Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Apr 2, 2005

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	Help Request	Answers
	1991 Acura Integra LS 1.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: JHYDA9392M check engine light comes on after 2-3 minutes , no codes are stored , cut wire to ecm light driver and light goes off. what is setting that light on and why . have tried 2 ecms both from wrecking yard but the same problem hmmmm.have followed flow chart and it ...	View
	1995 Buick Regal Gran Sport 3.8L Upper Intake VIN: 2G4WF52L4S O.k. folks here is a good one to for you to tell your grand kids about. A friend of mine had a timing chain installed by Firestone at 70,000 miles (?). Ever since then they said the car wasn't running right. It had a problem with it leaking anti-freeze at a id...	View
	1991 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1L speedometer VIN: 2G1WL54T6M speedometer doesn't work, checked connections and wiring nothing found. replaced speed sensor on tran. no codes. Eddie	View
	1997 Chevrolet K1500 Cheyenne 5.7L long crank VIN: 2GCEK19RXV customer complaint of long crank, test fuel pressure and volume both failed along with fuel pressure bleeds off instantly after shut off. In stalled movac at fuel filter to isolate bleed back problem in pump or regulater. problem seems to be at pump side. repl...	View
	1998 Chevrolet S10 LS 4.3L pressure plate VIN: 1GCCS19X1W The truck was brought in because the slave cylinder was leaking. The owner bought a clutch kit and slave cylinder from Advance Auto parts. This easy job turned into a nightmare real quick. The clutch will release okay but the pedal is hard to push down.It sort...	View
	1999 Chevrolet Tahoe 5.7L evaporator Hi all and thanks for your time. This truck has water leaking from the heater/ ac box, leaking on pass. side floor. I looked for a hour for the drain ,also checked Alldata(some data) and can't find it.Could it be behind R.S. inner fender? Thanks for your respo...	View
	2000 Chevrolet Blazer LS 4.3L temperature VIN: 1GNDT13W4Y Dear Sirs ON the above vehicle there is a strange problem occuring. The vehicle has an automatic electronic climate control system. all the doors are working, the a/c is working, and everything appears to be switching from the console. However there is not, at...	View
	2002 Chevrolet Express 2500 5.7L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 1GCFG25R92 HELP, I HAVE A 2002 CHEV. VAN WITH A HOT ENGINE PING ,ONLY UNDER A MED. TO HEAVY LOAD.THE FUEL PUMP WAS REPLACED ALONG WITH A FUEL FILTER.I ALSO PERFORMED A MOTOR-VAC.WHEN THE PINGING BEGINS THE FUEL PRESSURE DOES NOT DROP IN-FACT IT INCREASES A LITTLE DUE TO... Trouble codes: P0300	View
	1996 Ford Windstar GL 3.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: 2FMDA5148T Please help me here! This van is a recent auction car that the local used car lot just bought, The mil keeps coming on with p0171 and p0174 codes for system lean, we can tell that all the normal windstar stuff has already been done to this van (see repair hist... Trouble codes: P0171, P0174	View
	1998 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4L theft system VIN: 1FMPU18L2W intermittent won't start. turns over but no fire. factory passive anti theft system light blinks. After sitting and trying several times vehicle will start. we have not been able to duplicate condition in shop but bcm history shows codes B1600 ign key transpon...	View
	2001 Ford E-150 Econoline 4.6L Suspension VIN: 1FTRE14WX1 Hello all, This van has a strange noise/rattle that appears when driving over bumpy/gravel roads. We replaced all 4 ball joints(worn), radius rod bushings(worn). It sounds like the steering column is rattling, but everything seems tight. I already checked for ...	View
	2002 Jaguar X-Type 3.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: SAJEA53C72 Hello Jag guru's, Got this Jag that is my accountant's car, We failed him for odb2 state inspection, Mitchell does not have any info on these codes, wondering if you guys have seen these codes if it is a common problem. Codes PO171 PO174. Thanks Brian [...] Trouble codes: P0171, P0174	View
	1997 Mazda Millenia S 2.3L Oil smoke from exhaust VIN: JM1TA2220V Oil smoke from exhaust. Installed new PCV. Found residual oil in air cooler assemblies - cleaned out but oil reappears. Customer states vehicle was properly maintained. Smokes only on start up.	View
	1999 Mitsubishi Mirage DE 1.5L MIL Lamp on VIN: JA3AY11A9X Vehicle came in with the MIL on and no data available through scanner. Tried a different scanner and results were the same. Terminal 16 on the data port has power and terminals 4 and 5 has a good ground. Scanners will not communicate. Any ideas???!!!	View
