Grandma needs help!
December-27th-2004, 07:37 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 3
Grandma needs help!
OK, folks, I'm a babe in the woods here and need some help/suggestions/guidelines. My grandson has a 1991 Mazda Protege DX, 1.8L, SOHC, Engine Model either BP01 or BD01 (we can't read it) that is having some absolutely horrible running problems!
Started out with a ticking noise in the engine ... thought it was the lifters, changed those and that didn't help ... he was blowing BLACK smoke out of the tail pipe at same time the noise started (I had to follow him home because he was having so much difficulty) ... Anyway, put an oil pressure gauge tester thingy on it and it registered good for a few minutes - then went way down.
We don't have the foggiest idea what is going on with it and the guy that has looked at it says we'll have to pull the engine out and take it apart to see what is going on. I'm hesitant to do that because: A. It's wintertime here and we don't have a proper place to do that; B. We'd have to rent a hoist to get it out (and how many $$$'s is that going to be?); C. We haven't a real clue as to what is causing all this problem.
Can anyone out there please help? Anyone had this problem before and know what to do? We can't afford a garage to work on the car - that would cost us more than the car is actually worth!!!
Right now we're getting him back and forth to work but I know it's extremely frustrating for him. He's been without his car for 8 weeks now.
Also, once we know a bit more about what is causing the problem, is there a good place to buy parts fairly inexpensively?
He really likes this car (I don't blame him, I like it, too.)
Thanks for your help. I'm one very uncertain grandma just trying to help ease the frustration!!!
Started out with a ticking noise in the engine ... thought it was the lifters, changed those and that didn't help ... he was blowing BLACK smoke out of the tail pipe at same time the noise started (I had to follow him home because he was having so much difficulty) ... Anyway, put an oil pressure gauge tester thingy on it and it registered good for a few minutes - then went way down.
We don't have the foggiest idea what is going on with it and the guy that has looked at it says we'll have to pull the engine out and take it apart to see what is going on. I'm hesitant to do that because: A. It's wintertime here and we don't have a proper place to do that; B. We'd have to rent a hoist to get it out (and how many $$$'s is that going to be?); C. We haven't a real clue as to what is causing all this problem.
Can anyone out there please help? Anyone had this problem before and know what to do? We can't afford a garage to work on the car - that would cost us more than the car is actually worth!!!
Right now we're getting him back and forth to work but I know it's extremely frustrating for him. He's been without his car for 8 weeks now.
Also, once we know a bit more about what is causing the problem, is there a good place to buy parts fairly inexpensively?
He really likes this car (I don't blame him, I like it, too.)
Thanks for your help. I'm one very uncertain grandma just trying to help ease the frustration!!!
December-27th-2004, 08:56 PM
#3
The man behind the mask
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 11,572
blowby could be causing your smoking problem (bad piston rings). I would have someone ru na compression test on the engine...each cylinder. They would just screw this gauge into where the spark plug goes and try to bump the motor. This will tell you how much compression each cylinder has. If you're low or un-even this could your piston rings.
Engine hoists aren't THAT bad. I bought one for $180. You COULD actually pull the head and oil pan off the motor and leave the motor in the car but you're basically rebuilding the entire engine inside the chasis.....a lot of money and time.
p.s. Ghetto, head gasket would be white smoke. But to be safe grandma should check the condition of her oil to make sure it's not watery or milky.
Engine hoists aren't THAT bad. I bought one for $180. You COULD actually pull the head and oil pan off the motor and leave the motor in the car but you're basically rebuilding the entire engine inside the chasis.....a lot of money and time.
p.s. Ghetto, head gasket would be white smoke. But to be safe grandma should check the condition of her oil to make sure it's not watery or milky.
December-28th-2004, 02:22 AM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 3
Oil is thin?
Thank you so much for your prompt replies ... The guy who looked at the car says the oil is "watery" ... but I'm not sure where/when it becomes watery? Does that change anything? And would the pistons cause this change in the consistency of the oil? Oh! And, yes, we did an oil change on it during the past eight weeks.
Again, thank you so much ... I have some information to share with my grandson.
Perhaps he and I will be able to get out there tomorrow and check on this.
P.S. I tried to check on-line concerning purchasing of hoists but couldn't find them listed anywhere ... not that I would buy something like that on-line but it would give me some sort of idea of what we're looking for - and I wouldn't look quite so lame brainy when going into auto store.
Again, thank you so much ... I have some information to share with my grandson.
Perhaps he and I will be able to get out there tomorrow and check on this.
P.S. I tried to check on-line concerning purchasing of hoists but couldn't find them listed anywhere ... not that I would buy something like that on-line but it would give me some sort of idea of what we're looking for - and I wouldn't look quite so lame brainy when going into auto store.
December-28th-2004, 09:53 AM
#5
The man behind the mask
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 11,572
A problem like this is very difficult to diagnose properly over the internet without ever seeing the car.
