not what we're talking about. We are not referring to hitting redline in high gear and, consequently, breaking the speed limit. Don't turn a discussion into something it is not. Besides, even if we were, we could very easily be talking about driving at the racetrack.

fernay

Do I have to replace the whole transmission if my rodeo won't shift gears? What could I check/or change first?

fernay

I'm a teacher, and don't have alot of money. The isuzu rodeo that I own won't shift gears in motion. I am currently using it to get to work. I travel at 10-15 miles per hour, but it only takes me 20 minutes to get to work. I know it has to get fixed. What can I check or change first before I take it to a mechanic? Some have suggested changing the oil. Will this help at all? What about changing the spark plugs? I already poured in a fuel injection cleaner and something to clear out the transmission. Please e-mail your response or post it on the forum. Thanks.

stickguy

I assume this is an automatic? Could be lots of things, but I'm willing to bet that continuing to drive it isn't going to help it any.

You need to get it into a competant diagnostic tranny shop, that hopefully will give you a straight answer. Hopefully you have a trusted local mechanic, otherwise I guess you are stuck with a tranny shop (AAMCO or the like), although you might find a local trans shop too.

If it is a stick shift, does it shift gears when the car is off? If so, what gear are yo udriving around in?

angelita

96 Ford Taurus...have replaced fuses and such still no signals..any ideas?..Thanks

alcan

Which engine are we dealing with?

sears1

In the morning everything is fine, after the car warms up, sometimes (not all the time) it takes about 3-4 seconds to shift into reverse....and during acceleration from 1st to 2nd there is a slight hestitation/sputtering effect (which I can feel and the RPM gauge indicates) ...but does not happen from any other gear.....any help?

highroller

Yes i believe qbrozen is right again, im not "redlining" it as far as i can tell. I believe "redlining" won't hurt the engine either. Doing full-throttle AT least twice a month is a good way IMO. As far as speed wise, it was approx. at 80 mph but i was on a long open road with no vehicles around. The only thing im worried about when doing WOT is traction, my tires are known to have poor traction in gravel or flat roads. But beside that, im a careful driver when doing WOTs, people do WOTs all the time without realizing it, like trying to pass cars or climb steep hills. In some cases, you have to do full-throttle to get by safely. I think engines that can't do full-throttle or wear down from multiple WOTs are junkie machines.

I believe that my 5-speed auto tranny upshifted after all.. When i floored it, i probably caused the transmission to drop a gear, called a 'kickdown', into the next lowest gear, probably 4th when i was cruising along the freeway. The engine accelerates the car in 4th gear, till i reach 5800rpm, and then the transmission changes to 5th gear, causing my rpm to drop to 3000, all this while WOT.

So, i guess the answer i was probably looking for was the tranny upshifted after having downshifted to kick up the speed.

I enjoyed viewing each comments though, thanks.

High

dave8697

I own a '98 Mustang 3.8 L V6 auto trans. Trying to track cause of loud squeak from front of engine. Took off belt so only the crankshaft turns and ran engine and squeak still there. Crawled under front and spray wd40 on crankshaft, between pully and balance weight and some kind of toothed gear for timing. This didn't stop squeak. While running, I also sprayed, still not stop noise. sensor doesn't seem to be hitting gear thing. any ideas?

slm1

What is the deal with Hyundai Sonata. I have a 2005, that vibrates while in gear, so much so that my feet, legs, arms, and back feel it while in the drivers seat. You can also feel the vibration in the passenger seat and back seat. Please help. Dealership say it is a charactoristic of the car. huh? My opinoin not a very good characteristic!!!

carriendoug

we have a 93 chevy cavalier, 3.1 6cyl. yesterday, while drivng through town, we hit a red light, and when hitting the accelerator, nothing happened, the engine rpms went up but nothing else, wouldnt shift into any gear everything but park is acting like nuetral. we had no sounds coming from any where, and the tranny fluid is full and good color not funny smells. weird thing is we havent had a tranny issue or anything that acted like one. no codes, nothing just stopped going into gear. would anyone have any ideas what could cause this, i can deal with an engine, but dont really understand trannies. thanks for any ideas......

1racefan

If I had to guess, I would say it's the torque converter that is the problem - but let's wait and see what the seasoned mechanics around here say.

roxypaws14

PEOPLE!!! I having problems with my Nissan Sentra 2001 automatic - my service engine soon warning light will not go off. I unplugged the battery for a couple of hours but to no avail. Finally, I rented a OBDII to test the error codes on the vehicle. The OBD reader gave me an error code P1126. For some reason, none of the code tables have this particular code error. Help!!

user777

did you google it?
a quick check of many hits indicates "Thermostat Function".

