Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Feb 8, 2004

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Open Help Requests for All Makes and Models

	Help Request	Answers
	1989 Acura Integra RS 1.6L Poor Idle Quality VIN: JH4DA3448K Hi everyone, This is my mother in laws car. The only complaint is that at idle the engine shakes the steering wheel very badly. This condition has always seemed noticable and has gotten worse over the years. If I hold the idle up slightly, the shaking goes awa...	View
	1992 Buick LeSabre Custom 3.8L starting system VIN: 1G4HP53L7N This vehicle starts and runs normal. However, after a while it shuts off and won't start again. A scan tool, was placed on the vehicle. Code 41 came up(cam sensor). The cam sensor was replaced but the vehicle still has the same problem, and code 41 won't be de...	View
	1989 Chevrolet Tracker 1.6L No Start, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2CNBJ1365W hello everyone Have this tracker giving me all kind of weird readings. Says -40C in the shop for coolant and air temp,map sensor stuck at 255 kpa,02 sensor stuck at 1.275 V. also when it starts engine loads is at 99.6%(tps always stuck at that) Thinkin toward... Trouble codes: P0113, P0118, P1450	View
	1992 Chevrolet K2500 Cheyenne 6.5L Mechanical VIN: 1GCGK24F3N Truck came in with the overdrive planetary assy. wiped out. r&r trans. replaced all the hard parts that were bad,new rebuild and reinstalled. have all the gears and everything seems to work except for o/d,when it should shift to o/d it just does not-if let off...	View
	1993 Chevrolet S10 Blazer Tahoe 4.3L abs VIN: 1GNDT13W6P The ABS light comes on when started and goes out. But when you get to around 18 mph ABS light comes on and stays on. No codes are found but 13. Using wire or OTC Monitor 4000E which is not much better than a wire in this case. I know this is nothing to go on. ...	View
	1998 Chevrolet S10 LS 4.3L instrument cluster VIN: 1GCDT19X9W Hello ,I have 1998 s-10 that was brought in for an inop blower,as the customer was driving in her fuel guage dropped to empty,battery light came on "the gauge read 14v" and the prdnl went blank.The vehicle was taken to a freind of mine to look at the system wi...	View
	1999 Chevrolet Astro 4.3L Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1GNDM19W7W Hello Fellow Wrench Heads... GOT THIS VAN FROM A FRIEND WHO'S FATHER-INLAW SOLD TO HIM. PRIOR IT WOULD STALL AND HE HAD REPLACED MOST ALL IGNITION PARTS...(AFTERMARKET)CODE PO351 WAS THERE AS WILL AS HARD START AND STALL...INSTALLED G.M. PARTS FOR THE MODULE,P...	View
	2000 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L backfire VIN: 1G1YY32G2Y car was towed to shop with a burned up air filter and air flow meter, customer said as he slowed down for stop light, the car shut off and smoke appeared from under the hood area..we checked the car out and it seems that the car must have backfired into the in...	View
	2001 Chevrolet Cavalier 2.2L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1G1JC12491 Hi Fellow Techs, This problem child came in after failing a state OBD emissions inspection. Failed due to code P0442 (EVAP small leak detected). Lacking a smoker, or the GM Evap cart, the only way I could test it was with a 5gas analyzer, trying to find any HC... Trouble codes: P0442 (EVAP Small Leak Detected)	View
	1968 Ford Mustang 289CID Fuel Guage Inop VIN: 8R01C12177 The fuel guage on this 1968 Mustang does not work, stuck on empty even when the fuel tank is filled.	View
	1988 Ford Escort LX 1.9L Stall VIN: 1FAPP2194J Hi Guys! Got a headache from scratching my scalp on this one. This car comes in with a stalling problem when started. sure enough, it will start and die out several times. It will stay running longer each time before it dies. We checked and replaced the most ...	View
	1989 Ford Mustang LX 5.0L Output shaft Hello all, First let me say that the reason there is no VIN is that I have the transmission (Borg-Warner World Class T-5) from this 89 Mustang, but I've never seen the car. I bought the trans used and the owner told me it had a noise when downshifting from fi...	View
	1992 Ford F-150 Custom 4.9L whistle VIN: 2FTDF15Y0N This ford tk. makes a high pitch whistle sound but not all the time. to get it to start making the noise you have to drive at least 2 miles hot or cold then you can hear it wfhen coasting. if you off the road and stop the noise will last no more then 30 secont...	View
	1992 Ford F-150 Custom 4.9L whistle VIN: 2FTDF15Y0N This ford tk. makes a high pitch whistle sound but not all the time. to get it to start making the noise you have to drive at least 2 miles hot or cold then you can hear it wfhen coasting. if you off the road and stop the noise will last no more then 30 secont...	View
	1989 Honda Accord LXi 2.0L cylinder head VIN: JHMCA564XK Hello all, Im doing my first head job on an 89 Honda Accord and was wondering if it is easier to remove the head with the intake attached or to back the intake away from the head from and leave it in engine compartment? Some of the nuts on bottom of intake as...	View
	1985 Lincoln Mark VII 5.0L instrument cluster VIN: 1MRBP98F9F Ever since we put the heater core in, the customer states the cluster intermittenly goes on and off when you stop or make a hard turn. We have been able to duplicate the problem but not consistently. When you step on the brake the cluster will sometimes go off...	View
	1996 Mercedes-Benz E300 3.0L Surge VIN: WDBJF20F6V Greetings Mercedes experts. This diesel surges badly on freeway at light throttle, OK under load. Feels like turning the ig key on and off,or like the pressure regulating flap vacuum unit is choking the engine. Unplugged the valve and car runs OK, but sets a C...	View