If you have watery-oil you could have a blown headgasket but the smoke would be white not black. Also your coolant will be cloudy and oily. You'll be able to notice that you'll be low on coolant and over on oil or vice versa.
I bought a hoist (cherry picker) from Harbor Freight Tools a few years back. Check there first
Where do you live?? Maybe one of our more experienced members is close by and could help you out??
If you have watery-oil you could have a blown headgasket but the smoke would be white not black. Also your coolant will be cloudy and oily. You'll be able to notice that you'll be low on coolant and over on oil or vice versa.
I bought a hoist (cherry picker) from Harbor Freight Tools a few years back. Check there first
Where do you live?? Maybe one of our more experienced members is close by and could help you out??
December-28th-2004, 09:55 AM
#6
Salt addict
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Niagara Falls Ont.
Posts: 1,201
Black smoke means A) you're running rich, or B) you're getting incomplete combustion. Well, more so since even the most efficient engines never really have complete combustion.
Like Rod said, check the compression, but to further elaborate you should ground out the coil wire on the distributor and have the throttle at wide open when you do that. The numbers should be fairly similar in each cylinder, like within 20psi or something I think the rule of thumb is how low the compression is, isn't a huge deal as long as they are all consistant, unless you're getting like 60 psi or something stupidly low like that. 2 cylinders adjacent to each other that are low would most likely indicate a blown head gasket.
If things work out fine in that test, put several squirts of motor oil into each cylinder and test again. If the compression readings get significantly higher than you've got bad rings, if it stays about the same then you've got a cylinder head problem, most likely the valves are worn to hell.
Another, somewhat quicker way to find out wether or not you have bad rings is take a look at the throttle body if it is excessively covered in oil then you've got a problem. There will always be a little bit of blowby even in a brand new engine, but excessive oil in the intake tract comign through the breather is a bad sign. and its pretty easy to tell the difference between excessive and normalfor those kind of things.
Hope some of my advice helped./
Like Rod said, check the compression, but to further elaborate you should ground out the coil wire on the distributor and have the throttle at wide open when you do that. The numbers should be fairly similar in each cylinder, like within 20psi or something I think the rule of thumb is how low the compression is, isn't a huge deal as long as they are all consistant, unless you're getting like 60 psi or something stupidly low like that. 2 cylinders adjacent to each other that are low would most likely indicate a blown head gasket.
If things work out fine in that test, put several squirts of motor oil into each cylinder and test again. If the compression readings get significantly higher than you've got bad rings, if it stays about the same then you've got a cylinder head problem, most likely the valves are worn to hell.
Another, somewhat quicker way to find out wether or not you have bad rings is take a look at the throttle body if it is excessively covered in oil then you've got a problem. There will always be a little bit of blowby even in a brand new engine, but excessive oil in the intake tract comign through the breather is a bad sign. and its pretty easy to tell the difference between excessive and normalfor those kind of things.
Hope some of my advice helped./
December-29th-2004, 08:46 AM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 3
Thanks, guys, for the suggestions/advice ... As soon as grandson wakes up, we'll head out that way and check the latest out ... Went to store yesterday and got tools to properly work on car ... I'll have to get manual out again and we'll look it over. He's pretty smart with figuring things out ... and I'm pretty good at handing out stuff. In fact, the more we discuss all this, the more I wish there was some place around here to take classes. I think I could really get into fixing cars! LOL
Live in mid Misouri ... Nearest Mazda dealer is 60 miles away from here ... in fact, they were ones I called and they quote me a price of any where from $240 to $300+ for an oil pump??? Does that sound right to you all?
Quite frankly, since my husband passed on a couple of years ago, I'm very cautious about taking cars anywhere to be worked on ... since we were taken advantage of on that a couple of times (I discovered later?) ... and I have zero experience in this sort of thing.
Well, not exactly zero, I guess. Years ago I had a triumph and the agreement my husband and I had at that time (if I bought the car) was that I would learn to work on it ... I did but ... well, it was more a matter of him telling me to unscrew this and remove that and put something else on. I really didn't learn as I should have.
Again, I appreciate your help. Will let you know what we find out - discover.
Live in mid Misouri ... Nearest Mazda dealer is 60 miles away from here ... in fact, they were ones I called and they quote me a price of any where from $240 to $300+ for an oil pump??? Does that sound right to you all?
Quite frankly, since my husband passed on a couple of years ago, I'm very cautious about taking cars anywhere to be worked on ... since we were taken advantage of on that a couple of times (I discovered later?) ... and I have zero experience in this sort of thing.
Well, not exactly zero, I guess. Years ago I had a triumph and the agreement my husband and I had at that time (if I bought the car) was that I would learn to work on it ... I did but ... well, it was more a matter of him telling me to unscrew this and remove that and put something else on. I really didn't learn as I should have.
Again, I appreciate your help. Will let you know what we find out - discover.
