[JasonSelmes]

Hi Folks,

1991 Vitara JLX SWB Carby, manual.

I did a long drive away on Holidays down to Victoria from
Sydney and had no issues going down. Found out while I was down there my occasional clutch spongyness was because the clutch cable had come away from the metal clip and was being shredded by the fan. I wonder how long it was like that as it drives a tonne better now after the local mechanic in out holiday spot installed a new clutch cable.. All replaced and working great.

Upon driving home around 2 hours(total driving trip 7.5 hours in 2-3 hour stages stopping for lunch and fuel etc) from home i stopped off for a bite at subway and noticed when i idled it was like the engine was struggling a bit almost sound like durp durp durp durp durp.

I suspect there is a leak in the exhaust manifold gasket as well when i bought the car I could see they used gasket glue as a temporary measure and saw some burn off from the glue.

Today getting home though It was almost like the car was struggling a little bit. During idle it was running a little rough but not noticeable when running only really at idle. when I turned the car off i also had a slight run on where the car was trying to stay on with a few splutters then turned off. This has only started happening as of today

Its kinda hard to explain and i might get a video tomorrow to show what it is actually doing. I dont know if the run on splutter is attributed to the noise I am hearing as if the car is running slightly off and is not running smooth. Could this be an ignition timing issue? and is this normal for it to go out?

I am not sure how to check the car timing. The car has been great since I got it. around 4 months ago other than the spongy clutch which has been fixed with the new clutch cable.

History-

Fresh oil installed before holiday trip 3 weeks ago to Whole car including diffs, transfer, crank and transmission
New leads installed 4 months ago
new rotor button and dizzy cap 4 months ago
new thermostat 4 months ago
New fuel filter 4 months ago
Radiator flush and refil 4 months ago
New sparks 4 months ago

Any help appreciated

[JasonSelmes]

Hay Folks here is a video update of the Suzuki Running Rough. Any hints?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq-rRT1KjjA

[krat]

Just bumping this one along.
I don't have enough knowledge to offer advice, but from the effort put in on this post by Jason Selmes, I'm sure someone can get the ball rolling with some possible causes for the problems that he has raised.

Following with interest.
Kev.

[Scrawny]

Read this and forgot to reply

Sounds like a carby issue to me. Do you have a regular mechanic you use? Doesn't sound like a timing issue, and that shouldn't 'go out' unless something has broken or is heavily worn. Does it run ok other than idle?

[droverdave]

Id just start some diagnosis/basic maintenance, and hopefully somewhere along the way you find the drama.

-check the timing with a timing light, dunno what its supposed to be, id guess about 10 degrees BDTC at idle.
-make sure the vacuum line on the distributer is in good order
-grab a can of carby cleaner and spray out the carby with th engine off, leave for a bit, start engine, keep on spraying while getting your mate to keep the engine going (carby cleaner will tend to make the engine die). Make that carby shiny!!!
-fix whatever exhaust leak you are refering too, exhaust leaks cause odd problems.
-check all vaccum lines, an air leak can give dramas, though usually its a high idle. but these carbys are complicated so who knows what all the bits do when you have a dodgy vac line.

there is also this stuff called "subaru upper engine cleaner", i use it on my wrx and i belive its mandatory at every subaru service. you buy it from subaru in a can (like $18 i think), you spray half of it into the inlet manifold and it turns into a foam, it goes onto all the pistsons/valves, and basically disolves all the carbon build up. you leave it for ~10mins. start the car (its difficult to start!!) , and watch all the carbon come out your exhaust in the form of white smoke (shed loads of it!!!!! my neighbour thought i had the car on fire....). And you keep on spraying it in with the engine running untill the can runs out. Makes for a happy smooth engine.

Considering all the bits you have replaced recently, after doing the above, youd have to have fixed or found your issue.

[royce]

I'd pick a vacuum leak, while idling spray carby cleaner around the carby and manifold and vacuum hoses and listen for a rise in idle speed