RandySolara wrote:it was HOPPING like dancing Hip-Hop style haahahah, downtown Toronto is bunch of peoples, everyone looked at my car and was like,, wah-da......i did the same like you Wid, released the Pad and gas slowly again it was fine
what you're describing randy sounds more like what i would call 'wheel hop.' which is, when you floor it, you feel your front wheels jumping up and down as they try and get traction. and for anyone outside of the car, it looks like the solara is trying to shake itself apart. yes?
well, i'm not exactly sure that this is what wid is talking about. wid sounds like he's describing some sort of engine lag due to something or another (context clue: "when i drive my car at
any speed and floor it"). and also, i'm not sure if the 4cyl would be able to produce enough torque to have wheel hop. wid: i'd def do a complete tune up. fluids (oil, tranny, coolant), filters (oil, air, maybe fuel), spark plugs and wires. also, clean out your throttle body and your MAF sensor (both have specific aerosols at autozone that you can buy, both by STP if i'm not mistaken), and if you have the inclination, clean out your intake plenum too (it's probably really dirty).
randy, if i'm not mistaken, your problem only happens when doing a hard launch from a stop, right? if so, then you should know that you can help reduce wheel hop by upgrading your engine mounts, and your transmission torque rod. i used to have the same problem (bad), but once i upgraded my torque rod, i almost completely eliminated any wheel hop from hard launches (it still happens if i power brake to a certain specific RPM and launch, but if i'm just flooring it, i break traction and light up the tires).
wid: also, if you have an automatic tranny, you may be getting stuck in between gears, and you might want to have that checked out by a mechanic. it sounds like it
could be the same symptoms that i just had looked at on my 99 sle. basically, i could drive it and everything, but if i was trying to scoot along a little bit faster, i would feel/hear my car 'downshift' but i wouldn't feel any power. basically, what was happening to mine was that the gear would disengage, and i would essentially be stuck in between gears (the tranny was hunting for the right gear, it would go to the next gear up, then back to the previous gear, and back again, until i layed off the accelerator). basically, my auto was slipping really badly, and it was not only noticable, it was dangerously unpredicatable.
try this: take a drive where you can push your car (highway, or deserted straightaway), and push her until you feel your problem. try to isolate the circumstances that are causing it (i.e. a certain point in the powerband, a certain speed, or just all the time).
then, do the same drive, only this time, shift between L-2-D and see if you are able to get all the way through the gears (and to an ideal speed) without having the problem.
when i did the ridealong with my tranny mechanic, this was basically what he did to determine if it was a problem with other drivetrain components, or if it had to do with my transmission overdrive system (which is slightly different from the OD button on the shifter). the overdrive system (in transmission mechanic lingo) is the system that controls the upshifting, and by doing it 'manually', you can discern if it's a problem with the tranny, or with other parts of the drivetrain. to my surprise, i (as a lay person) was able to notice that 'manually' shifting L-2-D prevented it from going into gear-hunting-slippage.
the other thing my tranny mech did when i was riding along was put it in L and powerbrake the hell out of it. he said it was to check slippage and torque converter stall, but i didn't really understand it's importance to diagnosing problems, so i wouldn't recommend you to do it, since i can't really tell you anything to look for when doing this (and it causes unnecessary wear and tear on the tranny)
BUT - if what i described sounds like it could be the culprit, i hate to tell you, but i replaced my tranny (and you may have to do the same)
as much as i can recall, my mech said i had a bad forward drum, and it was leaking fluid into something or another and causing too much pressure for another thing to engage. or something. (not very helpful, i know). basically, he gave me two options: 1) short term (~$900) fix the drum and it'll be good for about another year, or 2) long term ($1355) replace the tranny with another.
i was lucky enough to find a used tranny with 67k miles on it for $600 in a scrap yard. if i didnt find that, i may have actually gone through with a manual swap (which was option 3, i had just finished paying off the car so i didn't want to sell it yet, so sinking $5k into it for a manual was almost a possibility...option 1 would only have been if i wanted it fixed and running to sell). oh yeah, and i also had a carrier bearing and an axle seized together.
you being a 4 cyl, i wouldn't recommend a manual swap, it's just not worth the money for the limited potential of the car. but be aware that it may be a tranny problem if everything else turns out ok.
(see the things i'll do to take up my time instead of work
)
by wid » Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:28 am 