On one site, a poster suggested the thermostat may be stuck. Perhaps Nissan changed the semantics of the code in other years to be relevant to the TPS / Motor.

buckfever

I WAS DRIVUNG AND IT JUST STOP RUNNING . I CHECKED FUSES AND AUTO STOP RELAY GOT POWER FROM RELAY AND FUSES BOX .FUEL PUMP CAN ANYONE HELP ME .... THANKS MR ABOUT TO GIVE UP

mazda626atx

Happy New Years Alcan and Mr Shiftright
Well it looks like the old girl had no problem in the mountains since changing the MAF either. She had her usual power and even had a kick down at 75 MPH on an upgrade. Engine running like a top now.
The question I posted in the other forum about front end can still be viewed if you like. I spoke with PARTSBIN.COM from here and salesman said that neither the KYB or Monroe set is complete. He suggested a Sachs kit:

http://oem.thepartsbin.com/parts/thepartsbin/quote.jsp?make=MA&year=1994&product- =L3030-167566&application=000393699&part=Strut%20Mount&category=All&dp=true

Its the second one down, and he says it has all the necessary parts. I see no photo and know nothing of Sachs.
Any thoughts from either of you or should I wait for the KYB kit ?
Thx Again
Peter

astroboomer

Help I am losing almost a quart every 400 miles or so cannot find a visible leak. Dealer checked it. I have the northstar 4.0 V8. I am running mobil 1 oil. The engine has about 73k on it recently had all inside bearings changed, and all seals redone. Researched this on google and found this is a common problem with this engine. Any suggestions would be great.

alcan

Your best bet is probably the Moog kit #MOK9709 x 2. Everything's there and Moog is top quality.

Btw, we accept no responsibility for speeding tickets with your 626. LOL. Glad to hear you got that part sorted out.

Mr_Shiftright

If I recall correctly, this engine carbonizes heavily and that there was some treatment Cadillac dealers did to clean up the piston rings and make them work better.

richardson

Does anybody know where the outside temperature sensor is on a 04 Kia Sedona?

luckyford

hey alcan , thanks a million for the fix. i never would have thought it would work but the wd40 did just that !! problem went away in only a couple minutes. thanks for the help.

luckyford

mazda626atx

What no responsibility? I didnt read that in the disclaimer. LOL. I only got the old Gal up to 105 on the national highway here in Greece. Not because I was afraid of the cops , more concerned about the new Goodrich T rated tires that I just put on, and are only good for 108 MPH or so. Actually T rating is very prevalent over here and I am used to V or R rated on my Benz so 105 MPH was enough to thrill me a bit.

In regards to the Moog parts ( #MOK9709 ) the guy at parts bin is trying to steer me to the Sachs parts and so I am now intent on getting the MOOG as you suggested.

I am weary of online salesmens recommendations. If Parts Bin does not have them , do you have any other suggestions where to get that kit. I will be coming back to USA on Jan 25th so I have some time to research the parts.
Thx again as always
Peter

alcan

You're welcome. Should it happen again you'll know what to do.

alcan

I've always been a fan of Moog chassis parts, even before they became the "official NASCAR best parts in the known universe" supplier. Their stuff works, lasts, usually costs more. All the auto supply houses around here which cater to the pro garage trade carry Moog. Should be easy to source.

1racefan

This is kind of a follow up to a question I had asked a few weeks ago, but now I have a better description...

I have an AWD '03 Mitsubishi Outlander. It only has 36K miles on it, but when I hit a bump, primarily at low speeds, there is a "thud" sound that comes from the front end, and you can feel the "thud" in the front floorboard. I think it feels like something is bottoming out in the front end. I have had the vehicle at the dealer 3 seperate times (and it is back there today). They cannot find anything difinitive that they think is causing this. They say that they have checked all of the front end connections to make sure everything is torqued to factory specs, but the "thud" is still occuring.

My question is this - Would it be the struts or some part of the strut assembly? I am thinking that maybe the struts are either shot, or weak, and they are causing this. I have read that struts can go as early as 25K, or last 100K plus. I have never had the vehicle off road, but I do realize that I could have just gotten bad struts from the factory. I bought the car with 10,000 miles on it, and this started at about 20,000 miles (so I can't be sure how it was treated before I got it). The car is back at the dealer today, and any input would be appreciated.

mazda626atx

Hi Alcan,

I have done some more internet searching and found another house that has them. Any idea how heavy or large they are? The airlines refused to allow me to take the CV (joint axle combo) when I last travelled due to oil in those parts. I had to send them by boat . That took 2 1/2 months.

Are these parts dry and can I take the kits apart and place in 2 suitcases if I get them. Otherwise I have KYB parts here in Greece but no one is sure of the match of numbers for this car. Also they prolly cost 2 x as much here because they are japanese not EU made.Is KYB any good, or should I wait?
Thx again Pal
Peter