ShadowSwept
New member
I've tried troubleshooting this in a few other threads, but even if it goes away its only temporary, so I thought I'd throw it all together.
I'm going to give as much information as possible to help out, so if I describe anything that's normal just ignore it; I'm new to engine mechanics.
As for the TLDR bunch: Engine chugs and stalls at start until shifted out of park. Surges in drive while cool.
I've had engine surges since I bought the car (69k miles), would surge between 600 and 800 rpms. Ran some fuel injector cleaner through, changed the oil, and added a Spectre 9" cone to the end of the stock accordian. Surging stopped for about 100 miles then returned at 800-1200rpms.
I also had an intermittent problem with the TCS OFF and ABS lights coming on. Changed the front and rear brakes and checked the connections and they came back on and stayed on. (?)
The surging usually quit after a minute or two of driving after the first bit of maintanence, so I didn't worry about it for a while. Then it began to stall just after starting. I checked for codes and got these;
P0102 - MAF Sensor
P0443 - Evap
P0135 - O2 Sensor
I adjusted the evap snd checked all my wiring, and found that some idot had wrapped the rear O2 sensor wire around the exhaust and it had melted the connector. Since I'm broke, I just cut out the connector and spliced the wires together during my lunch break at work :/
The car ran great then- for about a day, but the surging was very minor and didn't become noticeable for a couple weeks. Then it started chugging. After I started and shifted out of park the engine would surge occasionally, strong enough to jurk the car forward slightly even while braking. This didn't seem safe at all in the gridlock traffic on the way to work
I went and got some SeaFoam and dropped it in the tank. Cleaned the hell out of the MAF too. Even washed the car and cleaned up the engine bay. I had the battery disconnected for a few hours while cleaning. When I got around to starting it up it was like a whole new car! it started strong and ran smooth, and the perpetual SES light had vanished! So I was a happy camper- until later that night when my wife sent me out for cigaretts. The SES light popped back on, and the engine did its typical surging idle.
It still ran okay though, but for the last few days it's been stalling at start. Weather dipped down to the 50's, so that may have something to do with it. Whenever I start it it will crank, take in the first huge suction from the intake, then right when the RPMs should level out it chuggs and dies.
I can keep it running if I press the accelerator to keep the RPMs around 2000, but it still chuggs and surges. While holding it at 2000, it will surge alternatively from 500 to 3000. However, if I start it and immediately shift to reverse it will run without touching the accelerator and only surge between 800-900. Once I shift into drive it will occasionally surge to nearly 2000, pushing the car forwards.
All of this goes away within a minute of driving. At worst it surges slightly at idle. The stalling at ignition is becoming more common though, so I'd like to find out what's wrong and fix it. Oddly, my TCS light has gone off, though my ABS is still lit.
Looking the car over today, I noticed a few things I thought were unusual, or otherwise took note of (keep in mind, I'm new to automotive work). It was about 65* outside. With the car still running I got out and checked the exhaust first; it was warm and moist. There was moisture on the inside left of the driver's tailpipe and all around inside the passenger tailpipe.
Under the car, the exhaust pipe vibrated steadily. I thought I could hear a slight rattling from the cat.
Under the hood, everything was warm, but not hot to the touch (except engine and exhaust manifold). There was some warmth in the air above where the front manifold goes into the crossover just before the heat shield (right around that joint actually). I'm assuming that's my exhaust leak; I knew I had one but thought it was at the other end of the crossover- however theres no warm spot there.
Coil packs tick rapidly while running. It's quiet but I noticed it after picking around that side of the motor for a while.
The heat shields are burned away in several spots. I noticed this some time ago and moved the wires off the heat sources, but have yet to replace the shielding. Wires still seem to be okay.
Oil and transmission fluid levels are good. The transmission fluid looks like oil though. Doing a filter change within the week.
Water levels are good as well.
Also, I'm guessing it's normal, but when I start the car the cone filter roars like an angry vaccuum cleaner, then mellows out as the engine warms up. When I shut the car off there is silence for about 1.8 seconds, then it lets out a heavy sigh.
While driving I notice a whine that almost sounds like an electric motor, but it follows the RPM levels exactly (only when moving). I'm thinking transmission?
I think that covers everything. Probably some unrelated problems in there amidst a lot of perfectly normal things, but I just thought I'd be thorough. If anyone wants to chime in about any separate symptoms you're more than welcome, I need all the help I can get.
I'm going to give as much information as possible to help out, so if I describe anything that's normal just ignore it; I'm new to engine mechanics.