	2001 Nissan Frontier SC 3.3L Engine VIN: 1N6MD26T21 Howdy, This customer of mine has come to me several times for aftermarket modifications and everything has always gone perfectly. Within the past month he has been complaining of a loud engine rattle or fluttering sound that can be heard from the engine compar...	View
	1997 Toyota Carina -E 1800CC Piston Rings VIN: SB164ABK10 Toyota carina E 1.8 1997 7A-FE, 144,000 miles. This is a Corona in the East, Aus & NZ, or the same engine as a corolla in the USA. We have serviced the car from about 40,000 miles, & has never used oil. The customer (who never lifts the bonnet between service...	View
	1997 Volkswagen Golf GL 2.0L clutch cable VIN: 3VWFL81H3V I'm replacing this transmission.My shop key program doesn't tell me how to decompress the clutch cable to disconnect it. If you folks that do these volks could enlighten a Toyota tech I would be very gratefull.	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	1994 BMW 325i 2.5L speedo non op VIN: WBABJ532XR skip from florida hit the nail on the head, the vss plugged in would not work but unplugged the wires tested ok, the sensor was good as well. i found the reference wire would open in the connected position. it was pinched at the clamp by the tank. the customer...	3
	1995 BMW 318i 1.8L intermittent no shift VIN: 4USCC8320S The shifter assy is probably the problem.I recieved one reply stating this was a fairly common problem.While I never actually experienced the customer complaint I did wiggle the shifter from side to side( as instructed) and the trans would shift back and forth...	5
	1998 Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.3L Starting VIN: 1B4GP44G7W I replaced battery and cleaned the clamps .It was either in the connection(which didn't look bad) or internal battery problems.its been 1 1/2 week with no problems .Thanks to all who replied most pointed towards battery and connections.	8
	1999 Dodge Durango SLT 5.9L heater core VIN: 1B4HS28Z6X thank you for all the replies. i wish i could respond that i found the problem but i have not. i check with other owners of durangos and they all have the same symptoms of low heat temp at idle. would suspect this is an engineering problem related to low coola...	7
	1996 Ford Windstar GL 3.8L Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2FMDA5148T thanks to all the techs who responded. most of you hit the problem on the head. plugged egr passages. pulled the intake and it stuck out like a sore thumb. cleaned the passages and the coustomer is happy. our altimate goal. thanks again. Trouble codes: P0304.	37
	1997 Ford Explorer XL 4.0L lock up convertor VIN: 14MDU34E5V Just wanted to say thanks to the iatn group for your help.I did give tha gentelmen his options for the repair.To start with putting in the selonoid for lockup and changing the transmission fluid witch he wants to do.But if the transmission needs rebuilding he ...	8
	1999 Ford Windstar SEL 3.8L Poor Idle Quality, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2FMDA5349X Thanks to all who responded. The fix was a intake spacer kit from ford which included the 6 large orings and other gaskets needed to complete the r&r of the upper and middle intake parts. easy fix! Trouble codes: P0171, P0174.	15
	1996 GMC Safari SLE 4.3L Heater VIN: 1GKDM19WXT I replaced the thermostat with AC Delco brand. She says it heats better but on very cold days it takes alot longer to heat. I think she is just going to deal with it and hope it is not in 0 degrees and colder very much.	8
	1993 Honda Prelude Si 2.3L Engine VIN: JHMBB2253P Thanks for the expert advise from the Honda experts out there. There is an old saying. If you don't know how can't do. The steps to time engine are very easy if you have the right information.	3
	1995 Honda Accord EX 2.7L Tach VIN: 1HGCE6663S Hello Members I was able to Fix the tach problem by replacing ignition coil. It had a bad resister.I recieved alot of replies to my help request all said replace coil some had experienced the same problem. I cleared DTC code for VSS and test drove car at least...	11
	1993 Lexus LS400 4.0L Intermittent power steering VIN: JT8UF11E9P This car has a screen at the p/s solenoid on the steering rack which was almost completely clogged. Cleaning seemed to do the trick. However I told customer about rack leaking & that it should be repaired. She declined, so I warned her about letting the pump r...	6
	1995 Lexus LS400 4.0L remote switch VIN: JT8UF22EXS Hello members, Sorry for my late fix post.Thank you very much to all three technicians who took time to response my request.Seems like not many has came across on Lexus LS400 electronics controls.After I have spent many hours of tracing down the electrical w...	3
	1996 Mercury Sable GS 3.0L Headlights VIN: IMELM50U3T You people are the best, the fix was replacing the day time running light madule located in the bumper. Thanks Jay	10
	1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera 3.3L Drive Belt VIN: 2G3AJ51N8K Thanks all for the great suggestions. I am looking at the culprit sitting on my desk. It was the balancer. The customer continued to drive the vehicle after I said not to, and the outer ring with the belt grooves completely separated from the hub on the cranks...	17
	1997 Plymouth Voyager 3.0L cooling fans VIN: 2P4FP253XV To all members of the group who took the time to give there pass experince i will like to thank them... Every one said that the system was normal...Daniel recomended that we should be using antiboil/antifreeze ...and with a new stat /rad cap and the new antibo...	11

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