Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Jul 19, 2004

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Open Help Requests for All Makes and Models

	Help Request	Answers
	1993 Audi 90 CS 2.8L starter VIN: WAUDJ58C0P Hi folks,hoping someone has been there done that.Old customer,new to her car,complaint of intermittant no crank.Tow truck driver stated that he turned key,nothing,put it in neutral,nothing,when he put it back in park,"all the lights came on then it started." U...	View
	1997 Cadillac DeVille Concours 4.6L a/c compressor VIN: 1G6KF5495V hi guys, i have this caddy in the shop with the a/c not working, the display in the cluster keeps saying very low refrigeant and compressor off. the system does have the full charge of freon. i cleared the codes by the a/c console and also by disconnecting the...	View
	1998 Cadillac DeVille 4.6L abs and traction control lites VIN: 1G6KD544XW abs and traction control lites are on. code # 1227 left rear excessive wheel speed variation. found no obvious problems but repaced wheel speed/hub assembly at that time because of pattern failures on past cars. also checked wiring, connectors and sub harness ...	View
	1995 Chevrolet K1500 Suburban 5.7L compressor VIN: 1GNFK16K9S compressor was locked up, found metal particlrs in high pressureoutlet during removal of compressor. orifice tube slightly dirty but not bad. installed new compressor, drier, orifice tube,added oil to components as per specs, evacuated, recharged, with 4 lbs. ...	View
	1996 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3L Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: IGNDT13W8T cylinders 2,4,6 all missing.spark tester shows 25kv at each of these wires.scope shows all these firing lines flat.mechanically engine tests ok.seems to be fuel issue.spec is 60-66 psi.gauge shows only 52 psi however if you pinch return line can raise to 95 ps... Trouble codes: 300 (multiple missfire), 147 (o2 heater), 155 (o2 heater)	View
	1997 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3L Ign Key VIN: 1GNDT13WXV Received this one from a body shop, the ignition key won't come out of the cylinder. The solenoid next to the cylinder will work if power is applied to it. I, of course, have no power to it. I also do not have a wiring diagram for this circuit on Mitchell. I w...	View
	1997 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1L Cuts out VIN: 154YGP45OI this lumina is giving me big problems. you can drive it for 10 min and it will die. or you can drive 1 hour and it will die. sometimes it will go a week with out cutting out. each time it dies it starts right back up. when dying fuel pressure normal. when runn...	View
	1999 Chevrolet Cavalier 2.2L front brake pads hi everyone, i have a cav here that is eating up brakes evey 10k to 15k. calipiers seem ok hoses are in good condition. the only thing i notice is that the left outer pad seems to wear more on the bottom side than all the others. pedal feels good and brakes fi...	View
	2001 Chrysler Town & Country LX 3.3L Poor Idle Quality, Stall, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2C4GP44331 Hello! The o2 sensor in this van stays at .49 volts pretty much all the time. I put a new o2 sensor in and still have the same readings, sets the code for upstream o2 stays center. I also changed the plugs because they were black, the new ones are already bla... Trouble codes: P0134 (1/1 o2 stays center)	View
	1993 Dodge Dakota 3.9L will not go into closed loop VIN: 1R7FL23X5P will not go into closed loop. scan codes none test fuel pressure ok test battery,crank snesor,coolant temp,intake air temp,map sensor,tps all test were done lab scpoe or dvom . running on dyno egr valve will not open vacuum to egr valve is very rapid form 0-10...	View
	1996 Dodge Intrepid 3.3L contro module VIN: 2B3HD46T1T Hey gang, need some help here. This intrepid has a 80 mA draw on the battery, when connecting Fluke sometimes it will be there & sometimes it won't. Removing fuse B in engine compartment fuse block(engine controls fuse) it is gone. When intalling fuse it is th...	View
	1998 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie 5.2L Misfire, Poor Fuel Economy, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1B7HF16YY1 Hello Group; This one has been in and out for the past 6 months. It may go 200 miles before MIL comes on po307 cyl 7 misfire, the problem is short lived and will disappear with in a few seconds to a minute. on cylinder misfire on the scanner it is always #7 an... Trouble codes: P0307	View
	2001 Dodge Ram 2500 5.9L all gauges & lts. VIN: 1B7KF236X1 truck came in with inop. gauges & abs, air bag, & ses lights staying on. odometer reads no buss most of the time. cked fuses to bcm - ok. can communicate with ecm & trans. computer (can get codes & read data which all appears to be correct. engine runs good, s...	View