As for the TLDR bunch: Engine chugs and stalls at start until shifted out of park. Surges in drive while cool.
I've had engine surges since I bought the car (69k miles), would surge between 600 and 800 rpms. Ran some fuel injector cleaner through, changed the oil, and added a Spectre 9" cone to the end of the stock accordian. Surging stopped for about 100 miles then returned at 800-1200rpms.
I also had an intermittent problem with the TCS OFF and ABS lights coming on. Changed the front and rear brakes and checked the connections and they came back on and stayed on. (?)
The surging usually quit after a minute or two of driving after the first bit of maintanence, so I didn't worry about it for a while. Then it began to stall just after starting. I checked for codes and got these;
P0102 - MAF Sensor
P0443 - Evap
P0135 - O2 Sensor
I adjusted the evap snd checked all my wiring, and found that some idot had wrapped the rear O2 sensor wire around the exhaust and it had melted the connector. Since I'm broke, I just cut out the connector and spliced the wires together during my lunch break at work :/
The car ran great then- for about a day, but the surging was very minor and didn't become noticeable for a couple weeks. Then it started chugging. After I started and shifted out of park the engine would surge occasionally, strong enough to jurk the car forward slightly even while braking. This didn't seem safe at all in the gridlock traffic on the way to work
I went and got some SeaFoam and dropped it in the tank. Cleaned the hell out of the MAF too. Even washed the car and cleaned up the engine bay. I had the battery disconnected for a few hours while cleaning. When I got around to starting it up it was like a whole new car! it started strong and ran smooth, and the perpetual SES light had vanished! So I was a happy camper- until later that night when my wife sent me out for cigaretts. The SES light popped back on, and the engine did its typical surging idle.
It still ran okay though, but for the last few days it's been stalling at start. Weather dipped down to the 50's, so that may have something to do with it. Whenever I start it it will crank, take in the first huge suction from the intake, then right when the RPMs should level out it chuggs and dies.
I can keep it running if I press the accelerator to keep the RPMs around 2000, but it still chuggs and surges. While holding it at 2000, it will surge alternatively from 500 to 3000. However, if I start it and immediately shift to reverse it will run without touching the accelerator and only surge between 800-900. Once I shift into drive it will occasionally surge to nearly 2000, pushing the car forwards.
All of this goes away within a minute of driving. At worst it surges slightly at idle. The stalling at ignition is becoming more common though, so I'd like to find out what's wrong and fix it. Oddly, my TCS light has gone off, though my ABS is still lit.
Looking the car over today, I noticed a few things I thought were unusual, or otherwise took note of (keep in mind, I'm new to automotive work). It was about 65* outside. With the car still running I got out and checked the exhaust first; it was warm and moist. There was moisture on the inside left of the driver's tailpipe and all around inside the passenger tailpipe.
Under the car, the exhaust pipe vibrated steadily. I thought I could hear a slight rattling from the cat.
Under the hood, everything was warm, but not hot to the touch (except engine and exhaust manifold). There was some warmth in the air above where the front manifold goes into the crossover just before the heat shield (right around that joint actually). I'm assuming that's my exhaust leak; I knew I had one but thought it was at the other end of the crossover- however theres no warm spot there.
Coil packs tick rapidly while running. It's quiet but I noticed it after picking around that side of the motor for a while.
The heat shields are burned away in several spots. I noticed this some time ago and moved the wires off the heat sources, but have yet to replace the shielding. Wires still seem to be okay.
Oil and transmission fluid levels are good. The transmission fluid looks like oil though. Doing a filter change within the week.
Water levels are good as well.
Also, I'm guessing it's normal, but when I start the car the cone filter roars like an angry vaccuum cleaner, then mellows out as the engine warms up. When I shut the car off there is silence for about 1.8 seconds, then it lets out a heavy sigh.
While driving I notice a whine that almost sounds like an electric motor, but it follows the RPM levels exactly (only when moving). I'm thinking transmission?
I think that covers everything. Probably some unrelated problems in there amidst a lot of perfectly normal things, but I just thought I'd be thorough. If anyone wants to chime in about any separate symptoms you're more than welcome, I need all the help I can get.
. Just trying to consolidate. The help I've gotten from the forums has generally solved that particular issue: MAF's clean, fuel line fixed, and O2 sensors reconnected. Valve cover gaskets and PCV will be changed soon. I haven't checked for codes again but I'm assuming if they came back then there's something wrong with the MAF or an O2 sensor itself (How would I check an O2 sensor with no tuner or code reader?).
