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Sometimes I will feel the car jerk so I will ease off of the gas pedal and it won't cut off. The fuel line was repaired about a month ago and the mechanic recommended replacing spark plugs and wiring. Any ideas as to what the problem could be? Thanks.
hjc
has 3.1 engine
no antifreeze in oil.
white smoke coming from exhaust
is this a head gasket
i would like a second option before I tear into it
thanks
"From the mid-1990s to 2003, some versions (the plastic intake manifold version) of this engine are involved in intake manifold gasket defects which caused coolant leakage often leading to engine failure. A series of class action lawsuits, implicating deterioration of the nylon/silicone material of the gasket & the heat warping of the plastic intake manifold upon exposure to Dexcool antifreeze, are pending on this issue. Tell-tale signs of such eventual related damage are a white foam that appears on the inside of the oil filler cap and the gradually increasing loss of antifreeze coolant (due to seepage into the intake passages which will lead to engine lock up failure in such cases). External seepage is also found near the valley edge of the lower intake manifold."
When it shifts into passing gear, it dies. Other than that it works great.
Any thoughts? thanks.
Wife's got a 99 lumina 3.1 liter with a rebuilt engine that has approx. 25,000 miles. Always seem to perform well with little maintenance and always kept fluids checked. Yesterday she states that all at once it started stalling, missing and making awful noise. This was about a mile from house. After a few stalls she made it home.
EXACTLY as described when I fired it up however, along with the bucking, missing and stalling comes an awful noise... a tapping that won't go away.
I was hoping perhaps I might get lucky and the noise could be from misfires and fuel restriction. Changed fuel filter today and cleaned throat with B-12. Same thing.
Seemed noise was coming from front of engine around idler pulley. Checked it and no problem with idler. Took entire belt off and started again and noise is still prevalent with same miss, buck and stalling present.
Disconnected front plug wires (wires closest to bumper) and they are firing strong. I'm in a wheelchair and the other wires below coils are rather tough for me to get to. Got to climb on engine to pull a wire but too much trouble to get out, start engine and get back on top to pull another to check for fire. I don't really think that is causing the noise (misfires) and it is certainly coming from engine. Perhaps I am wrong. Could anyone enlighten me a bit as to the causation of this?
Any suggestions as to what I should be getting when testing compression if this is the problem?
With symptoms described in first message and numbers above, does anyone have any thoughts?
Also can you see the valve stems go up and down when you crank the engine? Any one hanging up?
Unfortunately, you have an UHC (underhead cam--that's kind of a joke I'm making here) so you can't view the cam lobes.
I guess you could run some additive that is extremely high detergent--no harm done at this point.
Otherwise, with such a variation in compression (did you test WARM, throttle open?), you may have to pull the heads if nothing apparent shows up.
My only other idea is that your exhaust system is totally plugged up, creating huge back pressure and keeping the cylinders from proper evacuation of gases.
With a cold car all is good. After a few miles it starts to intermittently miss and at certain circumstances. It is used mainly for work commute and is rarely used over 50 mph. At below 70kph (42mph) no problems. Starts are good, shifts are good (with the occasional hard shift) nothing exciting. When I get to the end of the 70k zone and accelerate gently, primarily uphill onramps, it will occasionally jerk numerous times, shift up then silence.
I brought it to a transmisison shop. They drove it and said it shifted fine. They recommended a fuel filter change and plug/wire verification. Since it was the cheapest route I did. New fuel filter and plugs/wires were checked. It "seemed" to respond better to shifts so i thought case closed. That was 2 weeks ago. Yesterday it did it again.
btw, The transmission oil was flushed at roughly 75k km (46.5k mi). It was done at a Penzoil location. They did NOT change the filter. A machine was plugged into the transmission cooler lines at the rad. They pumped out the old and replaced it with new oil. They said the filter was good for 100k km (60k mi).
After some "googling" I came accross something that "seems" to point to the problem.
At "autos.msn.com" there was something about the 1997 Lumina that talks about "can cause the vehicle to loose TCC operation or feel like an engine miss while driving between 40 and 60 mph." It talks about a TCC Regulator Valve. The 1999 write-up talks about a Transmission Pressure Control Solenoid (PCS). With all I have read 2 TSBs were mentioned:
00-07-30-002B & 02-07-30-022B
Other items I did read was that another filter/oil change might help since it may be a sticking internal valve and a filter change (since it was never done) would help. I called GM and a tranny mech. pointed out that oil/filter change would not help.
I went as far as got my hands on a engine computer, to check if any codes were registered. Nothing
I am at a standpoint. The car is well maintained and changing the car at this point is out of the question (if possible). Dropping in a new tranny (~$2000) would cost more than the value of the car. With it's low mileage for its age it's a shame to dump it.
Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks
Ian
Bought wife a new, used Acura.
mike
Thanks !
