Menu
  • Home
  • Topic
  • 2 problems, grinding and power loss.

2 problems, grinding and power loss.

Home Forums Stay Dirty Lounge Service and Repair Questions Answered Here 2 problems, grinding and power loss.

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #506748
    KirkKirk
    Participant

      1996 Kia Sephia 1.8L automatic.
      My first issue is the power loss. I will be as detailed as I can be about it.
      In park the car will rev past 3000 RPMs just fine, it feels light and peppy.
      In any drive gear including reverse it instantly feels bogged down. No matter how hard you push the gas it will not go above 3000 RPM. The car drives fine, you just cant get over 3000 RPM. The only issue is slow acceleration (not being able to get higher RPMs) and if I come to a hill I will lose a good deal of power, I can push the gas pedal down and pick that back up but I shouldnt have the issue. I believe it to be a clogged cat, tomorrow morning I am taking upstream o2 sensor out and driving it up a hill see if it has anymore power. (I should be able to tell right off because the RPMs wont be stuck under 3000)

      2nd issue is a grinding noise, I believe it to be wheel bearings but cant confirm with easy tests so may have to take hub off and apart.
      This noise does not happen all the time sometimes not at all.
      Its a rhymthic intermittant grinding noise. It does get worse when turning to the right it gets less pronounced turning to the left. You can feel it in the steering wheel and foot pedals. Somewhat of a harsh grind, it seems about 1 full grind noise is about 2.5 rotations of the tire. Sound seems like its coming from mid engine at the bottom on the left. (feels like where CV goes into tranny but who knows, I cant tell where a grinding/vibration is coming from just the general area) I put the car up, pulled/tilted the tires and got no play. Spun the tires and heard no noise. I am going to put my hand on the spring tomorrow on the strut and spin the tire, I read if you feel any grittyness in the spring with wheel turning you probably have bad wheel bearings.

      This has been going on for over a month and I have checked just about everything I thought it could be. (except volt tests) The CV axles look new, the boots are in very good shape and no leaking. The ball joints are newish and good. My Brake pads look brand new, ,the rotors look to of been turned once before but look good, I cleaned the calipers up and regreased the slide pins. My brakes do squeek but I read that is almost normal for my type of car. (and no indication the sqeek is something work out)

      For the power issue Ive just checked connections. Found a loose bracket for the exhaust and fixed that but other than that, no luck. (tomorrow is first day off in awhile so my best ideas are going to be tried then, feeling spring for coarseness while spinning tire and o2 sensor removal and drive)

      Thank you for your help!

      *edit*
      I forgot to add the tranny seems to shift the same as every other car Ive ever owned. So do not think the power loss is from the tranny. (especially since in park it revs great)
      I have changed spark plugs, wires, oil, flushed the pan of the tranny but no filter change, new battery connectors. I got the car a month ago and only changed out those few items, the car had a receipt for a full tune up 4 months before I got the car, everything Ive checked on receipt is new so I believe it to be true and thats why I dont continue the tune up. (the plugs looks great, better than any other ive pulled out of a car, possibly due to only having about 800 miles on em)

    Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 21 total)
    • Author
      Replies
    • #507368
      KirkKirk
      Participant

        Exhaust place tested the cat and exhaust no restrictions. Took it to a car repair shop, they test drove asked me what was wrong with it because they couldnt find anything.

        Yay.

        #507443
        619DioFan619DioFan
        Participant

          I would do a fuel pressure test. a weak/failing fuel pump will give these types of power loss ( especialy on a hill )

          for the grinding , jack the front and check for play in the front hub. any play and you have a bad wheel bearing.

          #507460
          KirkKirk
          Participant

            No play at all in the hubs, no play in cv joints. No grease coming from anywhere to indicate any kind of leak in the front end. Surprisingly almost all of it looks new. Fuel pressure is good, they tested it as part of the diagnostic today. Sparks good, compression good. They tell me the car is fine so I re-explained what was wrong and they still have it. The car drives similar to my moms car power wise, hers is a gutless piece of crap but atleast you can floor it, get a ton of power and your RPMs jump up not just a slow crawl to a stop.

            Thanks for input 619 πŸ™‚

            #507475
            david maciasdavid macias
            Participant

              It seems you are aware that this car will be gutless – though I agree it should rev past 3000rpm in drive. I’m afraid you can’t rule out transmission issue, but obviously check things out before jumping to that ugly possibility.

              A grinding noise while turning certainly sounds like a potential bad wheel bearing. But a wheel bearing that is ready to seize up would certainly be noticeable by a mechanic in a test drive.

