THE CASE OF THE GRUMPY STALLING CHEVY CAVALIER

CHANGE YOUR DIRTY SOCKS

I am struck by the way diagnosing vehicles is a test of my amazing Zen calmness.  Take my 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier LS 2.2 OHV, for instance.  It was in all respects a well running machine......until it got to the lower quarter of the gas tank.  Then, for no apparent reason it would stall but only when  taking a left turn. ??????????????????   My first thought was that a wire to the fuel pump circuit was at fault.  I mean, only on left turns?  Yup.  Only left.  

I checked all the circuits and they were undamaged.  This is right about where my Zen  gets tested.  Back to basics, I thought.  If it wasn't an electrical problem, then it must be fuel. But why only when the tank was quarter full?  A faulty gas gauge?  Sounds reasonable, I thought.  I had a Mini Cooper with one of those.  Customer wondered why it was dying all the time and turns out the gas gauge was faulty so they kept running out of gas.  Kind of unlikely though.  

Unfortunately, the only thing that seemed reasonable was the fuel system.  Something in the tank was moving when I took a left turn and either shut off the fuel pump or clogged it.  Either way the fuel tank had to come out.  Ouch.  I hate doing that.  Its not the black widow spiders that make a home in the suspension, or the tree frogs that hide in the suspension that makes it so fun.  Its all the dirt that rains down in a shower right in my eyes that really makes that extra fun.  But I digress.....

Out comes the fuel tank and then the fuel pump, only to find everything sound and in good condition except........the outer fuel sock had a rip in it.  Being nylon, I was surprised that it was ripped.  It's pretty tough.  If that one was ripped, what about the other one inside the fuel pump.  I had a gander.  Yup! Bingo.  Not only was the inner fuel strainer ripped, it was falling to pieces like a piece of toilet paper!  Pieces of it were littered in the fuel pump canister and obviously clogging the pump when the tank was low on gas.  As I took a corner, the fuel would move all the pieces into the path of the fuel pump pickup and starve it.  When the tank was more than half full, it would float out of the pickup reach.  Problem solved. Although in this case, I went ahead and replaced the entire fuel pump assembly since there was no telling if some of the sock had gotten in the pump mechanism.  Note to everyone:   change your socks like your mamma told you.

A Smelly Car Is An Angry Car

Menthol delights

Ammonia in the Morning

While it can be said that fixing a vehicle is more important than the cosmetics of said vehicle, there is nothing more irritating than a smelly interior.  Let's take the Toyota Corolla I currently own.  I bought it from someone who had a penchant for smoking menthol cigarettes.  I'm not being judgmental, but nothing smells quite as crappy as a menthol tobacco smell all over the car ( almost like being in an anti-tobacco ad right?) I am currently trying to fix up this smell-mobile so I gave some thought to getting rid of the smell.

First up was baking soda.  Nice mess.  Looks like it snowed inside my toyota. It didn't work either.

Next, I tried boric acid powder.  See above.

Finally, on the advice of a car detailer I knew some years back, I set an open bowl of ammonia on a seat and closed all the doors and windows and went to bed (bed is optional, but it was late and I was done).

Morning time and I hit a cup of coffee (essential for zen car repair) and checked the corolla. Upon opening the door, I was hit with a gust of ammonia.  If I wasn't awake before then, I was now.  After leaving the car doors open for a few minutes, I poked my head in and took a big whiff.  Smell gone.  I don't know how it works, but it does.  I was just glad I didn't have to smoke menthol cigs while driving or fixing the car.

Gremlins in my F-150

When Ants Attack

I realize now that there are some things beyond even my awesome ability to predict. Normally, on a good day, that doesn't mean much but let's face facts:  my sanity is hanging by a thread. Practicing the Zen method of car repair helps me keep what little sanity is left to me.  