	2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport XLS 3.0L 4wd VIN: JA4MT31HX1 4wd light is flashing on dash,but 4wd works.checked for codes.code 25 4wd detection switch problem.alldata will not even tell me where the switch is,or how to check it.any information would be helpfull.THANKS FOR ANY HELP!!! william	View
	2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport LS 3.0L rotors VIN: JA4LS21H53 Hello Group, This vehicle has a strong brake pulsation on brake application but the rotors don't really show much runout.However I can feel the amount of drag increase and decrease as I turn the front hubs with wheels off.It has rear drum brakes and has no pul...	View
	2003 Mitsubishi Galant LS 3.0L heater VIN: 4A3AA46H63 We manually tried to flush the heater core in both directions. We got nothing either way. We did this with the car running and with it off. We don't know if there is a check vavle in the heater core? Or a on off valve? We also checked the heater controls and t...	View
	1990 Nissan 300ZX 3.0L cam timing VIN: JN1234JJ1L I have changed many of these belts and never had a lock-up liike this. Thanks for your time.	View
	1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme S 3.1L plug wires VIN: 1G3WH54T3P well group: I have several books by mitchell that states that #1 is to the fire wall. the same book also says that #1 is to the front. maybe it's a misprint.. Question; where in the tarnation does the plug wires start on which coil pack? going from left to r...	View
	1999 Oldsmobile 88 Royale 3.8L security system VIN: 1G3HN52K8X Hi guys! I got this car that came in for a starter problem. replaced the starter and off the car goes. The customer came back and said the security light won't stay off. I might not notcie if it got a problem before I replaced the starter. I follow the steps i...	View
	2000 Plymouth Neon High Line 2.0L electrical system VIN: 1P3ES46C5Y im the third person to get this car someone jump started another car with this one, cust. saw smoke from engine compartment lights on i/p wigged out all started blinking flashing. after that it will randomly cut out intermitenly. and over charges really bad an...	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	1999 Audi A6 2.8L camshaft I want to thank all of those that replied. I rechecked the cam timing according to All Data and nothing was amiss. I then checked both solenoids and circuits to the cam adjuster, these were also operating correctly and within specs. I then removed the valve co...	7
	1995 BMW 540i 4.0L Electronic VIN: WBAHE5321S I did not fix this one. One of the replies said something must be coded wrong, which I beleive, but I don't have access to a Modic or GT1 so I couldn't pursue that road. Turns out that after spending $2000 on a clutch/flywheel job that they didn't want to spen...	8
	1996 Buick Skylark Limited 2.4L Stall VIN: 1G4NJ12T5T Customer has not returned with this car. She wants a guarantee that what ever I do will fix the car so I think she is taking it to the dealer. Steve suggested the PCM, Jeff recomended the instrument cluster. With the lock cylinder having a 'hall effect' sensor... Trouble codes: 11 (VTD Short this ignition cycle), 21 (Loss of PCM serial Data), 12 (Bad R code this ignition cycle).	12
	1990 Chevrolet Celebrity 3.1L Poor Idle Quality, Surge, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 2G1AW84T7L customer picked up car, checked vac leaks again iac counts were around 25 so i do not think it was a leak, compression and running compression seemed fine, i belive it had a 2.8 prom according to the dealer, but car was already gone a possible spike, i do no...	9
	1992 Chevrolet P30 6.2L no overdrive VIN: 1GBKP32J1N I want to thank those of you that steered me in the right direction. It was actually a pretty easy fix. When the TPS goes out of adjustment the TCM will not show live data on the scan tool. It will just read 0.00 volts and 35%. I put a new TPS in it adjusted a...	8
	2000 Chevrolet Blazer LS 4.3L differential VIN: 1GNCT18W0Y Survey says: ABUSE!!! Thanks to everyone for the answers and advice. Danny [...] had the best explanation on what probably happened. He said if both tires are spinning and then one gets a bite, the diff cannot stand the torque difference and explodes. I di...	13
	1995 Chrysler Cirrus LX 2.5L low reverse solenoid VIN: 1C3EJ56HXS i believe car is fixed now i drove the car for a week customer has been driving it for a few weeks and is holding up. i replaced controller for the third time, it seems based on the info i received, you better off getting a used unit than a rebuilt. i have a w...	6
	1999 Dodge Intrepid 2.7L Hesitation, Misfire VIN: 2B3HD46R8X thanks for all the help found the pattern on the cam sensor bad replaced it fixed problem and cleaned up pattern on the crank sensor thanks again. Tadd	8