              The only other problem that comes to mind is a brake issue. Check the parking brake cable and the brake lines at the wheels. Is it possible that you are engaging one or more brake especially while turning?
              Good luck.

              #507478
              KirkKirk
              Participant

                Transmission would explain both the noise and RPM issue. But other than that it seems to drive fine and sometimes no grind/no power loss its weird.

                The front brakes are great, one back drum brake doesnt spin as freely as the other side (I believe it was rear passenger spins less freely) my dad looked at it and said it was normal, I opened it up found nothing wrong inside. I know the parking brake needs to be adjusted sligtly so it picks up full force a few clicks sooner but other than that they looked good. Ill check the cable tomorrow when I get the car back, could be that! Would be nice. Brakes in front are worn evenly (fairly new pads) the drum brakes are worn evenly as well but I admit I dont know much about drum brakes. (they still had plenty of pad and both were the same)

                Sometimes the car isnt gutless is my problem ive seen how it CAN drive. On the rare occurance (1 in 20 times of driving if that) the car runs perfect, no extra noise or anything when i push the pedal down, the rpms climb faster and higher (up to 3500 or so) and going up hills I barely push the gas its got plenty of power. Normally I have the pedal just barely depressed until halfway up than push it to halfway or ill lose power and drop speed very very fast. I can push it further down, RPMs barely go up and I pick up more speed like if it was driving well its just the car sounds like shit like the exhaust is split.

                Wheel bearings I keep coming back to as I havent taken them out to physically inspect. Last time on a van they went bad it was a constant vibration and worse in turns. This one just randomly does it going strait or turning its just worse when turning. I am worried it has to do with the car heating up and being the transmission.

                Its a real pain when there are no codes and everything is checked out to be working fine πŸ™ Shoulda saved the money of the diagnostic (which so far tells me my car is fine, didnt even mention the grinding which is surprising) and bought some new CV’s to rule that out.

                #507484
                david maciasdavid macias
                Participant

                  Do not throw parts at this hoping they will solve the problem. Troubleshoot until you are nearly certain you have found the source. The best thing to do now is to figure out how to repeat the problem so that you can tell a mechanic what to do to experience the problem. That is where the troubleshooting begins.

                  A reputable shop should be able to figure this out and tell you what is wrong. The only barrier is if they cannot repeat the problem you are experiencing.

                  #507496
                  KirkKirk
                  Participant

                    I am taking one of the techs on a ride along tomorrow morning before work. They quoted me 80 for diagnostic and quotes on the issue and now say I only have to pay 40 because they havent found the problem.

                    You can replicate the issue on any hill, halfway up or 1/4 of the way up you have to give it 3x more pedal push to go the speed you were, RPMs never go above 3000 in drive. Its driven right before and gone up the hill without having to push the pedal extra much at all and the sound of the car is much cleaner, no vibrations no exhaust sounding like BRRRRRRRR. Once you do that the car feels sluggish for the rest of the drive. (gunning it wont give that pep, youll hear the exhaust sound twice as loud and pick up speed but flooring it doesnt spike the RPMs like a normal car does.)

                    They do say a wheel bearing is why its grinding. (odd but could be right, we couldnt replicate the sound/grind when it wasnt driving and there was no play, it may of had to of been at just the right angle to start grinding and then correct itself shortly after) I am sure in a shop they have a way of checking.

                    Slight head gasket leak, I understand that can cause some issues but I doubt its the cause of my RPM issue unless that slight leak was more than slight.

                    Im not throwing parts πŸ™‚ I had to borrow against my next check just to pay for the diagnostic and planned to do most if not all of the repairs myself to save money. So headgaskets ive never done but I am sure I can figure it out as most things on cars are common sense. (same as computers) I may give them some business if they can tell me why my car doesnt operate properly.

                    Thanks for the input! Hoping to get atleast some of the cars gremlins gone soon πŸ™‚

                    #507639
                    KirkKirk
                    Participant

                      They said they cant replicate the issue the tech I was working with does not work on Saturdays. (I guess they are half staff on weekends) so no ride along yet. They tested fuel pressure checked the trims and quite a bit of other things, all were fine.

                      I guess the horrible intermittant grinding noise Ive been hearing is the wheel bearings according to them atleast in part, its a combination of that and bad struts and loose strut mounts. (I knew the struts were bad but didnt know theyd contribute to grinding, just a crappy ride)

                      428 dollars for both front wheel bearings replaced πŸ™ Ill have to do that myself.

                      116 to do the belts. they are cracked, im having them do it for me monday, its only an hour of labor and i dont want to make sure things are aligned when I install the belt. Lucky I bought a 5 dollar scratchit with a pack of cigs to make it an even 10 and won 100 bucks, so thats paying for the belt.

