help! missing and erratic gauges

deftool

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
been about a month now, when i went to turn on the car, i put the car in drive and i could automatically tell there was a small difference. popped the hood and could see the engine with a lot of movement in it, more than usual. as i started to drive, i could see alot of knock going on. im guessing its false knock since i saw how much the engine was moving, regardless, when i rev the engine it doesnt sound as smooth and my boost gauge is erratic. the needle goes up as boost goes up but its not a clear reading since it shakes between 5lbs as it goes up. same as my fuel pressure gauge, as i drive , i can't get a clear indication of what my fuel pressure is since the needle shakes alot as well.

i first thought it might be a boost leak, but i dont recall ever seeing the gauge needles reacting like that because of a vacuum leak.

ive checked maf, had it unplugged , ran worse, so i guess it wasnt that.

replaced fpr, ignition module, coil packs, spark plugs, and o2 sensor.

would a crank sensor, cam sensor, or bad fuel pump cause the erratic gauges? btw, i do have a double pump set up and unsure if there would be one in the gas tank as well.

im gettin low on cash and this is my daily driver, so im trying to pinpoint now, instead of replacing everything that i might have thought was wrong. ive read alot, but havent found much on the gauges reacting the way they do.

i can get the scanmaster readings later on today. but from what i remember, the only thing that changes alot is the IAC readings. i'll set it to what its suppose to be, but a couple of days later, its off again. then again, i just changed my 02 sensor which was also bad since my readings have been a bit different. so i will get new readings today.

appreciate the help , thanks.
 
If the boost gauge is bouncing I would say a vac leak, stuck lifter, or burnt valve. Is the guage mechanical?
 
If the boost gauge is bouncing I would say a vac leak, stuck lifter, or burnt valve. Is the guage mechanical?

im gonna do a vacuum leak test this week.

a compression test should let me know about a bad valve , correct? how bout a stuck lifter?

yes, new mechanical gauge.
 
Compression test should produce lower numbers if the valves are bad. A leakdown test is the best for findingproblems with the valves or rings. Get some carb cleaner and spray it around, if the idle goes up when your spraying you'll find the vac leak.
 
Compression test should produce lower numbers if the valves are bad. A leakdown test is the best for findingproblems with the valves or rings. Get some carb cleaner and spray it around, if the idle goes up when your spraying you'll find the vac leak.

i'll do the leakdown for sure, and the carb cleaner as well.
 
did a normal compression test and found 2 dead cylinders with no compression at all. the rest were reading at around 90. i know those are low numbers as well, could it be from the cam size?

i guess my next step would be to pull the head? or is there anything else i should check before i do so?
 
I would put the dead cylinders on TDC and put a leakdown tester in them (pressurized air), and listen where the air is comming out at. I would guess head gaskets. The heads are going to have to come off but while the heads are on its good insurance to pinpoint the problem. A aggressive cam will cause low compression numbers due to overlap. What did the plugs look like?
 
I would put the dead cylinders on TDC and put a leakdown tester in them (pressurized air), and listen where the air is comming out at. I would guess head gaskets. The heads are going to have to come off but while the heads are on its good insurance to pinpoint the problem. A aggressive cam will cause low compression numbers due to overlap. What did the plugs look like?

thanks for the quick replys!

my plugs were charcoal black! well, atleast for the the two dead cylinders. the others werent so clean either, they were black, but the tips were white, i think maybe two were tannish.
 
Which 2 are dead?? Next to each other?
90 on the rest "ain't good" either. That cam @ 222 is not the cause for the low readings..Some, yes.. but not 50-60psi LOW.The IAC is whacked because you have a "4 cyl engine", & the ecm is trying to adjust idle speed.
If that is a flat tappet cam, got some flat lobes??
 
Which 2 are dead?? Next to each other?
90 on the rest "ain't good" either. That cam @ 222 is not the cause for the low readings..Some, yes.. but not 50-60psi...
The IAC is whacked because you have a "4 cyl engine", & the ecm is trying to adjust idle speed.
If that is a flat tappet cam, got some flat lobes??

driver side, front two, next two each other. i didnt have any at 50 or 60 psi, they were all 90 except for the two dead (0 psi).

ive noticed my iac was always reading different , could never get it to sit right, makes sense now.

and yes, its a flat tappet cam. not sure how old it is either.
 
Note the editing of my post...

i see. funny though, it ran pretty strong before the 2 cylinders went out. i was very surprised to see the psi that low. i also find it odd that it went out under normal driving conditions. its my daily so i dont care to floor it all the time.
 
well i think i found the culprit. the headgasket was broken between the two cylinders without compression. and is all this carbon giving me the low compression for the other cylinders?

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i feel good that i found the problem, but it bothered me to find the pistons the way they were. i was told the car had je pistons, but these look like stockers to me. can anyone verify for me? or how else can i tell? keep in mind this is a 4.1 block as well. i dont know if they are cast aluminum (stock), hypers, or je's.

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