Ok, sermon over.  What has this to do with Ford F150's and ant?  Everything. As I was minding my own business, driving down the road in my 150, it shut off.  No engine lights, no sputtering, no misfires just a complete shutdown.  Coasting to the side of the road, I sat there baffled.  I realized that a multitude of problems could be the result of my truck's abrupt death but where to start.  Sitting there for a minute, I decided to try restarting it.  It started right up and off I went.  Got it back home and it dies in the parking lot. Great.

I checked the computer which showed no codes, and no real problems.  Even better. I went back to the basics and decided to check for fuel, spark and compression. Fuel being the easiest, Zen practice here, I checked the fuel pressure. Zero upon turning the key on. Bingo.  Turned the key and listened to the fuel pump and it didn't make a sound. There was my problem:  fuel pump dead.  I started making preparations to pull the tank and replace the fuel pump.  

Then it hit me.  There are other things besides a faulty fuel pump that can shut it off.  Just to be sure, I decided to check the fuel pump relay.  This is what I found:

Apparently, ants had gotten into my fuel pump relay and their bodies were making the contacts....um...not contact.  A simple matter of replacing the relay and my truck was as good as new.  The relay would make contact intermittently which is why it started up again but the ants were definitely ruining it. If I hadn't seen an ant going into the relay I might have missed out on a unique opportunity for Mother Nature to screw with my mind.  The real lesson for me here wasn't pest control (I'm sure you are all thinking that but forget it).  No, the real lesson here is that past knowledge is no guarantee that you wont be thrown a confusing situation by the uncontrollable universe of randomness we live in.   Keep your Zen mindset and try to stay calm if at all possible.  I mean if one of natures smallest creatures can stop a 2 ton truck, who am I to say that everything is under my control???

Rings around Saturns

Smokin and Misfires

The 1.9 liter Saturn engines from the early 90's to the late 90's was a success and failure in many ways.  However, its successes were marred by a couple of things.  One of these things is the constant usage of oil.  Every 1000 miles (1600 km) the engine will burn a quart (.9 liters) of oil.  The first thing you will go looking for is an oil leak.  There isn't one. You will also notice that the oil you just changed is dirty as heck.  If that doesn't push your meditation to achieve calmness nothing will.  

It turns out that the pistons on these cars was included without a proper oil scraper relief hole.  That being said, when the oil scraping rings wipe the cylinder, the oil has no where to go and gets burned.  Eventually, these rings get carbon build on them and they stop scraping oil all together causing a nice white smoke to come out of your tail pipe.  Here's a look at the piston:

As you can see, there is no hole through the piston for the oil rings to scrape oil through, only the holes on the side.   This is not enough to keep the rings from sticking and eventually burning oil like crazy.  Aside from replacing the rings and putting the engine back together, there is no real fix to this.  There are aftermarket pistons with the holes drilled for the oil available that will probably solve the problem though.  In the meantime, try not to worry about the oil burning.  Just keep topping it off and drive it normally.  

The other problem I have had with older Saturns involves the ignition system.  If you try to put in platinum spark plugs or change out the coils for better aftermarket ones, you will get a camshaft sensor code and your engine light will come on. Why???  Well, it turns out that these cars have a sensitive ignition system that only works with the original system.  Putting in advanced spark plugs will cause a misfire and an camshaft sensor code to pop up, even though there is no cam sensor!  Put in copper old school spark plugs, and original coil packs or you will be ripping out the last hair on your head trying to figure it out.  (And that aint good for your Zen) 

Rockin The Nissan Pathfinder

Pathfinder Death Sway

You are driving down the highway minding your own business in your 2002 Nissan Pathfinder when suddenly it starts to rock back and forth.......violently!  I don't know about you, but that is enough to make me need a clean pair of shorts.  The truth of the matter is that the Pathfinder has a fatal flaw in the rear suspension.  Bushings.