	1991 Ford Ranger Custom 4.0L No Start VIN: 1FTCR14X0M Customer informed shop that Pickup died while going along the road and hasn't started since, I have checked for spark which was good,fuel pressure was good while cranking,installed noid lite and it was flashing like it should,also checked EEC relay it was wor...	View
	1996 Ford F-150 Eddie Bauer 4.9L Cuts out VIN: 1FTEF15Y9T any time truck is under accelration or under load like pulling a trailer it cutts out like someone turns the key of and right back on and happens at any rpm I do not notice it at when cruising. I thought there was a TSB on a wire chafing down beside the motor...	View
	1997 Ford Explorer XL 4.0L No Start hello ford tech. this is my friend's suv who live a few blocks away. due to we have bad storm in NJ. i didn't have a chance to get the vin. sorry. here is what happened to this truck. 9 months ago in freezing winter, it crank but won't start. by the time i hoo...	View
	1997 Ford F-150 Lariat 4.6L engine VIN: 1FTDF1761V Truck came in with a noise, sort of a growl that comes from the timing cover. Pulled timing covers and found very loose chains. Replaced chains, rails and tensioners. Noise is quieter but still there. Goes faster and louder with more rpm. Could be in the oil p...	View
	1998 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4.6L spark plug VIN: 1FMRU18W0W tried everything We could think of. Has anybody run into this problem. Nobody has ever changed this plug.	View
	1998 Ford Taurus SE Comfort 3.0L serpentine belt VIN: 1FAFP53S3W Car came in on the hook with seized A/C compressor. I replaced it with a low milage used unit that had worked in the car it came out of. I charged the system and sent the customer on his way. a week after the replacement the customer returned with the serpenti...	View
	1999 Ford F-250 Super Duty XL 5.4L cylinder head VIN: 1FTNXZ1L8X Hello all Techs, A reoccuring problem with this 5.4 left cylinder head. The drivers side(left) head errodes away, and the passage under the thermostat is thin enough to blow open a pinhole through the side of the casting. Third head, same place. Have talked ...	View
	2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat 5.4L Battery Draw VIN: 1FTNX21L6Y Hi everyone: When this truck first came in, it had an intermitent battery draw. It took about a week to find the draw while we had the truck. We had a draw of .65 amps. There was nothing visable on, no hood lights or anything like that. We started pulling fuse...	View
	2002 Ford Escape XLS 3.0L Poor Idle Quality, Stall VIN: 4FSYU081X1 This car is actually A Mazda Tribute and has the V6 and 4WD. 75% of the time is runs great. This is my wife's car and every once and a while when first started it will not idle, she cannot drive it when it does this. I can drive it if I used two feet the keep ...	View
	2004 Ford F-250 Super Duty Harley-Davidson Edition 6.0L Poor Idle Quality, Surge VIN: 1FTNW21P94 This problem seems to be fuel related. It only occurs in drive as well. You place it in park and problem goes away. I have a NGS scanner updated to 05 but I can not communicate due to not having some type of updated software the scanner refers to. I seen a ver...	View
	1996 GMC Jimmy SL 4.3L tcc solenoid VIN: 1GKCS13WXT Possible trans recal (has [...]) or tcc pulse width modulation (pwm) solenoid. vehicle lacks power at high speeds. will not go over 70mph. believed it to be cat conv, was partially plugged but not enough. replaced anyway. ran all sorts of fuel tests, press...	View
	1997 GMC C1500 Sierra SL 5.7L Poor Idle Quality, Misfire VIN: 1GEK19R9VE We suspect a fuel problem causing a missfire Cylinder #8. Is this a common problem with a vortec engine? Can the injectors be cleaned with a cleaning kit or do you have to use a machine?	View
	1991 Jeep Cherokee 4.0L ABS problem Hi! Got the car in with a non functional ABS and antilock light glowing. Checked for codes and found Right front sensor signal missing. Istalled new sensor and adjusted gap to spec. Testdrove. all works great until I just touch the pedal, then the abs starts w...	View
	1992 Land Rover Range Rover 3.9L No Start VIN: SALHV1244N engine cranks fine--good spark--no power to fuel pump--injectors--or inertia switch--power at terminal 86 on both fuel and main relays--i have no good techinal books on this beast--just a wiring schematic for a 91 model--don't know if it is the same or not--no...	View
	1994 Land Rover Range Rover County LWB 4.2L air suspension VIN: SALHC1349R I have this land rover which came in sitting on the bump stops. I unplugged ecm, powered up compressor, powered up solenoids for all 4 corners,powered up IN solenoid and was able to raise vehicle. set it just above normal height,reconnected ecm, turned ign on ...	View