                      They didnt have the quotes ready on the rest of the parts/labor but to me 4 hours for wheel bearings seems excessive I can remove both hubs in an hour or so 3 hours for replace and reinstall seems excessive but I dont know I havent removed bearings myself before. (we have all the tools)

                      So grinding issue seems to be solved a combination of struts, mounts, bearings and they said a loose tie rod but i didnt see that at all when I was looking and I still dont. Will know when I replace the bearings and struts if its been fixed for sure.

                      Still no luck at all with the power issue πŸ™

                      *edit*
                      Im an idiot, its not a head gasket leak but a valve gasket leak. Its something I already saw but didnt care because whats leaked out from it already is old and has other crap on it, its not leaked since I bought it. They said its not a bad leak at all and not making much a difference in anything, just something to replace.

                      #507685
                      619DioFan619DioFan
                      Participant

                        Do the wheel bearings ( do both ) 20.00 each from rockauto or 40.00 each with the hub included. recommend spending the extra money and get the bearing w/ hub. save much headaches.

                        #507700
                        david maciasdavid macias
                        Participant

                          I believe it is the front bearings that are bad. Unfortunately those are not easy to replace. You need a special tool to separate the hub and a press to install the bearing. Most diy will remove the whole steering knuckle and take it to a shop to save some money. Unless you have a hub tamer or hub shark you’ll be heading to the shop with your steering knuckles.

                          #507703
                          KirkKirk
                          Participant

                            Unless the search is broken for me there are no front hub assemblies on rockauto or any website that I can find. (plenty of rear, no forward) Ill recheck again I may of missed em, thanks πŸ™‚

                            Moneys tight I will probably pick up the struts and get just the bearings so its cheaper. May be more work but once Ive done it next time itll be faster.

                            *edit*
                            I found a front hub without a bearing. I couldnt find a front hub with bearing. I may still be missing it =/
                            Yeah about 16 for front hub, 20 for bearing thats not too bad at all. Cant wait for payday cause those crazy internet people dont take cash yet πŸ™

                            #507707
                            619DioFan619DioFan
                            Participant

                              [quote=”japakar” post=53648]Unless the search is broken for me there are no front hub assemblies on rockauto or any website that I can find. (plenty of rear, no forward) Ill recheck again I may of missed em, thanks πŸ™‚

                              Moneys tight I will probably pick up the struts and get just the bearings so its cheaper. May be more work but once Ive done it next time itll be faster.

                              *edit*
                              I found a front hub without a bearing. I couldnt find a front hub with bearing. I may still be missing it =/
                              Yeah about 16 for front hub, 20 for bearing thats not too bad at all. Cant wait for payday cause those crazy internet people dont take cash yet :([/quote]

                              My bad. looked up the rears by mistake. front wheel bearings available at autozone. 25.00 each. may be able to ” borrow “the removal kit from them.

                              #507709
                              KirkKirk
                              Participant

                                Hmm now I am confused.

                                I watched a few wheel bearing replacements.

                                It looks like you just take off brake/caliper disconnect any suspension connecting to it, remove the dented nut holding it to the axle, push the axle in careful not to mushroom the top then the hub should be off? Than its just a matter of sticking it into a press and pressing the bearings out and pressing the new ones in?

                                I never knew what a hub snark is or a tamer. It looks like a tamer lets you do bearings without taking knuckle off or something? the other one from the video I saw I couldnt tell exactly what it was doing, it looked like it was just pushing itself off the axle. Crappy video ill have to search some more. Wouldnt the hydraulic press let me do similar just take longer?

                                I dont have one but my dad most likely does, seems to have everything needed to work on cars.

                                Looking at a few more videos that makes it look much easier to replace but not needed?

                                *edit*
                                also looks like they have knock offs of the hub tamer for under 100, might be an option at some point.

                                #507713
                                619DioFan619DioFan
                                Participant

                                  Hub tamer and hub shark are designed to remove the hub and bearing with the knuckle on the car ( eleminates the need for an alignment ) if you have access to a press and plan on doing struts as well just pull the knuckle and press out the hub and then the bearing ( yes , the hub will need to be pressed from the bearing and will take the inner race of the old bearing with it , which will need to be removed to reuse the hub , eric shows how to remove the inner race from the hub in the honda wheel bearing vid ) after it is all back together , get your alignment.

                                  #507839
                                  david maciasdavid macias
                                  Participant

                                    Exactly. If you have access to a press you’re set. If not just remove the knuckle and take it to a shop. Most will do the work of removing the old bearing and press a new one for about $30 each.

                                  Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 21 total)
                                  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
                                  Loading…