As the bushings wear out, they start to wiggle the rear axle back and forth. At highway speeds, this translates to a rocking motion that will scare the bull spit right out of you (unless you are a zen master in which case you will just need an underwear change).  If you have kids, they will love this new ride.   In any case, you have to address this problem so without further ado, I introduce the 2002 Nissan Pathfinder bushings of death:

As you can see from the above diagram, the bushings indicated by the red arrows are the culprits.  A good online company can sell you the bushings or the whole arms to put in for a relatively cheap price.  This will help get back most of the calm zen like attitude you lost when your Pathfinder gave you a Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Don't forget to check the other bushings down under there while you are at it. The panhard rod, stabilizer links, and shocks could all be worn as well.  As soon as you are done, congratulate yourself on a job well done........then off to the store for new underwear that you now so sorely need. 

THE HYUNDAI GHOST (CRANKSHAFT SENSOR)

Ghost in the machine

From time to time there will come my way a car that has a no start condition.  That by itself is not unusual. What is unusual is the dead car with no code.  Car computers are getting pretty good at figuring out what is going wrong with an engine and alerting the driver by setting a code.  When this 2002 Hyundai Elantra showed up at my door with an engine that would stay running for 15 minutes and then die, my first thought was to look at the codes. There was a code for an malfunctioning MAP but nothing else.  

Hmmmmmm.  Something didn't seem right about that.  Normally a malfunctioning MAP wouldn't lead to the engine dying every 15 minutes.  Did I mention that it would start up again when the engine cooled?  No?  Well it would.  

Replacing the MAP, I sent my customer on their way.  They called back about 20  minutes later.  Engine died.  So, back it came.  

Not having any codes to go by, I did my homework, Zen style (trying to relax), and discovered about 40 things that cause a car to die.  Not helpful.  However, using the Sherlock Holmes method, that being the most obvious solution is usually the correct one, I decided to inspect the crankshaft sensor.  

Crankshaft sensors have a bad habit of cracking  and yet still working. Not having a scope to check the wave form of the sensor, I just removed it.  Here's what I found:

As you can see, the casing is cracked.  Oil was seeping into the electrical contacts from the engine block.  When the sensor was hot, it would stop working.  Cooling down, it would start working again. I had found my ghost.  So why didn't it set a code for a bad crankshaft sensor? My online homework did not discover the answer to that question, but 90% of the time it doesn't set a code.  

This is why the Zen meditation method of engine repair is so necessary.  It's this kind of thing that will push your already fragile mind over the edge of  sanity. Unless you have a wave form tool, you will be going crazy trying to find a misfiring or dead engine caused by a bad crankshaft sensor.  Remember also the Sherlock Holmes method. Most obvious causes should be checked before ripping apart the wiring to whatever particular "piece" you happen to be working on.

Cheers

Thank you Lexus.......well, not really

Lexus all have a good time

I will admit it.  Sometimes there are problems that come along that freak me out because I can't find a cause.  Enter the Lexus.......   A customer brought a 2000 Lexus ES300 to me because it wouldn't start and when I finally managed to get it to start (insert exasperation here) it died almost immediately.  Finding no obvious problems, I took a minute to find my Zen clear-thinking pose.  I decided to deal with the problem of the non-idling first.  What could cause it to not idle with no discernible engine problems?  Time for a Google search, or in this case, Youtube.  Here's what I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c1YSic7ejs

It turns out that the idle air control valve gets plugged up with carbon after a while. This causes it not to move and the car will not idle.  Here's a  picture of the offending creature involved:

Take off the two screws you see here on the black part of the control valve.  Underneath you will see a small round piece of metal that will probably be stuck.  Turn this back and forth with your fingers several times until it moves freely.  When it is unstuck, put the cover back on and you are done.  This seems to happen a lot to the Toyota engine here so make it a plan to clean it once a year or so.  

It's quite possible that this could save you a ton of money as the control valve is quite expensive.  Once again proving that doing your homework can save you money.   

If anyone is interested, and I'm not saying you are but since its my blog, I did discover the problem with the Lexus involved.  One, the control valve was stuck. Two the starter on the Lexus was fried.  New starter and cleaned control valve and it ran perfect.  It was, however, difficult to explain to the customer that they had two problems, not just one.  I think that is where my Zen training really came into play..........