	1998 Land Rover Discovery LE 4.0L rear window wiper motor VIN: SALJV1248W The complaint was no rear wiper. We removed the wiper motor and checked it out of the circuit and it was seized. We installed an original equipment wiper motor and rear wiper still would not work. We went through the electrical circuit-fuse, relay and switch a...	View
	1963 Lincoln Continental 430CID Transmission Hello trans techs. I have a 63 Lincoln with a Tubo Drive cast iron, three speed automatic...I have two questions; What is the correct band adjustment for both bands. This is unique to the lincolns...The other problem is I lost all forward engagement in all for...	View
	2000 Lincoln Town Car Signature 4.6L Hesitation VIN: 1LNHM82WXY We did the fuel pump 1st and the customer about 2 weeks later complaining that it felt like she was going over RR tracks. Not a rough bumpie feeling but feels like going over a series of small bumbs in the road. This happens on a consistent basis when going st...	View
	2001 Mazda Tribute ES 3.0L Poor Idle Quality VIN: 4F2YU81X1K This car has the V6 and 4WD. This is my wifes car, 75% of the time is runs great. Every once and a while when first started it will not idle, it just stalls out. My wife cannot drive it when it does this. I can drive it if I used two feet the keep the idle up....	View
	1998 Mercedes-Benz C280 2.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: WDBHA29G0W The car came a few weeks ago with the P0410 code for air induction system. we reset the code not finding any leaks in the air induction system - the switch appears to be working ok and the motor runs when first started cold. The car came back within a week wit... Trouble codes: P0410 (Air induction system)	View
	1995 Nissan Quest XE 3.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1234567W9S Hello everyone, I forgot the serial # but the engine code and year are correct, it also has mercury on it but you know it all nissan. I've ck the complete egr system, even the little hose under the transducer. The problem is that the computer never turns off t... Trouble codes: 32 (no egr operation)	View
	1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0L No Start VIN: 1G3GR62C1T This car will crank for 15sec or more sometimes-always eventually starts-no stalling or other problems noted.Yes we have checked the fuel regulator for leaks more than once-ok.Fuel pressure is constant when problem occurs,injectors are firing the noid lamp whe...	View
	1929 Other Ford coupe 8.0L rear pinion I need to find a technical manual or drawing of how this rear pinion/ diff. comes apart i have been to every thing online i can find and have had no luck any thing on servicing this would be very useful ive never seen anything like it.	View
	1995 Pontiac Grand Am SE 3.1L horn VIN: 1G2NE55M2S The horn started honking while the vehicle was unattended. It would honk intermittently as the circuit breaker heated and cooled. I am pretty sure that the relay is stuck, but I haven't been able to find the relay. I can't listen for it to click because it is ...	View
	1999 Saab 9-5 2.3L Poor Idle Quality VIN: YS3ED48E0X Hi there, We have a customer with an intermittent problem. This '99 Saab 9-5 has a problem with surging up and down at idle while in gear. In the past we have cleaned the throttle body, and had a code at one time (P1230 - TPS out of range.) We found high resi...	View
	1998 Toyota Corolla CE 1.8L compressor VIN: 2T1BR18E4W Customer came in requesting that we replace his A/C compressor. We did as he asked (mistake, - should have known better) - turns out it was a "muffler shop" that told him he needed a new compressor, and now the compressor will not stay engaged for any length o...	View
	1999 Toyota Tacoma DLX 3.4L speedo gears VIN: 4TAWN72N9X has anybody seen this problem before?	View
	1993 Volkswagen Cabriolet 1.8L shift VIN: WVWBB5159P Hey all, need a little guidance here--I have this 93 cabriolet with the "bulletproof" 3 speed tranny that won't shift cold until very high rpm's (5500). There was no problem until we pulled the tranny to do a reseal on it for transfer contamination and various...	View
	1995 Volkswagen Jetta GL 2.0L Excessive Emissions VIN: 3VWRC81H5S This car has had a used MAS and ECM installed (not know good) at another shop and at a dealer, when the Mas is plugged in the engine is so rich black smoke comes out the tailpipe and the injector pulse at idle is 9 ms on Rosstech, when the mas is unpugged no b... Trouble codes: 00553 (mas short to or -)	View
	2000 Volkswagen Beetle GLS 2.0L compressor VIN: 3VWCC21C2Y I'm having a tough time with this VW. I can't seem to get air conditioning and cruise control data on MasterTech, Snappy, or AST Retriever. Cruise control is inoperative and air conditioning system shuts off any RPM under 2000. The Retriever did show the TPS f...	View