I took it to a Mech and he said that the security lockout has to be recoded to
the key... is there a way to bypass it or something? :sick:
i recomend you buy starting fluid and spray the vacuum lines.. IF it starts, plug the lines back in and she'll run just right.
STRUT --You can bounce up and down on the left front of the car, listen for noise, or compare the resistance to the other corners of the car. You can also shine a flashlight on the strut and look for oil dripping out of it.
AXLE -- there is no way NO WAY to visually tell if an axle CV joint is bad unless you disassemble it. But you can see if the axle boot is torn, which may only mean to replace the boot, not the whole joint, and you can drive the car in very tight left or right circles and listen for a steady clunking noise which appears in a regular rotational sound of clunking, and goes away as you straighten the wheel. For a bad LEFT axle CV joint, you'd make tight RIGHT circles.
BALL JOINT -- a jack can be placed under them and the wear (slack) in them can be measured or estimated. Anything more than 1/8" play up and down is probably too much. If you can't see it move, then no sale.
If a shop cannot demonstrate to you the basis for their diagnosis, other than crystal ball, intuition, or dart board, then don't believe them.
You could have a sticking injector. Maybe this description will inspire you a bit:
OPERATION:
The fuel supply system begins with gasoline in the fuel tank. An electric fuel pump, located in the fuel tank with the fuel level gauge sending unit, pumps fuel to the fuel rail through an in-line filter. The pump is designed to supply fuel at a pressure above the pressure needed by the injectors. A pressure regulator located on the fuel rail keeps the fuel available to the injectors at a constant pressure. The unused fuel is returned to the fuel tank by a separate line.
MODES OF OPERATION:
The ECM uses voltage inputs from several sensors to determine how much fuel to give the engine. The fuel is delivered under several conditions, called "Modes." All modes are controlled by the ECM, and are described below.
Starting Mode:
When the ignition is first turned "ON," the Electronic Control Module (ECM) turns "ON" the fuel pump relay for two seconds, allowing the fuel pump to build up system pressure. If the engine is immediately started, the fuel pump will continue to operate. If the key is left in the "ON" position, but the engine is not started, the ECM will turn the pump "OFF." The fuel pump will remain "OFF" until the ECM detects the crank signal, or in the case of a faulty fuel pump relay, the oil pressure switch detects approximately 4 psi of oil pressure which will then bypass the fuel pump relay.
Fuel delivery from the port injectors (which deliver fuel in all operating modes) is controlled by changing the amount of time the injectors are turned on or "pulsed" by the ECM. The ECM checks the coolant temperature sensor, throttle position sensor, and the crank signal, and determines the proper air/fuel ratio for starting. This ranges from 1.5:1 at -36°C (-33°F) to 14.7:1 at 94°C (201°F).
Clear Flood Mode:
If the engine floods, clear it by pushing the accelerator all the way down. The ECM then turns "OFF" the injectors. The ECM holds this injector flow rate as long as the throttle stays wide open and the engine rpm is below 600. If the throttle position becomes less than 65%, the ECM returns to the starting mode.
Run Mode:
The run mode has two conditions, called "OPEN LOOP" and "CLOSED LOOP."
OPEN LOOP: When the engine is first started, and engine speed is above 400 rpm, the system goes into "OPEN LOOP" operation. In "OPEN LOOP," the ECM ignores the signal from the Oxygen sensor, and calculates the air/fuel ratio based on inputs from the coolant temperature, throttle position, and the mass air flow (MAF) sensors.
The system will stay in "OPEN LOOP" until the following conditions are met:
1. The Oxygen sensor has a varying voltage output, showing that it is hot enough to operate properly. (This depends on temperature.)
2. The Coolant temperature is above a specified temperature.
3. A specified amount of time has elapsed after starting the engine. CLOSED LOOP: The specified operating conditions vary with different engines, and are stored in the memory calibration module (Mem-Cal). When these conditions are met, the system goes into "CLOSED LOOP" operation. In "CLOSED LOOP," the ECM calculates the air/fuel ratio (injector on-time) based on the signal from the Oxygen sensor. This allows the air/fuel ratio to stay very close to 14.7:1.
Acceleration Mode:
The ECM responds to rapid changes in throttle position and air flow, and provides extra fuel.
Deceleration Mode:
The ECM responds to changes in throttle position and air flow, and reduces the amount of fuel. When deceleration is very fast, the ECM can cut off fuel completely for short periods.
Battery Correction Mode:
When battery voltage is low, the ECM can compensate for the weak spark by:
1. Increasing the amount of fuel delivered.
2. Increasing the idle speed.
3. Increasing the ignition dwell time.
Why don't you re-post your original question, with all the details, to our Answers Department? Maybe one of the technicians who visit there has a better idea for you:
ANSWERS DEPARTMENT