*Basic summary at end*

I was pulling out of a restaurant today and on my way home while driving something happened that I cannot figure out for the life of me.

While climbing to 5000rpm to switch from 2nd to 3rd gear I heard a loud pop come from my engine bay. Next thing I know I hear a loud rattle which I believe was coming from my intake(REVi). I come up to a red light and as I come to the stop the car starts shaking violently and sort of sputtering like it was about to shut down as if I had stalled out.

Light turns green and the car is sluggish. It took a good 10 seconds to get to 6000rpm and as I came up to it again more rattling. The car was sooooo slow at this point and as I came up to another red light it began to violently rattle as I came to a stop.

I completely stop and the car shuts off.... I crank the key for a good 7-10 seconds(I have the newest spark plugs so cranking usually last 1-2 seconds at most) The car starts but barely.

I'm still at the red and it shuts off again..... I crank again, fearing a flood, but it starts after a 10 second crank. I managed to slowly get my car into my driveway(a block away) but again as I come to a stop the car violently shakes. I even popped the hood in my driveway to see what was shaking and the WHOLE engine was violently shaking.

i took it around the street to see if the midrange rpm rattling was still there and sure enough, another pop, but not as big. and more rattling from the bay. Car is now in my driveway. I'm calling roadside assistance tomorrow, but I honestly don't know what to expect....

I really don't know whats going on.



Summary:
- Climbed to 5000rpm, pop in engine bay, car loses significant power. rattling engine bay
-When car comes to a stop intense rattling begins.
-complete stop, car shuts off. All warning lights come on
-cranked 10 seconds, barely starts. Shuts off. Crank again, does not shut off
-Extreme rattling continues, especially when at a stop
-Car is now extremely slow and shaking like a mother ******.

 

welcome to the new motor club ... maybe

 

Do a compression test ASAP.

Sounds like you tossed an apex seal, or more, on one of the rotors. How many miles on the car?

 

Agreed.

 

Wow, not much mods and he's already tossing apex seals?!?! Now I'm getting all worried again

 

Same thing happened to me about a month or so. Anything over 5k rpm made the engine sound like a horribly tuned piston engine. Made it home, parked it, and scheduled a service appointment for the next morning. Never saw a CEL. Later on that evening I decided to see what would happen if I took it around the block. It ran fine. It's run fine since.

I'm thinking it was a dose of bad gas. It also just happened to occur a quarter of the way through my first tank of the new ethanol blended fuels now sold in TX.

Btw - All my problems - noise, loss of power, shaking were when the engine was under load. At idle I could rev the **** out of it and it was fine.

 

I have 40505 miles on the car.

ironically something similar happened a few months ago a couple weeks after I installed my REVi+duct. And whats weird is that i was running on 89 gas. A few days ago my brother used my car and he put in 89 gas.

I'm not blaming it on gas, but everytime I go cheap bad stuff happens. Most likely a coincidence but what bad luck, no?

And yes, I can rev the **** out of it when it's parked or in neutral. When its in gear there is a horrible rattle at 5000rpm. ...

thanks for the responses guys, but I'd like more responses. It looks like im in a lot of trouble....

 

hmm sorry can't help you out...with rotary specific issues. but ever since may 1st i've worked on about 6 cars at my dealership that had issues (the had cel's on though) dealign with gas.....just on my team and the one next to me we have done almost one car a day..due to gas. not a lot considering the volume the dealership sells.....but considering i didn't work on any cars with gas related issues until the 1st o fmay...that is a lill worrisum. (note i've been there a year). i'd just put in some good gas..adn only go to the same gas station. oddly enough not all 89 octane or 93 poctane is created equal. they are each a different blend depending on the refinery and processing each company subjects them too.

still good to scehdule an appointment...at least you are stil under warrenty

 

If you had blown any apex seal/s you'd have the same weird exhaust tone/rattling/issues when free revving and in gear. A blown rotary has a very distinct sound to it no matter how/when you are revving, think of an old *** lawn mower or chainsaw that just sounds gritty and messed up.

So it's probably not blown if the revving out of gear is normal and sounds fine. Maybe an ignition problem under load? Very strange...

 

Maybe try removing the 89 gas and filling with 93.

If it happened with the 89 gas, maybe the 93 is what you should be running all the time!

See if the gas makes a difference....but I would still do a compression check.

Wherebouts do you live?

 

ignition coil. ???? mine died similarly but with a cel. and the plugs were fine even after the burnt coils but i still changed them. but your problem seems very strange because you are mentioning the sound, its shouldn have any sound if its just the burnt coils.

 

I live in Coral Springs Fl. A few miles out from Ft. lauderdale.
Problem is I have class(at FIU in Miami) on monday at 1230pm.... And now I have no car.... Unless the dealer will give me a loaner.

Today I'm going to remove my Intake to see if any parts are floating around in there and I'm also putting my stock cat back on. But the midpipe couldn't be the problem could it? It's catless but hasn't given me ANY problems. My mpg hasn't even gone done at all since installing it. There is a CEL for running lean, but thats it. But in any case i'm removing it so the dealer can't blame it on the midpipe or intake.

 

Well asuming your car is manual, my guess is that it could possibly be the clutch/pressure plate..

 

Wow, im really close to you!!

I could always come over to trouble shoot with you tonight if you want, but I would definately reccomend that you bring it to our place to get a compression check.... We could probably pin point the problem with just a few tests.

PM me if you wanna meet up.

 

Before going through the hassle of a comp. check, check the engine vacuum and be sure it is between 15-17 inches at idle. Check both vacuum ports on the aluminum lower manifold, passenger side of the car. Although I had a nitrous backfire that was probably way more potent than what you experienced, the black box on the side of the intake flex hose is not very durable and you may have cracked it somehow. If the car was running lean due to a problem with the intake installation a slight backfire may have caused the resonance box to crack along the seam. A crack virtually undetectable, visually, unless you remove it by loosening the clamp that secures it to the flex pipe. The part is about $80 from the dealer.

CRH

 

I justed checked my MAF sensor. the side that faces the intake is completely covered in grease. I also just drove the car and it's fine.... no problems at all. no pops at midrange rpm.

It's definately the MAF sensor. Now I just have to clean it. But I will take it in for a checkup most likely this week to Bindon.

 

I am having the same problem. Extreme loss of power accompanied by pre-ignition sounds from the engine. I have noticed this only happens when the weather is over 104F and the humidity is low. I have been researching the problem and it keeps pointing to a octane issue. Our premium here in AZ is 91 octane. It seems that the engine is running at the fringes of the 91 octane fuel. I have driven in 104+ degrees with humidity and it runs like dream. I have researched this phenomenon and determined that humidity actually decrease the octane requirement of the engine. My plan is to introduce a gallon or two of 110 octane race fuel to the tank, to see if there is any improvement. If anyone has any other suggestions I would be more then happy to listen. Today I was bairly able to climb a 5-10% hill in my parking lot.