Car starts puttering after reaching certain oil temp

[IM-32-FK]

Car starts puttering after reaching certain oil temp

Hey guys I've had this problem for a while now, about 4 months or so. 

When I start my car from cold start, the car would start puttering after reaching anywhere between 65-70 degrees oil temperature. What it feels like is one of the cylinders are not working and as you accelerate it would make a putt-putt-putt sound. Still have all boost but have an obvious loss of power. 

At first when it first started happening it would last only about 10 seconds but now it lasts sometimes 10 minutes seriously. The car would then just randomly start working 100% with full power and all. Once the car stops the puttering it would then never do it again 90% of time until I do a dead cold start again.

When I was serving my car last time I couldn't screw in the 4th spark plug cylinder properly all the way down like the other cylinders because it would get tight within a couple of spins and I'm known to crack spark plugs when I'm tightening them. Also half the yellow jackets have warped rubber heads so the spark plug hole for a couple of them isn't closed off 100%. I use bcpr6es with 1.1 gap and the car is r34 gtt 

its just that right now I can't afford to do things to the car if I know they won't fix the problem.

any help of what the problem might be would be greatly appreciated thanks 

 

 

[admS15]

I think the answer may be yellow jackets. Try gapping your plugs down to 0.8 and see if it stops the problem. Try putting some lube on the threads of the plug that is tight and then work it gently back and forth and hopefully it frees it up. Good luck.

[89CAL]

Gap plugs down to 0.8 and try again. Costs nothing and may give you an idea if it might be the coil packs

[IM-32-FK]

Just to clarify, if I'm running up to 12 psi I should use 1.1 gap right and anything over 12 and over psi I should do 0.8 right? I can't remember 100% sure that if I'm running 0.8 I'm actually almost certain it is although I said 1.1 in the initial post.

Edited January 24, 2017 by IM-32-FK

[Duncan]

While that is common advice on these cars, actually you should run the largest gap that you can before your car starts misfirining for the best burn and therefore most power.

gapping plugs down to 0.8 is just a bandaid for an ignition system that can't keep up at the car's boost level.

[IM-32-FK]

On 25/01/2017 at 7:44 AM, Duncan said:

While that is common advice on these cars, actually you should run the largest gap that you can before your car starts misfirining for the best burn and therefore most power.

gapping plugs down to 0.8 is just a bandaid for an ignition system that can't keep up at the car's boost level.

What do you think the most likely the problem is?like I said, after reaching 60 something degrees Celsius oil temp, the car would putter with a loss of power for about 10-15 minutes then it would run perfect again and WONT DO IT AGAIN TILL NEXT COLD START. It feels like it's running on 5 cylinders but I can't tell if it's a misfire or not. If your car misfires, does that mean it would run with one less cylinder? Or would the car just cut out every few thousand revs? Because my problem is a continuous putter for 10 minutes. If I didn't screw down one spark plug all the way could it cause this? I'm using bcpr6es with 0.8 so I'm pretty sure. 

[Duncan]

well I didn't really make a recommendation because it seems to me there are about a billion possible reasons and its very hard to work out which one over the internet.

water temp is an input to how rich the ECU runs so there may be simply be a problem with your tune for cold start, or a problem with your water temp sensor. Is the ECU stock?

I'm not saying you shouldn't gap your plugs down, that can help point to an ignition problem (plugs, coilpacks, ignitor, resistor pack, wiring). Just that a lower gap is not actually a good thing, it just helps tell you what part of the system is not healthy.

Based on the description it could also be a fuel supply problem like a leaky injector as well, it's just hard to guess based on a post and I don't want to mislead you to spending money on a guess

And yes, having a spark plug that's not in properly is a problem, but that doesn't mean you should try harder to screw it down; the plug may already be cross threaded.  

If I were you I'd have a good mechanic look at it

[IM-32-FK]

On 26/01/2017 at 7:43 PM, Duncan said:

well I didn't really make a recommendation because it seems to me there are about a billion possible reasons and its very hard to work out which one over the internet.

water temp is an input to how rich the ECU runs so there may be simply be a problem with your tune for cold start, or a problem with your water temp sensor. Is the ECU stock?

I'm not saying you shouldn't gap your plugs down, that can help point to an ignition problem (plugs, coilpacks, ignitor, resistor pack, wiring). Just that a lower gap is not actually a good thing, it just helps tell you what part of the system is not healthy.

Based on the description it could also be a fuel supply problem like a leaky injector as well, it's just hard to guess based on a post and I don't want to mislead you to spending money on a guess

And yes, having a spark plug that's not in properly is a problem, but that doesn't mean you should try harder to screw it down; the plug may already be cross threaded.  

If I were you I'd have a good mechanic look at it

Theres a strong smell of fuel coming from the engine bay when it happens. But if it's a leaking injector then why does it just fix itself?its just hard to determine because the problem is not consistent and if I were to try to diagnose the problem the car would just run fine again when I'm 10 minutes into the diagnosis. I feel that if I take it to a mechanic they are gonna charge me gods knows how much just to fix it. So damn angry right now

[blind_elk]

Have you managed to isolate which cylinder is misfiring? (generally a misfire is when a cylinder basically shuts down, or only fires occasionally). Does it behave this way at all revs / loads, or only while moving?

Have you had the injectors cleaned (not just injector cleaner cleaned)? Replaced the fuel filter? Changed the oil (although I suspect the oil temp contribution to the problem is purely coincidental)?

Also, I think the plugs may need to be a heat range 5 (you are using 6s), and maybe just gap them down a bit (try 1mm initially). I'm assuming a relatively stock setup.

[admS15]

While that is common advice on these cars, actually you should run the largest gap that you can before your car starts misfirining for the best burn and therefore most power.
gapping plugs down to 0.8 is just a bandaid for an ignition system that can't keep up at the car's boost level.

This is very true and I agree. In this case gapping the plugs down is a good way to determine whether the ops problem is spark related or elsewhere. Analysing the condition of the plugs can also help to determine the offending cylinder.

[89CAL]

Disconnect coilpacks one at a timr with engine idling. Do the same with injectors. If something is failing the idle should stay the same when a single cylinder is unplugged (either injector or coilpack)

Try that for a start

[IM-32-FK]

Thought id just give an update for those looking for solutions in the future. The cars yellow jacket coilpacks where f**ked(one of them was). Just got a set of oem coilpacks and ive been good ever since.