	1999 Dodge Durango SLT 5.2L instrument cluster VIN: 1B4HS28YXX Sorry for the delay, I wanted to be sure it did not come back. Tha problem seemed to be solved by cleaning and securing the big C4 bulkhead connector and the ground located on left kick panel. Thanks to Brad, Chad, and Zeyad for their replies. More helpful tha...	3
	2000 Dodge Dakota 3.9L Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1BFFLZ6X5X Yes this is a fix: Thank you David from Rhode Island and many others. The problem was the ECT sensor. It had low resistance due to corrosion. It is a very small sensor. The plastic part was rotating on the brass part. After monitoring the ECT reading , it was ...	5
	1987 Ford F-150 Custom 4.9L Poor Idle Quality VIN: 1FTEX14Y6H Thank you all very much,, i finally got engine to stay in the bad mode long enough, found egr valve open due to vacuum to it, check solenoid, was not energized but allowed vacuum thru it, pumped it up with hand held vacuum tester, heard a pop, then ok again, r...	7
	1996 Ford Bronco XL 5.8L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FMEU15H2L Well, it's fixed! Mike from California and Roger from Michigan were both 100% right. It had the wrong ignition module installed. Somewhere down the line the vehicle had been to another shop for some work and apparently they replaced the module and did not inst... Trouble codes: P1351 (idm input ckt fault), P1359 (spark output ckt fault).	9
	1997 Ford Taurus SHO 3.4L No Start, Stall VIN: 1DALP54N4V Hi,everybody... First, I want to thank everyone for the responses. They were all very helpful. I had suspected the ignition coil was bad,even recommended one to be replaced but customer declined. After seeing what Greg from New Hampshire had to say, I called m... Trouble codes: P0307 (testing and results).	7
	1998 Ford Crown Victoria 4.6L abs VIN: 2FAFP71W8W The computer we have will not check wheel speed. I replace both rear wheel sensor and the car works fine. Thanks to all who help me. I hope I can help you one day.	13
	2001 Ford Escort ZX2 2.0L VCT Sprocket Thanks for the responses, They were much appreciated. I installed the tensioner, and both idlers with the belt originally. I just put the VCT sprocket on this morning. Don't you know that damn thing still made noise ! Oh well, luckily for me, the Ford dealer...	4
	1998 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 2.5L Hesitation, Surge VIN: 1J4FY49S5W The o2 seems to have fixed the problem, I still couldnt see the o2 being used in open loop. Thanks for all the reply's	7
	1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.0L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge VIN: 1J4GZ58S5W Thanks for all the great ideas. Most of you were spot on and ended up replacing the upstream O2 which for a very short period of time would act up enough to cause the ST trim to go to -25% for about 30 seconds. Anyhow the heater circuit in the O2 had shorted o...	15
	2002 Mazda MPV EX 3.0L No Start VIN: JM3LW28J32 sorry for waiting so long to close this one. needed to be sure repairs were done. be very quiet because we are hunting wabbits. yes rabbits chewed up a lot of wires. these are not fun to look at or repair harnesess. but got them taken care of and all is well. ... Trouble codes: P0116, P0117, P0133, P0153, P0160, P0304.	4
	1995 Pontiac Bonneville SE 3.8L Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1G2HX52K8S Thanks for everyone's replies. These cars that act up everywhere but at the shop can get the best of us. In my post, the ignition module had been changed 2 times by car lot with new NAPA parts. Unplugging MAF sensor and driving made no change, so I did not sus...	12
	1999 Pontiac Sunfire SE 2.2L Lighting Sorry for the delay, customer returned today because his march sticker ran out. I double checked the ground wires under the battery tray and found a bad connection from the hold down bolt, it looked rusted. Now the high beams work and the symbol stopped blinki...	17
	1999 Toyota Tacoma DLX 2.4L CAT problem VIN: 4TANL42N8X Sorry to say this is not a fix. Most of you wrote about either cleaning or replacing MAF. Perhaps I should have posted the MAF readings idle load 17.2-24.6% 2500rpm no load 16.4-23.1 GPS warm idle 2.7-3.9 GPS 2500rpm no load 9.2-12.9 Cal load snap throttle 87%...	14
	2000 Volkswagen Polo 1600CC MIL Lamp on VIN: AAVZZZ9VZY Hi ALL. Thank you all very mutch sorry to have taken so long but my Harddrive crashed and had to buy a new computer, the Fix was to thoroughly clean iside of the throttle housing including the butterfly and reset the throttle body : go to basic settings 04 and... Trouble codes: 00533 (IDLE SPEED IDLE AIR CONTROLregulation limit exceeded).	3

(Also Available: All, Asian, Chrysler, European, Ford, GM.)