Hi Gang,
Having some recent problems with my ride and trying to figure this one out. 1999 LC100, daily driver (love this vehicle, 2 of my kids have learned to drive in this thing), ~340k miles (267k when I bought it 3 years ago). All stock. Since I've had it, I've had done the following replacements: radiator, CV axles, rack and pinion steering gear, heater-T's and water pump/timing bell, all swapped out. Along the way I've only had really 1 issue, last year the engine starting running really rough and the coil packs were swapped out. Also, there is a rear main seal leak that will have to get repaired at some point....it does leak, but try to keep up with it, at least for now.
My issue most recently happened suddenly and has persisted. In November 2024, I was out running errands and the water pump went out (at a stoplight, steam came out, had to tow vehicle). I never tried to re-start, just pushed it to side while I waited on the tow. Got the vehicle back, and it had this weird ticking thing while it's cold, almost completely went away when warm. Took it back and the shop said they had re-installed the intake manifold incorrectly. Got it back, and the ticking persisted (like skipping a beat or something, hard to explain).
Took it back the last time, several weeks ago now, and the shop did dome diagnostics and found that #7 cylinder was not firing, and replaced that coil pack (I thought this was weird, as they were just replaced last year). I waited until that night to pick up the vehicle, so I could make sure it was cold when I started it. Low and behold, the ticking/skipping a beat thing is still there. Better...but still there, this is the current status as I write this.
Just to explain a little more on the ticking thing: When it's cold (deep cold), I start it up and it high idles for a minute, then rpm's start to come down a little. This is where the engine starts skipping (I know this is not a good explanation), but it's as if the engine is skipping a beat, you can feel it while sitting still in the car. Then when I put it in drive/reverse it's very sluggish at low rpm's. And when building rpm's (accelerating) it sometimes will "chug". Honestly, since I've driven this vehicle for 3 years now, I know what "good" feels like when the engine is properly running, and something feels off. This all mostly goes away when the engine gets up to temp, but you can still feel something.
No dash lights come on, no codes (I've taken it to O-Reilly's to use their OBD reader), so I'm at a loss to figure this out. The shop told me, that if they were to continue to diagnose the issue, that they would start with removing and cleaning the intake manifold. I just don't have the funds to let it sit in a shop for endless diagnostics.
Anybody have any good ideas on what I should be checking? Maybe there is a diagnostic checklist for things like this? For your knowledge, I'm not a mechanic, but I do have some tools and can be handy around an engine bay if needed. Many thanks in advance for your knowledge and ideas.
Regards,
Greg
Having some recent problems with my ride and trying to figure this one out. 1999 LC100, daily driver (love this vehicle, 2 of my kids have learned to drive in this thing), ~340k miles (267k when I bought it 3 years ago). All stock. Since I've had it, I've had done the following replacements: radiator, CV axles, rack and pinion steering gear, heater-T's and water pump/timing bell, all swapped out. Along the way I've only had really 1 issue, last year the engine starting running really rough and the coil packs were swapped out. Also, there is a rear main seal leak that will have to get repaired at some point....it does leak, but try to keep up with it, at least for now.
My issue most recently happened suddenly and has persisted. In November 2024, I was out running errands and the water pump went out (at a stoplight, steam came out, had to tow vehicle). I never tried to re-start, just pushed it to side while I waited on the tow. Got the vehicle back, and it had this weird ticking thing while it's cold, almost completely went away when warm. Took it back and the shop said they had re-installed the intake manifold incorrectly. Got it back, and the ticking persisted (like skipping a beat or something, hard to explain).
Took it back the last time, several weeks ago now, and the shop did dome diagnostics and found that #7 cylinder was not firing, and replaced that coil pack (I thought this was weird, as they were just replaced last year). I waited until that night to pick up the vehicle, so I could make sure it was cold when I started it. Low and behold, the ticking/skipping a beat thing is still there. Better...but still there, this is the current status as I write this.
Just to explain a little more on the ticking thing: When it's cold (deep cold), I start it up and it high idles for a minute, then rpm's start to come down a little. This is where the engine starts skipping (I know this is not a good explanation), but it's as if the engine is skipping a beat, you can feel it while sitting still in the car. Then when I put it in drive/reverse it's very sluggish at low rpm's. And when building rpm's (accelerating) it sometimes will "chug". Honestly, since I've driven this vehicle for 3 years now, I know what "good" feels like when the engine is properly running, and something feels off. This all mostly goes away when the engine gets up to temp, but you can still feel something.
No dash lights come on, no codes (I've taken it to O-Reilly's to use their OBD reader), so I'm at a loss to figure this out. The shop told me, that if they were to continue to diagnose the issue, that they would start with removing and cleaning the intake manifold. I just don't have the funds to let it sit in a shop for endless diagnostics.
Anybody have any good ideas on what I should be checking? Maybe there is a diagnostic checklist for things like this? For your knowledge, I'm not a mechanic, but I do have some tools and can be handy around an engine bay if needed. Many thanks in advance for your knowledge and ideas.
Regards,
Greg
