possible choke problem?

[Guest]

i just imported a 97 VR4 legnum and when i accelerate steadily up hills, no mater how steep the hill, it shudders and makes a bit of a knocking. if i give it a bit more gas it stops but this can be a problem when you are already doing the speed limit.
my friend said her mum had the same problem with her magna a while back and that it was just that the choke was not opening up enough, but i thought id just check and see if anyone els has had the same trouble and had it fixed?

 

[Hotwire]

Hayley
Have you done all the regular servicing yet? ie. engine oil, filter, trans fluid, etc? It sounds like an odd problem - and by knocking, do you mean an audible thumping or metallic knocking?

 

[Kenneth]

I was going to make some comment about how to avoid choking, but seeing as your name indicates you may be female, I guess it may not be appropriate.

There is no choke on the Legnum as such. The function of a choke is to alter the fuel air mixture when the car is cold. The ECU does all this for you though.

Now, if you were at IDLE and had problems, then you could start thinking the idle control when cold (i.e. choke function) had a problem, but not travelling up a hill.

Are you able to determine if it is engine related or gearbox/drive train related?
If engine related, you may have something wrong with the fuel delivery. It may very well be that pushing the accelerator puts the engine into open loop mode where it doesn't use the O2 sensor.

If drive train related, could be your gearbox. Your car Auto or Manual?

 

[naughtika]

whats the mileage of your car? when you're going up hill at what revs are you running and what gear? also have you checked out for possible air leaks in the intake system?

 

[Guest]

wow ummm ok well
i haven't done all the servicing yet, couple of things but not all. it is a knocking not a thumping, cant really be sure weather it is from the engine or something on the body from the shuddering.....
thanx for letting me know there is no choke on this car now i wont look like a dick when i go to the mech lol
its smooth and fine at idle and on flat roads, the main time it does it is when i have to do 50 and 60 up a hill and some times between 60 and 70 but not as much. not sure what gear im in but id say it would probably be 4th or 5th since it seems to just cruze in 5th when im doing 60.
i think it could be a gear box problem, its a semi auto but the shudering does sort of feel the same as when you put a manual into the wrong gear
i am a chick and this is my first turbo so i really wouldnt have a clue how to check for air leaks in the intake but id love to give it a go if i could.

 

[whiteleg]

it may also be worn engine mounts. I had this so did Lee Butts if I remember correctly. It was usually at a specific speed and or throtle position. Once the mounts sag enough the gearbox will just rest on the crossmember and it will go away but then you get some vibration in the car.

 

[Kenneth]

it may also be worn engine mounts. I had this so did Lee Butts if I remember correctly. It was usually at a specific speed and or throtle position. Once the mounts sag enough the gearbox will just rest on the crossmember and it will go away but then you get some vibration in the car.

Very plausible actually.

It could also possibly be the exhaust knocking against something, which is a problem I had.

 

[leebutts]

I had this so did Lee Butts if I remember correctly.

Mine only did it once then never again...

Not sure what it was, I'm still on original engine mounts.

 

[Hotwire]

Hayley, find a spot where you can repeat it each time and try putting the box in manual mode and select a number of gears at the same speed. Try to put it in 3rd, 4th, then 5th all at say 60kph and see when/if it does it.

 

[Kristian]

I'm almost certain it would be a trans issue, Haley. My Dad had the same problem in both his Verada and his Legnum. Does it at around 60 in 4th or 5th gear, usually at very low revs, then the torque convertor unlocks and everything works fine again. It was a fairly straightforward fix, trans fluid I think.

Speak to the guys at Ultratune Golden Grove - they fixed both Dad's cars.

 

[Guest]

maybe change the fluid in the transmission and see if that makes a difference, may just be a build up of 'junk' (old oil) especially if its never been changed (ive heard stories about the japanese never changing some of their oils, ever!).

 

[Guest]

damn you kris! beaten by the buzzer lol.

ultratune @ golden grove (the village shops, near the car wash) or even plaza automatics at st agnes, ill be taking mine their shortly to get my transmission rebuilt!

 

[BuzzPuppy]

I've also had that problem, where the car would cut in and out at 3,500rpm. It definitely was not boost cut (where your ECU detects that your car is over-boosting when modified, so cuts it off completely to save itself), but ended up being a fuel filter being clogged full of crap.

 

[Guest]

Also Haley make sure you only us 98 octane fuel or the best premium fuel, your car wont like anything but

 

[bradc]

I reckon it's probably the trans fluid too. Get some mitsi SPIII or even better, Amsoil ATF

 

[Guest]

yeah im starting to think its definitely the trans from what every one has said, don't recon it would be the fuel filter cause thats only just been replaced.
thanx for all your help guys you rock

also Kristian wheel should be getting taken care of today or tomorrow, cheers for your help and hope you had a good weekend lol 80kh all the way home lol with only tripple B to listen to..... cant tell ya how great that was,blah

 

[BuzzPuppy]

It'd be interesting to get them to keep a small sample of the fluid for you. If it's a chocolatey-brown... that's bad. It should be a clear ruby-red

 

[pu-11-me]

G'Day Haley,

Would you mind letting us know whether a trans service fixes the issue? I agree with everyone here that it will be an old or incorrect trans oil issue.

If it fixes it, can i pinch this information to add to THIS thread?

Cheers,

Dawso

 

[bradc]

Dawso, feel free to put it on there. It is a common issue especially in the UK where SPIII is unavailable. Grabbing in 4th and 5th gear in particular at low speeds due to the oil being incorrect and causing the torque converter to lock up too soon, then slip, then lock, and in short order kill the oil, then itself.

 

[Guest]

damn you kris! beaten by the buzzer lol.

ultratune @ golden grove (the village shops, near the car wash) or even plaza automatics at st agnes, ill be taking mine their shortly to get my transmission rebuilt!

I would also vote for Plaza automatics they rebuilt a commo box for me and they are a fantastic they know what they are talking about all types of trans even the most complicated euro boxes. But if not go to stienies in gawler and ask for Justin one of the mechanics there he has a stagea (white hotwire 18's parked under the trees on julian st weekdays) he was the best mech when he was at Plaza holden and having a import himself he would be best in the local area.