	1990 Volvo 760 2.3L no start VIN: YV1GA8747L this vehicle died while driving . towed in for no start.no spark or inj. pulse. tesested coil pos. with power probe while cranking power seems to have pulse ,not steady voltage. omh tested crank sensor ok per alldata .is there a way to test crank sensor for ac...	View
	1995 Volvo 850 2.4L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Poor Fuel Economy, MIL Lamp on VIN: YV1LS5513S Vehicle runs rough, stalls and has black smoke from tailpipe. check engine light is on. using the A-B pushbutton interface under hood we acquired a code 121, mass airflow sensor. Using ast retreiver we get a code 314, cam position sensor. Seems very strange th... Trouble codes: 121 (Mass air flow senser signal faulty), 314 (cam position sensor signal faulty)	View
	1996 Volvo 850 Turbo 2.3L Electronic VIN: YV1LW5720T Hi group: Customer states: " When slowing the upshift arrow will flash & the car will stall & there is a strange noise", she says also that when stopped & the car is still running she will have to stop & start the car so she could go "cycle the key". She als...	View
	1996 Volvo 850 GLT 2.4L compressor VIN: YV1LS554XT We are working on the a/c system of a ’96 Volvo 850 with an intermittent a/c in operational condition and have yet to conclude the cause of the problem. The a/c fails intermittently while under load, but it seems to work fine when it is just idling. If you dri...	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	2000 BMW 740iL 4.4L Ride control?? VIN: WBAGG83461 Thanks for the replies...Here was one of them!!! 'last one we had JUST LIKE THIS was a noisey heater valve assy ,unplug it ,test drive,thank me in the morning' that is probably the answer...But since I moved his climate control temp dials & he has picked u...	5
	1991 Buick Century Custom 3.3L Poor Idle Quality, Stall VIN: 1G4AH54N1M Your not going to believe this one! First of all let me thank those who replied. Your time is valuable and much appreciated. Here are the sugestions of items that I did check but must have neglected to include them in my post, sorry. Tap tested Ecm, no cha...	14
	1991 Chevrolet Blazer Silverado 5.7L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GNEV18K2M hello,-i recieved alot of great info on this problem-i went back and double checked the knock sensor with a flash lite on alift- i saw a hairline crack in the base of the housing-we must have damaged it while doing the motor swap-we installed another knock sen... Trouble codes: 42 (est circuit fault).	15
	1995 Chevrolet K2500 Cheyenne 6.5L Excessive Emissions VIN: 2GCFK29S8S Got lots of good advise, most suggestions were to check out turbo, check pump timing, and check out egr system. As it turns out none of these things were the problem. After lots of testing and lots of research, decided to drop the exhaust in front of cat, truc... Trouble codes: 36 (injection width long).	7
	2000 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 5.3L srs air bags VIN: 3GNFK16T2Y Hi, I finally located a TSB from GM on this code which ended up being the exact problem and fix. TSB # 00-09-41-004 replace inflator restraining module retainer. In a nut shell on the setas side air bag is a yellow locking reatiner for the bags plug. if it has...	5
	1997 Chrysler Town & Country LXi 3.8L belt VIN: IC4GP64LBV Thanks to everyone tha offered help.remember I said that with the stethascope the noise came from right where the belt started around the p.s pully. So I tried the idea of moving the p.s pully out .020 as some one had mentioned and i found a spec for it. The p...	23
	1995 Dodge Avenger ES 2.5L No Start VIN: 4B3AU52N2S thanks to all whom responded and as Ron stated we overthought our diagnosis. a crank sensor repaired this vehicle. so much for following a flow chart!!! thanks again. Marcos Trouble codes: 11 (no crank reference signal).	7
	1999 Dodge Durango SLT 5.2L steering VIN: 1B4HS28YXX hi and thanks to all that repleyed ,it turned out to be a steering columum that needed tp be replaced with a updated on	3
	1992 Ford Ranger STX 2.3L No Start VIN: 1FTCR14A5N sorry to keep you waiting. I feel very stupid, I happened to be checking spark by lifting wires off of coil. when i checked spark at coil with a grounded wire, voila! great spark. the problem was high resistance in the ignition wires. the wires were not arcing...	6
	1995 Ford Windstar GL 3.8L engine customer took van and has not yet returned. i will post when i get a chance to work on it agian. im pretty confident its a bad ground in the dash.	28
	1996 Ford F Super Duty XL 7.3L power steering and hydroboost VIN: 1FDLF47F4T i'd like to thank everyone for taking time out of their busy day to help me on this truck. i replaced both pressure hoses as well as the return lines as a precaution. the customer is very happy. he's put 1500 miles on the truck since the repair. came in this m...	3
