994x4

I have a 1998 GS400 with 93,000 miles. I had the timing belt and water pump changed about 3 weeks ago.

This morning my wife went to start the car and it took a little while longer to start and then ran for about 3 seconds and then stalled. The car would then no longer start. She tried again about 30 minutes later and it started and seemed to run ok. I told her to shut it off and I would look at it after work.

I tried this afternoon and it started and then stalled. It did restart but ran kinda rough for about the first 2 minutes. I did smell some exhaust too which was strange. I hope someone here can help as I would hate to spend any more money after just getting the timing belt / water pump work done.

Also I heard that a crank position sensor could cause problems starting too. Is that possible and is that sensor something that is removed during the timing belt install?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Eric

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Sorry I can't be a help, but the problem seems like an issue other than the starter if your car seems to stall. Do you hear any weird noise?

994x4

No. I don't hear any weird noises. I did notice a little white smoke coming from the tail pipes. It is not blue smoke so I don't think I am burning oil but the smoke does concern me.

vicestan

Did the check engine light come on?

gcb17

Take it back to where you got the belt and water pump replaced. Tow it if you don't feel comfortable driving it. Rather than guess what's wrong with it, let a pro handle it. It's a possibility they screwed upsomething during your service.

994x4

No check engine light. I checked the battery terminals and they are clean. I haven't checked the spark plugs yet but I will do that.

kingkong5

put some gas in it?

ebruce2

iTrader: (1)

this happened to me once with my old GS300 during the winter. I recall pulling my ecu fuse and the problem went away. Something to try at least.

994x4

I just left the battery terminal off for about 45 mins to reset the ECU. Hopefully that helps. The car started and ran perfectly. Of course it is still warm. The real test will be when the car gets cold again. I also did not notice any white steam (not smoke) this time. It is about 50 degrees now so I am not sure it is normal to see any steam anyways. Thanks for all the replies.

ebruce2

iTrader: (1)

damn, I'm good...lol. Like I'm some auto repair whiz or something.

The problem only happened that one time for me, even with cold winter temperatures. If it does happen again, I would suggest doing a search in the 2GS forums on "starter issues" or something similar. Good luck.

Eric

994x4

Update - The car did the same thing this morning. I knew this would be the real test as it would take all night for the car to fully cool down.

It started as normal on the first try and then shut off. It restarted about 5 times but would immediately shut off after only running for about 1 second each time. Finally I just mashed the gas pedal to the floor and cranked it for about 5 seconds and then it started up. It seems to be running fine now.

Any ideas?

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Possibly a sensor has gone bad? Maf, O2...but usually when those go out the car will throw a check engine light. Another possibility is that the place that did the belt really whacked up bad on it. Engines are harder to start when cold, so if the timing is a little off....that might attribute to cold start problems. You should take it back to the place where you got the work done to see whats up.

Good luck!

gserep1

My opinion is that if the timing was off, it would run bad all of the time. It would respond sluggishly to the accelerator.

Your problem seems to be temperature related. Might I suggest the cold start switch? You may not be getting enough fuel at the low temperature.

If it becomes necessary, you may have to get a fuel pressure test to see what kind of pressure you have coming out of the tank mounted fuel pump.

Has the fuel filter ever been changed? It IS a 98 GS after all. I changed mine fairly easily. It is under the rear seat, and is hardly ever changed on most vehicles. 8 or 9 years of running fuel through it COULD cause it to partially collapse in cold weather. Just grabbing at straws, but perhaps you should eliminate the obvious things first.

Did the weather suddenly change after getting the belt and water pump done, and has this ever happened before in years past?

I'd start with a throttle body cleaning, and see how that works. No car likes running in cold weather, but it is a reality in some states. If the cold start switch is working right, the idle will be fast when it is cold, and then slow down as it warms up. Clean up the intake and eliminate that problem and go from there.

GOOD LUCK!

TLW

I want to say MAF, but I'm curious to see what it is

BLAZE

iTrader: (2)

I would take the car back to the mechanic who worked on it last, Since he just worked on the car. He should be able to tell u what the problem is for free, since u just spent a signifigant amount of money for the service. Let him figure it out, after all the timing could be off by a couple or one "tooth" and the car would run fine, then crap out. I think the ecm would be able to compensate for a little bit of timing error ,but once it can't "learn" what's going on, it will shut down. If he was the cause, he has to fix it.