old_st141

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I did mean I would take it to a mechanic. They said it is the head. I guess it's time to put it up for sale and start looking for a new(er) car! Or take it to the wreckers :( Cheers old_st141

Thanks for your replies. Went hunting around the web...on many different searches and forums. Seems like it's not a common problem, but one that doesn't have any clear solutions. Elsewhere on the web, could be: - Intake/vacuum leaks - throttle body clean - IACV valve/ISCV valve - intake gasket (and combination of above). Should throw CEL P0171 (System too lean) eventually. Cheap solution. - Reflash ecu on some early-mid 2000 models - MAF sensor; per the above link, if non-genuine MAF sensor, then possible. Clean MAF - Engine/motor mounts? Seriously???? Useful TB/IAC maintenance thread/cleaning links here. I think I'll take a couple more test drives, and pay a lot closer attention. I'm pretty sure the 2007 Ascent I drove didn't do it, but who knows. Oh well, maybe it's time for a serious look at the Mazda3.... hth

Sorry probably not too clear above. The shudder happened when stopped as well. You could feel the revs and shudder 'matching' if you can get what I mean through the wheel/pedal. Even the back/bum of the driver's seat in the 2nd one, though I was paying more attention that time. It's not severe, but it's certainly something I'd never felt before. The closest I can describe it is being the same as driving a manual and you don't hit the clutch early enough when coming to a stop with your foot on the brake. That's exactly what it felt like, ie you're braking without hitting the clutch and the engine revs decrease and the engine starts to 'lug'. Then you hit the clutch and the revs come back up. This is why I thought the 1st one must have been flogged and had some problem with the auto trans/clutch packs. That's what happened though, the revs came up a bit, but still seemed to be a bit low. The engine continued to lug/idle hunt even at a stop. The service records were good, and they both had ~ mid 40K kms. Cheers PS: I should note this is not severe shuddering; it's quite light, but I just hadn't felt that in an auto before.

Hiya Been test driving a couple of 05 auto corolla ascents today. One thing I was very concerned about was that both exhibited an engine shudder when coming to a complete stop. Almost as if the car was about to stall. Could be felt through both steering wheel and brake pedal. The first car had me thinking it had been thrashed and was dodgy. Maybe a messed up clutch pack in the auto or something. The second made me think maybe this is normal for these cars. I did a few searches here, and the most closely related thread seemed to be this old one. It didn't really come to any conclusions on what the issue was. Some facts: - it was pretty cold today - at least for Sydney ;) - the cars both were driven long enough to get off choke. At least 15 mins. Can't say it's exact, but they seemed to be idling at about 600rpm. I'm not even familiar with the guages. - in the 2nd car, it seemed much less vibration than the first one. I was wondering at one stage in the 2nd one if it was to do with brake shudder rather than engine itself, but even when stopped there was a light vibration that could be felt. - both cars had low amounts of fuel in them. Stingy dealers... Fuel surge/starvation? - Not sure if turning the steering wheel while coming to a stop (which would suck some power for the power steering) made any difference... Can anyone help shed some light on this? Thanks in advance

Hey guys My dad has an old 84 Corona ST141 with the 2L 2S-C. The car has been running rough. Also heating up more than normal sometimes, and needs topping up in the radiator at stages. The car gets mostly short trips, so it's not always noticeable. I'm dubious that the oil or filter has been changed for a fair while. Dad's memory on that type of thing ain't too hot anymore :-( I think it *may* be the head gasket, but am not very mechanically minded. Am wondering on what the best approach would be? Get an oil + filter change and see what happens? Thanks for any advice Go easy on me, I'm new :-) old_st141