	1998 Ford Contour GL 2.0L tcc VIN: 1FAFP6532W Good Day Group, Here's what I did. I replaced the 2 suspect sensors using OE. This corrected the speedometer issue and the incorrect gear ratio codes went away. However the TCC code [...] was there and the RPM data showed the TCC wasn't being engaged. Since ...	5
	1994 GMC Jimmy 4.3L No Start VIN: 1GKCS13W2S thank you to you all to answer right a way to my problem. the fuel pump fix the problem.in the morrning with the fuel guage on ready to read the pressurei would turn the key on and pressure will go up to 60 and as soon asi will crank the engine the pressure wi...	19
	1994 Jeep Wrangler SE 4.0L no start VIN: K2BPCV8116 As suspected, the distributor indexing was the culprit, thanks all.	15
	2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.0L extended crank cold VIN: 1J4GW48S2Y Thw fuel pressure was bleeding off at the fuel pump. There is a seal kit for the pump and we have replaced it. This has solved our problem - the cam sensor code was probably due to the extended crank. Thanks for all your help Brad Trouble codes: P0340.	7
	2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.7L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1J4GW48N3Y Hello everyone,I took this Jeep to work on Sunday and checked power and ground-ok. Then I kept looking at the new fuel filter that was recently put on by my nephew. I saw 2 in lines and thought what if the one line is bleeding back pressure,so I had my nephew ...	6
	1991 Lexus LS400 4.0L No Start VIN: JT8UF11E5M There were two problems I was fighting with in this car and I am going to also list all of the things I have learned about this vehicle. First of, a very big thank you to the two guys who told me to go back and double check my timing marks. There are two very ...	4
	1962 Lincoln CONTI 430CID Generator VIN: 2Y86H42069 Thanks to all of you that took your time to reply. We finally got the right parts and fixed this one. It turned out that the voltage regulator was incorrect, It also had several areas that we had to repair wiring. After we repaired wires and polorized the gene...	17
	1992 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 2.6L compressor VIN: WDBDA29D4N Thanks to the wire diagrams, we fixed the car in a blink! The MAS control unit was defective part # [...], which is on the same location where the old Klima and RPM relay was located. We ordered a rebuild one from Worldpac for CAN $ 480.00. We got a cou...	7
	1996 Mercedes-Benz E300 3.0L Surge, MIL Lamp on VIN: WDBJF20F3T Well I put in a week on this vehicle & while it's better I'm still not satisfied with the end result. I did receive 2 replies to my original post. Frank [...] wrote 'we had a similar problem and the flap was full of carbon, clean it well, and make sure the ... Trouble codes: GENER, P0120 (Pressure Control Flap Transducer - Mercedes Code P1470).	5
	1967 Pontiac GTO 6.6L Powersteering Bracket VIN: 237677B104 Found multiple people willing to send pics of the mounting. Thanks to Mike [...] for the pics. It seems the car we are working on has a non-original pump and rear bracket. Time to do some fabricating unless we stumble across the proper pump and bracketry.	9
	1998 Porsche Boxster 2.5L engine VIN: WPOCA2981X I instaled some marvel mystery oil and noise went away,so the noise was from the intake valve bucket.	1
	1992 Toyota Corolla 1.6L cooling fans VIN: 1NXAE94AXN The A/C switch was bad. Grounded the wires to the switch fans went off. thanks for all the help!!!	12
	2001 Toyota Tacoma DLX 2.4L hydraulic system VIN: JLE545T6F1 Hello Techs! I replaced the master cylinder, and that took care of it.I'm glad it was something relatively simple. As soon as I realized the brakes were dragging,I had it nailed, unless Murphy intervened of course!Thanks to all those who took the time to res...	13
	1997 Volkswagen Golf GL 2.0L Harsh shit delay 2 3 THANKS SO MUCH! In such a few short days we had some good replys. Most said to run basic settings and throttle adaptation.Which was my falt for not puting that in my post. We / they had done that several times..anyway FIX was.We got our repair book today and t...	7
	2000 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 1.9L Starting VIN: 3VWSF29M5X Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to my help request and e mail me personally regarding this car. I replaced the power supply relay but still could not communicate with the ECU. I then replaced the Glow plug relay. This allowed me to talk to t...	8
	1971 Volvo 1800E 1.8L No Start VIN: 1610325348 Thanks to all that responded.Well the general consensus was that WORLDPAC was the only way to go if I wanted new parts or buy them second hand from different wreckers.I also found out that several different models in the Volvo range had the same set of Trigger...	18

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